- Ground care is already done in autumn
- Prepare soil for new planting in spring
- Further soil care in spring
Help the development of the site, sharing the article with friends!
Before the gardener can harvest, he must first work. In order for the vegetable seedlings to grow and thrive, the soil should be well prepared - this is the only way to create optimal conditions for growth and ripening. The preparation for the new growing season begins in autumn.
Preparations for next year begin as early as autumn
Ground care is already done in autumn
At the end of the growing season, soil care begins with clearing away the last vegetable crops and digging and/or plowing the soil. Especially loamy and heavy soils should be dug up in autumn to ensure good ventilation and sufficient looseness. During the cold winter months, the soil has time to settle and is also "broken" by the frost. This in turn facilitates finer tillage in spring. Another benefit of autumn digging is that soil pests and snails (which overwinter in the ground) are eliminated by the digging.
Prepare soil for new planting in spring
But be careful: very humus-rich and light soils should not be dug up. As a result, the structure of these soils gets mixed up, so that the humus is broken down more quickly. Such garden soils can only be loosened with a digging fork and a sow tooth. Much more important anyway is the fine processing, which takes place in early spring and ensures the fine topsoil that is so important for planting and sowing. For this you need tools such as rakes, rakes and sow teeth, with which a finely crumbly structure and an even planting bed can be achieved. However, do not carry out this work on very damp soil, but rather wait for drier days - otherwise the fine crumb will be missing in the end.
Further soil care in spring
Before planting in spring, a basic fertilization with compost and organic or mineral fertilizer should also be decided. These are to be dug under with a spade or digging fork. Any green manure sown in autumn and frozen over the winter should be removed by digging in as early as February. After that, the ground has to rest first.
Floor care after clearing the pre-cultures
From around mid-March, the first pre-cultures such as spinach, early carrots or radishes can be planted in the bed. If these are finally cleared in May, another tillage takes place. To do this, add the harvest residues to the compost and rake the soil thoroughly. In heavy soils or if the harvest residues are to be incorporated as fertilizer or if you expect heavy weed growth, we recommend digging up again and subsequent fine tillage.
tips
After digging, always let the soil rest for a week or two before replanting it, because then weeds will appear that can be removed immediately.