"George.com" wrote in message
...

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...
George, the bottom line here is that whether you use no-till methods, or
go
to the other extreme and till the hell out of your soil every time you
feel
like starting a noisy machine (like my neighbor), it has no relationship
to
how you plant the seeds and care for the plants. I think you're trying to
expand the no-till subject to overlap an aspect of gardening on which it
has
no effect.

not really Joe, certainly not my intention if that is the impression from
my
question. For a host of reasons I am going for no till and I also want to
go
for minimal time input and fuss. I have grown tomatos from seed in a
standard bed before no problems but never tried it no till. I have never,
and want to avoid wherever, indoor propogating and then transplanting.
Hence
the question, has anyone had any success planting straight into a mulch
such
as straw or hay or similar weed suppressent. If I use a compost mulch over
the soil it should be no problem sowing into that. I am unsure whether
seeding into a straw mulch, for instance, will produce good growing.
Obviously the alternative is to sow in to soil and mulch when it starts
growing. I want to sample other peoples experiences where possible however
to get a steer from their successes or failures.

rob

Maybe this is the answer you're looking for: Every year, a few tomatoes
fall off my plants and rot. In autumn, I lightly cultivate the whole garden.
The seeds from those fallen tomatoes end up everywhere, including areas
which are highly compacted by foot traffic. While these footpaths are not
identical to land that's never been tilled, they're the closest thing to it
in my garden. The tomato seeds sprout everywhere, and if I didn't weed them
out, I'm sure they'd produce healthy plants.

In other words, you don't have to till. But, to some extent, you'll get
better results if you at least prepare each spot where you stick seeds or
plants. "Spot" could be as small as a hole one foot across, amended with
some composted manure, or homemade compost. You may also need to adjust pH,
if it's way off.

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...
"George.com" wrote in message
...

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
...
George, the bottom line here is that whether you use no-till methods,
or
go
to the other extreme and till the hell out of your soil every time you
feel
like starting a noisy machine (like my neighbor), it has no
relationship
to
how you plant the seeds and care for the plants. I think you're trying
to
expand the no-till subject to overlap an aspect of gardening on which
it
has
no effect.

not really Joe, certainly not my intention if that is the impression
from
my
question. For a host of reasons I am going for no till and I also want
to
go
for minimal time input and fuss. I have grown tomatos from seed in a
standard bed before no problems but never tried it no till. I have
never,
and want to avoid wherever, indoor propogating and then transplanting.
Hence
the question, has anyone had any success planting straight into a mulch
such
as straw or hay or similar weed suppressent. If I use a compost mulch
over
the soil it should be no problem sowing into that. I am unsure whether
seeding into a straw mulch, for instance, will produce good growing.
Obviously the alternative is to sow in to soil and mulch when it starts
growing. I want to sample other peoples experiences where possible
however
to get a steer from their successes or failures.

rob

Maybe this is the answer you're looking for: Every year, a few tomatoes
fall off my plants and rot. In autumn, I lightly cultivate the whole
garden.
The seeds from those fallen tomatoes end up everywhere, including areas
which are highly compacted by foot traffic. While these footpaths are not
identical to land that's never been tilled, they're the closest thing to
it
in my garden. The tomato seeds sprout everywhere, and if I didn't weed
them
out, I'm sure they'd produce healthy plants.

In other words, you don't have to till. But, to some extent, you'll get
better results if you at least prepare each spot where you stick seeds or
plants. "Spot" could be as small as a hole one foot across, amended with
some composted manure, or homemade compost. You may also need to adjust
pH,
if it's way off.

Thanks for the advice from all. I guess I will seed and then mulch when the
tomatos have come up though I may try seeding a few into a hollow scraped
out from straw and filled with compost just top see how they go. Any further
advice from people welcome.

rob