My allotment is in the Ouse valley of Cambridgeshire where it’s been even drier. Until the deluge of Sunday we’d had practically nothing significant for months: even the forecast rain for Saturday last week turned out to be just fine drizzle. To make matters worse the soil there is sandy. Most of the allotmenteers around me seem to have given up for this year complaining about lack of water on site. Due to time constraints I only managed to construct two 120 x 240 cm (4’x 8’) raised beds, the rest is under mypex. I was happy with early growth until the resident mole(s) moved into the beds. Every single plant has been pushed up at least twice, mostly much more, but in spite of this on Saturday I was still able to take away small harvests of golf ball size beetroot, two courgettes, runner beans, and baby carrots. (The mole had pushed up the rest of the carrots – again – but I’ll just keep my fingers crossed). I have been watering the beds with a watering can during the very dry spells.
I will extent the no-dig system to the rest of the plot when I have time. I am a great advocate and love the idea of it, but for me, I never find it to be the unqualified success I want. I have had three different allotment plots on different sites in the last few years and keep finding that raised beds + compost = (presumably) worms = moles. It’s so frustrating, particularly when the people around me with ‘conventional’ plots don’t seem to be troubled by them and just smirk or laugh when they see my precious plants uprooted yet again. Still, I’ll persevere. I fully believe it to be the way to go.
Jan