The Danger of No Dig | A Personal Story

My only goal is to make growing food as accessible and practical as possible for as many people as possible. This is why I decided to talk about a rather hot topic because I believe in pragmatism. Please let me know your thoughts!

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#nodig #permaculture #selfsufficiency

[carolesharp]

Well said, Huw. Personally, I'm an advocate of No Guilt gardening and feel no shame for not following any particular methodology. I'm a lazy gardener and look for the easiest and cheapest way to grow my food. Digging is too much like hard work and covering the ground with compost every year is too expensive. I do whatever feels right for me and my garden.

[tmontero]

Well said, Huw. Five years ago, my backyard was a bare wasteland of rock-hard, dried out clay where no insects lived, no birds would land, and even weeds refused to grow. A pick ax was a necessary tool to even begin to work this soil that mimicked concrete.

I didn't know where or how to begin until I stumbled upon David the Good and Black Gumbo here in US and learned how to compost in place by digging trenches in my sad plot of earth. So, I buried every kitchen scrap and leftover along with straw, dried leaves, dead mice and birds, brown paper bags, cardboard and egg cartons, watering well. In four to six months I had the darkest, richest soil imaginable. The day I found my first earthworm was joyful!

Now, I generously cover my many raised beds with the excellent compost that I purchase by the truckload every year and lug home countless bags of chicken manure to nourish my little patch of heaven on earth. My garden is full of lovely birds, butterflies, insects and food I can eat. I dig when I need to period. I love my beautiful garden and am proud of all that I have accomplished. I've learned from your videos as well, Huw. Thank you sincerely for all you have taught me.

[leomiranda-castro]

As a biologist, I have learned that all ecosystems need different levels of disturbance at different times. For example, landslides, tree falling, fire, hurricanes, tornadoes, and many other. Nature is never static. Constant change is the law. Without it, ecosystems decline. Thanks for sharing this "down to earth" (pun intended) perspective.

[half-moon]

Exciting progress. I finally got the worms in my garden to stop disturbing the soil. I gave them smart phones and now they just sit around scrolling through YouTube all day.
Now I am preparing slippers for the chickens so they may tread more softly upon the Earth.

[darinbennett]

Huw, greatly appreciate your insights and willingness to speak up. To me, you summed it up in your comment above...'make growing food as accessible and practical as possible for as many people as possible'. That's what it's all about. If people are growing their own food and paying attention to how the process is working they will arrive at the best possible solution of growing for themselves. Let's all continue to learn and grow so that we can maximize our gardens.

[zedmeinhardt]

I love the minimal disturbance and no guilt mentality.
"You cant have potatoes without a little soil disturbance" is my new
"you cant make an omelet without cracking a few eggs"

[samuelthestrawbologist]

The world is loosing its grip on reality. When this is a concern you realise people have too much time on their hands, and too much venom towards those that are trying. Good on you dude.

[rosedoucet]

“Minimal disturbance to the soil” 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻Dogmatism in anything is unhelpful. Thanks for your voice of reason Huw.💚👍🏻

[jennifferhurlburt]

I totally agree with you!
Anyone who criticizes a gardener who is helping so many people and growing food, isn't someone to worry about.
Sometimes we have to dig or disturb the soil, with respecting to the soil.

[barbs-q]

Thank you Huw. You said it perfectly. As an older woman just starting to garden in soil that's at least as hard as a rock, it can be very defeating to be told not to till it. Sometimes you just have to face reality. I can't get a manicured garden without considerable expense of time, money, and hard labor. So you just have to admit your limitations. Something from the garden is better than nothing Working with nature is always the smartest idea .

[paintedtongue]

Thank you for bringing what should have been obvious sanity back to gardening.

[katherinelucas]

OMG. I am listening to a real, hands on, hands in the soil, gardener. Total respect. Thank You. Thank You.

[jaebee]

Perspective from someone who has been organic gardening 30 yrs.-- I've seen fads come and go. I've recently incorporated some "no-dig" methods after moving to a new property that needed tamed quickly. I never saw the "no dig" part as the main point of the thing. Rather, it was the weed control benefits that this method offers. I'm older now. Weeding is like a full-contact sport these days for me. 😂 The no dig method makes the whole thing so much easier. In all of my gardens, from the first to the current, soil health has been the obvious King. My first garden was heavy unworked clay. Every hole I dug for a new plant was dug oversized and filled with dry leaves and new loamy soil around the new plant. Every Autumn, dry leaves were layed down over the entire bed to break down all winter. Those were then turned over into the soil as I worked the bed. In 2 yrs, the entire bed was beautiful loamy soil. The no dig method is a faster & less labor intensive way to achieve that. If anyone had ever told me I had to adopt a strict no tool policy, I would've laughed and gone on abt my business. 😆

[dawnpettiglio]

Before the pandemic, Gardeners sermed to be a happy and accepting group. I feel a serious increase in the insanity over the last 3 years. I believe that "all things in moderation " is a great life montra.

[GNGResurrected]

I concur, Minimal soil disturbance seems to be the most logical method, the best of both worlds I suppose.

[andyrobinson]

Well said Huw! I left a no dig social media group because I had a couple of comments removed. I said that digging post holes for a fence taught me about my soil profile and that digging just a little area in your garden might be a useful exercise. I said I actually liked digging sometimes! Just a bit of humour! No discussion, no humour, just dogma… sometimes the case with Permaculture zealots too unfortunately. A lot of these ‘no dig’ fanatics are just bone idle! Joking aside i actually practice no dig in the main and think it has huge benefits in most circumstances. But people… get a grip!

[Lovelygreens]

This is such an important viewpoint, Huw. I, too, have felt no-dig guilt, but it's completely ridiculous. No dig is an excellent methodology, but minimal disturbance makes so much more sense. Soil will and does heal itself 💚 PS - there's no moles here on the Isle of Man. Guess they got banned 😂

[chambielion]

I started gardening when I was 12, am now 70 . The number of fads and fashions that have passed through the gardening world in that period of time might surprise some younger gardeners . Dont let anyone ruin the joy you can get from growing things , it is a privilege and a treasure . Commonsense and balance in all things is the best way to go .

[oldtavernfarm]

SO WISE. The concept of extreme views becoming ideology can be applied to so much else as well! Here on our homestead, we grow what we eat, and eat what we grow. (obviously aside from sugar, coffee and flour, etc.) We put our pigs in the the garden at the end of the season, over winter, and let me tell you, they dig lol. But they also have exponentially increased our soil nutrition in that area, which 5 years ago, was a bog. Ban Moles made me laugh out loud 😂😂😂❤❤❤

[misty_moss]

I love the concept of "minimal disturbance", in fact I think we should approach all of life like that!