Page 28 - Simply Vegetables Spring 2021

Trenching
JIM M SYMONDS
There are a few methods of trenching, the most popular and best known is double digging which is not as widely used as
it once was, especially when labour was cheaper! Here your land is cultivated to two spits deep approx.. 50cm (20inches in old money!). To start the first trench dig it out one spades depth (one spit) and barrow the soil to where you will finish and tip somewhere convenient. The trench should be two spades wide and half the width of the plot if the whole plot is being dug. The second spit, the subsoil is now broken up with a fork to the full depth of the fork, roughly 25cm (10 inches) organic matter can be forked in if you wish to improve the quality of the soil depth.
Then the next trench is dug and the topsoil from here is thrown forward to the previous trench, to create a second trench and the subsoil is again forked over. Only the topsoil is moved the subsoil stays in the same position. This is repeated until the area is finished and the soil from the first trench
is used to fill the last trench. Organic matter can be added to the bottom of each trench before or after the subsoil has been forked.
Double digging is time consuming and hard work but it is worth doing on some soils now and again and also if you are taking over a new area. It breaks any soil pans and allows the roots to penetrate the soil easier to a greater depth. I once single dug half an allotment lengthways and double dug the other half and you could see the difference in the crops the next summer. It is very good exercise although tiring and will count as part of your 150 minutes a week of exercise recommended by the NHS! So you are doing two things at once! Don’t try to do too big an area at a time and do some warm up exercise first. – Ed
Digging out soil in greeenhouse
Double digging in greenhouse
Full Trenching
Also known as “Bastard Trenching” (I wonder why?-Ed) or triple digging, here we take
out the soil to two spades depth and fork over the third spit. The soil from the top two trenches are moved to the end of the plot and the bottom of the trench is forked over adding any compost or other
plenty of loose open soil with organic matter added. I usually finish off all ridged and limed if required as per pH reading.
I have never tried triple digging it sounds very hard work and likely to be very slow even if fit. Although will create a good depth of soil with good aeration (air filled porosity
as it’s called these days) and allow plants to develop a good root system. If you have time on your hands next winter give it a go! The no-diggers amongst you don’t know what you are missing! – Ed
A few quotes from Jim:
“Experience is a good teacher but the fees are high.”
“The trouble with being punctual is there’s never anyone there to appreciate the effort.”
“You only get success before work in the dictionary.”
organic matter. The topsoil
from the next trench is
moved to the end of the plot
and the subsoil thrown into
the first trench. The topsoil
from the third trench goes
on top of the first trench, the
base of the second trench is
forked over and the subsoil
thrown into it. This continues
until the area is completed
when the soil moved to the end is used to fill the final trenches. This is hard work but it can suit the growing of some show vegetables as the soil has been cultivated to a depth of 75 cm (30inches) allowing
The trouble with being punctual
is there’s never anyone there to appreciate the effort
28 Simply Vegetables