What is No Dig Gardening?

No Dig Gardening

Posted on 16/01/2025

What is No Dig Gardening?

No dig gardening is a method of growing that minimises soil disturbance and feeds the soil by applying compost, manure or other organic materials directly to the surface. It is a gardening technique that has become increasingly popular over the last few years as we have learnt more about the important role that soil life plays in creating fertility, and the detrimental impact that digging and tillage has on that life and on the structure of the soil. 

Until relatively recently, books on vegetable growing and gardening would routinely recommend annual digging of beds to remove weeds, aerate the soil, and incorporate compost and manure. Some older books even suggest double digging (digging to two spades depths) to prepare a bed for potatoes and root vegetables! All this digging is not only time consuming and exhausting it also has a detrimental effect on the soil and the life within it. The most obvious impact of digging on soil life might be when you find half a worm on the end of your spade, but that worm and the other visible creatures are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to soil life. Soil is teeming with microbes, invertebrates, fungi and billions of other creatures, in fact there are more creatures in a teaspoon of healthy soil than there are humans on the planet! These creatures decompose organic matter, providing fertility to the soil, break down rock to release minerals, and aerate the soil which allows it to hold water. Soil life does everything that we set out to achieve through digging, only it is much more effective than we could ever be.

worms

How does it work?

No dig gardening works exactly as it sounds: no digging is carried, out leaving the soil undisturbed. All the work is done on the surface of the soil, with compost or other organic matter added directly to the existing ground surface. This is how nature works, think about a forest floor covered with leaves in autumn, this layer of organic matter is decomposed by fungi and micro-organisms and taken down into the soil by earthworms. So, there is no need to dig organic matter into your soil, let the soil life do that job for you! The resulting soil will be loose, aerated and rich in organic matter, much like a forest floor. 
 
While the aim if no dig growing is to not disturb the soil it doesn’t mean that you will never dig. When planting a tree or shrub, for example, you will need to dig a hole, and digging out those pernicious perennial weeds will also require some digging, but the idea is to minimise this kind of disturbance. 
 
The no dig technique can be used in vegetable patches, allotments, flower gardens, polytunnels and even pots and containers. You don’t need a vast amount of organic matter either, just 1cm spread over a bed annually will be sufficient to feed plants throughout the year. There are many books and online resources to guide you through establishing and maintaining a no dig garden, some of which will be linked below, but here are a few pointers to get you started:
 
For established garden beds you simply need to stop digging, it is that simple! Use the compost that you would have dug into the bed and spread it on the surface instead. Apply a new layer of organic matter each year. 
 
To create a new bed you can either lay between 5cm and 10cm of organic matter directly onto the ground surface, covering the existing grass or other vegetation. Or, if your plot is weedy, cover the ground with a thick layer of cardboard and then lay the organic matter on top of that. You can start a new bed at any time of year.

Benefits of No Dig

There are many benefits to adopting a no dig approach to gardening, both for ourselves, the soil and the planet. The most obvious one is that it saves a lot of work and back ache! Spreading compost on to the surface of a bed is considerably easier than digging it over. It is also quicker, saving time and making growing easier to fit into a busy life. No dig is also flexible which means that the work can be spread out over time – ideally the organic matter would be spread on established beds before they are planted up but if this doesn’t happen then just spread it around the plants. It’s a bit trickier as care needs to be taken no to damage the plants, but the results will be the same.
The enrichment of soil fertility and the abundance of soil life resulting from no dig growing means healthier plants. Vegetables grown in a no dig garden will be more nutritious and more able to fight off pests and diseases, and a no dig vegetable patch is likely to be more abundant because the soil can support more plants. This is great news for us as more nutritious vegetables will help to keep us healthy, and being able to grow more means we will save money. 
 
No dig growing is also good for the planet. Digging soil releases stored carbon while not digging keeps it locked away in the ground, and even increases the sequestration of carbon because of the increase in organic material being applied to the soil. No dig soil also stores more water than cultivated soil, helping to prevent run off and improving drainage. Increasing the storage capacity of your soil also mean that you will need to irrigate it less in drier conditions, saving water.

Want to learn more?

Hopefully this short introduction to no dig gardening will have provided you with inspiration to start your own no dig garden! For more inspiration and guidance check out the links below:
 
 
Charles Dowding: www.charlesdowding.co.uk
 
Charles Dowding YouTube: www.youtube.com/@CharlesDowding1nodig