TILLING GARDEN QUESTION

[Gary and Karen Manning]

Is it necessary for the soil to be dry before using my rototiller? I keep hearing people say that they must wail until the soil is dry before tilling.

Thanks

Gary

[Vox Humana]

Soil should be dry before working it with machinery or by hand. You should be able to squeeze a handful of it and it should just form a clump that doesn't exude water. The clump should fall apart when disturbed or dropped. If you work wet soil you will ruin the texture and will end up with big clumps that dry into clod that will have to be delt with later.

[The Watcher]

It doesn't need to be bone dry, but you don't want to work it when it's muddy.

[Dave]

You don't want to compress the soil into hard clods. The rototiller will produce a "fluffy" bed when the soil is dry enough.

[J Kolenovsky]

No-Till Gardening

Soil Structures In Nature, the earth is not tilled, and fertilizers (dead plants and animals, fallen leaves, etc.) begin as mulches on the soil's surface. Beneath this mulch layer, undisturbed soils develop two distinct features central to the natural interactions between plants and soils. One of these features consists of the soil "horizons" which result from the tendency of the soil to separate into horizontal strata (i.e., mulch, topsoil, and subsoil). The other is a valuable, spongy condition called "crumb structure." Tilling both mixes the soil's horizons and destroys its crumb structure, interfering with the processes and organisms which have evolved to depend upon these features. =

Soil Horizons The soil horizons include the mulch, topsoil, and subsoil layers. The mulch layer consists of plant and animal remains, and is the primary source of the soil's fertility. The topsoil consists of mineral soil, huge numbers of soil organisms, dissolved nutrients, organic matter brought down from the mulch layer, and humus (humus results from the breakdown of organic matter and has an enormous capacity to absorb moisture, hold nutrients, and buffer pH extremes). It is in the topsoil that the majority of the soil's fertility is stored, in the form of soil life and as nutrients held in solution by the soil's humus and clay. The subsoil consists mostly of mineral particles, leached nutrients, and the deeper water- and mineral-seeking plant roots. =

Crumb Structure Crumb structure is a spongy state developed and maintained by the movement of earthworms and plants' roots through the soil. The crumb structure is held together by soil colloids (gel-like substances created by decay organisms), and by earthworms' secretions, used to aid their movement through the soil. Natural crumb structures are quite stable and remain largely intact after rains. The sponginess of the crumb structure is extremely conducive to soil aeration, and to infiltration of water and dissolved nutrients into the soil. =

Using Rock Powders to Increase Fertility Since no-till gardening relies on earthworms to do all the digging (which includes mixing mineral powders into the soil), prior to each mulching a rock-powder mix is applied at the rate of about 4 to 5 pounds per 100 square feet. A good mix consists of roughly equal parts of soft rock phosphate (for slow-release phosphorous), gypsum (for a non-alkaline source of calcium - use lime if your soil is acidic), hardwood ashes (potassium and trace minerals), and bone meal (more phosphorous and calcium). These rock powders will then be slowly and evenly dug in by the worms and the rain as the mulch is consumed. =

Tilling and Soil Structure Tilling mixes organic matter from the mulch layer into the topsoil where is decomposes too quickly for plants to completely utilize (creating a feast-or-famine nutrient cycle) and also mixes mulch materials into the subsoil where they are attacked by anaerobic bacteria (which excrete metabolic byproducts toxic to plant life and soil organisms). Tilling exposes the topsoil's extremely valuable and slowly-forming humus to the air where it can be oxidized and lost, and destroys the soil's existing crumb structure. Tilling decimates the earthworm population, thereby slowing reestablishment of a new crumb structure, and can cause the formation foa hardpan by dislocating fine soil particles and allowing them to be washed downward toward the subsoil where they collect and form a dense sedimentary layer. In short, naturally occurring soil horizons and crumb structures serve vital functions which are interrupted, not aided, by tilling. And since natural patterns always begin to reestablish themselves immediately once disturbed, the gardener who tries to circumvent or override them has to work constantly to prevent their return. =

Mulch and Soil Tilth =46rom these facts it is clear that tilling is an ineffective and at best=

temporary approach to increasing soil tilth and fertility. Rather than attempting to enforce our own idea of soil tilth on our gardens, we are better advised to cooperate with and use the soil's own natural method for improving fertility - a thick, rich mulch of organic materials to feed soil organisms and plants, which then work toghether to establish natural soil tilth. =

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