Is the soil ripe?
The long-awaited spring has come. Favorite time of all summer residents. But at the same time, when the snow melts, the earth begins to warm up, and the earth begins to acquire an unpleasant smell. This means that soil bacteria are starting to appear in the ground. This means that spring is already coming. But this does not mean that it is time to take up gardening tools, and this is not the end of the preparation of the soil. The upper words of the earth still resemble liquid mud and you will definitely not be able to dig it up completely. Do not waste your time, not your energy. They will still be useful to you.
Agronomists advise to wait until the excess moisture has already evaporated. After that, the soil must take on its "physical ripeness". This means that the ground already crumbles well and does not stick to garden tools (shovel or hoe). How to determine this? Try digging up a small piece of soil, or simply squeeze a piece of soil in your palm.
If you do not like to wait, then, in principle, it is possible to speed up the process of transition of winter soil to a spring state. To do this, you can completely remove the snow from your area or cover your beds with plastic wrap.
Time passed, so you waited - the moisture has evaporated, the earth no longer resembles liquid mud, and you can safely drip, plant, sow whatever you want. But this does not mean that everything needs to be planted at the same time. You probably already know that some garden crops need to be planted earlier, some later. Each culture has its own time. You must take this into account. If you decide to leave the beds as they are, then the soil may become covered with a crust through which moisture will evaporate. And that's not good either. Because melt water has a very beneficial effect on the growth of all horticultural crops. And we got it for nothing. Why are we going to waste it. Having lost it, then you will have to water with a hose or watering can. Why, when nature has already done a lot for you. Use this.
If you do not want to dry out your area in vain, then we advise you to carry out a spring moisture closure. A very nice and respectable name. In fact, this is a simple loosening of the soil of the very area on which you do not plan to plant anything in the near future. You can loosen the soil with your favorite garden tool, which is more convenient for you (rake, hoe, cultivator). Having done this once, you will not have to water your soil every time. That will also save time and effort. For the same reason, we advise you after you dig up the beds, they need to be leveled with a rake. If this is not done on time, then pieces of soil may remain, and they will turn into large, hard lumps.
An important fact. Many already modern gardeners are beginning to abandon the traditional digging of the earth - by turning the layer and breaking this layer into pieces. In essence, this is correct. That's why. There are two types of bacteria in the earth - aerobic (they need oxygen to live) and anaerobic (they, on the contrary, are harmed by oxygen). Some bacteria are in the upper soil layer to be closer to the air, while others are in the lower soil. And when we start to turn over the layer, then both types of bacteria begin to feel bad, even uncomfortable. There is an exit. This is surface loosening of the soil. But then, in this case, you will need to monitor the condition of the soil so that it does not dry out, and for this you will need to regularly mulch the soil with peat, sawdust, straw and other organic materials.