A method of soil preparation simultaneously ploughs soil and tills soil ploughed in a previous pass. An apparatus for tilling soil provides tilling members mounted for deployment on either side of a tractor. The tilling members on one side of the tractor may be brought into engagement with the soil while tilling members on the other side of the tractor are lifted away from the soil. The tilling members are located to coincide with an adjacent strip of land ploughed in a previous pass of the tractor.