WEED FREE MARKET GARDENING (Our no dig approach)

Richard Perkins is a globally recognised leader in the field of Regenerative Agriculture and is the owner of Europe’s foremost example, Ridgedale Farm, Sweden. He is the author of the widely acclaimed manual Regenerative Agriculture, regarded as one of the most comprehensive books in the literature, as well as Ridgedale Farm Builds.

His approach to no-dig market gardening and pastured poultry, as well as his integration of Holistic Management, Keyline Design and Farm-Scale Permaculture in profitable small-scale farming has influenced a whole new generation of farmers across the globe. Garnering more than 15 million views on his blog, and teaching thousands globally through his live training at the farm and online, Richard continues to inspire farmers all over the globe with his pragmatic no-nonsense approach to profitable system design.

[carolynmyers]

I had not heard of no dig gardens until this week. I’m 60 years old. What you say makes so much sense. I’m setting my garden up as a no dig garden this years. Thank you young man. This is very exciting to me.

[leo]

"We try to keep alive things wanting to die and kill things that are trying to live." Very profound observation Richard. Great video as always.

[fredonions]

I get it when he says he and his wife are always disappointed when eating out. You can't get the same quality and freshness of your home farm produce. Very inspirational video.

[MarkBoulders]

As someone who worked hard for a degree in biology... Bravo! You hit the nail on the head. Especially when discussing life, death, and intention. You have a wonderful mind.

[tonyelder]

This has to be one of the most enlightened farmers that I've ever encountered. His philosophy on life, disease and our desire to offset natures order instead of harnessing it is astounding in its simplicity.

[witness]

This year I converted my garden to no till and a few raised beds. I'm 68 and have moved 12 tons of compost, wood mulch, and manure all by hand shoveling. It's looking fabulous but still have more to do. Incorporating vertical growing and companion planting. Your market garden is a master piece! Your gardening philosophy is what I am trying to accomplish. I have been tilling for years. NO MORE TILLING. I HAVE UNLIMITED FREE MULCH, LEAF COMPOST, AND HORSE MANURE.
JUST HAVE TO DO A LOT OF SHOVELING! Really enjoyed your vision and video 👍.

[Goldhunter]

Small decentralized farming will keep us all alive when the global financial system collapses. Our local grocery store now has a section for local organic produce so that's all we buy. Nice work.

[etiennelouw]

I live in Cape Town, South Africa and we have Kikuyu grass, this grass is tough and it will grow through everything. I am forced to dig it out and sift the soil to get rid of it. I then use concrete slabs and large cement bricks to form a barrier so I can grow my veggies. Not easy, but it is good exercise as I am 67.

[bracebridgelionsclub]

I have a 10M x 10M in my yard I have grown for 2 years and from the start my motivating focus was my extreme dislike of weeding. I moved into a 6 year old home with a back yard that the previous owner had allowed to become extremely weedy which I decided to turn into garden. Knowing full well the weeds would sprout back up if I tilled it, I covered the prospective garden with heavy cardboard overplayed thickly with dead leaves. In Spring I had a layer of fresh compost to plant in. To avoid weeds invading, I covered planted areas with paper that is just heavy enough to survive the summer; thereby avoiding tilling and allowing weeds a foothold. In the meantime, I composted everything I could get my hands on and began raising compost worms in bins by feeding them household food waste. I applied a layer of compost and vermicompost mix and it's coming along quite well in its second season. So I discovered the benefits of no- till almost accidentally through my dislike of weeding and I just feel better and better about it as I listen to everything Richard has to say.

[anthonyberens]

Richard you are the by far the most articulate person who explains no dig on you tube that i've seen so far, cheers for video, awesome farm btw :)

[gee]

You tube working its magic allowing us to discover people like this. Nice one Richard.

[nannycaz]

I have an allotment here in the south of England and watching your video has inspired me to ditch traditional methods and focus on no dig.

[julyortega]

I'm in love and jealous of this garden😍 Clean, productive, and delicious looking!! 👀👀😍👍

[dennisgalante]

I must compliment you on the neatest, healthy, and most organized gardens! So many articles/gardens I see on this subject are so messy. Thank you!

[nickbeam]

This is one of the cleanest gardens i have ever seen !

[Emiajtruk]

“Not a good day to be a lettuce”....
loved that!

[MarthaFaey]

One of the most beautiful and organized farming I have ever seen. Great job!

[staszekgolab]

Tried in US same thing that you do. I was mechanical engineer so it was my hobby. At the beginning I used Roundup( Glyphosate) & within few years garden turned to dead field. No life in the soil, only moss, nothing wanted to grow, even weeds. I found that no till, wood chips, compost & walkway lined with cardboard boxes, newspaers, cartos cover weeds. Same results that You have. Good luck to You Man.

[pbrezny]

Richard. Could you talk more about your garden crew management? What works what doesn't, how you coordinate and compensate your team? Thank you for sharing your knowledge, passion, and farm life.

[beverleysaxophone]

I can testify that no-dig really does prevent perennial weeds - but you may need to give it some time :-)
I am so grateful to you Richard for motivating us to keep going when we mentioned to you at your course in Stockholm last year that we were spending 80% of our time weeding our newly laid no dig beds. We had laid them directly on a field of couch grass in the Spring just before planting. In hindsite we should have done it in the Autumn and probably tilled the ground first. However, last September we put a new layer of cardboard and 5 cm compost on the beds and covered them with thick black plastic. We also dug a trench round the growing area and lined it with plastic to stop new couch grass re-entering from the surrounding field. We have not had a single strand of couch grass in the beds this year! And we have a lot of funghal growth which I believe is a good sign. Now we only have to remove the odd annual weed. This year I bought a tilther from you but only use it to break up the lumps in newly laid compost. It saves a lot of work - highly recommended!