We learned a
lot from observing and reflecting on the practices of Charles Dowding in
Somerset. As well as being useful on our plots these tips might be helpful for
those stakeholders who have gardens at home.
New ground coming into cultivation - the
NO-DIG method.
If you have
a weedy patch (like a new allotment or neglected area) that you wish to bring
into cultivation, rather than put in lots of effort into digging and weeding
why not follow Dowding method? First spread a thin layer of spent hops to
encourage the worms. [If you can't get spent hops, why not try a mixture of
grass cuttings and pondweed?]. Then cover with large sheets of cardboard (from
bike shops or supermarkets). Put a 3 in
layer of spent hops on top of the cardboard. Monitor for 6 months and hoe off
any weeds that make it through the cardboard
If you began
this process in the autumn by late May/June you can plant pre sown plants
through the hops and cardboard - plants such as courgettes, squash, pumpkins - to
get an autumn harvest.
Following on from this you can monitor
for weeds through the next winter. Then the following Spring rake away what is
left of the hops and cardboard and put on the compost heap. Pull out any
persistent weeds. Cover with a 1in layer of compost and its ready for a normal season
of sowing. Again you don't have to dig, just plant in modules grown in the
polytunnel.
Weeding in a standard
plot - the NO-DIG method
You need to keep on
top of weeds. Ideally take them out when they have just germinated and are
small. Dowding does 2-3 "weed strikes" in March and April using a
swivel/oscillating hoe in the surface compost, to kill small seedlings. If you miss them in April pull them up
whenever you spot them on your plot. Don't ignore the weeds on your plot even
if you are concentrating on a different crop in a different area. You really
shouldn't have weeds that are flowering on your plot. If you let them set seed
you are building up problems for your team in subsequent years.
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| Notice the organic matter in the mulch that has been added and the weed free nature of the soil |
Edges - the NO-DIG method
Keeping on
top of edges is more work for Dowding than weeding. He has a good sized valley
at the edge of the footpath to prevent the bindweed and couch grass creeping in
from the path. He trims the edges every 3-4 weeks with long handled shears and
removes the clippings. Adjacent to his polytunnels he has an edge about 50 cm
away from the polytunnel and keeps it clear of weed by growing quick growing lettuce
or radish there to ensure that he is weeding these areas and preventing couch
and bindweed getting into the polytunnel.
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| Notice how Dowding clears the weeds and grass from the edges of his polytunnel and keep the weeds down by growing quick maturing vegetables |
Pests -- the NO-DIG
method
According to Dowding slugs like rotting brassica leaves because
they contain a form of alcohol. (That is why beer traps work!). Minimise slug habitat
by keeping path edges short and neat and removing lower leaves of brassicas
before they yellow. Dowding claims that alcohol is a by-product of anaerobic
fermentation which develops when organic matter breaks down in the fairly
anaerobic conditions of dug soils. He claims that no dig helps reduce the
amount of alcohol in the soil (which is what the slugs like) because all the
organic matter breaks down on the surface where there is more oxygen and none
is dug into the soil.
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| By removing the older leaves from the Cavolo Nero there is nothing breaking down which would provide alcohol for slugs and so they are almost absent from no-dig beds |
Please let all of us know if you are going to try any of
these NO-DIG methods on your plot.
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