No Dig Gardening

For something called "No Dig Gardening", it sure seems like a lot of work. Treehugger shares one woman's story.

[#1 posted by Genevieve, April 10, 2009 6:57 PM]

A lot of people plant in rice straw bales, just tucking a bit of soil in them. Loads less work and the same great result.

http://blog.amystewart.com/2008/06/straw-bale-gard.html

By the end of winter the bales have decomposed into gorgeous soft soil that you can use inside of next year's bale!

[#2 posted by J France, April 11, 2009 5:55 PM]

Nah - no dig gardening is great, especially if you live somewhere with shitty soil. Or partiularly clay-ey or hard soil.

Just build up gardening beds and of you go. I think the trick is selecting areas to do it in, and not the entire garden. Best just to use for herbs and edible plants, too.

You should just pick plants best suited to your soils in other places.

[#3 posted by rmwb, April 16, 2009 9:57 PM]

It may be an expensive initial outlay to create a no-dig garden, but it is worth it in the long run when you don't have to remove weeds and the process of growing the plants can actaully significantly improve the underlying soil structure.