Ryan Daum

When starting my vineyard last year I rented a decent sod cutter, put it on its deepest setting. The sod was rolled up and put in piles at the end of each row, upside down, and it broke down into rich soil I used elsewhere later.

For some rows I rototilled others not.

I then put my transplants and bare root vines in and mulched heavily with woodchip and straw.

I'd like to say this was a success, but I had a _lot_ of weeds come up, and plants were slow to establish in the first year. I was hoping to preserve topsoil structure. The rows I rototilled did better. Second year I can't say I notice any difference.

I now just rototill and while I feel slightly bad about it, it is perennials I'm planting, and after mulching the top soil is protected and rebuilding.

I don't have a working plow for my tractor but I've had some luck with a modified scraper blade; I angle it into the ground and dig a V, then walk-behind rototill through that.

I'm in East Flamborough, near Waterdown / Millgrove, pretty new to the greater Hamilton area. We have 6 1/2 acres, on which I've planted a vineyard, some apples, nuts, etc. I'm interested broadly in permaculture in the broader sense of permanent agriculture, restoration agriculture though not so much that I'd be willing to take a PDC, especially when the focus of many seems so much on urban gardens and food forests and the like.

Anyways, Hamilton has potential to be a great city. It's got a very unique geo location.