Have you always wanted a veggie patch, but the thought of lifting grass and digging over compacted soil all seemed a little too daunting? Here is a quick and easy way to create a vegetable garden in just a few hours using the no-dig method.
Because a no-dig garden is built on top of the ground, it can be situated anywhere in the garden, even on stoney or gravely areas. The first thing to do is select the site. It doesn’t matter if it’s a grassed or weedy area, although it does need to be reasonably level. In the tropics a slightly sloping site will ensure the garden is well drained during periods of heavy rainfall. Choose a place which will make the most use of the sun in winter, and it should preferably face north-east with protection from cold southerly winds. Vegetables should receive at least six to seven hours of direct sun daily, although in hot climates four or five hours of morning sun would be fine.
Does size matter? Well, it does, and it doesn’t. It all depends on the size of your family and how many veggies you would like to grow. It’s best to start fairly small at first, see what you can manage, then expand the garden later if you want to. Make the garden twice as wide as the length of your arms. This way you will be able to reach the garden easily from both sides of the bed for ease of harvesting and weeding. It’s best not to walk on your no dig garden as this will compact the layers of organic material. You will need some type of edging material to hold the garden in position and keep out creeping grasses and weeds. Secondhand railway sleepers, logs or weatherboards work well, or you can use cement blocks. Sandbags, rocks or even bales of hay or straw will keep the new garden in place.
Materials needed 1. Gather up plenty of old newspapers. 2. Buy four or five bales of mulch hay – enough to cover the area to a depth of 30 cm. 3. You’ll need a 40 kilo bag of chicken manure pellets, a bucket of blood and bone, and a half bucket of lime or dolomite. Buying chicken manure in large bags works out cheaper than purchasing small bags. If you can source cow or horse manure this would be a great help in getting the garden started. Soil. 4. You’ll need a wheelbarrow full of soil, which you could buy or dig it from another part of the garden. 5. Compost. The soil should be mixed 50/50 with well made compost. You can use your own or buy 2 or 3 bags of commercially made compost. Pace out the spot you want to convert into a veggie patch and closely mow the area. Leave everything lying on the ground and give it a good watering. Scatter a generous amount of chicken manure pellets over the mowed grass, together with a little blood and bone and enough lime or dolomite to colour the ground white. Fill the wheelbarrow with newspapers and cover them with water in the barrow. Open the wet newspapers to four or five sheets and lay it on top of the manures, being careful to overlap the edges. Spread more chicken manure, blood and bone and lime or dolomite over the newsprint. Water again. Open up the bales of mulch hay, loosening the sections a little. Spread the hay evenly over the newsprint to a depth of about 30 cm. Scatter the animal manure over the top of the mulch or use a generous sprinkling of chicken manure pellets. Water the whole area thoroughly until it’s wet but not soaked. This will settle it down and start bacterial action. Worms will quickly move into the garden, together with microscopic bacteria and beneficial fungi. These important organisms will release nutrients to feed your plants. Open up lines or holes in the mulch and fill with the compost and soil mixture. Water again until the mix is evenly moist. You can now start planting your veggie seedlings for an instant veggie patch. It’s best to start with seedlings rather than seeds. Seeds can get lost in the mix and germination could be uneven.
Veggies to start with Capsicum, tomatoes, lettuce, sweet corn, broccoli, spinach, silverbeet, cabbage, cauliflower, eggplant, shallots, basil and parsley. Don’t try growing root crops until the garden is more mature and the hay has rotted down.
garden is well drained during periods of heavy rainfall. 
