No Dig

I regurgitate the news

Hi everyone.

I've looked on youtube at results for No dig gardening where you add a layer of compost on top and do not disturb the soil underneath.

I haven't really tried this but I was thinking about it this year.

Has anyone had success with this method? Would you need to have the compost down already or is it ok to do it just before sowing?

Graces7

As I cannot dig I use this way very effectively

But it needs to be started in autumn or earlier if a new patch. I layer all cardboard that comes in and all vegetable waste atop all autumn and winter. Old tyres or rocks to weight it down

I have a new patch started last autumn covered and loaded with a winter's worth of compostable stuff. It will be seeded this spring.

Try covering now? But a solid layer under the mulch. eg cardboard. To prevent anything underneath from growing. It will rot down gently.

NB there are many variations on this. The aim is to stop anything growing through like grass, weeds etc. When years ago, I had a polytunnel in where I lived then I covered everything. I had a load of manure from a local farmer atop cardboard . It subdued everything permanently except a few reeds.

macraignil

I posted a few videos of my attempt at using the no-dig technique for a vegetable plot started last spring and you can see them here. It does require a good amount of good compost to work and cardboard under that does help keep the weeds from going through.

Happy gardening!

I regurgitate the news

macraignil wrote: »

I posted a few videos of my attempt at using the no-dig technique for a vegetable plot started last spring and you can see them here. It does require a good amount of good compost to work and cardboard under that does help keep the weeds from going through.

Happy gardening!

You have a lot of manure there. Looks good. Did you do anything different this year and would you think it makes a big difference?

macraignil

I regurgitate the news wrote: »

You have a lot of manure there. Looks good. Did you do anything different this year and would you think it makes a big difference?

The plot in the video clips was only started last April and we are only about 6weeks into this year so I'm not able to make comparisons between the two years. I have used similar methods to extend the vegetable plot and make some decorative growing areas a bit bigger as I have got some new seeds to try this year and will need more growing space but it's a bit cold to be planting anything in the new areas yet. Have used some cardboard in places this year as I had some to use but as mentioned it's too early to say how this would compare with what I did in new areas last year.

I regurgitate the news

I'm going to give it a go even at this late stage. I'll prob try spuds myself and see how it works out

Hocus Focus

Graces7 wrote: »

As I cannot dig I use this way very effectively

But it needs to be started in autumn or earlier if a new patch. I layer all cardboard that comes in and all vegetable waste atop all autumn and winter. Old tyres or rocks to weight it down

I have a new patch started last autumn covered and loaded with a winter's worth of compostable stuff. It will be seeded this spring.

Try covering now? But a solid layer under the mulch. eg cardboard. To prevent anything underneath from growing. It will rot down gently.

NB there are many variations on this. The aim is to stop anything growing through like grass, weeds etc. When years ago, I had a polytunnel in where I lived then I covered everything. I had a load of manure from a local farmer atop cardboard . It subdued everything permanently except a few reeds.

IMHO you would get better results by composting all your compostable stuff in a dedicated compost bin/enclosure/heap, as the temperatures will be higher and the material will break down quicker. You can also compost a weeds that have not gone to seed and chopped up hedge trimmings.There is plenty of info on composting techniques online.

Hocus Focus

This guy is a great authority on No-Dig. He has an archive of YouTube videos on the subject to which he regularly makes additions. He also runs courses, online currently, and in person when there is no pandemic
https://charlesdowding.co.uk/

SouthWesterly

Went no dig last year. Used cardboard and woodchips
Getting a load of compost in the next few weeks.

Garden is in better shape this year than last when it was covered in weeds.

Photo attached of part of it

pat2167

I've started no-dig last spring in the garden that hasn't been touched for about 15 years. The results are pretty good and the soil is def improving. In larger areas for new orchard and flower borders along a fence, I used cardboard, a layer of topsoil and cut grass as a mulch. I was picking tiny weeds today, took me only a few minutes

Graces7

Hocus Focus wrote: »

IMHO you would get better results by composting all your compostable stuff in a dedicated compost bin/enclosure/heap, as the temperatures will be higher and the material will break down quicker. You can also compost a weeds that have not gone to seed and chopped up hedge trimmings.There is plenty of info on composting techniques online.

