No Dig Gardening includes recycling, composting and improving soil all by layering it on! This process is known by a few different names; Hugelkultur, Lasagna Gardening and Sheet Composting, but the ideas are based on “No Dig Gardening”.

Laying out the new beds

Making garden beds this way works with nature’s existing cycles, creating healthy soil, less weeding and happier plants!

This process does NOT need to be created inside a box, just easier to keep layers tidy, I’ve success both in and out of boxes!

Build It and They Will Come!

The idea of setting up a garden bed like this is to let nature do the work for you. You’ll be helping nature create good soil by composting in place- and that requires things for the soil organisms to eat. By giving a diverse group of soil life things to feast on you can create a very active and healthy soil to plant into.

Building Better Soil

Soil biodiversity creates a more resilient garden. I like to equate good soil organisms with good gut health. We’ve likely all heard of pre- and pro- biotics; the helpers of digestion (and so much more). Soil organisms help break things down and make them available to plants in a similar fashion.

Everything from worms and beetles we can see, to bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes and actinomycetes (though I sure couldn’t tell you what those looked like!) have a specific job to do- and many work in relationship with vegetable plant roots to feed them. There is a whole world of info about the soil food web out there, and I suggest watching THIS by Dr. Elaine Ingham if you want to dig a little deeper.

BUT… the beauty of this process is that it works without you knowing soil biology! By layering the raw materials listed below the good guys will set up shop breaking down matter AND making it available to your plants in a few short months.

First Spring planting into new No Till Beds!

Helpful Garden Terms

No Dig Gardening: Leaving the soil as undisturbed as possible.

Sheet Composting VS Sheet Mulching:  Sheet Mulching is where you overlap cardboard and place mulch directly over it (like I did for my front yard garden). Sheet composting is another term for Lasagna gardening.

Hügelkultur: Using wood and other organic matter to warm and drive faster decomposition. (I think of this as Lasagna Gardening on steroids.)

the more you know

When to Build

You can start building a garden this way anytime, but Fall is a great time. You’ll have lots of yard waste to add to the boxes, plus letting the bed sit overwinter will give the layers time to decompose and release some of the nutrients to help feed plants next spring. In northern climates, like us in Minnesota, the freeze thaw cycle also helps break things down over winter.

The process can take up to six months- another reason why Fall is a great time to get started. And yes, it will continue to decompose over winter even in Minnesota. Remember this is a cold (or slow) compost process, not a hot one.

Remember to Practice No Dig Garden Clean Up Techniques every fall as well. Cut healthy, annual plants back at the soil level to leave roots in the ground. This will help feed soil life over winter.

Step by Step Bed Construction:

Choose a location for your new garden (veggies do best in full sun) then decide the dimensions and start laying down the layers!

Getting started: One bed with mowed grass, one with a sprinkle of compost, one with cardboard and one with a first layer of started compost.
Compost to add to layers
  • Mow: Mow grass as short as possible where you will be creating the garden bed. This step can also help define the edges and curves as garden beds should be easy to mow around!
  • Fork: Using a small tined pitchfork or broad fork if you have one, gently push into the soil to create air holes and ‘space’. This invites worms and the larger organisms towards the surface.
  • Compost: Lay a thin layer of compost under the cardboard to entice soil life up into the area.
  • Cardboard: Lay solid cardboard (free of color printing or tape!) over space, making sure to overlap liberally. Overlapping too little can cause weeds to find light and sneak up. Collecting large sheets of cardboard from appliances, and friends that have recently moved can be a big help!
So many layers and lots of leaves!
  • Layer: Now we start adding all that organic matter which can be broken down into two main groups; carbon or nitrogen suppliers. Layering these invites decomposers to the garden party!

Layer By Layer

To me this is the fun part, finally getting to add the layers. Organic matter high in carbon is often referred to as “browns” and matter high in Nitrogen as “greens”. Thinking of Browns as drier and Greens as wetter helps keep them straight in my head. Sticking to around 2″ per layer helps the process along.

*This really is like composting in place- but without turning the soil ourselves we’re inviting the soil life to turn it for us, so thinner layers are key to success.*

More information on composting HERE!

Carbon Sources

Carbon rich materials include cardboard, newspaper, wood chips, sawdust and dry leaves (another reason to do sheet composting in the fall—you can put all those falling leaves to good use). It’s best to start with a nitrogen layer touching the cardboard to help break it down enough for the soil organisms to bust through.

Nitrogen Sources

Compost layer on beds, before adding the final layer of straw and leaves

Nitrogen rich materials include already composted horse or cow manure, fresh grass clippings, deadheaded flowers, fruit/vegetable scraps, used coffee grounds, and green leaves as well as alfalfa pellets and cottonseed meal.

I also use spent chicken bedding from our backyard flock and consider it a ‘pre-blended’ mix of carbon (straw) and chicken droppings (nitrogen).

Keep the ratio of carbon to nitrogen roughly 70/30 – 50/50. This is a forgiving process, and will eventually create compost regardless of exact proportions.

*The smaller the pieces you add to the layers, the faster it will decompose.*

Beds ready to compost over winter

Unlike traditional composting, during which weed seeds and disease organisms are killed as the pile heats up, this is a cold composting process and will not kill diseases or seeds.

Garden debris that contains weed seeds or diseased materials should be skipped when making a lasagna garden.

Ask me how I know 😉

I’ve created very healthy soil in my new beds and increased my organic matter from 2.8% to 9.8% in two years with No Dig Gardening! Between 4-6% is considered adequate for most veggies. If you’re interested in doing a soil test the U of MN does their basic version for $17, that and lots more info on soil in my article HERE.

I’ve built my fair share of garden beds over the years, and really love the way no till garden beds produce and thrive! It’s also pretty amazing how with a little planning these beds use up yard ‘waste’ and cost virtually nothing!

For loads of great videos on how this can look in a garden check out the OG No Dig guru; Charles Dowding.

If you’re looking to expand your gardens for next season- think about starting now. Make it easy on yourself by layering on the goodness and letting nature do the work.

Dig In!
Michelle