Do I need to dig a garden in the fall

A few days ago a work colleague came to see me - he had to hand over the documents. And when we went out into the garden so that I could show her my conifers, she saw that all the beds in my garden were dug up. A colleague said that she also always dug up her garden, but in the past couple of years she has not had enough strength. And because of this, there were a lot of weeds in the beds. I asked what the relationship was (although of course I know the answer, I was just curious to hear it from another person).

And a colleague said that during the autumn digging, which needs to be done after the first frost, not earlier, the roots of the weeds appear on the surface and freeze at the same time. The main thing is not to break the clods so that the earth is turned over. At the same time, she glanced at my beds, along which, as if they had been raked, there was no question of any clods there.

After walking a little more on my site, we parted quite happy with each other.

Why is autumn digging useful?

And I want to say that I completely agree with my colleague that the autumn digging can help get rid of weeds, but only on such a condition that the earth is turned over and the clods are not broken. Then frost will be able to destroy some part of the roots and rhizomes. But in no case should it be considered a panacea for this scourge.

I don't have a single lump on the field because I dug up the beds together with my assistants - chickens, who collected worms from under a shovel. They, of course, tore up the soil after digging and destroyed all the clods.

In addition, before digging, I added lime, because there is a lot of horsetail on the site, which means that the soil is acidic. Most cultivated plants do not like acidic soil. You can lose up to 50% of the crop if you do not fight soil acidification. It is necessary to bring lime into the ground in the fall, so that the effect of its action appears and in the spring it is already possible to reap its fruits.

During the winter, the soil will be saturated with air, moisture, minerals, which it receives along with the snow. If the earth is not dug, then it is dense and aerobic processes in it are slower due to lack of oxygen. This is another argument in favor of digging.

In addition to weed roots, pests of garden plants and pathogens perish in loose soil. They are also more exposed to cold and temperature extremes after digging.

And most importantly, in the spring it no longer takes so much strength and energy to prepare the ridges. It is enough to loosen them with a pitchfork, and they are ready for planting. But I, for example, still walk along the ridges with a cultivator so that the soil becomes even more airy.

Cons of autumn digging

In addition to harmful bacteria and pathogens, part of the beneficial soil microflora necessary for fertility also perishes. She also turns out to be defenseless against frost. This must be taken into account, therefore, timely apply manure, humus, compost.

If the fertile layer on the site is weak, thin, then when digging, the least fertile soil turns out to be at the top, or even clay. But here the question is quite controversial, because in many plants the roots go quite deep into the soil, finding there, just, an inverted fertile layer. So - you need to work on fertility, making, for example, every year 2-3 high ridges in different places. So gradually, most of the site will have a thick fertile layer.

This is my opinion about the autumn digging. As long as I have the strength and time, I will do it. And then we'll see.