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It's springtime, and you can't wait to get out in the garden.
Hey,
it's warm today, why can't I go ahead and till?
Don't be fooled by
an early warm spell -- one of the worst things you can do to your soil
is to till it too early, while it is still wet from spring rains. Tilling
wet soil compacts it, which is just the opposite of what you're trying
to accomplish.
How do you know when
it's dry enough to till? You can't go by the calendar. Instead, take a
handful of soil, and squeeze it. If water oozes out, then it's too wet.
If it doesn't ooze, then poke the ball of soil gently. If the ball crumbles
apart, it's dry enough. If not, then you probably still need to wait a
little longer. (Of course this isn't an exact test, and results will depend
on your soil type.)
Make
a ball, then poke it...
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...
if it crumbles, it's dry enough to till.
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Wait
until the soil has dried out enough in the spring before tilling
or otherwise working it.
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Let's look a typical
spring scenario.
- You've checked
your soil and it's ready to till. You've laid out your garden, so you
know where your beds are and what areas need to be worked. So you grab
your tiller and go back and forth, back and forth, back and...wait!
Don't overdo it! The second worst thing you can do to your
soil is overtill it until all those nice aggregates we talked about
in a previous class are broken up into dust.
Today's powerful tillers do a great job of breaking up clumps and even
cutting through tough sod. But they can quickly damage good soil. Do
the minimum amount of tilling, just enough to mix in any amendments
you've added and yield a workable soil. Don't try to break up every
little clump.
- Next, rake out
the beds with a metal-tined rake. You want a fairly smooth surface for
planting, to make it easier to sow and to minimize hills and valleys
that drain too quickly or collect standing water.
- Now, it’s
time to lay out the pattern according to your plan. If you’re the
type of person that needs things neat and tidy, you can use a piece
of string tied between two stakes to mark straight rows. (Or you can
approximate a line, or make fancy dips and swirls ...)
This
attractive garden was carefully laid out in rows. |
Class
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