gardening tips | Gardening

Books offer ideas for gardening veggies

Planning for spring’s vegetable garden usually includes looking at a few books or online references to refresh and increase our knowledge.

There are two new ones to consider adding to your bookshelf. Both authors are women who not only garden but also invest time in observing the natural rhythms of plants and animals.

Colorado organic gardener and medical herbalist Tammi Hartung wrote, “The Wildlife-Friendly Vegetable Gardener: How to Grow Food in Harmony with Nature.” Published by Storey Publishing, the 144 page softcover book helps gardeners deal with the challenges of bugs and animals that seem determined to eat more of the garden than the gardener gest to enjoy.

Rabbits, snails, deer, moles, birds and beetles all want their share of our produce and Hartung’s point of view includes all these creatures in her wildlife-friendly plan. She observes them from various locations in the garden as well as from motion activated cameras.

Her idea is to get to know wildlife in our gardens and enlist their help rather than killing them or even engaging in battles with them.

Habitat for birds and beneficial insects are the backbone of the natural garden. Hartung’s suggestions and reminders include:

• Build the soil rather than feeding plants.

• Convert grass into growing space without digging (add a thick layer of cardboard or newspaper and plant on top of it).

• Welcome wildlife.

The recipe she provides for compost activator tea contains nettles, comfrey leaves, kelp or seaweed and alfalfa rabbit pellets. Add water, steep and pour onto the compost pile.

Her observations about companion planting include: catnip attracts ladybugs that eat aphids and whiteflies.

Chamomile, dill and fennel attract parasitic wasps that control caterpillars. Horseradish repels potato bugs.

Garlic repels aphids, tree borers, snails, flea beetles and squash bugs. Mint attracts lacewings and lady bugs as well as repels flea beetles, cabbage flies and mosquitoes.

Beautifully illustrated, easy to read and loaded with useful tips, “The Wildlife Friendly Vegetable Gardener” is a helpful resource for anyone getting started with sustainable practices.

Ira Wallace, author of “Vegetable Gardening in the Southeast,” is on the board of the Organic Seed Alliance and is the owner of the Southern Exposure Seed Exchange (www.southern exposure.com).

The focus of the book includes Delaware to Oklahoma and all the states south.

All the familiar practices are covered: Feed the soil with organic fertilizers, conserve water, monitor soil pH, start plants from seed, and grow your own transplants.

One point Wallace makes is that healthy soil has plenty of organisms and grows plants that can withstand some insect damage. Chemical fertilizers kill beneficial microbes on contact, making plants weaker.

Phenology, the study of recurring patterns in plants, predicts the ideal planting time based on observation.

Wallace provided a useful chart of natural gardening signals. Her tips: when dandelions bloom plant beets and carrots; when daffodils bloom plant potatoes; when forsythia blooms plant peas; when redbuds bloom the flea beetles arrive, etc. The book’s focus is zones 6 to 9; we are zone 7.

In the Garden Planning section, Wallace outlines easy to grow, slightly more challenging and just plain challenging crops for home gardens. The midsection of the book, “Get Planting”, is a month-by-month to-do list. You will learn about starting plants from seed under lights as well as how to start the same plants early outside by using protective covered tunnels.

The last section is a directory of edibles and a chart of what to plant when. There is a list of resources from seed catalogs to tools and soil tests at the back.

It was published by Timber Press (www.timberpress.com) and the list price is $20. To learn more about phenology visit The National Phenology Network at www.usanpn.org.

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Planting seeds: Common Ground manager offers tips for local gardeners

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The Town Crier recently conducted an email interview with Patricia Becker, manager of Common Ground Organic Garden Supply and Education Center in Palo Alto. The 42-year-old nonprofit organization’s mission is to provide education and resources to support the local community in growing gardens sustainably through the cultivation of edible and native plants.

For more information, visit commongroundinpaloalto.org.

Q: What is Common Ground?

