Tilling - breaking new ground, for the first time

[Creamer]

That is the other option - my nephew no-tills his garden. Eventually the grass went away but he just digs the seed hole and lets everything else go and then uses lots of mulch (hay and straw) for weed control. It works very well for him since he is in a dry area (north central SD) and wants to maximize moisture conservation. Of course he no-tills the whole farm so this is not out of character for him.

The first time he did it was with watermelons. they didn't have enough room in their garden so he dug a few holes next to the garden and sprayed roundup on the grass. it worked so well he quit tilling.

 

[rossn]

Thanks for all the replies.

This ground turns rock hard when dry, and definitely needs some moisture-holding content added. At some point when the soil is holding moisture and has a lot of works, I hope I won't have to till regularly, but we will see.

I've heard several times I need a small tiller for weed control, and that will be a whole other areas to dive into when i get the time. It would make sense that the space between rows is about the width of that tiller. I wasn't thinking of using plastic as much for the space between rows, but for the rows themselves, knowing I will have tons of weeds this year. That said, the wind comment was a good point -- it can be quite windy here, and is actually howling out there somewhere.

Good call on the 811. I have done that previously, and there is gas, water, and septic that passes under the garden. Water and septic are a 2-4 feet down for freezing, so I should be good on those. In talking with the gas company, they said nominally 18", but that it could be re-graded, so I'll need to do some sample digging to a foot or two and make sure.

The lab did provide core recommendations for nutrients, but I don't have a sense of how much adding compost will affect that, what forms are best to add, and and for row planting, how you don't waste initial fertilization on the areas between the rows... perhaps another reason I need a walk-behind tiller. I included a couple images of the lab reports and a pic of the KK XB tiller, as requested. I ended up tilling the top 3" today, with hopes it might help with some of the grass die-off by next weekend. Yes, I have a bit of an issue with part of this given the trees, and that will have to change in future years!

 

[bdog]

I think the ground needs to be broke first ideally with a a chisel plow. Your subsoiler will work for this but will be slow since it only has one shank. It will take a lot of passes with the tiller alone to get to the desired depth and by that time the soil on top will be beat to a pulp.

 

[CalG]

Creamer has it for most any gardening.

Tilling is stupid .

Plant in prepared beds. That is , disturb the soil with a hand trowel and drop in the seeds.

Consider the suggested planting depth of the crop you are planting.

BUT

Do everything you can to increase the tilth of your garden soil. Compost as an topping is king!

 

[jenkinsph]

Residential gas lines, phone and cable tv are all bad about being too shallow. Having traveled the country working around utilities this seems to be wide spread. Lots of them from the surface to 12" depth.

 

[jenkinsph]

The soil samples look pretty good imo. More organic matter would help and can be added each year to improve the moisture holding characteristics of the soil. Looks like nitrogen is about all you need and I would be careful not to over do it. I would consider adding some Aspen chips or saw dust to help retain some moisture, that would help. Spread a thick layer and till them in as deep as you can.

 

[Tractor Time with Tim]

Thanks for all the great responses! I didn't realize there was a Lawn and Garden forum, so thanks for letting me know.

I've gardened for a number of years, so the timing question is less about planting, and more about timing for working the soil. There are a ton of weeds growing in the grass I'll be turning, and no doubt last year a lot of weed seeds produced when I didn't have a way to mow it yet. I wasn't sure if it was better to plow or till the top bit this weekend before doing the full tilling and turning in compost next weekend.

I tried tilling a test patch yesterday, and the tiller seemed to do well with the moisture in the soil. However, even with the feet all the way up, I could only get 2.5 inches deep with a single pass (pic below). Does this sound right? I wish it could go deeper on a single pass. Perhaps I'll have to make 3 passes with my tiller.

Here is what I'm thinking - let me know
This weekend: either till first pass 3" or plow to start the weed killing process
Next weekend or the following weekend: run subsoiler. till down to 7 or 8" (2 more passes). Add 2" compost. Till final pass at 90 degrees (and faster) to turn in compost. Make rows.
4 weeks from now: plant


About your comments...

Thanks for the tilling speed info... I'll have to figure out what 1 or 1.5mph feels like! I did notice my XB tiller turns at 250RPM, vs the regular KK tillers turning at 210MPH, so maybe I'll have to move slightly (20%) faster.

I did have a soil test done, though think I need to find someone who can review my soil tests and advise what type amendments (other than compost) are best for my results. I am planning on rows, and need to figure out the fertilization approach with that. I probably will make a garden bedder next year, and may try plastic mulch then. leonz -- are your raised sections 18" wide or the space between them? Trying to figure out the best distance between and for the rows themselves, though I have heard 18" is typically good, with drip tape.

You can take off those 'feet' to till deeper if you want. Here is a video of me doing just that with the same XB tiller you have.

John Deere 1025R Deep Tilling with King Kutter XB (Who needs a plow?) - YouTube

I leave the skids on most of the time, but sometimes take them off when I want to till deeper.

Tim

 

[rossn]

jenkinsph - thanks. So aspen chips or saw dust don't have significant impact on the soil composition, other than organic matter? Ideally that's the type of thing I would want, especially for the back area. I'll have to sample dig down around where locates marks the gas and see. Water has to be much deeper, given we have a 30" or so frost line. Luckily, cable and phone come in as aerial.

Tim -- thanks for sharing that video. I had wondered if that would work out ok, without damage to the tiller. Looks like especially for previously cut ground, it works just fine.

 

[jenkinsph]

jenkinsph - thanks. So aspen chips or saw dust don't have significant impact on the soil composition, other than organic matter? Ideally that's the type of thing I would want, especially for the back area. I'll have to sample dig down around where locates marks the gas and see. Water has to be much deeper, given we have a 30" or so frost line. Luckily, cable and phone come in as aerial.

Tim -- thanks for sharing that video. I had wondered if that would work out ok, without damage to the tiller. Looks like especially for previously cut ground, it works just fine.

The idea is the small chips will hold some moisture for you and as these chips degrade there is still a small space for water to collect. Wood chips will use up some of the nitrogen but not enough to make much difference in a small garden area. I also add clean lawn clippings and other waste products without weed seeds to build up the organic mixtures too. Till in your crop residue each year and it will improve the soil.

I would shoot for less tilling as you build up the soil. The less you disturb the soil the better it can get. Over tilling can pulverize the soil making it hard to work with. My dad's old garden we used a manure fork to work it and was easy to do.

 

[rossn]

jenkinsph - In the 10 years I've gardened, I haven't tilled. However, that was with about 400 sq ft of raised beds, and this will be 2000-3000 sq ft. My initial thought is to use the tiller until the soil becomes more workable in a few years, and I'm assuming this is what you're referring to.

Being new to tilling, I'm still trying to understand how to know when it is being worked too much? I.e .if I'll be able to make 3 passes to get down 7-8 inches, then a final pass at 90 degrees to incorporate organic matter. While the first pass did turn about 3" of compacted soil into 5" of soil with air mixed in, it seemed to go quickly, and the soil was a bit most when being worked. I'm also curious if in the instance the soil does ever happen to get overworked, if it will recover over a season or two, or if that is an unrecoverable situation? I'm guessing some soil types are more at risk than others.