As we set out to expand our gardening space this spring, I assumed that I would continue creating a sheet mulch or lasagna garden, slowing adding layers of organic material to build soil without disturbing its layers. You see, as someone who studied and taught ecology for many years, I know that organisms live where they live for specific reasons. Soil is really a complex habitat for billions of organisms that thrive in their unique layers. Turn over or till those layers, and you run the risk of disturbing these organisms, and they cannot do their work of building soil quite as effectively.
But the reality is that I ran out of steam layering cardboard, straw and manure. Spring is always the busiest time on our homestead, and this spring with its addition of bees, chicks, ducks, a new tool shed, a blacksmith shop, and the usual homeschooling and part-time employment just took the layering wind out of my sheet mulch sails.
I’m still creating new garden space with the sheet mulch method, but it’s just happening VERY slowly. I realized that I would not have enough space to plant both a spring and summer garden unless I created new beds quickly.
Enter our Amish neighbor and his team of horses.
We decided to create a new 20 x 50 foot gardening space and hired our neighbor to plow the space. He arrived on a sunny Friday afternoon, and within a half hour, his work was done.
We then spread aged horse manure over the entire area, and borrowed our friend’s rototiller to till up the entire space.
The garden was then shaped into 2 foot wide beds with 8″ paths between them. As soon as we erect fencing, we’ll plant into it. I plan to distribute my planting evenly between the two garden spaces, so if one crop fails, I’ll still have some plants growing in the other garden.
In my entire 15 years of gardening, I’ve only used a rototiller one other time, and that was in a space that had already grown food for a few years. I’m so curious to see how this brand new garden space will perform, and I’m honestly excited to compare the results to my first year sheet mulched garden. A homestead research project, if you will!
If you’d like to read more about building soil, here is an excellent eBook that I recommend, and if you’d like to learn more about how tilling may change soil, check out this post and this one!
Till or No-Till Gardens: What I learned, four years later
(Updated in April 2018) I wanted to come back to this post and share my findings, four years later.
My biggest takeaway is that tilling with machinery such as a tractor, small rototiller, or horse drawn implements is the fastest way to get a garden started and can be the least labor intensive. If you are short on time and want to grow a large amount of food, this may be your best choice.
However, based on my observation of various crops and how they performed in both the no-till (sheet mulched) garden and the tilled garden, the tilled garden space did not perform as well as our lasagna garden over time. The first two years, crops produced almost as well in the newly tilled upper garden as they did in the lower garden. However, the following two years, I experienced a significant amount of disease and pest pressure in the upper garden that I have not experienced at the same level in the lower garden.
Of course, my observations are anecdotal, and not based on any scientific or statistical analysis, but a gardener’s best tool is her sense of observation and I rely on it and years of experience to help me grow the best garden possible.
If you have the time, organic matter, and a strong back, I recommend creating raised beds with a sheet mulch method. If you lack any of these, till away, but be prepared to add fertility over the years with any or all of these organic methods.
What has your experience been with sheet mulched or tilled gardens? Do you agree with my assessment or disagree?
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Looks good, can’t wait to see what happens. I used to till every year but stopped that stuff about 5 years ago. Now, when I am beginning a new area, I lightly till once, add some ammendments if I need to, rake it smoothish, then begin layering with cardboard or paper bags, chopped leaves, compost, whatever I have on hand. I finish off the area with a mulch at least 3 to 4 inches, but that may not go on until the planting is done. I use fresh chipped leaves,branches in the garden paths. The best time to set this up is in fall but I have had good luck in spring also. Tree trimmers/cutters in the local area are usually very happy to bring a truckload over and dump, I do tip them although they have never asked. For me, I have had almost no weeds in the vegetable garden, consistent moisture levels so I have cut my watering down at least by half, and good production too. I choose not to till again but do add compost and mulch consistently. In essence, my garden is always covered, and always being added to also. We live in Zone 8 and summers are brutal, hot and humid. Usually, by mid July traditional tilled gardens have been given over to the weeds because nobody wants to be in those temps with the bugs and humidity. Good luck with the new area!
That’s a great description of your garden practices – thank you! So, are you cutting holes in the cardboard/paper and planting into the holes, or are you layering these around plantings?
is there a way to get homestead,I am alone,58 be 59 yr oct,,disability social security,money,a shack 5 acres land,garden hunt,tell I fade away.info,Thanks Jeff
I’m sure that in the first year the tilled bed will be more productive, the problems arise with long term tillage.
I think our plan is to keep this new area as permanent raised beds. So the tilling was just to get the ground prepped initially, but then we’ll just treat them as raised beds.
I’ll be interested in your update! My hubby and I debate this all the time. He’s very pro-tilling, whereas I prefer to till only down garden pathways (because I’m a reluctant weeder).
I will definitely keep posting about it. One of the main differences, in my mind, is that the newly tilled garden is composed primarily of real soil, whereas the sheet mulch beds that I’ve created have been mostly straw and composted horse manure. I think the water retention capacities will be greatly improved in the new bed. I’m planning on mulching with straw, so I hope that helps with weed control.
Thank goodness for caring neighbors! Your new gardening space looks great. Can’t wait to hear about what y’all are planting this season.
Thanks! I’ll be sure to write about both gardens. I’m trying to do a large plot of sweet potatoes, since they did so well as a storage crop last year. And then some melons and other fun things!