Growing Home - To Till or Not to Till

For generations, gardeners fired up the rototiller each spring. But soil scientists are saying stop with the rototilling. Repeated tilling introduces oxygen and Soil microbes then rapidly consumes and eliminate the soil’s organic matter. Tilling also breaks up soil structure, damages beneficial fungal networks, and brings up weed seeds. Instead of tilling, many gardeners disturb the soil as little as possible. One alternative is using a broadfork tool with long tines that loosen compacted soil without turning it over. The broadfork leaves much of the soil's underground ecosystem intact.