This topic contains 15 replies, has 9 voices, and was last updated by charles 5 years, 6 months ago.
-
Posts
-
Hi Paul,
such a shame when plots are generally in really high demand; we have waiting lists of hundreds in London!
Perhaps newcomers might consider sharing to start with, to alleviate the burden of getting started? Also, maybe a leaflet introducing basic concepts of permaculture might be good, which, in the end, is designed towards low maintenance (but still has that initial threshold of work to get through, which seems to be the problem here).
Perhaps also a communal supply of plastic sheeting might help, in case the outlay of that seems off-putting.
The chemical thing is a pain; we have a chemical ban and people still use them…
Good luck with your endeavours…Hi Paul,
On our allotment side of about 80 plots I’ve now trained 5 other people. 3 of them all work full time and they would all have given up (or had their plot taken from them) if it had not been for no-dig. Most of our plotholders who are working people just do not have the time to do traditional digging / weeding.
We split plots up into smaller sizes and see how folks get on with them first. We also shiup in large quantities of woodchip for free to help with mulching significant areas.
Plastic is used quite a bit by us. if a plot is vacated, we cover it so the brambles do not move back in and the plots stay relatively weed free.
BR
NeilPaul I felt a bit depressed when reading your first post, however I think it’s admirable that you are on such a worthwhile mission and after Neil’s comments (great!) I feel more optimistic.
Yes to use of polythene as mulch between occupants. No need then to dig or use poisons!
Around here the farmers give away large sheets of blck polythene which ere covering last year’s silage clamps. You may not have dairy farmers but keep an eye out for old plastic: if there are a few holes, just double up, or slip cardboard under a hole to keep light out.
Best of luck.Following several years of black plastic mulching a plot of horsetail, and smiling off more than the odd friendly jibe about it, I now have a clean plot. Additionally, a fair degree of respect too, as some that wondered what on earth I was doing can now see the result and understand the motivations. One of my neighbours presently has my plastic sheeting mulching his horsetail plot, after a season of trying, in vain, to continually hoe it off.
So leading by example can have an influence on others decision making, even though this can take time. But if your plot looks “the biz”, you may have an odd newcomer asking for some advise…best of luck with it.
Hi Paul
I think I am in a no-dig minority of one on our site! I have heard several plot holders talk about going no dig, but they still continue to use weed killers, rotavators, etc..
I agree with Stringfellow and think that leading by example is probably the best way to go. As well as the leaflet (good idea Alfalfa!), could you arrange some sort of workshops to give newbies some direction? Good luck.Stringfellow that is a great result. Well done for smiling, it’s a powerful response, your neighbours are fortunate to have you there.
Kath, best of luck with your minority status!Too many allotment gardeners think of it as an early summer activity, have a frantic Easter splurge, plant a bit (too)early, then wander off, go on holiday, find they haven’t got a result and fall by the wayside. These days I am not on a site, having a rural standalone plot, which I much prefer.
Allotment societies could ease their problems if they could organise and support new members, trading assistance for workparties, which could address issues such as weed reservoirs and litter/flytipping. Part of this could be a (monthly?) evening to socialise and discuss/promote ‘good’ gardening. No -dig could be such a topic. It needs a strong committed committee or organiser.Somewhat off topic, but can’t help seeing a strong parallel between the benefits of no-dig gardening and the benefits of non-doing sitting-meditation!
I graduated with a degree in Accounting & Financial Management in 1981 but then, like Charles, hopelessly failed to meet expectations of getting a well-paid job. Instead I went to Japan to study Zen. There I was taught that enlightenment is just to sit in the right posture. After expending huge amounts of energy — akin to pointless digging — in thrall to that misconception, I was eventually guided by teachers of the FM Alexander Technique to understand Alexander’s teaching that there is no such thing as a right posture, but there is a right direction. That right direction might be the direction of growth.
For the past 15 years I have been coming to a half-acre near the forest des Andaines in Normandy, for family holidays and solitary sitting retreats. So far my main growing success has been good annual crops of black winter radishes (radis d’hiver). My method hitherto has been to sow them in a seed bed when I get here for a summer retreat in June or July, double-dig a new plot while they are germinating, plant them out, and that is it. They have thrived every year without any maintenance, while I have been back and forth between England and France, and have been ready to harvest from September right through to early spring. They are very tangy. Delicious grated with soy sauce.
This is the first year I have been here all year round and therefore been able to grow from seed crops of tomatoes, aubergines, courgettes & cornichons, and very rewarding indeed I have found it, harvesting and frying up this produce, followed by a desert of cheap creme fraiche with – in order of their appearance in the garden – cherries, blackcurrants, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, plums and grapes.
Enjoying the simple life like this has certainly been more rewarding than trying to convince other stiff-spined Zen practitioners, believers in the myth of “right posture,” of the benefits of non-doing. That has truly been a thankless task… not that I have gone about it with any skill or guile whatsoever.
I have recently started watching Charles’ videos on Youtube and really love his approach. Next year, all being well, will be my first year of putting Charles’ principles into practice.
Finally, on the subject of trying to convince others, a couple of pieces of wisdom I would like to share from FM Alexander’s niece Marjory Barlow (which kind of corroborate what has been written above about leading by example). In a series of Alexander lessons about 20 years ago, observing my urgent missionary zeal, Marjory told me:
1. You can’t force others to be happy, making yourself miserable in the process. Rather happiness is something that, if you find it for yourself, can’t help but radiate out from you as if in ripples.
2. We (in Alexander work) are in the business of growth. And growth can never be hurried.
All the best to no-diggers everywhere and thank you Charles for your great work.
Mike this is fascinating.
Bit of a theme of not doing something!
Like, I find that bread is easy with a no knead method.No need to knead? That is a new one on me!
Another example is not needing to do hardly anything to learn to swim — my brother and my wife have made a living out of teaching that principle to nervous swimmers…
http://www.swimmingwithoutstress.co.uk
When people stop trying to swim, they are amazed to find that they can already float.
I’m afraid my life has been one long example of failing to put the principle into practice, doing/writing/digging too much. But 2019 will be another year! Can’t wait to start sowing.Hi, I’m a new allotment holder, less than a month, and didn’t really get any structured advice or guidance, although everybody is very welcoming and offers tips readily, I think a leaflet (these days a PDF?) would be a great resource for us noobies.
So the first couple of weeks were spent assiduously clearing the weeds and digging over the whole plot. I can see now why the association secretary says “it’s not for everybody”. After doing the digging (because that is what my father did, after his uncle taught him), I found Charles’ YouTube channel and what a revelation! First thing I did was order a tonne and a half of rotted cow manure that now forms a lovely 3 inch layer on top of the laboriously dug ground. Hopefully the last dig I will ever do! Now I plan to relax and watch the worms go to work over the winter and plan out the space for next year. Really looking forward to it, and thanks again for such a wonderful educational and entertaining resource!
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.