If your garden is medium- or small-sized, a shovel or spading fork is the best way. You may find soil is difficult to dig in or till up and plants do not grow well. What is the best way to till your soil? That is, if you’re not a fan of no-dig gardens. Delivers nutrients deep into the soil. A day or two after a light rain is ideal for tilling a garden. 0. Tilling is a solution for the most persistent problem that gardeners have to handle: Breaks up hard soil. Wet soil compacts easily, while dry soil is more difficult to till. Even if you’re on a small plot, chances are you’ll still want to till your soil. When you till or dig in the spring, always test the soil. Lawns can also be affected. See : How To Create Simple, Low-Maintenance No-Till Garden Preparing Garden Beds For Planting Success – 5 Reasons Why Not To Use A Rototiller #1 Tilling Creates Major Weed Problems No-till farming decreases the amount of soil erosion tillage causes in certain soils, especially in sandy and dry soils on sloping terrain. No-Dig, No-Till Vegetable Gardening. Here are 5 huge reasons why tilling causes more harm than good. Sheet composting greens and browns. No-till farming (also known as zero tillage or direct drilling) is an agricultural technique for growing crops or pasture without disturbing the soil through tillage. Rototilling tips for the garden. 17671. Till deeply: Creating good garden soil is all about adding air pockets, loft, and good fertility to encourage drainage and deep rooting.If you have heavy soil, you cannot accomplish this without initial tilling and amendment with lots of organic matter. Tips. A no-dig, no-till garden bed can be made by laying down layer-upon-layer of organic materials that will decompose themselves into a nutrient rich planting bed for vegetables. But if you want to use that rototiller, just remember, not too deep and only when the soil is ready. They do not develop as large of a root system as they should. For early crops, the best idea may be to till after you remove the last crop of the season in the fall. If you’re going to till after you’ve planted your garden, don’t till deeper than 2 inches below the soil’s surface. Till soil when it is moist but neither too soggy or too dry. Many gardeners are not aware that the difficulties with their vegetable garden or flower garden could be caused by compacted soils. Eliminates weeds. How do you till a small garden without a tiller? Tilling makes it easier to plant seeds and seedlings, you can turn compost and fertilizer into the soil, and till weeds and plants that have finished growing into the soil. By Katie Woods-May 10, 2016. By Steve Albert 1 Comment. And, why a no-till garden in the way to go! Here are the five steps that I took to establish my no-till garden.