No Dig Gardening: the secret to creating gardens easily.
The Beauty of No Dig Gardening: A Sustainable, Soil-Loving Approach
Sustainability and soil health are garden non-negotiables for us when creating gardens, and no dig gardening stands out as a powerful method to create gardens that have both thriving plants and thriving ecosystems. Whether you’re just starting out in your gardening era or have gardened for years & love learning new better ways of doing things, the no dig approach offers something valuable for everyone. I know it’s sometimes thought of as boring to talk about soil, it’s importance and having to spend time on this part of garden prep, but believe me, having a good understanding of the fundamental importance of your soil and keeping it as healthy as possible is part of your ‘essential garden basics kit’ that will be the difference to becoming a really successful gardener quickly or being frustrated with plants not thriving or even dying in your garden.
Layering cardboard for no dig gardening. This is the first step and is a great way to suppress weeds or grass.
Who gives a crap…. we do!
Final layers of organic matter and manure and now we leave it for 6 weeks to break down before we plant. This is good for a new garden or an existing garden.
What is No Dig Gardening?
Fundamentally, no dig gardening is exactly what it sounds like — creating and managing garden beds without turning or disturbing the soil. Instead of using traditional digging techniques to aerate or incorporate compost, you build your garden by layering organic materials on top of the soil, allowing nature to do the work.
This approach mimics the way natural ecosystems work — where fallen leaves, plant matter, and decomposing organisms form rich layers over time. Earthworms, microbes, and fungi gradually break down the materials and incorporate them into the soil, creating a nutrient-dense environment that supports plant growth beautifully. The best thing is it happens quite quickly and you’re ready to plant faster than you think.
It’s fun, easy and the benefits are immense. It’s also obviously much easier on your back!
Why Avoid Digging?
Soil isn't just dirt — it’s a living, breathing web of life - much of it microscopic and unseen. We know soils are made up of clay or loam or sand but they also house the powerhouse of micro and macro nutrients that are the important ‘vitamins’ for plant growth and health. We want to look after all the nutrients, all the microbs, all the criters and have everything as available as possible to our plants. Every time we start digging or double digging (if you don’t know what double digging is - it’s as awful hard work as it sounds! but I’ll explain it more further down), we risk:
Disrupting soil structure, which is essential for water retention, root penetration, and ‘gas’ exchange. Gas exchange means the movement of gases, like oxygen and carbon dioxide, between the soil and the atmosphere - a process crucial for plant and microbial life . This is especially true for Australian soils which are fragile and don’t have great depth or lots of organic matter. We need to look after them.
Destroying soil microflora, such as fungi, bacteria & mycorrhiza, which play critical roles in nutrient availability for plants and disease resistance.
Disturbing beneficial organisms like worms, little soil borne insects and beetles, which are the essential unseen workforce behind healthy soil. And healthy soil means healthy plants and great looking gardens!
Releasing stored carbon, which contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and decreases the viability of our soils for growing good plants.
By leaving soil as intact as possible, we allow its natural architecture and biology to flourish. Healthy soil equals healthy plants — it’s that simple.
The Layering Method: Building a No Dig Garden Bed
No Dig Gardening is really just about layering, which is why is has often been referred to as lasagna gardening. It’s particularly effective for transforming lawn or weedy areas into productive garden beds without breaking your back. You can use it for creating new beds but it’s also possible to transform existing beds using these methods also.
For new beds, here’s what to do:
Mark out your garden bed – Choose your spot and edge it with bricks, timber, or whatever garden edging your using or just mark it with stakes and string.
Suppress the existing vegetation – One of the big challenges will be suppressing the grass or weeds and stopping it invading your future garden bed, so this layer is essential - definitely don’t skip it! Lay down a thick layer of cardboard or several sheets of newspaper (avoid glossy print and remove any sticky tape from the cardboard). This blocks sunlight and prevents weeds from pushing through & means you don’t need to spray the area with chemicals. I no longer advocate using chemicals to remove the grass or weeds before layering your cardboard/paper layer. FInely spray this layer with water - water is the lifeblood of all processes involving living things and it helps the process start and keep going.
Build layers of organic matter:
A layer of organic matter such as straw, sugarcane mulch, or dry leaves. I often use pea straw as it’s a good by product of local agricultural industry, but use what’s locally available. I avoid buying plastic wrapped mulches from big box hardwares and try to find locally advertised staws unwrapped and delivered and would encourage you to do so also.
A layer of manure or maybe even compost. (about 5–10cm thick) I use sheep manure whenever I can. It’s locally available for us, comes in a handy pelletised form and so is easy to handle. If using other manures be very careful to wear masks and not breath in the dried manures. They also need to be very well composted and not fresh as all.
