No dig in limestone sandy soil. Help.

[tomstarley]

Hi there, A question about no dig and limestone soil. I have recently moved to the south of France, as lovely as this is, this is the first time I’m growing on a sandy limestone soil. I have set-up all my beds as no dig and have applied a layer of about 3 inches of compost (all i could afford) across my entire plot as an experiment (this is the first time i have no dug).

Growth has been slow especially for onions, melons and cucumbers. On the flip side Courgettes, tomatoes, squashes, strawberries, brassicas are all fine. I’m having to feed regularly and the ph is just above the neutral range.

The ground here is ROCK solid and I’m wondering if no dig works as well in a hot climate on limestone sandy soil?

My suspicions are yes but more than 3 inches of compost are needed to sustain a successful growing medium.

What do you think?

Thanks for the help.

[charles]

I grew no dig on French limestone soil, near Astaffort, with excellent results. In hot summers, like we are having here.
No dig needs no more compost than digging, but vegetables need compost/organic matter to grow well, especially on rock!
So I would not worry over your pH, just make/buy/scrounge as much organic matter as you can.

[Author]

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