[IH Cub Cadet]

Sam,

I'm a little late to this thread, but on your first pass in virgin soil, I'd hire someone to come in and either moldboard and disc the garden or till it. There ought to be someone in your neck of the woods who could do this for you.

Once you get the virgin sod carved up, then maintaining it is much easier.

I've got a 50 x 50 garden and I use either my Cub Cadet 1650 and hopefully soon my 126 (in addition to my other color tractors) to moldboard the garden. I've got two tillers, a nice and heavy duty Troybilt Horse model tiller that I use vs a disc to bust up the moldboard plowed ground. I also use it to maintain my garden, in addition to a smaller Simplicity tiller. The reason i use a moldboard plow, is simply because it's just plain FUN!!! Life is good when your getting seat time using a moldboard plow. But really, I could dispense with the plow and just use the tiller.

Rocks and a rear time tiller can make for a bumpy ride, so hopefully you won't encounter to much of that. One thing you might encounter in your neck of the woods is deer! So be prepared to put up at least an electric fence.

I enjoy my garden, the food I get out of it and especially the exercise I get just working it. Beats a treadmill every time!

BTW, this year I am planning on starting my garden on April 19th. That is the day (where I live) when, according to the weather channel, the average temps are to be at 70 deg's. In his hay day, my Dad would already have potatoes, peas and onions in the ground.

Good luck,
Bill