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I understand that all these links are way more information than most of the members need, however we are at war and food has been weaponized. I canāt get all political about it, but going hungry is a real poor plan. Sticking some seeds in the ground and expecting a healthy crop is not unlike buying that lottery ticket. Slim chances. If you are thinking it would be a good idea to start providing some of your own food then you need to understand that now, before the weather allows you to start planting, in most places, you need to test your planting soils. If they are deficient in something and especially if you are planning on being organic, then now is the time to start amendments because it takes awhile for the soil biology to react to any additions.
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We hadnāt soil tested since we built the raised beds(11yrs.) last year we tested, everything was good, thatās just compost, leaves in the fall, cover with black plastic, uncover in spring and plant.
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Thatās right Al. Once you had the testing and knew what your base line was then simply adding new compost every year is enough. Getting soil samples tested in Michigan is pretty pricey, especially if you are doing multiple beds, but anyone that expects to grow in their native soil needs to have some idea of what they are lacking. Planting in beds allows you much more control over your soils. Different plants eat different nutrition from a soil and rotation of crops is necessary to prevent one area from being sucked dry of some nutrient. Iām not meaning to sound like I know what Iām talking about. Seasoned gardeners are a whole different animal from someone just finding out they can and need to grow their own food. There is a pretty big learning curve. Iām just hoping to help people get started. 
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I looked it up last year, and you are better off sending it to a commercial lab or like Ohio State or Indiana still does it. But once you start checking for microās it gets expensive no matteer where you send it. Checking the pH is a really good place to start even with a cheaper pH meter you can usually get an idea.
Some things you can tell the deficiencies by how the plants are doing. Like corn you can tell npk deficiency by various colorations on the stalk. And tomatoes get brittle and tend to split with the lack of calcium, etc. You have to pay attention to your plants, and usually when you see it, it is to late to correct it for that year, but you know moving forward.
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Was thinking where to put this. This is the resault of adding charcoal to bedding (pigs and goats) after a year or so.
The bed l prepared just a month ago, when l also sewn radishes. Its like they cling to the charcoal bits, quite remarkable.
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Nice job! It looks like some of that ārootā ball might be mycorrhizal fungus that has attached to the actual roots.
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And what amazes me is the fact that its only been a month since l whealbaroowed the compost and soil in the greenhouse. This thing is alive guys!
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What Sean said is exactly why Iām am trying to avoid future tilling. You can have excellent soil but once you break up that mycorrhizal network it takes a while, weeks to a month or more, for it to re-establish itself whereas top dressing with compost just allows it to expand up into the new layer. You are right Kristijan. It is pretty amazing how nature works if you donāt screw with it too much.
I do have one bed that I have to dig up and sift through my trommel because we have this invasive grass that propagates by rhizomes and I havenāt worked that bed in three years and it is infested with the stuff. Once I get most of the roots removed Iāll cover it with weed cloth. Iāve gotten some grief from homesteaders about using the stuff. I donāt care. It makes life easier. I figure the amount of gas I donāt need to use by never going anywhere makes up for using some plastic that vanishes with a touch of the torch.
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I encourage very shallow tillage a couple of inches at most. No-till is better but there is some weed control, and seedbed firming that is appreciated by more traditional plant producers, and doesnāt usually require any massive change to what is normally done. It just isnāt as deep so it doesnāt disturb the ecosystem in the ground as much.
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We havenāt tilled our gardens in the last 20 years. By varying the amount and type of organic stuff, including bacterial and fungal compost, weāve graduated from tiller to broadfork to fingers. In the old days when we tilled yearly harvests were consistent and OK, now they are inconsistent and wonderful. Now it is not unusual to have one crop struggling while another nearby astounds us. I donāt have a point other than to say that we eventually moved from tearing to tickling the ground. The gardens now seem to laugh up better surprises.
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Iām going to need to build a broad fork if I want to make my clay into soil. Even our tractorās rototiller only gets a couple inches down. I spread out about 6" deep of forestry chips two years ago, and my uncle layered on a ton of leaves. I know the leaves also have the right fungus growing on them so maybe theyāll break down the chips faster.
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You gave me a big grin BruceS. Every year something just refuses to grow. Last year it was beans for me. Usually a sure thing but I had cucumbers in a bed right next to them and every day it was a couple of buckets full while the bean just put on no growth. Of course I am blaming the commie government like always. Pretty sure they sprayed bean killer in their damned chemtrails. 
Iām not crazy. Maybe a little confused. 
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The worms and plants are a lot less work digging then a broad fork. 
They put the holes in the ground and organic media follows it in the holes, along with oxygen and water. If you have that much forestry chips on, you might just need to add some greens like lawn clippings to add nitrogen. As per what bruce is doing, you may not need to till much if at all.
Tomās main point and it is valid that hitting the fungus with a tiller kills it.
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You have the carbon down, now you need nitrogen, manure, grass clippings, Green and brown
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I know, and tilling just makes this clay worse in all honesty. Even local pro farmers around here just use seed drills and leave the old corn roots to rot. Definitely stops soil erosion.
I had my boom crane/hoist on the 3 Point, and my uncle took it off again for the tiller. I hope he doesnāt plan on tilling my plot. Iāve scattered about 3 wheelbarrows full of rained on engine grade charcoal so far on it. About time to throw on some grass clippings, Iāve got the bagger ready.
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Yup the tiller is parked. I have been covering the ground with cardboard pieces and leaves on top. Mulching , mulch and more mulch on top. The sandy soil we with is starting to grow crops instead of weeds.
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make sure to check the pH, but if you donāt want to bother, dump lime on. You can alternatively use woodash, but you have to be a bit careful with it. you donāt want to add a lot, and it is best to do it in the fall. Chances are the clay is acidic and the particles stick together tighter.
In my experience, it will take several years and you will start to see some darkening.
One of my best corn crops, I had dumped a bunch of chopped leaves on -part- of the garden, and I tilled but the tiller only mixed a little bit of dirt in, and the corn was planted right in it. I didnāt think it would germinate and grow, but it did really well especially in that spot. That was like 12 years ago. and even with all the mistakes I have made, there is a noticeable bit of color difference if you look at the untreated ground.
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Where we used to live before was all quarz sand. Now thats a pain! No water retention and the nutrients wash right out. When we moved here l saw for the first time what a blessing clay is.
Dont fear the clay. I had no idea whats underneeth when l built the garden, l just spread manure, leavea and then hay on top and planted. Then in summer l decided l want my house built on the spot near the garden so the excavator dug out part of the garden.
Video says it all.
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The roots grow deep in your garden, you get a glimpse at about 23 seconds. It doesnāt appear you have the hard clay pan. I have this layer of clay, that is like 2-3+ft deep, it is it just rock hard clay. Even where there is āgrassā and mowed for the last 50 years, there isnāt much if any coloration below about 3-4". You canāt dig it when it is dry.
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