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Anyone use Charles Dowding no dig system?

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  • #1

    Anyone use Charles Dowding no dig system?

    A couple of plot holders on our allotments use the no-dig system and I would like to go the same way. Next week I'm going to mark out beds and paths.

    However, I have some patches of grass at the far end of my allotment and wanted some advice on how to get rid of it. I know Charles Dowding talks about mulching but I'm going to be honest and say I don't really know what mulching means! He also talks about using black plastic sheeting, cardboard, green waste, compost, manure... help! I'm so confused by it all.

    If you look at this photo you can see the grass at the side of the dug bed at the top of the allotment and then all the way up to the tree. It's mostly covered with grass and some kind of weeds. Is this suitable for mulching?

    http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z...psf69f2b0d.jpg

    Behind the tree is a right mess. We have chopped down loads of brambles to about a foot high and I was considering spraying with weedkiller regularly over the summer. This is going to become my working area with a shed and compost bins. It will also have the more permanent crops such as raspberries, rhubarb, strawberries etc. I'm not looking to plant here until the autumn at the earliest. Is it possible to "mulch" brambles or should I start with weedkiller?

    Any advice, particularly bearing in mind I plan to go no-dig, would be appreciated.

    Thank you.
    Last edited by Likac66; 04-03-2013, 10:20 PM.
    Likac66

    Living in her own purple world

    Loving gardening, reading, knitting and crochet.
    Tags: dowding, nodig
  • #2
    I have raised beds and mulch now that we are on top of the couch grass. I also grow green manures. People mulch with newspaper, brown cardboard (Halfords bike boxes), grass clippings, muck and/or compost. Black sheet is to kill off weed and some people plant through black plastic.
    You need to borrow my book
    If it was me I would not use weed killer.
    Last edited by VirginVegGrower; 04-03-2013, 11:06 PM.
    Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better...Albert Einstein

    Blog - @Twotheridge: For The Record - Sowing and Growing with a Virgin Veg Grower: Spring Has Now Sprung...Boing! http://vvgsowingandgrowing2012.blogs....html?spref=tw

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    • #3
      I'd dig that grass out, then mulch and go no-dig. Same with the brambles, cut them down and dig them out. Hard work, yes, but the rest of your plot looks great, so just do that extra bit and you'll be all set up. I wouldn't use weedkiller either - you want to be sure that what you're going to eat is free from any chemical residues.

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      • #4
        To add to what people have said, mulching is simply covering an area with 'something'. This deprives what is there of light and (should) cause it to die.

        This is why you can mulch with anything non-transparent. Manure, cardboard can also then be dug (no-dig?) into the soil. Black plastic, not so much, obviously

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        • #5
          Originally posted by Zenithtb View Post
          To add to what people have said, mulching is simply covering an area with 'something'. This deprives what is there of light and (should) cause it to die.
          That is always provided you totally cover what is growing there . A light covering with weeds poking through won't cut the mustard.

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          • #6
            My back does not agree with digging so I tend to hoe more than anything. I'm trying something new (to me) this year to see how it goes.

            http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...per_69465.html
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            • #7
              2013 Earth to Alys Fowler - springing into action on the allotment:Video:1396459 - YouTube

              hopefully this link works, watched it the other day on youtube Alys Fowler talk of Lasagna gardening (using mulching) very interest.

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              • #8
                You should check out supersprout's thread: http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ment_5573.html

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by Linzy View Post
                  2013 Earth to Alys Fowler - springing into action on the allotment:Video:1396459 - YouTube

                  hopefully this link works, watched it the other day on youtube Alys Fowler talk of Lasagna gardening (using mulching) very interest.
                  As much as I like Alys, Two_Sheds is our resident lasagna lady, IMHO!

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                  • #10
                    We just put cardboard or newspaper over the grass/weeds, then put hay on that, compost or top soil on that and then more hay. We don't dig.
                    Had problems this year with tomatoes, but not last year. This year was particularly hot and dry, but also this year we used newspapernot cardboard, so I think that was the problem there. Need to get much higher level on the paper for the tomatoes to go into.

                    TBH I don't see the point of digging out all the grass and stuff, then mulching, and then starting no dig. You've already done all the hard work so why bother. We are finding that the ground under the new no dig gardens is just great. All the stuff on top makes it wet, and dark, and the worms love it.

                    I think I'd probably either dig out the brambles, or cut them to the ground and then cover with cardboard and no dig on top. You can see what we did with our first garden last year on my profile.
                    Ali

                    My blog: feral007.com/countrylife/

                    Some days it's hardly worth chewing through the restraints!

                    One bit of old folklore wisdom says to plant tomatoes when the soil is warm enough to sit on with bare buttocks. In surburban areas, use the back of your wrist. Jackie French

                    Member of the Eastern Branch of the Darn Under Nutter's Club

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by chris View Post
                      You should check out supersprout's thread: http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ment_5573.html
                      That's just what I was going to say

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                      • #12
                        Great minds, n something or other!

                        or, early bird catches the worm?

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Linzy View Post
                          2013 Earth to Alys Fowler - springing into action on the allotment:Video:1396459 - YouTube

                          hopefully this link works, watched it the other day on youtube Alys Fowler talk of Lasagna gardening (using mulching) very interest.

                          It's at 6mins in

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Likac66 View Post
                            I don't really know what mulching means!
                            A mulch is a cover for the soil.

                            It can be made of various materials (card, paper, tarp etc) or even be a living mulch (plants). The whole point is to NEVER have any bare soil. If you do, you will have weeds.


                            I mulched my grass weeds today, with wet newspapers held down by sacks of autumn leafmould. tbh, once the wet paper has dried into a thick papier mache layer, it doesn't blow about anyway.
                            All gardeners know better than other gardeners." -- Chinese Proverb.

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by chris View Post
                              Great minds, n something or other!

                              or, early bird catches the worm?
                              You two and your timing! Could it get any better?

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