Photo: Okra Seedlings
The last few days have been a bit nerve-wrecking. Oh, the anticipation of starting a project that we just can’t start yet!
Our new garden plot was mowed, but we got 1-1/2″ of rain the same evening, so no tilling yet. Now we’re considering having it moldboard-plowed before tilling. The moldboard plow basically flips the soil over, so the grass dies. But, it has to be disked following the moldboarding, because the moldboard plow makes such a huge mess of the soil that it can’t be tilled. The advantage of moldboard plowing is that it can be done when the soil is wet – like today – while tilling needs to be done when the soil is mostly dry. The main disadvantage (in our case) is that we don’t know anyone with a moldboard plow, can’t rent one anywhere, and really cannot afford to buy one right now.
I did make a few phone calls and talk to a couple of farmers in our area. We’re waiting on a phone call back from somebody. If nobody calls before the Tractor Guy goes over and tills, then we’ll have tilled land I guess! Chris spoke with the other neighbor that was mentioned in an earlier post last night, and he is convinced that the tiller does a really fine job, and that there is no need for the moldboard plow. Maybe he’s right! But… maybe he is also assuming that we will be using herbicides throughout the summer. That can be a touchy subject in our area, so we didn’t ask.
