As the temperature creeps up above freezing and the weather turns nice, it’s time to start thinking about getting into the garden. Tilling a vegetable garden before planting is a great opportunity to work-in soil amendments. Freshly worked soil also makes it easier to plant and gives seedlings a head start since roots have an easier time growing in loose soil.
1. Check the Soil
When you till in the spring is determined by the soil. You’ll want to wait until the soil is no longer frozen and free of ice crystals before tilling. The soil also has to be moist, but not soggy. Check the soil moisture by picking up a handful and squeezing it in your hand. The soil should be just dry enough to crumble easily.
2. Clean The Garden
Before tilling, remove any large plants left over from last year. Cover crops and plants with smaller stems and weaker leaves can just be tilled into the soil, but corn stalks and large weeds should be removed, especially if you’re using a small tiller. Also, pick up any rocks you spot in the garden.
If you use temporary growing supports for pole beans, tomatoes or other plants, take them out of the garden before tilling. It’s a good idea to rotate where crops are planted in the garden anyway, so you’re not out anything to move the supports.
3. Amend Before Tilling
Adding organic amendments to the garden soil before working it in the spring is the best way to improve soil texture and fertility. Spread a layer of compost 3 to 6 inches deep over the soil surface, then work it into the soil when tilling.
Garden compost or composed manure are both good options. Do not spread fresh manure on a spring garden, and make sure you only use manure from herbivores like cow, horse, goat, rabbit or poultry.
4. Use the Right Tiller
For small gardens (about 1,000 square feet or less), all you’ll need is a mini-cultivator. These include multi-tool systems like the Stihl Yard Boss, as well as small tiller models like the Echo TC-210 Tiller and Honda FG110 Tiller.sixty
For larger gardens, a mid-size or larger rear-tine tiller makes the job faster and easier. Honda F220 Mid-Tine Tiller is great for medium-size gardens, and the larger Honda FC600 Mid-Tine Tiller and Honda FRC800 Rear-Tine Tiller work well for gardeners with large garden plots.
5. Tilling Techniques
For most gardens, what works best is walking behind the tiller slowly and working in rows up and down the garden until all the soil is tilled. In some cases, though, you’ll want to modify this style.
When using larger tillers, you can often walk beside the handle using one hand to guide the tiller. This lets you avoid stepping on the newly tilled soil. With small tillers, you can get them to work deeper into the soil by walking backwards while tilling. As always, wear sturdy work shoes or boots and be mindful of your feet to prevent injury.
If your garden is on a slope, you can help control erosion by leaving rows of untilled soil across the slope. Ideally, these strips of soil will be growing a cover crop, like rye, which helps hold the soil in place. Then, you can use these untilled strips as pathways to get in and work your garden.
