On Mon, 25 Apr 2011 14:52:46 -0400, Bill who putters
wrote:

In article
,
Gunner wrote:

On Apr 25, 10:33*am, Billy wrote:

Rototillers create a hardpan, a layer of compacted soil, at the bottom
of the tilled zone.

...leastwise that is what ya read in your eco-fringy blogs right?

and as for the worm mulch you so worry about , your chickens kill more
earthworms than that tiller will.

As I understand it. Tilling or plowing at a constant depth will create
a hardpan.

Your understanding is incorrect, it's not even logical. What you
refer to as a "hardpan" is not created by tilling, the more compacted
soil was *always* there, it's a matter of relativity; tilled vs
untilled and the point where one ends and the other begins... there is
no logical way that tilling will *create* "hardpan" below the tilled
depth, only if the "hardpan" faeries dance a jig below ground while
wearing vibratory boots. If the soil has poor drainage due to
compaction that's a whole nother issue... perhaps one should till
deeper, or farm a different location. Another thing to consider,
annuals do not have roots that go very deep nor should they, which is
why farmers plow/till only to a certain depth each year depending on
which crop, and in fact what you call "hardpan' helps to retain more
nutrients and moisture for the crop.