Does it naturally follow that No Dig has to be Organic

[Stevie342000Member]

Does no digging mean you have to be organic? Do the two principles exclusively go hand in hand? For me they perhaps do but being in transition has meant that in the last 12 months I have used some chemicals such as slug pellets.

Not sure if they are permitted under legislation if you are growing organically? However I seem to recall that they are allowed under the list of permitted chemicals in the legislation which comes in the form of an EU Directive.

Some chemicals do have their place in organic gardening and are allowed. The desire to steer clear of them is not necessarily always wise. From time to time falling back on certain allowed chemicals is the last resort for dealing with pests, diseases or apparent deficiencies in your soil type.

Is there not the situation where one person may use the No Dig principle of layering their soil with manure and compost but still use chemicals. If it works for them why should they not use those methods.

With advancing years the principle of No Digging may keep many more gardeners/growers active for longer. Does the use of chemicals exclude people from using the No Dig principles?

The over-riding principle in all this should be that the healthier your soil is the less problems you will have with pests and diseases.

[charlesModerator]

 Yes you can be no dig without being organic. Healthy soil is indeed the best goal for all of us.

Organic is not a precise term anyway, it has altered quite a bit in the thirty years I have been growing organically.

In my earlier post I was concerned by your reference to ‘one more dose’ with slug pellets, in a general way rather than for specific plants, and pointed out that, when used, they can be applied individually, near tender plants when they are vulnerable.

[Stevie342000Member]

Goodness me Charles you were up before the larks this morning. I thought I had got up early with sunrise, oh well those salad leaves are not going to pick themselves and make their own way to the shops or the market.

Yes the term Organic like many other terms has been twisted over the years. Having read the list of permitted chemicals as allowed under EU regulations, there are many that I would not use.

I will be sticking to manure, compost, kitchen waste, vegetable wastes from growing, fish, blood and bone and to raise or lower pH Lime, sulphate of ammonia or urea (which I think is free so that fits in with frugality).

From what I have read and understood the healthier the soil the less likely you are to get as many pests. Unhealthy soil attracts them more readily than healthy soils.

Ah one more dose, as there has been frequent rain here it is Greater Manchester you know, it was seen as needing another dose of pellets. As the pellets had disappeared, just a light scattering of pellets is all that has ever been applied (scorched earth policy, probably more than I should have used but hey the manufacturers like you to use more, how do they make their profits otherwise?).

Do the pellets dissolve and the chemicals remain in or on the soil surface? The pellets were applied to the areas where the cabbages are growing. These areas have been inter-planted with Shenshyu onions and spring onions to act as a further deterrent to the little darlings. Whilst the latter and the former establish themselves. Oh it was crawling with the little bleeders. They seem to have diminished considerably, so use in future hopefully will be limited.

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