In article ,
"David Hare-Scott" wrote:

Billy wrote:
In article ,
James Egan wrote:

I'm planning on planting a small garden in my back yard. Currently
there's lawn with grass growing where I want to plant. When you
till the soil, can you just mix in the grass? Or should the grass
be removed first, then tilled, and compost added?

-Thanks

Don't dig. Don't till.
Here is a site from the impeccable Mother Earth News.
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organ.../Lasagna-Garde
ning.aspx
It is for gardening with out digging, to which I, and a few others
here attest to its' efficacy.

You are getting started a little late. Cover your garden area
immediately with newsprint (no color) or cardboard, after spreading
around some manure, bone meal, and maybe some wood stove ashes. Cover
the paper with alfalfa (2" to 4"). Afterward, mulch with any kind of
compost but try to fish emulsion with "organic" fish emulsion at least
once amonth. Then water and wait ten days before you plant by poking
holes through the paper/cardboard.

Big plants to the north of the garden. Beds should be 4' wide.
Stepping stones would be nice for the pathways, to keep from
compacting the dirt too much. See if you can get "How to Grow More
Vegetables" by John Jeavons
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b/...=search-alias%
3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=How+to+Grow+More+Vegetables&x=0&y=0 from
your local library.

This fall, broadcast rye or buckwheat into your garden. Next year,
repeat process.

The plants that you grow will each be their own little universe. Learn
what they need. Each one. This will be slow, but the deeper the
understanding, the more they will reward you.

Billy is a bit serious about this. And that is right as this is serious
business - but not deadly serious. If you want to get results a bit quicker
it is possible. Now I don't want to argue with him but you could possibly
do it with some tilling - and avoid being smited by the elder gods.

Yes you can not till, and do some other stuff, and wait and for nature to
take its course and this would be very good, in time. But for ground that
has not been dug in a long time you can speed things up by selective
tilling. Some turning over and aeration while you dig in the grass, and add
some other goodies (compost, manure, lime etc) will work just fine.

I don't recommend frequent tilling but for a first time preparation it has
its place. You decide.

David
I would agree more with David, if this was bare soil or hard to dig, but
if it hasn't been drenched with biocides, I'd leave it alone. Worms,
besides fertilizing your garden, create tunnels for movement. These worm
tunnels aerate and drain the soil, thus ameliorating the soil for the
plants. The plants in turn exude polysaccharides from their roots which
attract fungi and bacteria, which attract (predators) nematodes and
protozoa, which in turn attract arthropods (animals with segmented
bodies, jointed appendages, and a hard outer covering called an
exoskeleton). All this living and dying will return nutrients to the
plants in greater abundance than that lost by the exudants from the
plants.* The point is to incorporate as much organic material as you can
into the soil (ideally 5 - 10%) and then keep the soil mulched, as the
break-down products feed the micro flora and fauna of the soil.

Normally, with bare ground, tilling the soil is recommended, "double
digging" even better.** Using a garden fork or spading is the least
intrusive way to do this. Roto-tilling has a downside in that it
will/may compact your soil, besides disturbing the ecosystem that I
presume that has installed itself under your lawn. I hope any proponents
of roto-tilling will make their argument for it here, but to see the
argument against it see: http://www.plantea.com/no-tilling.htm

Chemical fertilizers and pesticides are to be avoided for your sake and
the sake of the planet.***

Whatever your going to do, you should get about it soon, if you wish to
grow everything that you want.

* Teaming with Microbes: A Gardener's Guide to the Soil Food Web
Jeff Lowenfels and Wayne Lewis
http://www.amazon.com/Teaming-Microb.../dp/0881927775
/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206815176&sr= 1-1


** "How to Grow More Vegetables" by John Jeavons
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b/...=search-alias%
3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=How+to+Grow+More+Vegetables&x=0&y=0

*** The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael
Pollan
http://www.amazon.com/Omnivores-Dile...ls/dp/01430385
83/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206815576&sr=1-1

These are all available at better libraries near you.

Now if I can just find one of my lightening bolts to send David's way.
--

- Billy
"For the first time in the history of the world, every human being
is now subjected to contact with dangerous chemicals, from the
moment of conception until death." - Rachel Carson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI29wVQN8Go

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1072040.html