Do you till/cultivate your soil?

Do you lightly till (loosen soil) between watering to help aerate the soil and keep it from being so hard?

No, and you don't want to. Reason is, your plants will use every last millimeter of your soil right to the top. Till it, and you're cutting the roots. And any decent potting soil won't compact to a degree where tilling is needed or helpful.

Thanks Kriegs, never thought of it like that. I was thinking a light till around the edges would help.

I have been wrong before....lol

i dont even till my garden. its been working hard on all the enzymes and nutrients that its built up, tilling or turning the soil would just defeat the process my garden has been going through the last 3 years

i do..i fell it makes for an easyer watering/even watering!

is it a good idea to squeeze the excess water out of a planter?

squeeze it,no!...let it drain into a saucer then dump the saucer out!

GNOME GROWN said:

squeeze it,no!...let it drain into a saucer then dump the saucer out!

Click to expand...

does squeezing a vinyl planter gently hurt the roots?

tilling the surface area helps aerate the soil. it's a good thing.

and as mentioned prior, it helps when watering.

Thanks everyone, I thought I may get mixed answers.

I honestly there may be pros and cons to both, root damage vs aeration and a looser soil to aid
in root dev.....

I think it wouldn't hurt much if it was fairly newly transplanted (my case) to help younger
roots expand through the soil. I do agree if the plants have been in the same pot/planter for a
while and the root system is large enough to fill the pot it may cause harm by damaging the roots....

I think of it like this.... I have a hedge in my yard, if I till around it the growth is great, but if I leave them alone and allow
the soil to harden and compact the growth is extremely slowed....

Kind of a toss up I think, but it is nice to see what everyone thinks none the less....

you probably have alot of clay in your soil if it gets that hard without tilling

surface roots aren't that critical. trimming them may even act like "topping" and promote new root growth.

The soil in my yard is very sandy, hard to hold any water but it gets very hard.
regular watering doesn't help much, but working it up does help.

The idea for my planter tilling is only for around the edges of the pots and a bit of surface
just to help loosen it up a bit. I wouldn't go at it in obvious extensive root systems but I figure
even a small amount would help.

Im gonna work up half of my plants and leave the others alone to see if there is a difference in their growth or not just
as an experiment, if it doesn't work Oh well, I can chalk it up to an experience....lol