Ah thank you but I am happy with my simpler long -established ways. Works well out here . Sorry; got cut off as internet went down.

I llike the goodness to leach slowly into the soil rather than top dressing later.

Graces7

I regurgitate the news wrote: »

I'm going to give it a go even at this late stage. I'll prob try spuds myself and see how it works out

Potatoes are not the easiest as they need covering as they grow. I have done it and indeed heeled potatoes in in rough grass with fair success as long as you keep an eye and keep them covered. Just lifted a sod with a trowel, popped the potato in and replaced the sod.

Maybe grow some cabbage seedlings to plant out, or peas? They will be perfect and do very very well. Broad beans!

youllbemine

I've veen learning how to grow vegetables for the past 7/8 years. Each year improving my knowledge and we gave it a right go last year year to the pandemic. Having come across Charles Dowding on YouTube, instead of digging all beds as usual last year I just threw compost on top of a few beds in the polytunnel and in some outside beds an experiment. It worked a treat with all the plants growing well and very little weeding. When I accidentally pulled some soil up while removing leeks over winter, the texture of our sandy soil had changed to a darker soil which must have been due to the organic matters added.

I have recently made 5 x 10m long x 0.75m wide beds (check out Richard Perkins on YouTube) piling 3 tonnes of 1 year old mushroom compost from a farmer friend of mine on top of cardboard which was placed directly onto grass (in situ for 25 years). I reckon some weeds/grass will come through but as we'll be working from home this year again, a few minutes of keeping on top of the weeding should keep the worst of the weeds at bay.

Having read extensively about no-dig over the past 12 months it seems to be a no-brainer. I can't see why people think digging/working the soil is a good idea. My gf is from a farm and they think I haven't a clue what I'm at as they're so used to the idea of tilling/ploughing ground. I really just hope I get a good crop this year or else there'll be a lot of "I told you so!".

With woodchip paths in between the 5x10m beds, I have to say it is very pleasant to look at. No permanent borders and the woodchip should do wonders for soil biology too. Only problem is the blackbirds seem to spend their time pecking at the woodchip in search of worms etc which then ends up on the beds. Very frustrating. Does anyone know of any methods to deter the birds from doing this?

If you can get tour hands on the volume of compost required, I'd say go for it! Just do whatever Charles Dowding say to do and you cant go wrong. He usually will mention in his videos when a certain plant was sowed/transplanted/harvested etc which helps with timing your succession planting.

I have gardening on and off for years.

Last year i moved into a new house and did no dig.

Put down cardboard and if you want to use this year heap up extra compost, stuff like carrots probably wouldnt work as the cardboard would stop it. But it would work on stuff like radish, lettuce, spring onions etc.

I am in the second year not and its so easy with no dig. I expect this year to be a lot better and should improve annually i would expect.

i got the module trays from fruithill farm and bought a dibbler in woodies. i need to find new woodchip that clearly defines my paths as i used bark mulch last year and its not easy now to define my boundaries

SouthWesterly

youllbemine wrote: »

I've veen learning how to grow vegetables for the past 7/8 years. Each year improving my knowledge and we gave it a right go last year year to the pandemic. Having come across Charles Dowding on YouTube, instead of digging all beds as usual last year I just threw compost on top of a few beds in the polytunnel and in some outside beds an experiment. It worked a treat with all the plants growing well and very little weeding. When I accidentally pulled some soil up while removing leeks over winter, the texture of our sandy soil had changed to a darker soil which must have been due to the organic matters added.

