Plows

[Okiepan]

As the title says How do you work your ground up to be fertile growing soil ?
Do you use a walking plow , single bottom , etc Tiller ?
I use a walking plow , A single bottom plow , followed by discing , A cultivator follows, every once and a while I use a tiller .
So how do you do it ???

 

[baymule]

I use the disc on the back of my tractor. My husband and I always tried to gather cardboard to lay down to help control the bodacious weeds that I am so good at growing. Don't have a tiller, so would borrow one for a few runs through the garden. My plans for next year are to disc the garden weekly so that prospective buyers only see the beautiful dirt and not the weeds lurking just beneath the surface, waiting to spring out on the unsuspecting. BWA-HA-HA-HA!!!

 

[Hinotori]

I only till the garden. We have a good size Husqvarna rear tine tiller that can actually make it through our rocky soil. Our ground isn't really good for row crops.

Grass is insidious here and I'm constantly pulling it out. Plus the stupid blackberries just looking for someplace to spread more.

 

[baymule]

I found these cool rocks at my son's wedding. Have no idea what they are but they are cool looking.
View attachment 16840

Jesus is Lord and Christ 🙏❤️🇺🇸

Those are vacation condos for ants.

 

[tortoise]

I have gone to no-till. Part of my garden has been tilled annually. We dread working on that section. Its so difficult to weed! The no-till areas are easy to weed.

I start with having DH rototill early, 4 or 6 weeks before planting. I dug out perennial weeds and hoed every 3 days (1/3 of garden every day). After a month of that the crabgrass was gone, except creeping in the edges. Regular hoeing of weed seedlings works well.

I'm experimenting with underplanting/living mulch with white clovers. In an area ot has established in, it successfully excluded most weeds. Some grasses compete.

My advice is dont mulch, compost in place, or try living mulch until a garden is free of perennial or biennial weeds

 

[Okiepan]

About 1 Acre for the Sorghum and corn , a small pancake patch for legumes , small patch for vegetables, and about 20 acres for hay .

 

[CrealCritter]

I have a old (really old) ferguson two bottom that was gave to me this summer. I hitched it up and it plows just fine. I plan to use it to plow the garden this spring. I really would like a single bottom to cut trenches and plow single rows for grape vines, strawberries, asparagus and the like but free is free, so no complaining over here, what so ever.

 

[tortoise]

I only till the garden. We have a good size Husqvarna rear tine tiller that can actually make it through our rocky soil. Our ground isn't really good for row crops.

Grass is insidious here and I'm constantly pulling it out. Plus the stupid blackberries just looking for someplace to spread more.

What is your rocky soil like?

I have silt loam with glacial rock - like big round river rocks. Generations of farm kids have picked rocks out of fields so its not too bad. My garden is pretty much free of rocks. The fields we rent that are pliwed most years are more rocky.

 

[Okiepan]

I have dirt, no rocks. and grass!!!!!!!! Lot of grasses.

Considering. Wanting. 5' tiller for my tractor. I already have a 3' pull tiller that riding mower can pull but, PIA at end of row to get off, pull lever to lift, etc. Wish I'd gone with more costly DR brand that has auto lift. Fine in brand new, nothing planted area, to just circle and circle, no concern with other rows. Then my smaller tiller, typical walk behind, for between rows during growing is nice.

Figure I can use one on tractor for pasture rework, also. Just not wanting to spend and then hate it. Keep watching for good used one. Hard to find. Plus, not much less than new when you do. Have a disc for tractor, just doesn't end up fine enough, like a tiller.

@Okiepan do you walk these or use an animal to pull the plow?

I actually walk and have 1 horse that pulls it , , my other horse is JD Green,
The tiller I purchased was a terraforce 5' and I could not be more happier with it very well built.

 

[Alaskan]

I have a small veggie garden.

I like to have grow out chickens in there after harvest and until snow gets to be a problem. Then I prefer to toss in chickens again in the spring until time to plant.

They do an excellent job of turning it all into bare dirt and close to weed and bug free.

My grandmother had a large veggie garden. Every year it was plowed up with the tractor.

All seeds were started in old pans amd bowls that had rusted out a bit so had drainage. Most stayed in the pan only to germination, and were planted out with just seed leaves up.

She planted in rows, and I would clean out the chicken coop in the late spring and the super nasty hay was put down in the walking paths.

I think she used a regular hoe(not stirrup)to weed around plants.