Tilling is when you mechanically churn up the top layer of soil—using a rototiller, plow, or a very determined shovel. The immediate benefit? It breaks up compacted dirt, creating a fluffy, cloud-like bed for seeds to snuggle into. Think of it as making a memory-foam mattress for your carrots.
It also buries weeds and their seeds deep underground, which sounds like a victory dance for lazy gardeners. But here’s the kicker: tilling is like that friend who “helps” you clean your apartment by throwing everything in the closet—it solves a surface problem while creating a nasty hidden mess.
Every time you till, you expose buried carbon to the air, and that carbon—soil organic matter—floats away as CO₂. Congratulations, you just farted on the atmosphere. A single pass of a rototiller can release as much carbon as a car driving 100 miles. Surprise!
