It’s a key month for fans of veg ...and top of the to-do list is digging trenches
Few months mark their arrival in such an explosive way as November. Fireworks fill the skies and bonfires still crackle away in the new month’s first hours after Halloween. Sadly, there’s no such spectacle in the garden. Many trees have lost their autumn leaves and, apart from the odd late-flowering bulb or perennial in our beds and borders, there’s little colour to lift our spirits.
But November is an important time for turning over soil... and for harvesting, too. At this time of year, it’s best to make the most of dry, sunny days – there will be times when you won’t want to step out of the house due to gusty blasts or rain that falls incessantly from leaden skies.
In fact, too much rain can leave soil soggy and difficult to dig. If you can, cover the ground with sheets of polythene until there’s a break in the weather.
DIG SOME LIFE INTO YOUR SOIL
A freshly turned piece of soil is certainly pleasing on the eye, but there are far more practical reasons why it’s important to carry out a spot of winter digging. It helps to break any hard layers, keeps the soil healthy, and exposes soil-borne pests to hungry birds. Exposure to frost also helps to break down heavy clods.
There are three main types of digging – simple, single and double digging. In the veg garden, single digging is the most commonly used method. Start at one end of the area to be dug and excavate a trench to the depth of the spade’s blade. Use a wheelbarrow to move the soil to the other end of the area. Add manure or compost to the bottom of the trench, then dig out another and drop the soil removed into the first one. Carry on like this until you reach the end, removing perennial weeds and burying annuals as you go. Fill the final trench with the soil from the first one.