DIGGING THE DIRT POO BARE

There's something quite malodorous in the air down on John Holloway's allotment site... but maybe that's a good thing

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I'm afraid the subject of this article is rather unsavoury but it's a subject close to the heart of the allotment fraternity; I actually, not too close as you'll see in a minute. If I ask my wife Elaine what's the most important thing on our plot she'll smile sweetly and inform me that she is. Who am I to argue?

Another view might be that the soil is equally vital to growth and our allotment compatriots are always willing to discuss the pros and cons of the brown stuff beneath our wellies. We're fortunate that our soil is free draining so no lumpy clay but of course, free draining does allow the water and nutrients to slip away; a cause for concern when the rains fail and the water butts run dry. This leads to the issue of whether to dig, double dig or leave well alone and gardening pundits wax lyrical about this at every opportunity. Is it fashionable? Is there conclusive evidence? What did our forefathers do?