Soil Food Web

You may or not have heard of the ‘no dig’ method of gardening. In light of serious potential for more drought this summer, I believe it is time to get serious about it.

We do it already in our perennial borders. Does anyone dig over the soil and replant every year in their flower borders? I doubt it. I certainly don’t. Do you notice how many less weeds there are in your established flower gardens? There is a simple reason for this and that is the soil has been freed of many weeds over time and the established plants take over. The soil structure is being maintained by the soil food web, mentioned in previous posts .

You may or not have heard of the ‘no dig’ method of gardening. In light of serious potential for more drought this summer, I believe it is time to get serious about it.

We do it already in our perennial borders. Does anyone dig over the soil and replant every year in their flower borders? I doubt it. I certainly don’t. Do you notice how many less weeds there are in your established flower gardens? There is a simple reason for this and that is the soil has been freed of many weeds over time and the established plants take over. The soil structure is being maintained by the soil food web, mentioned in previous posts XXX.

When it comes to vegetable gardens the story is usually a little different because the soil is disturbed every year.  I struggle with Chickweed every year unless I get out and vigilantly weed very regularly at the beginning of the season. This ‘no dig’ method of growing has been discussed for many years especially by organic gardeners and weeding was just one of the reasons it was devised. The other big reason is that it is believed digging the soil disrupts the microorganisms in that, all important, soil structure. By not disrupting it we maintain a healthier soil. This makes sense to me.

This method goes completely against the methods I was originally taught in my early horticulture classes. We were taught to turn the soil over, tilling, and allow the weather to break apart the solid structure, opening the soil to oxygen and improving drainage. That made sense to me at the time. However when you consider the ‘Dust Bowl’ of the thirties and the growth of desert landscapes, our past methods of cultivation demand a rethink. Charles Dowding is known as the father of ‘No Dig’ and he has been the main voice of promoting this gardening philosophy through his books and speaking tours.  Through him these ideas have slowly come to the forefront of the horticultural world. Many now write about this method and make videos about it. Methods evolve and I think the merits of no dig are worth a try, so this year I will be using the no dig method in my cut flower beds. We are in a serious time of drought in our climate history so for this reason alone, I believe this system will help. This method should slow evaporation and help the soil hold on to water for longer. I am fortunate in having a well developed loam as a base and I do wonder how this method might work on solid clay so if anyone out there has experience, readers would definitely benefit from those with that experience. Please respond to this article with any words of wisdom. My thoughts are that it would be beneficial to open up the clay by incorporating some sand to make nutrients more available first.

No dig means just that although I doubt you can get away with not using a spade and a fork! To grow, the soil is first covered with a weed barrier such as cardboard which will decompose and allow roots to penetrate. At the same time light will be kept away from weed seeds preventing germination and growth. 2 -3 cm or more of compost is spread over the cardboard and the crop is planted in that. By the time the seedling roots establish they are strong enough and the cardboard is weak enough for penetration. The following year the same procedure happens again unless the soil is so weed free a layer of compost can be directly applied to last year’s soil.

Without having tried this method my main concern is rounding up enough compost for a good layer on top of the cardboard and the best way to seal in the moisture.

There are many videos and papers written about the ‘how to’ but I think watching a good video makes the system very clear. I searched through the different ones from Edmonton, Ontario and the U.S.  but these I think together answer most questions. Charles Dowding’s actual website of course is also very informative and that is where you can find his books. I will also add the link to an interview between Charles Dowding and an American Gardener of note.