To further explore no-till techniques, Matt compared no-till tomatoes three ways: compost + landscape fabric, compost + cover crop + landscape fabric, and compost + cardboard + landscape fabric.

In a Nutshell

• He detected no difference in cumulative or monthly tomato yield among the three methods.
• He also detected no difference in water infiltration, an indicator of soil health, among the three methods.
• This data indicates that adding cardboard or cover crops to compost and landscape fabric does not improve yield for no-till tomatoes; and cardboard and cover crops may be a useful means of further building soil without negative effects on yield.