Even before you bring the first seedlings to the garden, you will of course go to the flower bed with a spade. Without a thoroughly, you can not even imagine the care of future harvest. Sure, that’s one option – but there is also the second method that prefers to leave the soil at rest. Which path do you choose?
The engraving of the garden can be a ritual that we start with the gardening season. But if you have not heard of the method of care for land, which is called “No-Dig” and means basically gardening without engraving, we can take a closer look at the principles of such an approach.
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I soil is alive
Proponents of gardening without engraving draw attention to the fact that the soil is not just ordinary material, such as stone pulp and the like. It is an ecosystem full of life, a complex environment in which both microorganisms and larger animals, such as earthworms and others have their homes. It is this fact that ensures soil fertility and its overall condition.
What happens if we take a spade on the plot? Everything that these organisms have recently adapted to their own image, we will destroy – and can start again. According to Saskatchewan university expert, engraving can disrupt the fragile balance of such a system and even reduce soil fertility.
Lay on the flower beds organic material
What happens if you decide to use the No-Dig method? The spade remains in the shed and you take the wheels to load a mulch, or other organic material that you put on the flower bed. According to experts, such a procedure will result in maintaining the basic soil structure, but it will remain plump and permeable, which will support easier growth of the root roots. In addition, the mulch layer prevents weeds from growing and supports water retention in the soil. Substances that will be gradually released from the brought organic material will be navigated into deeper layers, where they will have good access to the crop through the roots.
Just a few rules
Concerns about the transition from the classic gardening to this alternative are completely unnecessary. It is nothing difficult. Just follow a few basic rules. The first step will be to cover the existing surface of the land with cardboard, or at least by newspapers. Why? To prevent the initial growth of weeds. This will be followed by at least a five -centimeter layer of the above -mentioned organic material, creating a flower bed ready to accept the first seedlings.
Keep in mind all pages of this method
Although this variant has many advantages, it is difficult to find a process in the world that does not find any but… of course it has no-dig gardening and consists of slower soil warming in early spring. We must adapt to this in the choice of the seedlings. To mention this lack, we can use the darkest mulch as possible, which will attract more and mainly to absorb the sun’s rays.
Try one flower bed
If modern methods of sustainable management are interested in nature, but you are not sure if this is the right path for your land, you can only try it on parts of the garden. Nothing happens and you may find that it is a style that will suit you much more than traditional practice.
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