How To Till A Garden

Soil that is compacted will not yield healthy plants.

How to till a garden. Before you can learn how to till a garden you need to know when to till a garden. Before tilling your soil you must wait for two things. Tillers range from small mini tillers to large machines. It s best to till a new garden in the spring when soil is dry and weather is becoming warm.

That way you can more easily create raised beds or plant in traditional rows. How to till a garden for the first time. When starting a new garden. When to till a garden.

Tilling a new garden. Till the soil manually with a garden spade if you want a stunning garden. You can do this by hand with some basic tools but the fastest and most efficient way to till your garden in the spring is with a mechanical rototiller sometimes known as just a tiller. Tilling wet soil damages the valuable existing structure which you ll need as your garden grows.

A tiller turns up soil and mixes in soil amendments quickly to establish a fertile garden plot. Tilling to prepare a garden bed has enjoyed some controversy the last few years with advocates of no till methods sometimes arguing that tilling does more harm than good. You can successfully till the soil for a new garden once it warms up in the spring as long as it s somewhat dry. For some this may be as early as march while others may have to wait until may or early june depending on the region and climate.

Tilled soil makes an excellent start to a garden because it breaks up the layers turns over the soil and cycles deep nutrients up toward the surface. Once a space is tilled it s easy to break it up into sections for planting. Improving the soil is best done in the fall. While extreme their claim does have some merit and it s absolutely true that the soil can be damaged by over tilling.

Most of us till the entire garden before planting to create a blank dirt palate. Careful tilling need not cause permanent harm however and tilling remains the most popular most. The soil must be dry enough and warm enough. Tilling in soil amendments at that time allows them to settle in and break down over the winter.

When spring arrives the garden is ready for a new crop. If you don t wait for these two things you may cause more harm than good to your soil and plants. When you are preparing a space in your yard for a garden the soil must be tilled to aerate the soil and to mix in amendments.