This could be a stupid question.

Aren't earthworms all hermaphrodites?

 

I tried both of these with no luck but I came across a tool we bought from QVC or the like (see video) and when I tried it this morning it worked pretty well.

 

Rotavating will have destroyed the structure of the soil, by mixing topsoil and subsoil and likely killed (nearly ) all the worms.
My advise would be to mulch continuously with whatever you can get cheaply, such as home made compost, leafmould, fym, municipal compost, such as Progrow. If you treat the lawn area as well, that transcient worm will have his mates round to party in no time!

 

I'm intrigued by this. I was taught as a kid that it's best to dig the soil over occasionally, to a depth of one 'spit' (the depth of the spade head), and to incorporate lots of organic matter. In case where the soil is particularly bad, 'double digging' used to be common advice. This involves digging a trench, then digging the bottom of the trench, so in effect digging to twice the depth of the spade head.

I know that in recent years there's been a growing trend of 'no dig' gardening, but I thought this was more to do with carbon emissions than soil quality, in that disturbed soil releases carbon back into the atmosphere.

Rotovating is surely just a mechanised version of the old advice to dig the ground over, or is there some other effect that I'm missing?

I know advice changes as people learn more, and I'm a long way from being the most knowledgeable gardener. Has something changed in the collective knowledge since I was taught? Or was I always wrong?

 

No dig Google Charles Dowding and you'll find all the information you need.
Double digging was something invented by head gardeners to keep the apprentices out of trouble.
Closest I got to no dig was in Essex; where I had access to well rotted stable manure, delivered to the drive, then all bare areas in veg plot were covered with 3" to 6".
I've always enjoyed digging, it's a satisfying thing to do.
Rotavating is different to digging in that it slices and dices the soil and anything in it, worms, couch grass runners, dandelion roots etc.
Digging in organic matter and growing green manure is a good idea. However my current garden is a desert as far as worms are concerned, regardless of where I look or what I do, the only place with worms is the compost heap.

 

I would not use horse manure on my garden due to likely contamination with Aminopyralid. This a chemical designed for use in producing hay for animal feed, I have access to as much as I like for free, but declined the offer. I am now also not using cattle manure unless I know where it came from.

 

Wasn't on the market when I was in Essex and my source only had two or three horses in a paddock at the back of the house.

 

This is not strictly correct.
Aminopyralid is used to eliminate docks, thistles and ragwort in pasture. it is a condition of supply that resulting treated crops do not leave the holding. However, hay is a commodity and is sought by horse owners without regard to onward transmission. Unfortunately money speaks and the rest is history. You need to know and trust your farmer supplier!
See:Grassland Stewardship | Corteva Agriscience

It takes up to 3 seasons to diminish to safe levels once spread as manure.
Batches of rotted manure can/should be tested with bean seedlings before the decision to proceed with use. Brassicae crops are not thought to be affected.
Similar products as lawn treatments exist and the resultant mowings get dumped in green waste with devastating effects when that produces compost which finds its way into commercial multipurpose 'peat -free' composts.

 

I know where it comes from but my niece (7) has advised me against using bathroom words in public.

 

It depends upon soil type, the need to dispose of previous crop residue and recreational energy!
Pros : It buries trash, provides exercise and fulfills a tidy mind.
Cons: Uses energy, destroys the soil organisms and texture and brings up the seed bank of hundreds of years.
The most prolific ecological diversity is found in woodlands, which have never been cultivated.
Its your choice.

 

I read that the first world war, for all it's horrors, brought back several wildflower species that had become very rare. The land being blown to bits churned up seeds buried for hundreds of years.

I'm not planning to blow my garden to bits just to see what grows, but I did find it interesting.

 

Yes, that would be the case. Often, where agricultural land got ploughed a little deeper, poppies would appear where none have survived on the surface . Modern agriculture does direct drilling or no-till so reducing the need and expense of weedcontrol.Don't dig, just hoe if needed!

 

Interestingly in the 1990s there were a lot of road works around the top of the M11 and the bare banks had a superb display of red poppies (Papaver rhoeas) that summer.
Papaver rhoeas is a "weed" of cultivated land prefers freshly disturbed soil, the abundantly produced seed also survives for a long time in the soil and requires light to germinate.

 

I've not dug one half of my allotment this year, just covered in cardboard late last year and topped with chippings from the shredder.
Its now basically concrete and I cant see much growing in it next year if I cant dig it over.

Dont have access to manure so I'm thinking no dig will not work for me.