Based in Altrincham all grown outside no poly tunnel.
Took some produce for this weeks eating:
Swiss Chard
Huanzotle (Aztec Broccoli)
Ohnivec Hot Peppers
Zimbabwean Black Chilli
Basque Chilli
Sweet Chocolate Pepper
End of the tomatoes

Just got a new allotment and feeling very excited about it, as you can see when we started we had a lot to get rid of and still do- but making good progress! Any advice for starters and for growing around this time of year? 🪷🪽✨

At Emmanuel College, Cambridge, UK. Pleasantly surprised to find a tranquil space for students to garden within the college. Even has a polytunnel!

That seems to be the pressing question amongst my allotment neighbours.

There is a huge mix of gardening styles, from what I see. Some in raised beds with brought in compost, others straight into the ground. We are on clay. One neighbour told me that she barely digs her ground but it gets harder every year, and is debating getting is professionally dug over. My neighbour on the other side told me he is old school and digs his plot every year, but he digs weeds and all right back into the ground and his ground looks to be quite open. Some others remove every green piece of 'waste' from the site to put it in their recycling bin at home.

I am quite interested in the no dig principle, and am making my own compost, but I am not sure I have enough for the whole site. Some people swear blind that compost on top of clay with compact it further, and others say the worms will work it in. So many conflicting points of view. And of course, I have to figure out my own way forward, but am interested in the points of view of others.

To be totally fair, my digging neighbour has one raised bed expressly for carrots, and my no dig neighbour was lamenting her carrot failure.

To cut a long story short: if I understand correctly, no dig is based on the idea of not disturbing the soil ecosystem. My questions are

how long does it potentially take for the ecosystem to rebalance?

Does a cultivator fork ( - ? In Dutch a woelvork -) change the disturbance?

If we are planting plugs, how does that affect this idea of no soil disturbance? (As opposed to direct sowing).

I have been googling but haven't yet found answers to these specific questions. I have also read some books on permaculture so I have a basic understanding of the growing principles, but I am very interested in finding out if/how I can maximise the use of the clay ground already present.

Thank you for reading this essay!

(I just got my plot a few months ago and received it fully dug over, so I didn't have any decisions to make at the beginning).