No Dig

Back cover description:

‘Stop digging and start to truly understand the needs of your soil, for bumper harvests of healthier crops. Charles Dowding has spent a lifetime perfecting his no dig system of growing. At its core is an awareness that soil vitality is a dynamic process, involving a web of organisms which we can easily feed and support, enabling our plants to grow strong and healthy, in a weed-free environment. With clear step-by-step instructions on how to set up a no dig plot, and detailed cultivation advice for over 80 crops, this book will revolutionise the way you grow.’

The book is made up of four chapters. It’s full of vegetable-growing advice, as well as my latest summary of no dig.

Chapter 1 – It all begins with the soil

Discover how no dig helps the soil, and you in the garden. I explain the fundamentals, the importance of compost, why weeds don’t grow, and the extensive other benefits of no dig beds.

Chapter 2 – Getting started

I give advice on deciding what to grow, planning your beds, controlling weeds, and the tools you may need.

I take you through creation of a no dig bed using cardboard and compost, then planting it on the same day in spring. We revisit it through the year.

You see how I make compost and I share many ways of doing this. It’s not difficult when you understand the few key principles and methods.

Chapter 3 – The principles of growing vegetables

The bigger picture behind growing success, and the reasons why these understandings work so well. Especially in a no dig garden where soil is lively, and weeds are few.

You learn about timings of sowings, succession planting, propagation, how to sow, caring for seedlings, transplanting, spacing, watering, using crop covers, controlling slugs and snails, growing under cover, harvesting, storage and saving seed.

Chapter 4 – Vegetable and herb directory

This chapter makes up the largest section of the book. I give detailed information on growing over 80 of the main vegetables and herbs, categorised as follows:

• Pea and bean family (legumes)
• Cabbage family (brassicas)
• Onion family (alliums)
• Cucumber family (cucurbits)
• Carrot family (umbellifers)
• Beet family
• Leafy salad crops
• Solanums, basil, and sweetcorn
• Perennial vegetables

For each category I give general information on choosing what to grow; sowing, growing and harvesting; and common problems.

Then, for each vegetable/herb within the categories, I explain in detail sowing and transplanting, care and protection, harvesting and storage, and finish with a useful summary of key growing information. I also share my recommended varieties.

The book is beautifully illustrated throughout with photographs by the excellent Jonathan Buckley. He visited Homeacres on 12 days over the course of 2021, capturing the growth and methods of each season, and the beauty of my vegetable garden.

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No Dig Children’s Gardening book

No dig children’s gardening book – you dream of growing your own fruit and vegetables but don’t like digging and weeding. This is the one for you! Whether you have a garden, a balcony, or a window box, my no dig method is the perfect way to create a family garden together.

Beautiful and charismatic illustrations by Kristyna Litten are on every page. They bring the possibilities and joy of gardening to life, before you even begin.

I explain how healthy soil will lead to healthy plants and will grow more of the amazing creatures that live in soil. The book tells you about the magic of compost, and the amazing power of seeds. And how to grow flowers that bring in more wildlife.

There are step-by-step activities and a planting chart to show you how you can grow food for your dinner table, no matter the season. The perfect book for any budding young gardener. See also my Schools no dig page, with a chart for term-time harvests.

Contents

• Dear gardeners
• What is no dig gardening?
• No-dig mythbusting
• What is soil and what makes it healthy?
• Microbe power!
• What is compost?
• How to make compost
• Suitable heap enclosures
• A no-dig bed in a day
• Creating a no-dig bed
• Planting a  no-dig bed
• What is a weed?
• Sowing seeds under cover
• Sowing for four seasons of food
• When to sow and plant common vegetables
• A no-dig sensory garden
• Raising seedlings
• Upcycling in your garden
• Attract wildlife in your garden
• School gardens in Surrey
• Grow a giant sunflower
• Grow and carve a Halloween pumpkin
• Vegetables need company!
• A no-dig market garden
• Be a garden scientist
• Ten easy flowers
• Gardening for children with additional needs
• Seed-saving projects
• Useful information
• Index

Read success stories from families and groups using my methods. The simple and achievable gardening projects in this book are perfect for parents and young children to do together. My no dig techniques perfectly lend themselves to gardening with little ones. They can’t manage heavy digging and quickly grow bored of endless weeding – with no dig, weeds are few!