Becker: Our full name is Common Ground Garden Supply and Education Center. We are a 501(c)3 nonprofit serving the San Francisco Bay Area. We offer classes and events in sustainable gardening and lifestyles. We sell seeds and plants, organic composts, tools, natural disease and pest control products, books, magazines, cards and local gift items.

Q: How many people does Common Ground serve annually?

Becker: We had over 400 participants in one day for our Annual Edible Landscaping Tour in July 2013. An estimate is close to 100,000.

Q: What sort of products can someone expect to find at Common Ground?

Becker: Everything for your gardening needs, organic and sustainable from A to Z. And if we don’t have it, you probably don’t need it!

Q: What are the five most important tools for gardening?

Becker: High-quality pruners, a digging fork, a spade, a hand trowel and gloves. No. 6 would be comfortable, tough shoes.

Q: What is the best time of year to start planting a garden?

Becker: California has two optimal planting seasons – in all honesty, gardens can be planted here in the Bay Area at any time of year. Except December. We sell a “Common Ground Planting Guide” for this area that lists what to start in flats or directly in each month. It is a best-seller and highly recommended.

Q: Which plants grow best with maximum sunlight, and which do best with more shade?

Becker: Most edible plants prefer six to eight hours of sun per day. Certainly, plants will grow with less light, but the amount of flowers and fruit one receives usually correlates with how much sunlight is provided.

Q: Which plants flourish in local yards?

Becker: Plants that have come from Mediterranean climates will do very well. But overall, most plants find our climate quite amenable.

Q: What are some foolproof plants for the novice gardener?

Becker: Culinary and medicinal herbs, Nasturtium edible flowers, Calendula edible flowers, mints, lavenders, salvias. Most edible plants and California native plants are relatively easy to grow.

Q: What should you consider before replanting or redesigning your garden?

Becker: How much time will you truly spend in your garden? Who is going to care for it, and is that person up to the task? If the garden includes edible goodies, which fruits and veggies will the family actually eat?

Consider taking a Common Ground class that can help answer your questions.

Q: Gov. Jerry Brown recently declared a drought emergency in California. What are some ways gardeners can conserve this year?

Becker: Water at night. Mulch, mulch and more mulch. Rosalind Creasy, author of the wonderful book “Edible Landscaping,” suggests that we consider taking out our lawns and replacing them with food gardens. She points out, “Lawns require 1 inch of water per week; at that rate, using irrigation only, a 25-by-40-foot (1,000-square-foot) lawn can suck up about 625 gallons of water weekly, or approximately 10,000 gallons of water each summer.”

Q: What are your favorite ways to maximize a smaller garden space?

Becker: Growing plants like peas on a vertical support is fun, wise and attractive. Also, in our arid climate, it’s possible to grow plants closer together than might be suggested by a book or seed packet.

Q: What is the best way to fertilize the garden? Is it different for flowers than for edible plants?

Becker: If an organic fertilizer is used, then there should not be any difference in application between edible or ornamental plants. Different plants do require different foods, so it’s best to know those differences before they’re fed. The best way to fertilize is up to each individual gardener, but most opt for either broadcasting handfuls of fertilizer or spraying it with a hose-end sprayer.

Q: What are some bee-friendly plants? What are the benefits to having bees in the garden?

Becker: A beehive near your garden is said to improve yields of fruit and vegetables upwards of 35 percent. Most flowering plants will be visited by bees. Lavenders are particularly reliable attractors.

Q: What is the most challenging part of gardening, and how do you overcome the challenges?

Becker: The best garden is the garden that is paid attention to. Finding time to tend the garden is typically the greatest challenge. Otherwise, gardening is a pastime that can be enjoyed by essentially anyone.

Q: What advice do you have for someone who insists they have a “black” thumb?

Becker: You are what you say you are. Pay attention to your garden and your thumb will green up in no time.

Q: What are some great potted plants/edibles that work well in smaller garden spaces?

Becker: Citrus is a good potted fruit tree. Blueberries do well in pots. Lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes, just about every type of edible plant can be grown in a container. We sell a popular book, the best book for growing edibles in container, “Container Gardening” by Rose Marie Nichols.

