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George.com 21-03-2006 09:43 AM

No dig gardens
 
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



George.com 21-03-2006 10:33 AM

No dig gardens
 

"simy1" wrote in message
oups.com...
In regard to leaving spent plants in place, it works if the rotation is
strict. You leave tomatoes in a patch because you know there will be no
tomatoes there next year.


can you explain a little more this concept please?

rob



George.com 21-03-2006 11:59 AM

No dig gardens
 

"George.com" wrote in message
...
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


perhaps a point of clarification needed here, my original explaination may
not have been specific enough. It is not the proces of constructing a no dig
garden I am wondering about, through thanks to those who have made usueful
suggestions in that area. It is actually in the process of gardening,
propogating, rearing plants using a no dig approach, no tillage of the soil,
low input, low labour, 'do nothing' process. What got be interested
initially was this guys thoughts

Masanobu Fukuoka http://larryhaftl.com/ffo/fover.html

It sounded like a really good lazy way (and sustainable) of growing veges n
herbs. I have only started experimenting.

The way my dad and grandad used to do vege gardens of digging in compost and
manure every year, digging over weeds, spending hours preparing beds seemed
labour intensive. They seemed to need to constantly put back nutrients into
the soil as the process of rearing veges stripped the nutrients out.
Moreover the more I read the more is suggested that constantly tilling the
soil to nay significant depth actually damages the soil structure and its
potency.

Fukuoka says that leaving the nutrients where they are greatly reduces this
robbing of the soils vitality and nature and worms will dig organic matter
in to the soil for you. That sounds good in theory, I hope someone has
matched it in reality and can report on that.

rob



JennyC 22-03-2006 12:38 PM

No dig gardens
 

"George.com" wrote in message
...
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


Interesting concept !!
Never looked into it before, but you've started me off :~)

Seems to be a big thing in Australia, in fact there are courses a stones throws
away from you:
http://www.waverley.nsw.gov.au/counc...odiggarden.asp

More info and how to:
http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/pu...rth/garden.htm

Even the RHS has info on it:
http://www.rhs.org.uk/publications/p..._garden_0299_d
ig.asp

and of course Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_dig_gardening

Do keep us posted on your efforts. Pictures would be good .........
Jenny






La Puce 22-03-2006 01:12 PM

No dig gardens
 

JennyC wrote:
Interesting concept !!
Never looked into it before, but you've started me off :~)


Really?! Where have you been?! ;o)

This is my second year - kept all the legumes (broad beans, peas,
beans) bed as it is but clean up a bit by just taking out the wires,
mesh and poles. Kept all the plants there and they have all decomposed
on top, giving the top surface a smooth dark tilth, which I just raked
lightly, for my cucurbitas this year. The potatoes this year will be
covered with straw and grass and on the new plot (given to me recently
by the committee ouuerr...) I'll use one bed for spuds using the
traditional method to see which one is best. Where the potatoes where
last year I have just kept as it is, won't touch anything beside raking
a bit to level. My legumes will go in there. My neighbour has started
this process 3 years ago - she uses chicken pooh and tonnes of grass
clipings. Her veg patch received an award last week end for the
previous summer. Our tribe got praised for the creation of Edward
Twigorhands, a very elaborate (and realistic) scarecrow and an award
for my wild flower patch blush


[email protected] 22-03-2006 01:41 PM

No dig gardens
 
The Ruth Stout No-Work Garden Book
How to Have a Green Thumb Without an Aching Back

How to Have a Green Thumb Without an Aching Back by Ruth Stout
Lasagna Gardening : A New Layering System for Bountiful Gardens: No Digging, No
Tilling, No Weeding, No Kidding! by Patricia Lanza

My step father knew Ruth and Rex Stout. He took my mother for a visit and she became
a Ruth Stout convert. my mother did have a bad back already. \
Ingrid



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La Puce 22-03-2006 01:54 PM

No dig gardens
 

wrote:

How to Have a Green Thumb Without an Aching Back by Ruth Stout
Lasagna Gardening : A New Layering System for Bountiful Gardens: No Digging, No
Tilling, No Weeding, No Kidding! by Patricia Lanza
My step father knew Ruth and Rex Stout. He took my mother for a visit and she became
a Ruth Stout convert. my mother did have a bad back already. \


Oh ta very much Ingrid !


