Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: doubledug on March 21, 2009, 08:43
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Yesterday i went to visit my sister and her latest husband. He has been growing his vegies in beds that he never digs over for thirty years. his advice was never walk on the soil and it wont get compacted. And you could push a fork in and turn it over with one hand. I've got to give this a go.
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You could try raised beds or lazy beds. As long as they are no more than four feet wide you can reach to the middle without walking on them.
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This is used in permaculture a lot...the beds arent walked on to stop compaction. Any manure/mulch is placed on top for the worms to work it in and green manure is grown when not in use. Our local permaculture site uses this method and has good yields
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I think no dig is brilliant. :)
Weeding is easy too, as the soil is loose.
Beds don't need to be raised although with the annual addition of organic matter they do tend to rise anyway, apparently. If you have drainage problems or heavy/clay soil, lazy beds (or raised beds) do help.
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:) Might be an idea to dig the first time to improve drainage, especially on compacted clay, and it will also improve the worm population as you start adding matter to the top.
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At last, a forum I can say something good about. I dug an allotment for a friend who had dug 10% of his half-plot in 3 years. It had been covered in carpet and was full of the two kinds of bindweed. Today, I use part of it, avoid weeds by mulching with well-rotted manure, fresh manure, grass cuttings and carpet in order of priority. I get very few weeds and those I do get - generally small pieces of grass - I try to pull out by hand without disturbing the soil. For potatoes and parsnips, I dig but only to remove stones - the ground is very stony - otherwise I do not dig at all.
It works! I have virtually no weeds. The mulch warms up the soil and encourages weeds to germinate, but they cannot survive without light and die. The soil improves year by year as it benefits from warmth, the manure and the action of the worms the rich soil encourages to occupy my ground rather than other people's.
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This all sounds very positive to me , I intend to rotovate this year because time is moving on and i have a lot of plants i need to plant out soon. The soil on my plot is very good , been allotment since 1930s and before that the kitchen garden to a large house, so no raised beds for me just mark them out and no more diging. :D
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I hope you haven't got couch grass or bindweed.
As paintedlady says, it's a good idea to dig (or fork) over once, to break up the existing compaction, and remove perennial weed roots.
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And of course, it will not work if you have flat worms which eat all of the earth worms.
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So, how to you plant or harvest without walking on the soil?
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So, how to you plant or harvest without walking on the soil?
Make sure the beds are small enough for you to reach across to do both, Im not a non-dig gardener but I dont walk on my beds so I make sure they are small enough for me to reach across and short enough so I dont be lazy and take a shortcut (its been known for me to be lazy :D )
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So, how to you plant or harvest without walking on the soil?
For most people that's about 4ft across, as Ice mentioned. ;)
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I stopped digging three years ago after reading an artical in a gardening magazine about the disadvantages of digging. I now manure a third of my plot every year and cover all ground not in use with weed controle fabric. I use scaffold boards to mark out the beds and for walking on. I now have a virtually weed free plot, no hard work and good crops.
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i love the sound of this. no digging, :ohmy: no work, :blink: ??? and abundant crops heheeeeee!!!!! someone tell me how to start or not as the case may be. its not that im lazy just reallyt into conservation! (of my energy) :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
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But I like digging! Its theraputic, its the reason I wanted a plot!! well, that and growing lots of vegetable babies to a good harvest. My soil is in no condition to be left undug and the theory of not digging not compacting is not true on my very heavy and poorly drained soil, it certainly doesn't turn easily as witnessed by the second dig I did to a small bed yesterday (first dig about 2 months ago). but maybe after years of careful nurturing and improving I could try it (not digging), would be better for my back even though I really do enjoy digging. Its going to save me from the doldrums once foster bubs moves on, sniff.
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Yes the dreaded couch grass, well i do have some in one area i thought i would dig that part by hand as i have heard stories of people rotovating over couch grass and all those minced roots turning into new growth :ohmy:.As i have said i am very fortunate to be on a site which was a victorian kitchen garden. Complete with south facing wall a gentle slope for drainage and apparently Drainage pipes to stop waterloging. The original cast iron water supply pipes were just replaced this winter, i wonder how long the plastic will last?. All you keep fit fanatics could keep a portion of your plot for diging over for potatoes, although that does not allow for rotation of crops, oh well nothing ventured nothing gained as they say
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I'm kind of trying this myself. I've separated my plot into lots beds with permanent paths and I tried chucking manure over one or two beds over the winter and when I went to dig I couldn't believe the amount worms in there.
I have heavy clay soil, so I'm seeing how it goes this year. I think it will be more convenient for me anyway.
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But I like digging! Its theraputic, its the reason I wanted a plot!! well, that and growing lots of vegetable babies to a good harvest. My soil is in no condition to be left undug and the theory of not digging not compacting is not true on my very heavy and poorly drained soil, it certainly doesn't turn easily as witnessed by the second dig I did to a small bed yesterday (first dig about 2 months ago). but maybe after years of careful nurturing and improving I could try it (not digging), would be better for my back even though I really do enjoy digging. Its going to save me from the doldrums once foster bubs moves on, sniff.
I'm the same I actually enjoy the digging but my children are starting to get demanding and so I'm spending less time at weekends at the plot and really only going in the week.
I've decided to try this no digging approach and as i can get an endless supply of organic cow manure thought I might do some of what Tenn76 is doing. I guess only time will tell if it works for me.
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Im trying this out this year,first though im double digging areas to make deep beds which raises the level of the bed and then i will not tred on it at all.Read about it in an excellent book The New Self Sufficient Gardener by John Seymour well worth getting hold of and a really good winter read
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Crowndale - I'm with you. I like digging. I have open plots and raised beds. Raised beds seem like a hobby but the open plots are where the action is. I cannot see any real diference in yields either although the high maintenance activities such as weeding among the onions or dealing with sweet peas is better done a small bed at a time rather than facing a long row. Howeevr the kitchen managers vote always goes to the raised beds with their paths as she does not have to walk so far or change her slippers for shoes or bend as far so the salads tend to be in beds and big stuff in the open plots.
R
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I have heavy clay & garden in raised beds with weed fabric paths too. All my lottie neighbours are digging like mad at the moment & the wind is drying the soil into nasty solid clumps & I'm feeling very smug. I layered manure on top of those beds that needed it during the winter & the others will only require the clods that have been broken down by frost , to be lightly raked before sowing. Fab. Oh and I'm the only one on my lotties that can pick sprouts etc over winter without getting my feet muddy. Having tried both open plots & beds, beds are the only way to go for me.
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We must be on the same clay soil greengirl. Raised beds were the answer to my problems and they most certainly are not a hobby.
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Hey RichardA, I think you have opened a can of worms here ... raised beds a hooby , indeed :mad:
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Hi all ,all our two plots are raised beds yes this is our first year and we have heavy clay and chalk thats why we done the whole lot , i put good top soil with good rotted cow muck in one half last july. The other half has had bags of multi purpose compost worked in the the natural soil and that was in december , its all prerared and ready to go now, and i must say its been hard work but if you have the resorces to do raised beds on poor ground its the right way to go . To be honest it amazing how many other plotholders following suit . mind you it does look good and i find very easy to work on them now its all done and weeding is a doddle . :) CC.