Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: rowlandwells on November 27, 2017, 18:58
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because of other commitments I haven't had time to put my manure on the allotments or plough the ground as I usually do before winter sets in and I still need to dig over my razed beds to
unfortunately the allotment ground gets very wet this time of the year and tractor struggles to plough the ground I am mindful that the ground mite not cultivate as well with spring ploughing as a winter dig and I will need to spread the manure prior to ploughing in spring to :unsure:
does anyone spring dig and do you find any problems doing this because as I said I usually winter plough or dig
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I dig as little as possible.
rising spud is the most I do.
put cardboard down cover with muck or compost.
much easier in the spring imo
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If the ground is wet and heavy, digging does more harm than good imo. I've not finished digging, but I've had other years like this and finishing the job in the spring has always seemed fine.
If you spread manure now, it will weather over the winter and the worms will drag a lot in, then you can dig the remainder in over spring. Perhaps not as good as digging it in over autumn, but better than no manure at all. I would avoid areas where you want to sow seed direct or grow roots like carrots and parsnips, but I expect you do that anyway with your autumn routine :)
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Have you considered no-dig? Have a look at Charles Dowding's website. He seems to get spectacular results without digging and he shows the results of a number of years comparison between dig and no-dig beds. He's certainly converted me - and my bad back agrees!
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rowlandwells, I'm in exactly the same position, this is very relevant for me this year as well.
Sounds like this year will be my first year of no autumn dig!
Nice comments all
Cheers
Aled
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I gave up digging about 3 years ago. I now use manure, cardboard and covered in woodchips when a bed come empty. Let the worms do your work for you.
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I hope to finish spreading amnure over the dead weeds again. Digging takes up a lot of time, and this year, I found that in the spring, a quick run-down with a tiller soon turned it all up, and the spuds went in a trench as easy as that!
The drier it gets, the easier the tiller works too, and anyway, I wouldn't be planting anything out when it's too cold or wet!
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I put mushroom compost on my raised beds and, as said, let nature take its course over winter, plus it keeps any stalwart weeds coming up.
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I was concerned that I hadn't done my winter digging or ploughing before winter set in but after reading your replies I feel more confident with my spring cultivation
I mite brave the weather and spread my manure when I've finished my other jobs :lol:
thanks all
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Now with a heavy soil I like to dig it over during the winter I think that turning it over gets the frost at all the bugs and weed roots and the soil seems to break down easier , then cover with some poly sheeting in spring to get the warmth back into the soil and a quick hoe off to clear any weeds that have sprouted and job done :)
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Forgot to mention that I have already dug most of my plot, I had one bit left, which was still producing late carrots until a couple of weeks ago. So all being well I hope to close most of the garden off this weekend, compost and then cover with cardboard. I do still have some parsnips growing.
Cheers
Aled
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Have you considered no-dig? Have a look at Charles Dowding's website. He seems to get spectacular results without digging and he shows the results of a number of years comparison between dig and no-dig beds. He's certainly converted me - and my bad back agrees!
Agree 100%. Went no dig 4 years ago, great results. Why dig when you do not have to ? Dowding is the man.
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I'm 75 and feel that digging is vital for my own well being. I just enjoy the exercise on cold late autumn days. It also makes the tilling easier come spring. When I can no longer dig my plots, doubtless I'll find a rational argument for "no-dig", but until then my pleasure and self-satisfaction comes first :D
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I'm 75 and feel that digging is vital for my own well being. I just enjoy the exercise on cold late autumn days. It also makes the tilling easier come spring. When I can no longer dig my plots, doubtless I'll find a rational argument for "no-dig", but until then my pleasure and self-satisfaction comes first :D
Good post, Alan; I totally agree about the timescale...
I've got caught up with so much to do at home at the moment, digging is not a priority, but indeed it should be really.
But it's sooooo cold at the moment, the thought of wielding a Terrex about just doesn't compete with making some shelves, mending neighbour's greenhouse, making wine, etc etc etc...
And there's a huge pile of manure to distribute as well!
Fabulous decade - the Seventies!
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My back problem makes wheel-barrowing large quantities of manure to my plot, for the no dig system - difficult - but I can still dig/fork over; so that's what I do.
I use the fairly small amount of compost from my 4 Daleks plus some other organic fertilisers instead of using bulky manure.
People simply have to do what works for them :)
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Have you considered no-dig? Have a look at Charles Dowding's website. He seems to get spectacular results without digging and he shows the results of a number of years comparison between dig and no-dig beds. He's certainly converted me - and my bad back agrees!
Agree 100%. Went no dig 4 years ago, great results. Why dig when you do not have to ? Dowding is the man.
It is not quite as simple as that though. If you go no dig you still have to transport large amounts of organic matter to your plot and spread it. This also takes time and effort. To cover 200 sq meters with four inches of organic matter requires 20 cubic meters of material. How much time and effort does it take to transport that much material, since there is no way you are going to make that much just from composting weeds and crop resdiue? I can see it working if you live on or adjacent to a farm, and/or can arrange someone to bring a lorry load of stuff to apply, but for me and probably many others as well, I can't see how it can work without some sort of hybrid system, maybe cover a fraction of the plot and dig the rest, i.e. reduced dig rather than no dig.
