Do you need a tiller?

Gardening and tilling go together like peanut butter and jelly. But should they?

Every spring, tillers are pulled out of storage or rented, and started up all over the country as gardeners begin to break ground for their new garden season. Tillers will produce a flat, empty, often eye-appealing new slate that is fun to put new seedlings or seeds into. Every fall, gardeners typically till one last time to distribute compost, grind up the seasons plants so they can decompose over the winter, and prepare their garden for the long winter months.

Maybe you don’t have access to a tiller, and it is preventing you from starting your garden.

Let’s take a minute to talk about tilling, and decide if you really need one or not. If you decide to go with raised beds, a tiller is unnecessary. But if you have in-ground beds, you may discover it isn’t necessary for that, either.

Your need for a tiller will depend on a few things. If you are preparing a garden spot in the fall, you could till the grass and weeds under now, cover with cardboard, some compost and a layer of heavy mulch (you would not be tilling again in the spring). The cardboard will smother weeds for now, break down over the winter, the mulch will settle, and the compost will decompose. A word of warning though – if you have weeds that multiple through roots – such as Thistle, you would be better off simply hand-pulling and smothering the remaining weeds vs. cutting up the roots, because in some weeds, each bit of cut up root will sprout a new weed. It can quickly turn into a disaster. Even with smothering, you may need to continually top your garden bed with cardboard and mulch for a few years to starve those persistent weeds out but with diligence, they do eventually go away. I would not recommend tilling your soil and leaving it bare over the winter, as rain and snow can badly compact that top layer, leave it open to erosion, and weeds will readily sprout as soon as they can in the spring. That is why I do recommend covering your tilled area with cardboard, compost, and mulch. If those cannot be obtained, you may cover your garden using other means (check out my post on mulch) or plant a cover crop if you have enough time.

If you don’t have access to a tiller, don’t fret! Instead of tilling and then covering the bare soil, you could simply lay cardboard right down on the grass you wish to turn into a garden spot, top with compost and mulch, and let it rest all winter. In fact – I did this early in the spring last year and it worked spectacular – the only issue I had was getting through the layer of cardboard and initial soil was a little difficult because the cardboard hadn’t yet broken down and the soil was still compacted at the top layer- by the end of the season, compaction was gone thanks to the earthworms that took up residence!

In the fall, tilling is not necessary in a no-till garden – simply refresh compost and mulch. If you have a stubborn spot of thistle or another annoying weed that is hard to get rid of, smother it with another layer of cardboard right on top of your existing mulched bed. Top with compost and mulch, and let the smothering continue. It may take a few years, but if you prevent the weeds from going to seed or spreading, the repeated smothering will deplete the plants energy, thus prohibiting its ability to continue reproducing.

Tilling will allow for an instant garden, should you use a tiller in the spring. It will aerate your soil, spread amendments, give you a pretty new slate to plant in, chop up grass and weeds which will break down quickly. It does have some big drawbacks though – it can lead to compaction lower in your soil (which can hamper you roots and lead to bad drainage), slices apart the biology in your soil that keeps it functioning and fertile, bring up weed seeds that will sprout, and destroys soil structure. You should also avoid planting seeds directly in a newly tilled bed, as the broken up fresh green matter can prohibit germination. By the time the soil is ready to plant in, weeds will likely have taken over if you have not yet covered the soil with something.

You can reduce the harmful effects of tilling by tiling only when necessary, add organic matter every time you till, and change the depths at which you till each time to avoid compaction further down in the soil. Also, do not till if the soil is too wet.

Tilling Alternatives:

If you would like to use tillage to prepare your garden, but cannot access a tiller, there are still other options for turning the soil – a pitchfork can be used to turn dirt over (or better yet, simply loosen soil – you can hand pull weeds easily from there), a broadfork, or a hand tiller (may I also advise you that this will be a great workout as you twist and turn! I used one of these for a few years to till my smaller gardens back in the city).

If you choose to try gardening that doesn’t require tillage, I would love to hear from you. If you already prepare a garden that is no-till, or no-dig, I would love to hear about your experiences so far.