The Dirt Ball Test
Is your garden ready to till?
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Nice Spring weather (especially after a long, cold,
snowy winter) will lead to ramped-up exuberance in the
garden! Something about that spring sunshine and
fragrance in the air that really charges people up for
doing lawn care and other forms of gardening.
Included on this list (for the exuberant gardener) would
be rototilling the vegetable garden far too early, while
preparing for spring vegetable planting. Even though you
and your rototiller may be ready to go, the soil
probably isn't. So then, how can you tell? |
Let's call it "THE DIRT BALL TEST." This
is a very simple method to determine IF your
garden soil is dry enough to be rototilled.
Fire-up your rototiller and till in one small spot,
right where the tiller sits. Then take a handful of the
tilled soil and form it into a ball, just as you would a
snowball. Holding the ball in your hand, stretch your
arm straight out at shoulder level and drop the dirt
ball to the ground.
Interpreting your test results:
YES: If the soil ball breaks up when it drops,
good news, your soil is dry enough to rototill.
NO: If the soil ball stays in a ball when it
drops and doesn't break up, your soil is too wet to
rototill. Wait another day or two and test it again.
Why is this test so darn important?
Tilling and working soil that is too wet is bad for soil
and will result in hard clumps.
You say your soil is ALWAYS too wet to rototill in
early Spring:
Option 1: Do your tilling and garden preparation in the
Fall when soil is likely to be much drier.
Option 2: Begin adding more organic matter to your soil.
The higher the organic matter content of your soil, the
earlier you will be able to rototill your garden. Many
municipalities have leaf compost available for free, or
a small fee. Start working compost or similar organic
material into your garden each year for improved dirt
ball tests in the Spring. Your vegetables will also
appreciate the higher organic matter content in the
soil.
Bonus tip:
Don't till your soil too much, so that it turns
to dust. Over-tilling can ruin the soil structure!
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