CAN YOU DIG EVEN IF THERES BEEN A FROST

gunners71uk · Fri Nov 18, 2005 12:24 pm

OK ALL YOU GARDEN EXPEERTS CAN YOU DIG EVEN WHEN THERE HAS BEEN A FROST?(NEV AND AUSTRALIANS WONT HAVE THIS PROBLEM) I HAVE SO MUCH DIGGING I CANT WAIT AROUND FOR OPTIMUM MOMENT BUT SOME GUIDANCE WOULD BE NICE YOU CANT SEEM TO FIND THIS INFO IN A BOOK.
CHEERS YOU LOT .

shiney · Post: # 7453Post **shiney** » Fri Nov 18, 2005 10:32 pm

Hey Gunners you got a pneumatic drill then?!!!!

You are keen, I must say.

shiney · Post: # 7454Post **shiney** » Fri Nov 18, 2005 10:34 pm

And I am a whimp in the cold, I have to admit.

How's everything going on yer lottie anyway?

Shirley · Post: # 7458Post **Shirley** » Fri Nov 18, 2005 11:33 pm

well... we did... a few years back,,, had to plant a hedge. Ground was like iron... snow was falling... temperature dropped to -10 and snow covered the ground for a week or so afterwards... and the hedge... grew beautifully... all mixed native hedgerow plants.

I think history may well repeat itself... we are due to receive 350 native trees to plant as hedges or trees at the end of November... BRRRRRR

Shirlz

Wombat · Post: # 7460Post **Wombat** » Fri Nov 18, 2005 11:36 pm

Yeah mate, your right........it hasen't been a problem for me!

Maybe Shiney's idea of the kanga hammer is the way to go!

Nev

2steps · Post: # 7466Post **2steps** » Sat Nov 19, 2005 9:37 am

got our first frost a few days ago and the ground is like rock

CityBoyDreaming · Sat Nov 19, 2005 11:19 pm

its very frosty where i am, id have to be mad to dig, luckily my dad is a nutter an di can get him to do it heh

Guest · Post: # 7477Post **Guest** » Sun Nov 20, 2005 9:11 am

I'm sure that I read somewhere that if you overturn heavily frosted soil,so that the frost is buried,it then takes much longer for the ground to thaw out.
Then again,if you aren't intending to plant up on that patch until March/April,I can't see it being much of a problem

.

kevin m. · Post: # 7478Post **kevin m.** » Sun Nov 20, 2005 9:19 am

That last message was from me-thought I was logged in already-obviously still half asleep, drinking my Breakfast tea, before heading down to the allotment to pick Sprouts which will have had a heavy frosting these last few nights.

wulf · Post: # 7488Post **wulf** » Mon Nov 21, 2005 8:30 am

My strategy at the moment is not digging but covering the earth with various mulches to protect it through the winter. On Saturday, I put a layer of leaves on top of the raised bed and I'm planning to turn out the almost finished compost from the bottom of my "dalek" onto my two main growing beds in the next couple of weeks. As well as protecting and nourishing the soil, the mulches will be moving towards readiness for being dug in next spring.

Of course, these are areas with relatively good, well-turned soil - if I had a new area, I'd probably want to dig it (or, at least, to have dug it!) so that the frost could help weather and break it down (heavy clay!).

Wulf