Winter Digging

This week Dirty Nails has started to dig over his vegetable plot. His aim is to turn over every vacant piece of soil during the next couple or three months. Much of the ground is growing a green manure crop. He takes the hoe to this, cutting it all down then digging it in. The goodness in the plants is released into the soil as they decompose. Elsewhere, leaf-mould and compost mulches were applied in the autumn. They too will be dug in.

Although there are many schools of thought on the merits of digging in relation to growing vegetables, Dirty Nails always rough-digs his patch in the winter. He favours this regime for many reasons, which all ultimately lead to the production of wholesome, delicious food. Digging the soil to a depth of one spit (the length of a spade head) exposes it to the winter elements. A freshly dug piece of ground looks like a still-life of choppy waters at sea. By springtime this will have been weathered by the forces of rain, wind and frost into a calmer, smoother picture. The resulting friable soil is easily turned into a seedbed when spring sowing time comes around again.

Dirty Nails knows that he willl be able to manage the rush of work much more easily if he has prepared the ground well in advance. He also relishes the closeness of his relationship with the earth as he digs. Winter digging is part of this ongoing partnership. With a tender, loving and careful approach year on year, he works with the soil and continually renews his acquaintance with it.

Friendly robins are almost constant companions at this time. They drop in fearlessly, hopping from clod to clod, stopping, tilting their heads to one side listening, and then diving into a crack or hollow to snaffle a tasty morsel. Robins find rich pickings where the ground is disturbed, and account for many soil pests at the same time. Dirty Nails enjoys digging most when in the company of these beady-eyed little birds. They give him an excuse to take regular pauses, straighten his back and survey the work in progress.

Digging is a strenuous activity and it is easy to get lost in the rhythmic meditation of the job, which can lead to backache the next day. Dirty Nails seldom digs for more than half an hour before taking a break and doing something else. Each turn of sod is a labour of love, undertaken slowly, methodically and with respect. He keeps his back as straight as possible, letting his knees, thighs and arms take the strain.

Working on wet ground is extra hard work and can do more harm than good by compressing the soil structure. If great clods are sticking to the boots, then it is too wet to dig. Where the ground is sloping, backache can be minimised by working along the contour facing uphill. With a sensible and realistic approach to digging his sizeable veg plot, Dirty Nails hopes to be able to tackle this annual task manually for many years to come.

Vegetable Snippets: Soil Organic Matter (SOM)

Soil organic matter (SOM) is any part of the soil that once lived. From both plants and animals, it is dead stuff in varying degrees of decomposition. SOM is highly nutritious and therefore an essential ingredient in the production of home-grown veggies. It is, however, only a small component of most garden soils in this country, comprising just 2% to 5% of the good earth that most of us have to play with.

When rotted to the maximum, SOM is called humus. It is dark brown, allows easy passage of water (is porous), spongy to touch and has a rich smell. It is in this state when most of its nutrients are available to crops.

Another key element of SOM is the part it plays in a healthy structure. By opening up the land, it introduces plenty of oxygen. It provides a great habitat and high source of energy for creatures living in this domain, from earthworms to microbes. These all have a crucial role to play in the well-being of the veg plot.

It is also fantastic for conditioning soils. When heavy and/or compacted, and difficult to work, SOM makes the soil more friable and much easier going. Where the growing medium is too light and/or free-draining, SOM binds particles together which gives the soil bulk and body.

SOM does, however, have its limitations. Garden compost can harbour plant viruses and/or diseases if infected material has been added to the refuse heap instead of being burnt. Similarly, perennial weed seeds can survive humification, and will germinate when compost is applied to the plot.

Farmyard manure must be well-rotted lest it give off ammonia, while fresh straw and leaves can rob the soil of nitrogen as they rot down, which can cause a nutrient imbalance. They should be partially decomposed at the very least when incorporated into the ground.