George.com wrote:
"Derek Turner" wrote in message
...
George.com wrote:
Has anyone experimented with, made use of, no dig gardening? I'm
interested
in your experiences and opinions, how you got started, successes or
failures
etc.

My definition of no dig involves:
minimal tillage of the soil, short of scratching the surface to sow seed
or
harvest root vegetables
leaving spent plants in place to degrade in the garden, add nutrients to
the
soil or self seed
using surface mulches to suppress weeds and add nutrients that slowly
leach
in to the soil
using green mulches like legumes or clover to add nitrogen to the soil
crop rotation to protect the integrity of the soil, for instance
following
leafy plants with root crops etc

Thanks in advance for your contribution

rob


As you've cross-posted to other 'international' (read American) groups
this may not help but a visit to Ryton organic gardens in Warwickshire
will provide you with all the info and inspiration you need.

thanks Derek. I cross posted to try and get a range of views, rather than
post in each NG in turn. It is a bit of a walk to Warwickshire from here,
being New Zealand. The UK garden NG is quite a good one for me as the
weather/environment is quite similar to here.

rob


OK you can always visit online! the Henry Doubleday Research Association
(HDRA) own and run Ryton where there is a no-dig demonstration garden.
I've tried it: it works (in my case slowly). I used a bulb planter to
plant potatoes and then used horticultural paper and lawn-clippings.
Everything else went into earth that had been overwintered under porous
weed-suppressing membrane then spread with well-rotted cowshit and some
home-made compost. I used a rake to loosen the surface. Obviously
lifting the potatoes might count as digging to a purist! I found that it
took four years (i.e. a whole crop rotation) to get the earth (heavy
clay meadow) into something like good heart. Now I get nettles and am
soooo proud!

hth