How To Start a No-Dig Garden Bed
No Dig Garden Bed. Photo by Robyn Boldy
As the name suggests, no-dig gardening revolves around minimal disturbance to the existing soil, instead building a garden up above the ground. No-dig gardens are particularly useful in areas where the natural soil is lacking nutrients, organic matter or has high clay or sand content that isn’t suitable for growing a wide range of plants.
This technique works to build soil using organic materials which slowly break down over time, improving the soil below. It’s also a great option for those who aren’t interested in heavy labour or who don’t have the correct tools to prepare the soil for planting. This method can be used to create garden beds over lawn, existing soil or even to fill a raised garden bed.
To make a simple no-dig garden bed, follow the steps below:
Choose a suitable, sunny position and mark out the size of garden bed you prefer. Aerate the ground with a garden fork to allow for increased drainage and existing soil biology to move throughout the new garden bed. Lightly press the fork into the ground and gently lift making sure to not turn the soil, but to add pockets of air.
Lay a thick bed of newspaper or cardboard with all plastic removed to suppress grass or existing weeds and wet thoroughly. Make sure the paper/cardboard overlaps or else weeds will grow through gaps.
Add alternating layers (5-10cm each) of brown (e.g., straw, sugarcane mulch, leaves) and green (e.g., grass clippings, food scraps, coffee grounds, manure, compost) materials watering well with each additional layer. For example, start with a layer of grass clippings, a layer of straw, aged manure, then another layer of straw. Repeat this process and finish with a thick layer (10cm) of compost. Alternatively, if materials are hard to find, simply add a thick layer (minimum 10cm) of compost and top with mulch for a more ‘instant’ no-dig garden.
Plant into the upper compost layer and mulch well around seedlings.
Although no-dig garden beds require minimal work to establish, like all gardens they do require on-going maintenance. Following the addition of multiple layers of organic material, over time you will notice that the level of the garden bed will drop as these layers naturally compost and turn into soil and nutrients for your plants. Simply top up every few months with a light layer of compost and mulch, particularly if filling raised beds.
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