Why is loosening of the soil called "dry irrigation"? Why is it so called?

When growing any garden culture requires regular and constant loosening of the soil. This process is a very important point of care for all plants.

Soil loosening

What is the purpose of loosening the soil around the plants? Due to loosening, the first thing to do is to facilitate the entry of air into the soil and, consequently, the access of oxygen to the roots. At the same time, weeds are being destroyed. After loosening improves the absorption of moisture during watering or rain.

For this purpose, garden tools are used: hand cultivators, hoes, flat cutters, etc.

However, many gardeners consider both loosening and digging an unnecessary process, even harmful to the soil. As an alternative, they propose to cover the surface of the earth in vegetable gardens and gardens with mulch, since under it there is no earth crust. And this approach has both positive and negative points.

What is preferable and why? Soil loosening is called "dry irrigation", as will be discussed below.

How to produce work?

In traditional habitual agriculture, the loosening of beds during the season is envisaged. On soil that has not been treated in this way, after rain and watering, often the soil surface becomes covered with a dry crust, making it difficult to create new shoots.

Particularly difficult to germinate parsley, carrots, fennel and dill. At the same time, the root system of plants undergoes oxygen deficiency.

In connection with the above, when planting carrots and dill, it is necessary to plant a series of beacon cultures that grow easier and faster (spinach, lettuce, radish). They will help to determine where the ranks of unprocessed crops are. This will help without harm to future plants to soften the soil. It is also useful to produce the same treatment at the bases of trees and bushes.

It is desirable to loosen the soil while it is wet.

What is "dry watering"?

Professional field crop farmers are well aware of the importance of loosening when growing plants. In the fields often operate tractors engaged in harrowing crops of cereals and corn. This process is usually performed before emergence and after. In some places, they are harrowed also after the shoots have grown stronger.

Such loosening is done not so much for the purpose of destroying weeds, but for creating a layer of mulch on the soil under the plants, which prevents the evaporation of so much moisture. It is clear why the loosening of the soil is called "dry irrigation." This is the name for this treatment of agricultural machinery. This method is an alternative to watering and rain under severe drought.

"Dry watering" protects the plant from drying, without loosening the soil dries up to the very roots of the plants, which leads to the death of the latter, even the very cracked earth can damage the roots - tear them.

Many gardeners underestimate this method, they prefer to water more often, which contributes to greater soil compaction. That is why the loosening of the soil is called "dry irrigation". The best option is to alternate irrigation with water with watering "dry".

Such treatment of the ground reduces the evaporation of moisture by almost 2 times.

Processes taking place in the soil

When asked why the loosening of the soil is called "dry irrigation," there is a more detailed answer.

Due to the destruction of the dry crust, loosening of the upper part of the soil surface to a depth of up to 5 cm, a heat-insulating layer is formed, which provides protection against temperature drop.

For example, on the very surface of the soil (loosened) or mulch in the daytime (in hot weather), the temperature reaches 35-60 ° C, and under this layer of soil or under mulch, due to artificially created thermal insulation, up to 28 ° C.

This helps to obtain a good harvest of potatoes and other diverse crops of temperate climate in the arid hot summer.

It is important for all gardeners to remember that one loosening is equivalent to two copious irrigation. It does not interfere with the preservation of moisture very important for plants in the soil.