*The information contained in this double pack has been taken from Modules 1, 2 and 5 of my online course, No Dig Gardening, so if you have purchased this course, or just these modules , you will already have the information. For any queries, please email anna@charlesdowding.co.uk

Please note, these are digital products and only accessible via the website. They are not downloadable.*

One of my inspirations in 1982, when I was setting up my first market garden, was Ruth Stout. She was from Connecticut and her method was to keep ground covered with hay, partly because her husband was a farmer and had spoiled bales. I copied this in autumn 1982, and then suffered a lot of slugs! 

The Connecticut climate is drier than mine. Nonetheless, Ruth Stout helped me to work out the principles of no dig. Then I came to a greater appreciation of the value of compost and how it can maintain fertility. This package shows the possibilities.

No dig has been around for millennia, in different formats. Yet only recently, and particularly thanks to my work and social media, has it gained recognition and been widely practised. 

I explain the simplicity of this wonderful approach. How much time and effort it saves you.

Then I look at the recent history. What we can learn from why it did not reach a wider audience until the last 10 years.

Simple and universal 

For no dig you can use any kind of compost, not necessarily perfect in texture. It speeds up soil organisms’ access to food, and boosts fertility. Sometimes this is referred to as feeding soil, but strictly speaking, we feed the life in the soil.

Surface mulching, with compost in particular, is effective on all soil types. I give examples from my four market gardens, the first of which was on stony soil, then there was clay, and now silt. 

Learn how no dig makes it easy to manage soil differences. Largely because you don’t get too involved with any soil work. Instead, encourage the life in soil to do that through surface mulching with organic matter.

Make your own compost

Homemade compost has abundant life, and I show how to increase the microbes and organisms. Gain a grasp of the principles, then you can create a process that works in your space.

Learn how to make your own enclosures, and about ones that you can purchase. Why it’s good to use a heap size that relates to your growing area, neither too large nor too small. Simple ways of building heaps with materials that always vary, according to your space and the time of year. How to judge maturity, and why you can use compost that is not perfect-looking!

What is fertility?

Fertility is often equated to nutrients feeding plants, yet true and long-term fertility is about more than this. I explain how easy it is to grow great plants when you know surprisingly little about nutrient supply and uptake. 

You need green fingers and a biological approach, rather than calculations and spreadsheets!  Learn about life processes in soil and compost, for ensuring that plants have sufficient food and moisture.

Knowledge pack contents – includes text, photos and video

About No Dig

• Advantages and recent history of no dig
• Simple, time saving, productive
• No dig on different soil types  
• Comparing dig and no dig for 13 years – what the differences reveal 
• A three strip trial and continuous cropping 
• Myths – what you don’t need to do

Compost

• Make your own compost 
• What compost offers, when to apply, and amounts needed
• Understanding soil, and comparing it with compost
• Types of compost