Hi Charles, I was going to ask you something very similar but then spotted Asif’s post.
I have just taken on a small allotment near where I work of about 23 ft x 34 ft. It has several spit-depth trenches and consequent ridges taken out of it at odd angles which makes walking on it precarious. I gather the previous people just did this and were never seen again! I also gather that several previous people have ‘given up’ on it. In it’s current state the allotment has been strimmed of a flourishing community of weeds and top growth raked off and burnt by the council because other people were complaining about all the seeds blowing over theirs. Unfortunately this was too little too late as the entire patch seems to have a covering about a quarter inch thick of weed seeds of which I suspect the majority is couch grass. It is also only six feet away from the trunk of a mature but growing oak tree of 8 foot girth. Some half to three quarters of the allotment is under the canopy of the oak tree. So, where do you suggest I go from here? The site is an ‘overflow’ area for a cemetery so it is unlikely that the council would agree to the tree’s canopy being thinned. If I tried to take out a trench 18 inches deep so close to the trunk to try to curtail the roots would it damage the tree? Also at this point is it likely that the roots are just going downwards to surface elsewhere on the plot and a trench would have no effect? Also as I’m going to have to level it anyway would you suggest that I just tried to dig the plot first to remove surface tree roots and as much of the mat of couch grass roots as I can before trying the no dig treatment? Also do you think that I’m going to have to put down a membrane and have deep beds in order to grow anything or do you think that a covering of compost on the existing surface would achieve results? This is in one of the driest areas of the country in Cambridgeshire so deep beds would be even drier. I know when you started at Homeacres you cut down your trees first because they had an effect on crops but this is not an option. Lastly, I should think that any time now the tree is going to dump half a ton of acorns and leaves on the plot. Is this more problematical for a no-dig system with growing crops than a conventional one?
Sorry this is so long I’m just unsure how best to proceed (unless I accept that’s it’s just going to need 5 times as much water (none on site) and twice as much compost as normal.
