you definitely want to till as soon as you can... a decent rule of thumb is to pick up a fistful of soil, squeeze lightly and see if it comes apart or clumps together... if it doesn't clump together you can till.

I would almost consider Plowing it, letting it dry and then tilling it. I put my first garden in about three years ago and thats what I did. Do a search, or post a want ad on craigslist for someone to plow it under. You could also call a local landscape company and ask them if they know of anyone. We get calls all the time and direct them to a retired farmer and his little tractor. I think he was charging $25 bucks last year.

biscgolf is correct---IF---this is a plot that has been used for a garden. From reading your post I assume the plot is probably sod now. If this is sod now, in my opinion, you don't need to try to garden it this year. You need to spend your time in weed/grass control and getting soil ready for next year.

I agree with biscgolf but ldj is a different story. You can plant on it this year. You'll have to use the mesh cloth or cardboard to control the grass and cut holes in it where you want the plants to go. You could also mulch heavily to control the grass. No need to go a year without.

My reason for going a year getting soil prepared is it will save you a lot of trouble for several years down the road. Just starting out there will be lots of seed just laying around waiting to come up. Let then come up, then till to kill grass/weeds. When you till you will bring more seed up and encourage them to germinate. You do this several times during the first year you will have got rid of a lot of seed that you won't have to worry about coming up next year.

i'm in agreement with obrion on the plowing... with a grassed over plot you ideally will want someone to use a "chisel" plow for added depth- this will also help bury the latent seed that is there to a depth where it will have a hard time coming up...

you can also use a pre-emergent to keep the grass seed down, there are any number of chemical ones available...corn gluten meal is a useful organic one and will provide a bit of fertilization as well- tends to be a bit pricy though imo...

You can get a crop from sod by starting now, I think

First you need to rent a rototiller and break up the sod
Let it dry and remove the sod part to a compost heap

Then you need to amend the (dryish) soil and till it together
Then cover it with black water-permeable landscape cloth
The weeds that come up under it will not thrive and are easy to pull out

Then cut holes where you want to plant stuff
and intensively weed the open areas

That's what I've done and it worked out
-ExNJer

Oops yeah,
a rototiller may not be enough if you have a solid covering of sod

You might want to look into a rent-a-farmer deal, if that's the case

Too much work. Get a bunch of free heavy cardboard, lay it down, cover it with some black dirt or compost or better yet woodchips and cut holes where you plant. Let the worms/etc do the rest. If you want to till it, give it a year for the sod to break down. I've killed off a lot of grass in my yard using this same method.

I suggest a moldboard plowing to get started in grass. It will work up nice and mealy with the turf.

And a whole acre?
That might well be a bit too much work for the first year

I would start with a smaller garden

OK, so first, I'm not doing a whole acre - that's just the area available! I was thinking more like 20 x 30!
I realize it would have been better to start in the fall but that said, I don't want to miss the entire year. My plan is to till up a plot, let it sit, and amend some high, mounded rows - amend like crazy. probably I'll mulch with newspaper/straw/grass between the rows. that way I get in a year, I get drainage, and I don't have to amend the whole plot.
So, Wayne_5, can you tell me, what is moldboard plowing?
Do I really have to remove the sod? I was thinking just to till it under.

Tilling it under will not kill it. It'll grow right back, faster than your seedlings grow. By June you won't even be able to see your vegetables among the weeds.

I would not remove the sod...it is great organic matter.

A moldboard plow turns the soil over....covering up the grass and recent weed seeds. Tilling [stirring the soil] right now will not kill grass likely very well.

You like to exercise? Do what I did last year to start a 20x30 plot in our new house. I stripped the sod with a hoe, then turned it deep with a shovel. Mulched with whatever was free (mostly grass clippings). Worked great. A good starting point and it'll be better every year. I didn't run out and buy a truckload of compost. I wouldn't go bury hundreds of dollars in the back yard and to me its the same thing. You don't need great soil if you have a lot of land to work with, just go big and space your plants farther apart. I didn't get started until Feb and down here we plant in early April.

I didn't read all the posts, so someone may have already recommended this. But, depending on how big you're planning to make your garden, I'd either cover the grass with cardboard, or something like black plastic. And not worry about tilling (and cutting up your earthworms). Personally I think cardboard is better, if you can get enough of it. Earthworms apparently love the stuff. But if you need to cover a lot of ground, plastic might be easier, because you can buy it in large rolls. But it's probably not as environmentally friendly. I turned over a lot of sod last year with a digging fork, and it was too much work. Then I tried plastic, because I couldn't get enough cardboard. It didn't really save much time, but it was a lot easier.

