No Dig Gardening

I have just noticed that people are starting to dig their gardens over. Digging in compost and turning the ground over. Why?

Save your time and effort by adopting a new policy when it comes to preparing your gardening. No dig gardening takes a look at how nature does gardening and applies the principles.

I follow a no dig policy in our back garden and it has worked amazingly. When we moved into our very new house we found the back garden soil was sub-standard and full of stones. We live in the clay area of Cornwall so it was also thick and difficult to dig. Up and down the gardens neighbours started purchasing compost and started digging. My wife and I started mulching. Basically we took well shredded tree branches and spread them over the ground. Without any digging or adding any additional compost we found one month later that the soil had started to break down under the mulch and we were able to push our fingers in. Also we noticed worms had appeared. Not sure how they got there and there probably is a technical answer but I like to think the garden fairies liked what we were doing and thought the worms would enjoy living there!

Over time we have found that:

• Vegetables and flowers grow easily. Weeds grow less.
• Worms are encouraged and aeration happens naturally because of the worms.
• Beneficial fungi, such as mycorrhizae, and bacteria have started to do their work. These help plant roots to find the nutrients and moisture they need.
• Soil has it’s own life and will reward you if you respect it. Plus the fairies love you.

No dig is easy. Even when we weed. All we do now is pull the plant up and throw it on the ground. Unless of course it needs destroying. Also our last season annuals are now benefiting the ground by rotting back into the ground and giving back the goodness they got from the sun.

I love gardening and I love seeing my garden going to bed and springing back into life.