no-dig gardening and sowing seeds

Having done a bit of reading up on no-dig gardening and the reasoning behind it I think it would be a worthwhile thing for me to try (subject to being able to get hold of enough organic material). The question is, how do no-dig gardeners sow seeds like carrots, where the seed packet says something like "rake to a fine tilth before sowing"? Aside from the question of how to get a fine tilth anyway on heavy clay after the winter we have just had I would be interested to know how to sow seeds direct in the soil if the soil is heavy and you don't dig.

Usually the no dig method is accompanied by first applying a thick layer of mulch and manures on the soil and planting into that. Before I did mine, I dug out all the big weed roots like dandelions that would simply growth through a mulch. For really bad ones like bindweed I did give them a direct spritz with glyphosate.

I've been no dig for years but because my soil is derived from boulder clay and very stony I grow my carrots/parsnips in deep containers using sieved compost/soil.

If you apply thick mulches every year it's very easy to rake down to a fine tilth in spring but TBH most of my plants are module grown and planted out with a good root ball which gets them off to a flying start.

I have raised beds on top of heavy alluvial silt and initially topped them up with compost, manure, mushroom compost, sand/grit and some bought-in top soil. The level does go down each year so you just keep topping them up. Normally, I don't dig them but recently had to have a team in to remove masses of weeds that grew due to my not beiong able to garden much last year, so there are clumps on the surface now. When they dry out somewhat, I will use the back of a rake to break them up, then use the rake on the surface soil to get a fine tilth again. When sowing seeds, I make a little groove in the soil by using the side of a piece of 1" x 1/2" wood just a bit deeper than the sopwing depth, then put some multi-purpose compost into the groove, pat it down then water it with a fine watering can rose. When the water has sunk in, I sow my seeds on top then cover with more compost and some fine tilth soil, then gently water again. For carrots and parsnips, I would suggest using shorter-rooted ones to start with, or you could dig a deeper trench and back-fill with sieved soil.

The key is keep adding loads of organic matter, the rotted horse manure I added in the autumn is quite fine now I just rake the odd lump out.

i grow my carrots in dustbins and old water butts etc. in my raised beds they were wiped out by carrot fly. in the bins covered in fleece not lost 1 in 3 years. i keep my beds for the rest of the produce