Why do some people use no – dig?
No – dig is an increasingly popular way to cultivate ones land. It is thought to be more ecologically friendly than traditional methods. Traditional methods certainly work, but come at a price. The classic example used to demonstrate the cost of digging ones soil is two boxes of soil, with a drainage pipe near the bottom. One is covered in vegetation the other is bare. When water is poured over each box the water from the box with vegetation comes out clear. The box without vegetation the water is dirty. Bare soil does not normally occur in nature and leads to erosion of the topsoil. The fertile layer that we rely on to grow our crops, the layer that takes two to 400 years to for one centimeter to be replaced. The subsoil underneath is not fertile, modern farming practices are losing the top soil at an alarming rate, it has been said that we have about 60 harvests left before we lose our topsoil.
No – dig keeps the soil covered with a mulch reducing erosion. Cover crops can also help reducing erosion as well as improving your soil.
The life blood of your soil is your top soil, its where all the interesting things are happening that affect the health of your plants. 90% of successful gardening is your soil. The soil has its own ecosystem that we are just beginning to understand. Much is still not known about it, however it is teaming with life all interacting and recycling their resources.
The soil is full of bacteria, some we do not know what their role is yet. Others we do. The plant forms sugar from sunlight and water. The plant excretes from its roots up to about 80% of the sugars and organic acids it has made. The bacteria use these carbon based chemicals as a food source. The plant will excrete more sugars into the soil when it has a need for nitrogen, phosphorus, or potassium. There is good reason why it does this, we have nitrifying bacteria living in a symbiotic nature with plants, and the root nodules on the legume family are full of these bacteria. The bacteria capture nitrogen from the air converting it into a form that the plants can and do use, other bacteria breakdown organic matter releasing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium to feed the plant. The same relationship occurs with other bacteria which breakdown rock to release potassium and phosphate converting it into a form that the plant can use.
These bacteria like to live at different depths in the soil, digging the soil will mix the soil and the bacteria will not do well for a while and need to recolonize the soil where they like to be. One reason people prefer to follow no – dig.
The plant also passes the carbon based chemicals made from the sugar it makes to mycorrhizal fungi. The plant can only absorb minerals and water close to its roots. It feeds these slow growing fungi because their hyphae can spread a very long way. These hyphae transport water and minerals from far away. The fungi actually tap into the plants roots so that the plant has all this literally on tap, in exchange for the sugars.
These fungi are slow growing, digging the soil will break them apart. It will take them more than a year to repair, so annual digging is bad news for this conveyer belt food source. Which is another reason often quoted to follow no – dig.
The mulch on the surface acts as a water retentive layer which the earthworms can pull down into the soil, leaving their nutrient rich worm casts and a nutrient rich lining to their holes, which allows air and water to penetrate into the soil. It simulates nature and it’s much easier to encourage nature rather than work against her. Some worms mainly the worms that pull organic matter down vertical holes which penetrate deep into the soil, do not like soil disturbance. No – dig is very much about improving your soil, improving and not destroying its structure, and beneficial organisms. To achieve this you have to work with nature and look after all the microorganisms, to bring your soil to a high state of fertility for your plants.
Mulching your soil without digging with properly composted organic matter means less watering and less weeding in the summer. Less weeding because you only have to weed out the weeds grown from seeds near the surface, compost that has been composted hot has few weed seeds. However it has the downside of requiring an awful lot of mulching material, so you are probably still digging, but digging out manure etc. It does however also produce good results, my crops have doubled in two years and is ecofriendly.
Things to do in February
Chit potatoes in a cool but frost free place where they get some light but not direct sunlight.
Februarys a difficult month for sowing as it can be too cold and wet for the seed and they rot. Save some of your seed for March if you decide to take a chance, the reward is an earlier harvest.
If the weather allows, you can direct sow your broad beans in February along with early peas such as Feltham First and Meteor for a May / June harvest. This early in the year your best chance would be to start your peas/beans in the greenhouse or a coldframe and plant later. Peas sown this early will avoid the pea moth the cause of caterpillars in your pea pods.
If you have some guttering and room in the greenhouse you can sow the peas in guttering, then when the plants are big enough slide the pea plants off the guttering into the ground.
You have a better chance with broad beans if you sow in modules which have at least 2 inches depth of potting compost.
You can direct sow parsnips now but it will probably be too cold and wet and better to wait till March.
Jerusalem artichokes and shallots can be planted now, Shallots under a cloche is better. Have cloche in place 2 weeks before to warm the soil.
Under Cover Greenhouse Polytunnel
Sow your summer cabbages such as Greyhound and Primo, as well as turnips, spinach, lettuce, rocket, radish and onion seeds
With gentle heat to germinate the seeds and good light sow aubergine and peppers, chillies and tomatoes and celeriac. Remember to remove that heat once germinated to avoid leggy plants, keep them cool but not cold.
If you have an incubator, grow lights and a well-lit not too warm but not too cold position you can often use the propagator to start seeds off a month earlier than that stated on seed packets. Remove seedlings as soon as they germinate or they will become leggy. Then use the grow-lights to extend the light after dusk. You need to keep the plants just warm enough to keep growing well but not too warm as it will make the plants leggy. Many plants have a set number of weeks between germination and harvesting, so you must keep them growing to get a good harvest.
This requires a lot of space after you pot up, the plants will be quite large by the time you plant them out after the last frost in mid-May.
