Chop and Disc

[Meadowlark]

It is time here to begin prep for the spring garden crops to come. Actually, prep started last fall with planting the cover crop of Daikon Radish, Turnips, Alfalfa, and Vetch.

The recent freezing temps here killed off most of the Daikon radish, slightly damaged the Turnips, and left the Alfalfa and Vetch unscathed in the plot to be used for the spring garden crops...

But it is time to move on. The "process" I use and have used here for decades consists of what I call "Chop and Disc". Not the same as chop and drop as this process actually turns the chopped up green organic matter into the top three or so inches of the soil. The radish and turnips roots are pretty much chopped on the surface where they will compost in place. It took less than 30 minutes to perform this initial process. I'll repeat several times over the next few days until it becomes a near perfect seed bed...to be continued...

 

[Meadowlark]

Post-script...

One never knows what exactly is growing in these cover crops...but it was stunning to see this near ripe watermelon chopped...

And the size of many of those daikon radishes approached three to four feet of radish. That just means more organic matter to me...

 

[Oliver Buckle]

I drop with a sickle and chop with a hoe, but my garden is about 60ft x 120 foot and half of that is lawn and ornamental. A few years ago I bought an electric machine to scarify the lawn and make a fine sowing surface on beds, but turning it on a bit of long grass I ran over a hose that had been left out, I heard the drive belt go as it tangled and stopped it, but I haven't got around to stripping it down and replacing yet, so my only machine is the push lawnmower still.

 

[Meadowlark]

I drop with a sickle and chop with a hoe, but my garden is about 60ft x 120 foot and half of that is lawn and ornamental.

So that area would be about 7,200 sq. ft. or more than double the size of my garden which is 3,200 sq. ft.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Yes, but that is everything, don't you have extra agricultural land? And when I think about it there is probably only about 2,000 sq. ft available for cultivation as there is a dirty great oak tree at the bottom, maybe a bit less actually cultivated with paths and such. Next fine day I'm getting out there with a tape measure

 

[Meadowlark]

And when I think about it there is probably only about 2,000 sq. ft available for cultivation

Generally, I only use 1/2 of my garden square footage for produce and the other 1/2 is in rotation cover crops...just like the area I posted in this thread above that is getting prepped for produce this spring via chop and disc.

So, about 1600 sq ft in produce at any given time and another 1600 sq. ft. in soil replenishment and regeneration. This cycle has been continuous for about 1/2 century in this same plot.

I expect at least 1 pound of produce per square foot each growing season with two growing seasons per year: 1) spring/summer Feb. through August and 2) fall/winter Sept. through Jan. Generally, production is higher than 1 pound per square foot per growing season but, of course, depending on the produce density.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

I expect at least 1 pound of produce per square foot each growing season with two growing seasons per year: 1) spring/summer Feb. through August and 2) fall/winter Sept. through Jan. Generally, production is higher than 1 pound per square foot per growing season but, of course, depending on the produce density.

Now I understand, this is the bit that makes the difference. You had spoken of supporting your family in veg for many years. The received wisdom here is that 'to support a family of three would require a piece of land the size of two tennis courts', I don't know if they are talking singles or doubles courts, but about 500 square feet is a reasonable guesstimate. Most of the things we can grow only give us a single crop a year, we can do things like planting carrots at the end of August, they will go dormant over winter and you get a crop in Spring when you are planting the next crop, but the two crops will overlap at one end or the other of the growing cycle, so you still use more land to get two crops in the year. I can build my soil, raise beds and angle them for sunlight, give cover from prevailing winds and from the cold North, but the climate generally does not allow two crops a year, so 500sq feet.
It's one of those bits of wisdom so imbedded in my mind I had mis-led myself into thinking you had a much larger plot

 

[Meadowlark]

...It's one of those bits of wisdom so imbedded in my mind I had mis-led myself into thinking you had a much larger plot

Yes, several (maybe most) folks assume I have a huge garden...actually not at all. The size I have provides more than enough food for us and I just see no reason in wasting food.

