By: Alex Alexander

Alex Alexander — Thu, 23 Dec 2021 14:48:29 +0000

I have been a massive fan of Charles Dowding for 4 years, ever since I attended a presentation he did in Norwich in Dec 2017.
I had been doing a version of ‘No Dig’ by covering the area in cardboard, using a hole cutter to cut a hole approx. 75mm in diameter right down to the soil underneath. I’d then put a seed potato in the hole and cover with compost and then straw to a depth of approx of 15cm. It worked very well.
As the article explains – you’re going to need a lot of compost. I was able to buy 4 cubic metres of green waste compost for just over £160 in 2018 and that was sufficient to cover 24 square metres, with a little bit left over. I had to wheel it about 250M and basically, I’d do an hour or so in the morning and maybe a bit less in the afternoon. It took me about 2 weeks. I’ve also covered the paths in woodchip to make things easier.
The results are superb and I have even convinced a person in their 70s (I turned 70 this year) that ‘No Dig’ (and no crop rotation) is the future and he is now trying to persuade others to join the cause.
I mention no crop rotation is necessary, as you raise plants to replace crops as you harvest earlier crops, so that more than one crop is grown in the same area each year. You may have seen that Charles has grown 2 crops in the same area for around 7 years – potatoes followed by leeks with no problems.
I guess the $64,000 question is – would I do it again and the answer would be a resounding, ‘Yes!!’

By: Ken

Ken — Wed, 15 Dec 2021 14:43:51 +0000

Hi. I’m been gardening for years an I have a lawn not really much with weeds it’s going to be growing boxes now if I want there is no issues if I choose not to put cardboard down right ? But I will probably remove some of the grass an use it to touch up some holes in the yard. So that should be ok. The boxes are about 10 inches tall.

Comments on: No Dig Gardening – For Beginners

By: Alex Alexander

By: Ken