permaculture

[permaculture@treaclemine.cix.co.uk (Amanda Baker)]

Greetings,

        I'm currently reading 'The Allotment Book' by Bullock and
Gould (published by MacDonald Optima around 1987).  In the chapter on
soil (p36 in my edition), the authors make the following statement

"At Arkley Manor in Barnet, Hertfordshire, the no-digging method has
been used very successfully for the past 27 years.  The gardens are
very productive, growing flowers, shrubs, fruit and vegetables.  From
contrtolled experiements at Arkley, it appears that placing rotted
organic matter on the surface is more beneficial and produces better
crops than digging manure into the soil.  The worms seem to benefit
too."

        On P37 they continue:

"If manure or compost is buried in the soil, it is excluded from the
oxygen and soil bacteria which are necessary to break it down into
plant nutrients.  Breakdown will occur, but much more slowly; and
nutrients will not become available to the plants until the following
year when the soil is dug again.  The no-digging method makes food
available to the plants where they can use it most efficiently, within
the top 10 cm of soil.  By placing manure or compost on the surface,
it is available for plant use almost immediately."

        I have tried to find out more about these 'controlled experiments',
as this seems to me to be a highly significant claim (just in terms of
hours and backs spent on digging :-)  However, my Web searches have so far
revealed only that Barnet is in London, not Hertfordshire, and that there
is now a large golf course at 'Arkley Manor Farm'. 

        Can anyone point me to a write-up of the experiments done at
Arkley, or any similar analysis of the comparitive efficacy of these
two methods of applying manure and other soil-improvers?

        Many thanks,

        Amanda Baker

permaculture@treaclemine.cix.co.uk