After watching Peter Cundall’s Patch from
Scratch DVD series for the second time while studiously taking notes and planning
what he would sow in each of the four garden beds, D was ready!
He had picked out the perfect plot of land in the yard for the beds, and shovel in hand he set out to dig the outer boarder of all four beds, the plan to dig out the grass, enrich the soil and plant our veggies.
But, just as quickly as the enthusiasm for the project peaked, it crashed. After digging, and digging, and digging some more, it was obvious that the entire space D had chosen had subsoil issues that were better left undisturbed. The ‘bury it or burn it’ rubbish disposal mentality of generations past had come back to haunt us and D was completely frustrated.
For a few weeks after D was in a bit of a funk. The Patch from Scratch philosophy was all about economical and easy vegetable gardens, and now pricy raised garden beds were looking like our only solution. And that just wasn’t how Peter Cundall did it, and for D, that just wouldn’t do!
So we turned our attention to the latest issue of Organic Gardener, which had a special on 'No Dig' gardening solutions. Not the most aesthetically appealing option for a veggie patch, but in terms of time, energy and affordability, we were sold.
We collected fallen leaves from a local park under the curious eye of a few locals, and I brought home garbage bags of shredded paper from the office. We collected a few other essential ingredients all the while D being serenaded by my little gangster rendition of ‘No Diggity’ by Dr. Dre… “I like the way you work it, no diggity, I'd like to bag it up” and then, we started our giant no dig layering project.
The basic idea of no dig gardening is to layer all sorts of organic matter on an area of grass, or even concrete, which will in time break down to create your own soil, while nesting what you want to grow in little pockets of compost. It is economical, efficient, kills the grass beneath without picking up a shovel or rotary hoe, and it’s fun! Much like making a giant sized lawn lasagna!
The patch is now 6 weeks old and everything in it is thriving, so get No-Digging and enjoy a less hard yakka approach to setting up your Patch from Scratch.
He had picked out the perfect plot of land in the yard for the beds, and shovel in hand he set out to dig the outer boarder of all four beds, the plan to dig out the grass, enrich the soil and plant our veggies.
But, just as quickly as the enthusiasm for the project peaked, it crashed. After digging, and digging, and digging some more, it was obvious that the entire space D had chosen had subsoil issues that were better left undisturbed. The ‘bury it or burn it’ rubbish disposal mentality of generations past had come back to haunt us and D was completely frustrated.
For a few weeks after D was in a bit of a funk. The Patch from Scratch philosophy was all about economical and easy vegetable gardens, and now pricy raised garden beds were looking like our only solution. And that just wasn’t how Peter Cundall did it, and for D, that just wouldn’t do!
So we turned our attention to the latest issue of Organic Gardener, which had a special on 'No Dig' gardening solutions. Not the most aesthetically appealing option for a veggie patch, but in terms of time, energy and affordability, we were sold.
We collected fallen leaves from a local park under the curious eye of a few locals, and I brought home garbage bags of shredded paper from the office. We collected a few other essential ingredients all the while D being serenaded by my little gangster rendition of ‘No Diggity’ by Dr. Dre… “I like the way you work it, no diggity, I'd like to bag it up” and then, we started our giant no dig layering project.
The basic idea of no dig gardening is to layer all sorts of organic matter on an area of grass, or even concrete, which will in time break down to create your own soil, while nesting what you want to grow in little pockets of compost. It is economical, efficient, kills the grass beneath without picking up a shovel or rotary hoe, and it’s fun! Much like making a giant sized lawn lasagna!
The patch is now 6 weeks old and everything in it is thriving, so get No-Digging and enjoy a less hard yakka approach to setting up your Patch from Scratch.
photography © rose alley designs 2014