Mike Lyle 22-03-2006 02:35 PM

No dig gardens
 
wrote:
The Ruth Stout No-Work Garden Book
How to Have a Green Thumb Without an Aching Back

How to Have a Green Thumb Without an Aching Back by Ruth Stout
Lasagna Gardening : A New Layering System for Bountiful Gardens: No
Digging, No Tilling, No Weeding, No Kidding! by Patricia Lanza

My step father knew Ruth and Rex Stout. He took my mother for a
visit and she became a Ruth Stout convert. my mother did have a bad
back already. \
Ingrid


Rex Stout, as in Nero Wolfe?

--
Mike.



[email protected] 22-03-2006 11:14 PM

No dig gardens
 
oh yeah. mom didnt meet him tho. my stepfather knew him tho. Ingrid

"Mike Lyle" wrote:

wrote:
The Ruth Stout No-Work Garden Book
How to Have a Green Thumb Without an Aching Back

How to Have a Green Thumb Without an Aching Back by Ruth Stout
Lasagna Gardening : A New Layering System for Bountiful Gardens: No
Digging, No Tilling, No Weeding, No Kidding! by Patricia Lanza

My step father knew Ruth and Rex Stout. He took my mother for a
visit and she became a Ruth Stout convert. my mother did have a bad
back already. \
Ingrid


Rex Stout, as in Nero Wolfe?




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List at
http://weloveteaching.com/puregold/
sign up: http://groups.google.com/groups/dir?...s=Group+lookup
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I receive no compensation for running the Puregold list or Puregold website.
I do not run nor receive any money from the ads at the old Puregold site.

simy1 23-03-2006 02:24 AM

No dig gardens
 
sure, in fact it is the only form of gardening I practice. details
below.

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


You have to rake clean those parts of the garden where you expect to
broadcast seeds directly.

leaving spent plants in place to degrade in the garden, add nutrients to the
soil or self seed


I allow mache, arugula, and miner lettuce (plus purslane, a weed) to
self-seed. They are cold weather small greens that can grow
uncospicuously when nothing else grows, or in the shade of bigger
plants.

using surface mulches to suppress weeds and add nutrients that slowly leach
in to the soil


of course. I even try to plan two years ahead. If I know there will be
big plants for two years in a bed, I tend to use wood chips, which will
decompose slowly. If I want the bed clean next year, I use leaves that
disappear in a year

using green mulches like legumes or clover to add nitrogen to the soil


no. I have plenty of the real manure.

crop rotation to protect the integrity of the soil, for instance following
leafy plants with root crops etc


yes, but typically only two years rotation.


Thanks in advance for your contribution

rob



simy1 23-03-2006 03:09 AM

No dig gardens
 
In regard to leaving spent plants in place, it works if the rotation is
strict. You leave tomatoes in a patch because you know there will be no
tomatoes there next year. Not removing the plants certainly saves you a
few hours work in the Fall.


Farm1 23-03-2006 08:04 AM

No dig gardens
 
"George.com" wrote in message
...
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


My experience (in Australia) is that the beds tend to dry out in the
searing heat of midsummer and they are then a real devil to moisten
again. They work reasonably well if you can keep them moist. My
advice would be to use lucerne (aka alfalfa) in slabs as the base, and
to put in pockets of potting mix or good compost where you want to
plant seeds/seedlings. Prepare the bales of lucerne by leaving them
to sit in the garden for a while and "mature". By that I mean to
start rotting down. I put them direct on the soil and let them get
wet as I turn on the sprinkler then turn them every month or when I
remember so that a new surface is then presented to the soil. If you
can do this where the no-dig bed is to go then you will start to
notice the build up of worms (and the worms will aslo start to
colonise the rotting base of the bale) and you'll notice an increased
richness of the soil where the bale has been sitting. This makes it a
bit easier to get the bed going. Also I never use newspaper on the
bottom. I've found it doesn't work for me and stops the microgoobies
from starting to work in the bed.



lwhaley 23-03-2006 09:54 AM

No dig gardens
 

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.



