Hi,
I'm new to this site. I'm slooowwly trying to start a little veg. garden. I picked a very small plot in my yard to try no till gardening or sheet composting, whichever for this fall. I tried to grow some tomatoes in containers this spring for some experience. They didn't do well at all, but I learned a lot. Last Feburary (I live in Florida, so it's warm) I hoed up a bunch of weeds and laid some newspaper which I covered with leaves and pine needles. I didn't see even one earthworm, so I fear my soil is in very poor shape . Anyway, our lawn is growing like crazy (lots of rain) so I've been raking up some of the grass clippings and putting those on top of the leaves. Now, I'm reading that the leaves, grass clippings, etc. should be tilled into the soil? Is that right? If it is, can I just use a hoe or shovel? I'm a stay at home mom with more time than money, so a time consuming chore is not a big deal to me. Should I just leave it all alone and let it decompose or should I try to work it all into the soil? Thanks in advance for any direction or advice. Kathleen

I would just leave it all alone. If you want, look under what you already have put out and see if any worms have shown up yet. If you have attracted a few worms that is good. Once the worms get there they will do all the tilling for you as they eat and tunnel their way through those papers you put down.

If you want to speed things up a bit go buy a container of worms at the sporting goods store that they sell for fishing bait and turn them loose in that garden space. I have never done that myself but I know several people that have and it worked out well for them.

Oh and I almost forgot, welcome to the site. You can read about almost anything here (just use the search the forum button at the top of this page) and donÂ’t be afraid to ask questions.

Keep in mind that there are a lot of people out there writing articles about gardening that have 1 years experience 30 times, so you really need to cull what you read. There is no reason to till what you are using for mulch into your soil, if all the conditions are abut right the soil bacteria and earthworms will get busy and digest that and move the residual into your soil for you. You might want to do these simple tests, expecially if the kids are old enough to help, to learn more about your soil;
1) Structure. From that soil sample put enough of the rest to make a 4 inch level in a clear 1 quart jar, with a tight fillting lid. Fill that jar with water and replace the lid, tightly. Shake the jar vigorously and then let it it for 24 hours. Your soil will settle out according to soil particle size and weight. A good loam will have about 1-3/4 inch (about 45%) of sand on the bottom. about 1 inch (about 25%) of silt next, about 1 inch (25%) of clay above that, and about 1/4 inch (about 5%) of organic matter on the top. Your primary concern is the OM level and yours may be pretty good.
2) Drainage. Dig a hole 1 foot square and 1 foot deep and fill that with water. After that water drains away refill the hole with more water and time how long it takes that to drain away. Anything less than 2 hours and your soil drains too quickly and needs more organic matter to slow that drainage down. Anything over 6 hours and the soil drains too slowly and needs lots of organic matter to speed it up.
3) Tilth. Take a handful of your slightly damp soil and squeeze it tightly. When the pressure is released the soil should hold together in that clump, but when poked with a finger that clump should fall apart.
4) Smell. What does your soil smell like. Pleasant, rich earthy odor? Putrid, offensive, repugnant odor? The more organic matter in your soil the more active the soil bacteria will be and the nicer you soil will smell.
5) Life. How many earthworms per shovel full were there? 5 or more indicates a pretty healthy soil. Fewer than 5, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, indicates a soil that is not healthy.