Plating after tilling

Slighlty out of my normal sequence ..... I had to empty a couple of compost bins to move them, and the black fully rotted stuff, and the contents of my growing medium in the greenhouse (compost & perlite) all went into an empty veg bed. (empty of crops)

Full incorporated and run a Mantis Tiller over it so nice black fine tilth for top 6"

Normally left empty over winter then planted in Spring. However my Onion, Garlic & shallot sets just arrived ..... is it OK to plant in this 'loose' tilth ?

 

Suggest you wait until surface is dry, then lightly tread to firm a little. Remove footprints before finishing
Garlic can (should) be planted now but personally would wait until Feb/March to put out onion sets and shallots.
(There could be merit in covering the unplanted portion to reduce weeds. I am adverse to rotary cultivation due to weed production ; would have applied compost as a 30/40mm mulch and let nature do its thing.)

 

Yes it seems counter intuitive to tread ground after fluffing it all up with a tiller, but that's exactly what you need to do. If you don't, then over the next month or so the rain ( if we ever get any) will settle the soil but it will be uneven and your garlic etc may end up on the surface. If you are worried about over compaction then put a plank of wood down and tread on that. Another "trick" to stop garlic bulbs pushing themselves out is to soak them in some tepid water in a dark place for 12-24 hrs before planting. The roots will begin to sprout from the base plate. Make a small hole to plant don't just push them in or you will damage those newly sprouted roots.

 

I bought Autumn planting Sets, and have good success of overwintered crops.