Rennovating a garden

[jeff9366]

I may also want to sell at some point - not sure how much of a market there is for this kind of thing.

Use it. Keep it. Once the controls are loosened up and adjusted you have a subsoiler superior to any TPH/Category 1 size, Three Point Hitch subsoiler marketed today.

At a farm auction your subsoiler would likely sell for $30 to $60. If you could duplicate that iron beast today you would pay $600 or more.

 

[jyoutz]

What is the business name?

A Google search for DANFORD, KENTUCKY yields nothing.

IDK. EA told me it shipped from the factory and the shipment originated in Danford, KY. EA sells them, but doesn’t manufacture them. I sure like mine and I converted to category 2 pins.

 

[DJ54]

I too use leaves as mulch around set plants. Just leave them lay over the winter, and plow down in the Spring. They will pretty well be broken down into compost by then, and less chance to deplete N out of the soil. Night Crawlers and red worms love them, and will feed on them year round, if thick enough.2 pluses from that, is worm castings, and their tunnels, allowing water to drain away naturally.

I plant Oats on my potato patch yearly as a cover crop, but, I'm far enough North, I get a Winter kill. And, snow pack normally presses it right to the ground, so turning under is not a problem. Last year, I added Buckwheat which may work better for you. Adds lots of OM, and breaks down quick. Don't know that I will this year, because of rising seed prices.

Daikon Radishes make a great natural aerator, and see is relatively cheap. Roots can grow as deep as 3', and will penetrate hardpan. A good maintenance plan, once you get the hard pan broken mechanically. I sow some in row, as trap plants for cucurbits, and get the full benefit of the summer growth. I plan to sow some in with the Oats this Fall after I did potatoes. They will grow fast enough, to grow though any hardpan I may have in that area.

I also use a David Bradley walk behind tractor to cultivate my row crops, not use a walk behind tiller, at least most of the time. The only time I use my tiller, is when plants get too tall, or rows grow in, and get tooo narrow to use the D-B. But, I made a tail wheel for my tiller, and only till the top 2" of soil. Just deep enough to grubout most weeds, and leave them on top to dry and die. Any deeper, you're only bringing more weed seeds to the surface to germinate and grow. I originally built it to till through the leaf mulch, when I'd get weeds growing on top of the leaf mulch in wet years. Weed seeds came from some weeds that grew alongside the leaf pile, and deposited seeds in the leaves. Just wasn't proactive in keeping them mowed off, or sprayed. But, I've found the tail wheel works great for shallow tilling on bare dirt.

 

[kubota shifty]

I have 150' x 30' garden I've been planting for over 20 years. Over time it has become less and less productive. I think I have a couple issues. One is nutrient depletion and the other is a rock hard subsoil. ......................................

I cover my garden with about 18" of composted horse manure every fall! In the spring I first mow it and then rip with the tines inserted in the box scraper. I push out the weeds with the front loader. I wait until the ground is dry enough to not get stuck but still moist underneath. Over 20 years it went from hard clay to very nice soil even below the manure. I used to have to use a breaker bar just to bury the compost! All the veggies do great.

 

[Foozle]

Foozle I was so taken aback by you posting that picture, I went to search your profile and see if you had other bizarre postings. Looks like you haven't said much lately so I have to take your word you aren't just messing with us with coming here all coy like saying you have this hard soil and no tool to deal with it then drag that beast out of the weeds claiming you've let it set because you are afraid you might harm it if you use it. Then comes the cherry on top about selling it. So YES,if you are in earnest with everything you've said,by all means take a torch to it and sell it for scrap before you lose a hand trying to hook it up to a tractor or stagger into it possibly killing yourself.

Sorry my post seemed bizarre to you, but I was serious. Given the age and rust on the implement, I wasn't sure it would still be functional, but sounds like it might be fine - I just need to learn the controls and give it a go. If it turns out to be useable, I'll keep it, of course. If not, I'll try to sell.

 

[tstex]

Fooz,

If you have an auger, mark a line of holes and stager them about 5-7 ft and then go for it...you can then back fill the holes till about 6-9 inches, then put compost/manure. I would buy x or xx 50lb bags of granulated molasses, spread across entire top of garden, then till/disc into soil make sure soil is not wet or too moist when adding granulated molasses. GM will provide a spectacular burst of microbes that will resolve 80% of your nutrient needs and help to aerate the soil. The holes you made, when filling w a good compost, add granulated molasses in the holes too.

As stated, I would do a soil test also to determine if you are way off w any mineral or main component. Correct, then after doing the above, test again in early spring. you will not believe what the granulated molasses can do for you. It will take sterile soil and greatly enrich it.

 

[OLLIEDOG#1]

Gypsum, read about its benefits for hard soil.
Soil test
Compost

 

[Tony H]

If you are bringing in trailers of manure, tilling that into what you have should elevate the subsoil issue, I would think.

 

[MMC]

What is the business name?

A Google search for DANFORD, KENTUCKY yields nothing.

Try Stanford, KY on Danville (KY) Road...

 

[Yander]

Good compost material will help with water retention. The suggestion to plant a fall cover crop is excellent because you are essentially growing your own compost.

Watch out for what you haul in. It may be full of weed seeds that later germinate in your garden.

Yes, what a lot of people don't realize is a leaf will retain 5 times it's weight in moisture. Leaf mulch is awesome for building soil and the organic matter will help with moisture retention. I don't know that there is much better for your garden honestly.

