Stop digging?????

[Alison]

Not only could you do your back in, it seems that digging may not be good for the ground either!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening...2/ixgmain.html

[Crazy Chickie]

Sounds good, but if I didn't dig the ground up here it would be a compacted bog with great pools of water laying on the surface. Unfortunately its digging in compost, animal poo, sand and grit for me. If it wern't for the raised beds we'd be eating 'water carrots'

[Dobby]

If this is right then farmers must be doing it all wrong when they plow there felds
Might try it on the bed we have not dug over yet

[Mrs Dobby]

Sounds interesting, but I'm afraid we are going to have to dig over the undug bed Mr D, it needs all the weed roots removing BEFORE you can adopt a no-dig methodology! Sorry hubby, nice try, but I guess we are gonna have to dig it over!

[burnie]

Since Geoff Hamilton explained the deep bed system I will not dig again.Obviously you have to dig and remove rubbish first(sorry Dobby)then all I do is what I would call light tilling with a hoe to remove the annual weeds.Just place plenty of organic matter on the top and the worms will make it nice and friable.I need to add here I've been very fortunate and in four different houses in four different counties, no clay.I guess if drainage is poor more initial work would be needed,but I'm totally hooked on raised beds and don't own a digging spade.

[Snadger]

I'm an advocate of 'no dig' technology mainly because I'm bone idle!

I am lucky that my plot has a very deep topsoil and no perennial weeds.
I use the bed system and never walk on them so I don't need to dig to relieve compaction or allow the winter frosts into the soil.

To spread manure on the surface and let the worms do there job in incorporating it into the surfavce layer where it's most needed seems to me a natural way to go about things and a tickle over with the hoe is all that is needed.

Farmers plough to different levels each year to stop a 'plough pan' forming and I suppose a pan coiuld form with only surface cultivation.
Hopefully the worms and microbes will do there jiob and stop this happening....so I suppose ......I'll keep on doing what works for me until it stops working!

[Alice]

I don't dig.

[SueA]

I'm with you Alice!

[burnie]

I suppose another thing is what are you growing,if you want long carrots and other root crops a greater depth of softer ground is needed,so I guess digging could be required.I grow my crops in blocks rather than rows and have found,for example the carrots do better if they are the shorter "stump rooted" types.Crop rotation and growing "tatties" does help with breaking up any "pan" as Snadger pointed out,that is not desirable,just ask anyone who has had a new house where the builders just dropped a few inches of top soil on a building site.

[Alison]

Moved into a new house when I was about 10, the grass wouldn't grow properly on half the garden until my dad eventually dug it up and discovered a large tarpaulin a few inches below the surface.

[nick the grief]

As with all things I thing the moderation option is best.

I'm sure you can grow using the method describe but man has been cultivating land since the stone age & you would have thought one smart arse would have noticed before now tha you don't need to do it.

Plus the other point is there are some sad bas... er people that enjoy digging

On my old allotment if I hadn't have dug it the only thing that it would have been any use for would have been House foundations, Carrots would have certainly been bo good

[jlottie]

Plus the other point is there are some sad bas... er people that enjoy digging

Hi Nick

Think I am one of the above , but will be watching with interest the outcome of the trials.

jl

[Alice]

You could make some more raised beds Crazy Chickie, and save yourself all that grief..... unless you really do like digging.

[yoanbob]

unfortunatly i'll have to dig this year, putting in raised beds the idea being that i wont have to do it again.

[Earthbabe]

I still have to dig and anyway I need the exercise. Especially to get into my fairy dress!