1. Know and improve your soil | 40 mins
Cultivation
Digging Tips
- Avoid mixing subsoil and topsoil; there is a change in colour between the two layers.
- Use a small, sharp spade and stop regularly to stretch.
- Never cultivate a soil that is frozen, dried into solid lumps or wet enough to stick to your tools.
No-dig growing
A garden can be run without regular digging so long as any compaction or drainage problems are dealth with first. A no-dig, or reduced dig, system is worth trying on both heavy and light soils, especially with fixed beds that are not walked on. Apply manure and compost to the surface as a mulch, the worms and the weather will do the rest.
This is becoming an increasingly popular method of growing, providing a rich soil to grow in and an excellent way to clear a weed-infested growing area. In principle, by avoiding digging you will also avoid disrupting the important micro-organisms, fungi and worms, that help feed plant roots.
You will need a large quantity of organic matter such as home-made compost, leafmould, well-rotted manure, green waste compost or even bagged peat-free compost. In autumn, you lay down a degradable barrier such as cardboard to suppress the weeds, then add a layer of organic matter 15-20 cm thick and leave it to break down. The weeds will break down, becoming easier to pull out, and with time, you will have less problems with weeds as you are not continually bringing new weed seeds to the surface by digging.
The result is a soil structure that is porous but firm and stable, and maintained naturally by the biological life in the soil rather than digging.