Projects are in easy, step-by-step processes, designed for children. Attractive, full-bleed photography is supplemented with fun illustrations and fully illustrated factual spreads. Running throughout the gardening projects are extra little facts about plants and wildlife. As well as things to look out for when you are outdoors. And with no dig as cornerstone method to make it all easier and natural, see this brief video.

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No Dig Cookbook

A unique cookbook, packed with recipes for seasonal vegetables as well as tips on how to grow them, using my fantastic and time-saving no dig methods.

It explains and develops the strong links you can achieve between garden and kitchen, which keep changing according to the season. The garden decides your menu!

The recipes are by Catherine Balaam, who cooks for day and weekend courses at my Homeacres no dig garden.

Catherine has created and tested over 60 delicious plant-based recipes, inspired by those lunches which see the participants salivating, after an intense morning of learning in the garden. They are simple dishes bursting with flavour, from seasonal vegetables and herbs.

To complement them, I have written ‘Advice on growing your own’ sections throughout the book. I outline some key growing tips for many of the vegetables in the recipes.

I also include my own recipe for no-knead bread, another great timesaver.

We include ideas on how you can adapt recipes to your own harvests, using different vegetables which are similar to cook with.

Some of the recipes are how to ferment and store vegetables, so that you can use any gluts and enjoy them later.

Recipes are categorised as follows:

• Pestos, dips and sauces
• Ferments and vinegars
• Salads
• Cooked salads
• Roasties
• Stews and hot dishes
• Sweet treats

There are beautiful photos throughout, of the cooked dishes, a few including preparation, and also of my garden at Homeacres.

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 2024 Vegetable Sowing Calendar

My best sowing dates to hang on your wall. Each month of the growing season has my favourite sowing dates for each vegetable, to increase the likelihood of successful harvests. Every date is based on decades of fine-tuning from observations and learning.

• Use these dates to help you enjoy a regular supply of fresh produce through all four seasons.

As well as sowing dates, I give a brief vegetable growing summary for every month, to help you keep on track, and the calendar is illustrated with beautiful and informative photos from my garden at Homeacres.

In this year’s calendar, I share my tips for successful sowing. We have also created a yearly sowing overview table, to help you plan which vegetables you are going to grow, and when.

The sowing dates are for a Zone 8b climate in southern UK. You can use this calendar in different climates, with a little adjustment to the dates. If your climate is cooler, sow later by one to four weeks in spring, then sow a week or two earlier in summer and autumn, from the solstice onwards.

My recommended dates are not always the same as you will read on the packet of seeds! For some reason, they pay little attention to flowering dates. For example, I do not recommend sowing spinach, as in true spinach not leaf beet, from late April through to late July. That way you avoid its flowering season. By sowing either very early in the year or in August, you are far more likely to enjoy a long season of harvest. For a monthly summary of which seeds are best to sow when, in a temperate climate, see my sowing timeline. There is also a version for the southern hemisphere.

We also offer an advice newsletter, a weekly reminder of what best to sow, transplant, harvest and other jobs, for the week ahead. It’s £5 monthly from February to October, and includes contributions from new grower Anna, who helped with this calendar, and from other no dig gardeners who are enjoying success around the world – see also our International page.

Climate plus natural growth cycles
My sowing dates are based on the season, the climate, and the natural growth cycle of each vegetable. For example, your peas will succeed much better when you sow in spring rather than summer. That’s because peas grow most healthily and abundantly during months when the days are getting longer. Sow at the best time of year for each different vegetable.

Dates are based secondarily on moon phases. Within the best seasonal times, the moon cycles sometimes give even better times!

Solar and lunar
I combine two aspects of moon movements for calculating top sowing dates:

One is the phases of root-flower-leaf-fruit, based on whether the moon is passing through an astrological sign with earth-air-water-fire qualities.The other is waxing and waning. Where possible, sow on a waxing moon for faster emergence and stronger growth, especially just before full moon.Sun and moon give a framework of action, rather than a rigid rulebook. Many dates have sowing possibilities – there are few dates when all of the good aspects are present.

 

The calendar is 36 pages and is A4, opening to A3. It is hole-punched, for hanging on a wall.