Winter digging

 It is often voiced that:" its winter and there is nothing to do in the garden" Well that is so far from the truth because fall or early winter digging is of incalculable value to the soil.

Soil that is turned over and left to the weather is purified and sweetened by winter rains and frosts.

When double-digging or trenching soils, it must not be forgotten the greatest amount of the soils goodness is in the top layer.

In addition, the bacteria that are so beneficial are responsible for the manufactures of plant food that abounds in the top six inches of soil; therefore, it is very important to keep the topsoil on the top and the subsoil beneath it.

Something else to bear in mind: soil pests such as eel worm and wire worm hate and cannot thrive in will aired soil, the bacteria helpful to plant life only flourish in well-worked soil. These two facts alone make it very important to keep your topsoil loose at all times of the year.

When you a digging up your beds for the first year, it is advisable to trench to a depth of three "spits". A "spit" is a foot deep, it most cases this is three depths of your spade.

The subsoil does not need to be brought to the top. The best plan is to break up the sub-soil with a fork and leave it where it is.

In subsequent years, at lease a quarter of the beds should be double-dig (that is a depth of two "spits") the aim here is to double-dig every part of the beds one year in every four.

Deep digging or tillage improves all types of soil because it ensures aeration of the land to a greater depth, and in doing so gives a deeper feeding area for the crop and also discourages soil pest, encourages friendly bacteria and also helps the crop in dry weather because their roots can go deeper to find moisture.

It is also very important to dig in the growing season, because no matter how deep you dig the surface soil, it is likely to contract and creak during hot weather.

When this happens, moisture from the soil is being lost through evaporation. And it is no good just pouring water onto the surface as this does more harm than good (germinating weed seeds, being one of them)

When you water the surface, the tiny root-hairs of the crop that are on the surface will dry out and cause your crop to have a severe check that will stunt the growth of the plant. This is because the water will evaporate in the hot sunshine, leaving the root hairs at the mercy of the sun and wind.

The beat method of conserving water is to frequently stir the soil with a Dutch hoe.

By this means, the cultivator creates a fine soil surface, which conserves the moisture already contained in the soil and more freely admits the atmosphere.

When water is given to the crop, it is far better to give a good soaking and then to mulch with straw litter or leaves than to apply occasional driblets.

Now go and give your beds a good old digging.

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