Deal With IT's Secretary Victoria Nicholls writes a regular column in the East Kent Mercury: Do you still dig your vegetable garden? Tradition seems to
dictate that we must dig over our vegetable plot before we can sow seeds or
plant seedlings next year. Most vegetables will be more successful if you adopt
a no-dig policy.
There are many advantages with this method, not least the
fact that there is less back breaking work which saves time and other great
benefits such as fewer weeds in spring and less slug damage to seedlings in
undug beds.
The long term health of the soil can be improved by adopting
the no-dig method of growing. Worms and fungi which are beneficial are
encouraged to do their work uninterrupted by our interference. This means that
the soil is better aerated so that plants are able to access soil nutrients.
Charles Darwin spent many hours watching earthworms which he regarded as
nature's gardeners. Digging the soil turns their world upside down and limits
their work.
So how do we achieve our no-dig vegetables? The most
important thing that you can do now as your garden is coming to the end of the
growing season is to clear your beds of the end of the harvests and any weeds
you have and then spread two inches of compost as a mulch over the soil. Your
worms will enjoy their job of dragging down the new compost and creating a fine
tilth for you to sow and plant next spring. It really is as easy as that - try
it and see.
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