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This winter, many of us will start digging to prepare a vegetable plot or flower border for planting next spring. But the question may arise - why bother?
Firstly, digging breaks up the soil, relieving compaction and helping to aerate it, making drainage better and allowing roots to penetrate so that plants grow better.
The main reason for digging, however, is to add plenty of organic matter such as well rotted manure or compost to improve soil structure and nutrients before planting. Fork out perennial weeds and other debris before you start.
Generally soil needs to be dug only to one spades depth when you are creating a new bed. Years ago double-digging (digging to the depth of two spades) was often recommended but, quite honestly, its really not necessary unless you want to grow award-winning carrots or giant parsnips.
Be warned, though, that when an area has been neglected, digging it over will lead to the emergence of weeds, as dormant seeds will start to germinate once exposed to daylight.
When single digging, dig the first trench to one spades width and one spades depth and place the soil from this in a wheelbarrow, taking it to the far-end of the plot, to be used later to fill in the final trench.
Dig a second trench next to the first and throw the soil from the second trench into the first, mixing plenty of organic matter in with it as you go. It will bury annual weeds, but make sure you remove any perennial weed roots first and split up any large earth clods.
Dont just put the compost at the bottom of the hole. It should be distributed through all layers of the topsoil.
Continue to dig trenches across the whole plot, using the soil from the wheelbarrow to fill the last trench.
If you are preparing the bed to plant trees, shrubs or perennials you can just leave it when youve dug it over. If youre preparing it for sowing seeds, or growing small plants, its best to dig it over then rake the ground to a fine tilth resembling cake crumbs.
To save your back, do the digging in stages if youve a large area to cover. Divide the area in several bits and do it over time, not all at once. If you are autumn or winter digging, pick days when the ground isnt too hard or wet and leave it rough dug, letting the winter frosts break up the soil more and allowing birds to pick off soil pests.
If you are working on an existing bed with established plants, just add a thin layer of organic matter to the surface, turning it in as you go, but dont dig down very much.
Many organic vegetable gardeners use a no-dig approach, spreading large amounts of organic matter over the top of the soil each year, then waiting for the worms to pull the nutrients down into the soil, building up the quality and fertility of the soil, suppressing weeds and conserving water.
However, the beds are likely to have been dug deeply when they were first created. Alternatively the same result can be achieved without digging, by creating a raised bed, filling it with compost laid on existing soil. Dont tread on the soil, though, or it will become too compacted and defeat the object.
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