How to Build a No-Dig Garden Bed and the Benefits of Composting

How to start a no dig bed and compost differences.

I take you though the early stages of mulching/smothering weeds, so that they die in darkness while leaving soil in great condition for growing..
The how and why of no dig.
You see examples of composts you can use, which serve to feed soil life and get plants off to a great start, even while weeds die underneath and out of sight.

* NOTE: At 07:36, the wheelbarrow I mention is full of soil, not compost*

Use any decomposed materials, of varied age and origin. Observe their different qualities, while other options I don't show here are mushroom compost, leaf mould, and vermicast in smaller amounts.

00:00 Introductory music
00:14 Introduction to video
00:39 Starting from weeds
01:51 Planting straight away
02:14 Planting into compost
02:42 Where to position new no dig bed/beds
03:24 Using black polythene to mulch/cover
03:40 Light exclusion to weaken weeds
04:03 Leaving soil undisturbed
05:19 Light and shade, in terms of where to site plot
05:51 Effect of having trees and hedges near to a plot
06:37 Using soil for uneven ground (and mention of slopes)
07:53 Weed roots - examples of bindweed, dandelion and buttercup
09:07 Introduction to different composts - not a full list as other possible composts are mushroom compost, leaf mould and vermicast
09:23 Homemade compost
10:22 Horse manure
11:16 Cow manure
11:58 Wood chip
12:45 Green waste compost
13:17 Compost bought for propagating- ‘potting compost’ (‘potting soil’ in US)
13:51 Enlarging a no dig bed
14:26 Information about cardboard
15:40 Demo of adding soil to uneven ground
15:59 Demo of laying cardboard
16:11 How to manage edges, including info on wooden sides
17:41 Demo of putting compost over cardboard
18:03 More on wood chip, and info on pathways
18:41 Wetting cardboard according to climate/weather
19:44 The important role of cardboard for weedy ground, and how plants can root through into the ground
20:42 Demo of transplanting pea plants in surface compost
20:54 Summary of no dig method, including more info on planting in new bed

Filmed 15th February at Homeacres and edited by Alessandro of @SpicyMoustache . See his channel for ideas about no dig suburban gardening, see also his amazing reels on Instagram.
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More information about no dig in many of my books, including Course Book 1 which is named after this online course
https://charlesdowding.co.uk/product/...

See the new area no dig playlist for how the land behind me evolved from weeds to beds, easily.    • First Steps For No Dig on a New Area  

To buy my collections of super informative video garden guides with an encyclopaedic search function, visit Retrieve with whom we partner https://charlesdowding.retrieve.com/s...

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