i broadcast some seeds including alaska and english peas right after you ploughed. Didn't rain enough. I got one alaskan pea pod and boy was that enough. Sweetest thing I've ever tasted.

After the rains some Alaskan peas germinated in a small area. The bushes are all entangled but they look really happy. They're in bloom now.

because the lower end is so fertile I'm pulling johnson grass right and left. The buckwheat having grown helps a lot. You can bet I'm going to plant some fall tomatoes in that area!

So far I have not fertilized a thing! OH. I'll be doing a wide sweep of mustard this fall, like you suggested.

I think sub-soiling only works if you have the soil for it. My soil is too shallow and stuff under it is so terrible I don't want to bring it up into my top soil. I have a problem planting in a groove like shown in you picture. If it is late in the year it works great, but if I get a quick packing rain and then the sun comes out my soil can bake into a brick that nothing can germinate in. In the late summer there is not much chance of that happening, the plants will already be up and growing before the soil packs.

In the picture below are beans and peas planted in the past month. The row next to the tomatoes was not tilled, so it did not pack as easily as the rows closer to the camera. The peas and beans were planted on 5-12, we got a very hard packing rain right after that and I got very poor germination. The double row closest to the camera was replanted with the same pack of seed last Sat. and there was good germination. The two center double rows are Purple Hull peas planted four day ago, and again I got good germination (planted too close). If I had had the same conditions as before, I think I would have had the same results. The three largest differences were I did not plant in a low furrow, I added some organic matter to loosen the soil, and I did not get a hard packing rain before the plants came up.

I don't have a tractor nor a subsoiler. The only breaking of sub soil I have done is with post hole diggers, and it is a lot of work, but I am working toward a no-till garden.

Larry

Bonnie,

I'm very glad you are satisfied with your garden. Also, I'm glad your kids are growing up with a garden.

Larry,

I can tell your soil is very different from mine. Just proves that a gardener must learn 'their' garden and what likes to grow in it. Lookin good mister.

PS I plant with a lister planter. That is what creates the grooves. It is difficult to tell by my pictures but that entire garden plot is on a slope. I find multiple tiers (riffles) keep the water slow enough to prevent erosion.

Here is a link that might be useful: My garden tools

This post was edited by johnnycoleman on Sun, Jun 8, 14 at 1:24

Johnny, I am glad you posted the link. I finally figured how to connect to it. I have a piece of 4' x12' piece of conveyor belt I would like to place in a spot for a couple of weeks to try to kill down the grass and then try grow some peas like you listed in the link. I am not sure what my wife will think about the idea, she is the one that does most of the yard work and does not like all my veggie beds scattered all over the lawn.

I have access to a tractor and a larger garden to use, but I have to fight more wild critters over there, + there are not many tools for the tractor.

Larry,

If I could only have one implement for my tractor, I would select a combination subsoiler / middle buster plow. The cutting tool is easy to change. Just two bolts.

I use it to subsoil, create ditches for planting potatoes, dig the potatoes for harvesting and for general tillage. It is a very basic and useful tool.

It is the least expensive tool I own.The subsoiler improves water absorption too. I prefer the rain water to soak in rather than running to the creek.

Johnny

Here is a link that might be useful: Subsoiling results

This post was edited by johnnycoleman on Sun, Jun 8, 14 at 14:55