Year-round soil maintenance
Index:
January
Compacted soil
Lightly dig over compacted soil between shrubs to a shallow depth with a fork. Also lightly work in rotted leaves or a layer of mulch (e.g. bark chips). This prevents excessive weed growth and increases the humus content of the soil. Be careful not to damage any plant roots. Do not dig over if there is plenty of humus and organic matter since you will do more harm than good.
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February
Spread lime
Spreading an appropriate type of lime on acid soil (test with a pH kit) will help to counteract acidification (also on the lawn). Some lime products react strongly with nitrogen, so you should spread lime first and fertilise a month later.
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Digging over
It is time to dig over the vegetable garden if it is on sandy soil - a vegetable garden on clay soil should be dug over in the autumn. You only need to dig over if the structure of the soil is poor and there are a lot of annual weeds. Dig these in, along with any mulch. Digging this in enhances the soil. Old farmyard manure can also be dug in.
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Applying fertiliser
Fertilise fruit crops with extra phosphorus and potassium in order to build up flowers and fruit. Patentkali or Thomas slag and fertiliser specially formulated for fruit crops are the best. Nitrogen is less of a priority.
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March
Fertiliser
A basic organic fertiliser such as compost or farmyard manure in granule or powder form is needed once a year to keep your plants healthy. One big advantage of that is that it is almost impossible to overdo it. Organic fertilisers are very safe and easy to use.
Organic fertiliser provides a basic feed which will continue to work in the long term. Provide a healthy basic feed with products such as bonemeal (not for plants that like acid soil), blood meal, dried cow manure or compost. Do not forget to feed trees, shrubs and hedging plants, and give the lawn special long-acting lawn feed.
Fertilising roses
Roses need a lot of feeding and require special trace elements like magnesium. Give a basic organic fertiliser or balanced rose fertiliser which contains everything they need.
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April
Preparing and improving the soil
You will need to prepare and improve the soil prior to sowing. Prepare a fine seed bed free from lumps and clods and preferably loose and airy. Shake up the soil at the planting spot and mix in a substantial amount of organic materials such as compost, bonemeal etc. Do not use bonemeal if you intend to plant plants which like acid soil, since bonemeal contains a lot of calcium.
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May
Helping the soil breathe
Loosen the top layer of soil and cover it with a mulch layer of compost. This will keep the soil under it loose and the mulch layer will gradually be absorbed. That is good for forming humus. Using sterile manufactured compost, will ensure that no pathogens or fertile weed seeds are introduced. That will save a lot of weeding later on.
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June
Hoeing
Leave hoed weeds lying on the soil for a couple days before removing them. They will dry up, releasing nutrients into the soil. You will also take less soil with them.
Soil cover
A layer of organic material on the soil between your plants prevents it from drying out rapidly, and reduces the need for watering!
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July
Feed roses
Roses are in full bloom this month which requires a lot of extra energy from the plants. You should give them special rose fertiliser which contains everything they need. It helps them deliver the best results.
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August
Stop fertilising
Stop fertilising your plants in August. This applies particularly to trees, shrubs and perennials, but also to container plants. They need to be able to complete their growth cycles before winter, and an extra boost to growth is not good for this.
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November
Digging over
If you need to dig over a heavy soil (clay), it is good to do it now. Do not flatten the soil after digging it over, but simply leave the raw clods lying there. The frost will break them up, after which the soil will be looser and easier to work, particularly if you have mixed sand, fine gravel or organic material through it as well. Sandy soil is best dug over in the spring in order to maintain the structure of soil as much as possible.
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