What is the best method for “sod busting” virgin soil?

[m_fumich]

I paid someone to come out and till up an area of my pasture so I can put in a garden. And that’s exactly what he did. He come out with a John Deere 750 and a PTO driven 3 pt tiller. While it did till the ground, the end result wasn’t what I really needed. But I got what I asked for. Hindsight being 20/20, I should have asked to have the ground plowed or disked. The tiller only turned over the first few inches of soil and now there’s way too much grass mixed in with the loose soil.

Which implement would have been best to turn over ground that’s just been pasture for the last 70 years?


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[jabberwoki]

Let the grass grow then apply roundup till everything's  dead say 1 month then plant away.

[Lookin4_67GalaxieConv]

Jabber, how long will Round Up stay active in the soil?

[jabberwoki]

Breaks down to a salt solution in 2 weeks.

[Lookin4_67GalaxieConv]

We have a patch in our side yard that's gotten out of control.  It's about 60' by 15' of totally wild foliage.  I think next February when it's dead for the winter I need to go on a Round Up rampage.

[m_fumich]

Let the grass grow then apply roundup till everything's  dead say 1 month then plant away.

That would take care of the grass although I’d prefer to follow organic growing practices as much as possible. But that aside, I still need the ground turned deeper than the rotary tiller is capable of. The tiller used can only break up the top 7” of soil. I went deeper than that to plant my tomatoes. I may not need that depth of plowing every year but I’d like this hard packed ground busted as deep as a farm implement can manage at least once.


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[walrus]

Let the grass grow then apply roundup till everything's  dead say 1 month then plant away.

That would take care of the grass although I’d prefer to follow organic growing practices as much as possible. But that aside, I still need the ground turned deeper than the rotary tiller is capable of. The tiller used can only break up the top 7” of soil. I went deeper than that to plant my tomatoes. I may not need that depth of plowing every year but I’d like this hard packed ground busted as deep as a farm implement can manage at least once.


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If you want them deeper use a spade and fill the hole with compost.

[Rural53]

Let the grass grow then apply roundup till everything's  dead say 1 month then plant away.

That would take care of the grass although I’d prefer to follow organic growing practices as much as possible. But that aside, I still need the ground turned deeper than the rotary tiller is capable of. The tiller used can only break up the top 7” of soil. I went deeper than that to plant my tomatoes. I may not need that depth of plowing every year but I’d like this hard packed ground busted as deep as a farm implement can manage at least once.

Go big 

[highland512]

You need to either spray as jabber mentioned or plow. Good luck finding anybody to come and plow for you though. When I worked my garden for the first time 3 years ago I sprayed then waited 3 weeks and worked it twice with a 3pt tiller, i still have grasses coming through. It just takes lots of hours with a garden hoe in your hand to keep things clean. This winter I am going to try a cover crop of wheat and rye to see if that keeps the spring weeds down.

You could also lay down black plastic to for a couple weeks to kill all the vegetation off but it usually comes back quickly.

[DeadNutz]

I would have used a big enough tractor or even frontend loader to scrape the pasture grass off first. Yes you would lose some soil but removing a good part of the grass and roots is a great start and would save a ton of labor later. You could use the tractor bucket to remove dirt down to the depth you want and then put it back. I have closely spaced long rippers on my box scraper which would loosen the soil to a decent depth after taking some soil out first.

[ken w.]

You can lay a dark tarp over the area and hold it down around the edges and it will kill off the grass in @ 2 weeks.  That would be the organic way. Or , have a big bon fire and burn the out. Wood pallets are free everywhere you look.

[TexasT]

A Gravely Rotary Plow is a pretty effective piece of equipment. Plenty of other attachments that work great, too.

[m_fumich]

I would have used a big enough tractor or even frontend loader to scrape the pasture grass off first. Yes you would lose some soil but removing a good part of the grass and roots is a great start and would save a ton of labor later. You could use the tractor bucket to remove dirt down to the depth you want and then put it back. I have closely spaced long rippers on my box scraper which would loosen the soil to a decent depth after taking some soil out first.

I had just cut the grass before I had it tilled. I should have removed all the clippings before having it tilled. I could have cut it closer, too. The tractor options would have to be hired out. I don’t have a tractor yet. I’ll pay someone to turn the soil in the spring. My garden is 3500 sq ft now. I plan for it to be 3x that size next year. The tiller just isn’t the first implement I need to use. I’m not familiar with the difference in what a plow would do vs a disc. I think a plow could go deeper but the disc would break up the soil more. As I said, “I think.” I was hoping someone could tell me about that.


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[m_fumich]

You can lay a dark tarp over the area and hold it down around the edges and it will kill off the grass in @ 2 weeks.  That would be the organic way. Or , have a big bon fire and burn the out. Wood pallets are free everywhere you look.

Whether I use a tarp or black plastic, 3500 sq ft is a lot of ground to treat that way all by myself. Costly, too, if I use tarps.


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[highland512]

You need to either:
1. Spray wait 2 weeks then make multiple tiller passes, it might take 4 or 5 passes. But I find that this is hard on the soil and causes the soil to crust when it dries up.

2. Spray wait 2 weeks, plow then disk then till.

The first couple years in a new garden will always be weedy. Get a good hoe and get to work. I commit at minimum 1 hour of weeding every night (it's usually 2 hrs). A successful garden is a direct result of how much labor you put into it, I have a 5000 SF area that produces over 50% of our households veggies for the year. Are you thinking about planting yet this year? 

[m_fumich]

You need to either:
1. Spray wait 2 weeks then make multiple tiller passes, it might take 4 or 5 passes. But I find that this is hard on the soil and causes the soil to crust when it dries up.

2. Spray wait 2 weeks, plow then disk then till.

The first couple years in a new garden will always be weedy. Get a good hoe and get to work. I commit at minimum 1 hour of weeding every night (it's usually 2 hrs). A successful garden is a direct result of how much labor you put into it, I have a 5000 SF area that produces over 50% of our households veggies for the year. Are you thinking about planting yet this year?

I will use method #2 next year. I already have 30 tomato plants in the ground. I’ve also planted seeds for “Big Max” pumpkins that get up to 100 lbs, the tiny ornamental pumpkins, and some watermelon. I planted 8 mounds of each. I still have cantaloupe seeds and several varieties of summer squash, winter squash, and cucumbers.

Last Fall I planted 37 thornless blackberry bushes. Only 3 failed to take root. I have them all in one row. Over the next couple years, I plan to add 12 more rows of blackberries.


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