Tilling the Soil, Toil, Toil

Tilling up the soil by hand is by far the most laborious part of making and maintaining a garden. But of course it is one of the most essential parts of making something new grow. Especially when your plot of land is covered in crabgrass. Tilling aerates the soil, adding oxygen. Loosening the soil allows for microorganisms to flourish and helps bring in a good worm population. Loosening the soil also enables the delicate new roots of sprouting seedlings to wander and grow deep into the soil in order to find nutrient and water sources, and anchor the plant. Tilling is also especially important for tubers, root crops such as beets, radishes, carrots, potatoes, garlic and onions. If the soil is too compacted then the growth of the underground food portion of these vegetables will be stunted, and you will not have much to eat. If you are working with only a small plot of land and are trying to maximize your yield (as we were,) it is important to double dig. That is, dig as far down as one shovel’s length will permit. Remove the now loosened soil, and dig down another shovel’s length. This will allow the plant roots to penetrate the earth deeper so that you can grow more plants closer together, maximizing your land.