No-Dig vs No-Till Gardening 

No-till: "Shaken, not stirred." No-dig: "Just throw an olive on top." (I'll show myself out.)

Charles Dowding's no dig uses compost as mulch because of sluggs and snals. He tried cut grass, wood chips, etc. but in his climate (due to high humidity) it does not work very well. The climate in which Gardener Scott works is different. It can also use other materials for mulching (easier, cheaper). The climate and microclimate are important here, not semantics.

Loved it mate... Got your channel from Tony O ayt Simplify gardening brother... Great Upload, and Highly informative... NATURE KNOWS BEST!! Fab stuff mate. Charles Dowding is the King.

This was such a great episode mr Scott! When I really started to garden (5yrs ago) I watched many videos on no dig and really tried to just not “dig” ....but what I found in my area, the foothills of Alberta , the climate is so dry that my beds turned to concrete every winter and my limited compost just dried out like peat moss by the spring. So now I basically just fork in my compost every fall and put leaves over my beds. (Sometimes with plastic on top to hold it all in place) 😬 I realize that some gardeners might not approve,but when you live at altitude in a pretty dry climate, sometimes one needs to adapt to what one actually sees and experiences in the garden. I love mr Dowdings books and his philosophy,but here in Alberta I need to tweek his methods quite a bit actually to get the results I want. Love your channel btw.

Hello Sir. Ive started gardening in 2017, starting out with a few peas and carrots, this year im started to become fully self-sufficient in everything i can grow in my climate; Western Jutland, Denmark, zone 8A. Ive watched several youtubers over the years, but i must admit that you are the one that comes the closets to my scale of gardening, many of the others are borderlining commercialising their garden always squeezing out that last percentage telling how much money theres in it, for me that takes the joy and satisfaction out of it. What i learned is that in my soil, sandy/loose; 1: My garden is too big for no-dig, i dont trust the free compost we can get at our recyclingstation. If i used the Charles Dowding method, which may be superb for others, i would need to buy compost and cardboard, which would be very expensive. 2: If we do not get much snow during a winter, lets say less than 15-25cm, and frost, my soil would look like the surface of Mars without covercrops. Covercrops are vital to my soil, to avoid erotion, flushing out the nutrients and to keep some "loose" layer on top. 3: I was very suprised of how fast sandy soil compact just by its own weight and water "dragging" it down. If it do not loosing it mechanically, by fork or machine, the compacted layer will after 7-10cm (3-4 inches) will become so hard that you cant push a fork into it without using you legs. So loosing it, not necessarily tilling it, helps to add a rootlayer and helps drainage and i find earthworms deeper down. 4:Crop rotation helps a lot to prevent pests and helps to "massage" the soil layers. Rotation also keeps you on your toes regarding massaging the soil and making sure the nutrients and soil composition are correct at every place. 5: Any kind of mulch needs to be help down by something othervise it would blow away within a few days, which would require something substantial; netting of some kind and that is not practical for my size of garden. 6: I need to water relative often, since sandysoil do not hold water that well, but thats improving slowly year by year as i use the little compost i have and green manure/cover crops does a very good job for a very small amount. So what ive learned is that there is no golden solution; each garden requires slight adjustments to fit just that gardens needs, take that tip from there, that tip from there and that tip from him; its like a puzzle where you get each piece from a different place. Gardens are like humans; we all have the same basic needs, we just need them in slightly different ways to fit our needs.

If you think about it, the only difference between these types is where you make your compost, in a compost bin or directly in a bed. You can mulch your no dig bed if you need to. Just make your next amendment before winter to allow your mulch layer to decompose and activate a soil for the next season.

