I used to think no-till gardening was a gimmick until i tried it on my clay soil

Three years ago my garden in Ohio was a rock-hard mess, so i sheet mulched a 10x10 patch as an experiment. After one season the difference in worm count and water absorption was so obvious i ripped up the tiller for good. Has anyone else seen that kind of turnaround with heavy clay?

3 comments

3 Comments

dakotab9312d ago

Three years ago my clay was the same way, tiller's sitting in the shed collecting dust now.

ellioth3712d ago

But honestly I gotta push back on that. I've had heavy clay for 15 years and my tiller gets used every single spring without fail. The key is timing - you can't work it wet or it turns into concrete. Wait for it to be crumbly, then hit it hard. I've also found that adding coarse sand and organic matter over time changes the soil structure enough to make tilling workable instead of a headache. Maybe your clay just needed more years of amendments before it would cooperate. Plenty of folks give up on tilling too soon and end up with compacted soil that nothing grows deep in.

robin59111d ago

Tiller every spring for 15 years and the clay still hasn't turned into concrete? I'd have given up after year two and burned the thing.