Starting the Vegetable Garden 2020

stavebuyer · March 02, 2020, 09:01:57 AM

Okay I know its early. The ground was frozen yesterday morning and still a dusting of snow in fully shaded spots but it got into the 60s yesterday afternoon. Too wet for the tractor and tiller but I broke out the 2-cycle cultivator and worked up a spot adjacent to my garden fence for some peas. And two other small spots for some spinach and onion sets. I love eating out of the garden. The first cycle of taters will go in if we ever get 3 or 4 days in a row without rain so I can get the ground worked in earnest. 8)

Playing in the mud today so I can be looking at this in a couple months.

thecfarm · March 02, 2020, 04:53:27 PM

I am looking forward to it too!!!

A-z farmer · March 03, 2020, 09:00:34 PM

Stavebuyer
You are right to get a jump on the cold tolerant veggies.We always plant the onion plants because they always grow the biggest .We get them shipped in from Texas by the case .And by the case is not very expensive compared to buying the sets .
Good luck with your garden this year.

davch00 · March 05, 2020, 10:32:26 PM

I know what you mean about the rain. I don't think we have more than 3 days in a row without rain and most of them are cloudy so the ground doesn't dry very much. I grow a little sweet corn and pumpkins to sell and with sweet corn planting time a little over a month away I starting to get a little impatient.

stavebuyer · March 06, 2020, 03:21:29 AM

Saturday will be the 7th day without precipitation. I hitched up and readied the "horses" for working up the dirt tomorrow. I bought the 1998 1520 5 years ago. (It has the canopy) I think it was the last year for that series. Handiest machine I have ever owned and I have owned a lot of stuff. Small enough to get in tight spots, easy to move with a half ton PU and with 4wd does a surprising amount of work for its size. The newer 2008 T1520 is pretty much identical except they have bumped up the horsepower to 35. Still no computers and all metal. I will be hanging on to them.

stavebuyer · March 07, 2020, 04:05:35 PM

I will hit again tomorrow but the ground worked up very nicely. ;D

thecfarm · March 08, 2020, 08:39:58 AM

stavebuyer, nice line up you have there.
I have two of them too. One a 30hp and one a 40hp. A big difference in the size of mine. The small one is really the wife's. I have even waxed that one a few times. The small one really is just a mower. The big one is the work horse. That one does not get waxed, ;D Both have a lot of hours on them.
That ground looks good. Still all white here, but not much white. Had an easy winter on snow. But we can still get more.

davch00 · March 09, 2020, 11:02:09 PM

I think that size is a handiest size tractor. I've been looking a john deere 3038e or 3033r but I'm having a hard time with the price! I still need to go look at some kubotas. I have also considered new holland but the closest dealer that has away in stock is over a hour away.

It almost got dry enough to work ground here yesterday, but it rained again today. I did see a couple of sandier fields that had been worked but all I have for dirt is gumbo and its not a good idea to mess with it while its wet.

stavebuyer · March 10, 2020, 05:32:40 AM

Quote from: davch00 on March 09, 2020, 11:02:09 PM
I think that size is a handiest size tractor. I've been looking a john deere 3038e or 3033r but I'm having a hard time with the price! I still need to go look at some kubotas. I have also considered new holland but the closest dealer that has away in stock is over a hour away.

It almost got dry enough to work ground here yesterday, but it rained again today. I did see a couple of sandier fields that had been worked but all I have for dirt is gumbo and its not a good idea to mess with it while its wet.

I looked into buying new but decided to stay with a low hour "no electronics". As an aside I know they are proud of the new ones but if you can get over the hump this sized tractor really holds value. I bought the 1st 1520 used from a JD dealer. I was offered what I paid 5 years ago as a trade in value. If you sell or trade down the road your usage will likely be fairly cheap. Everyone that has a hunting lease or garden spot wants one.

davch00 · March 10, 2020, 10:39:16 PM

They are definitely proud of them. Especially the green ones. I've been mainly looking for a used one but it seems around here for not much more than the asking price of something with 500+ hours, I can buy a new one. Now is you start looking at tractors without loaders the price drop pretty fast. I might go the route of buying a tractor without a loader and getting an aftermarket loader for it, but I need to check into that a little more.

stavebuyer · March 11, 2020, 02:51:25 AM

Quote from: davch00 on March 10, 2020, 10:39:16 PM
They are definitely proud of them. Especially the green ones. I've been mainly looking for a used one but it seems around here for not much more than the asking price of something with 500+ hours, I can buy a new one. Now is you start looking at tractors without loaders the price drop pretty fast. I might go the route of buying a tractor without a loader and getting an aftermarket loader for it, but I need to check into that a little more.

They are plenty proud of the new after-market loaders. The Westendorf with skid steer QA hook ups and valves/joystick was right at 4k installed.

davch00 · March 11, 2020, 10:51:48 PM

4K is better than the 5k john deere wants for one of their loaders. I really haven't checked much other than deere because they are the closest to me, and have 3 different dealers within 30 or so miles of me. There is a couple of Case IH dealer close but they only carry the red one and don't seem like they want to mess with a blue tractor. I still haven't looked at any Kubota's yet but plan to in the very near future.