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  • From: "TxBeeFarmer" <txbeefarmer AT hotpop.com>
  • To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Raised Beds and Yield Estimates
  • Date: Tue, 13 Dec 2005 13:07:02 -0600

The tandem I use is pulled.  The depth is adjusted using hydraulics to raise and lower the wheels.  Anyway, don't forget about dragging some chain link fence to cover up the seeds.  Small seed don't need much covering.  If you have some scratchers, used for breaking soil crust after a rain, they'd probably work well too.  I know a man who built a scratcher by driving nails part way into a round post.  He hooked chain on bolts at each end to pull it.  As it rolled along the nails broke the crust.
 
TxBeeFarmer
Mark (West Texas - Zone 7b)
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, December 13, 2005 12:06 PM
Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Raised Beds and Yield Estimates

Morning All,
Definitely food for thought for a newbie farmer on the subject of raised beds. This fall I've raised some rows with disk hillers attached to my Farmall Super A (an offset tractor), but this prevented me from later using the shovels as weeders because the shovels tear down the rows as they weed.  Mark has just blown my mind with his chiseling and "reverse raising" technique. By chiseling first, and then, if I understand you correctly, Mark, creating the raised rows as the plants grow, I can use the cultivating sweeps on the Super A as they were meant to be used, for weeding and cultivating and throwing soil. 
 
I think I'd compromise with small seed: Since I have relatively loose, sandy soil here in west AL, I can prepare beds as Mark does by disking.  Then, rather than broadcasting seed, which I think will waste quite a bit, I'll mark off rows and seed with the Earthway or even the little hand seeder for the smallest seeds. And since I don't have down-force hydraulics on the Super A, I can't "lightly disc" them in, so I'll have to do the rest of the planting by hand too.
 
How's that sound? (Anyone out there using old-time cultivating tractors, please don't hesitate to chime in.) One thing I'm reminded of daily:  there's no such thing as "outside the box" when it comes to anything associated with farming. Box?
 
Thank you all for an enligtening thread.
Regards,
Bill
 
 


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