The concept of no-dig gardening was created by an Australian named Esther Deans. It was originally both created both as a labor saving idea, and a method to rejuvenate badly depleted soil in a vegetable garden.
The process involves starting with layers of newspaper, and by adding lucerne hay, straw and compost in succeeding layers, you’ll be able to produce a growing medium without resorting to heavy digging, and one that’s rich in nutrients and which will simplify weeding and encourage your much desired plants to grow. The layers compost together, and greatly encourage earthworms. The gardens are maintained by adding manure, compost, etc., and really should not be dug up, as this will undo the great work. I have applied this approach to creating vegetable gardens, and it certainly does work.
The principle of not digging has sound foundations. Excessive cultivation from the soil, specially when really wet or pretty dry, will damage the structure with the soil, and lead to compaction. Such excessive cultivation can also discourage the earthworms, and they are the most effective free labor a gardener has.
Some followers of permaculture and organic gardening have translated no-dig into never-dig, which I believe is sadly mistaken. In case you start with a base soil that may be badly compacted, then your no-dig garden will initially perform well, but you could possibly find your garden does not continue to perform well. The fertile layer you’ve built up will encourage the earthworms, but we do know that the worms have to shelter from excessively hot, dry, cold or wet conditions. They have been found to seek shelter from extreme conditions by burrowing much more deeply into the soil, sometime lots of feet down. If they cannot shelter in this way, it’s my contention that they will die out or move out.
My belief is that an initial cultivation of the soil prior to you apply the no-dig system will guarantee a improved environment for the worms, and thus a far better garden for growing your plants, over the longer term.
By all means give the no-dig approach a try – you’ll be pleased with the result.
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