Zappare l$0027ortore is very tiring work and it’s tempting to save it with a horseshoe or tiller, but that’s not always the best option, I’ll try to tell you why.
In particular, we will discover what is the mysterious treatment sole , which the beating of the cutter creates underground. It is an underground layer and therefore invisible to the eyes of the farmer, which can have negative effects on the health of the plants.
I don’t want to demonize motor hoes, which used conscientiously can be a good help in many cases, although the shovel would certainly be more suitable for organic farming, but simply to show the weak points of the soil it grinds .
Contents [Ocultar]
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why work the land
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What to work the land with?
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treatment sole
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the right balance
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How to repair the treatment sole
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Contents
why work the land
To understand if grinding is good, we need to establish what our goals are while doing it. All tillage done by those who cultivate the soil is motivated by some goals which can be summed up in points.
- to drain the soil preventing the formation of a crust.
- Avoid compact clumps : The roots of the seedlings will develop easily in the crushed earth.
- Mix any compost (compost, manure, manure…) with the earth.
- Can level the ground easily to prepare the seedbed for our vegetables.
These are the reasons we plow, shovel, hoe or mulch our garden, preparing the soil for planting and transplanting, breaking up clods and preparing it to grow. We have to ask ourselves how much tillers help us in this and how bad they are.
Certainly, a good milling machine perfectly achieves the last two points: grinding the surface layer is its specialty. In preparing the ground for the roots, it does a little superficial work (it depends on the power of the model and the length of its blades), but in the drainage we can say that the tiller does not fulfill its purpose.
What to work the soil with?
Tillage can be done in several ways: with mechanical work plow, hoe or tractor motorized or with shovel, hoe and lots of elbow grease.
Definitely power tools allow faster and significantly less tiring work , but it is important to know that the result obtained is not always optimal. We have already written about the plow: turning underground involves the loss of precious natural fertility. The failure of the farmer is to create the famous ploughing-floor, which the hoe saves us on the contrary.
This doesn’t mean giving up on modern tools and return to totally manual agriculture. Of course, for those who can, it is always advisable: depending on oil is not a good thing ecologically, but on a large scale, we cannot always give up the help of machines. there are good alternatives : the subsoiler instead of the plow, the shovel machine instead of the cane. In a context of organic farming, these would need to be evaluated and are still too little known.
mechanized factory
We talk about the transformation of the sole, finally we explain what it is, how it is formed and above all why it is harmful for the plants we grow.
The tiller and tiller work thanks to a milling cutter, consisting of rotating teeth. When the rotary cultivator’s rotary tillers rotate to crumble the soil they touch the ground , where their strike ends (i.e. the lowest point they can reach). This incessant beating, weighed down by the weight of the machine, tends to create a more compact layer just below the worked part.
The more you pass with the tool, the more the hardness of this layer is consolidated which over time becomes difficult for water to penetrate especially in clay soils .
This underground bark is called sole de process and is very harmful to the garden. Especially when it’s raining the only cause increased water stagnation , which when it encounters the compact layer does not drain as fast as it should and remains just below the surface, at a point inhabited by many of the roots of our plants. The result is that promotes root rot and more generally fungal diseases.
The hand hoe, on the other hand, works at variable depth and has no rotational movement, so it does not compact a layer. The shovel machine is also designed to perform movement with the shovels down and not rotating and thus minimizes the effect of compaction.
The right balance
No need to be a fundamentalist about the hoe or hand tools: if the garden is large, getting help from a tiller or tiller is a relief. With a good motorized transport you can cover areas you couldn’t reach by hand and it’s really comfortable and efficient. However, you have to be aware of drawbar faults to avoid the formation of too compact working soles.
I advise against using tillers repeatedly in the garden, without ever splashing water, especially if the soil tends to be clayey. It would be better to alternate mechanical milling with the manual work of shovel and hoe . There is no set rule, but keep in mind that draining soil prevents fungal diseases, while a heavy tillage plant rots the roots and ruins the crop.
Those who cultivate larger extensions of the small garden can evaluate the excavator there are also tiller models, that is, small excavators applicable to the tiller.
How to repair the treatment sole
After reaming, a quick brushing with a shovel can sometimes be given break the sole. One could then periodically think of taking a deep shovel, perhaps using the grelinette or a forked fork. Technovanga is also an idea to make less effort. the advice is to do it without turning over the clods but only by moving the ground below.
Alternatively, it would be useful to change the diameter of the rudder, perhaps occasionally by borrowing a different cutter, capable of going deeper and splitting the previously formed sole. But it is certainly an expensive and even less efficient system.