inventory
Before digging up a garden, you should get an overview. In overgrown gardens it is not uncommon for treasures to come to light that the radical measures would destroy. Observe the garden for at least a year. This will give you an insight into what is growing in your garden and what types of soil are predominant.
also read
- Does it make sense to dig up a meadow?
- When to dig up the garden
- Garden tools for digging up
Existing beds with onion plants do not have to be dug up. Measures that bring the bed back into shape are sufficient here. Wild herbs such as sorrel, nettle or lady's mantle spread in unused gardens, where they serve biodiversity and offer humans another benefit as vegetables.
Weigh up digging
Digging up the garden is an option if the ground is very uneven. Heavy ground can hardly be used if it has not been dug up and loosened thoroughly. With light soils, it is sufficient to loosen the substrate with a sow tooth. Shifts are associated with a disruption of the soil structure. After such massive interventions, the soil needs time to regenerate.
If digging is necessary, you should pay attention to the weather conditions. Autumn is not always ideal for this measure. Shifting is also possible in spring if the growing season has not yet started.
Then you should dig up the garden:
- after light ground frost
- in early spring with low temperatures
- from intense rains
Flower beds without digging
After mowing, mulch the area that will later be a bed. Large amounts of grass accumulate in the overgrown garden, which are perfect as a mulch layer when uncut. The longer the grass, the better. The shift sags significantly over the next six months.
Check the condition of the lawn underneath and apply an additional layer of mulch to the area if the grass underneath has not yet rotted. The material only decomposes slowly and provides an ideal protective layer for the floor. It keeps the substrate moist and warm so that the soil organisms can convert the biomass into compost.