I have used a variation on no dig gardening. The city i lived in had
free compost from grass clippings and leaves. I brought home a few
truckloads and just dumped them on the ground to create my planting bed
with no further preparation. I had good success.


simy1 23-03-2006 02:27 PM

No dig gardens
 
There are certain plants that catch diseases. I leave all greens and
all root crops and all bulbs in place, because they never catch
anything, but tomatoes, cucurbita, beans and cabbage, if I know I am
not going to rotate next year, I prefer to remove. Most of my tomatoes
are healthy, but there is one particular heirloom that is hit or miss.
And the cukes get the wilt.

Otherwise it is efficient to harvest the vegetable, clean it on the
spot, and drop the remains on the ground. It saves you a trip to the
compost pile, and trip back.

Other things I have learned: absolutely mulch at the very last minute
before planting, and preferrably after last frost. If you mulch in
march, because you don't have much else to do, you will have cold soil
in May.


simy1 23-03-2006 02:31 PM

No dig gardens
 
well, if you get good quality veggies, they will take away a lot of
nutrients. No till eliminates tilling, weeding, and reduces fertilizing
and watering, but you can not grow great chard with leaves compost only
(though you can with manure).
You do need either manure or some chemical fertilizer, at least with
some veggies. Or you need to grow a lot of peas and beans.
Also, no till eventually becomes very friendly to slugs. Now organic
slug bait is available everywhere, so this is no longer a problem.


La Puce 23-03-2006 03:18 PM

No dig gardens
 

simy1 wrote:
There are certain plants that catch diseases. I leave all greens and
all root crops and all bulbs in place, because they never catch
anything, but tomatoes, cucurbita, beans and cabbage, if I know I am
not going to rotate next year, I prefer to remove. Most of my tomatoes
are healthy, but there is one particular heirloom that is hit or miss.
And the cukes get the wilt.


Just curious, where do you write from simy1?


simy1 23-03-2006 04:21 PM

No dig gardens
 
southeast michigan.


simy1 23-03-2006 04:22 PM

No dig gardens
 
southeast michigan.


gardenlen 23-03-2006 10:53 PM

No dig gardens
 
g'day rob,

yes i use them all the time very successful for me come vsit my web site and
see how we do it:

http://www.users.bigpond.com/gardenlen1/

len

snipped



Dave 26-03-2006 07:05 PM

No dig gardens
 
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.


I tried planting butternut and acorn squash in a thickly mulched plot
last year and had mixed results. The acorn squash plants all turned
yellow and died. The weeds still grew, just a bit more slowly. The
butternut produced modestly. What else has to be done and how much
attention has to be given to soil testing? Thanks.


Mike Lyle 26-03-2006 07:31 PM

No dig gardens
 
Dave wrote:
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.


I tried planting butternut and acorn squash in a thickly mulched plot
last year and had mixed results. The acorn squash plants all turned
yellow and died. The weeds still grew, just a bit more slowly. The
butternut produced modestly. What else has to be done and how much
attention has to be given to soil testing? Thanks.


I don't know about acorn, but I did grow butternut once, before I was
told it was impossible! It was a heat-wave year, and they did rather
well. Others here will tell you not to bother, as (unless they've
produced a variety suitable for the British climate) they want a long
hot summer. If you don't get many replies, a Google Groups search of the
group archive will bring up a lot of stuff from the past couple of
years.

I don't think soil testing is worth the expense for most amateurs: if
your garden grows stuff, and you do the usual feeding routine, it's OK.

--
Mike.



[email protected] 27-03-2006 04:14 AM

No dig gardens
 
Mike Lyle wrote:
Dave wrote:
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.