Hey Scott... The Back to Eden video confused many gardeners. Although Paul uses wood chips in his orchard, he uses compost from his chicken run in his vegetable garden. I've even learned that he purchases some compost as well. But you're correct...Charles Dowding grows some great vegetables with no dig, but it requires a fair amount of compost that most of us can't produce or afford to buy! I think 'the answer' is sheet mulch/composting AND cover cropping while disturbing the soil as little as possible. About 25 years ago I placed a 12 foot ring of snow fence filled with fall leaves in my 'garden' which was parking lot like soil. In the spring tilling was tough going until I hit the spot where the leaves had been and the tiller sank effortlessly to it's maximum depth - nature had done the tilling!!! So I'm convinced that permanent beds with thick mulch (or cover crop) in fall makes a huge difference! 🙂

really really clear explanation; love the clarity and nuance you brought to this, showing how context is everything. Makes me want to experiment with both methods. And try to be clearer with my own students at high school :)

One important thing I learned about gardening in 8 years of keeping a garden, is that bare soil left on its own gets very hard and dry. Plants can't grow in rock...in order to soften the soil, you need to either till before every planting, OR use some kind of mulch in order to keep the soil moist. It's the moisture that keeps the soil soft. Tilling also works, but it encourages weeds, while mulching discourages them. I've found that I like loosely digging in some compost or manure, and then covering with black plastic mulch, or cardboard if I have enough of it. That said, I do find it necessary to till each of my beds perhaps once every two years or so, because my kids always walk on them and this compacts the soil, which contains a lot of clay.

Great video on explaining the difference. I was so confused before. So many people/channels do indeed use the terms interchangeably and really make people afraid to garden, because they don't want to do it "wrong."

Thanks for pointing up the differences and clearing up misconceptions - I'm in an 8b with prolonged periods of no rain especially in spring and summer, and this video went a long way in my decision making.

I am loving my lasagna gardening. My gardening setup and budget works best using that method and it give me more space for plants. I love how you show us all the options and their pros and cons. Thank you!

I placed cardboard and some twigs and leaves down in our garden bed I placed news paper on top of that . Now I'm filling the raised bed with compost. And I will be using grass clippings to cover the top. Yes I'm buying the compost. Just because I don't have time.

No dig works well for me as I am also in 8b like Dowding even though not England.but rather the Pacific Northwest

Thank you for this video and the clarification provides. I am one who thought they were basically the same. It's important to have more knowledge than not so we can make educated decisions as to what's best for our circumstances. I think this also encourages more people to try and to not be afraid, like with composting. Knowing it's okay to slow compost helps a lot of us who are squeamish. Really well put together content, thank you.

Great balanced and well explained video comparing both methods.

You can make more compost than you think if you have the space. I've asked all of my neighbors what they use on their lawns. I've singled out the ones who use no pesticides or fertilizers. I take all those home depot bags full of dry leaves every november. Some years it's over a hundred bags :) There have been published analysis of the nutrient content of deciduous leaves and its comparable to the very expensive rock dust. i collect coffee grounds and with one big influx of my green garden waste its a huge pile. I can get 5 or 6 turns before it freezes and then let it break down the entire following growing season. In the fall I use the compost from the year before. It's a lot of work, admittedly for me being on the wrong side of 50 but it's mostly organic. Although I can't speak to the organic nature of the coffee grinds. No dig or till. Just alot of pitchfork work

If you really pay attention to Charles he does plan ahead to get compost ahead of time the organic material is brought in, foraged from his garden and then creates the compost. So basically what you do on your beds he does in his compost heap continually. It just makes it so that you can do what you are doing but have compost for no dig.

Very helpful video. I saw your lasagna gardening video and followed the method in my former tomatoes and yellow squash bed. I also put in cover crops in the bed and put leaves, pine needles as a mulch

I've done a lasagna plot and a hugelkulture one. They both attracted rodents, though many more in the hugel. Mice & moles 😡🙄 I loved my small wood chip experiment, in which I planted swiss chard. It wasn't only the healthiest-looking chard I ever grew, reaching a height of at least 15 inches, but the most productive and delicious. I took a three year break for health reasons, but this year I'm excited to try again with the no till method. Thanks for the video.. I just found your channel and look forward to checking out the others. ☀️☀️☀️💐💐🥀 Spring IS COMING though here in Maine it'll probably be late as usual! lol Happy gardening! 😊

Wonderful explanation. I didn’t fully understand the nuances between the two types of gardening styles until I watched your video. While I make a lot of compost, it isn’t nearly enough for a no-dig garden. One hybrid system, I’ve been trying is to dig 12’ ditches around my raised beds and fill them with wood chips. Every year I am able to take back the top 2” of chips and use the 1/2 broken down wood chip layer below as mulch for my perennial beds. In effect, I’m producing my own mulch from wood chips. This seems to be the perfect mulch for my region as I too live in a dry area where 100% compost mulch requires lots of watering to be effective.

