When is it bad to dig over your soil?

[Caro]

I gather there are times, when weather has been bad, that digging over your plot/raised bed will damage the texture of the soil.

However, I gather there are times when it's beneficial to dig it up, leave it "roughed up" and hope for good cold frost to break down the composition and hopefully kill off any nasty eggs just exposed.

Which is which?

confused.com !

[Snadger]

If your soil is based on clay it is best dug in the autumn to allow frosts to penetrate and shatter clods. If your soil is sandy you're probably best digging in the spring.

If like me you're a lazy git and prefer to let the worms do the digging, don't dig at all just cover with a thick organic mulch!

[Two_Sheds]

I gather there are times when it's beneficial to dig it up, ... and hopefully kill off any nasty eggs just exposed.

Any eggs and larvae (chafer grubs, slug eggs, sawfly etc) aren't going to be too deep under the surface. Just a good hoeing would help to expose them to birds

This link may help: The no dig approach to gardening

[rustylady]

Never dig when it's sodden or frozen or you risk compacting the soil. Eggs and larvae are usually fairly shallow, so as TwoSheds says any form of shallow cultivation will expose them for the birdies to dispose of. Trouble with digging instead of hoeing is that you may bury the said eggs and larvae deeper so the natural predators can't get at them.

[Hazel at the Hill]

If the soil sticks to your spade, stop - it's too wet to dig.

[Liza]

If the soil sticks to your spade, stop - it's too wet to dig.

Couldn`t have said it better myself, if you spade hits the soil and reverberates up your arm its too frozen

[Caro]

Well,

Can't beat the common sense approach in the replies! I particularly like the don't dig if it's too wet and don't dig if it's too cold. That means I probably won't need to worry about it until about late July, in this part of Scotland. At which point I might do a Snadger

Thanks everyone