Do you think that if you have a good base it's best to leave it alone and just keep layering on top of it? Or do you think it's best to work the amendments into the soil each year?

That question is the basis for all the "till vs. no till" debates scattered all over the forums here. 2 schools of thought that because of all the variables involved will never come to any agreement. :)

Personally, having tried both, I prefer to till.

Dave

Ah, I didn't think to do a search before asking. I will look for those discussions.

Most of the gardeners around here--especially the ones who don't use beds with side supports--are tillers. Could be because the valley we live in is a river bed of clay and you just can't plant without mixing in something fluffy. But as someone who juggles a lot of hobbies and a full-time job, I would sure love to save myself the time!

Definitely save yourself the time! Just decide you agree with the "no till" folks, and you're home free :)

Then, if you think you've got some compaction going on, from rain and not tilling, decide you'll dig that year (go to the other opinion).

Personally, my garden seems to do the best when I let it sit for a couple years without turning the soil. During that time, I feel great about not disturbing the soil food web, allowing soil structure to form, etc. Then when the quack grass takes over a bed I have to dig it. As I do, I feel great about adding oxygen to the soil, fluffing it up so that roots can better penetrate, etc. So I switch back and forth -- both in opinions and practice. We women are allowed to change our minds, after all. :)

LOL Elisa, I love that idea! And as the gardeners here will understand, sometimes the urge to grab a shovel and play in the dirt takes over and I've got to turn my soil over. But I definitely think I will experiment with the top dress method, at least until that urge takes hold. I mean, what's the worst that could happen? I've got to buy tomatoes at the store all summer. First world problems, I think they call it.

"Couple that with a comment on another thread that said he was "not a proponent of tilling"

If you are referring to my comment in the my first garden post, what I actually said was: "I'm not usually a fan of cultivation but with your soil the plants will probably appreciate it."

I can understand how that can be thought to mean that I'm not a proponent of digging/tilling in the garden. So I edited and reworded that comment to say: "I'm not usually a fan of cultivating around plants or between plants while they are growing..."

Cultivating or loosening the soil around growing plants isn't something I do. I do dig/till though. I dig/till in the fall when I put my beds to rest. And I dig/till between the time when my spring crops have been harvested but before a fall crop is planted. I add in organic matter whenever I do.

Hopefully this clarifies things instead of making them more confusing. And if you weren't referring to my comment then I just wrote out this long comment for absolutely no reason. lol

Rodney

Haha Rodney, yes, I think that was the comment I was referring to. I'm glad you made it because it got me asking the question.

I don't think I'd ever just top dress soil that wasn't fertile to begin with. I've spent a lot of years mixing my amendments into the underlying soil, trying to get a solid 2-3 feet deep of good draining, fertile soil. But boy, I sure do like the idea of taking a couple years off!

I like what Elisa said about maybe only turning over every few years, though that kind of happens naturally when I pull the plants up at the end of summer.

Interesting discussion. I too have not followed any of the previous ones. I agree with Digdirt's comment that the difference is probably whether you are starting with a 'good base' or not.

I just recently resumed vegetable gardening (I used to have a home based nursery so my priorities were flowers for the longest time). In the time I've been away, the no tilling camp seems to have flourished. I have a small community garden plot. We just started it last year, and the 'base' wasn't great. This year we were given a truck load of compost/top soil mix and we could add as much as we wanted. My DH added about 6 wheelbarrows to a 4 X 16 foot box, as he was tilling it in by hand, the lady who's in charge, said "Oh no, you don't have to dig it in, just put it on top". DH ignored her.

Can't say for sure, that it was the tilling in of the compost mix, but this is a photo of my garden (Middle Front) one month after sowing the first batch. Ladies on the left planted exactly same time as me, and with much of the same seed (we get lots of seed donated). Lady on the right had started hers a week or two earlier and had bought some starter plants, (ie not all were from seed).

Big bushy plants at front are Tomatoes I bought. I planted some Kale and Brassica starters provided by the gardens (same as the others). You can sort of see mine compared to Lady on right, we both have them at the far left of our plots. Mine are much further along than hers, and she planted hers the same day or earlier.

{{gwi:66916}}

Interesting case study, Raehelen!