In one of my beds I accidentally learned about leaving the soil alone IE letting weeds overtake it for a couple of years through my own focusing elsewhere. I was so astonished when I revisited it to find that several plants had rebounded/persevered through the years (Bachelor Buttons, iris, lilies, onions and a few more). And...the actual soil itself had improved VS degraded. Love all you do from North Idaho zone 6a 🌻🌿💚

Thanks for the explanation. Currently doing no-till as I have raised beds due to my soggy backyard.

I am making my chicken run where the future garden will be. We will start with about 4-6 inches of wood chips to start. I have lots of leaves...would like your opinion as to whether to incorporate the leaves now or lot them break down separately then add in the future. There will also be other smaller garden areas, raised beds so the leaves will be used. Just want to do the best for my garden. ♥️👍🍁🤓

Like how you broke the information down. I like you do both. ❤️

I wish there was no-work gardening but then everyone would do it.

Great video!

Great comparison. I'm also using a back-to-Eden / no till method in my new orchard like you. For my veggies, I try to use no dig in my garden, but can't always buy enough compost, much like you mention, so resort to fall mulching too. Both work great in their own locations / purposes

Charles stays away from mulching with plants because of the warm.climate and the snail.problems and he is very resourceful in getting straw, grass clippings, leafs, coffe grounds, and horse.manure and all the rest and he is able to compost lots of things and to have massive compost bins

Oh how we gardeners yearn to grow in our gardens and yet use terms inaccurately. I have caught myself a few times doing it. A neighbor mentioned to me, "oh your XYZ plants look wonderful this year." "Well, I use Dowding's no till gardening method." Bah, they did not care how I did it or the terminology I use ! They were just being friendly, nice people. They did not ask what I do to get blooms so bright. Anyways Scott, thank you again.

Thank You. I have never really realized the difference between no dig and no till. I am doing both in my raised bed garden. I use no dig for my berries and I use no till for the rest of my raised beds. If you live in an area that gets some snow, it can really compact the soil. Adding some goodies to the soil and covering with straw mulch will help to prevent that this winter.

When I first started gardening decades ago, the garden was tilled every spring. I would apply some type of mulch/manure and till that into the soil. I didn't realize then I was destroying the soil structure and making mince meat of the worms. As I learned of the no till method, I noticed a big improvement in the soil structure from year to year. I still dig in the left over mulch in the fall so it enriches the soil by spring time. I use intensive gardening by the way and I feel the soil does need extra attention. Now that I learned of cover crops, I might try that next fall.

I make compost tea for asparagus and put a fine layer of composted manure around the plants in early Spring.

Just getting ready to watch, but today I got my first load of woodchips. My neighbor started a tree trimming business. I told him as long as I have room I'll take them. I don't plan on doing back to eden gardening, maybe a small area, but I'll use them as many ways I can. Now I have to watch everyone's videos on using woodchips.

For me, no dig a la Charles Dowding is the ideal - however for now I am largely no till for many of the reasons you give. When succession planting is combined with no dig, then there is very little bare soil and so less need of a mulch on top of the compost, with crops planted year round i think. It will be a while before my soil is fertile enough for no dig - I am building towards it. I like the practice of making great soil (compost), containing all a plant needs which then feeds the plants. But I'm not there yet, particularly as i'm changing from double dig and crop rotation (I shudder now) to no till (and then no dig). I always find your thoughtful and practical considerations of great interest and use. Thank you

Love it. Just subscribed.

Personally I like to mix the two. Compost and then a layer of wood chip

All compost is not created equal. The store bought compost I bought did NOT grow well at all....

