No-dig gardening: What is it and how does it work?
No-dig gardening is simple. Rather than digging to create flower beds, no-dig involves layering organic materials like compost, cardboard, and mulch on top of the existing soil — using just your hands.
What is no-dig gardening?
Charles Dowding, an English horticulturist and author who has pioneered modern no-dig since 1983, told Country Living: "It's a method of cultivation that aims for minimal disturbance of the soil — and can be adopted by anyone. Because it's such a healthy way of growing and the soil health stays so good from not being disturbed, you get a stronger growth of your plants."
"You need fewer fertilisers, less pesticides, very few slug pellets. It ticks so many other boxes too, such as keeping your soil moist," says Charles.
A no-dig garden is a growing method that feeds your soil, helps control weeds, and saves your back in the process. You simply add layers of nitrogen and carbon-rich materials in which to grow your plants in. These layers break down over time to create a rich growing environment above the soil.
You can adopt no dig methods even if you have a small garden and it doesn't matter whether you’re growing flowers, shrubs, or vegetables. No dig isn't actually a new concept, it's an organic approach to cultivation that works in line with nature’s systems and is actually a pretty old idea — having previously been popular in pre-industrial or nineteenth-century farming techniques
What are the advantages and disadvantages of no-dig gardening?
No-dig gardening is beneficial to your soil, your garden and the environment.
"Soil stores a lot of carbon, so the more we dig the more we release carbon into the atmosphere," says gardener and no-dig advocate Emma Jo Real-Davies. "There's lots of evidence to suggest that digging damages the soil as it upsets its structure, so by leaving it alone, and applying a thick layer of mulch, we’re improving the soil and its structure."
Another benefit of no-dig gardening is that it can minimise weeding. The layers of newspaper you put on top of the weeds block out light so, over time, that stops them growing.
While no-dig gardening offers numerous benefits, it requires significant upfront effort to layer mulch, compost and cardboard. Some gardeners also find that no dig gardens can attract slugs.
How long does it take for a no-dig garden to break down?
How long it takes for the materials in your no dig garden to break down will depend on exactly what materials you used.
Typically, as in a cold composting system, the materials will have decomposed to create a rich compost or humus in around 6 months to a year.
"Take note that the level in the original bed will sink considerably," Elizabeth Waddington, from Horticulture.co.uk tells us.
The beauty of a no-dig garden is the fact that you can keep adding mulches of organic material each spring, and throughout the year. So you will always have plenty of organic matter at various stages of decomposition, releasing their nutrients for your growing plants and feeding the microorganisms in the bed and the soil below.
Is no dig gardening expensive?
No-dig gardening can be initially more expensive than traditional gardening due to the need for large quantities of compost and cardboard. However, it can be more sustainable and cost-effective in the long-run as it reduces the need for frequent soil amendments and weeding.
How do I start a no-dig allotment?
There are several different ways to create a no-dig bed. You can:
Make a lasagne garden – a type of flat raised bed with layers of compostable material.
Try hugelkultur – beds made in a similar way, but with a core of rotting wood at the heart, and a mounded shape.
Bring in straw bales, top these with compost, or create compost-filled planting pockets, and plant into those rather than into the soil.
Follow the steps below:
1. Prepare area and cover in light-blocking material
Remove any large weeds by slashing them from the ground (rather than digging them out) and putting them on the compost heap.
"Then you need to put down a layer of light-blocking material onto your patch – torn-up newspaper is excellent because it breaks down into the soil as it gets moist and plant roots will eventually penetrate through it," Sarah Janisch-Corser, Head of the Kitchen Garden at Cromlix Hotel, owned by Andy Murray, told Country Living.
"If you are creating a no-dig garden onto grass, you should add a layer of manure and lime first to break down the grass," adds Sarah. "This would go under the layer of newspaper. If you are creating a no-dig garden on a hard standing, you would put down twigs first to prevent pooling of water."
2. Add your layers
"Next you want to add a layer of kitchen scraps (vegetable peelings, fruit waste, loose tea), then a layer of manure, or a manure/compost mix. (The compost can be homemade from leaves, grass cuttings, plant prunings).
Then, add a layer of straw. Then another layer of manure and compost. And then, finally, a final top layer of straw. After you've put down each layer, water it well to leave it nice and moist," advises Sarah.
Your layers in order:
If creating a bed on top of the soil, go straight to layer 2. If creating a bed on top of grass: manure and lime. If creating a bed on top of a hard surface: twigs.
Light-blocking material, like newspaper or cardboard
Organic food waste or compost
Manure or manure/compost mix
Straw
Manure or manure/compost mix
Straw
3. Make wells for planting
Once you have built up your layers, you create little wells about 10cm deep in the top layer of straw and fill them with compost. Then plant your seeds, seedlings or saplings in the wells.
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