Prepare for Planting with Garden4less.co.uk

Preparing your soil

Soil is the most important commodity in the garden; look after it and you'll be rewarded with healthy and strong plants which are less prone to pests and disease. If you are starting with an area that has already been cultivated, single digging or the no-dig method may be appropriate at this time of year. New ground, or that which has become tired and compacted through over-use or heavy traffic can sometimes require more drastic treatment such as double digging. Soil preparation is dirty work, even when you do not dig it over, so make sure you have a decent pair of Hunter Wellies on your feet, some gardening gloves to prevent blisters and that you make sure to stand up straight occasionally and stretch your back.

Single digging – If your soil is in reasonable shape and is not compacted, it may simply require a little aeration. Single digging can help to loosen heavy soil, breaking-up lumps and creating air pockets which in turn improves drainage. Simply dig a trench to the depth of the head of your spade and throw the soil forwards where it will sit behind the trench you have created. Working systematically backwards from one end of the plot to the other, use the soil from each trench to fill the one dug previously.

You can also take the opportunity to work-in organic material to boost nutrient levels, particularly important if you have very light and sandy soil. Single digging is a great way to open-up previously-cultivated soil prior to planting new crops.

Double digging – This term refers to the method of removing one layer of topsoil so the next can be broken up. This is hard work, but with good management should only be required once in the life of your plot. This is a particularly good method for improving the soil in previously high-traffic areas, such as lawns.

Start by making a narrow trench along one end of the bed, roughly the width and depth of the head of your spade. Move the soil into a wheel barrow to be used later. When the first trench is complete, add a layer of well rotted compost or manure and use your fork to break up the bottom of the trench and work the compost into the soil. Turn the second 'row' of soil over into the first trench and break it up thoroughly, removing weeds and stones as you see them. Continue backwards across the bed until you reach the end, where you will be left with a final trench and no more ground to turn over. Simply use the soil in the wheelbarrow to fill this, and the job is done.

No-dig – Many gardeners believe that digging isn't strictly necessary since it doesn't occur in nature. The no-dig method involves heavy applications of organic matter to the surface, which worms then spread throughout the layers of soil. Suitable materials for applying to the soil include compost, well-rotted manure, leaf-mould, paper scraps and composted bark. If you find digging physically difficult, or you have very good soil which has been improved in the past the no dig method may well work for you. This method is best used in a raised-bed system, where the soil is never walked upon.