No Dig Garden Experiment

Really? A no dig garden? Yes! I first read about the possibility in a wonderful book titled Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture by Toby Hemenway. Actually, if truth be known, I wanted a way to garden into old age.

One of the key concepts that struck me about the no dig garden was the fact that you're actually building your "compost" right into the planting area. In regular composting much of the best composted soil remains on the bottom and you just keep building on top of it. With the no dig garden you have the advantage of the bottom layer of compost gold all of the time!

You will want to prepare the garden site in the fall which will give the site time to settle over the winter for a spring planting.

Step 1: Mark off your garden area

First, mark off the boundaries of the garden. One way is to use a garden hose and keep moving it around until you get the design you want. My first no dig garden was more of a rectangle….I was actually also trying to get rid of Creeping Charlie and so I thought why not do both at the same time! Once you've decided the location and shape of the garden, cut the grass short. This allows for the cardboard or newspapers to lay flat.

Step 2: Mulch - with newspapers and boxes!

Next cover the entire area with several layers of newspaper or corrugated boxes. Whichever paper source you use, be sure to overlap the edges about two to three inches. Large appliance cardboard boxes work great! They cover more space in less time and provide a very sturdy underlay that still decomposes easily. Remove any plastic type labels or advertising strips. You just want the cardboard. If you're using newspapers, you'll want the thickness of about a half an inch. It takes a lot of newspapers.

Hint - recently, I noticed removal of large cardboard boxes used to cart in mega loads of vegetables and fruits, e.g. Woodman's. They may be very happy to give them away.

Step 3: Give your boxes a bath

Once you've covered the area with cardboard or such, wet it down thoroughly with a hose. Really soak it good. Next, toss on leaves. Ideally, you use chopped leaves so there is less surface area per leaf. I plan to ask my neighbor across the street if he wouldn't mind dumping the leaves he gathers with his riding lawn mower into my large yard bags instead of at the curb. Saves me from shoveling them into my bags and keeps his curb clear….kind of win win situation. Last year, my husband helped me haul loads of chopped leaves into the garden. It was kind of funny hauling bags of leaves across the street. But what a terrific outcome!

Step 4: Mixing it up with marsh hay

Continue building the bed by adding marsh hay that you've pulled apart and shaken across the leaves and grass clipping mix. Basically, you are pulling apart the bale of hay to "fluff it up" before adding it to the site. You don't want solid sheets of hay all over the top. Pulling it apart helps to keep surface aerated and the hay spreads more easily.

Note about marsh hay: Marsh hay is very different from straw. It's softer, airier and has a light green hue from the spring harvest. Marsh hay harvested later is more golden and stiffer. I suggest you buy the amount of marsh hay you want for the growing season early if you want it for the whole season. Otherwise, the later stiffer harvest is what you get. Avoid using straw because it has weed seeds in the bale. Marsh hay doesn't and it's much more pleasant to incorporate into the planting bed. Continue layering the materials until the site is about a foot deep.

Hint: I like to take a pitch fork and mix the layers together….but you don't have to….I just happen to think it helps blend and decompose the mix a little faster. I like to add vegetable scraps right into the layers, letting it compost directly in the planting bed. Feel free to include additional composted soil when you're layering or when you're mixing it up with the pitch fork.

More Hints for Success

Add worm compost: You will find it beneficial to add a half a cup or so of worm compost to each planting "hole". Look for a future article on how to set up your own worm bin…it's so easy.

Establish plants before planting: I have found that the no dig garden lends itself well to planting plants and has less success with seeds. I plan to try a new method next spring….perhaps layering shallow layers of top soil over the bed I want to seed. Otherwise, I think the seeds are just too far down to germinate. I'll report back on what I find.

Be resourceful: I like to use whatever the yard offers. I fashioned the fencing around the no dig garden with trimmings from pruning my elder bush and wove the branches to create a wattle-type fencing.

Last updated: 9/15/06
Webmaster: Kim Linsenmayer
Site hosted by Imagiware, Inc.