Kitchen Garden Forum

Because of mobility problems, and loving my garden, I have had a raised bed 18ft long and 8ft wide, between 2ft 6" and 3ft high (ground slopes!) built. Now I have grown lots of diferent veg in there for a couple of years. I grow things close together. Each year, I have a gardner get up and dig the plot. However, reading one of the topics about no dig,is that neccessary? I usually have a bag of dried manure from the garden centre, dug in.What is the proceedure,of no dig, and are there any articles I can get, to help me? Any help would be appreciated.

Hi,

You could do worse than look through this website

http://www.squarefootgardening.com/

I am experimenting with this this year and so far everything is growing well.

Good luck

David

Hi Submariner,I wouldn't have thought you needed to have the bed dug each year,just spreading the organic stuff on the top should do the trick with perhaps a top dressing of something like a bucket of pelleted chicken manure. 8ft is quite wide for a raised bed, do you have to get onto the bed for planting,harvesting etc? If you do then the ground may get compacted and need loosening up from time to time.

Thank you both. Carole I work it from both sides, so there are no real problems.

Agree with Carole, have you tried this one?
http://www.no-dig-vegetablegarden.com/

You don't need to dig, except to harvest. Hoeing, hand weeding and heavy mulching result in good crops, and I think it's better for the soil structure not to dig - provided you never tread on the soil. Mine are 1.1m wide and 4m long, with paths between.