Why I Decided To Till My Garden

I did the unthinkable and tilled my garden - but why? Isn't it better to never disturb the soil. It turns out, the answer isn't as black and white as you might imagine. Tilling made sense - one time - in my backyard in-ground garden.

0:00 - Intro
0:40 - What Is Tilling?
1:52 - Downsides of Tilling
4:27 - Why Did I Till?
7:15 - One Till Tips

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[brandyrios]

I posted this on your last video but don't know if you saw it so posting it am not sure why no one knows this but if you plant wild garlic in your gardens you won't have any aphids. I grow them in my flower and vegetable gardens. Even my roses don't get any aphids. They reseed themselves and have a tiny bulb underground so if you get too many you can just cook with them. They have a very mild flavor. One year I planted petunias in pots and the aphids must have been mad at me because they covered my petunias. I planted one garlic plant in the center of each pot and now I don't get any aphids. I have added the to all my other potted plants too. My local greenhouse had them growing everywhere on their lawn and asked if I wanted some and I said sure. I planted them to eat but years down the road I realized I never had any aphids so it was purely by accident that I got rid of any aphids.🙂

[FrozEnbyWolf]

When I was converting the front lawn to a garden space, I found that whoever had built the house decades ago had dumped all their construction waste there and buried it over. This included 200 lb. sandstone boulders that protruded up through the soil, and unfortunately had to be lifted out by hand. I also encountered all kinds of glass shards and scrap metal, and a lot of random garbage, which are apparently typical of suburban construction. I regret tilling this area since I caused a lot of damage to the nearby tree roots, but the construction waste had to come out, and it's the only time I will have to do this.

I've since taken a new approach of core gardening by placing bundles of organic material at roughly ground level, and then burying the whole thing with topsoil and compost in order to mound up the bed. Instead of bales of hay, I'm using bundles of newspaper that would otherwise get thrown in the recycle (which would cost the town fuel to transport and process) that are tied up with sisal twine. I also went around the neighborhood and swiped everyone's discarded Christmas trees in the first week of January, so I could cut them up and bury them for a new hügelkultur bed I'm building.

[angusmacduff]

I used to till - now I grow everything in the blue recycle bins that the town used to use - they gave them away when they switched to the mechanical arms. I have about forty of them. I cut the bottoms out and use them like a raised bed. Works great - drilled holes for heavy wire hoops - frost protection and bug cloth. I made drip irrigation attached to each bed (rows) from my water barrels. I have an old pool filter - about twenty-five gallons - for the supply. I can add fertilizer to it and direct it to the rows that I want with shut-offs. I pump the collected rain to that barrel. I had to make the rows wider last year so that I could get my stool and big feet to fit without cramping me up - that happens when you get old - ninety-two years - the doctor, last week, said that the only thing wrong with me was my weight - six foot - 190 pounds - every test came in at 100%. The healthiest old goat that he's seen - makes me happy.

[Vermicompost]

1 till then no till is the way to go when you’re starting a new area to plant for sure!!! Great video & explanations!!!🪱🪱🪱

[JRileyStewart]

This actually makes a lot of sense. Suburban lawns are typically crappy fill (e.g., clay and/or rock), get fertilized and herbicized several times per year, and no amount of compost overlay will really fix that in the first few seasons. Hope as we may, Charles Dowding. I don't want to till my existing no-til gardens, but maybe a round or two of broad forking will help.

[GrowingOrganicTvShow]

Try adding gypsum then soak with water. It will make tilling much easier, plus adds calcium.

[helen]

Wow, Eric, that was mind boggling! I live on the east coast and I follow Charles Dowding and a number of other British gardeners. Realizing that they are growing on ancient soils that were farm lands and pastures and, like you, I'm growing on an area that was cleared for houses in the last half century and around here was pure sand to begin with. I finally have the answer to Why is this so hard!?

[allydaley]

Thank you, this is *exactly* what we did, and I got so much crap for it in my online gardening groups.

We’re also in SD and our soil was rock hard clay. We did a full year of heavy mulch with no results. Our pick axe could barely made a dent. We covered the yard with a few cubic yards of compost, and tilled with a rental tiller. 3 months later and we have worms and life returning to the soil!

[clivesconundrumgarden]

As new gardeners it's difficult when you follow a certain philosophy. Especially when the people you follow often time took years to develop their own. Every situation is different so why would there be a singular solution. Solid observations, well thought out solutions = sound advice.
Cheers Kevin
From Victoria Canada

[simplesimon]

Thanks for explaining this. I am just starting out and have noticed that the soil I have to work with is pretty compacted and not in great shape so tilling once at the start seemed like the thing to do but I held off since I just kept hearing advice saying never to till. Tilling once makes a lot of sense, in the right circumstances.

[SK-ltso]

I did break up the soil with a pitchfork for many years.
At first, the soil was soft, but after a few months, it seemed to settle again to a very firm upper layer.
I think there is truth that there is a "structure" to untouched soil that you breakup with tilling.
Now I just add compost, and leave it otherwise.

[artistlovepeace]

This is the best gardening channel on YT. Thank you so much for producing and sharing. Really influencing my gardens this year. Better than anything on TV or streaming apps. TY so much Epic Gardening.

[la]

I could never tilled my backyard, I have too many underground cables running and I don't even have cable in my house. So I did Charles Dowding method. I've been very fortunate to have a great backyard with hardly any weeds and great soil. You got to do what you go do for starting a veggie garden.

[msbutterbeans]

Thank you. This is my exact situation with Sacramento clay in a 70 year old suburb. I feel so relieved now. Heading out to finish tilling this morning then off to the Farmer's market for my organic starts! I'm really glad I found your video. What a relief.

[joshfogelson]

Another great video. Thank you for providing some no-frost (or low frost) socal gardening tips. The best!

[ml.]

Where I am, rocks have babies. There are so many rocks tilling is a must. Successive planting gets better, but sometimes I feel like they move and settle in my beds. It does give me a chance to add nutrients, biochar, rice hull, vermicompost, etc.

[christinahutchison]

Great thought process on the tilling. I love the no digg method for gardening but tilling first has been a game changer for me. You are spot on about getting a jump start on improving your soil.

[teebillingsley]

Love this. I started working in my grandparents garden in 1944 on their farm. My mom did the victory gardens and I started with my husband while a junior in college. The only way I knew was organic. I have been no-till gardening for several years on our land now. We are too old and crippled, but the 3, 5, and 15 gallon buckets keep us growing food and flowers. I just have to smell and touch the earth. It becomes a death until we stop. The buckets help since I am in a wheelchair.

[holystyc]

This is great insight, I'm planning to start a new veggie garden after two years growing with containers only and definitely will test my soil first to decide if I need to till the soil before starting. Thank you!

[justinlingl]

Great discussion.

I'm excited to see the Carolina Coop panels in the background. Just the other day I was wondering how that project was progressing. I built my own from scratch very much inspired by their designs. Love it.