For the Gardener who wants to create a garden easily with little effort and do digging, the simplest & fastest way is to do a no dig garden which some have called a Lasagne Garden. This can be used for growing vegetables, flowers or anything at all.
There is little or no maintenance and you will have a beautiful garden that will also improve over time. It uses the principals of permaculture and I always use the Biodynamic Preparations to really maximise the results. Also only organic ingredients and definitely no chemicals.
To begin choose where you want it and make sure you have adequate sunshine during the day unless you are creating a garden where the plants prefer shade. Ideally away from trees so there roots do not take nutrients from your new plants, however in some situations this can not be avoided.
You will need bales of hay or straw, manure, cow is preferable but others will do, some soil or compost if you have it. A bag of lime, some natural minerals & of course the Biodynamic Prepartations. Last but not least a whole pile of old newspapers.
Begin by laying down the newspapers thickly on the area that is to be your garden, then a good layer of straw 6 to 12 inches high, then an inch or so of manure then a sprinkling of lime. Continue doing this till you have at least a few layers four is ideal and it will settle so if you do not wish to bend down you can build it to the height you desire. As you go make sure you water each layer not to wet not to dry. You can if you have them sprinkle natural minerals between the layers as you build them. Then prepare the Biodynamic Preps and sprinkle on the soil.
You are now ready to plant, if you have plants in pots make holes in the layer and place in some soil & compost then plant making sure the roots are firmly pressed in, water lightly. If you have seeds you can do the same thing, make rows with the soil & compost and sow. Water in.
That is it all done. Just maintain by watering as it needs it. The pile will also warm up it is like a mini compost but will soon cool and break down attracting all the earthworms to it. Your plants will flourish and if it is for vegetables after your crops are harvested you can just add more layers as it will break down forming lush rich humus. For permanent plants all you will need to do is top up with mulch from time to time and feed if necessary. This can be as simple as making a manure or compost tea.
So this requires little effort very little time and you have garden that is low maintenance, easy and sustainable, plus free of all chemicals.