I'm going to build me a broad fork as I am a Blacksmith ( beginner)

I am watching your video, always informative and good by the way. What I am hearing is that *no* *dig* is putting compost on the top of the soil ( maybe with mulch or cardboard or something under it, and gradually over the seasons building up that layer of very good soil. But what I am hearing is that *no* *till* is virtually the same only you use hay or wood chips ... and I think I must be missing something. Maybe it would help to define the terms *dig* and *till* . I somehow got the impression that both of these are reactions to the way the average American farm does agriculture these days. That is, to use the soil is a matrix on which is tilled, plowed or dug holes to put the plants in, and they are fed with chemicals, not with the nutrition in the soil. Is that true? So that *no* *dig* would mean not penetrating the soil below the layer of compost and just leaving it for the compost, mulch, wood chips, etc to foster the life that would slowly soften the ground and work its way into the soil. Would that makes sense? And then *no* *till* would be virtually the same but without using a plough to cut a valley in the soil to plant the seeds. I guess don't really see the difference as far the basics of what both methods do ... i.e. not having to work the underlying soil which may be problematic or need very intense labor?

Another great video Scott! You mentioned that sometimes you just can’t make enough compost for your garden to follow the no dig method, which actually relates directly to our RU-vid content! Check out our products that help you get all the microbiological goodness of compost without all the hassle of making compost.

Thanks. Good explanation

A correction: Back to Eden confused so many. When you review the video closely you would realize that Paul Gautschi uses wood chips in his orchard, but in the garden he uses COMPOST from the chicken run and some purchased fully composted tub grinder chips. "No Till" and "No Dig" can both be summarized best as 'disturb the soil as little as possible'. And it might, or should be noted that both Paul Gautschi AND Ruth Stout tilled/plowed for years before adopting no dig/no till approaches to gardening.

Really interesting , I’ve gone no dig for health reasons.

I have been using the no till method of gardening for years. It is a little known fact that annual tilling actually does more harm than good. cover crops planted in the fall and worked into the soil in the spring is a very good way to fortify soild quickly.

I've had both straw bale and regular raised beds at the same time for years. Before the beginning of a new planting season, I've been taking the broken-down straw from the previous year and burying it down the center of my raised beds to help retain moisture and capture the nutrients in the bales. This fall I think I'm just going to put down a heavy layer of straw mixed with tree and comfrey leaves from my yard on top and just let it break down. Then in the spring add another layer of straw, keep it wet and let it break down more and just plant in the raised bed as if it was a bunch of straw bale. No weeds, great results?

It helps if you have trees, shrubs, and grass on your property. That's all biomass that can be used for mulch, compost piles, and to make liquid plant food.

I guess I use the no-till. I can't create that much, true compost to be a no-dig gardener. Basically, I use fall leaves and grass clippings, and dump those on top. I do nothing else. I've been doing this for 4 or 5 years now. My soil has completely changed and is much healthier now. I would recommend this method for anyone. I let everything break-down naturally, directly on top of my garden. I do have to clear the leaves, where I want my rows, to sow my seed. Other than that, it's very little work. My garden is about 11' x 22'. Also, since I switched to this method, I don't have a problem with moles creating tunnels, in my vegetable garden. I guess the soil stays too soft for the moles to create tunnels.

I put down compost, THEN a thick layer of woodchip mulch. The soil is fed now AND later.

in the end it all boils down to use what's most appropriate for your soil and your climate, so do your research and experiment a lot which is the fun part of all this plant stuff :->

Hi. BTE or Ruth Stout, these are only no-till methods because you say so, it's just an opinion really. There is no real difference because the end result or required outcome is the same and that should be any focus. Arguably if someone doesn't own a tiller/tractor then they might simply use the term 'no dig'. Charles's excellent methodology is both no dig and no till he just happens to call it no dig. It's all 'minimal disturbance' ultimately, that's the goal.

no dig and no till gardening are valid ways of growing but for me I discovered if you have bad soil you can shred organic material especially leaves dig a trench and fill it with a bunch of shredded leaves in winter by spring you will have incredibly improved soil structure everyones soil is different however

So this being said... Some people remove spent crops, roots and all, at the end of it's season. Some will snip off top growth and leave all root systems in the ground and then replant. Is this involved with no dig and do remaining roots inhibit the next crop?

I'm not done amending my garden still have to many rocks,One more season of tilter and pick up rocks

In the past you've mentioned that your native soil is basically compacted and lifeless. Do you think that a till-once method is reasonable to break up the soil and work in organic matter initially and then treat it as no-till from then on?

