No till gardening

halleone · September 29, 2012

Thank you all for your replys; the more I read, the more convinced I am that this is the way to go.

I had decided next year to use half of my garden space to grow green manure crops for their bio-mass, to be cut for mulching the rest of the garden, and to then let those spaces over-winter, mulched, for the following years growing space. I'm not sure that sentence made any sense, but one area will be for growing food for me, the other area will be for growing food for the soil, and it will rotate on a yearly basis.

Jerry and Ken, I think a broadfork definitely is in my future - pricey, yes, but a lot easier on both my back and the soil.

Ami, the plants you grow always look so healthy, it is a good advertisement for no-till, for sure.

Claud, we'll just have to keep at it; my soil is ugly, heavy, gray clay, so my beds are earth berms. I've got earth worms in the berms, but there ain't NO worms out in those pathways, believe me - I've been out there putting down concrete pavers for the pathways and not a worm or anything alive has been turned up yet when setting them!

Scott, I direct seed alot of things; I'm guessing it is a bit more work to fiddle with shoving the mulch and newspaper out of the way, initially, but the end result HAS to be better for all concerned. Thanks for the fine detailed instructions.

If I forgot anyone, my oops...I am very excited to do this and look forward to learning from all of you.

Lynn

September 29, 2012	#4
halleone Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Walla Walla, Washington Posts: 360	Thank you all for your replys; the more I read, the more convinced I am that this is the way to go. I had decided next year to use half of my garden space to grow green manure crops for their bio-mass, to be cut for mulching the rest of the garden, and to then let those spaces over-winter, mulched, for the following years growing space. I'm not sure that sentence made any sense, but one area will be for growing food for me, the other area will be for growing food for the soil, and it will rotate on a yearly basis. Jerry and Ken, I think a broadfork definitely is in my future - pricey, yes, but a lot easier on both my back and the soil. Ami, the plants you grow always look so healthy, it is a good advertisement for no-till, for sure. Claud, we'll just have to keep at it; my soil is ugly, heavy, gray clay, so my beds are earth berms. I've got earth worms in the berms, but there ain't NO worms out in those pathways, believe me - I've been out there putting down concrete pavers for the pathways and not a worm or anything alive has been turned up yet when setting them! Scott, I direct seed alot of things; I'm guessing it is a bit more work to fiddle with shoving the mulch and newspaper out of the way, initially, but the end result HAS to be better for all concerned. Thanks for the fine detailed instructions. If I forgot anyone, my oops...I am very excited to do this and look forward to learning from all of you. Lynn