• Welcome to The Bushcraft Forum

    You are currently viewing the site as a guest and some content may not be available to you.

    Registration is quick and easy and will give you full access to the site and allow you to ask questions or make comments and join in on the conversation. If you would like to join then please Register

To dig or not to dig?

Denidoom

Denidoom

Extremely Talkative
Messages
127
Points
350
Age
55
Hi All. Having read some of the posts, I can see many of you have some great gardening skills. I have been reading up on 'no dig' gardening and being a bit lazy really like the idea :) I was wondering if anybody had an experience and if so what worked well and what didn't go so well. I have been prepping some beds by covering with cardboard with deep compost on top. My plan is to start sowing in April and was wondering what crop would be best for my circumstances. I'm not living on site at the moment and wondered if there is anything that can be planted in April that would be happy to be left to do it's own thing until July. The reason being that I will be visiting the site in April, but won't be back until July when I move in permanently? Not ideal I know, but wanted to try and get something growing. Any ideas?
 
If you're not going to be there for some time, and considering where you are I would plump for Potatoes, Onions and root veg. You can sow them in april and they will pretty much look after themselves and not be too bothered by the weeds and weather till you get back
I'm one of those oddities that actually enjoys digging, so I can't offer advice on the no dig method.
 
I do "no dig". I have raised beds using gavel boards, mainly because our ground is so wet in the winter and that lifts the winter veg out of the mud. They are three feet wide so I don't need to step on them and the soil doesn't get compacted. I loosen the soil with a fork before I rake and plant/sow, but its not as back breaking as digging. We top the beds up with well rotted manure and protect the beds with fleece or enviromesh, depending on the season. I would agree with Mike, if youre not going to be there potatoes and root veg are best but even they need a little bit of attention in the first few weeks otherwise the weeds will grow faster than them, potatoes will need earthing up if you want to get a decent crop or you could grow them under black plastic. I grew sweetcorn through holes in black plastic, it did ok.
 
Thanks for the tips, MikeR and hodgson! I have to admit that I'm drawn to 'no-dig' primarily because digging isn't my favourite thing, although I have to admit that if the soil isn't too heavy it can be enjoyable. The bonus for me with 'no-dig' is that it can potentially produce better yields. Charles Dowding (https://www.charlesdowding.co.uk/) has been comparing no-dig beds to traditional dug beds for a number of years with some impressive results. I want to get into drying and canning and so the more I can grow the better! He also claims that there are less weeds, which is another bonus. I'm going to follow your tips and try potatoes, onions and root veg. Any tips on varieties that would cope better with the neglect? I'm going to plant the spuds under black plastic as you suggested, hodgson and hopefully that will help them to survive until July. I was thinking of carrots but then wondered if they would cope if not thinned out. Any ideas on root crops that will survive if not thinned out until July?
 
You don't have to thin them out, I never do. If you go for a short rooted variety like Chantenay they don't seem to mind not being thinned out, try and sow thinly too. Parsnips would do OK as well, but you need to sow them quite thick as they are notoriously fickle germinators again, I've never bothered thinning out. You could definitely put some onion sets in. Maybe Hodgson could suggest a good Potato variety as I don't grow them.
 
MikeR said:
You don't have to thin them out, I never do. If you go for a short rooted variety like Chantenay they don't seem to mind not being thinned out, try and sow thinly too. Parsnips would do OK as well, but you need to sow them quite thick as they are notoriously fickle germinators again, I've never bothered thinning out. You could definitely put some onion sets in. Maybe Hodgson could suggest a good Potato variety as I don't grow them.
Click to expand...

I'm so glad you have confirmed that they don't need to be thinned out, great under the circumstances! I love parsnips and so will definitely give them a go. I remember trying some homemade parsnip wine a few years ago and that was really good. I've never made wine, but it's on my list of things to try alongside beer. I have a place mapped out to grow some hops, something else I haven't grown before.
 
MikeR said:
You don't have to thin them out, I never do. If you go for a short rooted variety like Chantenay they don't seem to mind not being thinned out, try and sow thinly too. Parsnips would do OK as well, but you need to sow them quite thick as they are notoriously fickle germinators again, I've never bothered thinning out. You could definitely put some onion sets in. Maybe Hodgson could suggest a good Potato variety as I don't grow them.
Click to expand...
King Edward...great spud. Arran Pilot...great spud.....Desiree....another great spud.
 
Another fan of no dig - mainly due to laziness. Have you thought of planting fruit aswell? We have currants, gooseberries and raspberries which look after themselves most of the year, but need protection from birds. As for wine, l have blackberry ready for bottling and elderberry still fermenting. Do hops grow in Cumbria? l've never tried them as l thought they were a southern plant.
 
