It is too large to do it by hand. I normally till once in spring and again in the fall.
Comments
Do not rototille your garden you will just bring all old weed seeds to the surface
Even a shovel or hoe will chop up earthworms. If you are going to till, you are going to injure some worms. There is no way to minimize or avoid it. Popular belief is that an earth worm cut in half will regenerate into two worms. Not true. However, a worm that’s been cut through near the tail end can often times live and regenerate a new tail.
Not to rototill it at all. It doesn’t need to be tilled every year. Use raised beds and never step on the surface of the soil, so it doesn’t become compacted. Every spring, put on a layer of compost, just scratched into the surface, a couple of layers of newspaper to prevent weed seed growth, and mulch over that to hide the newspapers. You can plant right through the newspaper. Add more compost whenever you pull a spent plant and put in one to replace it. The worms will do your tilling for you.
If you really have to rototill the garden, then avoid going too deep and do not go over the same area more than once. Also, the worms are likely to be deeper in the soil during dry weather, so try and time the operation accordingly.
