No Dig?

[franklynn]

Hi can anyone please explain to me in plain English how this works?

Frank

[franklynn]

[Barnowl]

"A 'no-dig' system keeps plants confined to beds and people to paths. This means the soil where plants are grown is never walked on, so it doesn't get compacted and, therefore, doesn't need digging. Most no-dig beds have raised edging to contain the organic matter, which is simply added to the surface of the soil. However, such beds do not eliminate all bending and stretching - you will be on your hands and knees sowing, planting and harvesting. If this is a problem, then you need raised beds."


This is quite a good article.

http://www.allotment.org.uk/articles/No_Dig_Method_of_Growing.php

[alienwithaview]

I take it you want to know about the no dig method?
Have you looked at www.no-dig-vegetablegarden.com ?
That's pretty straightforward.
The way I understand it is that digging only disturbs / encourages the "weeds" and doesn't actually benefit the soil.
However, even the really good book by Charles Dowding (Organic Gardening The Natural No Dig Way) advocates an initial digging, to get the otherwise very obstinate roots of dandelion and bindweed out for good.
After this initial hard graft you're not supposed to dig ever again!
We are trying this, and have dug most of our plot and unearthed LOTS of perennial "weed" roots, and are now growing our wildly mixed crops quite densely and on several levels (I think No Dig is a form of permaculture)
Hope this helps

[Barnowl]

I tend to dig the bed we're going to plant potatoes in, but the others we tend to just weed and fork over a little, depending on how compacted the soil seems.

Because the spud bed rotates each year the beds will all eventually get dug over (and of course all were dug over when they were created.)

[Carls3168]

Hi,

I use "No Dig" on my beds (raised) basically in simple terms it just means that rather then dig the whole pot each year - which some people believe ruins soil structure and just brings weed seeds to the surface - you mulch each bed at the end of the year with a thick layer of compost or manure.

As barnowl says you still dig one bed a year for your spuds on rotation.

Come spring the worms have worked all the manure into the soil and there burying naturally airates the ground - this works well for crops like Brassicas which like a firm soil.

I must admit that it does keep the weeds down, and also the bed system makes rotation simple.

[RosieMcPosie]

we have a 'no-dig' policy on our plot, which is made up of permanent paths and raised beds. we did give both the paths and the beds a big dig out first, as mentioned here, to get rid of the couch grass because the roots are really hardy!
we also added loads of lovely stuff to improve the soil structure and obviously bulk out the beds, such as manure, home made compost, grow bags, sharp sand etc.
we've only had the lottie since august, so not even a whole growing season, but we've decided to just use mulches as a top dressing and let the worms to their thing. we do have a little fork over the top and rake it out, but that's it, until planting time when there's a little more disruption.

[Froglegs]

I tend to dig the bed we're going to plant potatoes in, but the others we tend to just weed and fork over a little, depending on how compacted the soil seems.

Because the spud bed rotates each year the beds will all eventually get dug over (and of course all were dug over when they were created.)

That's how i do it ,plus i only put poo on the beds that i grow spuds on, then by the time it's time to grow things on that bed that don't like much poo(in the third year in my rotation),theres on problem. :)

[GrannieAnnie]

I tried a no-dig bed last year, just poked the bush bean seeds in the ground and pulled the mulch back around after they sprouted. Had a good crop. But, that said, this year hubby built a raised bed frame for that bed so I'll be improving the soil using the Lagsagna layering method- then back to no-dig and heavy mulching. Otherwise I just cannot keep up with the weeding in the heat of summer.