Small-Scale Farming Equipment

Using Tarps for Weed Control

Hand labor is an expensive cost item in small-scale farming. One solution is to find a tool that might work to reduce the need for repetitive manual work. Learn how various small-scale pieces of equipment can be used to reduce hand labor. Photos and videos show equipment for establishing beds, precision planting, cultivation, and other forms of weed management.

Presentations from Workshop, May 2015

• Till in your cover crop early to save as much rainfall supplied soil moisture as possible
• Increase OM content of soil – over time, by adding compost
• Fix irrigation system leaks
• Water shallow and frequent for shallow rooted crops
• Water deep for deep-rooted crops or not at all for dry-farmed crops
• Time irrigations based on daily demand (evapotranspiration rates)   
• Select & time crops that use less water
• Apply mulch
• Control weeds

• Soil management basics – know your soil and rotate crops
• Tractor configurations – bed spacing – important for precision transplanting and cultivation
• Soil compaction challenges – keep compaction to the wheel traffic area
• Tillage systems- subsoilers, chisels, spaders, rototillers, discs, plows, spring tooth and lilliston cultivators
• Bedding systems – bedding disc, bed shapers, precision seeders, precision cultivators