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The idea of no-dig gardening was developed both as a labour saving idea, and a method to rejuvenate badly depleted soil in a vegetable garden. The process involves starting with layers of newspaper, and by adding lucerne hay, straw and compost in succeeding layers, you can create a growing medium without resorting to heavy digging, and one that is rich in nutrients which will simplify weeding and encourage your much desired plants to grow. 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. The principle of not digging 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 compaction. Such excessive cultivation can also discourage earthworms which are the best free labour a gardener has. Some followers of permaculture and organic gardening have translated "no-dig" into "never-dig" which will not work in the long term. If you start with a base soil that is badly compacted, then your no-dig garden will initially work well, but you may find your garden does not continue to perform well. The fertile layer you have built up will encourage earthworms, but they do need to shelter from excessively hot, dry, cold or wet conditions. They do this by burrowing more deeply into the soil, sometime many feet down. If they cannot shelter in this way, they will either die out or move out. An initial cultivation of the soil before you apply the no-dig system will guarantee a better environment for the worms, and thus a better garden for growing your plants, over the longer term.
Emma is the founder of www.ChangingEarth.org - an initiative to help educate people in how to change Earth for the better, and slow the damaging effects we have on our planet. Get free advertising by submitting your articles to the Changing Earth directory whilst helping to 'do your bit'!
Article Source: http://www.changingearth.org
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