The no dig gardening beginners guide.

In this beginners guide I’m going to show you just how easy it is to start a no dig garden. It doesn’t matter whether you start in ground, with raised beds, or containers. They can all be treated as no dig. Contrary to what some may think, you don’t even need special materials to get started. So how does it work? You may not need to do much at all, or at most you will need a selection of cardboard, compost, and containers. Mulch is an optional extra, depending on where you are, and availability. Cardboard is easy enough to get hold of. Either save from deliveries, ask neighbours, or stores are usually willing to give it away. Make sure it has all tape removed, even the claimed compostable courier tape. This has a fine string that runs through it that does not compost.
You can multi layer your cardboard if using it. However, do consider what plants you intend growing in your new space. The cardboard is there to do a job, so a deep rooting plant will not be able to immediately get through it in dry conditions.

Compost

Choosing the right compost can be difficult, most especially when on a budget. At this point I’d love to say “Buy the best you can afford”, as if price makes a difference, but these days it doesn’t. The demand on supply has become so great that even some big names are falling far short of their once reliable reputations. In the video I’ve posted below, you’ll see I’ve used some repurposed compost that had become hydrophobic. I showed how to fix that here I also show a comparison between my own homemade compost, and commercial bought. You’ll also see that I’m seeding it with my own homemade instant worm casting tea, which I speak about here. Regardless of what compost you buy, be prepared to top it up as it breaks do. If your plants appear to be struggling after 6-8 weeks, feed them.

How to set up a no dig garden bed.

Let us start with in-ground beds. If you already have established beds, then no dig is as simple as stopping the digging you’ve already done. From the point you decide to go ‘no dig’ you’ll just start amending your beds with compost on the surface. You may also need to mulch with other products, depending on your climate, for moisture and weed control. Manures, be they farmyard or green composts (we’ll discuss these in depth on their own page) are best applied in the autumn so the colder weather can work on them. This will apply to all beds and containers once they are established. Not only does this help feed the soil, but it helps protect it through the harsher weather, and feed the ecosystem below.

Beginners guide to starting a new bed.

If you have a very neglected bed, or you are starting on lawn then make sure this is as free of perennial weeds as possible. Not all weeds are created equally, and some are very determined to stick around. What I am about to write I have done so before for Jess Sowards, at Roots and Refuge Farm on YouTube. This was in relation to their Bermuda Grass, and how invasive it is. I wrote that perennial weeds keep sending up leaves. These leaves are like solar panels that feed energy to the root system below. That root system is like a battery, so if we rob it of its solar panels it can no longer re-charge and will die.
This is why we put cardboard and a thick layer of compost over the top of the ground to form a new bed. It smothers the weeds below for long enough that either they die, or become so weak we can manage them. All new weeds after this are those that either we allow to fall, get blown in, or the birds drop. The issue with using hay and straw as a mulch is that they can also contain seeds. It is easy enough to deal with small seedlings rather than established perennials though.

Starting raised beds.

I have semi-raised beds that are no dig. One did have cardboard in the bottom of it, but the large main bed did not. It made no difference in either case due to over six inches of compost being added in to the beds. It does depend on the depth of your beds as to what you may want to fill them with. For deep beds some people prefer to use Hügelkultur, which is the practice of using logs and other decaying matter in layers. Traditionally this method is a mound, or a slope, but has been adapted to suit raised beds. Eventually this composts down, the level in the bed drops, so must be refilled.

Containers.

I have 42lr buckets that I treat as no dig. I also have terracotta pot that contain my fruit trees, which also grow flowers in the top each year too. Worms will happily live in these year round so long as the moisture levels are correct. If they are willing to remain there it means the conditions are idea for your plants too. Small containers can be harder to manage, unless we treat the plants in them with the same approach as we do house plants. No-one ever considers that all their house plants are in no dig container gardens, and yet they are.
You can watch this video of a small no dig garden bed being made here on Odysee- To follow me there, if you don’t have an account there you can CLICK HERE to join. This is an affiliate link that won’t cost you anything, but will help me out a little. Thank you.