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starting an organic garden

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  • 22-10-2008 9:38pm
    #1
    BettyBlue
    Registered Users Posts: 12 ✭


    Hi all

    Have a small field beside my house and have big plans !
    Raised veg beds, hen house, apple trees ect.
    but the ground is VERY uneven from cattle ....
    There are alot of weeds , nettles ect. that are dying off now
    thought i would have to get a horse in to eat the grass before we plough it
    but i have no patience and want to plough it now !
    if i do will i have huge problems with grass and weeds coming through

    hope someone can help .. cos i cant wait to get started :eek:
    Thanks;)


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    #2
    The Sweeper
    Registered Users Posts: 10,658 ✭✭✭✭The Sweeper


    You'll get nowhere with a horse. Know anyone with sheep? A big enough flock will reduce everything to ground level in a week (but they can also strip the lower branches of trees). How big is the field?


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    #3
    The Sweeper
    Registered Users Posts: 10,658 ✭✭✭✭The Sweeper


    As an addition: some of the more experienced landscapers on here have advised people on similar projects in the past, and that advise is usually to kill everything off, then rotovate, then level, then start from a blank canvas, but I'm not sure where the 'kill it all off' status sits with your plans to garden organically. It could certainly be achieved organically (depending on the size of the plot, cutting everything back to ground level and covering it for three months so it's completely without light will do a lot to kill everything off, but if there are still seeds in the ground they'll germinate again).

    How much space do you have, do you appreciate how much work is involved, and what are your plans?

    (Consider that you can get enough veg out of between six and eight 4m x 2m raised garden beds to feed a family of four for a year if you plan your planting.)


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    #4
    BettyBlue
    Registered Users Posts: 12 ✭BettyBlue


    the field is about 1/4 of an acre ...
    Ya dont want to put down weed killer .. and it would cost a fortune
    but sheep thats a good idea there is a small sheep farmer near here
    and no trees on the land ..
    I do know how much work there will be to do but i plan on
    enjoying every back breaking moment !! Hopefully ..:)


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    #5
    stifz
    Closed Accounts Posts: 315 ✭✭stifz


    Hey betty blue,

    Don't mean to jump on your thread but im considering something along the same lines but on a smaller scale. From the advice i've got is start small.. and increase over the coming years. I'd have about 3/4 acre site but its mixed use garden etc and house / garage. Id be using about 60ft by 45ft plot to start.

    I've been advised to cover over the site and plough it in late jan. add manure etc and keep turning. after paddy's day plant and see what happens! Gonna plant beetroot, onion, lettuce, scallion, pea's, carrot garlic etc.. Maybe a small plot of spuds.


    The other option im considering and could be worth while for yourself with a large area is a poly tunnel.. Im in two mind as to what to do. im sure the tunnel would reap more results than out door? But im a novice so dunno really.


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