Leave the shovel in the shed! Here's how to have a no-dig garden
Vegetable seedlings, annuals, herbs, bulbs and strawberries all thrive in a no-dig garden and it's great for areas with poor soil conditions, such as the sandy soil we have here in Perth.
Pick a spot that gets plenty of sunlight and that's flat. You can construct it over lawn, existing garden beds or even concrete.
You will need:
- Newspaper (don’t use glossy printed paper or office paper as they contain toxic inks and bleaches). You can also use shredded paper
- Manure & compost
- Straw
- If building on concrete, you’ll also need dry small sticks and branches or old dry leaves.
Mark out your garden bed and prepare the ground
- Soil/garden bed – no preparation needed
- Concrete – cover with a layer of dry small sticks and branches, old dry leaves about 7-10cm thick
- Grass – sprinkle lime, blood & bone fertiliser and sprinkle in.
Start layering – after each layer, water in well
- Newspaper – 5 mm thick and overlap the edges to prevent weeds
- Lucerne – 10cm thick
- Manure & compost – 5cm thick
- Straw – 10cm thick
- Manure & compost – 5cm thick
- Straw – 7-10cm thick
Plant
- Make holes in the top layer of straw approximately 10-15cm wide and deep
- Fill with compost
- Plant seeds, seedlings or plants
- Using a watering can or hose, water in well
- Now you’ve finished just step back and admire your newly constructed no-dig garden bed!
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