[AJD] How deep to plow?

Karl Olmstead olmstead at ridgenet.net
Fri Oct 22 18:08:29 PDT 2004


I did something like that years ago when I installed new lawn.  dumped 5 
yards of horse poop where the lawn was going to be and covered it with a few 
inches of sand.  It was awful.  Once it got wet, it plugged up.  Couldn't 
get air, so it went into anaerobic decomposition.  Smelled foul.  Water 
wouldn't penetrate.  I finally dug it up and mixed in a few tons of sand to 
help air and water flow thru it.  After that, it turned into very nice soil. 
Best soil on my desert property.  Don't have enough organics to do my 80x80 
garden plot.  Used to get tons of leaves from neighbor with 1700 pistachio 
trees, but I was getting way too many tumbleweed and goathead seeds, so I 
quit.  Ravens eat anything I plant, anyway.  Every melon needs a chicken 
wire shield.

-Karl

-----------------------
> :)    ahhhh, plowing.  Sort of.
>
> I decided to kill several birds with one stone, an unconventional stone
> but....
>
> 1) new garden spot, never before plowed, 125x80. stripped off the sod with
> the front end loader after a good rain, like peeling a peach.
> 2) new JD 1070 compact tractor with backhoe... no experience with a 
> backhoe,
> before now that is.
> 3) the mother of all cow poop piles that needed to be moved/disposed of.
>
> since I don't yet have an appropriate plow for my 1070 I decided to 
> backhoe
> the garden spot. This allowed me to break-up the hardpan and go deep, get
> LOTS of practice in the operation of a backhoe, dispose of 30 yards of cow
> poop and chopped straw and spend the maximum amount of quality alone time
> playing. What I was told about backhoes seems correct to me,
> practice-practice-practice, and rhythm. put the 3 pt rototiller on it
> several times and now it's sleeping until June.
> Yes, I know... that might be a bit much nitrogen on the garden spot... in
> fact I'm sure you can see it from satellites,
> but since the garden won't be planted until late next spring the extension
> agent said it was a grand plan. Not sure she is convinced of my sanity 
> but,
> oh well.
>
> Bobby
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: antique-johndeere-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com
> [mailto:antique-johndeere-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com]On Behalf Of
> Dean VP
> Sent: Friday, October 22, 2004 3:27 PM
> To: 'Antique John Deere mailing list'
> Subject: RE: [AJD] How deep to plow?
>
>
> Lois:
>
> That is a little deeper than farmers plow. But in the garden if you were
> still bringing up black dirt you are probably ok. Typically one only plows
> 8" to 10" deep but not deeper than the good top soil. Don't want to bring
> the bad soil to the top.
>
> In my wife's garden the first time I plowed I probably got 18" deep too. 
> But
> there wasn't any good soil. Now after a few turns at plowing, rototilling
> and much horse manure it is probably good top soil 18" deep.
>
> Dean A. Van Peursem
> Snohomish, WA 98290
>
> I'm a walking storeroom of facts..... I've just lost the key to the
> storeroom door
>
>
> www.deerelegacy.com
>
> http://members.cox.net/classicweb/email.htm
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: antique-johndeere-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com
> [mailto:antique-johndeere-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com] On Behalf Of
> Louis R Godena
> Sent: Friday, October 22, 2004 3:28 PM
> To: Antique John Deere mailing list
> Subject: [AJD] How deep to plow?
>
> Hi folks;
>
> It's been awhile since I last wrote, so sort of touching base.  Anyway, 
> last
> weekend was doing some fall plowing of my garden and an adjacent buckwheat
> field (about 2 acres) with a 1926 JD model 41 14" plow and my overhauled 
> 48
> B.  I seemed to be listing precariously toward the furrow and, when I
> measured how deep that furrow wall was, I discovered it was 18+ inches.
> That's sort of deep isn't it, or is it just my imagination?  Anyone
> routinely plow deeper than that?
>
> Louis G
>
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