Soil improvement

[Elklakedoug]

Have about 3 acres i want to garden, but have no experience in prepping the soil. Bottom plow, disc, then?

I have a small 2000 series JD tractor, so I'm not doing anything big...

Soil has a decent amount of clay in it- suggestions to break it down and enrich it?

Thanks much! :thumbsup:

Doug

 

[AKfish]

Have about 3 acres i want to garden, but have no experience in prepping the soil. Bottom plow, disc, then?

I have a small 2000 series JD tractor, so I'm not doing anything big...

Soil has a decent amount of clay in it- suggestions to break it down and enrich it?

Thanks much! :thumbsup:

Doug

My neighbor has a JD 2520 with 200CX FEL and top n tilt! (I know... he had it installed first - then bought the loader.)

Nonetheless, he's a small hobby farmer with a couple of large greenhouse type buildings as well as big garden area.

His wife has horses, pigs, chickens, turkeys etc. - so, lot's of compost. He uses his JD 447 rototiller to do all of his "dirt work"! Pre-plant soil work adding in compost and/some commercial fertilizer as well as fall work to mulch and break down old plant residue.

If I had a 2000 series machine - that's what I'd invest in - a good rototiller. Tractor is too small for real plow work and disc harrow. And the rototiller will do a much better job of incorporating organic material into your clay soil.

AKfish

 

[AchingBack]

Have about 3 acres i want to garden, but have no experience in prepping the soil. Bottom plow, disc, then?

I have a small 2000 series JD tractor, so I'm not doing anything big...

Soil has a decent amount of clay in it- suggestions to break it down and enrich it?

Thanks much! :thumbsup:

Doug

Doug, we have an abundance of black, brown, and even gray clay in our valley. I used to be a landscape contractor, and installed several thousand square feet of lawn. When I had to do so in a job site with clay, I amended the soil with decomposed granite, coarse bark, and gypsum. You can also use granite, and aged manure, or compost as is available. Organic Gardens: decomposed granite, compost teas, limestone rocks http://www.usagypsum.com/agricultural-gypsum.aspx

Rototilling is my method of incorporating the amendments. Of course, this must be done when the moisture content in the clay is at its optimum.

 

[moored4]

Put in as much organic material as you can get! Get it from the city when they pick up leaves in the fall, chicken farms, horse stables always have more poop than they want! lay it on evenly and then till it in!

 

[Fossil Farm]

As mentioned, compost and manure is good stuff. I would also suggest you get a soil test to check pH and current N-P-K levels in the soil so you know where your nutrient levels are.

 

[JasG]

One comment about manure, if it has sawdust in it (sawdust was used as bedding) you would want to add nitrogen to the soil. as it breaks down it will deplete the soil. Some farmers use sand or stone dust for bedding, that would be ideal for clay issues.

 

[jenkinsph]

For your tractor the Deere 647 tiller is a good choice imo, 47 inch width.

A couple of soil samples and tests should reveal what is needed to improve the land in question. Takes a few years to make improvements sometimes so a little patience is also needed. You can add the amendments to the soil with the tiller. I would take soil samples about twice a year to see how the improvements are going and to get a better idea of what to add next.

 

[Elklakedoug]

Some great advice and insight - thanks guys! I'll get the soil test in gear as soon as reasonably possible (I'm in northern Michigan), and connect on the compost/gypsum, etc ideas. Appreciate all of your wisdom! :thumbsup:

 

[billb3]

I don't know what horse manure is like, but cow manure can be full of weed seed.
I got a couple trailer loads of what was supposed to be "aged and composted" and was green and full of hay. Left it in a pile all Winter hoping it would heat up and compost like chicken manure would and ended up with nasty persistent weeds I never saw before .
I'll never take "free" cow sheet again.

 

[hvy 1ton]

One comment about manure, if it has sawdust in it (sawdust was used as bedding) you would want to add nitrogen to the soil. as it breaks down it will deplete the soil. Some farmers use sand or stone dust for bedding, that would be ideal for clay issues.

Sawdust will not deplete the nitrogen in the soil. However, it will tie up a good bit of nitrogen while it is being broken down. High levels of nitrogen will allow it to break down faster and make the nitrogen available more quickly.

Northern MN is far enough north that i have no idea when you should start, but if the ground is thawed get the soil samples now. The area you are planing on working needs to be sprayed 1-2 weeks before your areas normal spring tillage. Roto-till the top 3" to get the grass buried and started breaking down. The application rates for nitrogen, phosphourus, potassium, and lime (soil ph will be on the acidic end) will need to be figured off the soil test If you can, buy manure off a local farmer and have him spread it. As long as you don't have major access issues it will be a thousand times easier. If manure can't be had put down granular p-k and lime. Then plant clover, mow it a couple times during the summer, and bury it in the fall, hopefully with some manure. That'd do 2 things, legumes (clover, alfalfa, soybeans) affix nitrogen and the decomp of clover will boost organic matter. If its river bottom clay it probably has enough silt and organic matter in it to make a garden possible, but the inputs are gonna be pretty high the first year, especially the N.