Soil structure
Once you have determined your garden site it is important to take time to improve the soil structure of where you are planting. Organic gardening thrives on how healthy the soil is and plants do best in soil that is loose and thoroughly aerated. Many plants have roots that grow deep into the soil so tilling or amending the soil structure is a good way to ensure a healthy life for your plants. Tilling is also a good way to discard any large rocks or tap rooted weeds from your garden.
To till your soil you will need a long garden fork with strong, thick tines. Thick tines are strong and won’t bend when working the soil or when they encounter a large rock. The tine should be also narrow so they easily move through the soil when loosening clods of dirt. An alternative to hand tilling is using a rototiller. This is a heavy piece of equipment that will aerate you soil but there is a danger of compacting the soil with this heavy machine. You will have to determine which will be the best tool to use according to your particular garden.
Tilling your garden can be tiring and a bit of a workout, but it will make an amazing difference in your garden. Here I will show you 3 easy steps on how to correctly and effectively till your own garden.
- First step is to take your garden fork and dig about a foot (or as deep as for goes) into the ground.
- Second step is to turn over the soil
- Third step is to do this to your entire garden! Make sure you drink plenty of water and use your abs!
Remember that it’s important to keep the soil aerated so try not to step all over the garden once its tilled. At this point you should be thinking about where you want your foot paths to be. Place stone where you want to walk and remember to stay only on that foot path! Also note that if you encounter worms it is a good sign! Worms do many miraculous things to your garden, including aeration!