Will Rototilling Kill Weeds?

Will Rototilling Kill Weeds?  So the big discussion today was Should You Rototill Your Weeds Before Planting?  I tried telling “someone” that rototilling the weeds back into the soil was not a good idea, but nooooooo … did they listen to me? Case in point, as you can see by this picture – those dirty little suckers just grew back and twofold. 

So to him and anyone else who thinks rototilling the large weeds back into the soil IS the better way to go, all you have to do is show them this picture.  This picture was taken in the fall and these weeds have already gone to seed, many of which have already fallen and settled into the soil.  And when they’re tilled into the ground during the fall, so are any remaining seeds.  Fast forward to spring when it’s time to plant, if you again rototill your soil – all you’re doing is bringing up and waking up all those dormant seeds – the ones that were just waiting for some light to grow.  And once again you will be growing weeds in the garden.

And so my advice is to just get down and dirty and pull those puppies by hand, roots and all.  I know it’s going to be a bit tedious and time consuming to do it the old fashioned way. But trust me – as the growing season moves on, it will be so much easier to control any new weeds that may appear, especially when your starting off with a clean slate.

Do I have proof to back up my claim?  Why yes I do.  According to the good folks at Fine Gardening  tilling is supposed to kill weeds however …

“This benefit, while real, is a smoke screen because, at the same time that existing weeds are killed, seeds buried within the soil are stirred awake. … and larger weeds, which should be few if hoeing is done regularly, are best yanked out of the soil, roots and all.” 

And this basically answers the question DOES ROTOTILLING GET RID OF WEEDS?  Yes it will – but only temporarily as it only removes the weeds from the top of the dirt.  Out of sight out of mind?  For sure.  But just as it was noted by Fine Gardening, the buried seeds will once again begin to grow.  So just pull those sucker and be done with it.

If you have a large garden area like I do and you need to mix compost or manure into your soil, here’s what I do:  1) pull all the weeds first, 2) lay down the compost or manure, and 3) then rototill everything into the soil.

And to help stay ontop of the weeds during the growing season, check out my next post on the 8 Natural Weed Killers and Barriers.

And that my friends, is this ladies gardening tip for the day 🙂