I tried planting butternut and acorn squash in a thickly mulched plot
last year and had mixed results. The acorn squash plants all turned
yellow and died. The weeds still grew, just a bit more slowly. The
butternut produced modestly. What else has to be done and how much
attention has to be given to soil testing? Thanks.


I don't know about acorn, but I did grow butternut once, before I was
told it was impossible! It was a heat-wave year, and they did rather
well. Others here will tell you not to bother, as (unless they've
produced a variety suitable for the British climate) they want a long
hot summer. If you don't get many replies, a Google Groups search of the
group archive will bring up a lot of stuff from the past couple of
years.

I don't think soil testing is worth the expense for most amateurs: if
your garden grows stuff, and you do the usual feeding routine, it's OK.


Oh, this thread is being cross-posted across three groups. I'm located
in the midwest US. The Summer here can be quite hot and dry. In fact it
was rather difficult to judge when the mulched plot needed water. UK
weather is probably similar to the northwest US.

Dave


R M. Watkin 27-03-2006 07:45 PM

No dig gardens
 
Hi All,
I have grown butternut squash [ Butternut Sprinter ] with success in most
years. Hope this helps you.

Richard M. Watkin.

"Mike Lyle" wrote in message
...
Dave wrote:
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.


I tried planting butternut and acorn squash in a thickly mulched plot
last year and had mixed results. The acorn squash plants all turned
yellow and died. The weeds still grew, just a bit more slowly. The
butternut produced modestly. What else has to be done and how much
attention has to be given to soil testing? Thanks.


I don't know about acorn, but I did grow butternut once, before I was
told it was impossible! It was a heat-wave year, and they did rather
well. Others here will tell you not to bother, as (unless they've
produced a variety suitable for the British climate) they want a long
hot summer. If you don't get many replies, a Google Groups search of the
group archive will bring up a lot of stuff from the past couple of
years.

I don't think soil testing is worth the expense for most amateurs: if
your garden grows stuff, and you do the usual feeding routine, it's OK.

--
Mike.





Dave 28-03-2006 04:43 PM

No dig gardens
 
R M. Watkin wrote:
Hi All,
I have grown butternut squash [ Butternut Sprinter ] with success in most
years. Hope this helps you.



So what plants are thought to be optimal for a no-till plot? My hope
was that the weeds would be kept under control for squash -- which are
difficult to weed -- but as the season wore on the weeds got pretty
thick. Some weeds seem to be effective mulch penetrators. Also I guess
I didn't really employ "no-till" but till once in the Spring and then
add another layer of mulch on top of that. With that is mind is there
anything else should I till in, such as lime? I have a source of horse
manure but figure that will be loaded with weed seeds. Thanks.


simy1 29-03-2006 12:02 AM

No dig gardens
 
If you lay down a piece of cardboard, punch a central hole for the
squash plant, and then cover with mulch, brambles might make it
through, but most weeds won't.

When you ask about which plants are optimal for a no-till plot, I
assume you mean "clay plot". A sandy plot will be OK with any plant.
Plants that break the soil effectively include radicchio, fava,
cardoon, mache, and potato. Anything with a taproot, though the latter
two do not have one. Even carrot, parsnip, and beets, if you don't mind
the misshapen roots too much.


Dave 29-03-2006 04:45 PM

No dig gardens
 
simy1 wrote:
If you lay down a piece of cardboard, punch a central hole for the
squash plant, and then cover with mulch, brambles might make it
through, but most weeds won't.

When you ask about which plants are optimal for a no-till plot, I
assume you mean "clay plot". A sandy plot will be OK with any plant.
Plants that break the soil effectively include radicchio, fava,
cardoon, mache, and potato. Anything with a taproot, though the latter
two do not have one. Even carrot, parsnip, and beets, if you don't mind
the misshapen roots too much.


