DIGGING IN: To Till Or Not To Till

Image: A butternut squash seedling planted in the “no till” mode in the author’s garden; the glass jar, the bottom of which has been cut off, is used to protect the plant from frost and nibblers.

Editor’s note: The full title of this piece is “A Dialogue Concerning Two Chief Tilling Systems, or, To Till or Not to Till—That Is the Question.” (If you don’t get the reference, click here.)

Salviati: There is growing data that not tilling the soil leads to healthier and more productive soil for farming and gardening. Tilling the soil, or even turning over garden beds with a shovel, disturbs the soil ecosystem of healthy microbes and animals that create productive soil.

Simplicio: Ah, but we have always tilled the soil.  It is passed down from God in Genesis 3:23 that Adam was sent from Eden to till the soil, and so all through history men have tilled the soil…

Salviati: And all through history people have lost soil to erosion and had diminishing yields the longer they cultivate a particular piece of land.  By tilling or turning the soil, gardeners expose more soil to run-off and loss of nutrients in the rain and soil erosion from the wind.

Simplicio: Ah, but Americans have always tilled their soil. Why, even Thomas Jefferson enjoyed it, saying, “in a retirement I doat on, living like an antediluvian patriarch among my children and grandchildren, and tilling my soil.”

Salviati: Dude, look up antediluvian.

Sagredo: But surely, Salviati, be reasonable.  There must be times it is useful to turn the soil, for example, to break up sod or to work organic material into the soil.

Salviati: Well, when a gardener starts a planting bed, it might be useful to dig out old plants and work compost into the soil. But there is not much reason to re-dig the planting bed the next year.

Simplicio: Ah ha! I have you, Salviati! How will a gardener plant if he does not till the soil! Riddle me that!

Salviati: No one is banning the shovel from the garden, Simplicio. It is perfectly reasonable to dig a hole for a plant, but digging up a whole garden bed is a waste of time and not good for the soil.

Sagredo: Salviati, my friend, how do you propose a gardener deal with weeds? Tilling the soil can help keep down weeds.

Salviati: A good question, Sagredo. Thick mulching will keep down weeds by depriving them of light. As an added benefit, the mulch turn into good planting soil as it decays. So, mulching keeps down weeds and improves the soil.

Sagredo: The creation of new garden beds has vexed East Lansing gardeners for many years, Salviati. Is tilling required for a new garden bed in East Lansing?

Salviati: While there may be times—especially if the gardener is dealing with very poor soil—that digging a bed is the best way to start, most of the time tilling is not needed even for new plantings.

Simplicio: Surely that is not possible. The garden has to be dug, and man must toil.

Salviati: Here is a labor- and soil-saving option for turning East Lansing lawn into garden:

• Cut the grass as low as possible with the mower. (You should compost lawn clippings before using them as mulch to kill seeds and moderate the nitrogen content in the green clippings.)
• Cover the new bed in newspaper 5-8 sheets thick. The author has previously used the Lansing State Journal for this purpose with good success.
• Cover the newspaper with mulch and compost about 4 inches thick and wait for 6 months for the grass to die under the newspaper and the mulch to degrade.
• Dig individual holes for the plants you want in the new garden bed or sow seeds on top of the new bed.
• Mulch again between your plants to keep weeds under control and build up the soil.

Sagredo: That is remarkable. And you say it works, Salviati.

Salviati: Indeed, it does. This is how Mother Nature has been growing land plants all over the world for 450 million years.

Simplicio: Millions of years, ha!