Dig or no dig?

[Mikey]

I ask this question as in discussion with my father the other week he told me of a gentleman that was kicked off his allotment site for using a no dig method.

Their contracts apparently stipulated that the soil needed to be cultivated, and this was interpreted to mean the soil needs to be dug.

How many here use the no dig method, and have you had any problems with allotment committees or councils for following this method?

[alldigging]

cul·ti·vate/ˈkəltəˌvāt/
Verb:
Prepare and use (land) for crops or gardening.
Break up (soil) in preparation for sowing or planting.

[Mikey]

Yes I know the dictionary definition, to me it covers both sides of the argument.

[alldigging]

I suspect what the allotment rules want is "for things to be grown" ...
So he should plant a fruit bush or two and start marking the rest out and covering it up.

What they don't want is someone to prevaricate for 12 months about what they're doing and still not have planted anything.

No dig is fine.
Plenty weeds isn't.
(I reckon)

[Mikey]

I'll have to ask my father exactly what he did or didn't do.

How do you cope with things like bind weed in a no dig garden?

[alldigging]

Well I'd pull it up and put it in a bag not to see the light of day for some time.

Some people use weedkiller and a no-dig technique

[Mikey]

I don't use chemicals on my plot, but the clay and bindweed are very annoying. This winter I'm trying a raised bed as no dig to see if it generates a better return next year.

[northepaul]

Mikey - you've probably done this - have you added sand and other compost or even grit to your clay soil?
Clay soils are usually very nutrient rich.
Bind weed, we just pull it up when we see it

[Mikey]

Yeah so do I, I lifted one of my rubber mat paths the other day to find a whole new white bindweed root path underneath it. The stuff is the bane of my life. I'll take a photograph when I'm over there on the weekend and you can see what I'm dealing with.

[Two_Sheds]

No dig is fine.
Plenty weeds isn't.

Weeds are only a problem if they are spreading uncontrollably.
I allow my weeds to grow quite big, to be used as a green manure, but I also remove them before they start to propagate (seed).

As a matter of interest, the plots either side of me (both diggers) have far worse problems with weeds than I do.

How do you cope with things like bind weed in a no dig garden?

You dig out as much as you can before you start your no-dig regime. From then on, just keep pulling it as it appears. Don't let it grow AT ALL, because once the leaves start to get sunlight they start to feed and strengthen the roots.
I've been battling it for 4 years now, it's still there but under control (ie, not spreading to anyone else's patch).

[alldigging]

Weeds are only a problem if they are spreading uncontrollably.
I allow my weeds to grow quite big, to be used as a green manure, but I also remove them before they start to propagate (seed).

If you can guarantee doing that but for the infrequent attendees who'll not be here the week things set seed it's easier to cut them before they get too ahead of themselves

[binley100]

I take digging to mean the old fashioned way of double digging or trenching. I fork over my soil as beds are cleared and dig out things like docks the bed is then ready for either another crop/green manure or to be heavily mulched/covered in cardboard until needed....