Double-digging calls this year...

I have been working on and off for a long time on a friend's farm on the outskirt of Dartmoor, and am also friendly with the two neighbouring farmers. The soil is the most horrendous clay one could wish for. Dig pits for fencing and they fill with water in no time.
"The only thing you can grow on this soil is grass, bhey" is their common refrain, so they all do sheep/cattle. . The only tilled arable crops I have seen in the area is late Summer Kale for animal fodder to finish off their beef cattle. This shoots up in a couple of months at the driest time of year.

However, all these owner/occupier farmers, along with two more tennanted houses, obviously have vegetable plots. None of them have dug down, all have raised their vegetable gardens. My friend's veg garden is 2 feet higher than the rest of the land after hundreds of years growing.
When discussing growing techniques and the problems with clay I've often been told "waste of time and energy here bhey, just to create a swimming pool"
They may well till fields on occasion to reseed pastures etc, but apart from that it appears to be a no dig culture where house veg crops are concerned. Mind you, they do have tons and tons of free animal manure and composts available at the drop of a tractor bucket.
I understand Growster's desire to dig deep once, and I sort of thought of doing it myself when I got my present plot a long time ago. But then I've sort of grown quite fond of my back and thought better of it.

I know I always bang on about my Terrex spade, but it is nearly effortless where digging is concerned. I find that knocking down the lumps afterwards is more painful, as your back is at a slightly awkward angle, and the hoe is far out on a limb, whereas the digging bit is done standing up...

I'll have to do the trench bottom with a fork though, as switching from spade to fork on the Terrex takes time! But as Surbie says, little and often is the name of the game!

Lardman, we did sow some mustard on three beds, but they're next for double digging, as the ground was used for raspberries for years, and was never dug and needed bashing like concrete!

I like the idea of all that manure though, Beesrus!

Quote from: Growster... on October 12, 2014, 06:09

Lardman, we did sow some mustard on three beds, but they're next for double digging, as the ground was used for raspberries for years, and was never dug and needed bashing like concrete!

I was thinking of something like alfalfa or lupins, something with more bottom than top. With 25 beds to do I'd be giving all sorts a try just to see the results - you can always double dig them after 

Nice idea for the next season, Lardman.

I always assume that green manure roots just don't go that far down, so perhaps I should...