Should I till the area around the house where I'm going to relandscape?

Question

I'm pulling up the mulch and fiber around my house from the previous owners. It was poorly laid and it turned into a big weed issue. Some parts they only put mulch down and no fiber/plastic. I've sprayed RoundUp a couple of times and there are still some small weeds coming up.

Would tilling around the house help or would breaking loose the top inch or 2 of soil be enough? I'm going to be putting down fiber again with washed river rock. I'm not putting any plants in the rock this year. Possibly next year.

Answer 1

No, don't till. Tilling will stir up more weed seeds and you'll have more weeds to contend with.

Also, just in case you want to plant something, tilling will mix the best soil at the top few inches with the not-so-good soil under it to produce a mediocre soil mixture. Tilling will also expose your organic matter to oxygen and accelerate its breakdown.

The only reason to till is if you need to mix in lime or maybe some compost or similar. But for what you're doing, the last thing you want to do is till.