I stripped the sod with a hoe, then turned it deep with a shovel.

It would be comical to see you attempt that here! I'd probably die laughing.

I told you to plow it under like I did mine three years ago. I failed to tell you I spryed with round up, made sure the stuff was dead and then plowed it under. If your organic others have given you some choices. Laying carpet down is another choice.

Ah hah!
I wasn't sure where you were at

It's also an option to put in raised beds when starting from scratch
It's more work, but gives you better control of what goes into the bed

You'd do the first till and move the top dirt & sod aside
Then stick in the bed & add amended dirt
That's what we're doing (one bed at a time) at our new place

I still recommend keeping the sod separate and composting it, unless you're okay with herbicide

taz, I'd do it anywhwere. have you really gotten to the point that even your hobbies have to be quick and easy?

I am in central Ohio and here is what I do that works.

Turn the sod over with shovel (stick the shovel in deep and flip the clod over so the grass side is down,) or moldboard plow, and in a couple of weeks the grass will be somewhat dead and you can chop up the chunks (rototill etc). Do this just before planting when the soil has dried out. After planting lay down newspaper, cardboard or thick craft paper (saw it at Lowes the other day) and cover with thick mulch (grass clippings, dead leaves, wood chips, straw etc. to take care of first year weed problems. Plastic or weed block would work too, but then you have a big wad of plastic/babric that has to get thrown away at some point.

I have also used Roundup about two weeks before turning the sod under. It takes that long for the grass to die back. The Roundup makes it somewhat easier, but it is not a nightmare situation if you do not use it (turning over works pretty well) and even with Toundup there are a lot of spring seeds that will sprout and cause trouble.

The soil is very wet right now and there is no rush to get going because you can't really plant much until mid May, and if you are late getting everything prepped (1st week of June) its no big deal. You can watch the local farmers to see when they plow for some indication of soil moisture, otherwise you will find out pretty quickly when using a shovel. If it seems wet, then it is. You want the soil to crumble when you are trying to break it up. Working wet soil screws up the drainage characteristics and it will just sit there being wet for a long time, but if you wait it will dry surprizingly quickly once the sunny dry days show up. I think much of the free water gets pulled down through worm burrows and spaces left by dead roots if you don't dig.

What type of soil do you have? Here it is heavy topsoil over top of a claypan (about a foot down). The deeper you dig into the clay the more room the roots will have to find water later on, but that often leaves you with clods of clay on top. If you let the clods dry you can whack them with a shovel and they will shatter and incorporate into the soil better. Over the year roots will grow into some of the clods and help break them up, but a rototiller will also help. Here I have alot of sandstone shards mixed in so rototilling is difficult and I do all of my prep with just a short handled shovel so redigging and whacking dry clods is a rite of Spring.

taz, I'd do it anywhwere. have you really gotten to the point that even your hobbies have to be quick and easy?

You can't shovel rocks. It would take a backhoe or bulldozer to do that here.
When you're disabled nothing is quick and easy enough.

You don't have to use herbicide!!! Just do the plowing properly and at the right time.

If your wild grass is Bahia grass. Organic herbicide, clear plastic sheets, & hot sun (Solarization for 3-6 months) works.
Nothing I have tried, that is organic, has worked. Save a shovel, shake out the soil letting the grass dry on tin for a week or two. I know this is slow work, but you have to do what is best for your garden.

OK, so, I'd love to use this moldboard plow... plow now and till later ... but where can I find one? I did some searching and I take it you can get one that might be pulled by a riding lawn mower -- is that correct?

No, it takes a tractor to pull a plow properly.

Man, did I ever screw up, if I listen to what several posters say. I need to throw out my hundreds of seedling and cancel my orders for thousands of other seeds, since according to them, it won't work. I might as well forget about my 16,000 (maybe 24,000) sq. ft. plot of land I plan to lease this year - since it will be full of weeds or I will need a warehouse of cardboard to make it usable.

Sarcasm aside, been there, done that, had a bountiful harvest. Is it easy, no. But for 600 sq. ft. it's not hard. That sod is some of the best fertilizer money can buy. Wait until it dries completely - not rock hard but not damp, at all. Till it going north/south, then east/west (or vice versa)on it and dry out a couple of times. By this time, it should be close to the time to plant, so till it 2, 3, 4 times. You'll find almost all the sod has deteriorated into almost compost and your soil will be fluffy.