No till is similar to what a herd of Buffalo would do to soil mixing in compost and aeration

Fantastic commentary. They key in understanding "no-till" is first defining tillage. Or the destruction of soil structure for the purpose of eliminating pests and competition. Tillage removes herbaceous pests and leave behind a tilth. In no-till, you can hand amend. The key factor above all others is that you maintain soil structure. You maintain the aggregate of particles held together by glomalin, root exudate, worm excretions, decaying bacterial films, humic materials an so on; all of that natural glue binding the aggregate together. No-Till and No-dig both seek to achieve this through varying methodologies. And both can achieve it when do properly.

Demonstrations would best explain the difference between no till and no dig.

With time you need way less compost. Most of it is used at the beginning. By buying wood chips and taking your neighbor's green trash you can create a lot of compost by your self. A m3 of woodchips with some green stuff takes covered maybe 6 months ( with a monthly flip)

I so AGREED with you Scott. I tried both methods in my garden too..now these day I don't mind a bit of digging really, good for my work out anyway. But you are so right too about we can not make huge amount of compost but also buying compost is VERY expensive in my area..so i tried to use whatever mother nature provide surrounding me like kelp and seaweeds to help rather just depend bought compost.

I till my vegetable garden then plant my garden then put my compost on the top. What do you think ? I liv in Belmar NJ

Video about word salad

I love learning from you. At 10:32 in this video I see you sitting on the edge of a bed that has a metal outside. Please let me know what kind of sheet metal, for lack of a better wording, this is. I'm figuring out what material I want to use for only a slightly raised area for food producing bushes and strawberries. The troughs you use are attractive, but expensive, not even available here in the east. The raised beds provided by Epic Gardening are another expensive option, and I've seen some information that the durability is questionable. I see you have wood reinforcing that metal. Is it stained or otherwise coated with something that helps with rot without being too toxic? Thanks for your information.

thanks for nicely explained 👍

Another great video! I like a hybrid of no-dig and no-till. I have 2 large (4' x 12' x 4' deep) composting bins because I know the value of finished compost in growing, but I started my beds by employing mostly no-till methods. I have a climate very similar to gardener Scott's and I am a huge believer in mulching. I have found chopped straw is great and this year I will try pine shavings and black plastic mulching; but every year when I put the beds to sleep, I spread about 2" of compost on top and then cover them with clear 6 mil plastic. Works like a charm in our zone 5b area.

Thanks for making this important distinction. I tried "no dig" and it was a disaster. My muscular worms had a wonderful time pushing all my pea seeds back up to the surface early in the spring. They did the same thing with the carrot seeds and the beet seeds, and I think it happened because they had well-established tunnels and I did not disturb them. This year when I mixed up my compost into the soil before seeding, the worms were disrupted yes, but I don't really think I killed one of them. My peas are up now and looking great so far. Even in vermiculture, worms are disturbed a bit.

Just watched the video and comments to recharge my battery of common sense. Thanks Scott.

Oh. All i thought no dig was the british term for no till.

Truth be told there is a time and place for both no till and no dig.

I'm both No dig and No Till.

Was something like this in the One Straw Revolution?

I ordered the greenstalk vertical garden system . Thank you for the link and the discount. It is what I wanted for our anniversary coming up , so hubby said go for it . Whoo hoooo.

Charles no dig tech is good for humid climates, more resilient against slugs and other humid climate challenges, but needs lots of compost, but in humid climates there is more abundant organic mater to start from. We in dryer climates have to get the most out of the organic mater that we have, but need not worry so much about certain pests as humid gardeners. So we let things break down on site where it feeds the soil.

Just a clarification. Charles Dowding only adds an inch of compost to the top of the bed. I use both systems in my garden. I have raised beds, in-ground beds and containers. The containers are no till. Make my own worm castings, hot compost and leaf mold. Also mulch my beds in SE Texas with straw. I guess you could say I have a fusion garden.

Really appreciate this video. My compost bin set-up is working nicely this winter. Going to try more compost as a mulch. Also growing some rye as well. Charles Dowding is an amazing presentor on no-dig. Farmer Jesse Frost is another great market gardener growing no-till in the Kentucky. Thank you Gardener Scott for another great video on these methods.