I have recently made 5 x 10m long x 0.75m wide beds (check out Richard Perkins on YouTube) piling 3 tonnes of 1 year old mushroom compost from a farmer friend of mine on top of cardboard which was placed directly onto grass (in situ for 25 years). I reckon some weeds/grass will come through but as we'll be working from home this year again, a few minutes of keeping on top of the weeding should keep the worst of the weeds at bay.

Having read extensively about no-dig over the past 12 months it seems to be a no-brainer. I can't see why people think digging/working the soil is a good idea. My gf is from a farm and they think I haven't a clue what I'm at as they're so used to the idea of tilling/ploughing ground. I really just hope I get a good crop this year or else there'll be a lot of "I told you so!".

With woodchip paths in between the 5x10m beds, I have to say it is very pleasant to look at. No permanent borders and the woodchip should do wonders for soil biology too. Only problem is the blackbirds seem to spend their time pecking at the woodchip in search of worms etc which then ends up on the beds. Very frustrating. Does anyone know of any methods to deter the birds from doing this?

If you can get tour hands on the volume of compost required, I'd say go for it! Just do whatever Charles Dowding say to do and you cant go wrong. He usually will mention in his videos when a certain plant was sowed/transplanted/harvested etc which helps with timing your succession planting.

Check out neversink Farm and the back to Eden project& movie.

I've adapted them both in the last 12 months. Néed to ordef 18 tons of compost this week. Hardly a weed to be seen this year compared to last year.

SouthWesterly

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I have gardening on and off for years.

Last year i moved into a new house and did no dig.

Put down cardboard and if you want to use this year heap up extra compost, stuff like carrots probably wouldnt work as the cardboard would stop it. But it would work on stuff like radish, lettuce, spring onions etc.

I am in the second year not and its so easy with no dig. I expect this year to be a lot better and should improve annually i would expect.

i got the module trays from fruithill farm and bought a dibbler in woodies. i need to find new woodchip that clearly defines my paths as i used bark mulch last year and its not easy now to define my boundaries

Find a local tree surgeon

scarepanda

SouthWesterly wrote: »

Check out neversink Farm and the back to Eden project& movie.

I've adapted them both in the last 12 months. Néed to ordef 18 tons of compost this week. Hardly a weed to be seen this year compared to last year.

Where do you get that much compost? Im thinking of ordering in bulk this year, not as much mind. But I'm starting from scratch.

B&Q are the cheapest locally for general compost and come in slightly cheaper/L than a bulk order from envirogrind. Biggest advantage to envirogrind is that I could order a bag or two and not have to worry about going in and out to the next town over.

OldRio

I've used this method for years. Works brilliantly.
I grow all my veg outside using nodig and also in the Polly tunnel.

My main advice is that you need a lot of compost at the start. I make my own compost using homemade 3 bay compost bins.
We also have horses and compost the manure and woodchip in a pile and turn it twice a year.
Takes about 18 months to rot down. Horses tend to poop out grass seed due to their digestive system therefore the manure pile needs to be hot to break down the seed.
A compost thermometer with a probe is handy.

Cardboard is easily sourced from the supermarket.
Woodchip from a tree surgeon.

I started by making a couple of raised beds and buying compost from a garden centre (Expensive) and gradually after about 12 years we're self sufficient for about 6 to 8 months of the year. (In veg and some meat)

As mentioned in some of the other excellent posts above Charles Dowding is the man to watch on YouTube. Excellent advice.

As someone who started his gardening with the traditional double dig approach this nodig is really a no brainer.
Good luck with it.

Bill Hook

No dig here as well, about 150m squared converted from lawn in 2019. Best bang for your buck compost-wise is probably spent mushroom compost. It cost me 45 euro for the compost and 50 euro for a local man (and his big trailer) to get me two loads of it. A big plus with mushroom compost is the lack of weed seeds.

I found that the hardest part of starting no-dig was gathering all the materials. I couldn't get enough cardboard so I just used the raked up grass from strimming an overgrown field laid directly on the lawn followed by a big load of farmyard manure (paid 50 euro to a not-so-local farmer to deliver it). I wanted organic farmyard manure but couldn't find any so had to make do with ordinary. The veg. garden is about 5m x 30m laid out in long beds (1m wide) with paths between. I covered the paths with straw (big mistake!) and topped the beds with mushroom compost.

