I have a new garden that was a pasture until recently. I had it plowed deeply, and rototilled twice, and I'm ready to plant. I am not able to afford to buy compost right now, so I would like to plant and then later on, put the compost on top of the soil. Will it still help the plants if it is not tilled in, but just on top? I am hoping it will also help insulate the soil from the summer heat as well. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Hi and welcome! Yes, the compost will gradually work its way down into the soil as you are watering your garden. It's commonly called "top dressing".

You might want to also mulch on top of the compost with something like hay or straw though. It will insulate the soil from the sun and heat better than your compost will. It also protects the soil and compost from erosion by heavy rain which can be a big deal in summer storms. Then at the end of the season you can till it under for more good organic amendment to the soil for next year.

Mother nature never tills OM into the soil. You can't get a better example than that.

A 15-min lecture on microbiology that can help you drastically change the life of your garden:
https://permaculturenews.org/2...

Yes worms etc will gradually pull down the top layer of compost, top dressing is fine.

Yes, simply spread the compost around the plants. I never till my compost in. And I agree with Elaine about using mulch.

Thanks everyone for the great responses! I feel confident about putting the compost on top, and I will till it in at the end of the season.

Is there a way to mark this question as answered?

Thanks,

I strongly, vehemently, strenuously, vigorously, thoroughly, sincerely must urge, compel, encourage, request, yearn, and downright beg you to please not till later. It will destroy the work of the microbes, many of the larger critters that perform an important function, and, more importantly, the drainage. More details in the vid I linked.