When growing any garden crop, regular and constant loosening of the soil is required. This process is a very important point in caring for all plants.
Soil loosening
What is the purpose of loosening the soil around plants? Thanks to loosening, first of all, there is a facilitation of the entry of air into the soil and, accordingly, the access of oxygen to the roots. At the same time weeds are destroyed. After loosening, moisture absorption during irrigation or rain is improved.
For these purposes, garden tools are used:
hand cultivators, hoes, plane cutters, etc.
However, many gardeners consider both loosening and digging an unnecessary process, even harmful to the soil. As an alternative, they offer the surface of the earth in vegetable gardens and gardens to cover with mulch, since an earth crust does not form under it. And this approach has both positive and negative points.
Which is preferable and why? Soil loosening is called “dry irrigation”, which will be described below.
How to do the work?
In the traditional habitual agriculture provides for repeated loosening of beds during the season. On the soil not treated in such a way after rains and irrigation, the surface of the soil is often covered with a dry crust, making it difficult for new shoots to appear.
Parsley, carrots, fennel and dill sprout especially hard. At the same time, the
root system of plants experiences oxygen deficiency.
In connection with the above, when planting carrots and dill, you need to plant lighthouse crops nearby, which sprout easier and faster (spinach, salad, radish). They will help determine where the rows of non-germinated crops are. This will help to soften the soil without harm to future plants. The same treatment is useful to produce at the bases of trees and bushes.
It is advisable to loosen the soil while it is wet.
What is dry watering?
Field professionals are well aware of the importance of cultivation when growing plants. Tractors harrowing crops of crops and corn often work in the fields. This process is usually carried out before emergence and after. In some places, they harrow even after the shoots have become stronger.
Such loosening is carried out not so much to destroy weeds as to create a layer of mulch on the soil under the plants, which prevents the evaporation of much-needed moisture. It is clear why loosening the soil is called “dry irrigation”. So called this processing of agricultural technology. This method is an alternative to watering and raining with severe drought.
“Dry watering” protects the plant from drying out. Without loosening, the soil dries to the very roots of the plants, which leads to the death of the latter. Even cracked earth itself can damage the roots - tear them.
Many gardeners underestimate this method, prefer to water more often, which contributes to a greater compaction of the soil. That is why loosening the soil is called “dry irrigation”. The best option is to alternate watering with dry watering.
Such tillage helps to reduce moisture evaporation by almost 2 times.
Soil processes
To the question why soil loosening is called “dry irrigation”, there is a more detailed answer.
Due to the destruction of the dry crust, loosening of the upper part of the soil surface to a depth of 5 cm, a heat-insulating layer is formed, which provides protection against temperature differences.
For example, on the very surface of the soil (loosened) or mulch in the afternoon (in hot weather), the temperature reaches 35-60 ° C, and under this layer of soil or under the mulch due to artificially created thermal insulation - up to 28 ° C.
This contributes to a good harvest of potatoes and various other crops of temperate climate in arid hot summers.
It is important for all gardeners to remember that one loosening is equivalent to two plentiful watering. It is not worse contributes to the preservation of moisture very important for plants in the soil.