rec.gardens.ecosystems homepage -> archive: MOD$001021.12037@rec.gardens.ecosystems



Subject: Re: Best Tiller ?
From: "Dr. Rev. Chuck, M.D., P.A." <cdub@_REMOVETHIS_erols.com>
Organization:
Date: Sat, 21 Oct 00 08:06:12
Message-ID: <MOD$001021.12037@rec.gardens.ecosystems>
References: <MOD$000917.16843@rec.gardens.ecosystems> <MOD$000919.16412@rec.gardens.ecosystems>



Let radishes do the "tilling" for you. Try white icicle or Daikons. What
you don't harvest composts in place.

Kelly Houston wrote:
>
> >What should I look for when buying a tiller to use on my yard and garden.
>
> How about not buying one at all?
>
> No really...
>
> Tillers are big, smelly, polluting machines. Very good results can be had from
> no-till methods, even on very hard soil. The slow way is to literally not till
> at all--lay down lots of mulch/manure/other organic matter and let it be:
> worms and other critters will eventually work it in the soil. More expensive,
> but in the same vein, is to build raised beds filled with nice compost mix:
> this gives you immediate planting beds without tilling. Finally, my personal
> favorite is to add lots of organic material and just encourage it a little with
> a gardening fork: just rock back and forth on the fork to "crack" the soil
> below here and there. Clay to loam in two seasons, I swear.
> Tilling will A-damage the trees whose roots have invaded (so you should remove
> the tree if it's such a problem--you'll have to anyway when it sickens/dies
> from having it's roots tilled) and B) disturb whatever natural balance is
> already in the soil--in fact, in high clay soils, the tiller may actually
> create what amounts to hardpan at the depth of the tiller. Wet clay will even
> break down and become less permeable if it is tilled. (This has to do with
> soil structures on a microscopic level--I can explain if you want to know the
> details)
>
> I say, if you really have your heart set on it, rent a tiller and till a test
> plot. See if it has the effect you're after. Remember, tilling will bring up
> long-buried weed seeds, so the weeds you till under will likely make way for
> new ones. Also, you will get a feel for how much work these work saving
> devices are...
>
> Kelly