Mike, find someone quick to cut and bale it. Even if you can only get someone to cut it, you gather it and use it as mulch. I hate to suggest, but, you could spray it down (with generic roundup). It will take about a week for it to die down, then you can plow and disc and plant. Even if you can only do strips, it should be better. I know one tomato farmer (plants about 9,000 plants) that only plants in strips and mows between the rows with their small tractor.

If someone wants 'grass hay', it should be good for that, if the rain ever stops long enough.

Marla

I realy like that idea of the strips. With that much ground, especially if your only going to use a portion of it this year, that would be a super way of keeping the weeding to a minimum. We came into some extra gound a couple of weeks ago to plant our fall items on - about 3/4 acre. I had plowed about 50% of it two years ago for the fellow that owns it for his use but it sat fallow. The rest has not been turned in years. I sprayed glycoprosphate tankmixed with 2-4-D over everything and am planning on mowing it next week weather permiting (only four inches of rain this week). The brain trust (I'm strong back weak mind department) discussed doing strips but decided that to make picking easier in the fall turning the entire field would be best. We have the long day pumpkins started in peat pots (120 day and longer) so that they are going and plan to plant the rest as seed in about two weeks. The transplants will go into the ground that was not plowed two years ago so the grass roots are not so much of a problem (fresh turned sod is a little difficult to plant seed in). Sounds like your the champion land getter around your area. Congrats on your new field.

Tom

I can use a weed whacker to mow it - might take a few hours - but at this point, time is not money. This is what I do with the winter wheat cover crop - mow it then turn it under.

If I can catch the ground before it dries too much, I think my tiller (and me!) can handle it. Take the two outside tines off, giving me about 16" of planting area.

I do have a guy who will plow and then till it and he isn't expensive, but it would mean solid plowing, not strips. That may not be bad, as I intend to sow crimson clover over the ground in a couple of months. It will act as green manure, weed control and hopefully protect the sprawling toms as I don't think I will stake them this year. All of them are determinates and with the room I have, I can go with 4' rows.

Haven't figured out exactly what I will plant. At this time, I'm looking at maybe 500 toms, 500 feet of Chard, melons and squash. If time allows, later this summer 500 feet of sugar snap peas and Romaine Lettuce, plus whatever peppers seedlings I have left. For kicks and giggles, maybe a row of Quinoa.

Mike

Mike, can you find an old fashion scythe, like the pioneers used. We used one for awhile, found it at a flea market and sharpened it up. Our boys discovered how much work they were, but it got the job done faster than the weed wacker.

The guys with the strips have been planting tomatoes for years and years. I'm not sure if they use a tractor tiller or what.

Marla

we have strips between all our beds. It works well for us and has allowed us to work through the wet weather (the grassy strips are not muddy and they absorb a great deal of water and also cut way down on erosion)

If anyone has Google Earth or wants to use Google maps, the co-ords are 39, 12, 20.83 N and 84, 28, 19.37 W. Google Earth has a ruler tool and that piece is just under an acre - too much for me this year or next, I'm afraid. If I had a tractor like a Cub, plow, disc, cultivators and transplanter, I could handle that large an area, at least the growing and harvesting part. But I would probably need at least three markets a week to be able to sell it all, especially during the summer.

I like the idea of using strips, though this year it will be a matter of just gitten it done. As it is, by the time it is prepared and planted, it will be early August before I have hardly any produce, mid-August for much of the stuff.

Boulder - I don't know how much space your strips take up but I would be comfortable with just enough to allow a garden tractor to get between the rows.

I've always been a huge fan of winter cover crops and I'm becoming one of green manure. If I was to go with strips in the coming years, it would be easy to not only rotate what grows where but what ground gets used and what recovers.

I'm looking ahead - I'm suppose to meet with the guy tomorrow who hopefully will both plow and till the ground.

Mike

Thanks Lucy for the pictures, Like they say, a picture is worth a 1,000 words.

Marla

the strips are 3' wide, like the beds and they could be a bit narrower but if they were than we could not get the garden carts through them which would be a bit of a problem. as it is it takes 2 passes with the small JD riding mower we have. once we get the 1972 Sears garden tractor running than it will be one pass as the mowing deck on that is about the same width as the pathways (I hope, there is the possibility that the Sears mowing deck is too wide and that would not be good)