How to Make a No Dig Garden Bed With

[@epicgardening]

Honored to collaborate with a personal gardening hero of mine, Charles Dowding. I recommend watching his entire library of videos and checking out his books and materials. His version of our collaboration is right here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/m4iVkomQoM99l5I

[@The_True_]

People in Dowding's comment section were just salty about your dragonfruit and nosemanual skills. Lol. Great colab and info Kevin, just watch out for that Bermuda grass. Charles called it creeping grass, but it's more like a sprinting grass here in Cali as you know. Such a blight in our yards, but we can overcome no doubt.

[@epicgardening]

@@The_True_ Very accurate on the sprinting...it's so invasive!

[@trudysfun]

@@epicgardening Looking forward to seeing your results

[@mymountainlife0707]

Don't you love that guy

[@barbaracarbone4658]

I like Charles. I've watched some of his vids. Always learning.

[@GardeningInCanada]

We studied this in university and it’s actually really great for the environment as well. Soil science all the way 👩‍🔬🇨🇦

[@epicgardening]

100%!

[@funonvancouverisland]

Woot woot

[@husk_3663]

Hi again

[@yoriichi3347]

@@epicgardening why charles vegetables thrives in pure compost and it didn't kill it but mine didn't survive.

[@HardlyaDavidson]

Yep all that digging really be releasing more than cars

[@lisakukla459]

I absolutely love this collaboration, and this project as well. I just want to caution viewers out there about aminopyralid contamination in compost, manures and straw/hay etc. It's a nasty herbicide that is sprayed on grasses that kills broad leaf plants. It survives the digestive tract of the animals that eat the grasses, composting doesn't phase it, and it even persists in the soil for multiple years. I've seen so many gardens just devastated by unknowingly using products with aminopyralid present. It works by disrupting the cell stacking function on broad leaf (non-grass) plants, so you'll see the new growth on your plants start to look all crumpled and gnarled, and then eventually it dies. A good way to test for it is to just plant some cheap beans or something and see if it develops properly before introducing the product to your garden. Even reputable brands like Black Kow have had contaminated batches, so please, please be careful. Don't take anything for granted, because you lose production of your entire garden for at least 2 years. Even if you know the farmer you're getting your manure from and know that they don't spray, if they ever bring in hay from another source, to feed over the winter for example, that hay could've been sprayed, and now the whole manure pile is unsafe. You'll be limited to only growing corn and grassy crops for a long time; No delicious tomatoes or peppers or squash. Just monocots. Bleh, how boring. It's a big deal, it's widespread, and it's gotten many, many gardeners the last few years. I am eager to see the day when this awful chemical is no longer allowed to be used, but until then, spare yourself the heartache - Be aware and do the bean test on every batch of manure, compost, hay and straw mulch before you bring it into your garden. Let your state government know that you want this stuff banned. Tell your US Reps as well. We need to protect our ability to grow our own food, and aminopyralid (aka Grazon) is a direct threat to that. Thank you! Solidarity! ✊💚🌱

[@epicgardening]

Very very good point...I will highlight this in future vids

[@dylanbjug]

Thank you for sharing this knowledge! I didn't know anything about that. It's really upsetting that not only is it something that can have collateral damage further down the chain, but that it is persistent for up to several years! Completely unethical.

[@stschubs]

Funny story about tamping down garden beds. My husband doesn't watch all the videos I do, but he picks up a lot and knows all the characters in my KZbin life ^^" anyways we were amending the beds before the great freeze here, and he walked across the bed and I yelled at him to not compact it, and he yells back "BUT CHARLES DOWDING SAYS IT'S OKAY!" I loled hard. We also cardboarded our...entire market garden based on his method. took. forever. glad that you guys did this colab!

[@pamelacorsi]

30 years ago, out of frustration with dealing with rocky New England soil, I got the idea to start gardening beds by using thick layers of newspaper over grass, and weeds, and covering with purchased compost. I would plant in it right away, and add compost mixed with rotted manure every year. I didn't know about Charles Dowding until this year! I also used this method to improve the soil in neglected shrub and perennial beds by layering the newspaper around the plants and covering with the compost and mulch. Now I've learned to make my own compost and I have switched to cardboard instead of newspaper. Our summers can be very dry so I do use mulch as well.

