I agree with JDKid.
A combination of plowing and tilling in a garden area is beneficial. Especially if you plant winter cover crops. Flipping the green manure over increases the humus to a greater depth. This also promotes our little helpers the earthworms and other micro-organisms to help break down the organic matter. Having additional organic matter in the soil increases water retention.
In our garden, we have managed to turn some ugly clay soil which was very difficult to till into workable soil in about 4-5 years. It still needs more work, but it is much better now. We accomplished that by using our trusty Troybuillt tiller and some muscle. Now that I have a compact, I'll be able to turn the soil with a single moldboard early in the spring. Let the turned soil sit and compost for a few weeks. Then rototill the whole mess together.
Would I do this on a large scale? Probably not. The economics just aren't there. But, then again with time and money, you can do just about anything.
Terry
p.s. I forgot to mention that we try to put as much organic matter into our garden. Neighbors grass clippings, leaves gathered during the fall, goat and cow manure (stay away from horse manure - too much weed seed), vegatable scraps from the garden and household, etc. A lot goes directly into the garden. Some is deposited on our compost pile.
<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by TerryinMD on 10/02/01 07:49 AM (server time).</FONT></P>