Hello,
I have recently come across a little over 10 acres of overgrown area/old Christmas tree farm.
A little background of the land:
20 years ago the land had been farmed for corn and beans and then was never tilled again once the Christmas trees were planted. The only thing on the ground has been wildlife and nothing has been sprayed. The ground has not been tilled in 20+ years but it is very compact. I dug up a few clumps in various spots and found 4-5 earthworms in each shovel scoop.
The end goal here is to be a fully no till organic garden.
We are currently having the land cleared but all material will be left. They are grinding a big portion of the trees down flush with the ground and leaving the chips and shavings on the ground. 5 years ago we had an entire portion of the land mulched down and brush regrew on that 3 acres.
My plan is to get cover crop in there (I know its already getting late) but it will be better than nothing.
My question is what should I do with all of the brush from the brush mower and tree shavings/chunks from the land clearing?
Scrape it all up and compost it? flame it for biochar on the top layer of the soil? Let it sit and broadcast my cover crop seeds into it and then rake it some what for better seed-soil contact?
here are a few pictures of the matieral/land I will be dealing with and doing my best to incorporate it back into the soil. And as quickly as possible to have a few acres ready for next spring.
I do have a brush mower and a tractor. Any tool recommendations would be appreciated as I am trying to gather as much knowledge and tools as I can this fall/winter.
Thank you for reading!
