Posts Tagged ‘buckwheat’

Preparing Ground for Fruit Trees & Berries

It’s been one full year now since I began preparing ground for fruit trees, blueberries, and raspberries.  In time these perennials will really help to round out my CSA offering, and I have close to an acre to devote to these crops.  I’ll probably write about the varieties I’m planting in another post, but I wanted first to talk about the ground preparation that has gone into it.

When you’re starting out with thick sod, it takes a lot to get to the point where those grasses are no longer going to compete with your perennials.  Some people recommend spending two or even three seasons getting this ground ready, but I’m feeling good about the one-year turn around.  Here’s what I’ve done:

Fall ‘08 - Initial disking (x2), plowing, rototilling, winter cover crop.

Spring ‘09 - Mow/disk cover crop, plow, rototill, irrigate, weed till, buckwheat/vetch cover crop.

Summer ‘09 - Irrigate, mow/disk cover crop, irrigate again to sprout weeds.

Fall ‘09 - Amend with rock phosphate (& lime for fruit trees), chisel plow, wait for rain, rototill, make beds for berries, establish dutch clover/forage herb ground cover in orchard area.

Winter ‘09/‘10 - Plant Berries & Trees!, mulch, set up irrigation.