Source
Weed 'Em and Reap Part 2: Reduced tillage strategies for vegetable cropping systems [DVD]. A. Stone. 2006. Oregon State University Dept. of Horticulture. Corvallis, Oregon. Available at: http://www.weedemandreap.org (verified 17 Dec 2008).
Featuring
Ron Morse. Virginia Tech. Blacksburg, VA.
Audio Text
Rotational Tillage
After the vegetable crop is grown, you will lightly till your no-till bed to enable you to produce the next cover crop, get a good stand, and also incorporate the residues of your vegetable crop, which often times will improve disease management. Here we’ve taken a rotivator and tilled approximately two to three inches deep to loosen the soil and also incorporate residue from the last vegetable crop. It’s really a compromise; by doing what we’ve done, we’ve probably reduced somewhat the soil organic matter. On the upside, by tilling it, we’re able to get a very nice cover crop, which will enable us to pour in a lot of biomass. Often times, you need to lightly till in order to get a good stand of cover crop.