Kevin
No – dig is an increasingly popular way to cultivate ones land. It is thought to be more ecologically friendly than traditional methods. Traditional methods certainly work, but come at a price. The classic example used to demonstrate the cost of digging ones soil is two boxes of soil, with a drainage pipe near the bottom. One is covered in vegetation the other is bare. When water is poured over each box the water from the box with vegetation comes out clear. The box without vegetation the water is dirty. Bare soil does not normally occur in nature and leads to erosion of the topsoil. The fertile layer that we rely on to grow our crops, the layer that takes two to 400 years to for one centimeter to be replaced. The subsoil underneath is not fertile, modern farming practices are losing the top soil at an alarming rate, it has been said that we have about 60 harvests left before we lose our topsoil.
No – dig keeps the soil covered with a mulch reducing erosion. Cover crops can also help reducing erosion as well as improving your soil.
The life blood of your soil is your top soil, its where all the interesting things are happening that affect the health of your plants. 90% of successful gardening is your soil. The soil has its own ecosystem that we are just beginning to understand. Much is still not known about it, however it is teaming with life all interacting and recycling their resources.
The soil is full of bacteria, some we do not know what their role is yet. Others we do. The plant forms sugar from sunlight and water. The plant excretes from its roots up to about 80% of the sugars and organic acids it has made. The bacteria use these carbon based chemicals as a food source. The plant will excrete more sugars into the soil when it has a need for nitrogen, phosphorus, or potassium. There is good reason why it does this, we have nitrifying bacteria living in a symbiotic nature with plants, and the root nodules on the legume family are full of these bacteria. The bacteria capture nitrogen from the air converting it into a form that the plants can and do use, other bacteria breakdown organic matter releasing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium to feed the plant. The same relationship occurs with other bacteria which breakdown rock to release potassium and phosphate converting it into a form that the plant can use.
These bacteria like to live at different depths in the soil, digging the soil will mix the soil and the bacteria will not do well for a while and need to recolonize the soil where they like to be. One reason people prefer to follow no – dig.
The plant also passes the carbon based chemicals made from the sugar it makes to mycorrhizal fungi. The plant can only absorb minerals and water close to its roots. It feeds these slow growing fungi because their hyphae can spread a very long way. These hyphae transport water and minerals from far away. The fungi actually tap into the plants roots so that the plant has all this literally on tap, in exchange for the sugars.
These fungi are slow growing, digging the soil will break them apart. It will take them more than a year to repair, so annual digging is bad news for this conveyer belt food source. Which is another reason often quoted to follow no – dig.
The mulch on the surface acts as a water retentive layer which the earthworms can pull down into the soil, leaving their nutrient rich worm casts and a nutrient rich lining to their holes, which allows air and water to penetrate into the soil. It simulates nature and it’s much easier to encourage nature rather than work against her. Some worms mainly the worms that pull organic matter down vertical holes which penetrate deep into the soil, do not like soil disturbance. No – dig is very much about improving your soil, improving and not destroying its structure, and beneficial organisms. To achieve this you have to work with nature and look after all the microorganisms, to bring your soil to a high state of fertility for your plants.
Mulching your soil without digging with properly composted organic matter means less watering and less weeding in the summer. Less weeding because you only have to weed out the weeds grown from seeds near the surface, compost that has been composted hot has few weed seeds. However it has the downside of requiring an awful lot of mulching material, so you are probably still digging, but digging out manure etc. It does however also produce good results, my crops have doubled in two years and is ecofriendly.
Things to do in February
Chit potatoes in a cool but frost free place where they get some light but not direct sunlight.
Februarys a difficult month for sowing as it can be too cold and wet for the seed and they rot. Save some of your seed for March if you decide to take a chance, the reward is an earlier harvest.
If the weather allows, you can direct sow your broad beans in February along with early peas such as Feltham First and Meteor for a May / June harvest. This early in the year your best chance would be to start your peas/beans in the greenhouse or a coldframe and plant later. Peas sown this early will avoid the pea moth the cause of caterpillars in your pea pods.
If you have some guttering and room in the greenhouse you can sow the peas in guttering, then when the plants are big enough slide the pea plants off the guttering into the ground.
You have a better chance with broad beans if you sow in modules which have at least 2 inches depth of potting compost.
You can direct sow parsnips now but it will probably be too cold and wet and better to wait till March.
Jerusalem artichokes and shallots can be planted now, Shallots under a cloche is better. Have cloche in place 2 weeks before to warm the soil.
Under Cover Greenhouse Polytunnel
Sow your summer cabbages such as Greyhound and Primo, as well as turnips, spinach, lettuce, rocket, radish and onion seeds
With gentle heat to germinate the seeds and good light sow aubergine and peppers, chillies and tomatoes and celeriac. Remember to remove that heat once germinated to avoid leggy plants, keep them cool but not cold.
If you have an incubator, grow lights and a well-lit not too warm but not too cold position you can often use the propagator to start seeds off a month earlier than that stated on seed packets. Remove seedlings as soon as they germinate or they will become leggy. Then use the grow-lights to extend the light after dusk. You need to keep the plants just warm enough to keep growing well but not too warm as it will make the plants leggy. Many plants have a set number of weeks between germination and harvesting, so you must keep them growing to get a good harvest.
This requires a lot of space after you pot up, the plants will be quite large by the time you plant them out after the last frost in mid-May.
Kevin