Q: What are some good guidelines when it comes to watering? Every day? Twice a week? Does it depend on what is growing or the season?

Becker: Typically, one waters less in the winter when the days are cooler and shorter (maybe twice a week max), and then in the summer, perhaps three, sometimes four times per week.

Q: Where can local residents find answers to their gardening questions?

Becker: By taking classes at Common Ground, where you learn and meet gardening friends. Our classes really educate the students.

Q: What are some upcoming Common Ground events that might be useful to local gardeners, expert or novice?

Becker: We have a superb Edible Garden Series beginning Saturday and running into late spring, which covers most aspects of organic gardening, all the way from design to harvest. We’re also offering a class Feb. 15 that will give gardeners ideas and strategies for how to get more from their garden in less time, taught by a Common Ground staff member.

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Common Ground Garden Shop readies for Spring – Photos by Ellie Van Houtte/Town Crier

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Salt alternatives for the homeowner

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Posted: Saturday, January 25, 2014 9:56 am
|

Updated: 9:57 am, Wed Jan 29, 2014.

Salt alternatives for the homeowner

By Bob Beyfuss
For Columbia-Greene Media

registerstar.com

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0 comments

It is minus 8 with the windchill at minus 25 as I write this from my chilly, (53 degree) living room on Jan. 22. I have to drive to Walton NY this morning in Delaware County and I will be wary of any “wet” spots on the highway, since they will surely be black ice. Thank goodness for road salt!

It is not uncommon in the Capital District/Hudson Valley for heavily traveled roads, such as the Thruway, to receive 40 to 80 tons of deicing salt per lane mile per year. That works out to about 15 to 30 pounds per linear foot. It is surprising that any roadside plants can tolerate that much salt, but most do. If they received a fraction of this much salt during the growing season, the roadsides would be devoid of vegetation. There is little the homeowner can do to change the road salt situation but there are some alternatives to salt that may be used in the home environment.

Road salt or deicing salt is mostly unrefined rock salt, containing about 98.5 percent sodium chloride. Calcium chloride is sometimes used when temperatures are extremely low (Rock salt is useless at temperatures below + 10) but it is about eight times as expensive as sodium chloride. Rock salt causes injury to plants by absorbing water that would normally be available to the roots. Even when moisture is plentiful excess salt can create a drought like environment. In addition, when salt is dissolved in water it breaks down into sodium and chloride ions. Roots readily absorb chloride ions and then they are carried through the sap stream to actively growing portions of the plant such as leaf margins and shoot tips. High levels of chloride are toxic and result in characteristic marginal scorch patterns. (Brown edges around the leaves) Excess sodium in soil also hurts plants by encouraging soil compaction, leading to restricted uptake of oxygen and water. Calcium chloride is not nearly as damaging.

Plants most likely to be affected in the home landscape are those that receive lots of salt laden snow. For example, if you routinely apply salt to your porch or steps or deck, the plants growing nearby are most at risk, especially if you shovel snow on top of their root systems. Likewise, plants along your driveway or roadside are more at risk then those in the backyard. So what are the alternatives?

First, buy calcium chloride instead of rock salt or purchase one of the newer deicing materials that are reported to be even less toxic to plants. In recent years several new products have been developed that are very effective at melting snow and ice.

These new products are quite expensive but so are replacement plants! If you just want to improve traction try using sand or kitty litter or even fine gravel. Keep in mind however that you will most likely be tracking these materials into the house along with the snow on your boots. Never use soiled kitty litter for this reason! Wood ashes have also been used for traction, but too much wood ash spread over your plants can raise the soil pH to damaging levels. Wood ash will also be carried in the house with the snow on your boots and it leaves an unsightly gray residue.

I no longer will need any kitty litter, as I lost my beloved cat two weeks ago. My friend Lester Gass shared this quote with me, that he attributed to a woman named Amy Ahberg “Taking on a pet is a contract with sorrow.”

