Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["E. E. Mitchamore Jr" <emitch@att.net>]

One could easily conclude that you originally double-dug (because you originally believed it desirable), and subsequently no-tilled (because it was too much work to double-dig).  Well, that makes sense - you achieved the benefits of double-digging by doing it once. 

 

What I do with a new patch, here in the Texas Hill Country, where the "soil" is 6" - 12" of burned-out clay over 500' of limestone: 1) Raise it the first year (sometimes with 100% OM)  2) Fork it the second year, to mix the soil and loosen the deeper layers, (but it's easy by then), 3) No-till in subsequent years.  Seems like an easy way to get the best of both worlds.

 

E. E. "Mitch" Mitchamore
www.hillcountrynatives.biz

----- Original Message -----

From: TradingPostPaul

To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org

Sent: Tuesday, December 26, 2006 12:44 AM

Subject: [Livingontheland] double digging/ Vol 72, Issue 6, message 3

I agree it's unrealistic to expect everybody to double dig, and I don't
believe it's even desirable in some places. Chadwick and Jeavons made their
point, taking terrible soil and making deep, fertile beds out of it - over
the course of a few years. My view is most people who need to be growing
more at home don't have that kind of time or can't make the effort. It's
more realistic to make raised beds to get the soil depth for intensive
planting. For busy people, beds can even be built up gradually by adding
more layers of compost, manure, mulch etc.instead of all at once, and not
dug annually.

paul tradingpost@lobo.net

*********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********

On 12/25/2006 at 6:39 PM Ken Hargesheimer wrote:

>Yes, I wrote this several years ago.  The information at the end is my
>telephone number, address, etc.  I have not taught double digging since
>2001.  I teach no-till.  It can be nearly as productive.  My experience is
>that most people will not double-dig.  It is just too much physical work.
>Children and the elderly cannot do it.  It is not necessary, anyway.  I
>did a lot of it beginning in 1982 when I read Jeavon's book.  Read Ruth
>Stout's two little books. 
>  
>  Ken Hargesheimer



_______________________________________________
Livingontheland mailing list
Livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/livingontheland