Fall tilling, spring tilling... - Page 3

Redbaron · November 5, 2014

Quote:

Originally Posted by bower

Please describe how you sow a cover crop in a no till bed.
Do you also pull them by hand and lay them on top, instead of tilling the crop in?

I'm not making fun or being rude, I just don't have any knowledge of the cover crop process for no till.

I hand broadcast small seeds like cereal rye and smaller, and drill larger seeds like peas.

I also don't pull them. I mow them. Depending on what I am doing with the area next year I might just mow with a mulching mower, or I might use a bagging mower and use the clippings for compost or mulch.

Cole_Robbie · November 5, 2014

I've been pulling off the plastic mulch I had over my beds all summer, and the ground underneath looks like it has been recently tilled, even though it was last tilled six months ago when I planted. The soil is very soft and light. Between the beds, the compacted clay is like concrete, completely different than under the plastic.

Worth1 · November 5, 2014

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cole_Robbie

I've been pulling off the plastic mulch I had over my beds all summer, and the ground underneath looks like it has been recently tilled, even though it was last tilled six months ago when I planted. The soil is very soft and light. Between the beds, the compacted clay is like concrete, completely different than under the plastic.

I think the heavy pounding of rain and the sun baking it has a lot to do with it.

Worth

creister · November 5, 2014

Bower,

I have planted cover crops by either broadcast seeding and covering with mulch, or cutting a shallow furrow with a hoe, plant, and cover. I usually cut it with a string line trimmer, cover the beds with it for mulch. I then will mulch some more with shredded native tree trimmings I get from the city for free. Many times I will spread any amendments on top of the cut cover crop before I mulch it. You can even pull the cover crop residue aside, spread amendments, replace cc residue and mulch. Good success either way.

crazyoldgooseman · February 28, 2015

This is my first year I tilled in the fall. I feel like it will be much easier for me to till this spring. The soil seems much softer and looser when I go out there to add leaves, coffee grounds egg shells and chicken manure every couple weeks.

bughunter99 · March 1, 2015

Organic small plot home gardener here. I do not till or deep dig. I do surface scratch any soil amendments in a bit to try and keep them from blowing away in our strong winds. My soil is teaming with worms and supports growth well. Weeds are generally not a major issue due to a thick layer of leave mulch with one exception, my husband feeds the finches thistle and that stuff can grow through any mulch. Its not a big deal though. Heavy gloves after a nice hard rain and they pull right out.

Stacy

splash79 · March 1, 2015

We plan to till our suburban garden plots about 1-2 a year, for at least the next several years. We have clay soil that is so compacted that just adding stuff like chopped leaves on the surface doesn't do anything to improve the soil.

I say that because we tried that with part of our front yard. We spent a couple of years trying to get grass to grow in that section of yard, but it was impossible to break up the soil enough to seed. That section is under several trees, so we decided to chop up the leaves and let them sit over the winter and didn't mess with it until July. What happened is that we could take a broom and sweep the leaves away from the bare, rock solid ground. My theory was that the clay soil was so compacted that no worms or other creatures could break through the soil to get to the leaves.

A couple of months later, we borrowed our neighbor's tiller and did the entire section, mulched the newly fallen leaves and then let that sit for a year. We noticed a huge difference in the state of the soil the next summer. It was still hard, but you could at least get a shovel into the ground deeper than an inch (you couldn't do that before).

We've been using the same process on our, still new, garden beds. Till, add mulched leaves, let it sit, till before planting. Our hope is that we will eventually be able to work the soil with shovels and garden forks, rather than tilling, but our soil just isn't at that point yet.

I can see the disadvantages of tilling and why some people don't want to do it, but I can also see where it can be advantageous to do so.

February 28, 2015	#35
crazyoldgooseman Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Southern Maryland 7a Posts: 200	This is my first year I tilled in the fall. I feel like it will be much easier for me to till this spring. The soil seems much softer and looser when I go out there to add leaves, coffee grounds egg shells and chicken manure every couple weeks. __________________ Anybody see where I sat my beer? -crazyoldgooseman

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November 5, 2014	#32
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	I've been pulling off the plastic mulch I had over my beds all summer, and the ground underneath looks like it has been recently tilled, even though it was last tilled six months ago when I planted. The soil is very soft and light. Between the beds, the compacted clay is like concrete, completely different than under the plastic.

November 5, 2014	#34
creister Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Abilene, TX zone 7 Posts: 1,478	Bower, I have planted cover crops by either broadcast seeding and covering with mulch, or cutting a shallow furrow with a hoe, plant, and cover. I usually cut it with a string line trimmer, cover the beds with it for mulch. I then will mulch some more with shredded native tree trimmings I get from the city for free. Many times I will spread any amendments on top of the cut cover crop before I mulch it. You can even pull the cover crop residue aside, spread amendments, replace cc residue and mulch. Good success either way.

March 1, 2015	#36
bughunter99 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: zone 5 Posts: 821	Organic small plot home gardener here. I do not till or deep dig. I do surface scratch any soil amendments in a bit to try and keep them from blowing away in our strong winds. My soil is teaming with worms and supports growth well. Weeds are generally not a major issue due to a thick layer of leave mulch with one exception, my husband feeds the finches thistle and that stuff can grow through any mulch. Its not a big deal though. Heavy gloves after a nice hard rain and they pull right out. Stacy

March 1, 2015	#37
splash79 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: mo Posts: 24	We plan to till our suburban garden plots about 1-2 a year, for at least the next several years. We have clay soil that is so compacted that just adding stuff like chopped leaves on the surface doesn't do anything to improve the soil. I say that because we tried that with part of our front yard. We spent a couple of years trying to get grass to grow in that section of yard, but it was impossible to break up the soil enough to seed. That section is under several trees, so we decided to chop up the leaves and let them sit over the winter and didn't mess with it until July. What happened is that we could take a broom and sweep the leaves away from the bare, rock solid ground. My theory was that the clay soil was so compacted that no worms or other creatures could break through the soil to get to the leaves. A couple of months later, we borrowed our neighbor's tiller and did the entire section, mulched the newly fallen leaves and then let that sit for a year. We noticed a huge difference in the state of the soil the next summer. It was still hard, but you could at least get a shovel into the ground deeper than an inch (you couldn't do that before). We've been using the same process on our, still new, garden beds. Till, add mulched leaves, let it sit, till before planting. Our hope is that we will eventually be able to work the soil with shovels and garden forks, rather than tilling, but our soil just isn't at that point yet. I can see the disadvantages of tilling and why some people don't want to do it, but I can also see where it can be advantageous to do so.