Weedwhacker said:Absolutely right -- those worms both shred and till for us!! (we definitely owe them! -- thanks, worms...)
True. I had to have a no till garden because the gardening area was really subsoil in a slope that was created by glacier moraine. It consisted of very tightly compressed rocks, not much bigger than a large marble, with a few smaller than my fist with clay and silt between the rocks. I couldn't dig in it with a pick much less a shovel. There was no organic material in the soil and no worms. It did have perfect drainage and still does because I have not disturbed the structure of the soil with tilling.
The first year after I cleared away the decorative rocks and weed barrier, that area didn't even grow weeds ...
I had read Ruth Stout's book about no-till gardening years ago and decided that's the way to go. Now, I can dig in any of the beds I've created with a trowel. I didn't mulch the areas between the beds and they still consist of tightly compressed rocks. Fine by me. I can walk on them even after a heavy rain and not worry about compressing the soil.
After reading about the soil food web, I probably would never be tempted to till the garden. I put everything on top and let nature do the work.
Smiles,
Lyn
