New garden questions

almsfan21 · #1 09/16/13, 01:30 PM

Hi all, I've been reading through here for awhile, great info!

My wife and I are wanting to start a garden next year. We've plotted a 20x100' space, it has a slight slope so we are hoping to water with soaker hoses using water from our 2 acre pond. (pump to 300gal tank in back of truck and let gravity do its thing).

Anyhow, we have a 32hp tractor, and are trying to figure the best way to get the soil ready. I'd love a 3pt tiller, but as you all know they're kinda pricey. I've also looked into a plow to open sod then using a walk behind. We would eventually like to expand into maybe some field corn and food plots for deer. I'm afraid that's too much area for a walk behind. What do you guys think? Max, eventually, would be 2-3 acres of planted stuff.

TnAndy · #2 09/16/13, 02:37 PM

I tried soaker hoses and wouldn't waste my money on them again. They simply don't last. Go ahead and get real irrigation pipe and drip emitters built in.

Also, since you have the tractor, go ahead and buy the tiller.

almsfan21 · #3 09/16/13, 02:50 PM

Thank you, I was concerned about them lasting. I was even thinking about using 3/4" pvc with holes drilled in as a cheap irrigation system

sand flea · #4 09/16/13, 02:58 PM

If you hope to plant that much, go on and buy the tiller. It's not going to get any cheaper and you're not going to get any younger, either.

fishhead · #5 09/16/13, 02:59 PM

If you go with PVC be sure to paint it to prevent the sun from making it brittle.

20x100 isn't too big for a walk behind tiller. It just takes longer.

almsfan21 · #6 09/16/13, 03:17 PM

There's electricity at the pond about 300' from the garden area. I've considered using a transfer pump to pump to the garden, eliminating the concern on how the gravity (4' in the air) system will work.
As of now, I'm thinking a trash pump so I can pump from our well (water at 6') or pond, and the tank gives me the ability to move water to if we expand garden, fruit trees, and our livestock.

po boy · #7 09/16/13, 03:36 PM

Re: Soaker hoses...

About 14 years ago Walmart sold soaker hose kits with 100 foot of hose and connectors and I bought several. I used them inn the flower beds and then moved them to the garden and put down weed block between the rows. The hoses lasted at least 12 years with me walking on them and yanking them out of the way to plant. I took them out because the squirrels were chewing holes in them.

During that time, I bought several soaker hoses from Lowes, Sams etc and lasted only one season. I do believe these are the same hoses and plan to order about a 1000 ft.

We are building a new house on the farm and the barn roof feeds into a 15,000 gallon cistern. My garden area will be about a 60 ft drop from that cistern. I should be able to run a few hundred feet at a time.

simi-steading · #8 09/16/13, 03:39 PM

Have you considered a no-till garden? Sure would cut back on the tiller costs, and a lot of weeding.. Yes, you need to get the soil broke up, but once you get it established you wouldn't have to till every season.. .

1shotwade · #9 09/16/13, 03:50 PM

Just wanted to say the tiller are great but you can't expect too much from them. If you are used to a 3point tiller that's great but I found a few draw backs. to start with they will not break up sod.If you try tilling in like a lawn of good sod it'll take a lot of passes to break it up.If you try and go too deep the pto will drive you out of control to the point the brakes will not hold you and you have to lift the tiller to keep it from this.Also these tillers do great if you have good ground. The will not stand up to roots or rock like we have around here.
We rarely plow these days but to prepare a spot to be tilled we will spray with roundup,wait for it to die, burn it off.Then disc as deep as possible to get the soil softened up and help remove large roots and rock.After this we bring in the tiller and it does great. It sounds like a lot of work but it's actually less time than trying shortcuts.

almsfan21 · #10 09/16/13, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by simi-steading

Have you considered a no-till garden? Sure would cut back on the tiller costs, and a lot of weeding.. Yes, you need to get the soil broke up, but once you get it established you wouldn't have to till every season.. .

And how do those work?

TnAndy · #11 09/16/13, 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by almsfan21

Thank you, I was concerned about them lasting. I was even thinking about using 3/4" pvc with holes drilled in as a cheap irrigation system

Won't work near as well as drip tape I'd think. We used it last year, and were well pleased with it ( this year we had the opposite problem.....too much rain ).

It comes in a flat 'tape' looking line, that balloons up with water in it and has built in emitters for different gallon/hr rates. It's NOT that expensive.

http://www.dripdepot.com/1179

K.B. · #12 09/16/13, 04:26 PM

Whichever you choose (soaker hoses, drip line or drip tape), pre-filtering the water will extend the life of your system quite a bit. It doesn't take much to clog and cause less than even watering.

