You Should Try Gardening Without Digging

In school, most people learned that gardening involves planting a seed in soil, providing enough water and sunlight, and watching it grow. Of course, it is much more, not to mention many other gardening methods.

One such method, which has been around for centuries (at least) and has gained momentum in the last decade, is gardening without digging. Here’s what this technique involves and what you need to know about how to start your own garden without digging.

What is gardening without digging?

Anyone who has built a bed from scratch and/or turned the soil over every spring before planting knows that the process of “preparing the soil” is hard work. In contrast, the goal of “no-dig” or “no-till” gardening is to leave the soil as undisturbed as possible and require significantly less upfront effort and maintenance.

In addition to not disturbing the soil, no-dig gardening is all about taking care of it and preserving its natural structure. Instead of breaking it up by turning or ploughing, you add a thick layer of organic matter such as leaf mulch, compost, peat moss, or well-rotted manure to serve as mulch.

“Worms and other organisms will dig tunnels and feed on organic matter, leaving behind useful waste,” writes gardener and writer Amy Andrychovich in a post on Get Busy Gardening . “In the process, they naturally aerate the soil, creating good drainage as well as adding nutrients.”

Types of gardening without digging

There are several different options for no-dig gardening, so start by identifying the one that’s right for your yard, climate, and garden. Lifehacker’s previous report breaks down four of the most popular methods: sheet mulching , growing lasagna , permaculture , and multi-layer gardening .

You can also check out Andrykhovich’s post , which provides step-by-step instructions for creating a garden without digging.

Basic gardening without digging

No matter which method you choose, there are a few no-dig gardening guidelines, such as from organic gardener and homeowner Cheryl Magyar’s post on Beforeing.com :

• Don’t Cultivate the Soil : Keep the Layers Intact
• Never use chemical fertilizers : add only a small amount of compost.
• Mulch, mulch, mulch : Remove (or collect) “weeds” only when needed.
• Forget about pesticides : go organic and embrace the concept of “doing nothing” in agriculture.

Of course, there is no such thing as a “perfect” gardening technique, and like other methods, no-dig gardening has its drawbacks and won’t always be the one that best suits your needs. If in doubt, contact your local extension office for advice and advice.