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Replanting quickly—sometimes the same day you harvest a crop—is one of the biggest advantages of a no-till vegetable garden. When you leave the soil structure, root channels, and microbial networks intact, you can transition from one crop to the next with almost no labor. The key is to disturb the soil as little as possible while refreshing the top layer with compost and mulch. In just a few minutes, you can have a bed ready for seeds or transplants, all while improving soil health instead of resetting it.

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Step-by-Step: Prepare a No-Till Bed in 10 Minutes

1. Remove or Cut Finished Plants (1–2 minutes)

Use the correct termination method:

• Cut at soil level: lettuce, spinach, peas, beans, broccoli, tomatoes, peppers, squash.
• Remove root mass: potatoes, garlic, onions, diseased crops, woody roots.

Leave roots whenever possible—they become organic matter and open pathways for new roots.

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2. Clear the Bed Surface (1 minute)

• Pull mulch back just enough to expose the soil.
• Remove debris or old plant stems.
• Leave healthy leaves or straw as mulch—don’t strip the bed bare.

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3. Add Fresh Compost (2–3 minutes)

Topdress with ½–1 inch of finished compost.

This does three things instantly:

• Recharges nutrients
• Feeds soil microbes
• Levels the planting surface

Do not mix it in. No tilling. No digging. Let worms incorporate it naturally.

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4. Smooth and Re-Mulch (1 minute)

• Spread mulch back over the compost layer.
• Add new mulch if the bed is thin.
  Ideal mulches for replanting:
• Straw
• Shredded leaves
• Grass clippings (dry)
• Compost mulch

Keep mulch 2–4 inches deep between plants, thinner right around seed rows.

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5. Create Planting Space (1–2 minutes)

For Transplants

• Pull mulch aside.
• Make a small opening with your hand.
• Set the transplant in the underlying soil.
• Tuck mulch back around, but not touching stems.

For Seeds

• Rake or hand-smooth a 2–4 inch wide furrow in the compost layer.
• Sow seeds directly into this clean surface.
• Lightly cover with compost.
• Water gently.

No digging. No turning. No disruption.

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6. Water to Activate the Soil (1 minute)

Moisten the compost and soil surface to:

• Activate microbes
• Wake up worms
• Settle compost around roots
• Kickstart decomposition

Use a gentle shower, overhead wand, or seedling nozzle.

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Why This Works

These quick steps rely on the core strengths of no-till gardening:

• Soil life stays intact
• Roots remain to feed microbes
• Old root channels guide new roots
• Compost maintains fertility without mixing
• Mulch preserves moisture and prevents weeds
• Beds get better every time you replant

Instead of resetting your soil every season, you’re deepening its structure and fertility.

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My Experience

I’ve been practicing no-till and low-till vegetable gardening for more than 30 years in the soils of California’s Central Valley and Sonoma Valley. I prepare beds for replanting dozens of times a year without ever touching a tiller. Through years of successive planting—sometimes three or four crops in a season—I’ve perfected fast, simple methods that keep soil undisturbed, productive, and biologically rich. What follows is the exact process I use in my own year-round beds.