You can collect leaves in the fall from city folks that put them at the curb. Grind them up with your mower so they are fine. Flip them about 4 or 5 times over the winter and moisten the pile each time you flip it. Little bit of a hassle but by spring, you can put it right on your garden and work it in and it will be fantastic. As you turn it over the winter you will see worms up in it because it is warm. Which means, they are breaking it down all winter long and putting worm castings in it all winter long.

The pile needs to be a good 4 feet tall to start and large enough that it will heat up. It will break down and shrink over the winter.

 

[Yander]

Foozle I was so taken aback by you posting that picture, I went to search your profile and see if you had other bizarre postings. Looks like you haven't said much lately so I have to take your word you aren't just messing with us with coming here all coy like saying you have this hard soil and no tool to deal with it then drag that beast out of the weeds claiming you've let it set because you are afraid you might harm it if you use it. Then comes the cherry on top about selling it. So YES,if you are in earnest with everything you've said,by all means take a torch to it and sell it for scrap before you lose a hand trying to hook it up to a tractor or stagger into it possibly killing yourself.

What????? Your saying HIS post is bizarre?

 

[jeff9366]

Try Stanford, KY on Danville (KY) Road...

Lincoln Manufacturing USA, LLC is the only manufacturing business with a web site. Is Lincoln the source for All Purpose Plows?

 

[Bobrown14]

I believe the Fred Cain APP, Bush Hog (brand) APP and Dirt Dog APP all emanate from the same plant. The only differences are the decals.

They all sure look exactly the same except for pricing. The EA version is the best price. The Dirt Dog is next up in price and the Brush Hog version is WAY pricey.

We have/had hard pan in our large garden plot.

It wont really go away with plowing we needed to had soil organic matter (organic farmer here) and let break down, run a cover crop before winter plant in September. We did oats and also did peas and oats mix. It dies back and decomps and also helps break down the hard pan and mostly keeps it loose-ish. Drought changes everything.

Best way to add soil organic matter is cover crops. All crops fix nitrogen. Some do it better than others. I like cover crops with deep roots for our hard pan and why we chose oats.

We will grow a patch of oats in another field to collect seed and also get straw/hay. If you have animals can harvest as hay. Our summer oats patch is not hardpan.

What we did for our veggie garden was an 18" moldboard plow our farmer neighbor ran several rows with in 1x only then we spread home made pot-ash then tilled it 2 or 3 times to mix in the pot-ash and then planted the first cover crop in the fall.

In spring we till in that cover crop and made beds with a bedder, spread straw in between rows and plant the beds.

Will repeat the tiller after harvest is finished and plant another cover crop that will die with the cold/frost and spread manure in late winter then till that in again in the spring make beds with straw and plant again. Repeat..

Our goal is no-till but we aint there yet. Still have some hard pan and now this year with drought the soil is pretty hard. Will likely spread some green sand at tilling time in the late fall see if that helps.

I should get a soil sample this fall after tilling and see what we got.

 

[Bobrown14]

Use it. Keep it. Once the controls are loosened up and adjusted you have a subsoiler superior to any TPH/Category 1 size, Three Point Hitch subsoiler marketed today.

At a farm auction your subsoiler would likely sell for $30 to $60. If you could duplicate that iron beast today you would pay $600 or more.

When you grease it do NOT oil the springs. That will cause them to break. Thats what my old timer garage door guy told me about those wound springs.

They work best with friction. With lubrication they slip to easy and instead of binding and slowing down they go full wound quickly and that breaks the spring.

 

[shooterdon]

I read the whole thread and thought about the "fun" we used to have when we had a garden growing up.

One year the city offered free waste from a sewage plant. The waste had been "treated". We would load it in bushel baskets and carry them in the trunk of the car. We must have made over 20 trips. Then rototilled it in.

So glad I got old and lazy. What I do not get free from people who grow too much, I buy in season. So much easier and cheaper. My neighbor has thrown in the towel and this will be the last year they have a garden. Another buddy is making his "bigger and better" so there will still be plenty of free stuff. One size does not fit all.

 

[bigtiller]

> I have 150' x 30' garden I've been planting for over 20 years.

There is a reason why in the Bible the Israelites were told to let their farm lie untouched every seven years and not to mix crops. If it goes to weed, the weeds, the worms, and the insects, replenish the soil. Some plants just should not be planted near their foe plants or in the same ground they have occupied. Since I can not relocate my blue berry bushes, I try to only plant companion plants near them and not foes. Though Japanese beetles are the worse foe of all. I go out at night to kill those little buggers off the plants. Rotating crops is a good thing.

Maybe it is time to let the bad producing plots to lie unused for a year, after mulching it, and seeding a cover crop.

I just want to mention there are a lot of people that had failed gardens this year and one thing they had in common was they used recently purchased seed.

You must not have as many as I have. For a few weeks in the summer, I can't go outside without a few landing on me.

 

[Alan W.]

Fred Cain is located in Danville KY and has been for years. They are an older company that was making equipment since I was young.
Lincoln Manufacturing to my knowledge doesn’t produce farm equipment.

 

[RalphVa]

You've gotten some pretty good advice. I had a 50x75 garden in the creek overflow area down below. Had about 2 or 3 feet of topsoil. Only used a Gravely rotary plow once to turn over the thick vegetation. Four years later, I ran over it with an old JD M soil ripper similar to the multi tine one shown in Jeff's video. Never tilled again. Only kept bringin in mulch with the tractor but ended up carrying it in from the electric fence from each end of the 50 ft rows. Never drove the tractor over it. I'd made raised rows by putting dual opposed discs onto the steel bar that the cultivator tines were mounted onto.