local land fills often give away free mulch (or at least at a reduced rate). you can also find sources of manure and compost on Craigslist (for free or very cheap).
In the fall you can collect leaves from area neighborhoods. You can also contact local restaraunts about collecting organic waste from them (discarded vegetables and/or coffee grinds). You will need to supply them with barrels and you will have to pick them every couple of days and drop off replacement barrels.

you should be able to do something with your ATV and a seed spreader and possibly overseed the property with winter rye, for increased mowing.

basically build up large compost bins on your property with anything and everything organic you can find.

if you can afford it now, and have a way of storing and protecting it... a small tractor would be a good investment. It would be of great assistance to you now, and get your land prepped faster.

You could be growing crops next spring.

Hauling in and tilling in manure means you need a tractor and plow since a riding mower is not going to do that. Even if one has an 18 to 24 HP riding mower with a rototiller attachment means the time needed to work that area would be more than most people would want to spend doing that. Growing green manure/cover crops also means something other than a riding mower, even though you could simply mulch mow those.
Unless you purchase, or maybe lease, the proper equipment simply mulch mowing the grass growing there and any tree leaves you might get are about the only real options you have at this time.

How is the moisture situation? If you have enough water/rain, you can grow quite a bit of cover crop, then mow it down time and again, let the worms and the micro-herd do the soil building instead of plowing - and 7 years is plenty of time for this to work.

IOW, grow and mow and leave nature take its course.

I'd check with the local extension service and see what sort of cover crops do well. Here, I've irrigation water, and used everything from clover to fava to alfalfa - right now I have beds with a 3 foot high stand of cow peas that I'll just let the frost and weather mow for me, leave over the winter, then plant something next year.

We have 5 acres and if I had planned it I would have sown a mixed cover crop, something like Johnny seeds mix of oats, vetch and field peas and just let it re-seed every year. When it dies it will fall in place it will act as a much and the organic matter will develop over time. I would also concentrate on the perimeter and if I needed a wind break, I would plant it right now. I really wish we had done that when we bought our land 7 years ago.

As far as mowing, in our area there are plenty of people with tractors and they only charge $55 an hour and 3 acres could probably be done in about 1.5-2 hours every year if need be.

A mix of annual rye and clover will do wonders for the soil. The rye is deep rooted and will help with water penetration. During the warm season plant tuberous plants such as tillage radish. They will break up the upper layers of soil.
You may want to do a search on no till farming. I know you are not farming but they have good ideas that work on home gardens too.
The biggest problem I see is raising the pH. You can use lime but unfortunately just applying it on top is a very slow process. Lime P and K will only move about 1/8 inch a year in the soil. Then you are trying to increase the organic matter. Decomposing organic matter can also lower the pH. What I do , on a much larger scale, is first get the pH right along with the P & K. Then go on with natures way of building the organics. Unfortunately the only way of doing this, in the lifespan I have left, is to plow it in. I would suggest you either rent the equipment or contract it out.
Maybe just start hauling in organic matter and and new top soil, let it decompose where you plan on having the garden. Add lime as you go. Like a lasagna garden. Earth worms will pull the organics down into the existing dirt.

All of the suggestions are good, except Coughfan has nothing that would get the lime into the soil and get the seed into close contact with the soil. Simply spreading the seed around, especially onto a grassy field, will not result in very good seed germination. Spreading lime onto the soil, not in, means it may well be several years before changes to soil pH are seen,and in the meantime the lime, reacting with water, could kill any seed sown onto the soil.

If you haven't gotten a soil test, get one and see where you stand. Write ORGANIC on the form.

You're probably going to have to lime the soil right off, if the calcium levels are low (and they probably are). Your Calcium and Magnesium levels need to total about 80%, aiming for about 68% Calcium and 12% Magnesium or thereabouts.

For three acres, get the stuff you need to apply, then hire a guy with a plow, preferably a chisel plow, not a moldboard blade.

Ask your local cooperative extension (probably WSU) what cover crop (or mix) would grow best there under the limitations you've got with time and equipment.

Sue

You could check with your local conservation district too and see what they can do for you. Ours has loaner equipment like manure spreaders, and it has a list of farmers who want people to come take manure off their hands. And I've gone on volunteer riparian restoration work parties that turned out to be on private land, donating labor to hobby farmers with a conservation plan from the local conservation district.

Hiring tractor work is probably your best idea. Mowing will add the organic matter slowly, and you do have 7 years, but for seeding you'll need a tractor. Personally I go for adding OM first and worry about the pH later. 5.4 is not that extreme for this part of the world. Having grass and legumes growing on it will raise the pH to some extent.

Any neighbors interested in leasing your land for the next few years as pasture? They'd plant the pasture and you'd get the OM and the manure and some cash. You'd have to make sure it was only lightly grazed. Grass roots are a good way to get OM into the soil with minimal tillage.

Don't worry about the pH at all! Deal with the other main problems and the pH should come around as a result -- don't let it be your deciding factor. Far too much emphasis is placed on pH.

The pH is not the main determining factor here, the calcium/magnesium levels are, that's why the soil test. Liming helps to correct those levels, I'm not advising it to change the pH. Calcium is what puts the nutrients into the plants. If you have low calcium levels, that isn't going to happen.

Your soil has probably been stripped of nutrients because the previous owner took and took, and never returned anything.

If you run livestock on healthy soil, then remove them (sell or slaughter) and bring on more the next year, some of the soil nutrients will be returned to the soil via their manure, but the rest of it will be removed via the body of the livestock. The next herd or flock will remove more. Poor soil can't afford livestock.

The same thing happens with vegetable gardening, because you're removing nutrients.

Always remember TANSTAAFL: There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.

China learned this thousands of years ago. Most American farmers haven't learned it yet.

If your local library doesn't have the video 'Hands-On Agronomy' by Neal Kinsey, ask them to order it via InterLibrary Loan. He also has a book by the same name, that goes into far more detail, but the video is a good start.

1. Soil test
2. Probably liming is needed, ask the soil test people what kind, if they don't say on the printed results.
3. Sow cover crops suitable to your soil, area, and time of year.

Sue

Any lawn care/yard care companies around that would bring you their clippings/leaves? Dump this in mounds all over the property, in a few years you will have some nice material to spread around. You can get a blade for your ATV to push the stuff.

Lloyd

Lloyd,

If the op is situated like me...miles away from the city, they ain't gonna deliver.

belgianpup This has nothing really to do with this thread because I don't see them implementing a livestock operation. I have to disagree with you about livestock not making improvements to worn out farm land soil. If you watch all the videos by this man on utube you will see how it can be done.
http://www.youtube.com/user/boscois#p/u/3/4WZZOiwjXYE
I have personally visited his place and witnessed the results.
I have also improved the ground immensely on 85 acres with the use of livestock and proper grazing management. It is growing and developing a proper cycle along with the proper balance of nutrients that will turn the soil back into a healthy plant growing environment. The proper use of livestock can speed things up.
Some plants are sensitive to pH some are not.

It seems like a massive amount of work to spread compost or compost materials (grass clippings, leaves etc.) over a three-acre property. I look at my yard which is a 1/3 acre lot and imagine trying to do that on 9 times the area using only an ATV. Not going to happen.

Novascapes, the only reason I mentioned livestock was because reg_pnw7 posted the following:

"Any neighbors interested in leasing your land for the next few years as pasture? They'd plant the pasture and you'd get the OM and the manure and some cash. You'd have to make sure it was only lightly grazed."

It sounds like the OP is not AT the location. Thus, anyone who leased the land for livestock is guaranteed to want to make the most out of it. First they turn their animals loose over the entire area at once, with no organized rotation to let the land heal. The animals graze the best plants and leave the rest. Around here, after a few years of poor grazing management, the pasture is one mass of wild daisies and some other junk plants.

Yes, livestock can improve the land, USING PROPER GRAZING MANAGEMENT, as you said. But OTHER PEOPLE do not do that on leased property.

Proper grazing management requires proper soil nutrient balancing as needed, attention to proper rotation grazing (how many head for how many days?), and the willingness to do what is needed. Absentee owners can't do that, and people leasing the property won't.

The best thing for absentee owners to do is to gather and apply what materials they need on the land (maybe lime, maybe other soil nutrients, a mix of carefully chosen cover crops), hiring a local farmer to do the work for him.

Sue

If you could find someone nearby with an abundance of manure, who also had a farm-sized manure spreader, that you could hire to manure your pasture, then you'd be in business.

sorry Cougfan, but what I gather from a lot of people here is that you might as well give up and sell the place and move into a condo.

Seriously folks, he told us his situation and asked for advice. We don't know his/her physical capabilities. Let's give positive advice and let him choose what may or may not be possible.
Personally I've moved 20 yards of mulch around 3 acres by wheelbarrow, manure fork and rake over a weekend. I wouldn't want to do it every weekend but the OP says he has 7 years.
I've seen people tear up fields on ATV's until it was little more than a dustbowl, and they seemed to have fun doing it. After a rain you could do even more destruction and then plant your covercrop.
Like Lloyd said , see if anyone would be willing to dump leaves ,grass ,manure, wood chips for free and just let them rot away.
Cougfan look for the positive and goodluck

I see an awful lot of lime talk going on, which might be appropriate. However, some areas of Eastern Washington are pretty arid and it is not uncommon to see pH values in the upper sevens and sometimes even the low eights. Before throwing lime out there, make sure you know the pH. If you lime an alkaline soil, you could end up making yourself rather sad.
IF that is the case, then gypsum would be a far better material to increase calcium availability. But we don't even know if you need calcium without a soil test. Three acres equates to a lot of whatever material you're going to buy and spread. I recommend a you get the test before you make a big amendment purchase.

darth weeder, you're right. I should not have been quite so negative about the prospect of doing it all by hand, since we really don't know Cougfan's capabilities. I just meant that I saw it as a rather daunting task.

For years I have wanted a compost spreader for the lawn, basically a drum with holes that you tow behind a tractor or ATV. It spreads a nice thin even layer of compost. Which you would have to buy somewhere, like the city composting operation, etc. I can get it for about $12 a ton. It would work great as a do-it-yourself project. Trouble is the commercial compost spreaders of this size (they call them 'estate' size) are about $1000. I thought about making one, and there are videos on YouTube of some really cool home built ones.

BTW, agree that a soil test is deffly in order before adding anything.

I REALLY wish people would stop making that effing knee-jerk reaction about pH and lime!

Lime is calcium, lime is calcium and sulfur, lime is calcium and magnesium.

After a soil test, you use the type of lime that is appropriate! It doesn't matter if your soil pH is 4.0 or 9.0, there is a type of lime that will raise the calcium levels and NOT raise the pH, NOT lower the pH, or leave the pH level where it is.

If the OP is waiting 7 years, that kind of sounds like retirement, to me. That means they're working for a living most of the week, so they probably don't have the time or inclination to spend their weekends hand-digging. They probably are getting paid for their work, and may have a bit more money than time and energy.

ATVs and riding mowers aren't capable of putting the lime and seed where it needs to be. Hire someone with a tractor that can drill the lime and seed in, and it can be done in a day for maybe $100 or so.

Sue

"After a soil test, you use the type of lime that is appropriate!"

YOU know that, and I know that, and most of the rest of us know that, but you never know who is reading. :-] If someone does not know the difference, lime is lime. But the main point - which you've again confirmed - is to get a test *first* before adding anything. And in the process, let the cooperative extension service (or whatever lab is doing it) recommend what to add.

Now now, Belgianpup...take a deep breath. You and I have both been around this place for quite some time. I'm sure you've seen many of my posts. Do you really, and I mean sincerely, believe that my statement regarding lime and pH is a knee-jerk reaction?
If you would like to name a material that you have in mind, I would be happy to explain to you in detail how that product would adjust the soil pH upward or, if the case warrants, explain to you why the product you have in mind isn't considered lime.

"After a soil test, you use the type of lime that is appropriate!"
YOU know that, and I know that, and most of the rest of us know that

I don't know that.

I really wish people would stop making effinng knee jerk reactions about what people can and can't do with their own time and energy. The OP was pretty specific about what they had and their intentions.
They said they had an ATV and a riding mower.
They asked if planting a cover crop and mowing it would add to their organic matter. (YES)
They asked for other ideas.
If the OP's questions were answered directly all would be fine instead of interpreting what they think maybe they meant or what may be what they think is the appropriate answer.
How about they look for an old horse plow , hook it up to the ATV and plow the field.
Heck they could do it by hand with a shovel
I'm sure its been done in the past.
I'm sorry I just hate the negativity sometimes on this board.
Throw anything out there , maybe something will stick

I think all the suggestions made were with good intent and for the most part correct. Sure they can find ways to incorporate amendments with an ATV and lawn mower. The cost of doing it is just not feasible when you get down to it. The equipment, even a used horse drawn plow added to the strain it would put on the ATV, would cost more than having it done. I have personally torn up a lot of equipment by using it for jobs it was not intended to do.
Once the soil is where it needs to be then it will enable it to grow vegetation more rapidly. Then mowed and decomposed letting nature build the soil with a sustainable natural system. This being done with the equipment he has.

It seems to be human nature for a question on a message board to morph into a discussion/debate amongst the members rather than directly addressing the questioner. Especially if we are left alone with the question for a whole week. :-]

I must say it is the first time I have seen 'effing' on a compost forum, much less seeing it twice in the same thread. LOL Relax folks, it's just effing compost!

Tox
thanks for that lol
I was probably sniffing a little too much burlap yesterday

Har! We just can't be left alone around here, maybe we need adult supervision.

Have you ever tried rolling up the burlap and lighting it? Way less fibers to make you sneeze than you get trying to sniff it. :-p

I spread seeds like oats with my ATV when I lived in OK and narrowed it in with a railroad spike harrow (. $25 from a farm sale). The spreader was about $200. With the time the OP is looking at, mowing crops like oats, winter wheat, buckwheat and clovers. Also, having this spreader will allow spreading of poultry manure, which can often be had free from large poultry farms, or horse farms, once it has composted. Ideally, a small, chain driven manure spreader will be purchased, which is made for an ATV and is ideal for this situation.

There are many small implements available for an ATV,most for less than $1,000 and perfect for a 1-5 acre field farm. I also had a pull mower, which I used to mow the Bermuda during the warm months.
BTW, my 5 acres didn't have anything but a few weeds and slick clay when I moved there in 1998. Within 2 years, it was a beautiful year round grazing pasture for 4 horses and a few cattle. It even thrived during one of the worst droughts OK ever saw in 2001-2002. I overseeded each winter with a small grain, had that mowed into round bales in the spring to feed to the cattle, and then allowed the Bermuda to come up. I planted the Bermuda by spreading roots with the manure spreader. I spread manure/ pine shavings/ sawdust from the horses that were stalled.
This can be done and it's not nearly as hard as you guys make it sound. Get a soil test, a great source of manure, some ATV implements and seed cover crops immediately. If you need windbreaks, as I know eastern WA probably does ( I'm Army, stationed in Ft. lewis for one year) you'll want to check with the state. Most states sell bare root seedlings very, very cheaply but you must get the orders in early. These are usually tax deductible if your acreage is made into a small farm. Get those seedlings plante ASAP I

I see 7 happy/fruitful years of planning/dreaming .... where to place the house, grove, garden. Windbreak? Drainage? Neighbors?[getting to know,trade work/resources, etc] Placement of septic system? Pens for chickens, livestock? By all means, keep a journal to keep track of all that you do ..... I can guarantee it will come in handy. Oh, and please roll with the mistakes you WILL make ... gardening/farming/country-living keeps us humble and real. Have fun!

thank you tracydr
you reaffirm anything is possible

"thank you tracydr
you reaffirm anything is possible"

I could not agree more. I have made tremendous improvements on large pieces of ground 1 hour at a time with what little equipment I had. This thread has brought forward many options that the man can use depending on his particular circumstances. He can choose what he feels will best fit his conditions.
The other thing this thread has done is started a debate on pH and lime which I personally would like to see an entire new thread on so we can learn a bit more.

Actually the more I think about it, I am curious about the lime comment as well. Dolomitic lime will have more Mg in it compared to just calcium lime, but they both raise the pH since they are carbonates, no? And gypsum, although full of Ca, is not really lime. Unless that was about CaOH2 vs. CaCO3, but still, these both raise pH. But let's start a new thread on that.

You have it right, toxcrusadr. It's pretty much a slam dunk so....we could start another thread but there really wouldn't be a point to it, unless somebody was dying to see all the gory chemistry details.

Here is a link that says gypsum will lower pH. ( which is what I need to do.)

http://www.cabrillo.edu/~dobrien/pH%20lime%20gypsum.ppt.pdf
I don't think we need to get into the chemistry but rather an explanation of why pH is important. ( I am gathering that pH is actually a measuring tool)

Well, what you have there is a link to a Powerpoint presentation by Doug O'Brien at Cabrillo College.
Sadly, all it proves is that Doug O'Brien of Cabrillo College doesn't know what he is talking about if he thinks you get a downward pH adjustment of 0.1 every time you put a ton of lime on an acre of soil. Neither calcium nor sulfate has a direct effect on soil pH and that's all that gypsum is...calcium and sulfate.

The only time you will have a downward shift in the pH due to gypsum application is when it is applied to a sodic soil (i.e. SAR greater than 15) which has an elevated pH due to that sodium imbalance. (On a side note, very often the text book rise in pH does not accompany sodic soil conditions) Only when sodicity causes an elevation of the pH does gypsum help decrease that pH. And even in those cases the effect is indirect and has to do with improved soil structure allowing for the leaching of sodium rather than any reactions that calcium goes into.

If you need to lower your soil pH, elemental sulfur is your better bet.

As far as why it is important...it is primarily a nutrient availability issue. If the pH is too high or too low, fewer nutrients will be available for a number of reasons. Also, if it gets really low you can start having toxicity issues. I guess if you want to get into it more we can start a new thread.

My soils report recomended 85 lbs of P per acre. I was surprised they had no recommendation for correcting the pH . Mine was 7.8. So when incorporating sulphur, how much and how. Do I hoe it in and how deep, or will in leach in gradually if I just throw some on top?
I appreciate the response. It just goes to prove once again "You can't believe everything you read"

Did the lab determine if lime is present and if so, how much?
Did they report the texture of your soil, or saturation percentage, or cation exchange capacity (CEC), or total exchangeable cations (TEC)? Any of those would help in rate determination.

You will want to till your sulfur in to a depth at least 6 inches since, practically speaking, it will only acidify as deeply as it is incorporated. Without incorporating it in, it would only affect the top 1/4 inch or so of soil. You don't want to put it any deeper than 12 inches. At around that depth and below, the amount of oxygen is not sufficient for the acidification (which is a microbial process) to take place.

Oops ...in my post about the powerpoint presentation I meant a ton of gypsum on an acre of soil won't adjust your pH down. (of course lime won't either but I was addressing his statement regarding gypsum and downward pH adjustment).

I will be taking another soil sample. The one I had was a while back. The information given was based on what I paid for so being the tight wad I am did not get the info. asked above. I will get it on the next test. I know now I have made several other mistakes upsetting the balance required but may address those issues on another thread when I find the time.
Thanks for the advice.

Don't sweat getting all that stuff. Any one of the "or" list of things I mentioned will work. If you are concerned with the reaction of the soil just try to get one of those along with pH and lime content and that would be plenty. (of course, along with anything else you're interested in: major nutrients, minor nutrients, salinity, etc.)

Also, if you already know you have an alkaline soil try to find a lab that regularly performs tests specifically for alkaline soils. It will usually be a combination of extractions (potassium chloride for Mg and Ca, bicarbonate for P, DTPA for micros, etc.) There are some "one shot" extraction methods (the most common being Mehlich 3) which work great for neutral to acid soils but your nutrient values can end up getting out of whack on an alkaline soil. Many labs don't list their methods on their site so you might have to call and ask.

Cougfan

I agree with getting the PH more neutral. And I agree with getting animals on the ground for short periods. I am alarmed at how quickly people want you to tear up that Kentucky blue grass or replace it with annual grasses. Leave it alone. Just plant some kind of perennial legume like clover, alfalfa, vetch, kura, birds foot, etc. The animals will need a better balance than just grass. You will get more carbon in the soil from the roots alone than you could ever haul in. Make sure you have plenty of water. Then let nature do the rest and do not spend any more money or hard work on this one.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pastures

With seven long years, just a soil test, some liming (as pH is now 5.4), some basic annual light fertilization for any indicated main deficiencies, and lying fallow would probably be a decent boost of OM, especially when finally plowed or disced in. Better, locally adapted, perhaps deeper-rooting (to penetrate and open up the clay) cover crops (like grain rye) might be worth the trouble too if easily dealt with. If it were here I'd be tempted to plant Jerusalem artichokes as an attractive perennial massive-rooting cover crop for the seven years. Maybe I'd knock them down each winter and plant a winter cover crop too.