Have been no dig for about 6 years in our garden at Ratho Mains now. A farmhouse garden growing food for our large family and some surplus to sell, helping it to break even!
I hate weeding and the damp Scottish summers mean that hoeing is not always an option. Compost beds can be accessed when damp and pulling weeds is generally easier than in compacted, damp soil. In general the yields are more reliable and the plants quicker to establish in the compost. Have also made better use of the greenhouse to establish plants and pop them into the beds when still small or temperatures are low in the spring.
Still have issues with grass weeds and slugs from surrounding hedges and borders, possibly because I don’t always get round to topping up the beds every year. Potatoes do better and have less scab in a dug bed so I do try to keep some space for them too. Even our flowers beds get a good covering of municipal compost as it helps them and the soil structure.
Many thanks to Charles Dowding for all his videos and books, definitely the inspiration behind what we do here.
The photo shows the garden in Oct ‘24.
