"Pat Kiewicz" wrote in message
...
Marie Dodge said:

"Pat Kiewicz" wrote

Tilling too much or too little has no effect on insect pests.

It has a huge effect on soil biota, and that includes many BENEFICIALS:
ground beetles, tiger beetles, mycchorizal fungi, predatory nematodes,
etc. etc.

And these prevent insect and spider infestation how? Farmers are no-tilling
for years now and still suffering from pest infestation. With all those
beneficials in their soil how do you explain that? Also, those of us with
hard droughty clay either turn under organic matter or give up gardening.
We have no choice.


The recent
soil test showed plenty of organic matter. OM isn't the problem.

But just a ways up the thread you complained about it disappearing
quickly...then when you later said it was tilled *twice* and turned yet
again before planting in the spring, it seemed reasonable to bring
the subject up.

Of course it disappears quickly. The soil is full of microbes, earthworms,
and all those beneficials you talk about. It's broken down rapidly in a warm
climate in alkaline soil. More has to be added all the time. Once is not
enough. I don't have your soil type where you can toss some compost on the
surface and plant.

I never even do any tillage (and for me, that's gentle forking) of the
soil without adding organic material.

That's one of top tips right there...no matter what soil you have.

Then you don't have the heavy poor fine clay soil we do.

Yeah, but before I moved here, I gardened on heavy clay. Breaking
that was enourmous work. (Even though I was 26 years younger!)
The main part of that garden was broken with a tiller and 6 yards
of trucked in mushroom compost.

Then there's no comparison. No mushroom compost to be had here.

And it never had anything but
hand tilling again. (It was divided into several long beds, raised
up on one side like a terrace, running across the slope.)

You're trying to compare apples and oranges - your situation to mine.

When we added a couple of beds to it, it was hand-double dug with
huge chunks of blue clay (some of the most solid chunks were hauled
off). Took all the compost we had. Set up a few raised beds and
never more than hand tilled them, either.

We wouldn't have to till them either if had a truckload of mushroom compost
over the three gardens and was 25 years younger.


And never even hand-tilled without adding some additional OM.

I always add compost or some kind of organic matter when I turn the soil
over.

--
Pat in Plymouth MI ('someplace.net' is comcast)

After enlightenment, the laundry.