Yes, I might try some sort of barrier this year. How about newspaper? I
guess my question has more to do with the quality of the mulch soil.
The several layers of mulch are still deteriorating so I presume this
may favor plants which tolerate acidic low-nitrogen soils??? Thanks.


simy1 29-03-2006 08:22 PM

No dig gardens
 
Newspapers are fine, but if you want to kill brambles and grass,
cardboard is better. But more important than cardboard vs newspapers,
The secret to a good kill is to apply the mulch after growth has
resumed. That way you push down the shoot, and you have a long time
before the paper breaks down and lets perennials through.

There are plants that like degrading mulch, most notably tomatoes,
garlic, potatoes, squash. Degrading mulch tends to be acidic, but not
all the time, and not necessarily low nitrogen unless you use very
brown materials. Lettuce, for example, is sensitive to acidity, but it
will be very happy if planted directly through six month old leaves
mixed with some manure. In practice I always give wood ash to just
about anything i grow except potatoes (I have acid soil, and I prefer
wood chips, the most acid mulch of all, because I plant most
everything in seedling form).

Over time the pH of the degrading mulch climbs up to near neutral
values as it becomes soil. It will start to look like soil. There are
tricks that you can play. First, if you use leaves as mulch, they will
be 99% gone by next year, with a decent pH, so you can seed directly in
the resulting soil. If you use chunkier mulch, like wood chips, you
will have weed protection for two years or more, but you will have to
plant through the chips until they are gone. Wood chips start quite low
in pH but when they are done their soil is similar to that made of
other mulches, if possible with a stronger humus. If you use cardboard
covered with leaves or mulch, the cardboard is 99% gone the next year.
if your mulch is not quite done, and you want to seed directly there,
gently rake it to one side of the bed. Use that side for potatoes or
garlic, and the raked part for carrots and beets. The raked part will
have more weed seeds than if you had not raked it, but still less than
the soil underneath it.


George.com 29-01-2007 05:26 PM

No dig gardens
 

"Maryc" 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

I got the Lasagna Gradening book. So we tried it. Here in Arkansas
however we have this grass that takes over everything. We tried puting
the composted wood chips free from our city on top but the grass just
grew all through it. So this winter we have put black plastic over the
whole garden hoping to smother it out. I will have to let you know when
it is closer to spring, whether it helped or not.


shit, that post has resurfaced after a while. My raised/no dig gardens have
been in 2 seasons now. They got filled with a combination of everything from
soil and compost to horse poop, old hay, coffee grounds and grass clippings.
Worms mixed everything together nicely. The beds, of which there are 5, have
been planted with a good variety of crops and minimal digging, some initial
earthing up of potatos before using straw and a small drill to put seedlings
or seeds in. Mulching has occurred across 1/2 the garden over peas and
tomatos though still haven't quite figured about mulching around smaller
stuff like carrots, lettuces and the like. With the lettuces mind I planted
them tightly so they formed a living mulch. Crop resiudes have been left on
the garden to rot apart from potatos and tomatos. I have had early blight in
the tomatos (crap season for them so far, few I know are getting them
ripened outdoors) and some potato issue I haven't identified. I am looking
at the Ps & Ts to see how they go and what might be afflicting them. As they
can be temporamental my intention at this point is to dry and burn the crop
residue and re-apply as ash later on. Whether the residue is ok to leave on
the garden may depend what I find through the rest of the season. If I want
to be careful all will be removed, dried and burnt. I am still uming and
arring about cover crops over winter. I have come up with several refeences
that say garlic and mustard are good ways to naturally fumigate/sterilise
soil so I am thinking of following tomatoes with garlic in winter and maybe
putting mustard across other beds, maybe the potatos. If it works ok I may
rotate tomatos around with garlic to follow. I reckon a root crop should be
ok to follow a fruit. Not too worried about green mulches as I have several
piles of horse and chicken poop aging away, that'll suffice for next springs
nutrients. Maybe just leave the straw in place and mustard/garlic over
winter. I am coming to the conclusion of rotating tomatos and potatos every
season, 4 growing spaces, tomatos followed by a year of somethign else,
followed by potatos, followed by a year of something else and then back to
tomatos. Every 4th year maybe garlic following on from the tomatos. Not sure
whether I really need to rotate other things yet, time will tell.

rob



denis heag 29-01-2007 09:50 PM

No dig gardens
 
Mulch Mulch Mulch Mulch with Hay and let decompose next year do the
same as in Ruth's Stouts Book

Denis


On 29 Mar 2006 11:22:09 -0800, "simy1" wrote:

Newspapers are fine, but if you want to kill brambles and grass,
cardboard is better. But more important than cardboard vs newspapers,
The secret to a good kill is to apply the mulch after growth has
resumed. That way you push down the shoot, and you have a long time
before the paper breaks down and lets perennials through.

