[compost_tea] Re: Tilling

From: David Hall <dchall8_at_texas.net>
Date: Fri, 05 Dec 2003 05:53:16 -0000

Hi Susan. I agree, construction zones are a special case. I am
normally an advocate for no till, no fluff, no turn, no dig, no
lift, no plow, no disk, no fork, and all the other euphemisms for
tilling. However, in a construction zone, the landscape would
normally be left compacted, rutted, cloddy, and with high hills and
deep swales going in every direction. But here again, I would never
suggest a homeowner try to rototill that kind of landscape back to
level. There are professionals called finish graders who do that
for a living. They will bring in a small tractor with a box blade
and forks on the back to establish a grade and drainage away from
the buildings. A homeowner normally would not know where to start
to do that - especially armed with a rototiller. The box blade and
forks will turn the soil, break up clods, pull out construction
rubble or rocks, and leave the surface looking like a pool table
(with drainage). What it will not do is pulverize the soil
structure. Sure it does a lot of damage but it does not do the
continual churning that a rototiller does.

The finish grader will also incorporate any amendments the homeowner
wants. This would be a great time to put in 6 inches of excellent
compost (or compost tea) and a couple sacks of corn meal, alfalfa
pellets, cottonseed meal, flour, feathers, hair, blood, or whatever
protein sources you have to kick start the compost microbes. Like
Susan said, you don't have anything to lose with construction
sites.

The other time I sometimes make an exception to no till is in
reclamation of a chemical spill area. I believe microbes are
usually the answer but the right microbes might not live at all
depths where the chemical is a problem. Then you might have to till
a few times to bring the chemicals and microbes in contact with each
other.

David Hall
San Antonio, TX

--- In compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com, "Susan Cruver" <scruver_at_m...>
wrote:
> Hi everyone,
>
> David's comments about tilling are very astute. However, for most
rules, exceptions exist and I believe that is true with respect to
tilling. Consider David's list of the problems with tilling, none
of which I contest EXCEPT if the soil has none of the
characteristics listed. Other comments can be found after the
David's list:
>
> The wise people of the Internet have mentioned the following
> problems with tilling. Some have been mentioned elsewhere on
this
> list. Tilling...
> 1. Pulverizes the soil aggregate structure caused by beneficial
> microbial glues leaving a fluffy mineral dust which the bacteria
> must start over with to reform a structure.
> 2. Eliminates the earthworm tunnels which provide air and water
> deep into the soil.
> 3. Eliminates fungal hyphal tunnels which provide air and water
> deeper into the soil.
> 4. Shreds fungal hyphae killing them off.
> 5. Brings the bottom dwelling microbes to the surface to die.
> 6. Sends the top dwelling microbes to the bottom to die.
> 7. Blows carbon dioxide out of the soil and temporarily
replaces it
> with oxygen.
>
>
> Me again: Some "soils" don't have much in the way of aggregate
structure, earthworm tunnels, fungal hyphae or hyphal tunnels, top
or bottom dwelling microbes or carbon dioxide because they lack
structure. I see this all the time with newly constructed homes in
my fast-growing area and experienced it myself when I moved into a 3-
year-old house 5 years ago. I was delighted to have the same sandy
loam texture but soon discovered the dirt had no life (which is why
I call it dirt instead of soil). Therefore it had no aggregate
structure, invertibrate/microbe tunnels and probably very little in
the way of microbial life in the soil, although I knew nothing of
Soil Foodweb and didn't test the awful stuff. When we moved in
during the annual maritime Pacific Northwest drought season, I
discovered that a pickax was required to dig any holes deeper than
1/2 inch.
>
> In some areas, I rototilled compost in for a couple of years.
Other areas were topdressed with compost. Some areas got no
compost, but like the composted areas, received compost tea for the
last four seasons. Some areas have received no attention other than
visits from the mulching mower. The areas in which compost was
rototilled in (and subsequently top dressed) have the deepest, best
soil on the property. I wouldn't till it again for anything but I
would happily till the entire area that was affected (= soil killed)
by construction. As they say, if you've got nothing, you've got
nothing to lose.
>
> The areas which were top dressed and given many drenchings of
tea are doing very well and support ornamental plants very well.
Turfgrass that had a few drenchings of tea (along with mulched grass
from mowing) are doing much better and areas that have just received
mulched grass are improving. I believe I can see where the microbes
have migrated laterally as the nice turfgrass (tea + mulch) is
expanding into the mulch only area. It looks similar to Dr.
Elaine's photos showing lawns which have been treated with tea on
one half and not on the other, although the boundary between the two
areas of my lawn are not as straight.
>
> Anyway, finally getting to my point: Look at the soil you (or
your customer has) and till or refrain from tilling based on
observation and SFI-style soil tests. And, when I till, I till in
alfalfa meal or pellets from the feed store along with the compost
to add additional N in case the relatively inexpensive compost I use
is not completely composted. I simply can't afford to till in 3
inches of vermicompost! My experience at home and in customer's
yards is that tilling can get results faster than just top dressing
in instances where the dirt is lacking life.
>
> Susan Cruver
> Tsunami Grows (was Tsunami Landscape Design)


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Received on Fri Dec 05 2003 - 11:33:46 EST

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