Indeed it is.

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Saturday, January 25, 2014 9:56 am.

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Lynne Allbutt’s gardening tips – Lynne Allbutt – Wales Online

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Lemon-aid

I enjoyed an incredible couple of days attending a Zhan Zhuang workshop in Bristol this week with the much respected Master Lam (www.lamkamchuen.com).

Master Lam brought Tai Chi to the UK in 1975 and in 1987 he gave the first European demonstration of the art of Zhan Zhuang Chi Kung.

At that time, he was the only Master in the whole of Europe.

It was a real honour to be taught by him and he generously imparted lots of general health and wellbeing tips during his session with me.

He advised that one of the easiest and most beneficial habits to adopt is to start your day with a couple of slices of fresh lemon in a glass of warm water.

Stir it well to ‘enliven it’ before drinking.

Oca oca oca – oi oi oi!

My wonderful bee mentor Alan never ceases to amaze me with his knowledge, wisdom and enthusiasm and last week was no exception as he dropped off some oca for me to try.

Described as a vegetable that is causing great excitement amongst the more adventurous gardeners – and Alan is certainly one of those, he grew New Zealand yams himself – the plant produces tubers in a similar way to potatoes.

However, as oca is not related at all to the potato family it is unaffected by blight and other problems that affect spuds.

Oca tends to have a slightly tangy lemon taste.

The tubers are smaller than potatoes but easier to prepare, as you just wash them rather than peel.

They can be boiled, mashed, fried and roasted and also eaten raw, giving salads quite a zingy taste, which I love.

Cooked, they are quite sweet and make an excellent addition to winter soups and stews, particularly as the tubers are harvested late in the year once the foliage has been frosted.

The small tubers are best planted individually in a 15cm (6in) pot of multipurpose compost during April.

As they are frost tender, they should be grown in the greenhouse or on the windowsill and planted out in late May.

Alternatively, tubers can be planted directly outdoors in late May.

By this time they may well be showing small ‘sprouts’.

Plant oca directly into a shallow drill, about 8cm (3in) deep, and cover with soil or compost and a layer of fleece.

More details on growing can be found at www.thompson-morgan.com and 0844 573 1818.

Pause to check paws

I had a bit of a panic with terrier Yogi this week as her back feet were obviously painful and causing her discomfort one day after work.

That night, with the news on the radio in the background, I heard about the “terrible killer dog disease that started as lesions on a dog’s feet”.

As you can imagine, Yogi was upside-down having her feet examined in the minutest detail before you could say Green Scene.

Luckily, there were no cuts and she is much better now.

Unfortunately, 16 or so dogs have not been so lucky.

Apparently the first case was more than 12 months ago and, rather worryingly, vets are still not sure what is causing the condition, which is being likened to Alabama Rot, a disease that affected dogs in the States in the 1980s.

Whilst most cases have been diagnosed after the dogs have walked in the New Forest, cases are also coming to light in other parts of the country.

The closest known case to Wales so far is in Worcestershire but, as all dog-owners will agree, it pays to be vigilant.

Vets are recommending that if you see any unexplained lesions on your dog (and not just on their feet), then it better to take them to be checked as soon as possible.

If they are left and the dogs are affected, symptoms develop into signs of severe depression, loss of appetite and vomiting. Kidney failure occurs just days later. It just doesn’t bear thinking about.

That’s shallots

Shallots are delicious pickled in balsamic vinegar or added to rich casseroles, so if the weather is mild and the soil is dry enough to work, you should be thinking about planting shallots. If conditions don’t allow, wait another month or two.

Shallots should be planted like onion sets, with a trowel, as individual bulbs just below the surface in well-prepared, raked ground, around 15cm (5in) apart, leaving the tip showing. They will succeed on most well-drained soil which has had plenty of organic matter added the previous autumn.

Each shallot should surround itself with a cluster of five to six offsets that will plump up easily.

Shallots can’t compete with weeds, so you will need to hoe or weed the area by hand and make sure you don’t break the leaves when weeding.

