Hi everyone I went back to the plots this morning. I used the society roatavator, but as the wind and sun has already made the top dry with a hard crust, it was a real fight, a bit how I imagine dealing with a bucking bronco. Hope my hands and forearms recover soon, long term I might have to consider no dig beds, but I have tried them before with little success.
You have to be patient with no dig @Allotment Boy. Clear as many roots of perennial weeds as you can find then rake it all level, cover with cardboard and then a thick pile of mulch. That's best done in autumn as the cardboard needs a thorough wetting for veggie plants to get their roots down and you still have to hoe volunteer weeds from seeds in the mulch or blown in.
After a couple of years there should be a marked improvement in fertility and moisture retention. We started on ours just 18 months ago so I'll let you know.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
@Obelixx yes I have tried a couple of beds before, starting with cardboard as you say. I think my issue is not enough compost to mulch as the beds I tried before ended up compacted like concrete. We are on quite heavy clay. The thing I have noted though is it may be less heavy work not digging, but a lot of that is replaced with making, moving and spreading all the compost that seems to be required. Interested in any further experience.
OH does all the compost stuff @Allotment Boy. He has a rotavator too but it was "his idea" to go No Dig. In fact I suggested it from the start for our potager but he had other ideas until one of his golf pals talked about No Dig and suddenly it was all OH's idea. I just have to supervise.
The first time he got it completely wrong on his own - left all teh staples and plastic tape on our moving boxes when he flattened them, didn't wet them and didn't use enough compost and then, when it went wrong, he rotavated it? Bits of plastic tape all over the show. Now we're doing it my way.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
Posts
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
After a couple of years there should be a marked improvement in fertility and moisture retention. We started on ours just 18 months ago so I'll let you know.
The first time he got it completely wrong on his own - left all teh staples and plastic tape on our moving boxes when he flattened them, didn't wet them and didn't use enough compost and then, when it went wrong, he rotavated it? Bits of plastic tape all over the show. Now we're doing it my way.
Grandchild No3 due on Sept 22nd
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.