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Upa Creek, MO

How deep does everyone till or break the soil up these days assuming the hardpan\clay has already been broken up from previous years?

I didn't want to hijack the thread below, so just curious what the "trend" is.

Thanks in advance

3/31/2026 7:26:57 PM

Kelowna, British Columbia

I do 3ft but that's mostly just to remove the roots from the walnut and willow trees that are next to my patch. They have roots deep under my patch and send up new roots every year. Takes me several months to complete by hand.

3/31/2026 9:50:46 PM

Ontario

I think year to year probably 8 or 10 inches would be great. Subsoil it occasionally maybe. I personally do 8 inches cause thats what my tiller can do

4/1/2026 7:13:12 AM

Western NY

I go through with a 2 bottom plow before tilling and bury it as deep as I can. I probably get a little over a foot at the deepest I would guess.

4/1/2026 8:12:46 AM

Springfield, VT

I'm double digging the patch with a backhoe, too many rocks to subsoil. In the end it will be 12-18" deep. It is to allow for water to drain down a bit with a heavy rain.

4/1/2026 8:48:38 AM

Grittyville, WA

Cold soil here almost year round, at 12" depth the soil doesn't warm up to 60 until August. The soil depth issue is also a soil heat issue, unless heating cables or warm irrigation water are used.

4/1/2026 10:10:17 AM

Hadley Ny

Rentals for small excavators are cheap and you can dig as deep as you want!! My nephew has one....a bit bigger...but takes care of his patch with it. He did my veggie patch a couple years ago and had him dig as deep as a bucket would go plus teeth on the bucket. !500 sq ft in about half hour. 12-18" average. Turned the whole garden over and flattened/leveled with bucket on hoe. Glad to see the soil turned.

4/1/2026 3:19:32 PM

Hadley Ny

Depth should be right off the bottom but you should know that!

4/1/2026 3:23:25 PM

Upa Creek, MO

Thank for all the great input.

I went down a foot last year. After seeing the post a few below this one about shallow tilling for hyphae recovery, I was wondering if many rotate deep to shallow each year to let the soil rebound?

Jordan, 3 feet... holy lower back

4/1/2026 5:55:09 PM

Germany

Many many years ago, the Bee Gees already had the same problem and wanted to ask the question:

How deep is your plow?
How deep is your plow?
I really mean to learn
'Cause we're living in a world of roots
Stretching out down, where we all should let them be
For a foot, or two, or three...

4/3/2026 12:43:42 PM

C N Y

Lah tee dah de dah...Also, Heart - How Deep it Goes came to mind. I won't guess what that's about, lol. eg

4/3/2026 4:57:21 PM

Central NY

Thanks pumpking... that song will be in my head all day......how deep?...how deep is youuur plow?

4/4/2026 8:59:46 AM

Wisconsin

I grew a 2250 and never tilled that year, tilled the previous august 3" to seed cover crop

4/5/2026 4:29:15 PM

aurora, IL

I like to broad fork my patch by hand. It’s 600sqf and I can get down to about 12” deep. It’s a lot of hard work sometimes hitting large rocks and having to dig them up by hand. The broad forking helps to warm up and dry out the soil faster. Then till the patch to break up the large dirt chunks with my walk behind rear tine tiller. To a depth of 6.5 to 7 inches depending on the soil conditions. Lots of heavy clay. Been working on it last year with cover crops and manure. Way too much rain here.

4/5/2026 9:41:34 PM

Upa Creek, MO

Thanks and noted Mike. This might be the year I am not going deep. I think it is still pretty broken up from a deep over till last year, and I want to see if I can improve the health\structure by a shallow till this year.

Chris, sounds a lot like what I have had to deal with over the past 15 years with clay, but I feel like I am in a good spot now.

4/5/2026 10:13:16 PM

aurora, IL

Also, I have to deal with a never ending battle with soil compaction. Since my patch is a rental plot. The Fox Valley Park District does a bad job with the plots every year.

4/6/2026 6:20:13 AM

Grittyville, WA

Worms are the secret weapon. If you can't solve things any other way, try boosting # of worms. Just keep em fed and they'll do the rest.

4/6/2026 1:38:47 PM

Grittyville, WA

I'll make a weird analogy and say they are like beavers. They may even "know" how much water to let through to keep their home in the soil comfortable similar to how a beaver regulates the water level in a pond. They engineer the soil to benefit themselves. Which in turn brings the soil closer to a happy equilibrium for gardening.

4/6/2026 1:44:31 PM

Grittyville, WA

It's hard to have too much water if you have enough worms?? Just a theory to test. Sorry for 3x post.

[Last edit: 04/06/26 1:48:17 PM]

4/6/2026 1:47:34 PM

Upa Creek, MO

Ketchup, I have the day off and am hand turning 4 inches down for this year. Basically turning over the winter Rye, no tiller. I have seen at least 100 night crawlers after 45 minutes in. This will take me around 3 days, but trying to keep soil structure and worms in place. I will prob deep till next year to hit the clay again.

[Last edit: 04/06/26 2:21:17 PM]

4/6/2026 2:20:40 PM

Grittyville, WA

I haven't heard anyone mention it specifically so I'll throw it out here. I bet a "light" solarization (where only the things above the soil are killed) would be an excellent way to kill the cover crop. I like the idea of leaving dead stubble because it gives the vines something to grab, with something to grab then they won't get tossed over in the wind. We are all trying to figure out the best way to do things.

4/6/2026 4:54:08 PM