Repeat Alternate layers as high as you like — a good starting height is 20–30cm, which will settle over time. For standard garden beds I do one or two layers. It will seem to come up quite high, but don’t panic, it will break down quickly over 6-8 weeks and go back to the normal garden height. I have used up to 3 layers for particular situations and I know some people have done many more when using no dig layering in build up beds. But be assured, one layer of everything to start is fine.
Water in –, Give it all a thorough watering. Watering in well (don’t drown it!) is good to help make sure the process activates and works. You can at this stage if you want cover with a mulch to help retain moisture But I usually don’t worry about a mulch at this point. That’s something for later. Sometimes it can help to stop it all blowing around the garden to have some mulch on top. Which mulch to use is a whole other topic and it’s important NOT to use something like Bark Chips at this point.
What Can You Grow in a No Dig Bed?
Anything! From leafy greens and herbs to root crops and flowers, a no dig garden is versatile and productive. You can plant any type of garden - it’s not just for vegetable gardens. I use it for all our new gardens for clients and we plant perennials, trees, natives mixed gardens, flower gardens etc. It also works anywhere. This has worldwide application - and we have used it all over the world when I’ve help people create gardens.
Usually it’s good to wait 6-8 weeks to let the garden bed be ready for planting, but there have been times we have planted into it sooner when under duress. You can use a find layer of compost if you want to plant into it sooner. But, my advice is it’s Best to be patient if you can the first few times you do this to get a feel for how it works. A little bit of planning is a good thing in gardening.
The Science Behind the Success
Several studies and real-world trials have shown the benefits of no dig gardening:
Increased soil carbon: According to research published in Soil & Tillage Research, no-dig systems help increase soil organic carbon, improving long-term fertility and structure.
Higher microbial activity: Leaving the soil undisturbed supports complex networks of fungi, like mycorrhizae, which help plants access water and nutrients and grow better.
Better moisture retention: The mulch layers dramatically reduce evaporation and protect the soil from Australia’s intense sun and more water is good for plants through their growing season. Water is also a resource we want to preserve.
Reduced weed pressure: The layered system smothers weed seeds and reduces disturbance that would otherwise bring buried seeds to the surface. Most importantly this means less weeding for you the gardener!! That’s a big win!
Anecdotally, plants grown in no dig systems, have been documented with higher yields and fewer pests compared to traditional dug beds — which makes sense as you are giving plants more of what they need more easily and this makes the healthier and more lush.
A note here on traditional dug beds. If you read older books, they will talk about double digging. A system of turning the soil to about 30 cm and moving it around trenches as you dig to be more economical. It sounds like an enormous amount of hard work to me and a lot of aches and pains. Tillage and small mechanical diggers do the same thing and we now can see these aren’t good ways of saving the soil integrity no matter on what scale we are gardening.
No Dig Gardening as a Philosophy
I am going to assure you, this isn’t some hippy dippy alternative to gardening. This is great garden science and one of the best ‘secrets’ to creating good gardens. People have been using it for centuries.
Beyond the practical, no dig is also a great mindset of how to garden well — one of working with nature instead of against it. It aligns with regenerative gardening principles, where soil is seen not as a medium for plant growth, but as an ecosystem in itself and an essential part of creating a beautiful garden.
It’s also an incredibly low-maintenance way to garden and every single client would at some stage ask me how to decrease their maintenance in the garden. It helps increase the water holding capacity of soils, so you use less water, increases the availability of nutrients to plants, so you use less artificial toxic fertilisers and it helps create more ‘soil’ and depth to your garden. You spend less time weeding, less time fertilising, and more time enjoying your garden.
A Word on Sustainability
In Australia, where droughts and unpredictable weather are part of the landscape, conserving water and protecting soil health is critical. No dig beds can help mitigate erosion, reduce reliance on synthetic fertilisers, and lock carbon into the soil. And, It’s an approach that scales beautifully for whatever size garden you own — whether you’re managing a veggie patch or a large ornamental garden.
Tips for the Experienced Gardener
If you’re already using no dig methods, consider these next-level practices:
Add biochar to your manure/compost layers for increased water and nutrient retention.
Inoculate your soil with compost teas or worm juice to enhance microbial life.
Grow cover crops like clover or lupins in between seasons to keep the soil active.
Observe fungal networks by lifting mulch layers gently — seeing white strands means your soil food web is thriving.
Final Thoughts
No dig gardening is more than just a method — it’s a shift in how we think about gardens, soil, and our role in shaping the landscape and being part of it. It supports plant health, biodiversity, and sustainability all at once, making it one of the most powerful tools in the modern gardener’s toolkit. (even though it’s been around for ever……!) It’s also a way to add value to our gardens so that we are leaving and enhancing the environment not taking from it for future generations. No dig method is an invitation to slow down, trust natural processes, and cultivate with care. This is a tried and true method and it works!
If you have any questions or comments please leave them or just get in touch via email or socials. We want you to really have a go at this to create a beautiful garden and if we can help you get started, we’d love to help.