NO DIG GARDENING FOR ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS

In this video I explain the no dig gardening method as simply and effectively as I can. I list the benefits and disadvantages of this method as well as show you how to make the quickest and simplest no dig raised bed ever!

Welcome to my allotment gardening channel. My name is Emma and these vlogs are my allotment diaries. 2022 is is my third year on my plot. I'm learning as I go and would love for you to follow my allotment gardening journey by SUBSCRIBING to my channel!

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VIDEO OF MY NO DIG RAISED BED:

You can also follow me along on:

TIKTOK: @emmasallotmentdiaries

[koullakousoulou]

Hi Emma the bed that you were demonstrating the no dig method on didnt have enough cardboard. You need to completely cover the ground with cardboard leaving no gaps for light to get through. Thats what stops the weefs growing.
Otherwise a great job.

[susanpowell]

I am, at 63yrs, just starting my adventure of growing my own veg. Im all for no-dig. Thanks for your tips and information for a late starter.

[tonywarne]

Very good content & presentation, only slight issue is that Charles Dowding didn't discover the method, it's far older & than that, he's just promoting it. He explains his role in nodig like this: "I had come across Ruth Stout’s No-Work Garden Book. Her wisdom reinforced my instincts towards no dig. I also found out about F. C. King, a gardener who had practised no dig since the 1940s. There was already a history of no dig methods when I started out. Gardeners like Ruth Stout, F. C. King, Arthur Guest and Shewell Cooper had led the way. Yet no dig had not received much attention in the gardening world."

[paulamcgivern]

No diggers. No plastic so no compost bags an aspiration. Comfrey grass clippings and wormy weed buckets all part of this journey. Off to cut comfey now. Bravo Emma.

[audreylittlewood]

I'm team no dig. Saved all my 'junk' mail and cereal boxes and used as a base and it does work. Thank you for sharing.

[meagera]

I'm a minimal dig person, only when I really need to. Also I tend to remove any weeds and top up my beds around this time of year, so what I add (homemade compost and chicken pellets) have all winter to work in so the soil is in great shape for the new season next year 🤞🏻

[cathgurney]

Had my allotment for a year so slowly learning and transforming a now have a few no signs beds and yes learning g the whole time . My no dig salad bed this year was amazing ♻️

[adysveggarden]

Hi Emma, great video. Don't forget no dig day on Thursday 3rd November.
To help stop the compost reducing so quickly mix with a bag of top soil (that has been sterilized) this also feeds the bed with minerals.

[lauren]

Thanks so much for this Emma. I've just got my first allotment (also in S. London) and this has given me an idea for something actually nice I can start on my plot, as a break from hacking away at masses of brambles!

[SamDuffy-hz]

I have just got an allotment and I have been weighing up which way to go. This video was so helpful. Thank you!!

[maureen]

Very well explained Emma👍
Another advantage of no dig is that it allows people who physically haven't got the strength or health to "dig", to garden successfully 👍

[heywood]

I've only just found this channel and now I'm bingeing on it. Absolutely love it😀

[TheMrWoodsman]

Hi Emma, I have even started a no dig bed in the middle of a well established lawn and it worked fantastic.

[johnking-htez]

Hi Emma I am a total no dig grower and enjoy your channel.

[Garden-of-weeden]

I remember you doing a video questioning why a woman would be watering cardboard lol 😃

[Agui]

Charle's method makes sense. When you look in nature or woodland you see how much better the soil is is from constant application of leaf matter each year.
Happy growing! ❤😊

[walkswimeatrepeat]

Really helpful Emma, thank you, especially the pros and cons part. I've just started an allotment and am really interested in no dig but recognise that I'd have to spend a fortune on compost to establish the beds (no facility to make my own compost at the moment). I've settled on doing some dig and some no dig beds and I'll see how it goes. I love your totally relatable approach. 🙂🌿

[creative]

No dig! I’m fortunate to have enough wooded and grass on my property so I’ve been saving grass clippings and leaves by mowing them with a mower with a grass catcher. I managed to get the company that trims all the trees near power lines bring my five truck loads of wood chips.
One definitely needs access to these raw materials to make enough compost.
I also started a couple of worm bins in my basement/cellar and that’s creating some wonderful rich castings to add to my raised beds.

[christineadamson]

Thank you for your motivating vlog. It's prompting me to start lots of salad leaves in my conservatory with a heat mat :-)
Having watched your video on 'no dig', I'm going to try the approach in an allotment plot for 2023 so will update later in the season. Also, thought I would say that for the last 3 full years I have had two half whisky barrels with lids and holes cut out in the bottom. I prefer these as more decorative compost bins than the big plastic ones. The first year I didn't turn the compost enough but within one year the compost was ready anyway. A long time to wait but it got there in the end. I started my 2nd half barrel compost last spring so it should be ready by spring 2023. I've heard that compost can be ready in a matter of weeks but I have a lazy attitude towards turning it. The compost from my 1st half barrel will be used in 2023 and I anticipate the 2nd will be ready soon after so I'm always at least one barrel of compost ahead. Thank you, really enjoying your vlog.

[AngelaH]

Thanks for the honest assessment about the need to top up the beds, this is something often glossed over by no-dig enthusiasts..