Which crops need firm ground ?

[wbmkk]

Hi

This will be my first growing year on my plot, so I need all the advice I can get.

Which crops prefer firm ground ?

In Oct 2013 I dug over all my plot and was going to do the same now, as a way of leveling everything off etc. A nearby plot holder said I should dig it all again.

I have done about 2/3 of the total area this way .... 2 dig-overs in 6 months

Another plot holder said i shouldn't dig again now, but leave it firm as some crops don't grow well in recently dug soil. he mentioned cabbage and sprouts.

Are there any other crops who would prefer firm ground ?

The newly dug ground does look nice, so I don't have a problem with doing more, if most other crops don't really mind,

thank you for any advice provided

[Kristen]

Another plot holder said i shouldn't dig again now, but leave it firm as some crops don't grow well in recently dug soil. he mentioned cabbage and sprouts.
Are there any other crops who would prefer firm ground ?

Just those - "Brassicas" which includes Cabbages, Sprouts, Cauliflower, Sprouting Broccoli. They are part of the same family, and are usually planted in the same "zone" of the crop rotation, so it may be just that one area that you want to leave firm. You'll need to tread the plants in tightly, after planting, so whether you dig, or not, may not matter - they still need compressing-in when planting (the soil around will be firmer if not dug, of course, and it is the roots "rocking" in soft soil that is the issue).

But ... I wonder if it needs that second dig at all? Lots of folk here, myself included, have a "no dig" or "Minimal dig" approach.

My view is that the first, thorough, dig is important. In particular to go down deep enough to make sure that there is no hard "pan" under the surface (where builders, or the farmer's plough, compress and compacted the sub-soil - maybe years' ago). A so called "double dig" approach is used for this - that is to say digging two spade's depths deep, but in such a way that the less fertile bottom half, the sub-soil, is not mixed with the fertile top-half

No frost to speak of here last winter, probably same for you? but in a cold year the frost will break up the surface of soil dug in the Autumn, and just raking it level (in Spring) produces a beautifully fine tilth, ideal for sowing and planting - whereas digging again, unless you have very light land, will leave clods and uneveness.

[Rocketron]

Don't forget Swede are brassicas, they also like treading in.

[Two_Sheds]

The newly dug ground does look nice

... yes, for about 5 minutes. Then all the weed seeds you've moved to the surface germinate, and you have a heck of a lot of weeding to do.

Disturb the soil as little as possible. When planting, just dig a small hole with a trowel, don't "dig over" the whole plot

[Kristen]

When planting, just dig a small hole with a trowel, don't "dig over" the whole plot

Dunno if it would suit other folks, but I raise my plants in 9cm pots (I can "hold" them longer than modules, if my soil / weather is not ready). Anyways, they are the same size as my bulb planter, so I just stamp on that for the holes I need, water the holes (so there is water below the plant, and the roots go down accordingly) and then knock the plant out of the pot and drop it in the hole. For me its a really fast way of planting, and using a trowel for any length of time starts an argument between my wrist and my arthritis