According to AI, "Tennis Singles court: 2,808 sq ft with dimensions: 78 ft (length) × 27 ft (width) and Doubles court: 3,888 sq ft with dimensions: 78 ft (length) × 36 ft (width) "

So, in production, my garden plot supports my family with about 1/2 of a singles court and together with the soil regeneration portion supports with less than a doubles court.

Trivia for today.

One thing that makes for much higher production maybe than average is that I have something growing 365/24/7. Never is any space not growing something whether it is produce or soil regeneration crops...right now, for example, onions, garlic, leeks, beets, broc.,cabbage, kale, brussels, carrots, soon potatoes, turnips, daikon radish, and horse radish...I actually ran across a ripe watermelon when discing yesterday.

This past year, I grew 4 crops of corn for the first time...usually only get 3 crops of corn. Potatoes 2 crops. Tomatoes 2 crops with the fall crop kind of skimpy. Tomatillos 1 crop. Grean Beans 3 or 4 crops. Purple hull peas 4 crops with most of the harvest returned to the soil. I place a premium on eating "fresh" veggies.

Normally the brassicas cabbage, broc, cauli, etc. are one crop but this year I'm trying to get a spring crop in addition to the fall crop for the first time. Lettuce, chard, mizuna, spinach 1 crop each.

Onions, garlic, leeks, 1 crop is more than enough. Carrots are grown pretty much grown continuously except August. Turnips continuously Oct. to March and same for radish. Beets 1 crop is more than enough.

Okra is a summer staple here along with field peas producing continuously from about June to Oct. Summer squash, zucchini, winter squash all 1 crop. Cucumbers continuously except for freezing temps in Jan and Feb. Watermelon and cantaloup 1 crop each.

Everything is grown in raised rows and/or HK containers.

 

[Mike313]

what I call "Chop and Disc"

Looking at the parallel cultivation lines in your photo I assume used used a machine? What machine did you use to do this? A photo would be good too
I've toyed with the idea of a mini-tractor with lots of attachments but I can't justify it for the size of my garden.

 

[Meadowlark]

.... What machine did you use to do this? A photo would be good too

The tractor is a compact Kubota L2501. It is about one year old and replaced a similar Kubota which I had for 1/2 century and is still running fine and donated to my nephew. The new tractor has front-end loader which is extremely useful in many applications including gardening and was the main reason I upgraded.

The disc is a small one and also has served perfectly for 1/2 century. I use the tractor hydraulics to control the depth, and I normally run it shallow at about 3 inches.

The next step in this process is to make the raised rows which again I will use the small tractor with the middle buster implements. It will make those raised rows in just minutes...a real work saver.

 

[Meadowlark]

...I've toyed with the idea of a mini-tractor with lots of attachments but I can't justify it for the size of my garden.

I would hate to garden without it...it takes away the drudgery. I garden on 2 plots of 1600 sq ft each with only one of the plots in garden production at any given time.

 

[Martin Mikulcik]

I would hate to garden without it...it takes away the drudgery. I garden on 2 plots of 1600 sq ft each with only one of the plots in garden production at any given time.

My tractor

 

[GFTL]

I have a J.D. 4100 but but can't use it in my garden since my garden is mostly raised beds. Even though there is 5-6 feet between the beds there's no room for a tractor. Had the garden before the tractor. I live in Michigan so I don't think have time for cover crops at the end of the season.

 

[Meadowlark]

I have a J.D. 4100 but but can't use it in my garden since my garden is mostly raised beds.

Raised rows are my answer. The tractor makes an 80 ft raised row in about 1 minute give or take.

Many of my cover crops are the summer variety. I find the summer varieties to be much more effective and efficient at nitrogen addition.

 

[DiggersJo]

It's a different game to digging with a folk and/or spade