Author Topic: Pasture post construction (Read 3331 times)

Cocomartinez · « **on:** October 07, 2014, 01:28:08 pm »

Hello,

We´re hopefully finishing a farmhouse renovation, now waiting for electric service, and it´s high time to turn our attention to the attached 1/2 acre. The place was uninhabited for years before we bought it, and only received the occasional visit from a wandering cow or pony.

We had it cut after purchase, the accumulated cuttings/prunings were buried in the largest paddock, leaving a pile of excavated dirt. There´s also a giant pile of wood scraps from the house and the collapsed roof of the barn ( another future project). And it´s a jungle of weeds and brambles again.

The field is compacted and weedy from truck traffic. The hill of excavated earth is covered in weeds. The piles of infill are mixed with plastic debris and assorted detritus of the build. And there are still 30¨ deep ruts from the tractor they used to clear 3 years ago lurking under the grass.

I was hoping to use a lasagna method to kill off the meadow grass near the house for the kitchen garden, after buying in compost/manure. But the entire plot is so small, I´m wondering if we shouldn´t either rent a tiller or ask around for a local farmer who could disc the whole thing in an hour or so. I´m resigned to hand sifting through the various piles for plastic and glass, and have already removed several garbage bags of half buried stuff.

Would machinery be at risk from buried plastic/glass/refuse or the ruts? Better to get it started this fall, or at this point would waiting for spring make no significant difference? I´ll try to get samples for a soil analysis when we´re next up there.

I realise this is an insignificant area for those of you with acreage, but the idea of stripping sod and breaking it up by hand is a little daunting for a newbie. Not to mention the fencing, driveway, barn, pruning, etc on the list as well. My goal after the move is to finish the fencing and build a coop for chickens over this winter and start a veggie plot in spring. Needless to say, money is running short.

Thanks!

pgkevet · « **Reply #1 on:** October 07, 2014, 06:57:14 pm »

A lot depends on shape of plot, access and ulimately what your plans are - lawn? orchard? hedges? pond?

If young fit, imprecunious and energetic then 1/2 an acre is quite diggable. Even this knackered olf fart managed to sift 2 good trailer loads of spoil (small trailers about 4-5 yrds each) over several days.

Bits of small rubbish wouldn't bother me with my old 2 furrow plough and disc harrows.. but building blocks stuck in heavy clay would cause damage. Qute apart from a 1/2 acre needig turning room at the ends and then a final finiash aroudn the sides - and your still not going to get the very edges. And that's if its a flattish rectangle... lots of piles of dumped cr@p and yu might eb better getting a JCB in to level the lot and bury obvious rubbish he turns up - assuming it's not all brambles and nettles.

Alteratively it's probbaly not too late to spray the whole plot down with glyphosate then level it... rotorvate (rent/borrow a decent one or a heck of a lot of work with a cheap one but you have it for veggies) and think it terms of levelling the lawn area but too late to get that done for seeding this year.

Cocomartinez · « **Reply #2 on:** October 08, 2014, 09:39:03 am »

Unfortunately, neither young nor fit. Enthusiastic though. I expect working around the place will help.

No buried blocks, but there´s miles of plastic tape, foam bits, and some rebar. It´s mostly a big flat triangle, and until the garden gets set up, likely to stay grass. Eventually, I expect it to get rows of potatoes and root veg etc.

The garden area is actually sloped, and will probably need a couple of low retaining walls. Hoping there might be enough stone or something in the wood pile to use.

Not going to use glyphosate. So if it´s by hand - using a cart, a pick and a spade? It´s the sod breaking that seems overwhelming. Will keep my fingers crossed on the cardboard/compost/mulch lasagna method.

Thanks for your thoughts.

pgkevet · « **Reply #3 on:** October 08, 2014, 10:19:16 am »

In which case accept it's going to take time.. sit back and plan it out so you don't have to work it twice. Planning on terracing a section with retaining walls then the footings for that will be where to bury the rubbish. Choose the would-be lawn area and sort of double dig it .. cut out a spade of sod to drop upside down into the previous trench before covering with the second spade-full. No need to break anything up - effectively hand ploughed. Just take it steady and dont do too much per day.

for a half acre if you did 25yds by 1 foot a day.. I think it works out scarily around a year.. but you get to pick all the rubbish out.

Personally I would design it... designate the lawn area.. spray it, get a digger to level it then pick the worst surface stuff out, roll and seed. that just leaves the veggie patch, soft fruit and any flower beds to do by hand. It's personal choice.

But while I'm writing I'll also promote my ideas.. espaliered and fan trained fruit trees gets you more varieties into a space and easy care (after the pruning work) and I also promote nut trees.. every home should have it's nutters if you can find room for a sweet chestnut, wallnut, almond and filbert in your boundary (cos they can get quite big).

Even worth looking at 'step-over' apples for dging flower beds or paths

Bramblecot · « **Reply #4 on:** October 08, 2014, 07:52:44 pm »

Do you have a a 4Wd with towbar?
After our barn was built , we had great ruts caused by the tractors. I put a simple harrow on the back of the Landie and drove back and forth over the rough ground. I can get really close to the fences with it if I'm careful

. Any cr*p that is turned up I pick out of the harrow spikes. You just have to watch that the ground is not too wet or you'll get stuck

(guess how I know).

Cocomartinez · « **Reply #5 on:** October 10, 2014, 12:46:12 pm »

Nothing useful like a 4wd. It´ll have to be by hand, rented tiller, or some friendly, as yet to be found local with a tractor or somesuch.

I had thought that terracing the slope in thirds could provide an opportunity for burying some of the rotten wood in an attempt at hugelkulture. Hard to say until we start rummaging around in the pile. Better this fall or spring for any nesting creatures?

My initial plan is to dig 2 or three 4 x 8 beds, and set up 2 or 3 raised lasagna style beds and see how it goes in spring. They could be topped off using the ¨hill¨ of infill once sifted. There´s only 2 of us, so if we plant potatoes, sunflowers or cover crops in the ones we can´t manage, that´s OK. I believe it´s heavy clay with a number of stones (judging from the walls). Have to do a soil test when we move.

I´m all over the espaliered fruit trees. But I have questions that I´ll address in a post on fruit.

Trying to attach a pic of the designated garden area. The thing to the right is the barn, sans roof and covered in brambles.

Thanks again for your thoughts.

pgkevet · « **Reply #6 on:** October 10, 2014, 01:21:15 pm »

Once you've done that.. if you really want a challenge i;ve got a collapsed cottage with 2 acres on a slope as steep with masses of stone, brambles, 8 foot high neglected gooseberries amid brambles. blackthorn, potholes and other hazards you could come and sort out

(I only bought it - cheap- 'cos it has right of way across my other land and then someone elses)

I still say if i had for your plot I'd get my mate simon the jcb guru to terrace that out and bury the rubbish. I don;t recall what he charges but it always seems cheap for the saving in backache. I'm sure it's less than £200 a day inc his digger and fuel and amazing how much he gets done per day