[Julian Rees]

I went over to no dig quite a long time ago on my allotment.  For the past 3 years I have the performance of the plot going down and down.  My brassicas don't grow to the size they used to and give small vegetables, beetroot are small, chard and spinach are slower to get going but do eventually perform ok.  Beans are ok but don't compare to the gluts I used to get.  I used to do well with veg growing for years, but now something is not right.  Following Charles Dowding I add a top dressing of fertility every year.  On some patches I grow green manure, cut it down when it begins to flower, leave it on the top of the soil and cover with plastic.  On other patches I spread well rotted cow manure in small amounts, then cover with plastic.  Perhaps I am not adding enough or the right kind of top dressing.  Another thought that occurs to me is that maybe I have been adding too much fertility to the soil and this is bringing about chemical changes in the balance of the soil.  Any ideas?

[Hampshire Hog]

How are others getting on at your allotment are they better or worse than your plot?
Could the performance be a function of the odd weather we have had over the last few years. It has been pretty strange with all the excessive heat. On the brassicas do you use lime before planting?

[Yorkie]

Welcome to the forum 

Is it all types of veggies that are suffering, eg. beans and tomatoes, as well as the leafy veg / beets, or not?

[snowdrops]

I changed to no dig 5 years ago and haven’t noticed a decline in productivity in fact quite the opposite. Perhaps you aren’t putting enough nutrients back in I do still use chicken pellets & or fish ,blood & bone as well but not excessively. If I can get it I do put more than tge inch that CD suggests & I also use a lot of homemade compost as I make a lot. Could you have your soil tested? As H.hog says it could be the weather conditions of the last few years although with no dig I’ve found I don’t have to water as much as my allotment neighbours

I see you are not far from me

[Harry998]

I would ask the same as above re how much compost is going back on the soil, we have been no dig for a few years and haven't had a turn down but it is always easy to hear other people's experiences.

Maybe do a trial next year on one crop and dig half the bed see what difference that makes? Generally I find people can be a bit dogmatic with these things but no dig isn't a life commitment, experiment your way through it and find what works best for you

[coldandwindy]

Something happened gradually over the last years, until it reached a critical point where a deficiency (or acidity) has started limiting growth. More information is needed.

First off I'd check the pH.
Did you used to add lime in the old regime (You don't mention it now)?

What kind of plastic are you using? Is it porous?
Before you stopped digging, what was the soil like?
Do you have beds & paths, raised beds? Do you need to walk on the soil?
Dig down 4-5 inches & what does the soil look and smell like? Is it compacted or crumbly? What colour is it? Are there roots & holes through it?

If none of that brings an answer then bite the bullet & get  a soil analysis done.
 

[rowlandwells]

personally I'm not in the no dig club but I take your point about things not growing as well as they should  year on year we always put loads of horse manure on our raised beds so winter digging then spreading the manure on top and leaving overwinter

then come spring we rake over the beds and plant the brassicas our cabbage calabrese and sprouts have all grown fine including the broccoli and the ground I ploughed in the spring also produced a good crop of runner beans and onions the peas where a late starter but I put that down to the dry weather

it sounds like others have said you mite have a nutrients deficiency problem  because on one half of our second plot its not  been manured for some years although we did grow green manure white mustard on it but things haven't been growing well this year although it grows good weeds its not good veg growing ground

and I think that part of the plot also suffers from nutrients deficiency so I'm going to grow our potatoes on that next year adding fertilizer when planting then follow on with another green manure and lime its going to be a suck it and see process fingers crossed it mite do the trick ?

[Potty Plotty Lotty]

A few questions not covered so far in the answers what I can see

-Could it be a seed issue? Are you using old/saved seed? Or do you get the same issues with fresh?
-Do you sow in modules and transplant as per CD or sow direct?
-Do you have lots of worms in the soil or have their numbers reduced too?

I don't do much "no dig" but after a suspected reduction in productivity generally on the plot (again not 100% sure if it's genuine or weather related) I've thought more about feeding than I have previously.

A sprinkling of chicken manure pellets is about as far as I go but I think it's helped.