Thank you so much to writing in to discuss your garden.

Tilling is still practiced by many gardeners, but it has many downsides. One being that tilling can degrade the structure of the soil, resulting in compaction, and/or encourage the practice of leaving soil bare, which exposes it to erosion. https://marylandgrows.umd.edu/2024/03/04/what-is-low-till-gardening/

This video is geared to farmers and a bit technical, but go to the 50.22 minutes mark in the video, where Dr. Williams refers to how soil aggregates are formed, and their importance in soil structure, advantages of diversity of plants producing a rich diversity of root exudants, vital for healthy soil biomes, which points to interplanting and using cover crops, etc. 

?si=m72DOVeJY3J6q7_X

In the short term, many gardeners use a broadfork to loosen compacted soil in an area prior to planting, but a regular garden fork can also be used like a short broadfork. The broadfork is easier since it is designed for using your bodyweight. The idea is to loosen, but not lift or turn the soil. Plant roots can then take over, improving the soil as they grow. ?si=WpamT7ztWexPyxPz
Although the traditional recommendation for weed removal was to pull out the entire plant, roots, even some of the top soil that doesn’t shake off and all. While this does eliminate competition from that one plant, it also unearths seeds, potentially weed seeds, in the “seed bank,” exposing them to light, prompting their germination and growth. On the other hand, many plants die if merely sliced off at the surface, their roots decompose in the soil, adding organic materials that we didn’t have to carry to the garden, and the upper part of the plant can be dried or composted to use as mulch.

Granted, there are plants such as field bindweed that can regrowth from root stores multiple times, but on the small scale of a garden plot can be controlled if repeatedly cut at the surface, followed by continuous shading of cover crops, crops, etc. practiced over a multiple year period. 

Cover crops can be used for building soil, reducing compaction, and weed suppression. As the soil warms cover crops can be clipped to make way for seedling rows and transplants. And mulch can be used around plantings where more practical. https://extension.umd.edu/resource/cover-crops-gardens/ The goal is to hold nitrogen and other nutrients in our soil rather than allowing it to run off, eventually affecting our environment, including our waterways by keeping the soil planted. Of course, cover crops require maintenance, too, cutting them back before they seed. But the increased plant diversity and keeping the soil covered will improve tilth. 

No-till is not a new concept, but an agricultural practice that is newly being practiced in the home garden, so many gardening programs are just evolving into promoting no-till. https://extension.oregonstate.edu/news/no-till-gardening-keeps-soil-plants-healthy

One of the great things about gardening is the opportunity for making new discoveries, and field testing in our own gardens. Please let us know if any of this is helpful. And feel free to reach out with questions, and to share ideas.

Keep us posted on your garden!

KDM, DC Master Gardener volunteer

Thank you so much to writing in to discuss your garden.

Tilling is still practiced by many gardeners, but it has many downsides. One being that tilling can degrade the structure of the soil, resulting in compaction, and/or encourage the practice of leaving soil bare, which exposes it to erosion. https://marylandgrows.umd.edu/2024/03/04/what-is-low-till-gardening/

This video is geared to farmers and a bit technical, but go to the 50.22 minutes mark in the video, where Dr. Williams refers to how soil aggregates are formed, and their importance in soil structure, advantages of diversity of plants producing a rich diversity of root exudants, vital for healthy soil biomes, which points to interplanting and using cover crops, etc. 

?si=m72DOVeJY3J6q7_X

In the short term, many gardeners use a broadfork to loosen compacted soil in an area prior to planting, but a regular garden fork can also be used like a short broadfork. The broadfork is easier since it is designed for using your bodyweight. The idea is to loosen, but not lift or turn the soil. Plant roots can then take over, improving the soil as they grow. 

?si=WpamT7ztWexPyxPz
Although the traditional recommendation for weed removal was to pull out the entire plant, roots, even some of the top soil that doesn’t shake off and all. While this does eliminate competition from that one plant, it also unearths seeds, potentially weed seeds, in the “seed bank,” exposing them to light, prompting their germination and growth. On the other hand, many plants die if merely sliced off at the surface, their roots decompose in the soil, adding organic materials that we didn’t have to carry to the garden, and the upper part of the plant can be dried or composted to use as mulch.

Granted, there are plants such as field bindweed that can regrowth from root stores multiple times, but on the small scale of a garden plot can be controlled if repeatedly cut at the surface, followed by continuous shading of cover crops, crops, etc. practiced over a multiple year period. 

Cover crops can be used for building soil, reducing compaction, and weed suppression. As the soil warms cover crops can be clipped to make way for seedling rows and transplants. And mulch can be used around plantings where more practical. https://extension.umd.edu/resource/cover-crops-gardens/ The goal is to hold nitrogen and other nutrients in our soil rather than allowing it to run off, eventually affecting our environment, including our waterways by keeping the soil planted. Of course, cover crops require maintenance, too, cutting them back before they seed. But the increased plant diversity and keeping the soil covered will improve tilth. 

No-till is not a new concept, but an agricultural practice that is newly being practiced in the home garden, so many gardening programs are just evolving into promoting no-till. https://extension.oregonstate.edu/news/no-till-gardening-keeps-soil-plants-healthy

One of the great things about gardening is the opportunity for making new discoveries, and field testing in our own gardens. Please let us know if any of this is helpful. And feel free to reach out with questions, and to share ideas.

Keep us posted on your garden!

KDM, DC Master Gardener volunteer