So let me get this straight, when we discovered fire we humans where hunter gatherers correct? So after thousands of years we figured out adding mulch, animal sh@!, and dead animals to our soil, tilling it in, produces far better results than the "just digging holes throwing a few seeds in and hoping for the best. Seems to me the no till method was tried awhile back, it failed more often than not, then along came hoe's, we handed them a stick with a blade they turned the earth and crop yields went through the roof.
Now some Hippy, probably from one of those Communes where they crap in a bucket thinks he has a good idea, "No Till means more time to smoke pot!!!!! WOOT!!!!!! Oh I do practice no till after I've planted my plants, if they happen to die I till them under and start over. This is my no Till section several months ago.
Tillage; Agricultural or horicutural preparation of the soil .
If we go in to it in detail : by mechanical agitation of various types, such as digging, stirring and overturning.
Human powerd tilling ... Using hand held tools , shovelling, picking, hoeing and raking.
NoTill ; (also called direct planting) is a way of growing crops without disturbing the soil through tillage. A technique used to decreas erosion.
Now the main reasons tilling is done is for aeration and drainage of the soil.
It is my opinion that any crop planted on well areated and well drained land has a better chance of growth and survival. Now if you have land like windchicken does... why the hell would you not till that darn clay soil ! If windchicken was to direct plant, digg some holes to plant his crops.. Trust me they wouldn't do good at all. He tilled smart by working only six inches (controled erosion) , took on the challange of making his row large and tall (a raised bed without walls). He still had to get that medium by doing some sort of TILLING... assuming the wood chips were for aeration and the hight for drainage.
If I owned a land with a deep silt loam of good tilth, ar least 5 percent humus, through whitch water percolates readily. That would contain 45 percent minerals, 25 percent water that would drain well , and aerated well enough so that 25 percent of any given block of soil would be air space. If such soil had a pH of 6.5 to 7.0, had just been fertilized with about fifteen tons of rotted manure per acre, had neen dressed with a couple of tones per acre of rock phosphate two years ago, then I would not just have soil, but a priceless inheritance. On such land, you could as my Grandpa would put it, " stick a broom handle into the ground and it would grow."
Now why the hell would I TILL ! I would proudly practice NoTill .
TILLING must be done when it has to be done, there ain't now way around it .
Just my 2¢ worth ..
