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Stopped by a community garden in Denver and noticed something about their soil setup
I was visiting my sister in Denver last month and she dragged me to this community garden near her place. I wasn't expecting much, but I got talking to the lady running it. She showed me how they layer cardboard and compost right on top of the grass to build new beds. No tilling, no digging. I always thought you had to rip out sod first. She said they saved about 80 hours of labor last spring just by skipping the digging part. I came home and tried it in a corner of my own yard that was all weeds and rocks. Three months later I'm pulling squash out of that spot. Has anyone else used this no-dig method for a new bed?
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xena37316d ago
Nah, gotta disagree here. Cardboard breaks down way too slow in cold climates and leaves this gross slime layer that messes with drainage. I tried it once and ended up with moldy soil that stank for weeks. Digging sucks but at least you know whats actually happening down there.
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the_pat16d ago
And here I was thinking the hardest part of gardening was keeping myself from killing plants through sheer neglect. But seriously, I tried the no-dig method two years ago and my back is still thanking me. I put cardboard down on a patch of dirt that previously only grew weeds and spite, then piled on kitchen scraps and leaves. Ended up with tomatoes so big I had to brag about them to my cat. She was not impressed but I was.
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