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No dg isn’t just about not digging though, it has lots of benefits if you research it, I’m certainly going down that route for some beds. I very rarely dig anyway in the proper sense of winter digging,I don’t think it makes much difference on my soil
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On one of the last programmes shown on Beechgrove George was showing his amazing results from a no dig plot!
Me, I find it very hard to believe, why has man wasted thousands of years buying,breeding, feeding, housing, training animals from buffalo,horses, donkeys asses etc to plough land to grow crops, when all he had to do was cover his land with a thick layer of organic matter, or in Monty Dons case, leaf mould, it just does not make sense!
But then there is a full moon tonight!
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On one of the last programmes shown on Beechgrove George was showing his amazing results from a no dig plot!
Me, I find it very hard to believe, why has man wasted thousands of years buying,breeding, feeding, housing, training animals from buffalo,horses, donkeys asses etc to plough land to grow crops, when all he had to do was cover his land with a thick layer of organic matter, or in Monty Dons case, leaf mould, it just does not make sense!
But then there is a full moon tonight!
It makes sense because it works. As I have said, the issue with covering your land with a thick layer of organic material iks getting hold of enough organic material and moving it. To cover one hectare of land with 10 cm of organic material requires one thousand cubic meters of organic material. Where do you get 1,000m^3 of organic material and how do you transport it? It is all very well if you live on a farm with plenty of animals regularly excreting organic material from their rear ends, but most of us don't have that luxury.
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Well I emptied the compost bin plus some wood ash, over my veg patch on Saturday. Lets see how it pans out in the spring!
Cheers
Aled
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Well I’m not sure how big a hectare of land is tbh but I don’t think I’ve got that much with my 2 half plots so I’m going to give it a go with what I’ve got,I’ve got 4 cubic meters of compost composting nicely &. Can get manure delivered. I’ll report back but in truth I know it works as I’ve been doing it with the squash bed the last few years.
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Can't deny that finding enough compost to cover all beds is the major problem. I've bought in compost - Morrisons locally were selling 3 x 70L bags for £9.00 - and manure, but it's getting started where the majority is used. Once you have the beds operating you only need a couple of inches each autumn to keep it going. After all, if you walk in the countryside its covered with plants (i.e. weeds!), and they don't need the soil turning over every year. No dig also keeps weeds down to manageable levels because you're not turning up dormant weed seeds - you're smothering them. And no - I'm not on commission from Charles Dowding!
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Just to enlarge upon the point about how much organic material is needed: We have three ponies that do little else other defecate constantly in their stables every night. I very much doubt that a full year's worth of their production would cover the average allotment to a depth of much more that 3 or 4 inches - less if it's allowed to rot before being applied.
Speaking very personally, not digging takes away one of the prime pleasures of growing. I may feel different when I approach 80
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I've elected to go not so much 'no dig' as 'no walking on the crappy soil' :tongue2:
To that effect I've constructed long raised beds with narrow paths between, rough dug the soil and then layered with a good layer of home made compost and then several trailers full of Greengrow from the local tip.
I can't recommend the stuff more highly, it's fantastic and dirt cheap to boot.
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Greengrow from the local tip.
I can't recommend the stuff more highly, it's fantastic and dirt cheap to boot.
Lucky you, we can't get compost like that here. They tried but the end product had too many heavy metals in it when tested :(
The thing to watch out for is occasionally the product can have a lot of lawn mowings that were treated with weed killer, which can carry over into the compost. I'd beware of using it around growing plants. Winter mulching the beds probably eliminates that problem ;)
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I've elected to go not so much 'no dig' as 'no walking on the crappy soil' :tongue2:
To that effect I've constructed long raised beds with narrow paths between, rough dug the soil and then layered with a good layer of home made compost and then several trailers full of Greengrow from the local tip.
I can't recommend the stuff more highly, it's fantastic and dirt cheap to boot.
I never walk on my soil, & it’s not crappy & anyone else who steps on it gets told to get off sharply. I too have long beds, not really raised but have slabbed paths inbetween
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Wait what.... You use a tractor. How big is your allotment? :unsure:
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Wait what.... You use a tractor. How big is your allotment? :unsure:
Who’s got a tractor?
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because of other commitments I haven't had time to put my manure on the allotments or plough the ground as I usually do before winter sets in and I still need to dig over my razed beds to
unfortunately the allotment ground gets very wet this time of the year and tractor struggles to plough the ground I am mindful that the ground mite not cultivate as well with spring ploughing as a winter dig and I will need to spread the manure prior to ploughing in spring to :unsure:
does anyone spring dig and do you find any problems doing this because as I said I usually winter plough or dig
Was in the original post
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because of other commitments I haven't had time to put my manure on the allotments or plough the ground as I usually do before winter sets in and I still need to dig over my razed beds to
unfortunately the allotment ground gets very wet this time of the year and tractor struggles to plough the ground I am mindful that the ground mite not cultivate as well with spring ploughing as a winter dig and I will need to spread the manure prior to ploughing in spring to :unsure:
does anyone spring dig and do you find any problems doing this because as I said I usually winter plough or dig
Was in the original post
Lol I did look to see but missed it doh
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in answer to your question snowdrops an acre yes I rent an acre and I wouldn't be without my little grey ferguson or my red ferguson combining the two gardening and vintage who could wish for anything better :D :D :D