Building a No-Dig Bed

No-dig gardening preserves the soil food web by building on top of the ground rather than turning it. Layers of compost and mulch create a growing medium that improves every season.

Why No-Dig Works

• Preserves fungal networks — mycorrhizal fungi take years to establish; digging destroys them in minutes
• Maintains soil structure — aggregates, pore spaces, and worm channels stay intact
• Reduces weeds — cardboard base smothers existing weeds; undisturbed soil brings fewer weed seeds to the surface
• Builds fertility — compost applied on top is incorporated by worms and microorganisms naturally
• Saves labour — no digging, no rotary hoeing, less weeding

Following the Method

The "No-Dig Garden Bed Setup" method on Libre Grow provides 10 detailed steps. When you create the activity and select this method, you'll see observation templates for:

• Bed area (m²)
• Compost depth (cm)
• Mulch depth (cm)
• Notes

The Provenance Connection

Your no-dig bed activity takes your planned bed element (from Week 1's zone planning) as input and transforms it — the bed goes from "planned" status to "active". You can also link compost as an input if you're using your own.

This is how the provenance chain grows:

Bed A (element)
  ← Zone Planning (design activity, Week 1) — created the plan
  ← No-Dig Bed Setup (implementation activity, Week 3) — built the bed

Next week, you'll add a planting activity, extending the chain further.

Tips

• Cardboard quality matters — remove all tape and staples. Use uncoated, unprinted cardboard where possible.
• Wet everything — dry cardboard creates a water-repellent barrier. Soak it thoroughly.
• Go thick on compost — 10-15cm minimum. This is your growing medium for the first season.
• Don't skimp on overlap — weeds will find any gap. 15cm overlap minimum on cardboard edges.