I was reading an article in the Post Tribune(A Chicago Sun Times Publication) by Teresa Auch Schultz about winter cover crops. In the article it said that as nitrogen became more available after WW2, winter cover crops became less popular. Nitrogen improved crop yields but it also created problems not associated with winter crop cover farming such as soil erosion and nitrogen runoff during heavy rains. This cost farmers revenue and led to the pollution of water systems, streams and lakes. She says, "Water runoff has been aided by tilling, which can also cause soil erosion. Tilling compacts the soil, making it hard for water to penetrate." Now I am confused: Tilling compacts the soil??? How does tilling the soil compact it? Full article: http://posttrib.suntimes.com/23018054-5 ... crops.html Jerry (confused city slicker)
Jerry, never believe an article written about soil if the writer doesn't have dirt under his/her fingernails. Authors without tans are suspect, also. The only way I can figure that tilling compacts soil is if a heavy rain comes right after the tilling. The rain will be able to penetrate further and the soil particles will settle, causing compaction. I have seen our soil (heavy black prairie soil) crust over after a rain. We get about 1/4" of crust, then the rain runs off. We have puddles in the paths but no erosion and no compaction.
I think it depends on if the tilling is done properly. Too wet or dry and you ruin the soil structure. There also develops a "hardpan" level beneath the layer of tilled soil I saw this first hand a couple years ago after several torrential down pours...remember "River Keiper"? As the rain water poured down the driveway it left the drive went over the yard and on to the edge of the garden. It eroded all the soil right into the swale of our ditch and underneath that was a concrete like layer...no worm holes or bugs of any kind did we see at that level. Have you ever picked up a pile of weeds that have been laying in a pile over the winter and part of the Summer? you'll see a lovely friable pile of soil. You can scoop it up with your hands, no need for a shovel. This is ideal for planting in. It is beautiful, but impractical for the amount of gardening I do, although I am trying to get some of this type of gardening started. This is a lot of what Sjoerd does in his garden...no plowing/tilling in his plot. He just turns it over with a fork to work it. ( photo / image / picture from carolyn keiper's Garden ) ocean keiper ( photo / image / picture from carolyn keiper's Garden )
If I understand you correctly. If I took grass clumps out of an area where I want to create a new flower bed and relocated those clumps to an area for a new planting of veggies for next year that the soil under the clumps would be ideal for planting veggies next year? I have more questions but one question at a time. City slicker wants to keep this straight. Jerry P.S. Frank's save feature is ideal for retaining the answers for next year.
Well, I am not so sure that concept is what we are achieving with moving the clumps (unless you are saving something)...The intent is to practically smother the vegetation underneath the initial "cover" whether it is hay, straw, dead vegetation of whatever you have or even cardboard, the microbes and insects such as worms, earwigs, pillbugs etc start to consume the debris created by the "smother layer" and when you pull back the cover layer in the Spring/Summer you will find a whole different and amazing soil there as opposed to tilled soil. Then in the Fall you re-seed that area with a live "cover crop" and in the spring the soil will be much easier to turn over. As you turn over the living crop you are enriching the soil with a new "crop" of organic debris, adding nutrients and organic matter for the microbes to thrive on and the soil dwellers to eat. Think of the lasagna garden method...layer after layer of organics breaking down over the season and enriching the soil with each new layer. You build on this method season after season after season. It doesn't happen in one or two seasons. ( photo / image / picture from carolyn keiper's Garden ) This is a part of the garden I covered with cardboard earlier this summer. It was just with intent to smother the weeds (quack grass) and keep them away from the garden so I didn't have to fight so many all summer long, but the concept and the results are very similar. Here you can see the amazing results of the cardboard layer and the results from just this summer. ( photo / image / picture from carolyn keiper's Garden )
