Many summer residents diligently dig up their gardens every autumn, not suspecting that they are harming the soil.
Why you shouldn't dig up your garden thoroughly in the fall and how to properly prepare the soil for winter, says Anastasia Kovrizhnykh, an expert at the online publication Belnovosti, an agronomist and landscape designer.
How to prepare a site for winter
When the soil is dug deep, not only pests that have gone into hibernation come to the surface, but also many beneficial insects and microorganisms.
Frosts are equally destructive for both. And the beneficial microflora will not be restored during the season; it will take years.
It is more advisable to loosen or shallowly turn the layer (from a depth of several centimeters).
And even then, it is only for plowing in green manure sown after the harvest of the main crops.
Green manure can also be mown and left on the beds as mulch.
Also, after harvesting, many summer residents begin to fight the weeds that have grown over the summer, using herbicides for this purpose.
This is a big mistake. First of all, you have to be very careful with chemistry.
Secondly, herbicides are used in warm weather. At temperatures below 10 degrees, they will be ineffective, and all harmful chemicals will remain in the soil for a long time.
Expert: Anastasia Kovrizhnykh
