what to do 1st digging or watering ?

[dim]

hello again !
Basically, I don't know what to do first when I go in the garden. Start with digging (fluffing) the soil then watering and finally weeding ??

ps. we speak about clay (red) soil, if this info helps
thanks !

[rainbowgardener]

I can't say as I do much fluffing of my soil. Maybe it would be a good thing, but I turn it in the spring and add compost. Then I plant and after the plants are up (or established, if I was putting in stuff I started indoors) I give it a good weeding and lay down mulch. After that, I pretty much don't touch anything. If weeds do come up through the mulch I pull them and it helps to water first before that, so the weeds pull easier. But I don't mess with the soil any after the mulch is down. All I do is water.

[pepper4]

Ditto to what the rainbowgardener said. Weeding is always easier to when the soil is wet.

[Gary350]

I go to the garden after breakfast to hoe grass and weeds. Let them lay and the hot sun dries them out dead. After dinner I water the garden only if it has not rained for several weeks and the temperature has been extremely hot 95 to 100 degrees F.

It is good not to water too much. Let the ground dry out and the plants wilt it forces the roots to grow deep in search of water. It is not good to water too much it will cause the plants to grow surface roots then they become dependent on water like a drug addiction. Let mother nature do the job.

[rainbowgardener]

agreed about not over watering, although some things like tomatoes need pretty even moisture and don't ever want to dry out. But definitely water deep and less often. But it is usually said to water in the AM. Watering late can leave water standing on the leaves overnight, which sets it up for fungal infections. If you are in a very arid climate, it's probably not a big deal because the water evaporates quicker, but for us in the humidity zones, really shouldn't water late

[dim]

well thanks a lot for the answers!
I get some hints about weeding and watering and their suggested row that should be followed.
However, what about fluffing (in a clay soil or generally) ?
Don't you think it is important ?

[jal_ut]

However, what about fluffing (in a clay soil or generally) ?

Not important.

If you take a hoe to small weeds, then you are stirring the top inch of soil. Just be careful to not go much deeper as you will damage the roots of your plants. Larger weeds are best pulled by hand. I like to weed before watering. Why water weeds?

[The Helpful Gardener]

Agreed. "Fluffing" is something we see in fertile soil, so we think we must emulate the texture. But when we use mechanical means to "fluff", we start killing fungal structures in the soil, called hyphae, that are the organisms responsible for doing the "fluffing" in the first place! Fungal hyphae act as girders and beams, holding open pores in the soil, allowing air and water to permeate, and yes, that's important, but WE cannot do it like they do. So we rototill every year, destroying hyphae AND soil structure (called tilth), powdering soil until it is silt that compacts instantly...

So the less we do with soil the better. Add compost to add back in fungii and other organisms, remove weeds and water. See how easy?

HG

[Burnet]

Is this for preparing a new garden, or a garden that's already planted?

If it's already planted:

- You don't want to disturb the soil any more than you need to, when there are plants there - there's no need to fluff.

- If the soil isn't bone-dry, I'd weed, then water, so that I don't have to deal with mud, and so that I don't hurt the soil structure too much by disturbing it while it's sopping wet.

- If the soil is bone-dry, then the weeds are hard to get out. In that case, I'd water deeply today, then come back tomorrow or the next day or even the next day to weed, again because I don't want to weed sopping wet soil.

Burnet

[dim]

thanks a lot folks! I'll have these on mind