How to make a no-dig bed

They say that the best ideas are always the simple ones and growing vegetables in a bed system certainly fits the bill. The bed design can be as simple or as complicated as you like, but bear in mind fussy shapes are more difficult to create and less efficient to tend. Mark out the beds using dry sand trickled from an empty wine bottle guided by a taught garden line (for straight lines) or a hosepipe (for curves). It is important you can reach the middle of the bed from the path without standing on the soil, so a good bed width is between 100-120cm, depending on your reach. Beds can be any length, but it is a good idea to break them up into smaller beds, say 4m long, so you can get to different crops in different parts of the bed system quickly and efficiently. Make the paths wide enough so that you can get your wheelbarrow along the path, too. The raised edges of the beds can be made from any second-hand timber, such as old floorboards, or you could use pressure-treated gravel boards from a fencing supplier that will last longer and look neater.

Bed making, step-by-step

• Scoop the topsoil from the paths and place on the beds.
• Fix the boards to stout posts hammered into the ground at each corner and at 1m intervals along the bed to prevent the sides bowing out.
• Thoroughly dig over the beds and remove all perennial weeds including their roots.
• Top up the beds with a half-and-half mixture of topsoil and well-rotted manure.
• Lay weed-proof landscaping fabric along the paths to prevent weeds and then cover with gravel, chipped bark or other all-weather material.