Soil Cultivation and Care continue…

Five ways to cultivate the soil

Digging is usually necessary to incorporate bulky organic materials, relieve compaction, improve drainage, improve soil texture and control growth of weeds.

• Single digging Type of digging in which the soil is cultivated to the depth of the spade blade. The most widely practised form of digging, adequate for most ordinary soils of reasonable depth which do not overlay an intractable subsoil. First, take out a trench one blade deep, then fill this in using adjacent soil, turning each spadeful upsidedown as you do. As you move in this way across the areas of ground, the trench moves with you. Soil from the first trench is used to fill the final one at the other end of the plot.
• Double digging Digging soil to two depths of the spade. Especially useful on land which has not been cultivated before or where a hard subsoil layer is impeding drainage and the penetration of plant roots.
• Forking On very heavy or very stony ground, which is difficult to penetrate with a spade. You may use a fork instead. Also may be better for breaking up soil in the bottom of trenches during double digging. And you can use a fork to good effect as a cultivating tool between established plants, and to break down rough-dug ground in spring.
• Raking To level a piece of ground for seed sowing or planting. Creates a fine filth for sowing into. Don’t create a filth as fine as dust, though, or the soil surface will pan in the first shower of rain.
• Rotation Growing vegetables on a different section of the plot each year, in a three-year cycle, to prevent build-up of pests and diseases. Divide the plot into three sections: one for legumes (peas, beans and suchlike) and salads, one for root crops (carrots, etc) and one for brassicas (cabbages, etc). The section which has brassicas one year will grow root crops in the 2nd, followed by legumes in the 3rd. In the 4th year it will be used to grow brassicas again.

Three ways to drain wet soil

If cultivation such as double-digging does not improve soildrainage — that is, if the soil still lies waterlogged over the winter — then you will need to install a drainage system. Each of the systems described below should be connected to a soak- away at the lowest point of the garden: dig a hole at least 1.8m/6ft in diameter and depth, line it with uncemented concrete blocks, fill with rubble and top with turf. Excess water collects here and then drains to lower levels.

• Ditches The cheapest method: dig ditches to carry excess water from the cultivated soil to soakaway. They should be 0.9-1.2m/3-4ft deep with the sides sloping outwards at a 20-30° angle.
• Land drains Land or tile drains are short sections of earthenware or longer sections of plastic pipe laid end to end, usually in a herringbone system of sloping filled trenches. The system leads to a soakaway. Installing land drains is a major investment, but well worthwhile in large, badly drained areas.
• Rubble drainsOn small sites where ditches and tile drains would be impractical, use rubble drains — trenches filled with rubble capped with a layer of gravel. Replace topsoil.

Three ways to improve difficult soils

These are soils which may dry out excessively in summer, or soils which lie wet in winter and are difficult to work in spring. Often, the same soil displays both characteristics.

• Clay soil A heavy, often wet and cold sticky soil. Add plenty of grit or coarse horticultural sand to the trenches during digging and mix these materials in the topsoil. Apply lime in autumn after digging unless the soil pH is above 7.0, in which case apply horticultural gypsum. Both these take the stickiness out of clay soils, making them easier to work in spring. Bulky organic matter adds humus, so incorporate plenty during digging to give you a more crumbly texture.
• Sandy soil Extremely light and free draining; can become excessively dry in summer. Poor in plant foods. During digging add plenty of bulky organic matter, which helps to conserve soil moisture. Mulch plants with organic matter. Always apply fertilizers before sowing or planting, and as topdressing in spring/summer. Dense planting will stop soil erosion in exposed windy gardens. Lime will be needed if the soil is very acid (not for lime-hating plants, of course), especially on the vegetable plot.
• Chalky soils Topsoil is often very shallow; poor in plant food. Can dry out excessively in summer. Use plenty of bulky organic matter when digging, especially acid types such as peat. Organic matter is inclined to disappear quickly, so needs to be used regularly, in large quantities. Mulch with it, too. Always apply fertilizers, as for sandy soils.

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