There are plants that like degrading mulch, most notably tomatoes,
garlic, potatoes, squash. Degrading mulch tends to be acidic, but not
all the time, and not necessarily low nitrogen unless you use very
brown materials. Lettuce, for example, is sensitive to acidity, but it
will be very happy if planted directly through six month old leaves
mixed with some manure. In practice I always give wood ash to just
about anything i grow except potatoes (I have acid soil, and I prefer
wood chips, the most acid mulch of all, because I plant most
everything in seedling form).

Over time the pH of the degrading mulch climbs up to near neutral
values as it becomes soil. It will start to look like soil. There are
tricks that you can play. First, if you use leaves as mulch, they will
be 99% gone by next year, with a decent pH, so you can seed directly in
the resulting soil. If you use chunkier mulch, like wood chips, you
will have weed protection for two years or more, but you will have to
plant through the chips until they are gone. Wood chips start quite low
in pH but when they are done their soil is similar to that made of
other mulches, if possible with a stronger humus. If you use cardboard
covered with leaves or mulch, the cardboard is 99% gone the next year.
if your mulch is not quite done, and you want to seed directly there,
gently rake it to one side of the bed. Use that side for potatoes or
garlic, and the raked part for carrots and beets. The raked part will
have more weed seeds than if you had not raked it, but still less than
the soil underneath it.


Maryc 30-01-2007 03:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by George.com
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

I got the Lasagna Gradening book. So we tried it. Here in Arkansas however we have this grass that takes over everything. We tried puting the composted wood chips free from our city on top but the grass just grew all through it. So this winter we have put black plastic over the whole garden hoping to smother it out. I will have to let you know when it is closer to spring, whether it helped or not.

gardenlen 30-01-2007 07:15 PM

No dig gardens
 
g'day maryc,

lay down thick newspaper first up then start building up the bed, come
visit us and see hoe we do it, never had weeds come back and take
over.



On Tue, 30 Jan 2007 03:19:13 +0000, Maryc
wrote:

snipped
With peace and brightest of blessings,

len

--
"Be Content With What You Have And
May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In
A World That You May Not Understand."

http://www.lensgarden.com.au/

Maryc 30-01-2007 09:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gardenlen
g'day maryc,

lay down thick newspaper first up then start building up the bed, come
visit us and see hoe we do it, never had weeds come back and take
over.



On Tue, 30 Jan 2007 03:19:13 +0000, Maryc
wrote:

snipped
With peace and brightest of blessings,

len

--
"Be Content With What You Have And
May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In
A World That You May Not Understand."

http://www.lensgarden.com.au/

When we started the garden we did put down newspaper and cardboard boxes. But this grass that we have is very determined it will put out growth up to something like 3 feet to find a foot hold. It came in from outside the garden and not from under the newspaper. Also we had put some grass clippings as one of the layers and It grew from that too. What a mess. The stuff is trying to grow all throughout my compost pile too. Mean old grass. :)

Mary

Dick Adams 31-01-2007 01:53 PM

No dig gardens
 
I have done the unthinkable and used chemicals. In late-September,
the proposed garden area was drenched with Round Up. Four weeks
later the area was covered with black plastic held down with bricks.
It will be tilled in April.

But Len's Straw-Bale Garden is really neat. But my problem is the
lack of fencing and an over-abundance of deer and rabbits. Since
I live in an urban area, shooting/trapping the deer is illegal.
Fortunately rabbits have no friends amongst lawmakers, but you
can't eat them unless you kill them after the first frost due to
some disease they carry. So you either toss them in a hole or
feed them.

