Getting soil ready for planting

[Baby Grand]

Knight,

Being that you live in CT, I am going to assume that there are stonewalls nearby and bits of ledge poking out of the ground near your lawn? If so, then I strongly recommend doing a recon with your ripper before tilling to establish the absence of ledge, boulders, cobbles bigger than a loaf of bread, etc.

If you don't see stonewalls nearby and bits of ledge, then I am going to assume that you live on what was once farmland. In this case I strongly recommend doing a recon with your ripper before tilling to establish the absence of burried fence posts, barbed wire, old metal bits, irrigation pipes, foundations, etc.

Then till away.

-Jim

 

[bjr]

Litsten to the advice about doing recon with the middle buster or you could be facing some serious repair on the "borrowed" tiller. bjr

 

[JohnDeere4300]

I'm not really sure which attachments to use to convert a beautiful established lawn into a garden area....... area is 40' by 40'

This is what I have for attachments.
1. Backhoe
2. Box grader with scafires
3. Middle buster

Now I have access to a tiller

Do I really need to use a tiller or can I prepare the soil with what I have?

Get the tiller and run a couple passes.

If you just use the middle buster...or...backhoe you will still need a tiller or a disc...to get the soil prepared right.

 

[Stargazer]

I would second the idea of doing something about the grass first to keep it from popping up later. You will have enough to do fighting the weeds you are sure to stir up busting/tilling. My garden spot is tilled then black plastic is placed over it and the seedlings are put in an X cut in plastic or a slit about 4" wide by however long for peas/beans seeded crops. Does warm the soil up faster also to get in earlier.

Pat

 

[Knight]

Knight,

If you don't see stonewalls nearby and bits of ledge, then I am going to assume that you live on what was once farmland. In this case I strongly recommend doing a recon with your ripper before tilling to establish the absence of burried fence posts, barbed wire, old metal bits, irrigation pipes, foundations, etc.

Then till away.

-Jim

I put the lawn in over ten years ago. 5000 yards of fill. There is no ledge in my backyard, at least for the first 20' down.
I might hit a sprinkler line. Nothing I can't fix.

I think I will hit it with the middle buster, then get the tiller. I want to play anyways. I just thought the tiller was overkill.

 

[WilliamBos]

Get the tiller......

2 to 3 passes and you will have garden ready soil.

I second that!! It will do that no problem!!

 

[JohnDeere4300]

I second that!! It will do that no problem!!

The more passes with a tiller the better

 

[Farmwithjunk]

The more passes with a tiller the better

Not so fast! Tillers are too easy. They'll tend to cause folks to OVER WORK soil. A tiller will pulverize dirt and turn it into talcum powder. First rain, and you have well compacted "concrete".

I prefer a minimum number of trips over an area with a tiller. I also use mine at lower rpms (well below 540rpm on the pto) to prevent/lessen the pulverizing action.

 

[JohnDeere4300]

Not so fast! Tillers are too easy. They'll tend to cause folks to OVER WORK soil. A tiller will pulverize dirt and turn it into talcum powder. First rain, and you have well compacted "concrete".

I have never heard of that..OR..never seen that before.

After i turn my garden....i run a disc several passes to have it as fine as i can get it.

And i also haul rich black top soil from the creek bank to my garden, and it is fine dirt.


(He has sod that he needs to get through...so the more passes the better.)


*I figured you would give YOUR OWN advice to him, how you plow yours...not how i plow mine

 

[ampsucker]

i was going to post something similar to farmwithjunk. in doing my readings, i have run across many articles about how over-tilling is bad. this mostly has to do with destroying capilarity and micropores in the soil. the only time you need a really fine seedbed is for very small seeds that can't physically push up through larger clumps of dirt. (lettuce, carrots, etc.) most larger seeds will actually do better in a moderately rough seed bed. larger chunks provide slower and longer release of soil nutriets, allow water to penetrate more deeply, and perhaps most important of all, will allow oxygen to get down to the roots after that first big rain forms the hard crust farmwithjunk mentions.

all of these problems are significantly lessened if you have a nicey loamy soil to start with (rare). if you're like most of us, you have either too much clay/silt or too much sand/rock. the first option gives you the hard crust, the second option gives you drainage and fertility issues.

unless you are blessed with a fertile loam, unfortunately, you should have started soil renovation for this year's garden last year. then you could have done your subsoiling, tilling and sod busting/destruction operations last year, added amendments, and given it the winter to stabilize and settle. then a little spring cultivating and you would have been ready to plant.

but, that opportunity is gone now. your only choice to destroy the sod is to pulverize it beyond recognition or use chemicals. we hope you don't have bermuda in your grass, or it will most likely be a problem for you all year as it can come back from very tiny pieces of rhizome.

i would do the best i can this year and plant lots of green manure crops and a few hardy vegetables and then this fall, do a proper prep. you could also put in some raised beds, focus on soil amendment and focus on fencing the area if deer or other animal pests are a problem in your area.

things will be much easier for you next year.

good luck!