How to Build a No-Dig Garden Bed and the Benefits of Composting

How to start a no dig bed and compost differences. I take you though the early stages of mulching/smothering weeds, so that they die in darkness while leaving soil in great condition for growing.. The how and why of no dig. You see examples of composts you can use, which serve to feed soil life and get plants off to a great start, even while weeds die underneath and out of sight. * NOTE: At 07:36, the wheelbarrow I mention is full of soil, not compost* Use any decomposed materials, of varied age and origin. Observe their different qualities, while other options I don't show here are mushroom compost, leaf mould, and vermicast in smaller amounts. 00:00 Introductory music 00:14 Introduction to video 00:39 Starting from weeds 01:51 Planting straight away 02:14 Planting into compost 02:42 Where to position new no dig bed/beds 03:24 Using black polythene to mulch/cover 03:40 Light exclusion to weaken weeds 04:03 Leaving soil undisturbed 05:19 Light and shade, in terms of where to site plot 05:51 Effect of having trees and hedges near to a plot 06:37 Using soil for uneven ground (and mention of slopes) 07:53 Weed roots - examples of bindweed, dandelion and buttercup 09:07 Introduction to different composts - not a full list as other possible composts are mushroom compost, leaf mould and vermicast 09:23 Homemade compost 10:22 Horse manure 11:16 Cow manure 11:58 Wood chip 12:45 Green waste compost 13:17 Compost bought for propagating- ‘potting compost’ (‘potting soil’ in US) 13:51 Enlarging a no dig bed 14:26 Information about cardboard 15:40 Demo of adding soil to uneven ground 15:59 Demo of laying cardboard 16:11 How to manage edges, including info on wooden sides 17:41 Demo of putting compost over cardboard 18:03 More on wood chip, and info on pathways 18:41 Wetting cardboard according to climate/weather 19:44 The important role of cardboard for weedy ground, and how plants can root through into the ground 20:42 Demo of transplanting pea plants in surface compost 20:54 Summary of no dig method, including more info on planting in new bed Filmed 15th February at Homeacres and edited by Alessandro of ‪@SpicyMoustache‬ . See his channel for ideas about no dig suburban gardening, see also his amazing reels on Instagram.    / spicymoustache  , and https://www.instagram.com/_spicymoustache_/ More information about no dig in many of my books, including Course Book 1 which is named after this online course https://charlesdowding.co.uk/product/onlin... See the new area no dig playlist for how the land behind me evolved from weeds to beds, easily.    • First Steps For No Dig on a New Area   To buy my collections of super informative video garden guides with an encyclopaedic search function, visit Retrieve with whom we partner https://charlesdowding.retrieve.com/store/#/ You can join this channel by paying a monthly fee, to support our work with helping gardeners grow better, and to receive monthly videos made only for members:    / @charlesdowding1nodig