"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
Doug Kanter wrote:
"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...

A Bully of Bunnies!

What's your problem with rototillers? They make gardening much easier.
You can rent a commercial grade tiller down here for about $35 for a
day, and that's enough time to turn over the dirt for really large
garden.


For a number of reasons.

1) You're not supposed to turn over the soil. The soil exists in definite
layers. The layer at the top BELONGS at the top, not buried or mixed with
the layer that's a foot deeper. It contains more of the microorganisms
that make organic gardening work so well. If you screw it up, it can take
2-3 seasons to recover, and there's NO way to speed up the process using
soil amendments.

2) If you're making new beds where there's now some lawn, the goal is to
remove the turf, not chop it into a million pieces and bury some of it
like a rototiller does. Otherwise, the grass will be popping up all over
the place a month later. You have to slice the turf into manageable
pieces, slide under it with a fork, and shake off the soil. It's easy if
you get the right spade & fork, like a Smith & Hawken or something like
that. Sounds like a lot of work, but you're gonna end up doing it anyway
if you rototill. At least with hand tools, you know you've gotten 99% of
the grass because it never gets hidden under the surface.

Once the garden's been prepared, it NEVER gets turned over - just
loosened slightly with a fork in the spring. I injured my shoulder back
in March, but I was able to do this job one-handed because the soil was
perfect.

Ah, I used to till for a garden. Never seemed to hurt the crops.

You tilled every year? How would you know there wasn't a better way if you
weren't aware of it?