Len;s Straw-Bale garden is at
http://tinyurl.com/25vaq6

Dick

gardenlen 31-01-2007 06:43 PM

No dig gardens
 
g'day maryc,

not sure if this part of the porocess would have helped you but with
all our agrdens we create a weed barrier around the gardens by forming
a border app' 1/2 a meter wide all around.

this is to help hold back any invasive types grasses from getting into
the beds.

On Tue, 30 Jan 2007 21:53:31 +0000, Maryc
wrote:

snipped
With peace and brightest of blessings,

len

--
"Be Content With What You Have And
May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In
A World That You May Not Understand."

http://www.lensgarden.com.au/

R M. Watkin 01-02-2007 03:12 PM

No dig gardens
 
Hi All.
I have not heard about the disease that rabits carry. As far as I know they
are shot all the time in the U.K. can you explain this please. Thank you.

Richard M. Watkin.

"Dick Adams" wrote in message
...
I have done the unthinkable and used chemicals. In late-September,
the proposed garden area was drenched with Round Up. Four weeks
later the area was covered with black plastic held down with bricks.
It will be tilled in April.

But Len's Straw-Bale Garden is really neat. But my problem is the
lack of fencing and an over-abundance of deer and rabbits. Since
I live in an urban area, shooting/trapping the deer is illegal.
Fortunately rabbits have no friends amongst lawmakers, but you
can't eat them unless you kill them after the first frost due to
some disease they carry. So you either toss them in a hole or
feed them.

Len;s Straw-Bale garden is at
http://tinyurl.com/25vaq6

Dick




Dick Adams 02-02-2007 05:06 PM

Rabbit disease
 
R M. Watkin asked:
I have not heard about the disease that rabits carry. As far
as I know they are shot all the time in the U.K. can you
explain this please. Thank you.


My father was a medical doctor and he explained this to me years
ago. I don't recall his explanation, but I found the following
which is very much on-point at http://tinyurl.com/ysvo2q

"Tularemia is a bacterial disease of rabbits that is transmittable
to man, usually through openings in the skin. Hunters who notice
small white or yellow spots on the surface of the rabbit's liver
when they are field dressing it should discard the entire rabbit
immediately. During the early stages of the disease the liver can
appear normal, though the infected rabbit may behave oddly, move
slowly or be easily captured. It is a good idea to wear rubber
gloves when dressing a rabbit and it is important to always cook
rabbit meat thoroughly. Tularemia is transmitted between rabbits
by fleas and ticks. The rabbits usually die from the disease, but
it is not normally a problem once there has been a good hard frost
and the temperature remains cool. A hard frost kills ticks and fleas
which carry the disease and any rabbit infected prior to the freeze
will normally die within a few days of contracting the disease."

This may be a global problem, a North American problem, or just a
local problem, but it is a real problem.

However, never let anything stop you from killing a rabbit feasting
in your garden.

Dick

Brian[_8_] 03-02-2007 11:55 PM

No dig gardens
 
Tularemia (also known as rabbit fever or deerfly fever) is an infectious
disease in ticks and rabbits that is caused by a bacterium (Francisella
tularensis). The disease was first described in Japan in 1837. Its name
relates to the description in 1911 of a plague-like illness in ground
squirrels in Tulare county, California (hence the name tularemia) and the
subsequent work done by Dr. Edward Francis.

Tularemia occurs throughout North America and in many parts of Europe and
Asia. Francisella tularensis is found worldwide in over a hundred species of
wild animals, birds and insects. Some examples of animals, other than
rabbits, that carry tularemia are meadow mice, ground hogs (woodchucks),
ground squirrels, tree squirrels, beavers, coyotes, muskrats, opossums,
sheep, and various game birds.

A hard freeze tends to wipe out the weaker infected animals, so that is why
we don't eat wild rabbits around here until at least one or two good
frostings.

What are they shot with in the UK? I thought firearms had been banned there.