[@TheShisnette]

I am SO jealous of all of Charles braided onion and garlic hanging in his room! #goals

[@soonernation6749]

100%

[@storey662]

I didn’t even notice it until I read your comment, had to rewind and look on in absolute envy!

[@storey662]

It’s so sweet to watch Kevin interacting with his gardening hero! You can see it all over his face when Charles is talking, he’s just soaking up every syllable of advice Charles will give! It’s really inspiring and honestly humbling. To see your heroes admiring their own heroes. I started my first ever garden this May, mostly thanks to and because of Kevin, the Big Epic Gardening Papa. 😂 I can only imagine I’d act much the same way if I had the chance to participate in a video chat with him! My first and only garden so far is a raised bed, because apparently the entire landmass of Mississippi consists of 1” of topsoil followed by 100 miles of hard-as-rock red clay. I didn’t realize no-dig beds could help amend the clay and make it more fertile! Definitely trying this method next year! Thank you, Kevin and Charles & the entire Epic Gardening team for these videos. Because of you guys I’ve discovered another hobby I’m crazy about, one that lets me live my life more sustainably as well as more DELICIOUSLY! ❤️

[@lucasthemycologist]

No-dig beds are helpful for increasing soil fertility, but if you're worried about your native soil being too compacted you can use a broadfork or similar tool to break up and aerate the soil before adding the compost on top. Jaques has a good video about the topic: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z3LWlmuYYpJgY5o

[@alvinb147]

Charles is lovely and this is a great collaboration

[@epicgardening]

I agree and glad you think so!

[@SpicyMoustache]

That was really cool and I’m really interested to see progress on this side by side growth. I love the way Charles grows vegetables and since I saw some videos by him I did no dig in my small urban garden. Thank you for sharing man 😊

[@epicgardening]

Of course!

[@garden_geek]

I love that you managed a collaboration from opposite sides of the world. Excellent video as usual, I hope you’ll do more zoom crossover episodes!

[@epicgardening]

Was a challenge!

[@that_auntceleste5848]

Really well done!

[@debbiejackson7846]

Was well worth it for us

[@kfetter9046]

That's a nifty little saw! You're comment at the end was so kind. Believe me, I am sure we are all very grateful that you have allowed us to follow you on your epic gardening/urban homestead journey. It is refreshing to focus on something other than the pandemic!

[@epicgardening]

Glad to hear this!

[@Neenerella333]

I removed some well established Bermuda grass from a heavy caliche lawn at my sister's house to prep for a veggie garden. All I used was a pick axe, dug down 6-8". Never used the cardboard method, just bags of omni compost mix. Central Arizona. 12 years of productive 2 season gardening. Oh and we mulched on top with stringy dropped stems of her Willard Acacia.

[@brightantwerp]

Charles is so full of love and knowledge.

[@LucindaEm]

Love your work Kevin of course Charles too. He’s such a fantastic teacher and so generous with his knowledge and experience. It’s great to see a collaboration between the two of you and I look forward to seeing the updates.

[@epicgardening]

He truly is!

[@monabrown5710]

Thank you for this video. It pointed out errors that I would have been sure to make. We are making it first no dig bed this week. 🙂 These are the steps as I understand them. BUILDING A NO DIG BED • Boards (4" x footage of garden) to the dimensions of the bed • place cardboard on ground within the bed and 18 inches outside the bed. Use large stones/bricks to hold cardboard flat to ground outside of bed. *The extra 18" gives a border to prevent weeds from crawling out from under cardboard within garden bed. • Wet down the cardboard • Place soil/mulch on top of cardboard • Tamp down mulch • Add more mulch • Rake to even • Plant first crop... like lettuces. • Remove any weeds that appear

[@GutenGardening]

We love Charles! Awesome Collab video. Looking forward to updates. Thanks for sharing.

[@epicgardening]

Me too!

