Properly prepared soil has always been the key to a good harvest. The soil before winter should be prepared from autumn.
How to prepare the soil for winter?
There are some basic tips how to prepare the land for the winter, so that the harvest of the next year is pleased with its abundance and quality. Let's analyze the basic rules:
- Fresh manure. Very often, before the frosts, summer residents rush to spread fresh manure on the soil. But this method does not give the results that you expect. Most likely, the processes of decay that provoke oxygen deficiency will begin. As a result, the roots are damaged, which serves as a bait for various pests.
- In the autumn period, the growth of plants ceases , so nutrients in large quantities are not needed. When preparing the soil for the winter, the feeding is completely stopped. All diligence will go with groundwater and surface water. Immediately after harvesting, you can plant a field salad, Persian clover. It is better to prepare the land for winter in this way, since it is these plants that improve its structure and prevent erosion. The fact that the roots of flowering clover or beans like to settle bacteria nodule. They are able to assimilate nitrogen from the air. Thus, green fertilizers help to further enrich the land with air. These assistants will be able to do their job well in the spring before planting.
- Preparing the soil for winter mulching. It is necessary to protect the soil from the effects of weather conditions. After heavy rains, it becomes harder, cracking, which limits the effect of soil organisms. It is important to prepare the soil for mulching in winter, as this makes it possible to avoid problems in the future. Straw, fallen leaves, which cover the soil, rot and form humus. This contributes to less evaporation of moisture, suppresses the growth of weeds, promotes the vital activity of soil inhabitants.
All these techniques do not allow the earth to collapse, make it loose, improve air permeability. - Preparing the soil for the winter digging. Not so long ago, experts came to the conclusion that the autumn digging leads to a disturbance of the soil structure. The matter is that all soil organisms prefer the earth poor in oxygen, therefore it is quite enough to dig a garden only in the spring. And before wintering just loosen the ground with pitchforks. This rule has only one exception: clay soil.