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Cologne Brescia Italy

Hi all, how is the best thing of to do, plow, or rototill?
someone say that the rototill can destroy the soil flora,
kiling earthworm,and leave the oxigen,
Is this right?
Or is better a good plow and an harrow?
Thanks
Sergio

10/24/2006 2:33:18 PM

Cornwall UK.(50N 5W)300ft.

Sergio,
What is your soil type?
Do you mean a tractor mounted rotatiller?

10/24/2006 3:07:49 PM

President - GPC

Good Question.....I'll be watching for this answer too. In one of my punkin news letters LaRue has started using the no till method and has reported increased weights he attributes to the no till. My problem is I dont think growing in concrete works either. I rototill and I chop up the worms. Now that Im a heavy hitter wannabe Im thinking otherwise..........One farmer I talked to here said to turn over or ploy every 3-5 years depending on composition of soil. light till, disc in between......Good Question

10/24/2006 3:11:32 PM

Paradise Mountain, New York

I know myself that two years ago I quite using my roto-tiller. Now I use a two bottom plow then work the soil up with a home made chisel plow. Before i hardly ever saw any worms. Now my patch is full of worms......

10/24/2006 9:50:40 PM

Picton,ON (j.vincent@xplornet.ca)

It depends a lot on the soil type. Sandy soils that are well drained will adapt to a no till or minimum till program very well. Mold board plowing is a great way to loosen clay soils, incorperate organaic matter and aerate.
Plowed ground will dry out quicker and warm up faster in the spring. This is important in soils with a high clay content. As organic matter increases in clay soils, the nessessity for mold board plowing is less important.
In comercial agriculture, no-till is very popular on sandy soils, but plowing is still the standard on clays
Roto tillers make the ground look great but they can do serious dammage to soil structure. I do use the roto tiller but I try to keep it to a minimum

10/24/2006 10:30:28 PM

Puyallup, WA

Jack LaRue's patch has very good drainage.

10/25/2006 1:20:31 AM

Anamosa, IA BPIowegian@aol.com

If deep compaction is a problem, use a chisel plow set as deep as you can get it. Moldboard plows tend to develop a hard plow pan layer just below tillage depth over time. The plowpan can really hurt drainage. The chisel will go deeper and break that up. When my father in law was plowing, he was always getting stuck in wet spots in his corn fields. 2 years after switching to a chisel plow, he never got stuck again.

10/25/2006 10:54:28 AM

Midwest

I did some reading on this... rototill will kill earthworms but it will not decrease the oxygen in the soil. It was suggested to take care of amendments in the fall and till them in rather than starting in the Spring when the worms are more likely to migrate to the residue and begin consumming it as the temp increases. The increase of oxygen in the soil will make the biology life jump quickly and also incorporating a food-source like molasses along with adding your own diverse biology cultures available from certain bio-friendly soil labs.

10/25/2006 1:23:02 PM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

Soil type & moisture are both factors to consider. Time of year is too. Tilling is probably best performed in the fall on cooling soils or after a hot/dry spell when worms are naturally deep. Tilling does kill some of them but with the addition of organic matter they bounce right back. Once soil is "dialed", the no-till or chisel plough is far superior. Just add like layers year over year like Jack Larue. Great method.

10/25/2006 9:50:07 PM

Cologne Brescia Italy

Thanks to all for the reply
Sergio

10/31/2006 3:19:21 PM