Do I need to dig a garden in the fall?

During the preparation of the site for wintering, some truck farmers carefully dig through the ground, while others try to do it after the frosts in the spring. At what in recent times the question of digging up the garden has become more and more frequent: is this really necessary, or are you just creating problems for the new season? Let's understand.

Is it necessary to dig a garden in autumn: the opposite opinions

Almost all experienced gardeners advise you not to dig the garden fall in general. Although there are a lot of scientific justifications and opinions of truck farmers who are accustomed to act this way, spring pigging is increasingly preferred. But the autumn version also has its undeniable advantages.

1. All the leaves from the surface move under the ground and there rot in the winter. This is true, but there is also the second side of the coin. In addition to foliage, you dig in and seeds of all the weeds that will not freeze, but will safely winter and germinate in the new season. In other words, you simply cultivate weeds on your site.
2. When we begin to dig the garden in the autumn, then all the larvae of insects and other pests (caterpillars scoop , Colorado beetles, bear) are on the surface. As a result, either birds are killed, or they will die under the influence of wind and cold. Everyone knows how to dig a garden: just lumps and not in any way not to break them. So you kill only 10% of pests, and the rest remain in these lumps and safely winter.
3. When digging up the garden, all nitrogen-fixing organisms are activated, which in turn enrich the soil with nitrogen forms that are most suitable for plants. But the effect is only visible if the soil is buried. Otherwise, all that is useful, which began to develop in the soil, simply disappears.
4. Many gardeners in the question of whether you need to dig a garden in the fall, nod in the affirmative and motivate it by the fact that the layer with minerals and fertilizers comes to the surface. This is a delusion: the deeper digging, the less useful it will be in the soil. Ideally, the depth of digging varies within 5-10 cm, which is more expedient to do in the spring.
5. Many summer residents do not even ask themselves whether to dig or not to dig a garden if there are many trees on the plot. This is another way of processing the leaves. Of course, rotten leaves are an excellent fertilizer, but with it all diseases remain in the soil. So it's better to leave it as it is, and then in spring remove the foliage layer and dig up the earth.

Do I need to dig a garden in the fall: a few tips for beginning gardeners

As you can see, there is no unequivocal opinion. The only indisputable argument in favor of the autumn digging is that it helps to reduce the preparation time for the garden in the spring. If you do not dig the ground to cold weather and precipitation, by the spring the top layer will become very compact and it will be difficult to prepare it.

If you decide to give preference to the autumn digging, you should do it right. The time when it is better to dig a garden, falls on the middle-end of autumn, it all depends on the climate in your region. In any case, it is necessary to do this before the rainy season begins.

During digging you can immediately liming or gypsum the soil. The lumps should be large, this is necessary to ensure that the snow is well laid down on the site and it was easier to prepare the soil for the spring planting.

So, whether it is necessary to dig a garden in the autumn, each truck farmer decides for himself. Some prefer the methods tested by years and dig through the plots. More ambitious innovators are trying new options and sometimes refuse to dig at all. In many respects it depends on the climate and the type of soil on the site.