[gobs]

One more thing - I have an unlimited supply of wood chip but I am under the impression that if you put that directly on the soil as mulch then it actually strips the soil underneath of nutrient. In other words it's good on paths or maybe between berry bushes or on top of weed suppressant but not, for example, surrounding veg? Is that right? And how about added in small quantities to the compost bay?

That's correct.

The chips, I should think, would need to be shred finely for this, however, I do not know, if you get enough heat in your compost.

---

Didn't you say, you had light soil? Do not forget about nutrition when working out your no-dig system.

[gobs]

In my mid 70s, I feel the need to keep digging for the sake of my health. Apart from the health reasons, I just enjoy doing it. I have two main veg beds, one is approximately 20M x 5M and the other is 15M x 3M. I get them both manured and dug over in about 5 days

Inspiring. Keep going, Alan!

[victoria park]

My 400 square meters has a couple of different things going on. Obviously my fruit areas are "no dig", with mulching doing most of the work. To me, no dig is just one contemporary offshoot of old permaculture methods that I favour as much as I can.
Every bed gets a couple of green manure cops in a 4 year cycle and that's one of the ways to get some of the bulk vegetation needed. I'm certainly into looking after my soil the way it gets laid down naturally, but it's not always 100% possible depending on the resources available. Organic sustainability is my main growing desire, which includes minimal earth turning obviously.... don't want to upset that life balance under the surface.  Continual large surface composting is a bit industrial for my sensibilities, needing truck loads to do properly.
When I do dig, perennial weeds aside,  it's a 3 or 4 inch thing, no more. Potato beds are slightly different of course.

[Dave NE]

I think a lot of people when first enquire about no dig allotments/gardens etc miss the point in some ways, Its not so much no dig but back to nature, if you walk through a forest or woods you will see the top layer of soil is teeming with life, if you then start to dig the soil the bugs and fungi will either clear off or be eaten by preditors so you have lost natures gardeners/diggers, no dig is more about preserving whats there as an ecosystem and keeping the soil moist, Dave

[AlaninCarlisle]

So why don't commercial growers and farmers adopt a no-dig approach? To them, time spent digging, ploughing or rotavating really is money.

[ARPoet]

So why don't commercial growers and farmers adopt a no-dig approach? To them, time spent digging, ploughing or rotavating really is money.

In the days of mixed farms and strict crop rotation fields were rugually put down the grass to rest the used for cattle.

There is a free online course on soils if you want to learn more. It got me thinking and made me change my ways.

https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/soils

I took it about 3 years ago and was blown over by it.... Its easy to do at your pace, and its free.

[AlaninCarlisle]

In the days of mixed farms and strict crop rotation fields were rugually put down the grass to rest the used for cattle.

..................and after being used for grazing for a year, they were ploughed. Still happens here in Cumbria

[al78]

So why don't commercial growers and farmers adopt a no-dig approach? To them, time spent digging, ploughing or rotavating really is money.

Because commercial farming is far removed from natural processes. The objective is to generate as much produce as possible in the available space, not to create a thriving balanced ecosystem, hence the desire for complete control over the land, such as ploughing, dense monocultures, chemical fertilizers, insecticides to kill off anything that gets in the way, heavy machinery. Ultimately this is more financially economical than a pure permaculture methodology, but has costs which are externalised onto wildlife and the environment (and sometimes people).

[Dave NE]

Try and look on line for a short docu called A farm for the future, i saw it some years ago and it had a profound effect on how i do things today, it will also give many answers to why farming today is not sustainable, cheers Dave  ps it shows just how much oil (diesel) is in a typical ham salad sandwich

[ARPoet]

Try and look on line for a short docu called A farm for the future, i saw it some years ago and it had a profound effect on how i do things today, it will also give many answers to why farming today is not sustainable, cheers Dave  ps it shows just how much oil (diesel) is in a typical ham salad sandwich

https://uk.video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=moz35&p=A+farm+for+the+future#id=1&vid=815028fced02f2c8895a523db521f4a4&action=click

[mumofstig]

That link doesn't work so try this one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VT8xEtRtZ4s

[Growster...]

I ran out of time digging trenches for potatoes this year, and the nine 8' x 4' beds were covered with lots of annual weeds with a few perennials dotted around the edges.

Luckily, I've got the trenching tines for a Mantis, so just one trench went in per bed, chucking the soil both sides, including all the weeds. It was a bit of a mess...

Sowed the spuds, added some BFB  and left them to it at the bottom of the trench.

The weeds continued to flourish, so instead of getting them out, it was back with the tiller again, going from each side and drawing tilled soil back towards the trench, then finally Mantising each side of the trench and raking it all to hill over the emerging halms.

So in the mix, (hopefully with some spuds), there's a lot of dying weeds, a fine tilth, and a spade hasn't been anywhere near it at all!

[Mum2mj]

"In the days of mixed farms and strict crop rotation fields were rugually put down the grass to rest the used for cattle.

There is a free online course on soils if you want to learn more. It got me thinking and made me change my ways.

https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/soils

I took it about 3 years ago and was blown over by it.... Its easy to do at your pace, and its free.
[/quote]

Thanks I'm going to look into that

[victoria park]

EVery now and then our association pays to have a knowledgeable person come to one of our socials and talk about soil health, foraging, critters etc permaculture and how best to grow free of oil/chemical based input. It's been very successful, and many have changed their practice.
And with a view to living with the "pests", after a bad badger attack a couple of years back virtually everyone lost their sweet corn. After a very helpful talk from the local badger trust, the sweet furry lummoxes were thwarted  and a great unmolested crop followed even though I spotted a Summer toilet of theirs actually on my plot ! There is a lot of good knowledge out there.
Our plots have been used for nearly 100 years and the soil needs continual regeneration if it's to continue to produce results. Mind you, with some of our plot holders, there's very little danger of their ground being over tilled, that's for sure 

[moose]

I have read of a number of farmers who are trying no till systems, Ill try and find a link.