Can you dig the no-dig approach?
PUT AWAY YOUR SPADE AND LET EARTHWORMS DO ALL THE HARD WORK FOR YOU
LAST week I had a chat with the wonderful Charles Dowding, a gardening guru who, since the 1980s, has pioneered ‘no dig’ organic gardening. I was curious as his methods have attracted a huge audience during lockdown.
People rave about Charles... but what’s his craft all about? It’s a way of gardening and a philosophy which does what it says on the tin – it’s about leaving soil undisturbed as much as possible, allowing all soil life, including microbes and earthworms, to proliferate and helps the delicate matrix that is soil structure to survive.
Charles’s interest in growing his own veg started when he became a vegetarian at university. He began an organic market garden and was always interested in the connection between the soil, plants and our own nutritional health.
He eschewed chemicals and fertilisers, believing if you get the biology of the soil right, your plants will access the nutrients they require.
He observed that other market gardeners were overrun with weeds such as chickweed and fat hen, which took a lot of time to dig up.
Moreover, he noted bare soil cleared of weeds will soon be covered with weeds again.
As he puts it: “I think of soil as a living organism. When the soil is disturbed, weeds are part of the ‘recovery’ process. Leave the soil alone and it becomes calmer.”
And when we dig over soil, we also bring seeds to the surface which germinate in the light. So, instead of digging, he buries weeds with a thick mulch of compost or layers of cardboard – anything from two to six inches deep, enough to block light from weeds which in turn suppresses their growth.
In the case of really difficult and invasive weeds such as bindweed which grows through the cardboard, he advises to keep pulling the plant out and persistence will pay off.
Mulches he uses include garden compost, spent hops, coffee grounds, mushroom compost and horse manure.
As well as blanketing the weeds, this organic material creates a hive of activity in the soil, such as the earthworms which move through
the soil digesting organic matter. By doing this, you have left the original soil structure intact and enriched it as well.
This helps with drainage as well as water retention in dry periods.
How can you implement this no-dig regime in your garden? Charles advises starting off small. Build a raised bed over your soil or lawn and fill it with compost.
Small weed seedlings can be lightly hoed off in spring but just skim the surface with a light touch. This is best done on a dry day when weeds will shrivel up. Others can be pulled by hand. The first year is the hardest with a proliferation of slugs. But as things improve and the weeds disappear, your vegetable patch will actually become less work as you ditch that back-breaking digging. I was hugely enthused by our chat – his certainties are persuasive and his knowledge is truly impressive. It simply makes sense to me... so much so that I’d like to embrace the concept and restrict digging to when it’s essential – for example when planting. We have to respect the soil – it’s our connection to the Earth and essential to our survival.
■ Visit charlesdowding.co.uk or see my chat with Charles on Instagram @diarmuidgavin