[@charchark365]

You should also look up Ruth stout. From the early 1900's, has published many books on the no dig method and is herself among the founders of the no dig method. Very well presented collaboration between the two of you and a great presentation of the method overall.

[@symbiot5984]

Fixing the planet one bed at a time.

[@len10ten]

Two of my 3 favorite gardeners on KZbin! So good to see y’all “.together”!

[@karysmuh]

Who's the third?

[@MrZesty-zu4xj]

@@karysmuh probably Migardener or self sufficient me

[@noellucganachaud3983]

Wet down the cardboard. Extend the cardboard around the sides to stop weeds growing around the sides of the bed. Remove roots of the weed with a fork if you have really tough weeds the rest can be starved. Put down soil that you have in the garden.if the soil is rock hard losen it up with a fork it will be the first and last time you ever do it again so do it it will help to get a deeper bed. Add compost every year..

[@normabumbaugh6929]

This is such an intriguing comparison! Thank you gentlemen. I started no dig while in Alaska. After 8 years I’ve returned to Idaho and am trying to remember how to grow a garden here. No dig to the rescue. The beauty of moving…moving boxes. Lots of them!

[@cptseagull]

It’s so nice to see how genuinely happy he seemed to talk to you via Skype. Great vid!

[@ttsang11]

Thank you for this international collaboration! I love Charles Dowding, so it's really inspiring to watch you adapt his method to your climate. Looking forward to the follow-up videos!

[@echo3whisky]

I followed you for a while along with some other gardner's. I live in Florida and have wanted a homestead for a while and finally started this year with aquaponics, containers, and because of this video and others we just cleared out and laid cardboard in our 4x8 bed we are going to do and really seeing both your and Charles methods I think I can use to ensure I have success in my first no dig bed. I remember when I was stationed at Pendleton the little rain San Diego gets and I love how your finding ways to harvest and use different methods to water your garden.

[@kayleigholdham6932]

What an amazing video! So cool to see adaptations for different environments, but also to see friendship and collaboration across continents, especially in 2020’s hellish climate. 🧡

[@MairIsabell]

Really enjoyed this video! Loved the style of editing seeing you each chat, make the beds your own way, then discuss. Thank you for the great content!

[@pathojen9691]

you two are m y absolute gardening inspirations, I'm just starting my no dig garden here in zone 9a in Marlborough, New Zealand. So far so good

[@elizapearson1022]

I would have put the cardboard cover the whole area - the bed and the edges, you could still woodchip the sides to differentiate whats the bed and the walkway. The bermuda grass is 100% going to go straight in to your fancy new compost.

[@epicgardening]

I'll be doing that!

[@christythompson6692]

@@epicgardening And any Bermuda grass you pull, cut or scrape away. Do not put it in your compost, because it will survive and claim other bed you make. I have been fighting with it for 27 years.

[@cattfishing]

@@christythompson6692 omg you are so right. I had a small little "compost" bin that I used while weeding and cleaning up the garden. When I pulled up this random piece of Bermuda grass rhizome and tossed it in the bin. Just days later after forgetting about it completely, I came back to a bucket of grass. Full, lush invasive grass. From one small piece of the rhizome. I'm so glad I keep it separate from my regular compost. The thing was root bound encircling around the entire bucket several times. Choked out all the other vegetation that was in there. Couldn't see anything but grass and rhizome. It's crazy.

[@Frazzlenodazzle]

I dont have it here in Michigan (that ive found) but ive heard so many horror stories about it. Cover every bit of bare land you have to smother it or youll never get a handle on it!

[@gabrielleheard6366]

Bermuda grass sounds like couch grass and bindweed, lot of work to weedle them out.

[@Mona-fd5kf]

I want to say thank you for sharing your knowledge and experiences. After two years of only being able to grow chard and kale, I'm finally having success with healthy tomatoes, collards, raspberry bushes, potatoes, herbs, and beans. Yay! Thank you so much.

[@diytwoincollege7079]

Charles has an amazing garden/ farm.

[@dean4784]

Charles is just on another level. He has a great method for making quality compost and soil

[@scottishlore]

What a fascinating video. I've been following Charles for a few years now, with our first year of actual no-dig gardening in British Columbia starting this year. Thoroughly enjoyed this collaborative effort and shall be following your story. Thanks a million!

