First time tilling question

Do I need to do anything to the sod before I start tilling the ground? Like cut it, or dig it up, or turn it over?

I have an 18x40 patch to do for the first time this year. I have an antique Arians 5.5hp rear tine with some kinda adjustable bar on the back. And I have time, and shovels if necessary. 

I wouldn't think so. When I turned part of an old pasture into a garden space I initially tilled it up with a moldboard plow, let that sit awhile, and then went through it with a tractor mounted rototiller.

Assuming your tiller has enough HP to get through the ground I don't think it'll be much of an issue.

If it's a spot that's never been tilled, and you've only got 5.5 HP, you'll probably have to set your tines shallow, and make multiple passes, gradually increasing depth.

Unless the grass is tall enough to potentially wrap up in the tiller's tines, there's no real need to mow it prior to tillage.

The peg helps to set your depth.  It sinks through the tilled stuff to the hard stuff.  You'll adjust that based on the hardness of the soil.  It's also a pretty vague helper.  I kind of ignore it and just lift/drop the tines as needed.

No need to take up the grass.  You can till and then just remove the grass clumps with a rake or by hand.  If you want to make it a wee bit easier, tarp the area for a couple days.  The moisture it holds in will soften the thatch at the base of the grass.  You can also do a shallow pass that is just an inch or so to chew up the sod instead of mixing it in with 6" of pretty, cultivated soil.

Kudos for having the right equipment.  The tiller you use has little to do with the size of the plot and a lot to do with what you're tilling.  If you're tilling up last year's garden, you can use one of those cultivator attachments for your weed whacker, but cutting through sod and packed soil means weight and power.

I lent my old Troy-Bilt 5-horse rear tine tiller to a friend of mine a few years back who was pretty much doing the same thing.  I warned him, "if you're busting sod, be careful, that thing will dig in, pull the tines out of the soil and pull you along with it."

When he brought the tiller back, he said to me:  "You know, when you told me that about getting pulled around by that tiller I said to myself, well maybe it'll pull you along, but no way it can pull me."  Let me tell you, there were a few times it did just that.  It was like I was skating on the ground trying to hold it back."

5 HP doesn't sound like much, but the  gear drive for the tines generates a lot of torque.  Tilling prepped soil is nothing.  Busting sod can be a challenge.

Wear a good pair of gloves and boots, and make sure all the safety gear is in place and functioning.

Edit:  I'll add that around these parts of central VA, the soil is hardpan clay, and depending on the moisture content, can feel about like concrete.

Like the others said, you'll want to do it in 3 passes or so, your tiller is fine.  Plan on it taking most of the day as you get the big rocks out of the way.

Set your mower wheels at the lowest spot and cut the grass short as possible first.  Or, attack with a string trimmer as low as possible.  Shallow pass with the tiller then, and rake the remaining grass away.  Its kind of a pain in the butt.  From there you should be able to work yourself down.

Your shoulders will be quite unhappy with you the next day.

I'm just glad to hear I don't need to break it out by hand first.

It's raining tonight, supposed to be beautiful the rest of the weekend though, so I'm hoping to start around lunch tomorrow. 

I planned on 3 or more passes, but never having done this before I wasn't sure.

I am going to try working a deal to buy this old tank though. I know my buddy got it cheap, but has no use for it. I'm going to need it every year.

Depends on the ground, but it can take lots of passes. Even try crossways. The main issue is once the ground is getting soft it will dig to China and take you with it.

Were it me, I'd till the existing grass into the soil.

You're not losing a ton by removing it, but by incorporating the existing grass into the soil, you're keeping that organic matter, and the nutrients currently bound up in the grass, in the garden plot for your, assumed, vegetables to use.

Higher organic matter is going to make for better soil, so not only are you keeping those nutrients in your soil, you're increasing CEC, keeping microbes happy, increasing water infiltration capacity, and doing something to improve soil structure despite tillage.

Think ahead about winter time covers, cereal rye, maybe mix in some kind of brassicas, to help maintain your soil structure and keep your soil from washing away.

Lee said:

Were it me, I'd till the existing grass into the soil.

You're not losing a ton by removing it, but by incorporating the existing grass into the soil, you're keeping that organic matter, and the nutrients currently bound up in the grass, in the garden plot for your, assumed, vegetables to use.

I agree with the statement and the reason, but with the grass and typical climate around here, that just means your newly tilled patch will be back to a lovely green lawn in a matter of weeks.  If I'm going to do it that way, I tarp it for at least a month (3 is better) to kill whatever is there first.  

You can bury a clump of sod 6" down and it will just re-grow.

In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :

Chemical burn down a few days to a week before tillage would fix that.

I remove the sod only to fill holes or raise the grade level where necessary.  My last passes of tilling are only to incorporate fresh horse manure, but I wonder if leaving the sod intact and tilled in, would that find its way back?

Well I finally got started on this today. Damn tiller wanted new seats and needles and jets, then wanted to be really stubborn about actually running.

But it runs now. And this sucks. I scalped the yard yesterday, then took a pass over the area at the lowest setting on the tiller that would still break ground.

I'm going to need to do probably 4 to 6 passes. I got one full one in today after everything else and I'm done.

Going to alternate long ways and narrow ways until it looks and feels good.

Some soil is just a pain.  I remember when we plowed our corn field, we used a 5-bottom plow behind a 28 hp tractor.  If we crossed the creek to do a friend's field, we had to take the 3-bottom to dig the clay-based soil over there.  I would imagine though if we went across the mountain into the limestone areas, we could have dragged 6 moldboards with the same tractor.

RevRico said:

Well I finally got started on this today. Damn tiller wanted new seats and needles and jets, then wanted to be really stubborn about actually running.

But it runs now. And this sucks. I scalped the yard yesterday, then took a pass over the area at the lowest setting on the tiller that would still break ground.

I'm going to need to do probably 4 to 6 passes. I got one full one in today after everything else and I'm done.

Going to alternate long ways and narrow ways until it looks and feels good.

You make me feel a bit guilty.  Our land was formerly a farm so the soil is pretty easy working.   I had set up our chicken coops and runs over the area we wanted to plant this spring so over the winter they took care of grass removal and fertilizing.   Just a couple of passes with the tiller today to have it all ready for planting.

 plenty of berkeleying around with my tiller combined with a hot day led to someone with a John Deere sub compact with a tiller coming over and giving me a beautiful 20x 40 patch.

But now what? Make a mound and put a plant in it? 

My plants are beyond ready to get out from the tent and into the dirt.

In reply to RevRico :

Hey, that's cheating!

So the season is coming to a close. Once once picked the last of the pumpkins, I'm going to mulch and till the plot for the fall. 

Should I cover it over winter? Would that help kill all the seeds from rotten veggies or would it help them strive come spring?

Plan is to till it until it looks clean again in the fall them again in the spring, work what I can down into the soil for nutrition in the coming season, and hope it doesn't wash away with the thaw. 

The plan is peppers on the tomatoes side and tomatoes on the peppers side for next year, and far far far far fewer tomatoes.