BEDDING IN

In this second instalment of her new series, Stephanie Hafferty gets to work in her new garden, creating no-dig beds, setting up her compost bins and mulching

- Stephanie Hafferty

Making new no-dig beds on weedy grass is quick and simple. Here in my new garden I plan to turn the whole of the back garden into a productive veg plot, one bed at a time, without lifting a spade.

You can start no-dig beds whenever suits you best – I’ve even made new beds on frozen ground in previous gardens, although best not to if the weather conditions are really severe!

The first thing I did here was set up some compost heaps. I had brought ‘Dalek’ style composters from my old allotment. It is always reassuring to have somewhere to make compost; they make a new garden or allotment feel like home.

I decided to make my beds vertically across the garden so that the paths would lead from the house to the orchard and greenhouse, which made the most sense for how we would be moving around the garden. Other factors to consider included proximity to buildings and trees which could cause shading, compass alignments (often the best alignment is north to south, which these beds are, more or less) and wind direction.

Beds and paths can be any width that works for you. I usually have 1.2 metre (4ft) wide beds because that is the width of most of my cloche hoops and other row covers, and I can easily reach into the middle from the paths on either side. My paths are mostly around 30cm (1ft), except for one wider one which is the main walkway from the back door to the greenhouse. If you prefer narrower beds, or wider paths, go for it!

DEALING WITH WEEDS