Surprisingly, there is no consensus in the gardening world about the question of whether you should dig up a bed or not. Quite the opposite, because both opponents and supporters have valid arguments for their respective positions. So that you can see for yourself, we have collected the most important ones.
Should you dig up a bed or not?
Whether you should dig up a bed depends on the nature of the soil: Heavy, clayey soils benefit from loosening and enriching nutrients through digging. For lighter soils, loosening the soil without turning it over is often enough.
Benefits of digging
No question: If you are just creating a new bed or want to turn the existing meadow into a vegetable garden, you can't avoid digging. But do beds that have already been created and always maintained really need to be thoroughly cultivated every year?
Loosening the soil
Heavy, clayey soils in particular benefit from digging, which should be done approximately every one to three years - depending on the severity of the soil. In this way, the earth can be enriched with oxygen and it is also made more permeable. The addition and deeper incorporation of sand and compost also results in a constant soil improvement.
Enrichment with nutrients
Enriching the soil with organic materials, such as compost, manure or green manure, leads to a higher nutrient density, a looser, more humus-rich soil and also ensures sustainable management of the garden.
Less weeds
If the garden bed is dug up frequently, fewer and fewer weeds will grow over time. The reason for this is that the endless roots of typical root weeds are repeatedly destroyed, and weeds and their roots can also be deeply removed by digging.
Higher yields
A loose, humus-rich soil with few weeds promises higher yields. This has been confirmed in scientific studies, especially when it comes to double digging of very heavy clay soils.
Disadvantages of digging
Nevertheless, there are some points that speak against digging. This also means that it is a physically very demanding and complex job that is not necessary for every floor.
Soil loosening is often sufficient
While you can't avoid deep loosening with heavy garden soil, digging is basically not necessary with other, lighter soil types. Simply loosening the soil is sufficient here, but it does not have to be turned. To do this, you can use a digging fork (€31.00 on Amazon) or a cultivator.
Disruption of the soil microclimate
Probably the most important reason not to dig up the garden soil is that in doing so you seriously disrupt the microclimate in the soil as well as the numerous microorganisms and animals that live in it - especially if you work the bed in autumn and the creatures suddenly approach Expose to cold. On the other hand, they usually acclimatize again quickly, so this argument is only valid temporarily.
Tip
Digging up the bed in autumn has the advantage that the soil crumbs are finely crumbled by the winter frost and are therefore particularly suitable for planting.
