As an old-school gardener, I have always considered digging the soil in the fall as a must. Preparing the beds at the end of the season seemed to me the most important condition for obtaining a rich harvest. For digging, I applied mineral and organic fertilizers, less often a deoxidizer. This has been happening for many years and I did not even think about giving up this procedure.
Recently, however, more and more gardeners have expressed an opinion about the uselessness of autumn digging. The position has become so popular that its supporters can be found even among professionals in this field. The details became interesting to me and I decided to look into this issue.
By tradition, the autumn digging is carried out to loosen the top layer of the soil so that it is saturated with melt water and saturated with fertilizers. In the spring, working with such areas is much easier. At the same time, in the process, plant debris and roots are removed from the beds, which will interfere in the spring.
In addition, the autumn digging allows you to bury the weed seeds to the depth of the shovel bayonet, from where they can no longer sprout. At the same time, pests that have gone into the ground end up on the surface, where they die in case of night frosts.
For me, such arguments have always been convincing, so the process of preparing the beds for the next season was carried out every autumn.
A new look at the autumn digging
As it turned out, opponents of autumn digging are questioning all of the above advantages.
The dug-up land remains loose only until the spring floods. By the beginning of the season, the soil will still have to be additionally loosened. The process is not easy, so there is no point in doing double work. Roots and other plant debris are easier to collect when preparing the ground for planting. By this time, it will already be clear what exactly needs to be removed and what can be left to rot.
Weed seeds, which were buried in the fall to the depth of a shovel bayonet, really will not be able to ascend due to the depth of occurrence. However, they will remain viable for a long time until they reach the surface during the next cultivation. Spring digging will be more effective with weeds, during which the first seedlings will be destroyed.
Larvae and harmful insects that can be dug to the surface will crawl back into the soil. To destroy them, it is necessary that the frosts be within a few hours after digging.
As for the melt water, which saturates the loose soil, then by the beginning of planting there is no trace of it. Too much time has passed since the bulk of the snow melts.
The arguments of the supporters of spring loosening of the soil are really very convincing. Taking into account the fatigue accumulated by the end of the season, I seriously thought about giving up the autumn preparation of the beds. I think I leave most of it without digging this year.
Read also on my website -We improve clay soil without serious financial costs
I recently got groups In contact with and Classmates, there I post announcements of new materials every day.