No Dig Gardening. 24th August 2018

A friend of mine and I decided to visit each others allotments one day last week. It’s always interesting to see what others are growing and how they work their allotment but I hadn’t realised that she is in to no dig gardening which is something that I have been keen on for years. The idea behind it is that the soil is alive with bacteria and it is these bacteria that help the plants uptake vitamins and minerals. It’s similar to our gut flora which are so important in enabling our bodies to digest nutrients.

Sally has learned her techniques for a guy called Charles Dowding who has lots of You tube videos as well as books on no dig gardening. She even grew potatoes by placing them on top of the earth and covering them with straw, soil and compost. They not only grew well but were much easier to harvest than traditionally planted potatoes. Hopefully I can persuade my husband to have a try next year. Generally we disturb the soil as little as possible but I hadn’t realised until last week that potatoes could be grown that way.

The allotment is still being fruitful and we are picking masses of courgettes, beetroot and chard plus lots of raspberries and blackberries. The blackberries I’m scrumping from a deserted plot as it seems a shame to let them rot on the bushes. I’m putting lots down in the freezer for winter use so we will be able to have some organic berries most days with our breakfast. The french beans are almost over but the runner beans which haven’t enjoyed the hot weather are starting to produce at last and are covered with flowers. There is still time for them to grow and ripen so we should be able to continue eating beans for another month or so. Happy days!