Ahsun Chaudhry

Joseph Lofthouse wrote:
One thing that brings me a lot of joy, is when people post photos of a horrifying looking bug that is infesting one of their garden plants... Check out photos of ladybug larvae to see what I mean...

LOL jeeze they do look quite threatening

Bryant RedHawk wrote:

I assume that 30" beds refers to the height of the bed? or is that a  width reference? Either way, how long is each bed going to be? What type of raised bed are you describing, open mound or boxed in?

30" wide, hundred feet long, open mound.

I was afraid that tilling after occulation would bring up new weed seeds from the ground

Hello everyone,

Looking to build 30" raised beds on land that was used for soybean crop last season (and many seasons before that). It's left bare after harvesting, so plenty of weeds have taken hold. How do I proceed? Is passing through the area with a deep roto-till sufficient? Or must the larger weeds be removed by hand?

The beds will not be in use while I am nursing seedlings anyway, so I was thinking of cultivating deeply with a walking tractor (this is the only time I will be doing this, intend to follow minimum tillage practices), covering the area with a tarp for a couple weeks while the seedlings grow, then removing the tarps to raise the beds with a rotary plow.

Also, when would I add amendments to boost organic matter during this whole process? Before the beds are raised, after, just before transplanting seedlings etc. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Ahsun

So I'll be moving to a farm the family purchased in about a week or so, to begin getting things set up.

Parents don't have the capital for a greenhouse at the moment, the house on the property is being renovated and the power is disconnected. Will need a place to start seeds. I was thinking about having a few posts holding up a sheet of plastic, with the edges buried into the soil. If you have any ideas please let me know.

Ahsun

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone.

This is the path I intend to follow, healthy, vigorous vegetables that can fend off disease and insects by their lonesome. Time will tell what works and what doesn't I suppose. Wanted to supplement that with some added protection. I'll look into native species of flowers, was planning on lining either side of the garden with a 4-footish row of them. What about bushes/hedges? Will any native species do the trick? What sort of birds do I want in the garden? Should I introduce ladybugs etc on my own, or grow the flowers and hope that they will come? Perhaps both?

Hello everyone!

Going to take my first stab at farming this year, beginning with a .5 acre vegetable garden, which will eventually be expanded to 1.5-2 acres. I'd like to avoid pesticides at all costs, will be using insect netting and the like. Came here to ask about planting beneficial flowers/hedgerows to relieve insect pressure.

Some info about the area: the property is located in a 5a-5b zone (Innisfil, Ontario), 22 acres of arable land and 24ish of protected wetland. Soybean crop and glyphosate dominate the surrounding landscape (our property had been used to cultivate soybean for a decade or so before we purchased it), although we do have a 5-7 kilometer stretch of bush which terminates at our property. The soil is towards the clayish side, but nothing too severe.

I'd like to know what species to plant, how to plant them, the whole shebang...Would like to attract beneficial birds as well. Would the birds eat the beneficial insects though? lol

Regards, Ahsun

PS: In the first year I plan to have 3 beehives, 10 hens or so, and the .5 acre garden. In the future we plan to add a 3-4 acre pasture, acres of an assortment of berries, orchards, and eating grapes. Thought i'd add this information in case we could plan ahead in terms of pest control.