Found this article interesting. We’ve turned our soil a few times in order to clear weeds and get back to a clear bed. We might revisit that practice. This is partly why I like raised beds. There’s going to be some natural soil loss, which makes room for new compost each year.
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I got a bunch of large thick cardboard produce boxes Im going to laydown with rocks to weigh it down right on top of my grass it will kill everything under it and act as a weed barrier. Then I will cut holes into
Cardboard and plant plant plant lol!
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Tilling breaks up bindweed roots which increases their numbers - each root portion becomes an entirely new plant. Stuff of nightmares.
A good part of our garden needs dug to remove chunks of concrete and add more organic matter.
Somerset UK has a vastly different climate from ours. He sees remarkably similar temperatures the entire year without much freezing in winter and average highs maxing in low 70s. The roots growing 12 months of the year help his soil structure just as cover crops do here.
Extension research suggests that cover crops tilled into the soil shortly before planting returns nitrogen to the soil within 1 week in summer and 4 weeks in winter temps in our state.
The big difference is the purpose of tilling. I had great luck with even patchwork cardboard, and since we’re starting to explore cover crops it’ll be exciting to see what we find.
Depending on how many beds are rented, we could divide the rest into zones to test various approaches. That would be fun to see. So many possibilities!
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