Dear
Jeff,
I bought a small farm—only 3 acres of tillable land—and
want to spend the next year preparing the soil for crops.
(I'm planning for a market garden—flowers, small fruits
and tree fruits.) The fields have been fallow for probably
15 years. I had the soil tested and there's some deficiencies,
but not serious, and organic matter is high. Still, I'm not
in a rush and want to spend this year preparing the soil with
some cover crops—mostly to add some nitrogen and smother
the weeds.
Now to my question: I'm trying to decide if I should get
a disc or buy a rototiller. I inherited an old IH 30hp utility
tractor and plan to buy a used 2-bottom plow to turn the soil
and get the sod and weeds killed. But then I'm not sure of
the best next step. Normally around here, folks might disc
and then seed. But a pull-behind tiller seems like it would
be more versatile and useful in small acreage. And one of
my neighbors says that it's been so wet in the past so many
years that they've skipped the plowing and discing and just
used a tiller. What do you recommend?
David
Massachusetts
Dear David,
Thanks for reading New Farm and for the question on soil
building. You are wise to work in advance to prepare for the
transition into vegetables. There are several things you can
do during this time period to reduce weed pressure and improve
the health of the soil. I can tell from your email that you
are ahead of the curve in the way you are approaching your
new farming venture.
As far as tillage choices go, you can never have too many
tools at your disposal. Much like a cabinetmaker or a good
mechanic, you'll want to use different tools for different
situations. Each tillage tool has its place in a well-thought-out
system. In a vegetable system, a rotovator can be a very useful
piece of equipment. If you go in this direction be sure not
to overuse it, or to use it in soils that are wet. A tiller
can be a good one-step seedbed preparation tool, but it can
cause hardpans and pulverize the soil into fine particles
that may crust. A disc, on the other hand, is very useful
when following a plow to break up soil clods and ready the
soil for planting. Both tools can be used for knocking down
harvested plant stubble and removing weeds from border areas,
etc.
I'd have to say that there is no right or wrong answer, and
ultimately you'll probably end up with both. It's just a question
as to which one you'll purchase first.
Best of luck,
Jeff
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