Warming Soil For Growing

Start preparing the ground for this year, says Ruth

- Ruth Hayes

THE season for sowing and planting is almost upon us so it’s time to look sharp and start thinking about warming the soil.

If you have already given it a boost by forking in lots of well rotted compost and manure, or layered it deeply with mulch, all you really need to do is weed it well and make it more warmly hospitable for seeds and the developing roots of young plants.

If you haven’t yet improved your soil there’s no time to waste. Do so now, so the late winter weather and worms can work their magic, incorporating the goodness before anything else is done.

However, don’t do any mulching when conditions are frosty as the fresh layers will simply trap the cold against the soil, delaying the warming process.

Autumn-sown green manures will be ready to cut back and dig in soon, but remember to leave a few weeks between this and sowing and planting, to let the manures rot down properly.

Cold will have penetrated right down into the soil so over the next few weeks, start warming it up.