"R M. Watkin" wrote in message
...
Hi All.
I have not heard about the disease that rabits carry. As far as I know
they are shot all the time in the U.K. can you explain this please. Thank
you.

Richard M. Watkin.




R M. Watkin 04-02-2007 03:25 PM

Rabbit disease
 
Hi,
Thank you for the infomation. I have printed it of for further study.

Richard M. Watkin.

"Dick Adams" wrote in message
...
R M. Watkin asked:
I have not heard about the disease that rabits carry. As far
as I know they are shot all the time in the U.K. can you
explain this please. Thank you.


My father was a medical doctor and he explained this to me years
ago. I don't recall his explanation, but I found the following
which is very much on-point at http://tinyurl.com/ysvo2q

"Tularemia is a bacterial disease of rabbits that is transmittable
to man, usually through openings in the skin. Hunters who notice
small white or yellow spots on the surface of the rabbit's liver
when they are field dressing it should discard the entire rabbit
immediately. During the early stages of the disease the liver can
appear normal, though the infected rabbit may behave oddly, move
slowly or be easily captured. It is a good idea to wear rubber
gloves when dressing a rabbit and it is important to always cook
rabbit meat thoroughly. Tularemia is transmitted between rabbits
by fleas and ticks. The rabbits usually die from the disease, but
it is not normally a problem once there has been a good hard frost
and the temperature remains cool. A hard frost kills ticks and fleas
which carry the disease and any rabbit infected prior to the freeze
will normally die within a few days of contracting the disease."

This may be a global problem, a North American problem, or just a
local problem, but it is a real problem.

However, never let anything stop you from killing a rabbit feasting
in your garden.

Dick




R M. Watkin 04-02-2007 03:46 PM

No dig gardens
 
Hi All,
Rabbits are shot with an air rifle, or some people prefer a shot gun. You
need a fire arms certificte for a shot gun, but not for an air gun below a
certain power. A non F. A. C. rated air rifle will kill a rabbit . hope this
helps you .

Richard M. Watkin.

"Brian" wrote in message
link.net...
Tularemia (also known as rabbit fever or deerfly fever) is an infectious
disease in ticks and rabbits that is caused by a bacterium (Francisella
tularensis). The disease was first described in Japan in 1837. Its name
relates to the description in 1911 of a plague-like illness in ground
squirrels in Tulare county, California (hence the name tularemia) and the
subsequent work done by Dr. Edward Francis.

Tularemia occurs throughout North America and in many parts of Europe and
Asia. Francisella tularensis is found worldwide in over a hundred species
of wild animals, birds and insects. Some examples of animals, other than
rabbits, that carry tularemia are meadow mice, ground hogs (woodchucks),
ground squirrels, tree squirrels, beavers, coyotes, muskrats, opossums,
sheep, and various game birds.

A hard freeze tends to wipe out the weaker infected animals, so that is
why we don't eat wild rabbits around here until at least one or two good
frostings.

What are they shot with in the UK? I thought firearms had been banned
there.




"R M. Watkin" wrote in message
...
Hi All.
I have not heard about the disease that rabits carry. As far as I know
they are shot all the time in the U.K. can you explain this please. Thank
you.

Richard M. Watkin.






Penelope Periwinkle 04-02-2007 04:05 PM

Rabbit disease
 

Egregious top posting corrected.

On Sun, 4 Feb 2007 15:25:33 -0000, "R M. Watkin"
wrote:

"Dick Adams" wrote


My father was a medical doctor and he explained this to me years
ago. I don't recall his explanation, but I found the following
which is very much on-point at http://tinyurl.com/ysvo2q


Hi,
Thank you for the infomation. I have printed it of for further study.



You might want to get actual facts on the disease rather than vaguely
remembered warnings or a web page where the author refers to the
rabbit's anus and bladder as "The hole where the poop comes out" and
"urine sack".

http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/tularemia/



Penelope





--
You have proven yourself to be the most malicious,
classless person that I've encountered in years.
- "pointed"


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