The Trouble with Tilling
Tilling is a traditional part of both gardening and farming, but how helpful is it? After reading my books on gardening, especially Weedless Gardening, I’ve found a number of tidbits that contradict this habit.
To till, or not to till—that is the question.
1. Sowing Weeds
Did you know that there are 140 weed seeds, if not more, in a pound of dirt? Some even call this amount a “conservative estimate.” Farmers often till their fields at night to combat germination of these seeds, but grasses and large-seeded broadleaf seeds sprout well at any time of day. It only takes a breath of air to awaken these seeds! If you till at night be sure that you don’t have any light at all: small-seeded annual plants can germinate in moonlight or even the light from a flashlight.
But what about existing weeds, you ask? The trouble with existing weeds is that they’ve got roots, and all plant energy is stored in the roots—that is why you can hack a bush or tree to pieces and watch it regrow within months. These roots are chopped up when you till; being chopped sends what is left of a plant into a sprouting tizzy. This is why you cannot get rid of dandy-lions without getting that cursed taproot. I admit that you may kill a lot of weeds this way and add to your organic matter a little, but it is still counter intuitive.
But this is hardly the worst.