[@skapoor8357]

Sangita T Kapoor from India .. I just loved this video .. not exactly useful for me having only a small west facing balcony .. m 59 yrs ..started recently .. all kind of restrictions😃 But I really do appreciate one thing.. how humble you are .. young and doing well in life .. still have humility ... very Rare to find .. Just be you ..please don't change ... 🙏God Bless You🙏

[@epicgardening]

Appreciate you!

[@EsthersGardeningAdventures]

Thank you for doing this. One of your best collaborations and most instructive videos in a while. Great job

[@epicgardening]

So glad to hear this!

[@ramyali2782]

Super good stuff , I am an engineer and gardening is my hobby, I do appreciate the time and effort you both put to pass the good tips Thanks from Dublin ,Ireland

[@adrianerhodes1811]

I love how you called bermuda grass a weed. In Texas this is one of the preferred grasses!

[@farstrider79]

It's great in a lawn, but hateful if you're growing a garden. I fight with it often in NC.

[@mezleona]

Well Im in Friendswood TX, and the preferred here is San Augustine grass , I Absolutely HATE bermuda grass! Last year I mulch over it with cardboard and mulch! well it grew over the cardboard and mulch!

[@catandmouse14]

I am also a Texan and have been battling to keep it out of my garden for years, but I think I have finally discovered a control method.

[@brookesusanne8390]

Thank you so much for doing this. Can't wait to see both of your results!

[@carladelagnomes]

That was great! I learned several things from both of you. Good that you thought to adapt for your climate instead of just blindly following Charles' method. We all have to adapt to our circumstances.

[@lunakat2755]

So lucky you got to meet Charles! The first time I ever tried gardening in my adult life, I used the no dig method when growing my summer squash here in Texas and it worked wonderfully.

[@karengoddard1126]

This has encouraged me to try this here in Barbados as it's working for your opposing weather types. We go from about 10 hrs of sunlight to inches of rain practically all year round. So i hope with a bit of tweaking of both your methods it will work for me. Thank you both!

[@epicgardening]

Hope it turns out great!

[@karengoddard1126]

@@epicgardening Thank you so much.

[@kityac9810]

This was incredibly informative. I'm still a newbie to gardening and this really resonated with me. Thanks so much for the post!

[@epicgardening]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Lauralamontanaro]

Thanks Kevin!! I've been folksy Charles for about a year or so, he's so lovely to listen to, I always learn something from both of you and I'm in a completely different zone, soil, weather conditions from both of you (LI Zone 7a/b) and I've been practicing his method this past year and will continue to do so!! Thanks again!

[@pcdube6939]

Mulching & cardboard layering - another wisdom learned - thanks... sharing what I do - in order not to break my back - I mowed the grass/weeds to the ground - then spray weeds/grass killer(wait a week till you see all turned yellow/brown - sign of dying, then cover with 3 more inches newspaper (when wet it harden like paper mache) then cover with plastic sheeting (landscape fabric to smother weeds/grass) then pour your soil with compost.

[@bazookaxl]

So awesome to see, I live in sweden, but I always love to watch your videos, and also watch alot of Charles videos. It gives me so much inspiration.

[@MsJay0913]

I've been saving cardboard the last few months! Looking forward to trying this out some in the spring! ☺

[@epicgardening]

Oh YES

[@Aziag123]

So, I live in Nebraska and we also have really hard clay. Especially in the residential zones because construction companies skim the topsoil from the properties when a house is built. It breaks my gardening heart that companies do this and sell the "loam"" on the side, but my solution personally, is to actually aerate with deeper holes like you would for a lawn, and then no dig with top soil/compost. Fortunately however, we get a bit of rain. Unfortunately, our climate is so chaotic that the amount of rain we get doesn't really count for much. In Nebraska we go from -30F to 120F. My solution for this, is to actually take the clay that I've had to dig for planting my perennials and sprinkling it on top to hold moisture. If I find the soil still too dry (There's absolutely no shade on my property except the north side of the house) I add another layer of cedar chips. Of course, the chips are also untreated so that I don't have to change it every year. It will just slowly decompose and still be pretty. Another reason I use cedar chips is pest deterrence of carpenter ants and aggressive ground hornets that really like it here. Another benefit that I've found with the clay chip combo, is that when we do get a bunch of rain and spring melting, my earthworms will still be able to come up for air from all the water and hide under the chips from all the birds.

