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illinilefttackle

GARDEN PLOWING?

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illinilefttackle

:thumbs: I hope you guys don't get tired of these Rookie questions- I live in Indiana-northern indiana-when should I try to plow my ground for a garden? Obviously I should wait till the ground thaws out-but how do I tell its ready to be plowed?

I think I can find out the planting schedules-but I don't have a clue on plowing-Thanks_AL :thumbs:

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Rollerman

Al if you'd like some practice...come out to my place today & will heat the brinly till it's cherry red.

Might break the frost up then & get my lake to go away?

I don't have an answer for ya...but I'd say late April maybe?

I'm a newbie with plowing to & learning a great deal with the replies to your questions!

And if your tractor is not ready by then.....I'll be happy to bring over one of mine & we can try with it.

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Jim_M

When you you can take a handfull of dirt and squeeze it into a ball in your hand and it crumbles apart, it's time to plow. If you plow when the ground is too wet you'll have hard packed ground all summer long.

You're usually better off plowing in the fall and then running a tiller over it in the spring.

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hoosier

Guys,, Jim M's advice is dead on. :thumbs: You might get hooked on plowing though. It's one of my favorite things to do with my tractors. I run out of garden to plow long before I'm tired of doing it. :thumbs:

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CasualObserver

That's a favorite tractor activity of many folks... that's why JD and IH both have multiple "plow days" throughout the spring and fall" Gets me to thinking though... while we're always invited to bring our horses out to plow... we don't have a Wheel Horse plow day? Gravely has their "mow in"... I guess for Wheel Horses... all we have is the "haul'in" to whatever shows we can manage to attend. :thumbs:

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kpinnc

When you you can take a handfull of dirt and squeeze it into a ball in your hand and it crumbles apart, it's time to plow.

Jim, that sounds like excellent advice from someone who has done plenty of gardening, and knows exactly what he's talking about. Sounds like the kind of advice my Grandpa used to give- simple, idiot proof words for those of us (the afore mentioned "idiots" :D ) who don't know any better. When we hear things like that, we are often saying to ourselves "it just CAN'T be that easy", knowing full well that your experience is something for us to hold in high regard, and to heed. :thumbs:

I said all of that for two reasons: First as a compliment to your knowledge, and secondly to ask, What if you're plowing red clay that resembles only one two possible forms- Play Dough, and cured green concrete? :P

No kidding, this stuff grows veggies like miracle grow. But it's a nightmare to work it to the point you can plant in it. If you have any simple little words for when plowing clay is appropriate, I am all ears! :thumbs:

Thanks!

Kevin

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Jim_M

Kevin,

I'm no genius, I grew up on a farm and learned a lot from my dad, and also learned a lot the hard way!

I have some high ground on the farm that's red clay, just like you described. The best advice is just to work that ground when all of the other ground is ready. If you don't have any other ground to judge it by, then just keep an eye on the farmers around you, if they're working ground and the dust is flying then you're ground is ready too. Just make sure they're raising dust, there's always a couple of guys who will mud their crops in, just to be the first one done.

I know what you're saying about that clay, it holds moisture. In a dry year, that ground will always raise the best crops because it holds it's moisture well. But if you get on it when it's too wet, it will turn into one big brick and stay that way the rest of the year.

I liked to run a sub soiler about 24" deep through that clay every couple of years to keep it draining and to keep it from packing below the normal "working" depth. But I don't farm anymore and my cousin is renting the ground and I can't really tell him how to farm, so it doesn't get done as often as it should anymore.

I can still remember my dad's advice on when to plant corn...go out and sit down in the field, if your butt gets wet and cold it's too early for corn. If your butt stays dry and warm, it's time to plant corn.

Jim

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MaineDad

Al,

All good advice here. Plowing is always fun - but even better when you plow something UNDER like a cover crop. I plow in the fall and spring and disc harrow after each plow.

In Maine I can usually plow the gardens (two of them right now) in early May. I need at least 3 weeks after I plow before I can plant any seeds because of the cover crop decaying. I like to plant by late May if at all possible. If I have a real wet spring I'm planting in June.