Potato, potato. I see no difference. Charles Dowding's main focus is not to disturb the soil which is the essence of no dig. You can use whatever mulch you want but in UK compost works best. Even if you do chop n drop it is essentially no dig. No till does the same imho while also allowing to some disturbance. Mulch type does not matter. With different type of mulching you get the same result but it may take longer (rich and living soil). Besides Charles Dowding experimented with different mulch, compost seems to work best in UK. Again use of compost is not the essence of no dig but the creation of complex living network of soil life which any type of mulch will allow. Just do not disturb the soil by no digging or no tilling, same result.

Thank you for explaining the. Difference between the two I love the history lesson good job

I call my method of gardening…”low-dig” rather than “no-dig”….I still have to dig out the occasional perennial weed etc….Jinxy, UK

Great explanation. I am a hobbyist and my no till deep mulch produced gigantic sweet potatoes this year. This is my 2nd year and I am sold. Thank you.

I clear the land of weeds then mulch on top with compost , because there is never enough cardboard and never enough compost! Even the Great Charles ran out of cardboard in one of his videos...no till is more cost effective!

Can you go from no dig, to no till. Like do no dig for a couple years just to start out then switch it over to no till afterwards so you don't have to wait the initial years for no till? Also when using the for example bean plants to put back in. Are you removing the roots and all from the ground or just letting insects eat it up?

This was very helpful. I guess I do a combo of both no dig and no till throughout my garden.

Working in material that hasnt broken down yet does take nutrients away before getting any use. So however way you look at it you can't escape compost. It's a necessity, and gardening is pointless without it as your crops will be subpar.

The dehydrated compost was my thoughts to in a dryer climate. I find the thing that is key to good growth above all else is consistent moisture. Moisture will turn any concrete clay into workable soil. In the wheelbarrow fulls of compost I add every year most of it just makes it less like concrete when dry. It still can crack as it dries out. So I still put a 1/4 inch minus wood mulch on top to help retain moisture. A lot of new gardeners in dry areas think by adding mulch it will magically make virgin clay good soil. At first it is all the water doing the work. Water makes clay darker and makes it seem richer. It takes a lot of amendments at first or years of mulch breakdown to make truly richer soil. I mentioned that because it can fool you if you don't know.

the main ting is what is in your compost. Are you amending your soil with harmful microbes or beneficial?

Charles is a small scale intensive market gardener he doesn't have the luxury of time for green manure cover crops thus his prolific reliance on compost

Thanks for the info Gardener Scott 👍🔥💪🙏

This really helped clarify what I need to do. Thank you!☺

Very interesting differences !

How does one grow tubers and root vegetables on a no dig system?

Thanks, Scott

Si "no till" es para el futuro y el Charles es inmediato pero sigue funcionando en el futuro es de suponer que es mejor ya que da resultados a corto y largo plazo.??? Para mi, como bien dices, el verdadero problema es conseguir todo el compost necesario.

I watched an episode of epic gardening that he did with charles dowding an he said that charles tilled the soil when he first started then after he loosened the soil he went to no dig. So the first time he put in his garden where he is now he tilled. Keven said it cuts out years of waiting. They till that first year then go to no dig and no till.

I had been scratching my head and this has helped clear it up for me thanks Scott 🙏

How can you call it no till when you work in organic matter into the soil? I consider working matter into the soil tilling

YEY! I am one of the first comments.

Gardening methods: Tilling: Frozen margaritas No-till: martini No-dig: tequila sunrise 🤣🤣🤣🍸🍹

Your yard could use some work, just saying. I use what works, which is probably more no till than no dig, but I incorporate the two, I have massive slug and earwig problems, and a hot climate, so next year I'll lay compost until it gets hot and then mulch, give my seedlings a chance.

14 min video uploaded 5 mins ago with 8 likes. Y’all a bit eager

I'm taking out an area that has had a turf carpet and the soil is really compacted so I was wondering... Can I do the no dig method up here in the Massachusetts area and how do I start id I dont have tons of money to buy fertilizer? Thanks , I find your videos so helpful :)