Soil compaction is a real challenge for many gardeners before planting plants in the spring because they have to dig up hard garden soil. Today, however, it is a controversial annual tradition intended to aerate soils, reduce weeds and promote fertility. When it comes to vegetable beds, this method of tilling the soil could prove to be disadvantageous. In some cases, this can even affect plant growth as microorganisms within them become disorganized after digging. Fortunately, there are alternative techniques such as mulching and composting that can be used when soil conditions are poor. Here is some useful information and tips to help you understand when this strenuous gardening actually makes sense.
How do you dig a garden soil?
When cultivating the soilbefore plant cultivationAs a rule, an initial double digging is carried out. In this case, you dig the top layer of soil with a spade at a depth where the subsoil begins. The subsoil is then broken up with a fork before manure or compost is added to the trench over the forked subsoil. This seeps into the subsoil and encourages worms and microflora to convert the subsoil into topsoil. The removed topsoil is then replaced on top to dig the next trench.
It is a common practice to dig up the soil at least one spit deep in the fall and leave it in large clumps. During the winter season, freezing and thawing breaks down these lumps into a finer consistency. You can then dig up the garden soil again in spring by further chopping and raking the earth with a so-called cultivator. This creates finer soil that is more favorable for sowing.
Lime can also be sprinkled on the surface and then washed into the ground over the winter. Although this can improve the crumb-like structure and introduce useful air pockets on very heavily compacted soils, soil analysis has shown that in most cases such methods can do more harm than good.
Why does digging up the garden soil have disadvantages?
Instead of digging, you can achieve better and more beneficial soil aeration by encouraging earthworms using mulch. This creates a healthy soil structure and sifts it with tiny, air-filled channels. Otherwise you can destroy them if you dig up your garden soil. Instead of suppressing weeds, digging may bring dormant seeds underground to the surface. This triggers their germination, which ultimately creates even more weeds.
Green manure with some perennial plant varieties such as field bindweed can actually help aerate the soil as an alternative method thanks to the long roots. Such plants can then reproduce by turning into root cuttings. These can then be easily spread from vegetable patch to vegetable patch. A variety of microorganisms and representatives of the animal world also live beneath the soil surface. These are vitally important to soil fertility and digging up the soil often results in their eradication. Unfortunately, after digging, many gardeners discover that many of the organisms killed are actually quite useful for plant growth. The soil can recover from this over time, but it will take a long time to become fertile again.
These are all disadvantages that make the effort and hard gardening not worth it. Even for young and fit gardeners, digging can be incredibly strenuous, especially in heavy clay soils. Not to mention people with mobility problems or of older age. For this reason, you can save yourself some of the trouble by considering some of the alternatives described here. Before you do this, however, it would also be useful to learn when you should dig a garden soil.
When should you dig the garden soil?
In some cases, digging the garden soil is essential for good plant growth. However, if soil conditions are poor, organic material such as compost and mulch can be added at the same time as digging. If the soil is too compacted or clayey, or in garden areas where you have only ever grown ornamental plants, digging is the most sensible option.
This is best done from October to December when the ground is frost-free and can be overwintered. From mid-winter to early spring, the ground is often wet or frozen and difficult to work, making digging not recommended. Additionally, you should never excavate waterlogged and heavy soil as this can damage the soil structure and lead to poor ventilation and drainage.
How to improve garden soil without digging?
The so-called “no-dig” method of tilling is an alternative that has been around for a long time, but has become increasingly popular in recent years. Through soil analysis, agricultural scientists have found that simply applying a layer of organic matter such as mulch can produce much better results. You literally just have to spread them over the surface of the earth to create a 10 cm thick blanket of bark or straw. Thanks to beneficial bacteria, this blanket is then quickly and naturally broken down, followed by earthworms that pull it into the soil. In doing so, you promote the populations of these microorganisms, which essentially replaces the hassle of digging.
Additionally, you don't necessarily need to add manure when mulching either, as most garden soils, except perhaps agricultural garden soils, tend to have more than adequate nitrogen levels. You can collect the mulch and compost it before growing plants. You can also add your own or homemade compost. This ranges from leaf soil or autumn leaveshomemade vermicompostto wood chips. All of these work just as well and are therefore easier to dig. This also saves you from having to fertilize excessively and avoid unpleasant soil smells when digging.
Which garden tool is suitable for tilling soil without digging?
You can make gardening even easier by using suitable tools for the no-digging method. For example, long-handled digging forks, rakes or shovels are suitable for this, as they make the process easier thanks to the pivot point effect. If you want to loosen the garden soil, you can use a single-pronged cultivator, also known as a sow tooth or cultivator, before spreading compost. Here is another summary of the advantages of this type of tillage:
- Since you don't have to dig up the garden soil, you can prevent injuries and make gardening easier. However, the production of compost is a factor that also needs to be taken into account in this regard.
- By stimulating the earthworms with the mulch, they move to the lower levels, which makes the garden soil more permeable and therefore easier to work with. Additionally, this helps aerate the soil so oxygen can penetrate more easily.
- Another advantage is that the soil structure is preserved and the microflora and especially symbiotic mycorrhizal fungi are preserved.
- Lastly, by not turning the soil over, you prevent weed seeds waiting to germinate from reaching the surface. This way you have less to worry about weeds in your vegetable garden. However, the beds still remain vulnerable to such seeds as they can be blown in by the wind.
