All hobby gardeners agree that it is desirable to have a loose garden soil. Such soil is better supplied with oxygen and is less prone to waterlogging. Plant roots can also make their way better through loose soil. There are several ways to eliminate unwanted compression.

Various tools can be used to loosen the garden soil

Different approaches

A compacted soil can be loosened up again in different ways. Here are the options at a glance:

  • Digging up/loosening soil with various devices
  • Improve composition with sand
  • Use plants with soil loosening roots

tips

Which of the methods offers the best chance of success also depends on the other properties of the soil and the severity of the soil compaction.

digging up

Digging up harvested beds in autumn has been practiced for centuries. While this was previously only done with spades in laborious manual work, you can now mill larger areas with motor-driven equipment. The large, upturned clods of earth are transformed into finely crumbly earth by the winter frost.

In the meantime, however, more and more distance is being taken from this type of digging. Because the different layers of earth are literally turned upside down. Many useful soil organisms suffer.

Instead, dig holes in the soil at regular intervals with a spade or use a claw that rotates sideways to avoid disturbing the layers of soil.

incorporate sand

A very compact soil often has the reason that its composition is very clay-heavy. To make it looser over time, you can improve it with coarse sand or gravel. The sand or gravel is first spread generously on the surface and then worked in with a rake to a depth of about 10-15 cm.

use plants

Some plants have a richly branched root system. This has the power to loosen compacted soil. Use such plants selectively. For example:

  • potato plants
  • Nasturtium
  • marigold flowers

They can change their location every year. In this way, the entire garden soil can gradually benefit from it.

tips

Also make sure to fertilize the garden soil ecologically. The worms in the garden soil can survive better and in turn contribute to the loosening of the soil.

Category:

Garden design