Will you have weeds? Sure. But they will not overrun your garden or choke out your plants, unless you take a month off. I usually let mine grow a bit before I pull them up, just because I need "greens" to add to my compost pile. But the best thing is that decomposing sod will help keep your roots aerated. At the same time, if you get too much rain, it will drain better but if it gets real dry, it will retain some moisture.

Best of luck this year and post pictures as the season progresses!

Mike

+1 for what Mike said.

Here is A moldboard plow to pull from a lawn mower. See link below.I have one that works with a old John deere 314 lawn tractor. Its only 14hp I plowed garden after garden over the years. I now have a tractor with a pto tiller. That I use to till gardens for people all the time. Ever now and then I will get a customer that wants there garden plowed and some times I use the small lawn tractor. You need to search the Internet for best price. I got mine through Lowes for $225.00 + shipping. But don't think they sell the anymore. You will also need a sleeve hitch. The plow works great!!!

Here is a link that might be useful: moldboard plow

cbfindlay, Sorry I should have said I got the plow from Home Depot. Here is the link below. They are $249.00 Now
They don't stock them in the store you will have to order it from them. It will take 3 to 7 days for it to come in.

Here is a link that might be useful: Moldboard plow Home Depot

I got a potato plow my dad left me. You just need a horse to pull it. Now that is organic.

Nobody said anything about plowing 4 times not working. But you till it only ONCE and you will have no harvest whatsoever. Follow the thread, your advice is just what everyone told him days ago.

wokney,

Hope you get a life!

Mike

At my last house I converted a 200sq.ft. section of lawn into a garden. It was very thick turf on clay, and would have been back breaking to turn by hand. We rented a sod remover for the day from Taylor Rental. It skims the lawn off, slicing about an inch or so below the soil line in long rows. I recall the strips being about 18' wide, maybe a little more.

After the strips were cut, I chopped the strips into shorter lengths and carted them off to the side, laying them face down in a big pile. Then I amended the bare soil with lots of organic mulch and planted that year. No weeds, no grass. Beautiful.

The turf in the big pile died, and was put back into the garden the next year. It was a wonderful, fluffy soil amendment.

Great post! I'm going through this process right now, and am a bit confused as well. My first year, I hand shoveled and dragged away 75 sq ft of sod. (Soooo hard!) I had some flooding issues, because I didn't add enough new soil/ammendments. But I heaped the sod up in a pile, and by the next year, it has decomposed into wonderful material. I backfilled and ammended. Going great.

But last year, I didn't plan ahead, and now find myself with a new plot of grass. I covered it yesterday to kill off the grass before tilling, but i am afraid I won't have enough time. I have spinach, lettuce and peas going in maybe next month, and plan on adding compost and peat. Do I have enough time?

I doubt you will have enough time to get your greens planted in time. You should be good on your may crops, beans, tomatoes, peppers etc. By the time everyting dries enough to work it I would imagine it would be late april.

I recall the strips being about 18' wide, maybe a little more.

Yikes! I presume you mean 18"?

Mike

Pretty simple.

The first thing I would do is go buy some Round-Up concetrate and start spraying. This stuff takes a while to work, especially this time of year - a few weeks. Warm weather helps and bright sun helps even more when applying. Obviously wind and wet ground are bad...I have used it effectively here in Cincinnati in December for the following season.

Second, a garden tiller will be tough work in sod but it is do-able, just be prepared for a sore back...You'll want a better tiller... This is a good time to ammend your soil with mulch, possibly sand or whatever you think you need. Compost is always good. A second till when things dry out is always good. My place is way too wet to even think about it right now. If you were going to do some raised beds, the sod will be less of an issue, but personally, I wouldn't do raised beds just because of this...

If you are just planting things like peppers, tomatoes and a few mounds of melons, I would just concetrate on amending these key areas w/ a shovel for now - deep holes. Still till everything up but pay extra attention to these areas. If you like, buy some weed fabric or black plastic and stake it down. Otherwise, keep your Round-Up handy and also some Preen. Newspaper & dried grass clippings work okay directly under the plants. Cardboard, if thats your look...

I'm liking the mold plow idea. Never considered this for a smaller garden. Sound a little pricey to me. I don't know anyone to share the cost with. I haven't noticed it for rent at a local tool rental, but I might inquire. I question if my mower will be able to "tow" it though. Anybody who OWNS one think my 22hp Craftsman Graden tractor will do a moldplow justice???