View Single Post
  #18   Report Post  
Old 26-06-2007, 07:05 AM posted to rec.gardens
Dave Dave is offline
external usenet poster
 
First recorded activity by GardenBanter: May 2007
Posts: 346
Default rototilling rocky soil

"Sheldon" wrote in message
ups.com...
len garden wrote:

my suggestion would be to give the tilling a miss and go for raised
beds, then the rocks are no problem.


Building 300 sq ft of raised bed is the same labor but more dollars
than spading and picking out rocks. I have a 2,500 sq ft vegetable
garden (50' X 50') that I spaded and picked rocks by hand, took me a
good forty hours of hard labor over a week. I probably didn't have as
many large rocks as the OP but I had enough and it was back breaking
work. My plot is sort of a modified raised bed as I enclosed the
space with railroad ties, (real RR ties), and then added like 30 cu
yds of topsoil I had delivered. Then I spent an entire day tilling
the new soil into the old with a 7 HP Simplicty tiller (don't you
believe those ads of some ninety year old lady guiding a tiller with
one finger, no way). But now that my garden is in nice condition I
can strongly recommend the Mantis tiller for regular tilling
maintenance, what a great little machine, definitely not a toy... my
Simplicity 'killer' tiller is in retirement.


Reading your post made me realize something obvious. I intend to increase
my raised garden substantially in size. Right now, its cram packed in an 8'
X 8' space. Was considering hunting down some railroad ties as well. Light
went on, there's some old utility poles on my property left behind from
years ago before I bought the place. They're 16 footers. Intend to make 2
plots adjacent to each other. One for the chickens, one for the garden.
Move the chicken coop every couple of years in the winter to the former
garden side, and the garden to the chicken side.
Dave