Last week I made mention that the flower and vegetable catalogues are arriving almost daily, flagging up the need to start making a few decisions about the coming season.
Coupled with that, in my mind is the need to think about ground preparation.
Right now, our soil conditions are still not suitable for working, and we are the lucky ones!
I’m thinking of other parts of Scotland where the soil has been saturated if not flooded for weeks now.
Is ‘no digging’ permaculture the answer?
I don’t think so.
That is not to say that permaculture does not work as a production system.
It may well do for some, but it can’t be used to solve the problem of waterlogged soil.
If you did wish to use permaculture, you would still have to solve the drainage problems to give yourself a chance of succeeding.
What is permaculture? Let me deal with that in a separate session.
We can do nothing about flooding which is caused by excessive rain/high water table/poor drainage over a wide area, not just your garden.
There are a couple of elements which we can do something about when it is possible to get on to the land and these are compaction and poor aeration.
Remember, the elements that make up soil are: The minerals (clay, silt and sand) to which are then added organic matter; Flora and fauna (the invisible organisms that make it all work).
The relative percentages of these mineral ingredients will determine the nature of the soil.
The one part of that recipe which you can influence is the organic matter.
I do ‘bang on’ about it but make no apologies, in many respects it is the most important ingredient of all because it does get ‘burned up’ by growing plants using its components as food.
As the organic matter levels drop, the soil will become less tractable (workable), less fertile and less productive.
In the first instance, the most critical loss is the porosity, when water is very slow to drain through and as a result the layers become compacted, excluding air (oxygen).
As I’ve said, on the positive side, it is the one problem that you can do something about.
Drainage problems arise because very often the natural systems have been completely disrupted, turned topsy-turvy sometimes, to accommodate roads and buildings.
Drainage problems in a small garden may arise because of circumstances completely beyond the control of the owner/occupier.
That’s the rub but what’s to be done?
I suppose the most difficult areas to deal with are those covered in permanent grass.
Superficially, surface drainage can be improved by hollow-tine spiking to relieve surface compaction.
Remove the cores then top up the holes that have been created with a 6mm-7mm gravel.
This material will mechanically prevent the holes from closing up and still allow surface water to percolate through whilst also allowing air (oxygen) to get to the roots.
This technique works a treat so long as there is actually somewhere for the water to drain away to.
In the most seriously affected areas where you expect to grow fruit and veg, raised beds and lots of gravel paths will overcome the difficulty so long as you don’t mind the paths becoming burbling burn.
You excavate the paths, back fill with chuckies and then finish with gravel on top.
This technique (without the raised beds) is often used on sports grounds, the facility being known as a French Drain.
The soil from the paths helps to raise the level of the beds, which need to be a minimum of 300mm (1ft) above the surrounding ground level.
That sounds like being a lot of work but I assure you the effort is worth it.
Gosh, I got carried away there.
Let’s get back to the present situation – you MUST NOT try to cultivate saturated ground.
As it begins to dry out, the best implement to take in your hands is a garden fork, bursting it up any old way just to let water percolate away and air penetrate to speed the process.
When digging becomes possible, then is the time to bury as much organic material as you can.
Open up a trench, fork the bottom then fill with well rotted organic material, turn the next neighbouring length over on top and repeat the process.
One last word – DON’T be tempted to turn over ground where the top few inches are frozen.
That buried frozen layer may remain like that for some time, slowing up the warming process when it comes to sowing and planting time.