FOOD CORNER > Farming, Gardening, and Raising Your Own Food
First time @ large(r) scale gardening.
stewie:
(yesterday) tilled a plot for a garden. maybe 30x20 when all said and done. even with that tiller is was back breaking work and i am a sore puppy today. we added in some compost (alpaca poop) into it and i may also throw in some pig crap too when we turn it again.
This plot is just for the first year - i need to pace myself and not take on more then i can chew. I have some trepidation about gardening because ... i've never really done it larger then a small raised bed planter and never did it from seeds i am sprouting myself. If this pans out like I hope, i will double the size next year.
the plan is for:
lettuce, brocolli, tomatoes, some heirloom corn, spinach, carrots, maybe try potatoes, asparagus (we have this on our land already growing wild believe it or not!) and some others. We found a nice species of heirloom cotton my wife wants to grow for yarn spinning as well.
all seeds are non-gmo heirlooms so i can save them and use again next year.
i am going to put up some ranch fencing around it with a little gate to keep the critters out and i've already installed a nice rain catching system with 2 275 gallon ibc totes about 50 feet from the plot so i hose out there is no issue. more pics down the road as i refine the water system a bit and get the fencing and gate up.
blackland prairie. dirt is BLACK.
stlaser:
:likebutton:
Taters are easy, in the future a 3pt mounted tiller saves the back & I bought ours used as they don't get much use (just twice a year) then you can downsize walk behind tiller to use just for weeding. We had a pony tiller for this use. Keep rows wide enough to run current roller thru for weeding is my only suggestion other than doing a soil test. This will help you add exactly what the soil needs so you're not wasting time & effort.
stewie:
--- Quote from: stlaser on February 12, 2017, 09:54:30 AM --- :likebutton:
Taters are easy, in the future a 3pt mounted tiller saves the back & I bought ours used as they don't get much use (just twice a year) then you can downsize walk behind tiller to use just for weeding. We had a pony tiller for this use. Keep rows wide enough to run current roller thru for weeding is my only suggestion other than doing a soil test. This will help you add exactly what the soil needs so you're not wasting time & effort.
--- End quote ---
i think it'll be easier when i till next year. the ground wasnt broken into in a long time and needed alot of encouragement.
the plan is to do the rows going width-wise to allow better runoff from storms. there is a slight grade on the property so i dont want my rows turning into burns.
weeding will be a chore i know.
as for taters, what do u recommend?
Farmer Jon:
Looks good. I have raised beds along with a patch 50 x75 for sweet corn and the viney plants.
I see you have the same problem I have. No wind protection. More than once I've planted small plants only to have the wind blow a day or two later and dry them all out. Partally my fault. I didnt have enough milk jugs to cover them. A lot of the ones I had blew away anyway because I didn't have them staked down good enough.
Last year I got excited and started plants indoors too early. In February. They got tall and spindly it was a mess. None survived. I had to start over. I will start them the middle of next month.
Good luck to you. Save all your grass clippings to put between the rows it will keep the weeds down.
Sent from my VK810 4G using Tapatalk
Farmer Jon:
This is how we plant my sweet corn. I can't remember the last time I used a tiller.
Sent from my VK810 4G using Tapatalk
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
Go to full version