Respect the soil, and it will nurture life without disturbance.
Embracing a no-dig principle will allow nature’s harmony unfold beneath your feet.
There are a variety of existing fruit trees at various stages of maturity with a number of different grape vines growing in the vicinity of the house.
Cherry trees, plums where two of trees are too large to harvest. There are also pear trees, apricots, persimmons, and many differing fig trees.
We’ve had some success in growing vegetables with two separate veg gardens being developed. For the veg gardens, and as a general principle, we are adopting a ‘no dig’ approach.
Our main issue is water during the summer months. But we do have plans to utilise an old cistern plus the exiting well to allow for drip irrigation.
The Projects
Vegetable Gardens
As part of the “No Dig” approach we’re sourcing card board as the first layer to suppress weed growth with layers of mulch added on top. The ideal is that there is sufficient compost to be able to plant into the top layer but for this season there will need to be some compromises. A bit of digging to plant. Nevertheless lots of material will be added that should decompose through the season.
We have a pile of wood chippings and will no doubt be adding to that as the season progresses. There are also loads of fallen leaves and part decomposed material that can be collected and adding to the mix. Where needed polythene will be used for the first year to control weeds where not enough organic material can be source.
Composting is key. At present all suitable compostable material is being kept in rudimentary compost heaps and will form the basis for building compost heaps. Three compost piles are needed and will be developed through the year. A worm farm may also be created both to help with creating highly fertile soil and introducing more earthworms.
Activities for Spring 2024
Gathering material for composting.
The ideal is to source compost but that seems very expensive. However, across the land there are areas where material has gathered and naturally composted. This include leaf mould where leaves have accumulated over many years. For this year this needs to be gathered for the lower veg garden.
Preparing the ground for spring planing.
Although no dig is the objective there needs to be a transition period to fully achieve this, so for some of this years crop the reliance will be on thick mulching. Where needed weed cloth will be used for this year to control weed. Tilling the areas will be avoided.
Planting this years crop
This will be based on what’s available at the local agaria and seeds.
Set-up the watering infrastructure
Water is key. The last two summers have been hot and dry and only having metered town water makes on-going watering impractical. The objective is to have extensive drip irrigation where ever possible with water sourced from a local stream
The fruit trees & vines
Activities for Spring 2024
Pruning the fruit trees
Some hard pruning is needed for some fruit trees. There may also be trees that have not survived two successive summer that will need to be removed.
Replacing and repairing the grape vine support.
The support structures are made of bamboo. The bamboo does not last so need replacing. Objective is to create more robust structures.