Make a no-dig bed in one afternoon
A no-dig bed turns a patch of weeds into a bed you can plant the same day. You need cardboard, compost and an afternoon, not a spade.
Published
A no-dig bed is a growing bed made on top of the ground, not dug into it. You smother the weeds with cardboard, pile compost on top and plant straight into the compost. The soil life underneath is left alone to do its work. I made my first no-dig bed on a weedy corner of my plot in one afternoon, and I have grown in it every year since.
What you need #
- Plain brown cardboard, with the tape and labels taken off.
- Enough compost to cover the bed a good hand's depth deep. Garden compost, green waste compost from the council or well-rotted manure all work.
- Something to edge the bed if you want one, such as old boards. It is not essential.
Build the no-dig bed in four steps #
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Cut the weeds down
Cut tall weeds and grass to the ground. Leave the roots where they are.
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Lay the cardboard
Lay cardboard over the whole bed, with wide overlaps so no light gets through. Wet it well.
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Spread the compost
Pile compost on top, a good hand's depth deep, and firm it gently with the back of a rake.
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Plant straight in
Plant young plants into the compost the same day, and water them in.
What happens next #
Most weeds die under the cardboard in a season. A few tough ones, such as bindweed, will find a way through. Pull them as soon as you see them, and they weaken over time.
Why I stopped digging #
Digging heavy clay in spring was my least favourite job, and it brought new weed seeds to the surface every time. Since I stopped, my beds stay softer and I weed less. In winter I cover any bare beds with a sown cover crop instead.
If you are planning your first season on an allotment, a bed built this way is the quickest way to get growing. For the background on the method, see the entry on no-dig gardening at Wikipedia.
The Allotment Letter is written by Margot Ellery on her plot in Sheffield.
About the author
Writer of The Allotment Letter
Experience Has worked the same half-plot allotment in Sheffield for eleven seasons, and volunteers on her site's committee
Margot grows vegetables on a half-sized allotment plot in Sheffield, on heavy clay soil and in a cold, wet spring. She writes The Allotment Letter every Thursday about what she did that week, what went wrong and what she would do again.
