Your green thumb is itching to dig into the ground and plant your next round of produce. Maybe you’re planning on extending the garden you already have, re-working one that hasn’t been used in a few years, or hoping to convert part of your back yard into a new garden. One thing is for certain, you need to prep the ground before you can start planting. Here are a few important things to keep in mind when preparing a field for planting:
Get the Right Attachment:
Compact, tight soil can be hard to work with. Consider hooking up a three-shank ripper to the back of your MAGNATRAC and working the initial area of your new garden. Not only will it loosen up the soil, but it will also rip up any weeds or grasses that are already going across the ground.
Go Through with Your Plow or Ripper
Mark out the area of your garden and go through with your compact dozer to plow, rip, and create the structural shape of your layout. You can come back later to till the topsoil further, before making rows. The key here is to dig deep enough to loosen the area that’s sat compacted for so long.
Measure and Make Your Rows
When you go through with a plow, you want your rows to be about 12” apart and preferably close to 8” deep. The space between rows allows adequate water runoff so that plants and seedlings don’t wash away and are easy to walk through when you’re tending to your garden.
Make sure you’re looking straight ahead, so that the rows come out nice and straight. Looking around or constantly backward may make them crooked or curved (and you’ll have to do it all over again!)
Bring in Your Compost
If you’ve purchased mulch or made your own compost, your mini dozer is an easy way to haul in topsoil without breaking your back! Considering your garden is new, the ground in that area may not have all of the nutrients you need to facilitate optimal plant growth. Add in just the right amount of nutrition before you start planting.
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