[@sujeysayre444]

I'm Nebraska, too! I feel all of this - especially the clay soil!

[@stefaniward355]

I love these collaborations! I can’t wait to see the updates from both of you.

[@simplifygardening]

Great job kevin. Your kearning from the master of No Dig and as Charles said side atrract slugs, but you dont need to worry about those

[@epicgardening]

Indeed!

[@adamcrisis8442]

Tell that to my poor bean seedling last spring and the slugs that loved feasting on them

[@sequoyalee4443]

Yes! I've gotten rid of about 90% of our bermuda grass from pulling/tilling and then using this method to cover and top with good soil

[@nporter3]

Hi. Just wanted to tell you that. With my window being so cold, I live in MD, I decided to move all my succulents away and get some grow lights for them. I google for options about that and stumbled on an article that highly recommended you as the person with a wealth of knowledge regarding grow lights. So congrats.

[@junkerryjournals7924]

I've been a fan of Charles for the last year. We acquired a plot and have put in a raised be with the no-dig method (raised mainly because of wild boars). Looking forward to your further collaboration! Greetings from Luxembourg

[@MeganFromFlorida]

Just got half an acre in Virginia and we can’t wait to try this during this growing season!

[@joolz7379]

Wishing you well w/ this, Kevin, and thank you for sharing your experiment! I look forward to updates. I once helped some gardeners in Oklahoma transform several front lawns made of solid Bermuda grass. We covered the lawns w/ several layers of cardboard and then thick layers of straw from bales. A friend in another state used wood chips on top of the cardboard. Then somehow we planted on top of that - don't remember how. Most of the grass was smothered and I think we kept layering cardboard and maybe more straw where grass continued to grow. Left a year or so later and probably some grass kept coming through at times, but it was amazing to see how much was smothered. Also, it transformed red clay to rich black soil in less than a year. I was amazed!

[@thebitcoingarden]

Full no dig permaculture gardener here. I have a pretty unique method of gardening that I don't see many people use and is a bit experimental but works well for me (zone 5b IL). I have the local tree trimmers dump a full load of chips in a spot on my property once a year in the fall (did this for 5 years prior to seriously planting) and then spread the chips around in a spot next to main pile approx. 30x30'. The garden spot next to the pile is tapered about 4-foot-deep wood chips at the top to 3 feet at the bottom, if that makes sense (for aesthetics and attempting a "run off" effect in the garden). As I've said I've let this rot for at least 4 years before I planted stuff. Last year I dug in some holes in the chips down to the soil and filled the bottom with around 60 lbs of well-rotted compost, about 60 lbs of topsoil in the middle, and maybe 10 lbs of leaf mold mixed with nice humus on top as a mulch. I put tall circular cages with chicken wire wrapped around the bottom on the "beds" as protection from squirrels and ground hogs. Some of the spots are resting and some of them are planted with permaculture plants (things like perennial onions garlic beans flowers and herbs and ground covers like crimson clover to fix some nitrogen) in an effort to get the soil "alive". Attempting to get my living roots in the ground before I plant any annuals, which I plan on planting this spring. My approach is simple: Get the "fungal network" alive and healthy (rotting woodchips) then introduce living roots mostly companion planted into spot inside the fungal network (perennials) for the bacterial network and theoretically have a healthy spot for seeding patches (an umbellifer like dill) and annuals like turnips and radish. It's working really well so far, I don't water, fertilize (except compost and wood ash on a few beds like onions once a year), or use anything for bugs except a hidden toad house and water bowl. I don't get many weeds besides a really aggressive ivy that will grow right up through the chips, and I have a few trees that drop their seeds 2x a year that will attempt to grow in the chips but they're not that big a deal if dealt with swiftly. You heard me right I don't water unless it's a seedling that really needs it. The chips seem to hold onto moisture really well yet not hold onto so much water that it's drowning the plants. As I've said this is experimental and probably after 5 more years, I'd have more things to say. If anyone gardens similar, I'd love some feedback! Good luck in the garden and God bless!

