The frosts of winter and early spring can leave your garden soil feeling hard and unyielding, which will make planting difficult. This blog will offer a guide to dealing with this problem.
Dig or fork the soil
The first step in softening hard soil is to either dig or fork it. This will enable you to break up sizeable areas that have become compacted.
If your garden beds have not previously been dug, use a spade for this. If they have been cultivated, a fork will work better. It can be hard work, but you can always rest on your Charles Taylor garden furniture afterwards.
Improve the soil
Once you have dealt with compaction issues, it will be time to improve your soil. You have a choice of adding manure that has been well-rotted, store-bought compost or the homemade variety.
Spread a layer of at least 5cm thickness across the soil surface and then mix it in using a fork or spade. The fertilisers will both enrich and soften the soil.
Tread the soil
This should be done to firm it up. If there are any big lumps, you can break them up using the fork.
Rake the soil
The final step is to go over the soil using a rake. That will get rid of small weeds and stones that have survived the previous steps. It will also even out your soil so it is ready for planting.
Helping your soil to recover from winter should produce better results for your garden this spring.
