Clearing Existing Vegetation for “No-Dig”/”No-Till” Beds Just like for tilling and digging methods, the first step in making a “no-dig” or “no-till” bed is to decide how you want to clear the area you intend as a bed of its existing vegetation. If the site has persistent weeds with strong Read more…
“No-Dig”/”No-Till”: Adding 6″ of Cured Compost Gardeners have been planting in compost heaped on top of the soil for at least as long as people have recorded such things. French Intensive gardeners were planting in 18 inches of cured horse manure placed on top of the existing soil going at Read more…
Benefits and Detriments of “No-Dig” / “No-Till” Methods “No-dig” or “no-till” methods date back centuries but have been increasing in popularity in recent years due to their simplicity and effectiveness. In fact, “no-dig” or “no-till” beds have so many benefits that it makes sense why they’re becoming a favorite of Read more…
For anything in the garden, one cannot prescribe or proscribe specific choices. It’s not the point. In fact, I’d say it’s the opposite. There’s too much variability in climate, plant combinations, time of planting, and, most importantly, gardeners’ own personal preferences for anyone to say any one way is the Read more…
Note: If this chart is overwhelming for you, and even if it’s not, you might want to have a look at our favorite companions and companion teams to make things easier, or just to get some ideas or see how someone else does it. Companions Antagonists/Adversaries Asparagus basil, calendula*, nasturtium, Read more…
The Benefits of Planting in Beds Arranging your garden into beds has many benefits. First, it allows you to create larger blocks of plants spaced perfectly apart in shorter rows. This creates a “living mulch” that discourages weeds, retains soil moisture, and lessens soil compaction and erosion. Second, arranging your Read more…
In Bed Spacing Blocks of Short Rows In your beds, plant your seeds or seedlings in blocks of short rows, and space your rows the same distance apart as you space your seeds or seedlings within rows. Offset vs. Random Spacing If you want to get precise, you can use Read more…
How Big of Beds? Many people say three-to-five-feet wide and however long you like. I say, make your beds as wide or as narrow as you like. It’s your garden. Experiment and see what works for you for each set of plants and your space. What We Do and Why Read more…
Planting in Beds However you decide to organize your garden and however you decide to loosen your soil, planting in beds instead of individual rows is one of the most powerful actions you can take for the health of your plants because it consolidates your paths around blocks of your Read more…
Some Bin Ideas to Get You Started on Your Own All gardeners have their favorite bin styles, and there are countless good ideas—more quality methods and quality bins than could be adequately described on any website. But no gardener’s preferences for his or her own bins are prescriptive for all Read more…