[@eileenie3101]

I don't know when Charles Dowding first promoted his method but 25 years ago I wanted to have a garden and thought of this type exactly. Everyone said I was crazy and I never did it. Maybe if I held onto my confidence the method would have been named after me!

[@ecocentrichomestead6783]

Yeah. Those who had their seeds, home gardening did fairly well. The rest of human life in 2020 has us on edge.

[@johnellis6755]

Wow just listening to these two is so refreshing both so passionate about what they are doing

[@AmySchweitzer231414]

So great to be able to collaborate with such a legend! I'd be jealous if I weren't so happy for you and all your well deserved success. Keep learning and I'll be tagging along in the background.

[@epicgardening]

So kind!

[@jolenee1914]

Great to see the comparison! Watching your and Charles' videos has helped me so much with starting my first garden here in Cape Town, South Africa! I'm just confused as I thought you couldn't plant directly into compost? I used info from both your channels and laid down cardboard, then built raised beds over that, filled with a mix of 30% compost, 30% coco peat, 30% perlite and 10% worm castings. My seedlings are doing so well since being transplanted there. Thank you so much for these great videos!

[@olgahucklesby7263]

I have started my no dig beds as I have been doing cobtainer growing ...it is quite challenging for me for asidr from my overactive midget dog the more serious problem are the monkeys harvesting my crop..luckily they are not interested of my greens. So inspired of all your videos and especially Mr Dowding for such a successful no dig garden.

[@tomjustice7610]

Thank you for all your work and videos. I've just recently retired, and will be starting up my garden during the next couple of months. BTW, that weed you called Bermuda Grass, in South Florida we call it a lawn. LOL I've also turned my son onto your videos. He lives in San Diego as well. Thanks again for the wealth of knowledge you provide.

[@nickwindholz7912]

I've been very successful with using 6 layers of cardboard. Only thing that's ever grown through were some tree roots. 6 layers sounds like over kill, but I ended up relocating a garden that I had used 6 layers underneath. When digging it up there was still 2 out of 6 layers basically still intact , 3 years later. It was all covered in a beautiful mat of mycrozziae (sp?) Which I heavily inoculated when originally building the no till bed.

[@ElderandOakFarm]

I can't wait to see the results! I've been wanting to do this for my vegetable & cut flower beds, but have been so scared that the weed & grass will just grow right back up through thy cardboard, & that ill regret not tilling the soil before laying down the compost... but I recently took the plunge, & am doing complete no dig for my cut flower plot. 🤞 Also, its so true that you can stomp on compost, & it is very easy to fluff it back up! @ my last house, I was making a huge mistake tilling in the compost, & my soil was so heavily clay, that even adding a ton of compost it wasn't making a dent in the soil workability/fluffiness of it... a week after tilling in a bunch of ammendments it was compacted again, impossible to get a shovel or trowel or anything in... This year at my new property I added compost on top of an bed that already had the grass removed, & it was so nice to easily dig a hole, throw in the seed or transplant, & then it can do the "hardwork" of digging its roots down into the clay underneath!

[@martinjuarez2508]

Charles Dowding, un grande en el mundo!! Saludos desde Argentina 🇦🇷🇦🇷

[@nicolemarie6112]

Omg this gives me life!!! I love you both!!! I remember when Eric visited Charles last year. This is amazing!!!

[@epicgardening]

Kevin ;)

[@christinametzger2609]

I came to your page just to see if this was up yet. I'm so excited! I love Mr. Dowdings videos!

[@anthonyshea5946]

Kevin- I was going to add 2 new raised beds in a back yard this summer for urban gardening. After watching this- my plans are changing. I'm going with Charles style with 2 beds of 14x4. I love this content. Keep it coming!

[@epicgardening]

Nice!

