(In just one weekend)

In the world of gardening “No Dig Gardening” has become quite the movement. It requires less manual labor and promises to grow healthier, bigger, tastier and more beautiful plants. It is a natural movement that encourages people to garden like a forest would. Instead of tilling every season the gardener layers organic matter on top of the soil and allows it to break down. It may take a few years for your soil to build itself and uphold these claims but it only takes an afternoon to start the process and set up your no dig garden beds.

Where can I put a no dig garden bed? No dig beds can be put anywhere you want to garden. This includes front yard flower beds, around shrubs, herb gardens, and vegetable gardens.

How to start a no dig bed with just 3 things:

• Cardboard or newspaper
• Compost
• Space

The first thing to do when starting a new garden bed is to mow down any plants growing there. If you are putting your garden bed on a lawn, mow the grass as short as possible. Clear any large stones or other obstacles and trim down any weeds (no need to pull the roots though). Lay the trimmed plants and lawn clippings over your desired garden bed area.

Once everything is short, cover your area with cardboard or with a thick layer of newspaper. Make sure there are no gaps between pieces of cardboard or you might get weeds and grass growing in your garden bed.

After the cardboard comes the compost. Pile up the compost. The more you have for this first season the better. You can put up to 6 inches of compost on top of your garden bed but at least 2 inches will be sufficient. The less compost you use, however, will mean that your plants this first year will have less room for their roots. After the cardboard breaks down roots will be able to spread into the ground below. Usually one year is sufficient for this.

After Laying the compost you are ready to plant, though it is a good idea to level it as much as possible and then to water-in your compost first.

Some excellent choices for crops the first year are Radish, Beets, Parisian Carrots, Lettuce, Green Onion, and Micro Tomatoes. These crops have less extensive root systems and won’t have any trouble ‘breaking-in’ your new beds. To add some color to your garden beds add Lollo Rosso Lettuce and Amaranth as well as native flowers. In the western U.S. growing native flowers like Penstemon and Lupine can help attract native pollinators and support native flower populations.