Ploughing advice??

[dean young]

Hi,i know this is not a farming forum but i;m hoping that there are some of you guys that might, have/worked or been raised on a farm that could help me with my question.I've recently purchased a property with 3 acres of flat lying land and want to garden it in a number of ways,from putting in hedgerows, planting an orchard, growing veg, creating a wooded area and wild flower meadow. The problem i have is that the land needs ploughing and the soil is mainly stoney and clay based.What would be the best plan of attack be to condition the soil to enable me to do what i intend???

Tall order i know but any ideas to start with would be much appreciated,

Thank you.

[Dogghound]

Why do you need to plough it?

[Tursiops2]

Hi, that sounds like a very interesting project. I doubt if I'm the "expert" you're hoping for (there are more knowledgable members than me), but my initial response to the question is: a) what's the hurry? and b) why do you need to plough?

By a) I mean that, if you've only just acquired the land, it might be worth leaving much of it alone for a growing season to find out what's already there; and by b) I mean that none of the features you've mentioned would normally need ploughed land to get established.

Can you give us a more detailed description of the land, with maybe some photographs and/or maps?

T2

[King Edward]

It would be useful to see some photos of the land, and perhaps a rough sketch plan of what you intend. Also, how much do you intend the land to be profitable/productive, and how much do you want to manage it for its aesthetic/wildlife value?

I'm no farming expert either, but it doesn't sound like ploughing would be helpful here unless there's a particularly good reason for it. For one thing, standard crops grown in ploughed fields are typically derived from short-lived, weedy ruderal species which appreciate/require disturbed bare ground, while plants associated with woods and meadows mostly prefer more stable, undisturbed conditions. Ploughing is also very damaging to a lot of soil life, including the mycorrhizal fungi many trees and wildflowers rely on.

[Dogghound]

Originally Posted by King Edward

Ploughing is also very damaging to a lot of soil life, including the mycorrhizal fungi many trees and wildflowers rely on.

It also reduces earthworm densities.

[Cotham Marble]

Originally Posted by dean young

Hi,i know this is not a farming forum but i;m hoping that there are some of you guys that might, have/worked or been raised on a farm that could help me with my question.I've recently purchased a property with 3 acres of flat lying land and want to garden it in a number of ways,from putting in hedgerows, planting an orchard, growing veg, creating a wooded area and wild flower meadow. The problem i have is that the land needs ploughing and the soil is mainly stoney and clay based.What would be the best plan of attack be to condition the soil to enable me to do what i intend???

As already advised - ploughing is unlikely to be of benefit across the site. Clearly you will need a workable soil for that area(s) you are going to give over to horticulture, but there would be no need to bring in a heavy plough for that and rotavation should be sufficient to start that process -however you will need to consider production cycles, and what you are intending to grow and how. If for instance you were to consider a "no dig" approach to soil management www.charlesdowding.co.uk | No dig gardening or some adaptation of that, then you might even get away with merely stripping the turf and inverting it, or stacking it for composting. It very much depends upon what resources you have available and what you can practically bring to the site - do you have access to cheap sources of farmyard/stable manure, waste straw/hay etc.

For your orchard and meadow, ploughing is best avoided, but I suggest you read up on management of both before doing anything. Tree and seed suppliers provide a great deal of advice and you will find advice on many websites and for larger projects some companis even offer free/low cost consultation services.

CM

[muldonach]

Originally Posted by Cotham Marble

As already advised - ploughing is unlikely to be of benefit across the site. Clearly you will need a workable soil for that area(s) you are going to give over to horticulture, but there would be no need to bring in a heavy plough for that and rotavation should be sufficient to start that process -however you will need to consider production cycles, and what you are intending to grow and how. If for instance you were to consider a "no dig" approach to soil management www.charlesdowding.co.uk | No dig gardening or some adaptation of that, then you might even get away with merely stripping the turf and inverting it, or stacking it for composting. It very much depends upon what resources you have available and what you can practically bring to the site - do you have access to cheap sources of farmyard/stable manure, waste straw/hay etc.

For your orchard and meadow, ploughing is best avoided, but I suggest you read up on management of both before doing anything. Tree and seed suppliers provide a great deal of advice and you will find advice on many websites and for larger projects some companis even offer free/low cost consultation services.

CM

Whilst agreeing with the vast majority of this, I would have no hesitation in ploughing the area you plan to use as a veg garden - trying to use a rotavator on unbroken ground is tedious in the extreme and knocks lumps off the rotavator.

Have a look around the local area and see if you can find someone with a small 2wd tractor and 2 furrow plough and keep the plough up avoid at all costs a 150hp monster with a 5 furrow reversible which will go down 15" and bring up every stone in the place as well as burying your topsoil. Get it ploughed now and rotavate it in the spring.

While you are hunting for a plough try to get as much bulky organic manure as you can - you cannot condition soil without muck!

cheers
mac

[Cotham Marble]

Originally Posted by muldonach

Whilst agreeing with the vast majority of this, I would have no hesitation in ploughing the area you plan to use as a veg garden - trying to use a rotavator on unbroken ground is tedious in the extreme and knocks lumps off the rotavator. Have a look around the local area and see if you can find someone with a small 2wd tractor and 2 furrow plough and keep the plough up avoid at all costs a 150hp monster with a 5 furrow reversible which will go down 15" and bring up every stone in the place as well as burying your topsoil. Get it ploughed now and rotavate it in the spring.

I'm very much out of touch with what machinery is available so I was lazily using 'rotavator' in a generic sense although there are (or certainly used to be)some 'tow along' type rotavators that fit 'compact tractors'. The key thing with such a small acreage is to avoid both churning/breaking up what may already be a valuable wildlife resource AND incurring unnecesary cost. A "5 furrow reversible" driven by a lad who's borrowed tractor and plough to knock out the job on Saturday afternoon is probably not what's needed

CM

[dean young]

Hi again,i want to plough the land initially because of the uneveness of it.Its very bumpy at the moment and you could twist you're ankle just walking around so i want to improve in that way first.My plans are to garden it with wildlife very much a priority.As i've explained already my passion for trees,shrubs and wildflowers along with what uses them is just too overpowering for me to utilise the land in any other way!!! It very much sounds like i should shallow plough and roller it,then harrow it to a fine tilth.Then it gives me a blank canvas to start on.Thanks for the advice already and please keep it coming,i need all the help i can get at this early stage until i'm more educated on the matter. I'll try and upload photo's so it will make it easier for you guys to judge the land better.