In most years, they shouldn’t need additional watering in summer, although keep an eye on them in prolonged dry spells and if the soil is exceptionally dry, give them a water.

In July and August the foliage will start to yellow and fall over naturally. Lift the bulbs with a fork to break the roots and leave them on the surface to ripen fully in the sun. In wet summers, cover the bulbs with cloches or move them to the greenhouse to complete their ripening.

Good varieties include Golden Gourmet, which has a good flavour and will keep well, and Griselle, a French type renowned for its flavour.

Your must-do list for the weekend

Complete the pruning of greenhouse vines while they are still dormant and remove loose bark which may harbour pests.
Bring in pots of forced bulbs for indoor flowering when ready.
Protect winter-flowering bulbous irises in the garden from severe cold or damp.
Start forcing pots of lily bulbs for Easter and early summer flowering.
As cyclamen flowers go over, remove the stems by giving a sharp tug, which should remove the whole stem.
Take hardwood cuttings of blackcurrants, redcurrants, white currants and gooseberries.
Renew grease bands around fruit trees, if they have been in place a long time, to protect trees against winter moths.
Pick yellowing leaves off Brussels sprouts and other brassicas promptly, to prevent spread of grey mould and brassica downy mildew.
Bring container-grown shrubs like camellias into a cold greenhouse for extra winter protection.
Sow seeds of slow-maturing half-hardy summer bedding plants including pelargoniums, begonias and verbenas, in heated propagators.
Start keeping a gardening diary and record book and update it each week.
Buy in well-rotted farmyard manure or mushroom compost to mulch borders and dig into soil.

Filed Under: gardening tips

Lynne Allbutt: Green Scene

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Lemon-aid

I enjoyed an incredible couple of days attending a Zhan Zhuang workshop in Bristol this week with the much respected Master Lam (www.lamkamchuen.com).

Master Lam brought Tai Chi to the UK in 1975 and in 1987 he gave the first European demonstration of the art of Zhan Zhuang Chi Kung.

At that time, he was the only Master in the whole of Europe.

It was a real honour to be taught by him and he generously imparted lots of general health and wellbeing tips during his session with me.

He advised that one of the easiest and most beneficial habits to adopt is to start your day with a couple of slices of fresh lemon in a glass of warm water.

Stir it well to ‘enliven it’ before drinking.

Oca oca oca – oi oi oi!

My wonderful bee mentor Alan never ceases to amaze me with his knowledge, wisdom and enthusiasm and last week was no exception as he dropped off some oca for me to try.

However, as oca is not related at all to the potato family it is unaffected by blight and other problems that affect spuds.

Oca tends to have a slightly tangy lemon taste.

The tubers are smaller than potatoes but easier to prepare, as you just wash them rather than peel.

They can be boiled, mashed, fried and roasted and also eaten raw, giving salads quite a zingy taste, which I love.

Cooked, they are quite sweet and make an excellent addition to winter soups and stews, particularly as the tubers are harvested late in the year once the foliage has been frosted.

The small tubers are best planted individually in a 15cm (6in) pot of multipurpose compost during April.

As they are frost tender, they should be grown in the greenhouse or on the windowsill and planted out in late May.

Alternatively, tubers can be planted directly outdoors in late May.

By this time they may well be showing small ‘sprouts’.

Plant oca directly into a shallow drill, about 8cm (3in) deep, and cover with soil or compost and a layer of fleece.

More details on growing can be found at www.thompson-morgan.com and 0844 573 1818.

Pause to check paws

I had a bit of a panic with terrier Yogi this week as her back feet were obviously painful and causing her discomfort one day after work.

That night, with the news on the radio in the background, I heard about the “terrible killer dog disease that started as lesions on a dog’s feet”.

As you can imagine, Yogi was upside-down having her feet examined in the minutest detail before you could say Green Scene.

Luckily, there were no cuts and she is much better now.

Unfortunately, 16 or so dogs have not been so lucky.