If you can contact someone at your local cooperative extension or a local University/College they will be able to help you better for timing. If you really want to learn more, you can probably stop by a local farm and ask them.

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hoosier

The reason fall plowing works so well, Is the freezing and thawing works to 'mellow' the soil. We have river bottom black soil and light clay soil on the hill on this farm. On either anything plowed in the spring was an exercise in busting clods. Fall plowed ground worked up for planting with a single pass. Granted, we're talking about the days long ago before minimum tillage, when moldboard plowing was the norm.

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kpinnc

I can still remember my dad's advice on when to plant corn...go out and sit down in the field, if your butt gets wet and cold it's too early for corn. If your butt stays dry and warm, it's time to plant corn.

Now THAT is what I'm talking about Jim! Great stuff! Makes me miss My Grandpa even more! He was ALWAYS saying things like that! Don't mean to link you with someone old, it's just that lots of people here used to garden, and I miss those times. Now an afternoon's picking usually involves a trip to the produce isle at the Super Wal-Mart. :thumbs:

Thanks for the advice. Last year was my first real attempt at a decent garden. We didn't can anything, because it just wasn't large enough to produce that much. But we did have plenty of squash, cukes, okra, and even a few watermelons. Our tomatoes bombed, which shocked me since that is all we usually plant, and they usually do very well.

I think we'll do better this year. One of the problems here last year was a late frost, which totalled everyone's first little gardens, including mine. We'll try and be more prepared this time around.

Thanks again Jim!

Kevin

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wh500special

Jim is 100% right about making sure the ground is dry enough.

In one of the WH tiller manuals it says "if you're wondering if the ground is too wet to till, it probably is". Sage advice indeed.

Al,

Not sure where in SB you are, but it seems like much of the soil up there is pretty sandy and loose. P-e-r-f-e-c-t for turning over with a plow. I know I had decent luck using a small plow on a 606 when I lived in SB, but really preferred using a tiller to bust everything up in one pass. But the plow would run deeper at times which is kind of nice...

if indeed your soil is sandy, your window of opportunity to work the ground is much bigger and more forgiving than if you have heavy soil. If you have muck (like they grow the mint in by the Ethanol plant) you may have to wait a little longer for the soil to dry. Don't worry though about planting later than the guidlines since the summer is plenty long to raise most veggies and it is kind of nie to be getting tomatoes in September. Only thing you might miss would be stuff like lettuce and other early bloomers.

I generally couldn't get my garden in until May and never really fretted about it. heck, a few years back we got a good freeze in June that wiped out a bunch of stuff but still left time to replant.

Here in west-central Indiana all we have is clay. And it gets HARD when it dries out in the summer. A few seasons back I tried plowing with both a C-160 and a D-180 and met with zero success. The ground was just too hard for the plow to penetrate and even begin to roll the soil over. It wasn't really a setup issue, just a function of concrete-like dirt. Since I have been in the house I have planted about 700 trees and even in wet spring soil every hole has been a chore.

I have been working my garden in the same spot for several years and the guy who lived here before me had planted there for a few years too. I till (with the C-160 and rear tiller) regularly throughout the growing season and work in as much organic material as possible but find I still need to strap 2 bundles of asphalt shingles to the top of the tiller in the spring to keep it from bouncing. (yes, I know this is probably not the wisest thing to do and it makes it really hard to steer with the frnt being so light). When I weed with the tiller, I leave the shingles off and go fast down the rows to limit depth and over pulverizing the soil.

The first year I lived here I had to rent a tiller for the big tractor to make any headway in the spring. If I keep ahead of it the WH can handle the job, but it is slow going. I could probably plow now, but don't.

The advice to plow under a cover crop is very valuable. Consider planting clover or something this summer as your crops get taken out. Really works nice to help build up the soil over winter, hold moisture, and keeps rains from washing the garden soil into the neighbor's yard.

I really prefer using a tiller, but - like the others have said - plowing is a lot of fun (so long as you're not doing it as a living I suppose) and you will find yourself looking for things to turn under. It is quite amazing that these tractors can drag a plow as effectively as they do even with their relatively light weight and no "draft control" means like on a good 3pt hitch.

Best of luck,

Steve

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