Starting off with new ground

I do intend on starting a blog for these questions, once I get a few photos first I suppose to make it interesting

The ground I plan on planting is currently a "field" though never grazed it has swathes of long grass, very few weeds (though its winter so hard to tell, but from memroy in summer it was quite clear)

I do have access to a topper and tractors, should I just cut it all down as low as possible?

Thats a pic of the area to be planted, the bushes you can see surround it, on 2 sides with a very large tree on the right side as you see it(may need cut down soon due to its age and instability).

My questions then on preparation

1. Once I cut the grass down, should i spray it and kill it off? or rotivate? I do plan on double digging afterwards to improve the soil, being at the bottom of a large hill and our general area being very stony, I imagine we have only a few inches of topsoil.

2. The hedges surrounding the field, they do act as a barrier, possibly slightly as a wind barrier, and I dont intend on planting right up to the edge, even still they are quite numerous and thick, and im considering cutting them down or at least "trimming" their tops to allow better sunlight...even if anyone could identify what kind of hedge or trees they are? they are almost like stems and very closely bunched.

Thank you! the preparation of the grass is the main bit stumping me in terms of my approach, and considering its January I need to get moving

 

Evening, sorry I've only just seen this

I can't claim to be an expert, but I have some experience of fighting open countryside.

Re point 1.

Have you decided yet what you want to grow? I reckon if you fill it with spuds, even if you don't get an amazing crop, it will help break the ground up and suppress the regrowth of grass and weeds.

Before you resign yourself to double digging it, see what you've got first. It's a lot of effort and it might not be necessary.

If its full of stones and you use a rotavator, wear some good boots when you do it and be prepared to have stones chucked violently at your shins.

Re point 2.

I don't know what the hedges are, but they're not the usual suspects of Hawthorn and Blackthorn. Topping them will let more light in short term, but it will also stimulate growth so they'll soon be just as tall but most likely thicker with it.

Don't rush it. If you expect too much too quick you'll just end up feeling overwhelmed.

I'd suggest you will want at least rabbit proof fencing around it if you intend to grow anything other than potatoes (which rabbits don't eat). You said the land is not grazed, but I bet you it is when nobody is looking. Rabbits and Deer will destroy all your efforts if you don't take steps to protect your crops from them, and mark my words, they will be there.

 

Thanks clueless! I had intended on at least 50% of it for raspberries and blackberries, other fruit bushes may be added such as gooseberries and currants.

As for actual veg they may be a possibility, I had been told about planting potatoes, which I may do with the other half or indeed the full plot, either way it needs dug and something added to it, i havent even looked into what it takes for potatoes to grow ha!

We definitely have rabbits and deer, and I was planning on fencing it well off all around. Ill leave the bushes as they are then, they arent too tall and best not get into too much at first as you say.

The ground that you cant see (where im standing) is at a slight height compared to that in the photo, so was potentially going to add raised beds, though when I dig into it Ill see better.

 

If you've got Couch grass in there, rotavating it will just make a quadrillion more plants, best to spray it off when its actively growing (no good doing it now) and then grow spuds in it like Clueless says, it'll help to clear it.

Potatoes will be fine straight into the soil, but would benefit from some well rotted manure or compost in the trenches as you sow them

Can't make out what the bushes are.

 

Depends. If you want a good crop, then they need the most well fed ground you can provide. Lots of organic matter, preferably horse poo (and unlike most crops, they can take it fairly fresh).

If you just want them to help prepare the ground for future crops, then they are much less fussy and will still produce dense foliage, but wont do so well at producing good spuds.

When you grow spuds in ground that was previously grassland, there is an increased risk that wireworm will spoil your crop.

 

Hmm, well then without going the spud route at all and just digging and prepping my ground straight for raspberries, any advice for that? again Id planned in coming weeks to cut the grass down as seen in the pictures and then "double digging" the eventual raspberry rows whilst mixing in a good layer of manure etc, it wouldnt be planetd until March/late Febrary

we dont have horses nor have we stables nearby, but we do have cows! plenty of them! and I could get a good mix of organic material into it.

Shouldnt have couch grass Zigs but ill keep an eye out and scan over what weeds we do have in it, thankfully never had rushes, which around here is a sign of wet ground, the actual field is a good 5 foot above the road level, so alot of room for it to drain away.

In regards to potatoes however, I may well plant them in the the other half, as I would like to plant other veg there, potatoes in Ireland is too stereotypical ha, so something else I dont regularly get (plus being butchers we get most v eg for very little, and my goal is really little oddities or things I really like to eat or dont get in qantity or quality) and would appreciate more.

Thank you for the help guys, its helping me alot in planning

 

Been there done that and got the Tee shirt or should that be callouses

I could write a fair bit about the subject but it would be a bit boring so can I suggest you have a look at this article I wrote under the title " Allotments" which is what effectively you are trying to achieve.

What it does do is ensure is that you won't makes the mistakes I made.

When I did mine there was no internet and things were done on a trial and error basis hence me writing this article and associated links.;

http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Allotments/Allotments.htm

 

1. I would definitely spray it with Roundup (but not until it is actively growing, as already said). Just making work keeping it clean the first year otherwise.

However, that would mean delaying rather a long time before you can start.

I converted some rough pasture to vegetable patch and I got the local farmer to plough it, then hired a mini tractor with PTO driven rotavator to break it up. Very glad I did that, got me going quickly for the first year, and then proper digging / raised beds / etc. came along a bit later, rather than having a huge task on Day one.

Your plot looks as though it might be big enough for that sort of treatment?

A walk-behind rotatvator is extremely hard work on unbroken ground, and the self propelled ones leap around all over the place and its like wrestling a gorilla! hence my suggestion to start with agricultural kit to get you off to a flying start.

2. I'd have the farmer flail-mow them to get them back under control. The shelter they provide will make a significant difference to your crops and yield, so I wouldn't cut them down (unless that's the only way to tame them and get them to thicken up again - if you can afford it, or fancy learning how, then "laying" the hedge would be the best way to rejuvenate it and thicken it up. That would then keep the deer out on those sides, at least)

Looks to be quite a large area to put it down to 50% soft fruit, but maybe the photo is deceptive? What sort of dimensions are we talking about?

 

Thanks guys for your replies, sorry Im so late replying myself, didn't check for responses! We will need to look about a plough and rotivator, we farm ourselves but granda is mostly retired so less machinery around, the hedges themselves were cut down along the road side but alot do remain, they grow from 1 base however then spread into dozens of vertical branches, still unsure what they are.

I will be posting a thread in the garden project section in the next few days and updating it with dimensions etc including photographs if yous wouldnt mind keeping an eye on it and all input much appreciated!

 

Hi Shiney, deer we can handle as well as rabbits, the hedge will give a windbreak but Ill be fencing the lot, deer wont be approaching from the side in view as its against a busy road and the back is covered in thick blackthorn!.

The reason we have never grazed it in years is because its very small and connected to an old now derelict house, all of which isnt fenced off so for that reason never bothered with, wasnt worth the hastle of fencing considering its size. The plot itself is connected to a massive hill behind it that we own, what you see grazed (acros the road) is neighbours land.