A Guide to Cultivating Soil
Ensuring the continued fertility of your land is vital to making a living as a farmer. Every single step you take when planting and harvesting crops needs to be performed with careful consideration for the health of the soil. You may be wondering whether you should cultivate your land and why you might do this instead of tilling it. We’re here to help.
FMI Equipment is your eastern Washington farming equipment dealer, located in Spokane Valley, WA, and serving Spokane, WA, and Coeur d'Alene, ID. Keep reading to learn more about cultivation and how to do it correctly to ensure lush and healthy soil for your crops.
What is Cultivation?
Cultivation is an ancient agricultural practice that is still performed to this very day by farmers all around the world, which involves digging into and turning over the top layers of soil on your land. When you cultivate your land, you remove weeds and other growth from your soil while loosening it up to ensure that the dirt receives enough air and water and nutrients.
Why is Cultivation Important?
Cultivation is needed to break and loosen soil, which can become tightly packed, hard and dry over the course of winter or a long drought. Water, air and nutrients can then penetrate deeply into your soil to allow it to nourish whatever seeds you plant. Your seeds are also more likely to germinate on schedule in cultivated soil.
Another reason to cultivate your land is because the roots and seeds of weeds can be buried and if you turn them up and expose them to the surface, they are less likely to take root and grow, destroying your crops. Cultivation also helps your land to retain more water so that you don’t have to worry as much about irrigation.
When Should Cultivation Be Performed?
The ideal time to cultivate your soil is in the springtime, before planting. Over the course of the winter, dead organic matter and weeds will litter the soil, while wind and weather can dry it out and pack it down. Turning over that crusty, dry soil full of organic matter helps you to improve the health of your soil to make sure it’s ready to receive your seeds.
How is Cultivation Done?
Most farmers use a tool called a cultivator that can attach to a tractor to turn over and loosen their soil. Avoid digging too deeply into the soil and don’t cultivate wet soil: allow land to dry after rain or snowmelt first. You will go across the land using your tool to turn over the soil. When your crops have been planted, you can also carefully cultivate the soil between each row of seeds to help your crops grow.
Seeking farming equipment near Spokane, WA? Visit our dealership in Spokane Valley today to view our full selection of new and used farming equipment for sale. We can even assist you with financing options to fund your purchase. FMI Equipment proudly serves greater Spokane, WA, as well as our neighbors to the east in Coeur d’Alene, ID.