How to make a no dig garden
Here horticulture and landscape designer Jason Hodges, from “Better Homes and Gardens” shares his tips on how to make a no-dig garden.
There are lots of people who choose not to garden. Shame. But a greater shame is people who want to garden but, due to health, disability or age, are prevented from doing so.
Well, there is an easy answer: no-dig gardening. It is a built-up garden made from layers of different organic matter that breaks down into a beautifully rich, alive soil.
No-dig gardening makes perfect sense when you have poor soil, heavy clay or when you would like garden beds above an existing lawn or hard surfaces like concrete or pavers. It is the best way to improve your garden beds without back-breaking digging at ground level where you still might get mixed results. You can place a no-dig garden on any surface if you take into account the drainage.
No-dig gardening works because it has all the materials to provide the nutrients to grow happy, healthy plants. The process is a little like composting. You need a mix of dry and wet materials. Dry materials are straw, lucerne and dried leaves. These are the carbon materials. Wet materials are manure, compost, grass clippings and kitchen waste.
As you put down each layer, water it. That is the trigger to start the garden bed breaking down. Building it up layer by layer is a little like making lasagne. You can build it up to your desired height.
To get started, pick an easy access spot where you can move freely. If you are building a no-dig garden for health reasons, build it up so working on it is as comfortable as possible. If that means you need to be standing erect, build your garden to above-waist level. Building it to 400 to 500 millimetres means the edge makes a great seat.
Cover the entire area with newspaper. Overlap about six sheets and water them in to start the breaking-down process. Next, add a layer of lucerne, hay or sugar-cane mulch. These break down easily and quickly.
Then put down a layer of organic fertiliser like blood and bone or Dynamic Lifter. Chook poo is good to use as it has lots of nitrogen to help break down your mix. Water and cover with 150 to 200 millimetres of hay or lucerne. Continue layers of organic fertiliser or manure then straw or hay until you reach the desired height.
Just like icing a cake, you need a good topping on the no-dig garden – of compost. This is what you will be planting into. You want to make it at least 100 millimetres deep. If you do not have enough compost, you can make pockets and nurse the plants until your new garden breaks down.
You can leave the garden until that happens but it is not necessary. First you can plant shallow-rooted plants like lettuce, spinach or beetroot and lots of different annuals. Once the breaking down is complete, you can plant deeper-rooting plants like carrots, rosemary, a bay tree or citrus.
Rather than adding compost or manure to replenish the new garden bed after a growing season, use blood and bone. It is complete and has all the nitrogen, calcium and phosphorous your hungry vegies need.
Garden worms are an important part of a no-dig garden but do not worry about buying them. Give it time and your beds will be the newest must-visit destination for neighbourhood worms. They aerate the mix, preventing the plot from going sour. The worms do the digging for you. It is a clever way to garden, not just for some but for everyone.
Would you be willing to give this trick a try in your garden? Let us know in the comments below.
Written by Jason Hodges, first appeared on Stuff.co.nz.
Related links:
Tips for designing a garden on a budget
Quick tips for a beautiful garden in a small space