[@brieanastraiton3665]

This is perfect for what I'm trying to do this spring in Minnesota! My yard is full of rocks and garbage so raised bed is the only way to go to grow veggies and fruits. Another major issue is crab grass and massive dandelions that after 2 seasons trying everything under the sun to get rid of them I've barely made any progress. Plan is to re-seed our entire lawn but that's gonna take years. This no dig option is perfect for keeping those big weeds away from my plants. Now to figure out what soil to use and where I get it from! Starting my seedlings of my longer to grow from seed plants this weekend. Only the petunias and strawberry and raspberries. The rest either will be sown directly into the soil or started next month inside. 🤞🏽🤞🏽 that this year's plan works out better than the last!

[@gilbertboffa860]

Great video for anyone wanting to learn the basics of the NO DIG gardening method.

[@frasersgirl4383]

I’m totally excited to see how the cardboard works with the Bermuda grass. I’m in Kansas, my house is on a corner in a very small town and my biggest nemesis is Bermuda!! It’s almost impossible to keep out of my garden beds! Right now we are prepping an area for a spring garden. We worked this area last year and only had very modest success because of health issues and the death of our granddaughter. It’s been a horrible year so far but I’m trying to feel optimistic about planting in this area next spring. The seeds are bought and we need to prepare the area for planting. I’m going to try and put cardboard down in two or three layers and buy compost to put on top. I just found your channel and I’m excited to watch your videos. Stay safe. Gardens away!!

[@epicgardening]

Easily one of the hardest weds to combat ever

[@carolynwarfield1057]

I have similar problems with bindweed. So far it's come through a heavy-duty landscape fabric topped with two layers of heavy cardboard and four inches of hemlock bark. It's evil.

[@milicamilica3895]

Can't wait for spring to come and to make a reality out of all the advice and ideas I have seen of this great channel of yours.❤️🇲🇪

[@austenhead5303]

I tried this last year. Three overlapping layers of cardboard over grass, then a high bed with wooden sides filled with over a foot of topsoil/compost/peat moss/perlite mix, AND a few inches of straw mulch on top of that, and the bane of my existence - couch grass - still made it through all of that and came up to harrass my strawberries. If you don't have couch grass, I'm sure it's great. If you do... Well, I'm trying landscape fabric this year. With root access to the soil beneath the beds cut off like that, I'm basically making giant containers. Not really what I wanted out of my garden space, but whachoogonnado. Couch grass is the devil. It actually made me seriously consider using glyphosate for a minute there. I came to my senses, but still.

[@stephennutt5886]

Thanks for your videos, Kevin! The people and resources you provide have been endlessly helpful!

[@trashpanda9433]

I recently saw a film about a preserve in NZ that allowed the weeds to grow out because they grew quickly and basically became a cover crop for the forest restoration. It's an interesting thought for standard gardens

[@Tobias611]

What a great video, with both Charles and you, my favourite gardening youtubers!

[@vickipate3196]

If I could "Like" this twice I would. It was one of my favorites! Thank you.

[@nadine1627]

Oh God Charles is soo sweet!

[@kazouavang2960]

Thank you so much for the demonstration and information. I’ve come across so many videos but haven’t seen anyone actually planted on top of the cardboards.

[@seedylee]

LOVE to see this method in the socal 10a/b climate. it is SO different, this video is very helpful! we ended up tilling to break up the big patches of bermuda grass, then putting down 2 or three layers of cardboard. mulched w shredded leaves. the grass isn't coming back due to cardboard, mulch, and severe lack of water - thanks dry dry SoCal. i am also excited to see how your cardboard will break down.

[@epicgardening]

Scared to till my bermuda due to how it propagates!

[@seedylee]

@@epicgardening yeah, we had to. our ground was not near level, so putting cardboard over it was like walking over potholes.

[@theOsteoholic]

I'm so excited for this collaboration. I really love the idea of No-Dig but as you said, SoCal soil and environment is very different from the UK. Thank you!

