Vegetable gardens have always been very popular as there is nothing better than eating something you have grown yourself. You don’t have to have a large garden to accommodate vegetables or herbs as they can easily be incorporated into the borders. I did a garden in Penrith where we minimised the lawn and built raised beds down the steep slope to the greenhouse. The borders were filled with companion plants and herbs to maximise space and encourage beneficial interactions between plants.
I have designed and built several no dig vegetable gardens over the years. These are popular because they promote healthy soil ecosystems and require less physical effort compared to traditional digging methods. By not disturbing the soil, weed seeds are less likely to be brought to the surface, reducing weed growth and the need for constant weeding.
All the no dig gardens below use raised beds built from oak sleepers. However, I have done them with bricks and once with the recycled materials from an old stone barn. The raised beds are filled with compost, and I tend to use newspaper and cardboard to create the layering and then mulch with straw. The cardboard acts as a weed barrier and the straw helps keep the moisture in the ground.
The beds don’t have to be the traditional rectangle shape as they can be made to fit any area. In a couple of pictures, you can see how I fan them. This is done where the garden has lots of curves so that the vegetable garden flows with the rest of the design.
As vegetables are grown for the table, it’s important to grow the ones you like. I always ask clients to give me a list of their favourite varieties so I can incorporate them into the scheme.
Regardless of the amount of space you have, there is always room to design a vegetable garden using either a no dig practice or a traditional digging method that will offer you organic produce that you will love to eat. Please get in touch for a free consultation either by calling 07775 611047 or email sam@fellsidegardendesign.co.uk or use the contact form.
Using no dig methods to grow vegetables
The potager
The kitchen garden design is done on tracing paper first and then printed onto cartridge to be colour rendered
Space for growing vegetables and fruit
Raised beds in oak sleepers
Hay and cardboard is used to mulch the no dig borders
A small modern vegetable garden
A design for a no dig small vegetable garden
Gardening under glass
Evening light over the kitchen garden
Fruit cages in a walled kitchen garden
Herbs and salads growing together