I put cardboard down in the autumn on any bits that are showing weed problems (grass growing in from the lawn/field) and cover it with fallen leaves and so far it is working brilliantly.

I am hoping to maintain fertility by using green manures and making sufficient compost on site so that I don't have to bring in non-organic manure/compost again.

laoch na mona

SouthWesterly wrote: »

Check out neversink Farm and the back to Eden project& movie.

I've adapted them both in the last 12 months. Néed to ordef 18 tons of compost this week. Hardly a weed to be seen this year compared to last year.

Kiss the ground is another good movie, I only watched it last night. To be fair a lot of tillage formers are serioucly concerned about soil compaction now as well

scarepanda

laoch na mona wrote: »

Kiss the ground is another good movie, I only watched it last night. To be fair a lot of tillage formers are serioucly concerned about soil compaction now as well

Kiss the ground was very very good. Jeepers, the areas of the states shown are pure wastelands. The part towards the end where the farmer was on the boundary of his property and the stark difference between his and the neighbours was mad. My husband isn't into gardening or any of that stuff and even he watched it and thought it was good.

I only recently came across Richard Perkins. His channel is really good. I love the way everything in his set up is interlinked and self sufficient. My husband was giving me the 'are you half cracked' look the other day when i was saying how pretty his market garden is!

And it goes without saying that Charles Dowdings channel is brilliant. He makes it all so easy and achievable! And I don't feel like he tries to down play the initial expense of year 1 when you have to get so much compost and cardboard.

SouthWesterly

scarepanda wrote: »

Where do you get that much compost? Im thinking of ordering in bulk this year, not as much mind. But I'm starting from scratch.

B&Q are the cheapest locally for general compost and come in slightly cheaper/L than a bulk order from envirogrind. Biggest advantage to envirogrind is that I could order a bag or two and not have to worry about going in and out to the next town over.

I'm in kerry and found a local guy.

I've a quarter acre veg garden. Plus orchard.

laoch na mona

scarepanda wrote: »

I only recently came across Richard Perkins. His channel is really good. I love the way everything in his set up is interlinked and self sufficient. My husband was giving me the 'are you half cracked' look the other day when i was saying how pretty his market garden is!

And it goes without saying that Charles Dowdings channel is brilliant. He makes it all so easy and achievable! And I don't feel like he tries to down play the initial expense of year 1 when you have to get so much compost and cardboard.

I'd watch Pekins, his constant use of free labour in the form of interns as he calls them makes me a bit skeptical of the economics of what he's doing but from a land managment side of things he's great

scarepanda

laoch na mona wrote: »

I'd watch Pekins, his constant use of free labour in the form of interns as he calls them makes me a bit skeptical of the economics of what he's doing but from a land managment side of things he's great

This is very true alright. It's one way to keep costs down

SouthWesterly

scarepanda wrote: »

This is very true alright. It's one way to keep costs down

Dowding is the same. Interns and a couple of paid staff.
Saying that I've gone no dig on a large site.
Lots of hard work putting down woodchip which we are seeing thr benefit of this spring with virtually no weeds.

Wife spends a lot of time out there so credit to her.

Getting an 18 ton load of compost next week, if I get around to booking it so I can form permanent beds.

Graces7

Planning is everything.

Out here we are way behind inland areas also. I am going to use a full sized spare green dustbin for potatoes. Seaweed at the bottom, then the potatoes in hay.

I once way back had fresh potatoes year round in a corner of a polytunnel just buried in dry grass cuttings.

Digging is increasingly beyond me, and where I am there is only a very thin layer of earth before a layer of solid rock.

Carrots will be in a deep plastic container in compost.

Peas and broad beans and leafy greens are my mainstay . I am happy with that.