Whilst most cases have been diagnosed after the dogs have walked in the New Forest, cases are also coming to light in other parts of the country.

The closest known case to Wales so far is in Worcestershire but, as all dog-owners will agree, it pays to be vigilant.

Vets are recommending that if you see any unexplained lesions on your dog (and not just on their feet), then it better to take them to be checked as soon as possible.

That’s shallots

Each shallot should surround itself with a cluster of five to six offsets that will plump up easily.

Shallots can’t compete with weeds, so you will need to hoe or weed the area by hand and make sure you don’t break the leaves when weeding.

In most years, they shouldn’t need additional watering in summer, although keep an eye on them in prolonged dry spells and if the soil is exceptionally dry, give them a water.

Good varieties include Golden Gourmet, which has a good flavour and will keep well, and Griselle, a French type renowned for its flavour.

Your must-do list for the weekend

Complete the pruning of greenhouse vines while they are still dormant and remove loose bark which may harbour pests.
Bring in pots of forced bulbs for indoor flowering when ready.
Protect winter-flowering bulbous irises in the garden from severe cold or damp.
Start forcing pots of lily bulbs for Easter and early summer flowering.
As cyclamen flowers go over, remove the stems by giving a sharp tug, which should remove the whole stem.
Take hardwood cuttings of blackcurrants, redcurrants, white currants and gooseberries.
Renew grease bands around fruit trees, if they have been in place a long time, to protect trees against winter moths.
Pick yellowing leaves off Brussels sprouts and other brassicas promptly, to prevent spread of grey mould and brassica downy mildew.
Bring container-grown shrubs like camellias into a cold greenhouse for extra winter protection.
Sow seeds of slow-maturing half-hardy summer bedding plants including pelargoniums, begonias and verbenas, in heated propagators.
Start keeping a gardening diary and record book and update it each week.
Buy in well-rotted farmyard manure or mushroom compost to mulch borders and dig into soil.

Filed Under: gardening tips

Tips For Kitchen Garden

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If you are one fond of plants and believe in organic gardening, then this piece is for you! with winter waiting to bid adieu, and summer all ready to shine, you should be making plans to make your own kitchen garden.

But, are you worried that kitchen garden is something you can set up only in huge kitchen backyards? Then, you are mistaken! You can set up a kitchen garden even in a small space.

You can grow your favorite vegetable and enjoy making sabzi’s with it! Are you finding the seed catalog’s coming directly to your mailbox, then don’t wait much. Make best use of your free time and make a kitchen garden.

CHECK THIS OUT: Pot Soil Gardening Tips

You cannot expect the lavishness of planting everything and anything in your kitchen garden. However, you can plant many things that you intend too. You can also enjoy eating fresh veggies rather than the ones you buy from the market. You can grow greens, cucumber, tomatoes, chillies and coriander in your kitchen garden.

If you plan to grow onions or potatoes, then you may need some extra space for it. Here we bring to you some kitchen garden tips, that you can make best use of in decorating your kitchen garden. Make your kitchen garden beautiful with these organic kitchen gardening tips.

A little planning is necessary
One of the kitchen garden tips if you are thinking of a kitchen garden is that plan in advance. Advance planning on what you are going to plant, where you are going to plant etc., are necessary. You should also decide on how much time you can spend for your kitchen garden. If you have only a small space then container gardens are the best choice. This is one of the organic gardening tips.

Small is beautiful
When you are new to gardening, start small. Small is always beautiful and this is one of the organic gardening tips. When you think of planting something follow the kitchen garden tips and find the right saplings to plant. Plan your kitchen garden in a way you can maintain it. This is one of the important kitchen garden tips you need to follow. There is no use getting ambitious and not maintaining it.

Productive plants
When you choose plants for your kitchen garden, then it is imperative that you choose only productive plants. Kitchen garden tips needs to be followed while choosing the plants and choose the plants that are seasonal. See what plants can be planted and what suits your garden well, plan on it and then plant those in your garden, this is one of the organic kitchen gardening tips.

