Gardening and Landscaping Stack Exchange
Gardening and Landscaping Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [tilling]

Preparation of soil by mechanical agitation.

Tilling covers a range of different techniques to prepare soil for planting, by using mechanical agitation. Human / horticultural techniques include shoveling, picking, mattock work, hoeing, and raking.

Primary tilling will tend to turn a large amount of soil over. For example a gardener might "dig deep" to dig compost into the soil, or a farmer might plough old stubble in, to increase the humus content.

Secondary tilling (eg. with a hoe) produces a smoother, loose soil bed, ideal for sowing.

use this tag for all questions about tilling: which method should be used, alternatives, etc.

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How do I work with soil that has a high clay content?

The clay content in my garden soil is rather high. Tilling it is a royal pain, especially if there is even the slightest hint of moisture in the soil. It just turns into big sticky clumps instead of nice fine dirt. Needless to say, this is less than…
gnovice
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How should I till topsoil into thick clay in small garden beds?

My house is in an area where the native earth is basically solid clay. This means that wet or dry, you can't dig with a shovel and get crumbling dirt — it always clumps together, unless you break it apart with a shovel or until the weight breaks it…
Nicole
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Can I fix a garden tilled too early?

I've never been totally successful in waiting till the exact opportune moment to till my garden and I don't suppose that I ever will be. I usually till my garden once or twice and when I'm ready to plant I am greeted with tremendous dirt clods…
Peter Turner
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How do I choose a good tiller (cultivator) for a 1000 sq. ft. garden?

I'm getting ready to till about 1,000 square feet, but the problem is I have no experience buying tillers. However, I don't know much about buying them. What should one look for in a garden tiller that's appropriate for the size of my garden?
Robert
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How should I fill and reseed shallow depressions in my lawn?

I want to level out a lawn that is roughly 4000 square feet. It has many low areas that vary in diameter and depth. Not sure what caused these holes; my guess is that they are from a previous owner gutting out bushes or trees. Some holes have a…
James
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Water from tiling in yard constantly on sidewalk

We just purchased our house. The back yard has a large hill in it. The construction company that built our house installed tiling (french drain) in the hill that comes out right by the sidewalk in front of the house. There is almost always water…
kevdog114
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How do I prep for tilling over my yard

I'm not a gardener by any stretch so I need some advice and a game plan for a very simple project I have. I have a small front yard (about 70sq ft or so) that recently got partially dug up to repair a sewer line. The yard was never in the best…
Mykroft
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Can I Till Existing Grass Before Laying Sod?

I have a small backyard with patchy grass. I killed most of it during a recent project, always with plans of laying sod after. I've read that just tilling the existing grass isn't suggested when planting seed, but haven't read anything about sod.…
Nicholas Pappas
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How should I remove long grasses/roots to prepare a fresh bed?

I am currently attempting to remove a bunch of dead grass in a roughly 5'x5' plot. When the grass fully grows sometime in early-to-mid summer, they are like very small, long-grassed shrubs, sort of like this but smaller and closer to the ground. It…
Dispatch
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Would it be better for me to set up my garden in the fall, or wait until spring?

I recently moved into a house with a yard, and am eager to start getting a garden started. The ground here isn't really clay, but it's not really dirt that I would want to use for gardening. It's really heavy and compact, and there are gravel-like…
The Flash
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How do electric tillers compare with gas powered ones?

I have 6 raised beds filled with topsoil and compost, and am looking for a tiller. They total about 200 sq.ft. I see a lot of electric tillers on the market and wonder how they perform compared to gas tillers? They seem to be very inexpensive which…
user19997
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Tilling the garden at the end of the year.

My dad has always tilled the garden at the end of the growing season, and therefore I have as well. But today I want to ask this group a simple question, is there really a benefit to tilling at the end of the season?
Ljk2000
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Should I turn soil upside down when cultivating?

Should the soil be turned upside down when cultivating? For example, this machine will turn the soil upside down. I've heard from my relative that you shouldn't do that because it severely disrupts the microorganisms. Some prefer to be closer to…
sanjihan
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How do I roto-till without leaving a trench?

I have a 4' (1.2m) three point tractor roto-tiller which I've been using to prepare garden areas this year. I noticed that the tiller always moves soil backwards, and when at the end of the section it leaves a trench, as can be seen in the…
Adam Davis
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Should I rototill compost into existing barren soil before planting drought-hardy grass?

I've had 2" of composted manure added to my desert front yard (New Mexico, zone 7a) to serve as new topsoil after having someone with a bobcat and a dump truck to haul off the gravel and plastic sheeting that was previously there. I'm planning to…
iLikeDirt
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