Building a No Dig GardenWritten by Judy Williams
The no dig garden is exactly what it describes...a fertile garden bed with no digging at all. It involves layering clean, organic materials that will literally compost around your plants as they grow.The No Dig Garden is built on top of ground, so you can build a garden anywhere. This makes it extremely attractive for those sites that have poor soil or are weed infested. It's also a great method of gardening for those who can't (or don't want to) dig a garden patch! The site you choose for your garden must get at least 5 hours of sunlight a day. Drainage will be good because of materials that will be used in making garden. If you are planting over lawn or weeds, mow them to ground level. If you are planting on a hard surface, put down some cushioning organic material first (like seaweed or leaves). To build your no dig garden start with a layer of newspaper (no colour printing), at least 6mm (1/4 inch) thick. Surround garden with some sort of border material. This can be bricks, logs, planks or rocks but should be at least 20-25CM high (8-10 inches) to contain organic material within. Lay down a layer of lucerne hay leaving no gaps, to a height of 10cm (about 4 inches). Layer some good organic fertilizer on top to a height of 20mm (1 inch). This can be just about any sort of good quality material like chicken, horse, cow or sheep manure.
| | Growing Vegetables in Containers - The compact solutionWritten by Judy Williams
Container vegetable gardens are a great alternative for those that don't have access to backyards. There can be a range of reasons to grow your vegetables in containers...easy access to kitchen, safer environments for children and handicapped or just lack of a yard to use for gardening.Vegetable gardens in containers can also be extremely attractive and serve dual purpose of style and function around your patio. The no dig vegetable garden can be just as successful in containers provided similar guidelines are followed. Drainage is vital so ensure your containers have appropriate drainage holes to allow water to escape. If they don't, plants will literally 'drown' and will be susceptible to diseases. They also need a sunny space. The advantage with vegetables grown in containers is that you can move containers around to follow sun if no one spot in your patio or garden is suitable. Vegetables grown in containers will need some additional attention. Their root system is restricted to pot so make sure you keep them well watered. Containers are far more likely to dry out in hot conditions which will kill your plants or have them 'fruit' poorly. It is also very important that a mulch is put on top of container. This will slow evaporation and keep surface temperature of soil cooler. Plants like tomatoes have small, fiberous roots which will dry and die in hot soil.
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