No-dig gardening is not just the easiest way to convert compacted crusty sub-soil to lush gardens full of food. Nor was it simply the best way for us to combat an acre of vigorous grasses that grow more than 2 meters high up and over our young trees. On a global scale, No-dig gardening is the best way to grow food without releasing any carbon into the atmosphere.
Martin Crawford understands the power of no-dig gardening in his food forest. He has a beaut book “Creating a Forest Garden: Working with Nature to Grow Edible Crops”
No-dig gardens at Mt. Kembla Permaculture Visions demonstration site.Learn more here about the no-dig gardening method we used over the past 20 years to build our food forest.
The no-dig garden made with cardboard provides:
- protection from erosion for the soil
- moisture trapping (if laid carefully in reverse-tile pattern).
- evaporation barrier
- carbon and organic matter
- worm-food
- composting of a waste that is often sent to landfill
- weed-control and conversion to worm-food
- food without killing soil micro-organisms
- habitat for soil fungi
On the down-side we do need to be careful to remove all plastic-wrap, ties and tape attached to the cardboard as this is a real threat to small animals and reptiles.
Join us in an upcoming practical workshop on no-dig or simply learn with us online.