10 Bad Gardening Habits You Should Drop

Repeated Tilling

Tilling has its benefits in compacted, rock-hard soil. And an occasional pass on average garden soil won’t hurt.

But repeated tilling, year after year, can pulverize the soil, making it into a powdery substance that cakes up and prevents rainwater from penetrating the top layer. Worse, it destroys the soil texture, chops up earthworms and exposes the topsoil to wind, where it dries up faster and is prone to erosion.

Better to dig leaves into the soil in fall and use any leftovers as a natural mulch.