Allotment Stuff > The Basics

great weekend at the lottie!

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Garden Manager:

--- Quote ---RR - you're not weird. I love digging too - when I want to dig. But I don't want to be doing it all the time - not good for my old knees and back (I'm sure I inherited both from an old relative - they are much older than the rest of me!)

And i love pulling weeds - definitely very therapeutic!
--- End quote ---


You are not alone either of you. I love it too. Great way to burn a few calories and get fit i think.

There is a problem with no dig as i see it. On heavy soils, there will be a certain amount of natural settling and compaction, over the years. Ok for a few years not to dig, to preserve the structure but there will be a point of diminishing returns at some stage, where structure will be lost and not enough air and water will be able to penetrate the soil to encourage good root growth.

In my veg patch i am (yes yes hypocrite) minimal dig due to raised bed culture. However whilst i did double dig when i built the beds, the effect of time and constantly digging to the same depth, will have negated the benefits of doing this. Basicaly a pan has formed and it is time to deep dig again, and sort the soil out  for a few more years.

By the way, aquilegia, you are not alone with the back and knees. I feel sometimes parts of my body are older than the rest of me, too.

Tenuse:
I quite enjoy the digging thing, but I don't think I ever want to spend QUITE as much time digging as I will this year, ever again.

When would I find time to grow vegetables if I had to dig it all every year????

Ten x

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