Site Prep Continues

First, some tools of the trade.  I started prepping the dirt with a disc harrow that I already had.

Disc Harrow - Good for breaking up soil

The problem with the disc harrow is that I was having trouble getting it to chop up the grass and turn it into the soil.  So, I got a tiller attachment.

Tiller Attachment

Tiller is doing a very good job at turning over the soil and grass and leaving not much behind but dirt.  Unfortunately, I had a really bad day last weekend and tore up the drive shaft.  The shaft pulled off the tiller and kept spinning because it was attached to the PTO on the tractor.  The clutch, which is big and heavy, flopped around until the shaft separated, but in the process tore up the shaft.  I swapped out the tiller for the disc to keep working and then managed to knock a front tire off the rim and cut it up.  So, I got the tire replaced and am waiting on a new shaft.  In the meantime I continue to disc up the dirt.

Now, I also received the cultipacker I ordered.  It came in on Friday and I picked it up at the freight company.  Here it is.

Cultipacker

I think I mentioned this in an earlier post, but this is a salvaged cultipacker, re-manufactured by an Amish guy in Lancaster, PA. 

Now for updated photos.  

A lot of the dirt is looking pretty good - very little grass left and fluffy dirt.  

Its pretty easy to see what areas need more work and which areas are fine.  This area is pretty good.  I need to go over a few areas with the tiller once I get the drive shaft back.

Then, there is one more area that I have not worked on yet.  This photo shows what the land looked like before I started.

To the left you see the area to be busted up and on the right is an area of grass that will remain.  The tall grass is Virginia bluestem grass - the early succession grass that has moved in.  

So, here is a panoramic view of the meadow area from the street. You can see the grass path that winds through the meadow. 

Eye Candy

For those of you who can appreciate a well prepared soil bed, I offer the following images of my progress:

 I have not cut the area I am working for meadow planting all season.  The result is encouraging in that we have some volunteer plants.  I don't know what they are, but it seems if you just give nature a chance it will find its balance. 

Dirt work

Well, its November and we are getting ready to plant seed in the meadow.  Marc Pastorek is very busy drying seed in preparation for the active planting season.  In the meantime, I concluded that the disc harrow was just not breaking the existing sod well enough to expose the soil for seeding.  After searching far and wide for a rental or loaner, I finally purchased a 70" tiller attachment for the tractor.  This past weekend, I ran the tiller over the two larger areas of the meadow project and the result was very good.  The soil is now exposed and the existing grass is mostly uprooted.  I followed with the disc harrow for good measure and got a little deeper turn to the soil. 

Today, I finally lit the burn pile that has been accumulating for the past couple years.  It was a little windy and a little dry, but the pile was well isolated.  I found that my brulee torch did a very nice job of lighting off the diesel, which can be a bugger to light.  The pile burned fast and hot and is now smoldering and should be ashes by morning.

I have a lot more work to do before the whole plot is ready to plant, but a light schedule this week.  So, I hope to get things ready by the weekend.  Next up, I will be ordering a cultipacker.  Again, I searched far and wide for a loaner to no avail. It seems that people in the south don't use cultipackers.  A cultipacker is a piece of agricultural equipment that crushes dirt clods, removes air pockets, and presses down small stones, forming a smooth, firm seedbed. Where seed has been broadcast, the roller gently firms the soil around the seeds, ensuring shallow seed placement and excellent seed-to-soil contact.

I found a good source in Pennsylvania that handles a lot of used agricultural equipment.  It turns out that they buy old, broken cultipackers and have an Amish guy who rebuilds them into smaller units.  I can get a 6 1/2 foot Little Joe at a good price and have it shipped down on motor freight.  By the time I get all of this equipment, I guess I could go into the meadow preparation business.