The idea of no-dig gardening was developed by an Australian named Esther Deans. Esther is the author of Growing Without Digging. (As an aside, as I was preparing this article, I did a quick check on Amazon.com to see if this book was still available. I found two used copies for $96 each.) No-dig gardening was originally developed as a labor saving idea and a method to rejuvenate badly depleted soil in a vegetable garden.
The process involves starting with layers of newspaper. Then by adding lucerne hay, straw and compost in succeeding layers, you can create a nutrient-rich growing medium without resorting to heavy digging. This will simplify weeding and encourage your much-desired plants to grow. The layers compost together, and greatly encourage earthworms. The gardens are maintained by adding manure, compost, etc., and should not be dug up, as this will undo the good work.
Below is an illustration of the various layers of a no-dig garden. I found this at Homage to Esther Deans website.
Some followers of permaculture and organic gardening have translated no-dig into never-dig, which I believe is sadly mistaken. If you start with a base soil that is badly compacted, then your no-dig garden will initially work well, but you may find your garden does not continue to perform well. The fertile layer you have built up will encourage the earthworms, but we do know that the worms need to shelter from excessively hot, dry, cold or wet conditions. Worms seek shelter from extreme conditions by burrowing more deeply into the soil, sometimes many feet down. If they cannot shelter in this way, they will either die out or move out. An initial cultivation of the soil before you apply the no-dig system will guarantee a better environment for the worms, and thus a better garden for growing your plants, over the longer term.
For more information on no-dig gardening visit the Gardening Australia website here or the No-Dig Vegetable Garden.
Recent Comments