Help a dumb city boy

[Mike Travis]

Having lived in a city all my life, all I have ever planted is a small raised garden in my backyard. Now we are planning to move to the country to get the heck out of the city which requires that we take up farming and raising animals. Just bought a Ford 860 with a disc. Will add a plow and cultivator when we find a decent used one.

My real question is what is the proper sequence for preparing the soil for ground that has not been planted before? Any advice or links would be most appreciated. Of course, making fun of a city boy is fine too, as long as you include some good advice with it. I have hunted and fished all my life but never lived in the country so while I am looking forward to it, I recognize it will come with challenges and new skills I need to learn.

Thanks.
Mike

 

[deerseeker001]

Welcome from Wisconsin

 

[1quik70]

I'm fairly new to full scale farming as well, but this is what I have gathered from my right hand that farms everyday.

-Kill of the grasses, depending on what you are planting RoundUp will do the trick.
-Once the grass yes brown, disc the ground several times
-Fertilize, and disc again
-Now your ready to plant...

That was the process I was given for planting forage beans, corn, ect. May be a few different steps if you actually plan to harvest, as I plant my crops for my deer herd.

 

[TripleR]

Are you talking about farming or gardening? I do agree with killing off vegetation if the area is not too big, but if you are farming rather than gardening, be prepared for a lot of expense in chemicals, spray rigs, building your soil to the point of profitability. Have you done any soil samples?

 

[Jstpssng]

Welcome from Maine.

The first thing you would do is plow to turn the sod under, then disc. You probably want to do this several times, picking up rocks every time you turn the soil. (If your tractor has a loader it would be helpful to pick up larger rocks while working the ground, as they often get covered up on your next pass) If you have time it would be a good idea to plant cover crops the first year and turn them under before they go to seed... 1.e.; 2 crops of buckwheat or oats, then a crop of winter rye which you will turn under next spring.

A soil test is the best investment you can make; as it will tell you what nutrients are lacking.

Some will advise you to apply Round-up herbicide before doing anything; it would certainly allow you to spend less time weeding.

Good luck.

 

[Ed of all trades]

The first rule of starting out at anything is keep input down until output starts to provide and then choose wisely. Remember, the first rule of farming is It doesn't matter how much money you make, it is how much you hang on to that count.
more info on size of property crops ect. will bring more and better help. Ed

 

[Mike Travis]

We are thinking of planting 1/2 acre to start. A friend has some land next door so we will most likely have 2 half acre plots with different vegetables.

No I have not tested the soil. Who does it and how much is it? We are in Ohio. The area around us has plenty of land cultivated (many tracts from 5 to 10 acres) and seem to do well. Thanks for the reply.

 

[Mike Travis]

Thanks Jstpssng. We are planning to start now so we can have some canned goods over the winter. One never knows what is likely to happen over the next year or two so we are trying to be prepared for any eventuality. Even if we have minimal success this season, we still need to start now just in case the SHTF.

 

[Jstpssng]

We are thinking of planting 1/2 acre to start. A friend has some land next door so we will most likely have 2 half acre plots with different vegetables.

No I have not tested the soil. Who does it and how much is it? We are in Ohio. The area around us has plenty of land cultivated (many tracts from 5 to 10 acres) and seem to do well. Thanks for the reply.

Your local extension office probably will offer it and is a good place to start. It will probably be <$20, and will give a breakdown of what nutrients are needed and the best amendments to get there.

This link Counties.
should bring you to a list of what offices serve your county.

Also, this brochure http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/pdf/1132.pdf offered by your state will answer many of your questions on the subject.

An acre is a pretty good sized undertaking... Ed of all trades gave yousome very worthwhile advice. :thumbsup:

 

[Ed of all trades]

If you are thinking veg production I would lean toward a tiller for the back of your tractor, they are very good at adding veg. matter to the soil and that helps improve the soil greatly. They cost about the same as a disc, plow, harrow, and do the work in one pass. Start looking up CSA's and also farmers markets in your area, If you have a great crop and can't sell it you are not far ahead. Think now about if you are heading toward organic or chemical farming it might make a diff. in marketing.
Thanks Jstpssng