Don’t Beat Your Soil to Death
Just because you have a rototiller or a Mantis doesn’t mean you have to till your soil until it is pulverized into dust. The more you till the soil, the more damage you do to its structure. The finer you pulverize the soil, the faster its organic matter is destroyed.
Here’s how to do the job right.
Pray for perfect conditions, as soil should never be tilled when too wet or too dry.
Till the soil no more than twice before planting vegetables in the spring. One shallow tilling in the fall is all that’s needed before planting cover crops. If your soil has a cover crop of rye or wheat, mow it as close to the ground as possible to pulverize the vegetation. To till, set the tines at a depth of three inches for the first pass through the garden to kill the roots of the cover crop and expose the soil to the drying sun and wind. Allow three to five days before the second tilling, hoping it doesn’t rain during this drying-out period.
Before tilling the garden a second time, set the tines to a depth of five inches and till the garden perpendicular to the direction of the first tilling. This pattern ensures a more uniform tilling and reduces the potential of compacting the pan layer of soil below the tilled layer.
If your soil test recommendations call for amending with limestone, compost or fertilizers, apply them prior to the first tilling. As limestone is very slow in reacting in cold soils, the first tilling should be done as early in the spring as possible and the second tilling delayed one and a half to two weeks. This technique allows for the lime to react and begin correcting the pH.
Care in tilling the soil reduces the loss of organic matter. Increasing the organic matter requires the addition of compost or animal manure. Many garden problems can be avoided by maintaining your soil’s organic matter concentration at five percent or above.
Ask Dr. Gouin your questions at [email protected]. Please include your name and address.