Kitchen Garden Forum

Like Beryl i have been no dig for some years now and it works for me/ being in the south east if we get a dry summer a mulch helps retain moisture, I just plant through the mulch, the soil is in much better condition and each trowel full when planting brings up some lovely fat worms, Good for ground nesting bees too.

I'm SO glad I actually recommended his book on winter veg.
It wasn't only the no dig but the way in which he prepared for winter harvests and analysed them. It's so much easier to start sowing in spring and then think - 'well that's done'. Then come the gluts and we end up in the autumn with a plot going bare and a mound of stuff that we don't know what to do with. We've all done it in our gardening experience - particularly at the outset.
At some point we start to think and plan year round and then we come up against the problems of winter veg. that this book deals with so well.

alan refail wrote:

Geoff wrote:AdeTheSpade - don't forget to tell us your new user name when you report back.

Douglas?

Very good - I like that! Pity it's a man's name tho

AdeLessSpade?

No SpadelessAde!

And yes, thank you so much Jane E - I confess I couldn't remember who had put the original post on about the book, and I confess I had never heard the name Charles Dowding before so if it hadn't been for you saying that you 'couldn't put this book down' I wouldn't have had a lovely 3 days in Somerset with some lovely people, and learnt so much. Thank you!!

peter wrote:AdeLessSpade?

Ah, another good one, thank you Peter - I'm spoilt for choice

Colin Miles wrote:No-dig was the latest rediscovered rage in the 50's according to Shewell-Cooper.

As Colin correctly states, no-digging was advocated in the 50s and was thoroughly endorced by the eminent horticulturist W E Shewell-Cooper and I for one have followed this practice on several plots of garden with much success. It does however raise the question as to why has this system not been adopted as the norm by gardeners since the early 50s?

Whilst I wish Charles Dowding continued success in following this method and his writings of books that refer to the practice; but as has been said before - it is all old hat to the more mature sons (and daughters) of the soil.

The main problem is, its ok for a farmer with a mass of FYM to adopt the method but for most gardeners this is not so easy. You depend on sufficient compost, sedge peat or FYM (all very plentiful in rural Somerset) but not so available to most gardeners and allotment holders.

Barney

I agree with Cider Boys. all OK if you have a plentiful supply of manure.

I don't deep dig my vegetable growing area very often (every few years) but think I'd find it hard aesthetically not to dig it at all. Generally every spring I just fork it over lightly to gently mix in the compost I've spread over it during the winter and to alleviate any compaction caused by my trampling over it to pick winter crops.

I think that you will find that the success of no-dig depends on the type of soil, the condition it is in and the availability or otherwise of mulch. Lots of pernicious weeds, lots of bugs, heavy soil, no mulch...

Well, in all fairness, he does cover how to deal with pernicious weeds, and it doesn't seem too difficult to eradicate them on the no dig system. The condition of the soil improves all the time as mulches are continued to be applied. I've just bought some bags of farmyard manure (I do have some but not enough) and some soil conditioner (again I make some but not quite enough) which I will spread over the beds, it would have been better done in the late autumn apparently but I didn't know this then!

I'm giving his system a go to try to beat the couch grass so I hope I have some success as although I get a lot of satisfaction digging it up you never seem to get it all particularly if it wraps itself around roots and stuff. I have a trial going on with the raspberries and asparagus done and I am now starting around the fruit trees.

Little shoots are coming up but they are easy to pull out and if I can keep it up over the summer I will report back on whether successful or not. Fortunately I have loads of compost to use up but may be different in coming years and I would be reluctant to use the horse manure we get as it is full of wood chips.

Westi

Westi wrote:I'm giving his system a go to try to beat the couch grass

Hi Westi, I've used No Dig for a few years and the veg seems to grow fine. However even putting plastic down in the winter hasn't really stopped Couch Grass from growing.

Digging hasn't really helped me get rid of this either (there's so much in neighbouring plots, paths etc).

I know what you mean Colin about the plastic not controlling it. When I pull mine back it has sometimes grown into the back of the plastic if there is a rough bit or a little tear. I did wonder if covering it with plastic actually makes it grow wider out as it creeps under looking for the light as it has a nice warm spot to keep growing over winter and my soil is always quite moist despite the cover.

Westi

I agree with every sentiment expressed by Barney.
I used to live about 3/4 mile from Dr Shewell- Cooper many years ago and certainly he managed to grow some very fine produce but if you saw the amount of compost and manure he had to work with you would soon realise that for most gardeners they simply do not, and never with have, the wherewithal to make a success of it except on a very small scale.
There are several instances where I use an almost no dig system by simply clearing the weeds from my bean bed and putting a fairly shallow covering of manure over it and then covering with HD black polythene after it has all become well watered by the weather and leaving it over winter allowing the worms to take into the soil what they can. In the spring removing anything remaining erect bean trellis and plant up.
I also trialled the French Total Return system back in the 1979/84 alongside conventional Organic beds and in 1984 I realised that I was getting so much more produce for the given area and I ceased the trial and packed up the no dig system and growing organically.
Since that time I have been pursuing a Pragmatic approach using man made products if and when needed.
JB.