Farmers plow their fields in the fall, possibly to a depth of 18 inches, then till to a depth of 2-3 inches or so in the spring. I do not do that at all. In order to have a bountiful garden, I leave all my bug infested fall produce and rotted produce in the garden for the winter. Or, I dig it in. Where I live, winter is harsh, and it is composted over the winter months.
In spring, I add composted cow manure, top soil, and a regular, balanced 10-10-10 fertilizer to the top of the soil in the spring, then till/plow those three amendments in. My sister says plowing is to about 18 inches depth, done in November in our area, and that tilling is about 2 to 3 inches in depth, done in the spring in our area.
I want to clear something up. I have always had a beautiful bountiful garden, compared to some others, and this is why:
I don't till in the spring to a depth of 2 to 3 inches. I till to a depth of about 8 to 12 inches deep, more like fall plowing, but I put the top soil and if needed, composted cow manure, and balanced fertilizer on top of the soil, before the tilling begins, because feeding the roots is crucial to having a good crop.
The 8 to 10 to 12 inch deep tilling is crucial to getting all of those nutrients down into the soil to feed the roots of the plants.
I'm sorry I've never shared this before. I just found out, talking with my sister, and she explained the difference between plowing in the fall, and tilling in the spring.
I truly don't know what to call my method--plow/till, or till/plowing, I don't know, I only know that it works very well.
So, if you are plowing, and tilling 2 to 3 inches in the spring for a garden, you may want to consider this, and plow once a year to a depth of 12 inches in the spring, after sprinkling soil amendments on your soil.
Source: I am the source. I was inspired to write this after speaking to my sister about the difference in fall deep plowing, and spring light tilling, and what I actually do/prefer in the springtime.
By Carol Rodriguez from SouthBend, IN
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I ask this about soil preping for spring planting, what about spading over the soil? I dig up a clump flip it a bit the go on to the next spade full until I turned over my whole garden. Since the area is shaded by three tall blue spruce the soil doesn't dry out fast and frost exist there for some time even after the snow has melted. When the soil is friable I then rototil it untl there are very clod/clumps. This year for my large pots that I want to plant Cannas Lilies in I mixed potting soil peat moss (humus) and sphagnum moss together turning it often and put it in plastic containers.
Here in Wisconsin we never are guaranteed a decent spring for planting. Heavy wet snows in late April and mid May have ruined plants in the past. Your news letter is something I look forward to with the ideas coming in from all over from all these knowledgeable gardeners.
In the past few years there have been many studies on the benefits of plowing. Scientists have found that plowing every year actually is detrimental to the soil structure, along with the beneficials that live in the soil.
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