RE: no-till gardening on limestone
I can add further . got converted to no till the minute I got posession of
my current house and tried to plant the first plant.
no topsoil on an arid southeast facing hillside where I can see the
mediterranean sea in the distance to the east.
erratic and torrential autumn rains when we get them. ( not every year),
little or no rain the rest of the year. In fact, since my water supply was
from the roof until a year ago, I was very aware of frecuency and amount of
rain fallen. I counted once, in 95 I believe, 10 months with not so much as
a drop.
I have planted almost everything with a pickaxe to make the hole big enough
to accomodate the rootball.some of the plants got only half buried since the
pickaxe sometimes bounces back.
I have being mulching everything for as long as I have being here, 6 years
now, and have being using mostly almond shells since what little compost I
make goes to the, also no dig, vegetable plot.
I have to say that where worms were unheard of is now populated by them and
the almond shells have turned into wonderfull dark crumbly stuff. many
plants went chlorotic at the beginning but there is no chlorosis about now
except for a grevillea rosmarinifolia which I think I will dispense with and
the citrus trees to whom I administer the occasional chelate.
I am now totally converted to no digging and think that even if I had a
duggable garden wouldn´t dig it.
francisco
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