Comments on: ‘Bastard Trenching’ – I get it

By: eddie

eddie — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 00:35:42 +0000

My allotment frequntly throws up clay pipe stems when dug 2 feet deep. Cultivated for over 110 years I decided to see how deep the ‘usable soil’ was. gave up after 3 feet. At Wellesborne many years ago saw lettuce plants with a root run of 15 feet. Dig or not the deeper the fertile ground can only be better.

By: My Tiny Plot » Blog Archive » Dig Life into Your Soil

My Tiny Plot » Blog Archive » Dig Life into Your Soil — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 12:59:52 +0000

[...] here at mtp. Surely a travesty. The only reference I could find was this short post on ‘Bastard Trenching’. I know everyone has a different digging regime but here at mtp it usually goes a little like this. [...]

By: mtp

mtp — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 14:59:31 +0000

Thanks for the advice Ginge. I think I’ll give it a go this year and see how it works out for us. I’m not saying that BT is the best option – just that I recently found out what it is and so thought I’d give it a shot.

By: Gingerhev

Gingerhev — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 10:21:44 +0000

Hello all, just googled and came up with this site – good show!
I’ve had my 2 allotments down here in Dorset for 7 or so years now and attempted bastard trenching then realised what a back-breaking waste of time it was.
Rotation is a good way of sorting your soil depth and cultivation e.g. in your shallow cultivated soils grow your shallow-rooted plants and your runner beans for which you HAVE to dig a trench and fill with kitchen waste, newspaper etc don’t you? Plant potatoes in most of the rest helping to break down the deeper soil. Annual flowers for cutting don’t mind shallow soil either – do you see where I’m going with this?
The following year you’ve got a lovely deep bit where your beans were AND you’ve left the nitrogen-rich roots to dig in haven’t you! So blah blah blah rotate and the work is done for you!

By: mtp

mtp — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 11:04:53 +0000

Thanks Mel – I’m always interested to try new things (and learn old ways) so I think I might try ‘no-digging’ on one part of mtp and see how it goes.

By: Mel

Mel — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 19:56:51 +0000

When I took over my allotment it was full of dpee-rooted weeds, and when I dug them out I found all kinds of rubble, glass and loads of other junk in the subsoil. So we needed some serious digging to get the ground into a state where it could be cultivated. This is true even when you take a no-dig approach. It doesn’t mean “never dig”, just “don’t dig every year”. There’s a bit of a puritanical tendancy to assume that more digging is better. One allotmenteer I know boasts that she triple-digs every inch of her plot. Well she’s bonkers. Digging upsets the natural structure of soil. So it’s a good thing to do when your ground is compacted or full of junk but once you’ve got it clear then just fling compost or manure on top, maybe work it into the topsoil a little with a fork if you want, but mostly leave it for the worms.

By: Luke

Luke — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 21:31:01 +0000

Thanks, that helps. My plot was like a scene from Jurassic Park with all sorts of vegetation just a while back. Realistically, a bit of digging will still be needed a while yet. As for bastard digging….if you want a bash at my patch then let me know!

By: mtp

mtp — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 11:28:30 +0000

Hi Luke – I don’t know anything about no-dig as I haven’t tried it yet but Wikipedia seems to know something. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No-dig_gardening

And ‘shock horror’- our very own W E Shelwell-Cooper is listed as the ‘pioneer’ of no-digging. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shewell_Cooper
Well knock me down…

By: Luke

Luke — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 22:14:52 +0000

hi matron, quick question because I am just starting out. If you don’t dig and you pile compost on top all the time, don’t the beds end up really high? I can imagine my veg rolling out of bed ….because the little one said!…you know? I took on a plot in Barnet, n. london last autumn and dug most of it in time for some frost but it was hard work and the thought of double digging seems a lot of trouble to go to if it’s not as good as your no-dig strategy.

Great site this! Well done. It’s lovely.

By: ObeseVegan

ObeseVegan — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 14:07:29 +0000

I would recommend, no-dig gardening to everyone. Have a wiki on permaculture and check out no-dig. Its what the guys on “it’s Not easy being green” programme used.

Check out http://www.safecom.org.au/permaculture.htm

That’s a good starting point :)

On another note, I would love to see your blog in book form one day… it is an invaluable journal of knowledge for newbies like me!