No Dig Gardening
The concept of do-dig gardening was developed by an Australian woman named Esther Deans. It was originally developed both as a labor saving idea, and a way to rejuvenate badly structured soil in a vegetable garden.
No dig gardening involves starting with layers of newspaper on the ground, and by adding lucerne hay, straw and compost in succeeding layers on top, you can create a living soil without having to any heavy digging, rich in nutrients and which will simplify weeding and encourage plants to grow vigorously. All the layers compost together, and greatly encourage earthworms. The gardens are maintained by adding manure, compost, etc., and should not be dug up, as this will undo the good work. I have used this approach to creating vegetable and herb gardens, and guarantee it certainly does work.
The principle of a no dig garden has sound foundations. Excessive cultivation of the soil, especially when very wet or very dry, will damage the structure of the soil, and lead to soil compaction. Such excessive cultivation can also discourage the earthworms, and they are the best free labor a gardener has.
The fertile layer you have built up will encourage the earthworms, but we do know that the worms need to shelter from excessively hot, dry, cold or wet conditions. They have been found to seek shelter from extreme conditions by burrowing more deeply into the soil, sometime many feet down. If they cannot shelter in this way, it is my contention that they will die out or move out.
Give the no-dig approach a try – you will be pleased and maybe a little suprised with the result.
