subject: Garden Tilling - What To Do Instead Of Tilling A Garden [print this page] Garden Tilling - What To Do Instead Of Tilling A Garden
We may get short-terms benefits from tilling a garden, but we definitely get short- and long-term problems.
Is There A Better Way To Accomplish Our Organic Garden Tilling Goals?
Reduce Weeds
The best short-term organic gardening solutions are to 1) hoe, 2) plant cover crops and 3) mulch. Long-term solutions are beyond the scope of this article.
Hoeing disturbs the soil much less than garden tilling. It kills annuals and slows growth of perennials without cutting them into a dozen pieces.
Cover crops are often low-growing plants that cover the soil and out-compete many of the weeds. There are many plants available for this, but if possible it's nice to use either a food-producing plant such as strawberries, or a nitrogen-fixing plant that improves the soil such as clover.
A 2" to 4" layer of mulch will smother out many weeds. Leaf mulch is by far the best for this as it provides many benefits. Wood mulch is not as good because it causes some problems, especially bark mulch.
Relieve Compaction
Relieving compaction is a big topic. You have to work on two things and it can take a few years to gradually relieve the compaction. I don't want to leave you hanging, but again, this topic is too big for this article. Still, a couple of hints:
The first is you need to establish a healthy, diverse population of microorganisms and earthworms, one of our main organic gardening goals. This is done by adding compost, compost tea, and effective microorganisms. They do your garden tilling for you.
The second is you need to balance the nutrient ratios in the soil over time, based on a soil test. A calcium:magnesium ratio of between 7:1 (sandier soil) and 10:1 (clayier soil) and a phosphate:potash ratio of 2:1, or 4:1 for grasses will help create a soil that is not only relieved of compaction, but resists future compaction.
At first glance it probably seems strange that these two techniques relieve compaction, but they do. When you get these right, tilling a garden will be a thing of the past.
Make The Soil Look Fluffy And Nice
We have learned to think of bare, fluffy soil as being the most attractive "look" for our gardens. I understand this - and I understand garden tilling is a good fluffer-upper - but I also think leaf mulch is attractive. That's what you see in a forest, not bare soil or several inches of bark mulch, for that matter.
As organic gardeners, one of our goals is working more with nature. It doesn't mean we need to have a messy garden, but we definitely aren't going for cleanliness like our living room floor.
If you must put a wood mulch on, make sure it is not bark. Preferably it would be from hardwoods, not softwoods such as cedar and fir. Be prepared for health problems in your plants down the road and consequently insect and disease problems.
Allow More Air And Water Into The Soil
This organic gardening goal is accomplished by using the same techniques as summarized above when relieving compaction. We need to get more beneficial microbes into the soil and balance the nutrient ratios.
Additionally, a think mulch layer of organic matter such as leaves helps with water. We have already seen how garden tilling accomplishes this in the short-term, but does the opposite in the long-term when we kill much of the soil life and oxidize the organic matter.
Loosen And Warm Up The Soil For Spring Planting/Seeding
As I said up above, a light hoeing where you plant to seed will loosen and warm up the soil for seeding. Garden tilling is not necessary.
Cause Organic Matter To Break Down Faster And Give More Nutrients
As I also said up above, carefully incorporating organic matter into the top couple inches of soil is often okay in order to hasten decomposition. You may also want to look into foliar sprays of compost tea, effective microorganisms, sea minerals, kelp, fish, humic acids and molasses for quick nutrient boosts to plants.
Garden tilling brings short-term benefits, but short and long-term problems. All of the goals that tilling address can be better realized through the other means I have outlined above.