Talk to others
Your friends may be experienced in setting up a kitchen garden, talk to them and get necessary kitchen garden tips. If you are looking for organic kitchen gardening tips then read some books that are available online and in stores. This is going to solve your problem of setting up a beautiful kitchen garden.

Watch the quality
When you select tools for your kitchen garden select quality tools. This is going to help you in setting up a good garden and is one of the kitchen garden tips. Don’t look for the money, look for quality if you are sure about setting up a beautiful garden.

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Eagles Talk, Real Estate Tips, Winter Gardening: Best of PA Patch Blogs

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Check out the best blogs of the past week from Patch’s PA sites.

Do you want to know more about blogging on Patch? Email Community Editor Nicole Foulke at nicole.foulke@patch.com.

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Taking the spade work out of vegetable growing

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PA Photo/Thinkstockphotos

Expert vegetable grower Charles Dowding tells Hannah Stephenson about his very welcome no-dig approach to gardening

Each autumn, there’s a collective, nationwide groan as gardeners think about the endless digging they’ll be doing over winter to improve their soil’s condition for the following year.

But Charles Dowding, renowned market gardener and expert vegetable grower, can offer them some good news.

Over the years, he has conducted many experiments comparing the effect on plant growth of digging with not digging and has found that a ‘no-dig’ approach is the way to go. It not only saves time and exertion on digging, but also on weeding, because far fewer weeds grow on undisturbed soil.

He insists that growth and quality are improved by simply covering beds with 2.5-5cm (1-2in) of compost over the surface.

“The usual recommendation is to dig or even double dig the soil for growing vegetables,” he says. “Because this is repeated so many times, most gardeners accept the task without wondering if it is really necessary. In fact, there is no need to dig at all.”

Initial clearance of weedy and grassy ground can mostly be achieved with mulches (such as cardboard and compost) and some digging out of woody plants, then you can maintain the plot by weeding regularly. Surface compost weathers to a soft mulch over winter and can be directly sown or planted into, he adds.

“Soil does not need to be mixed, stirred, scraped or tickled. Only large lumps of organic matter on top require some knocking around with a fork or rake to create an even surface, mostly in winter and spring.”

Dowding has run an experiment since 2007 to understand the effect on soil of digging and not digging, comparing growth of the same vegetables growing side by side in dug and undug beds.

“In the absence of digging, I have found that harvests are as high, sometimes higher, while some extra quality of growth on undug soil may be apparent.

“Soil in the undug beds, with compost on its surface, is well-drained, retains more moisture in dry springs and grows fewer weeds and stronger vegetables, especially at the start of the season,” he explains in his new book Veg Journal, which offers month-by-month no-dig advice.

A key point in the no-dig approach is that undug soil is firm, which is not the same as compacted; roots have freedom to travel and are well-anchored at the same time.

“Fertility is enhanced by an increase of undisturbed soil life, which mobilises nutrients and helps plant roots to access them,” he continues. “This is most noticeable in early spring, when growth on undug soil is generally faster by comparison with dug soil, whose fertility, in terms of soil life, is still recovering from the winter digging.”

In experiments he found that during spring and early summer, many vegetables on the dug beds, especially radish, onions and spinach, started growing more slowly, and that in the undug beds the leaves of spinach and lettuce were thicker and glossier, the radish roots were shinier and the onions had a deeper colour.

He says that firm soil is often wrongly labelled as ‘compacted’, yet soil which has been mechanically loosened and fluffed up is not stable, which is why you have to walk on planks after digging heavy soil to avoid compaction.

Compacted soil is squishy when wet, rock-like when dry, contains few or no worm channels, is hard to crumble in your hand and may smell sulphurous because of lack of oxygen. It usually happens in the top 15-20cm (6-8in) of the surface and if it does, he advises adding plenty of organic matter.

He concludes: “My advice is simple: disturb your soil as little as possible.”

:: Charles Dowding’s Veg Journal is published by Frances Lincoln on February 6, priced £14.99

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