[@nenemaria-cornfieldsgarden]

Charles is the gardening Dad everyone needs! I was going to suggest placing your cardboard past your bed edges then mulching for better weed suppression but I see you discussed that with Charles later in the video. Unsurprisingly, I learnt that from him ;) I like the idea of mulching with straw but can't in the UK because of the slugs, we get more than our fair share of rain to make up for it though. Looking forward to see how your no dig bed progresses.

[@epicgardening]

Indeed! Caught my mistake :P

[@jffrywad]

I love watching Charles Dowding hes amazing so exciting to see your progress. I started a no dig last year my first time this summer to get it going 100%.

[@denisek5208]

2 of my favorite gardeners! thanks for sharing

[@lynnyeaman8856]

Absolutely amazing video It is definitely different on zones No dig is simply the best way to get started on gardening

[@504greenleaf3]

Thank You Kevin..I truly appreciate it...

[@kwokslosttheplot9913]

hi, great video as always. I have watched many of Charles videos and have no doubt there are many benefits to no dig garden method but my reluctancy to do this is the fact the amount of compost used to yearly top up each bed. Watching your video and Charles where he used 4 wheelbarrow load of compost, which is quite a lot. I have an allotment in Scotland and to use the no dig method would probably cost me well in excess of £100 annually. In UK a decent general purpose compost cost about £8-10 per 100l. Making my own I was only able to generate 1/2 cubic meter of compost for the year. Don't get me wrong this isn't a negativity with no dig but I think cost of doing it needs to be a consideration as well... keep up the good work.

[@HippieHillHomestead]

No dig is the only method we have used for the last 3 years, We love it. We always plant cover crops in the winter.

[@loue6563]

I have found with clay soil it really helps to use a broad fork to just lift up the soil before I put any cardboard on. You are not really tilling it up and don't turn it over a broad fork or even using a pitch fork just lifts it up and helps break up that really hard clay. I also water the clay soil down before the cardboard and then the cardboard as well. And pile onn the compost. If one can it also helps to have the bed sit for a while before using. the longer the better but you can just go ahead and plant if need be. I have used mulch on top as well and this helps to keep the compost moist and cuts down on the weeds from blown in seed getting a root growing. Dicon radish are aother way to help break up hard soil. I may eat some but they are mainly left in the ground . If you plan on growing root crops these will help with that. Ultimately you want the plants roots to go into the ground and not just the compost. I think the radish may be helping to bring the nutrients down into the ground as well.

[@kittyskid1]

I mainly container garden. I am excited about trying this method. Thank you.

[@1sissaree]

Kevin I Live in Texas and hoping to try this method! Hopefully it will be a great way to grow a better garden. I appreciate that this is helpful with improving my soil. It has to be beneficial to the vegetables! Thank you for sharing this wonderful adventure! Hoping for more updates!👏🏼👊🏻😷🇺🇸

[@Connor-tv5gu]

What a collab! Love it.

[@ffs6158]

I just made three beds this last week using this exact method, using mostly cow manure because it's only $1.58 a bag. I have a Mediterranean climate upstate and use mulch as well, way too hot and dry not to. The edges of these kinds of beds dry out so you have to be careful and put extra mulch on the edges in the summer.

[@myheartisinthemountains2660]

What fun! Gardening together from across the pond!

[@jsbadger]

Kevin, I've been binge watching both you and Charles for a few weeks now (as I've just found you both lol) and this definitely gives me hope that I can be self sufficient, at least in the agricultural aspect (I'm one of those kooky prepper types). Thank you and bless youso much to you both for what you put out to all of us out here.

[@carollollol]

I am looooooving charles's house! Soooo nice and bright :)

[@janicejurgensen2122]

Great collaboration!! Very interesting!! Thank you. I learned quite a bit!

[@alwaysgofwd]

Wow! Didn't think I could love Charles more, but what a wonderful person. Great video! SO informative! Can't wait to try this method myself! ❤️🌱

[@dtorrice5101]

Love the no dig method. It’s awesome and I use it all the time.

[@spiceysgarden]

This was awesome. Two of my favorite gardeners in one video. Can't beat that!

[@jaynematzkinhair8830]

My two garden heroes!!!! Gonna go make a no dig this weekend!