Some people really like rotavating their soil. Although this can be a good thing and save a lot of time there are things that you should consider before you dive in...
- Rotators are really good if you need to break up lots of soil. If your allotment is small and you don't have much soil you're better to use a spade or fork. Doing this you will get to know the ground that you are working much much better.
- If you really need to rotavate do it in spring or autumn to break up the soil but don't keep doing it over and over again on the same area of soil. It really isn't doing the soil any favours.
- Rotavating the soil when it's wet is a guaranteed way of destroying its structure.
- Rotavators do not work the soil as deeply as a spade or fork will do which can cause problems for plants when they are trying to send roots down.
- Worms are your friends. Rotavators are worms' enemies, breaking them up and lowering their population.
- Weeds are your enemies. Rotavators are weeds' friends, breaking up their roots and increasing their population.
- Rotavators make a lot of noise! Respect your plot neighbours and try to rotavate when there aren't other people around enjoying the peace and quiet.
A pretty good summary of the reasons I've not used a rotavator.
By digging I've found a layer of clay I would otherwise have missed. I've punched holes through it and filled them with gravel to improve drainage. I've seen a huge number of worms too - there would have been carnage using a rotavator in there.
A few people have suggested running a rotavator over the lot but on balance I thought the extra time and back-breaking work of digging the whole lot seemed better in just about every way... including the good workout it's providing!
Posted by: William | May 18, 2010 at 01:05 PM
What I'd give to use a rotavator on my plot at the moment. It's hard work digging, but I'm determined to get all those perennial weeds out without having them increased by using a rotavator.
Posted by: Jo | April 24, 2010 at 08:47 AM