Enhancing Your Soil

Soil Conditioning
Organic matter in the soil tends improve structure of heavy soils (by allowing water and air in) and helps in holding moisture in the soil. Furthermore it provides food for beneficial soil-borne creatures (for instance, earthworms) which would further aerate the soil. Such examples of these organic matters are garden compost and mushroom compost.

Forking
The soil should be roughly turned and placed back in the same position using a garden fork. You may incorporate the said organic matters as you are doing this. Be sure to remove weeds or any other debris by hand

Digging
I’d like to explain a few main methods of digging your garden : simple digging, single dinging and double digging .

Simple Digging
As its name suggests thus is the least complicated to do. This method is particularly useful for removing weeds and to roughly cultivate your soil. Your spade should be forced vertically into the soil (be sure to the full depth of the blade!) and the handle is eased back to lever the earth up. Then, the spade is turned and the soil deposited in the same place, though inverted. You may remove weeds or other debris by hand and break clods of soil with sharp jabs of the spade.


Single digging
Single digging is exercised on heavier soil and it is also a great technique for mixing organic matter into the upper layer of the soil. Though its process is very similar to simple digging, however for this method you may need to reserve a trench of about 30cm wide across the plot and the soil deposited on one side. A layer of well-rotted garden compost is placed in the bottom of the trench. Mowing 15cm back, the next row is dug, but the excavated soil is thrown forward to fill the first trench. After two passes across the plot the first trench will have been filled and a second trench created. This process is repeated until the entire plot has been dug. The excavated soil from the first trench is moved to the other end of the plot to fill the last trench.



Double Digging
This method of digging is to break up compacted soil or to prepare deep beds. After excavating each trench, use a garden fork to loosen the subsoil at the bottom of the trench and mix in well rotted organic matter or grit to improve the drainage if required. Then follow the procedure for single digging. Be sure to not mix the soils from each layer.