(bright music)
- One frequent comment I hear about no dig
is people saying something like,
"I couldn't do it, 'cause I can't get enough compost,"
and in this video, (birds chirping)
I want to explain to you how actually with no dig,
you need less compost than if you are digging,
or disturbing, or tilling,
and I can show you the evidence of that.
We've been doing some trials here, over nine, 10 years now,
trialling different amounts of compost,
and even using no compost at all,
and the understanding, the takeaway understanding
is that to grow great vegetables,
whether you're digging or not digging,
you need decent compost, or a decent amount,
but not a huge amount.
Actually, I would say, surprisingly little.
This is about organic growing, just to be clear,
so that means not using synthetic feeds or fertilisers,
so all the fertility is coming from the compost,
and just to define those two terms,
compost is anything decomposed.
It doesn't need to be perfect,
It can be lumpy a bit, it can have little bits of wood in.
I never sieve my compost when I'm spreading it here,
for example, so it's actually quite easy
in terms of spreading it and using it,
but there's work involved in making it, for sure.
That's actually really fun,
when you get into it, (compost falling)
and you might want to buy a bit at the beginning.
That's the bit which
involves using more compost, (pitchfork thumping)
and we learned that here, when we were starting out,
these, it's become a three-strip trial,
starting in 2013,
and there's Strip One, where in the first year,
we didn't put any compost at all,
but the soil was dug,
and then Strip Two also had no compost, and it's no dig,
and then there's a third strip where it was also no dig,
but with around five centimetre, two inches
of well rotted cow manure,
and then each strip had the same plantings,
and lo and behold, these two were not brilliant.
The two strips without any compost
gave 41 kilos from the dug one,
40 kilos from the no dig,
and 62 kilos from the strip, also no dig,
but with the five centimetre, two inches of compost on top,
and wow, 50% more vegetables from actually doing
not that much extra work.
It's worth it.
That's all I can say,
because something like that just shows night and day
you're doing the same amount of work sowing,
planting, transplanting,
caring for your vegetables, crop covers.
Watering, you're probably doing a bit less
because the compost holds moisture,
and then you're doing the same work harvesting,
but you're just filling your basket much more quickly,
all for that one initial application of compost.
Ongoing, we are running this trial now in a different way.
After seeing that in 2013,
I thought, hang on a minute,
it's time to put some compost on.
So the way what, we also stopped digging,
so these beds now, in Strip One,
every year, they get forked just to see
what effect that has.
So soil loosening, and the compost is on top,
and the same compost and the same amount of compost
is in Strip Two, on Strip Two, which is no dig.
So it's no dig, comparing to forking the soil,
and then Strip Three continues no dig,
and one difference there is that we continue
putting on cow manure, well rotted cow manure,
and the compost on Strips
One and Two (birds chirping)
is green waste compost that I buy
combined with some homemade compost,
or mushroom compost also bought,
so it's comparing composts as well.
And in a nutshell, the...
Firstly, in 2014, applying the compost,
the yields shot up here, went from 41 to 71.
Here, it went from 40 to 72, something like that,
and that one stayed pretty similar,
was very slightly less than these two,
but they were all really good.
And then in the third year, 2015,
the yields went up again, actually.
It was around 100 kilos in each of these strips,
just to give you an idea.
And over eight years now of doing this,
we've continued to get really good yields,
and the amount of compost we're putting on every year
is between three and five centimetres,
between one and two inches.
The measurement I'm giving there is it looks
like two inches, five centimetre when you put it on,
that looks a lot, then after some rain,
it settles to just over half of that,
so it's enough compost just to cover your soil.
That's all that's going on here.
It's going on two thirds of the area,
it's not going on the pathways,
the pathways receive mostly well rotted wood chip.
So whether you're digging or not digging,
I would say, to grow great vegetables, you need compost,
and with no dig, you need less compost
than if you're digging,
and we can see the results of that very clearly
in another trial that I'm running over here.
(bright music)
These two beds are fascinating.
It's a trial that's now in its 10th year, since 2012,
when I made the two beds. (birds chirping)
Actually, we used wooden sides at first,
and then two years ago, I took them off.
