By Anne Akers
I’ve been doing some digging, research digging that is. It turns out that back-breaking digging isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, in fact it might be bad for the soil.
Writing in Gardens Illustrated (December 2023) ecologist Ken Thompson says digging destroys nutrients and upsets the sticky string of fungal ‘roots’ – the mycorrhizal network to give it its Sunday name.
Well, I didn’t need telling twice, if digging’s bad for the soil, I’ll keep it to a minimum – and avoid back ache!
This year I’ve created more no-dig beds with the help of our newly-re-opened library in Calverley.
The new noticeboards there came in massive cardboard boxes which were too big for the bins, so they were just propped up outside.
I asked if I could have them for my allotment to make more beds, of course they said yes.
The no-dig beds are made by covering the soil with cardboard, a double layer if possible, then a few centimetres of compost.
The cardboard stops weeds taking hold while the crops grow, it works very well, though it does use a lot of compost!
Covering the allotment with no-dig beds is far too costly to do, so I use them for crops with shallower roots. Potatoes need to be planted to a lot more depth, which would usually involve a lot of digging.
So armed with my research, I decided that rather than dig the trenches I’d make holes with my bulb planter and drop the chitted potatoes in, disturbing the sticky string as little as possible. I’ll report back on progress!
Elsewhere, the greenhouse is doing all the work ready for their new home on the allotment when the plants are bigger, that’s cabbage, sprouts, peas and beans.
My broad beans went straight into the ground, much to the delight of the mice, who’ve helped themselves to a few already. The onion and shallots are already growing so well I’ve had to cover them with insect mesh. It’s a faff, but it saves the crop!
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