Drip-tape would be my recommendation, as well.

unregistered5595 · #13 09/16/13, 05:12 PM

Voice of experience here.

"Oh we have some old hoses, let's make some soaker hoses. Drill holes every 6-8 inches, HOW COOL IS THAT?!?! Save money use and reuse."

They soak unevenly, more upfront and less at the end, and by the end of the season, rust and calcium clog it all up. Now they are leaky old hoses going in the trash.

It was worth trying.

Don't do it, what I did.
Buy the soaker hoses or tapes and if you have bad water don't plan on them lasting long.

If I was building another garden (we have 4), I'd pack it full of organic matter, horse manure, tilled deep. If you have time, a green manure cover crop from now until spring, then till again.

almsfan21 · #14 09/16/13, 05:23 PM

Just did some reading on the no till garden. Looks great. We used raised beds at our last house with sq ft planting. We didn't like the sq ft planting because of the weeds..but with no-till that changes things. And using that with a sq ft planting we may be able to drastically reduce the size of the garden by not using rows.

simi-steading · #15 09/16/13, 05:39 PM

It takes a few seasons to get a good no till garden going and weed free, but in the long run over the years it's well worth the up front efforts..

homesteader824 · #16 09/16/13, 09:50 PM

I like my soaker hose. It's been in use for about 5 years, and still works fine. We have a fair amount of minerals in the water, but that hasn't clogged it up. Last summer, with the drought, the part of the garden that had soaker hose thrived, and the part that didn't died, even though I watered it with a hose and watering can. You can't beat a long slow soak to water plants. I bought more soaker hose this year so all of the garden and raised beds would have it, but we got plenty of rain so I never put the new ones in.

dkhern · #17 09/17/13, 06:12 AM

i bought a 2/3 hp pump from northern tools it holds about 1 pt of gas mix and will run punp for over 1 hr. i just let the pump run out of gas. i burried 3/4 black poly pipe using 3 pt middle buster 300 ft from garden to pond stub up at each end. i just put pume in between stub up and pick up pipe. at garden i have water hose connected to stub up. my garden has a crown about mid of rows i have a bubble with holes on end of hose bubble removes all water pressure so i just place at crest of row and let water run both directions. with experience you can learn where to place bubble. when water gets to end of row pull hose over to next furrow and let run to end of that row. end of season pull pump repeat next yr all else stays in place. havent repaired of replaced anything in 6yr.

7thswan · #18 09/17/13, 06:16 AM

Consider putting in raised beds right from the start. They are far better than a regular garden.

Pony · #19 09/17/13, 08:42 AM

Glad you decided to jump in and post! Welcome!

Lots of good ideas here, and I'll bet you'll find a lot more over on the Gardening forum. The discussions there can be pretty rousing, but not over the top.

geo in mi · #20 09/17/13, 02:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by almsfan21

Hi all, I've been reading through here for awhile, great info!

My wife and I are wanting to start a garden next year. We've plotted a 20x100' space, it has a slight slope so we are hoping to water with soaker hoses using water from our 2 acre pond. (pump to 300gal tank in back of truck and let gravity do its thing).

Anyhow, we have a 32hp tractor, and are trying to figure the best way to get the soil ready. I'd love a 3pt tiller, but as you all know they're kinda pricey. I've also looked into a plow to open sod then using a walk behind. We would eventually like to expand into maybe some field corn and food plots for deer. I'm afraid that's too much area for a walk behind. What do you guys think? Max, eventually, would be 2-3 acres of planted stuff.

Depends on your soil texture. Sandy loam: a three pointer on a 32 hp tractor with independent PTO would be fine--as long as the tiller is the same width as your rear wheels--say five feet. Heavy clay: uhhhhhh.....

For a twenty by one hundred area, a Troy-Bilt Horse would take care of it in ten passes, if the sod were scalped by a lawnmower and raked off. The lawnmower would do the same as the Roundup, because, once the top vegetation is taken off, then all you have to deal with is the roots. I would check Craigslist for a single bottom three point moldboard plow and a five or six foot three point disk. That would free up the budget for a Horse, or a BMI(?Italian machine) and make you more versatile than an expensive three point rototiller.

An irrigation pump could be sized to handle either overhead sprinkling, or be bypassed into a stationary tank with a hookup to send water to those plants that would do better with drip irrigation. I wouldn't waste time, gas, and soil compaction on a tank truck.... With crops and deer plot areas, I would invest a lot into overhead, and keep the drip irrigation to only what needs it.

geo