So it begins again… I got the rototiller out and began going over the garden. The nice thing is, I now own the Rototiller, as Jay was nice enough to sell it to me for a bargain. This year, I am going to put in raised beds with gravel walk ways. I am also going to mulch everything with lots of natural un-dyed wood chips to help keep the weeds down. Both of those are in an effort to make the garden a little less maintenance intensive and a little more productive. More pictures when I start that project which will be in a couple of weeks.
One thing that I have noticed, when I till the garden every springtime, we have a new crop of rocks. This is because during the freezing weather, frost pushes more rocks up to the surface. The good news is they seem to be getting smaller each year. Eventually, I hope, I will get rid of most of them and have some good soil to grow stuff in.
The rototiller is a Yard Machines (AKA MTD products) model 21A332A700 which is no longer manufactured. It has a 5.5 HP Briggs and Straton engine. It works well enough and I know when Jay owned it, I think I used it more than he did.
I am also mixing last year’s compost into the soil. This is a great source of natural nitrogen which really makes things grow well. I don’t believe in using chemicals to enhance growing of vegetables. I nice steady grow rate enhances the nutrient uptake from the soil. Commercial growers often use chemical fertilizers that are high in nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. This makes great looking vegetables that grow really fast, but it is not the best thing for the environment as run off can get into streams, lakes and other bodies of water causing algae blooms. Further, since these vegetables grow so fast, their nutritional values are less than those grown naturally. Also, these fertilizers also use a large amount of natural gas to produce via the Haber Process. I think our natural gas resources are best used for energy purposes, since we seem to running short these days.
More pictures when I get my camera back from my mother’s house.
Glad you like it!!! I am happy to see that machine get used by someone who can take care of her. Ahhh…long memories in one dark basement.
Maybe you can mail me a squash when they are ready.
I can’t imagine you using that in your old basement. I am sure we will have plenty of squash, so you are welcome to what every you want.
Also, where should I send those empty plastic beer bottles? Shoot me an e-mail with your address and I’ll send em over to ya.
new to the site and enjoying the articles. thanks for the valuable information.
I am new to gardening I have rototilled my Garden do I need to rake out the clumps of grass or do I leave them there to help hold the moisture?
Sal – I’d knock the dirt off of the grass roots and throw the clumps of grass in a compost pile. You really need to get rid of the grass roots, otherwise they will continue to grow and you will have a lawn/garden.
This will be our 3rd year w/ our vegetable garden. The past two years we’ve gotten it tilled and I think the owners before us used to get it tilled every year too – is this necessary to do every year? Knock on wood – the past two years we’ve had an EXCELLENT w/ PLENTY of vegetables!
Jenn,
Actually there are several good arguments against rototilling a garden every year. One thought is that if there are plenty of earth worms working there way through the soil, it should be aerated enough and tilling is not needed. In this situation, the idea is to plant the vegetables without disturbing the soil too much, then mulch around them with organic compost. This is the way nature works without man made intervention.
This year, I lightly shoveled over the top few inches of soil to mix the compost in. We will see how well it works. Next year I may try the no tilling/shovel over method and see how that works.
I will say, if you are just starting to garden in an area, it is better to rototill it for a few years to break up and mix all the soil, get rid of rocks grass etc.