This is a time for trying out varieties of veg. Different varieties are best for different plots. What will grow well in one place wont do as well somewhere else. Keep a journal, write the variety and the time of sowing/planting and the eventual crop yield. Heritage varieties are best then you can keep your own seed. Any seed that is f1 is a commercially produced hybrid and you wont be able to replicate the original crop. I don't grow hops but then I don't like beer. :) I have lots of apples so have cider and various homemade wines.
 
Saw an article about someone who created his garden out of hollowed out straw bales which he then moved house with. They then rotted down and became the mulch for his new garden the following year. Think he had to add nitrogen by collecting his urine which is the epitome of recycling.

38
 
hodgson said:
This is a time for trying out varieties of veg. Different varieties are best for different plots. What will grow well in one place wont do as well somewhere else. Keep a journal, write the variety and the time of sowing/planting and the eventual crop yield. Heritage varieties are best then you can keep your own seed. Any seed that is f1 is a commercially produced hybrid and you wont be able to replicate the original crop. I don't grow hops but then I don't like beer. :) I have lots of apples so have cider and various homemade wines.
Click to expand...

I'm lucky that the people who had the house before, were keen gardeners and I have inherited a number of raised beds alongside the allotment plot. I'm hoping that this will mean I can create beds with different types of soil for different pants. Good idea to keep a record as my memory is terrible and also goo tip about the F1 seeds as I don't like growing anything that I can't gather seeds from. I have a few apple trees and plan on making a lot of apple sauce. My hubby can't eat eggs and apple sauce is a great substitute when it comes to making cakes. I will also try and keep enough to try some wine.
 
Barbara said:
Another fan of no dig - mainly due to laziness. Have you thought of planting fruit aswell? We have currants, gooseberries and raspberries which look after themselves most of the year, but need protection from birds. As for wine, l have blackberry ready for bottling and elderberry still fermenting. Do hops grow in Cumbria? l've never tried them as l thought they were a southern plant.
Click to expand...

I think you can grow hops in Cumbria because I read that Keswick Brewery are growing them. They make the point that they must be an English variety though http://keswickbrewery.co.uk/hops Either way I intend to give them a go and have a sheltered plot with their name on. My philosophy is that they will either grow or they won't and it's worth a try. I have red/black currants, gooseberry and raspberry canes from last year. I trimmed the latter back and so hoping I haven't killed them.
 
For those thinking of making raised beds, have you heard of hugelkulture? You can google how to do it, we adapted it using a lot of brash from the tree cutting down. Put it in the bottom of the bed and cover with compost or mole hills or well rotted manure or soil. It helps drainage and provides a long term supply of nutrients as the brash/wood breaks down. Works really well.
 
38thfoot said:
Saw an article about someone who created his garden out of hollowed out straw bales which he then moved house with. They then rotted down and became the mulch for his new garden the following year. Think he had to add nitrogen by collecting his urine which is the epitome of recycling.

38
Click to expand...

That's a novel idea for a raised bed! I googled and found this page https://bonnieplants.com/library/how-to-make-a-raised-bed-from-bales-of-straw/ It seems you can fill the bed with soil or pant directly into a bale. This link talks you through growing bell peppers in a bale. I may have to try this just for the novelty value! https://bonnieplants.com/library/how-to-condition-and-plant-a-bale-of-straw/
 
hodgson said:
For those thinking of making raised beds, have you heard of hugelkulture? You can google how to do it, we adapted it using a lot of brash from the tree cutting down. Put it in the bottom of the bed and cover with compost or mole hills or well rotted manure or soil. It helps drainage and provides a long term supply of nutrients as the brash/wood breaks down. Works really well.
Click to expand...

I found a link, is this what you mean? https://www.permaculture.co.uk/articles/many-benefits-hugelkultur

This is a great idea for me because the wind can be really strong and plants that grow on the sheltered side are going to do better I imagine.
 
hodgson said:
For those thinking of making raised beds, have you heard of hugelkulture? You can google how to do it, we adapted it using a lot of brash from the tree cutting down. Put it in the bottom of the bed and cover with compost or mole hills or well rotted manure or soil. It helps drainage and provides a long term supply of nutrients as the brash/wood breaks down. Works really well.
Click to expand...
I'm guessing the buried twigs amongst the logs would also act like a culture/medium for spreading beneficial fungi through soil that has been disturbed. These fungi not only break down old plant matter but help distribute nutrients.
 
Last edited:
Importantly, if you use fresh willow or cherry in the base of a hugelkulture clamp it will likely root and send out suckers all over your veg plot.
 
I just threw everything in the bottom of a couple of new raised beds, filling them can be daunting. I made sure that the crops I planted that first year were shallow rooted and now I just plant anything in there. I didn't get any suckers
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top