BSK
Well-Known Member
We tried chisel-plowing in late summer and ground was too hard even for that. Chisel-plows barely cut the surface.Have yal ever plowed your ground? Chisel plow or anything?
However, since we've been tilling it, the ground is in much better shape. Now it will still harden up over the summer, but not like it used to be.
Realistically, our tilling maintains a severe hardpan just below where the tiller can reach, but having 4" of soft soil on top of that hardpan has been a Godsend for plant growth and water retention, especially for summer crops.
We could always run a ripper over the plots, but that would only bring up watermelon-sized rocks. The reason we have steep ridgelines is because of the rock holding them up, and that rock is just under the surface (and at the surface in some locations). Even in our best ridge-top plots, they are loaded with baseball to grapefruit-sized chunks of chert-rock.