What does tilling the soil mean?

[CrazyConure]

I hear people saying that, and I have no clue what it means. Does it just mean loosening the soil?

 

[Chuck]

I hear people saying that, and I have no clue what it means. Does it just mean loosening the soil?

No. It means turning over the soil to a certain depth. Just loosening the soil is basically aeration. Tilling means turning the soil upside down to a specified depth as determined by what you are tilling with

 

[Beth_B]

Short for rototilling, I believe.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

Short for rototilling, I believe.

yep, you get a rototiller , and you use it in the space your getting ready to work. some folks will then add to that area by bringing in bags of supplemental soil such as manure, or peat or mushroom soil to work into the soil to enhance it. and then you use the rototiller to mix it all in, and brake up the soil, take out the rocks etc. if you have clay soil its good to add things to it, mix it well before planting.

Usually one rents one, they don't buy it. I have a neighbor who pays a man to rototill her garden to get ready for her veggies. Its all what you want to do. Me, I rented one for 4 hours and did it, then took it back .

 

[roadrunner]

You can till your soil with a rototiller or a shovel.

I started with a rototiller when I first did my garden, because I was starting a large area and it was Bermuda grass, that has very tough root system. I broke that rototiller on that job and gave it to a neighbor that liked having small engines. I now only till with a shovel (dig up the soil, turn it over and chop it with the shovel), in areas that I plan to begin a garden, but once I till it and mulch over it, the soil organisms keep it tilled for me; My initial tilling was only to give them a head start.

Worms are my number one soil organism that keep the soil aerated, but the moles also do a good job

It's incredible the amount of time Darwin spent studying earthworms, in a time many thought that worms were a nuisance. Interesting read (or you can listen to the audio): http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100627614

https://www.nypl.org/blog/2012/04/19/earthworms-darwins-last-manuscript

Excerpt:

"Darwin learned that worms literally move the earth in the process of their meanderings. Their passage through the earth aerates the soil and the natural chemistry of their guts renders soil and plant matter into fertile pellets. As a by-product of their movements, worms deposit new soil on the surface, causing whatever was on top to slowly submerge. Thus, whole monuments may be buried over a period of decades. It is estimated that for a single acre of cultivated land, earthworms move 8 tons of earth in a year, enough to produce a new layer of earth 2 inches thick, rich in nitrogen, phosphorous and calcium."

 

[Esther Knapicius]

that is true about worm. however worms are not in all soil.

 

[Chuck]

that is true about worm. however worms are not in all soil.

Where do worms go when the soil is dry? I have tons of worms in my garden. Two years ago during the height of a drought I had to dig a deep trench across the end of my garden. There was nothing planted there so it wasn't ever watered and had not been unless it rained which it hardly ever did. I dug down to bed rock, about 3 feet deep and 60 feet long. Not a single worm did I see. The nearest damp soil is at least 100 feet away. It rained. And rained. Three weeks later worms were everywhere. Where were they living or did they come from eggs that had been there for at least the previous 3 years at which time the soil was damp. There were full grown worms and baby worms. I suppose it is just another of lifes mystery's.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

@Chuck , hate to answer you this way. I see you live in Texas, would imagine worms are a little different down there where the weather is fairly warm most the time. Ups here with the packs of snow we get etc. I think the species is different.

 

[Chuck]

@Chuck , hate to answer you this way. I see you live in Texas, would imagine worms are a little different down there where the weather is fairly warm most the time. Ups here with the packs of snow we get etc. I think the species is different.

But, do your worms disappear at times, sometimes for a long time and then all of a sudden reappear? Our worms here are of two types. The most common is red wigglers and the other the large earthworms.

 

[MaryMary]

Where do worms go when the soil is dry? (...snip...) I suppose it is just another of lifes mystery's.

Wahoo!! Another happy day!!

@Chuck, they go deep!! They prefer to stay near the surface, where the decaying vegetation is, but they can and will go as far as 8' to avoid drought or freezing.


Happy dance! Happy dance!!

 

[Chuck]

Wahoo!! Another happy day!!

@Chuck, they go deep!! They prefer to stay near the surface, where the decaying vegetation is, but they can and will go as far as 8' to avoid drought or freezing.


Happy dance! Happy dance!!

I dug down to solid rock. We must have weak worms in Texas because I didn't see any worm holes in the stone.

 

[roadrunner]

Where do worms go when the soil is dry? I have tons of worms in my garden. Two years ago during the height of a drought I had to dig a deep trench across the end of my garden. There was nothing planted there so it wasn't ever watered and had not been unless it rained which it hardly ever did. I dug down to bed rock, about 3 feet deep and 60 feet long. Not a single worm did I see. The nearest damp soil is at least 100 feet away. It rained. And rained. Three weeks later worms were everywhere. Where were they living or did they come from eggs that had been there for at least the previous 3 years at which time the soil was damp. There were full grown worms and baby worms. I suppose it is just another of lifes mystery's.

Yeap, one of those crazy mysteries. I've also seen that. A couple years ago it seemed like they were all migrating after each rain, tons of them out in the street, than other times I see none after a rain.

However, I admit that I don't have good records on all the other environmental factors...suffice it to say that strange things in nature are always happening right under our noses, regardless if we notice them or not...mind boggling

P.S. I know my neighbors were thinking I was crazy out there picking up all the worms and throwing them back into my garden. And they were not just migrating from my garden, they were coming out from various yards, but still I went around the neighborhood and picked up as many as I could

 

[MaryMary]

So... not so happy...? (Answer quick - I still have time to edit the dancing bananas! )

Hmm, solid rock? Unbroken for many feet to either side? I'd assume they moved horizontally, until they found a place to get deeper...

 

[Chuck]

So... not so happy...? (Answer quick - I still have time to edit the dancing bananas! )

Hmm, solid rock? Unbroken for many feet to either side? I'd assume they moved horizontally, until they found a place to get deeper...

I suppose they could have migrated to the damp part of the garden but isn't a hundred feet a fair distance to travel when there is no way to know what is 5 feet away? How did the worm know it was damp over there? Maybe as the soil started getting drier they moved. But then how did they know to come back almost instantly after a rain. There had been nothing there for 3 years, no plants just weeds and hard packed dirt.
The bedrock here is solid unbroken limestone about 4 feet thick. Underneath the bedrock is a pure lime soil called caliche which is a type of clay. They make roads out of it here. Nothing grows in caliche except a few types of weeds and cactus. Never seen a worm in it, either wet or dry.

 

[MaryMary]

Thank you, @Chuck, for making me go and learn things!!

Ok, so I broke out the google-fu, and learned about "estivation," which is the earthworm form of hibernation.

https://www.learner.org/jnorth/search/WormNotes3.html

Q. What do earthworms do when it gets too cold, too hot, or too dry?

A. Earthworms escape by either burrowing deeply into the soil (up to about 6 feet or 2 meters), or entering a reduced metabolic state known as estivation. Estivation is a form of hibernation that takes place when temperatures get too hot or too dry for earthworms. When conditions are favorable, the worms will emerge and resume normal activities.

Q. What happens during estivation?

A. Each worm curls up into a tight ball deep in the soil and slows down its metabolism and bodily functions to survive high heat and drought.

I suppose they could have migrated to the damp part of the garden but isn't a hundred feet a fair distance to travel when there is no way to know what is 5 feet away?

No, I wouldn't think so... Lots of animals are moved to migrate when conditions are no longer favorable.