No-tilling beds that aren't raised?

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on December 03, 2010 at 6:00 AM, updated December 03, 2010 at 6:05 AM


mantis.tilling.JPGAn unnecessary annual job?

  Q: I read your article about not tilling. I don't have raised beds, though. Ground needs to be loose for root vegetables, right? How can I not till? I would LOVE not to buy a tiller!

   A: What leads most people to want to till every year is having lousy clay to start with and by compacting the ground further by walking over it.

   Raised beds are a great way to correct both of those problems. But even without raised beds, you can avoid tilling by walking only in dedicated rows and staying off the areas you're planting.

   Assuming your soil is clayish and naturally compacted, the solution to that is working organic matter into it. Compost is my top choice, but mushroom soil, rotted cow or horse manure and decayed leaves are other good options.

   Till or dig 2 or 3 inches of organic matter into your planting beds once when you're first preparing the garden, then continually improve the soil by adding an inch more of organic matter every year right over the top. No need to till it in. Earthworms, soil microbes and natural weathering will incorporate into the soil surface.

   A second way to keep the soil loose and nutritious without tilling is planting cover crops such as winter oats, hairy vetch, clover or rye. These are planted from seed in fall, then are mowed to kill them. The cut-off stems serve as mulch, and new vegetables are planted right into it. Here are two links with more details on cover crops:

   I've found that direct-seeded crops are best planted into top-dressed soil. Transplanted tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, cabbage, broccoli, etc. do fine in either top-dressed or cover-cropped beds. (It's hard to plant seeds into the dead matting left behind by non-tilled cover crops.)

   A lot of farmers are switching to no-till, cover-cropped fields, by the way. It's not only less labor, but most are finding that the crops do better with fewer weed problems in fields that aren't disturbed by regular tilling and plowing. Slugs can be more of a problem, though.