Confused99 2 #1 Posted January 5, 2009 I have been thinking about this for a while. What would be the best way to turn sod into a garden? Would a person just use a tiller and work at it and go slow or would it be better to use a brinly plow and then use a tiller? Also, is the Brinly plow at Home Depot comparable to the older style Brinly Plow? Thanks, Jason Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KyBlue 652 #2 Posted January 5, 2009 Jason, if it were me, I think I'd plow then till. BUT last year, well and now, I dont have a plow. So I just use my tiller. Close up of the Finished Product: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Buzz 502 #3 Posted January 5, 2009 Ideally you would buy another tractor and a plow and use that only for turning your garden. Then use one tractor only for tilling, then one only for mowing, one only for snow plowing, and so on, and so on......... :banana: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Teddy da Bear 11 #4 Posted January 5, 2009 I did it the easiest and most efficient way (not necessarily the most fun). I got a neighbor with a Ford Jubilee tractor and a three bottom plow to turn the soil over. He did this in about 15 minutes which would have taken me and the wheel horse a couple of hours to do. Then my wife and I went and cleaned the dirt from the sod and used the grass and roots of the sod to fill in low spots on the lawn. If you do not "remove" the sod, you will have a greater chance it will replant itself and your garden will be harder to maintain with weeds and grass. I have been able to maintain the gardens ever since with just the wheel horses. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qd-16 14 #5 Posted January 5, 2009 I always plow the garden in the late fall. Then in the spring I disc it using a brinley disc with weight on the back. After many trips with the disc, I hook up the harrow and work it back and forth and all around to even everything out. The other option for me would to run a walk behind tiller back and forth, but then I couldn't use my wheel horse and attachments :hide: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rideawaysenior 25 #6 Posted January 5, 2009 I've got a five acre hobby farm, and this is what I did. I have a single bottom plow for my 312-H, and a tiller for that also as well as a tiller on my D160. No I also have a 46 Farmall H with a three bottom plow, and a 46 John Deere B with a disc set, and cultivator. This year, I opened another two acres, and used my 312-H with my single bottom plow to turn over the field, and then went over it with the D and the tiller. Mind you this was a full day task but the results were excellent. Next year it will be the Deere and the Farmall doing the work due to the size of the field, this was just more of a fun thing as I wanted to test out my single bottom that I picked up at the show this year, and also wanted to give the D a good work out. So to answer your question, I would plow the sod, then till. Once you've broken the ground, it won't be necessary to plow it again, a tiller will be suffinient from then on. The big thing is to make sure that you don't over till the soil. If it bcomes too fine, it will compact very easily, and prohibit good root growth. If you do have the patience, you can till the sod as the plow would most likely be a one time investment. A disc set would be a better investment as you can make good furroughs for seed setting unless you have a seed setter. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qd-16 14 #7 Posted January 5, 2009 It probably would be easier to have somebody with a bigger outfit to work the ground for you the first time since you are busting sod. A friend of mine has a bigger john deere (940 or something like that) with a tiller on the back. It does a beautiful job on sod. I tried turning over sod with my 856 and plow and It didn't go over so well. :hide: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KyBlue 652 #8 Posted January 5, 2009 You could always strip the sod off first... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jtmoyer 1 #9 Posted January 5, 2009 i used the tiller and made two passes. you have to move right or left on the second pass to till the spot in the middle of the tiller on the first pass. and you have to go slow to break up the grass. every year after that it tills easier since there is no grass. next year i'm going to try to disk the grass first to see if it will break up easier. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Confused99 2 #10 Posted January 5, 2009 Thanks for the input. It seems everyone agrees that plowing first and then tilling next is the way to go which is what I figured. I did figure that using the plow would normally be a one time deal but could use it in the fall too. I also like the idea of striping the sod off. That would help alot I would guess. Also, don't worry, I plan on trying to get one tractor to do each task, if my wife doesn't shoot me first Jason Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sshell 8 #11 Posted January 6, 2009 I like to turn over the ground with a Brinly type plow. Then smothe it out with a furrow or disc. As you can see in the pictures I turned over new ground on this part of my garden expansion. Cant wait for spring :hide: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites