Strengths of the garden site:
Already fenced in against deer
Field had previously been pasture to goats (and before that cows) with some widepread manure
Challenges:
Groundhog and rabbits living around the fence line
The soil in place is a thin layer of top soil mixed with gravel, with dense clay below
Weed growth all over
The field is shaded on the south side by the barn with a north-facing slope. It will be slow to warm up in the springtime
Plans to get the fields in shape for late summer (or next spring) planting:
Use compost from the property: straw mixed with goat manure
Deep-till radishes to help with compacted clay soil
Cowpeas, barley, sorghum for nitrogen fixing and green manure
Living pathways: broadcast crimson clover seeds in the pathways between some rows