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Location

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Date Posted

Kutztown, PA

My patch is around 4600 sf. I'm thinking of spreading a 1" layer of mushroom compost and a 1" layer of cow manure then tilling it in. I was also thinking of doing a deep till to a depth of 12" to reduce compaction and get all of the above worked in. I've always just used a 24" tiller but have access to large implements now. Should I do a deep till or not??

9/29/2022 10:50:59 AM

Lodi, California

I don't claim to be knowledgeable on the matter, but I think deeper tilth is good. Give the roots the ability to go deep if they want to. I excavated the top 1-2 feet of soil in my patch (64x64ft) and am slowly working in 50 yards of compost into the subsoil, which is a very sandy hardpan. I put a decent amount of compost on this bottom layer, and now I'm slowly incorporating additional layers of compost and topsoil until I bring it back up. The organic matter in the subsoil will prevent it from compacting and improve drainage/root penetration. Should work great with a cover crop.

9/29/2022 1:25:54 PM

Richmond, BC, Canada

Compost and manures are high in P. Check your soil before adding manures as P is hard to get rid of.

10/2/2022 8:42:21 AM