Intro to Charles & No Dig Organic Gardening
Charles Dowding has explored and shared new ways to garden since 1983, most notably no dig organic gardening, and since 2003 has developed ways to continuous-crop salad leaves. Discover his weed free no dig methods to achieve superb and time-saving results in both small and large garden areas. He sells produce from Homeacres bio-intensive and no dig garden, has written nine books on no dig and organic gardening, writes for national and international magazines, runs a YouTube channel, appears on TV and radio including BBC Gardeners World, and teaches extensively at home and abroad.
For answers to your questions about no dig, see the FAQs
You can listen to my growing story on podcasts one and two with Joe Lamp’l 2019.
This weekend, I am at the pumpkin festival in Bruton, your squash could win £500 for best in show
START NO DIGAs Seen In
I started this method four years ago and I wish Id known about it decades earlier. We had just bought a big rototiller to start all of our beds before I discovered no dig and ended up selling it. This method works very very well and for very little effort or money.
Janette Lavender
I am in Northern California, a mile east of the ocean. From your videos I attempted my first No Dig garden at the end of 2018. Even through winter storms it started producing, and by the time spring arrived, I had an abundant, healthy, thriving garden, with my nearest neighbours deciding they must take up the method themselves.
Linda Schneider
This has been my first year of no dig, I had such an amazing time and had loads of produce. Thank you Charles for all your help and amazing videos, and your books are brilliant.
Elaine Hutchinson
You Tube
I thoroughly enjoyed your online course and have learnt so much. I am just starting out on an allotment plot and already notice how few weeds I have compared to my plot-holder neighbours. And I’m loving weed-free paths!
Susan Souter
Cindy Conner
Californian flower farmer
I have learned so much from watching your videos. You’re an excellent teacher — concise and generous at the same time. You helped rekindle my love of growing food. Thank you!
Andrea Berry
I LOVE your videos and the online course was fantastic. Can’t wait for the next one.
Sharon Gunn
gardening in Texas USA
This has been my first year of no dig, I had such an amazing time and had loads of produce. Thank you Charles for all your help and your books are brilliant.
You have changed my approach to gardening, and I couldn’t be happier now than when I’m outside planting and growing and seeing the amazing results of your no dig advice.
Thank you sir for your amazing video advice. I followed your every thing to the letter I have an amazing garden and abundance
Complete incredible stuff in under 7 months: took keys of property on 6th December last year 1 acrePoly tunnel in place, my beds are feeding 5 people not fully but incredibly. Thank you for changing our lives.
Tinker bell
August 2018
“Many thanks for making the journey to Sheffield last week, and providing such a fantastic and stimulating talk for our audience. Everyone loved it!”
Gareth Roberts of Regather
Sheffield’s Festival of Debate Talk Attendee
“Charles has become the guru of no dig gardening. He’s a really good grower, organic, has fabulous produce and we went down to Somerset to see how he does it…. I’m a convert now, I want to dig as little as possible.”
Monty Don
BBC Gardeners World
I came on a course last August, and it has given me so much direction and understanding in my gardening thinking. And your updates through the winter are an absolute tonic.
Clare Finzi
Course Attendee
Have just received your splendid calendar with the sumptuous pics. An annus mirabilis at Homeacres methinks!! It will take pride of place in the potting shed to remind us what we should be doing
Jim Buckland
Head Gardener at West Dean College, Chichester.
Get No Dig Newsletters To Your Inbox
October 13th rain and no dig, compost making, last tomatoes, salad planting, Brussels sprouts
Autumn has brought 160mm/6.4in rain in three weeks, but thanks to no dig the water is draining away, and without leaching nutrients. Almost all beds at Homeacres have had no compost since last year, a
October 2019 no dig plantings, make compost, harvests, book offer, Q/A
We pass from late summer to early winter in a short space of time, and since the weather is already making that shift, here are my tips on being ready for the cooler and darker months. My recent inter
September 2019 sow again, interplants, brassica pests, mildew, no dig allotment, more pyralid damage
Often the weather flips in late August from summer to autumn, and this year is no exception. The last 7 days here had an average maximum temperature of 25C/77F, then next week’s forecast gives 19C/6
Small Garden (5) early July, new plantings for summer and autumn harvests
A follow-up to Small Garden of June, see how summer plantings of beans, kale, beetroot, carrots, leeks and salads have grown. Plus how the outdoor tomatoes are ripening already, early for this tempera