There were quite a few slugs building up,
but for the 10 years that I've been doing this,
and the 10th time I dug this bed last December,
so every December,
I get my spade out and dig a trench,
and put the compost in the trench,
and work my way back along the bed, doing that.
So the compost is around about 15 centimetre,
six inches down.
And then this bed has exactly the same amount
of compost simply placed on top,
so a big saving of time already,
and then we see what happens.
So the only difference is dig, no dig,
compost exactly the same,
two wheelbarrow fulls, in fact, is enough
for that bed and for that bed.
So two wheelbarrows, two wheelbarrows,
four altogether for this area.
And there's many take homes, actually,
from every every single harvest.
Every planting's the same,
every harvest is the same at the same time,
the amount of water given is the same,
and it's fascinating how varied.
So this one, for example, over the previous nine years,
first nine years, has given 855 kilos.
That's around 95 kilos every year of harvest,
kitchen-ready harvest that trimmed and ready to eat,
and this one, 953, so that's 105, 10% more.
10% more for doing a lot less.
And then other issues are this one grows
quite a few more weeds.
It's more difficult to water,
'cause you've got the soil on top, not the compost.
Little things, probably a shade more pest damage,
but actually, not a huge difference.
Both beds though, I must emphasise,
they're doing really well for having
a decent amount of compost,
and that's, for me, the main take home
from what I'm saying here,
is that compost is so worthwhile to grow great vegetables,
and to emphasise that point,
we are putting it on only once a year.
So December, it goes on, and everything you can see here
is a second planting, succession planting.
So we've finished harvesting lettuce, and cabbage,
and beetroot, and peas, and onions, and spinach,
and radish, and turnips, and potatoes, all gone and eaten.
And that was from this bed that was 44 kilos
of harvest already, and from this one, 56.
So that's when I find the most difference, actually,
is in the spring.
sowing and planting into surface compost,
they get away more quickly.
This one's doing okay now.
Well, it's doing well, actually,
but it's still slightly behind, even on second harvest,
which is cucumbers and French beans, to give you an idea.
So the succession planting part,
the second planting, is really quick
with no dig and using some compost.
When you've got compost on top,
it's easier to keep it watered,
it soaks up the water when you're watering,
doesn't run off, goes in really well,
and you can maintain a decent amount of moisture.
It doesn't have to be saturated.
Overwatering is something to avoid, actually,
but this summer, you can't really overwater, it's very dry,
and then we can simply water...
We'll often water before planting
and pop in the new plants, but that's it, job done.
There's no other bed preparation,
and no new compost in the summer.
So already, now, we're eight months
since any fertility, if you like, was put on here.
You can see that the growth is fantastic,
and this carries on being really good.
We'll get at least another 40 kilos from here.
We're going to exceed 100 kilos from this bed this year.
Again, that's the 10th year of doing that.
So compost, it might feel like a lot of work
at the beginning.
Getting hold of it, however you do it,
you might have to wheelbarrow it from somewhere
further away into your allotment.
I say, that's worth it.
That's your gym work for the day.
A lot of people say that, actually.
You know, I really like that side of it.
The winter work, it's warming,
but we're not doing the massive digging,
and some people say, "Oh, I like digging,"
but your soil doesn't.
Everything you do with compost,
and no dig and spreading compost on top is beneficial,
and it's got long term value,
so if you use a larger amount at the beginning,
I say, that's worth it,
'cause the benefits of that go for years ahead,
and see how this trial, you know,
the yields are not dropping.
They're actually not increasing anymore.
The first three or four years they did.
It was very steady, and it's very reliable,
and actually not difficult.
Two wheelbarrow fulls of compost
for over 100 kilos of vegetables,
that's the only application of fertility.
No feeds, no fertilisers, no slug pellets.
This is, you know, as organic as you can get, really.
No dig, you're leaving all the soil life undisturbed,
and all of these benefits are what I explain in my new book
where I've got a combination of no dig, why do it,
compost, describing the different types,
How best to use it, how to make it, as well,
that's a real fun part,
and then all the benefits which accrue
when you're growing your vegetables,
best sowing times, and all those different things
to have results like this.
It's a lot of knowledge that you need
to grow great vegetables.
For me, no dig is the foundation stone,
compost is another significant building block,
and then from there, you can start to really enjoy it.
(bright music)