The benefits of no-dig gardening in the Kitchen Garden

This year marks 10 years of the Kitchen Garden at Hampton Court Palace, and a decade since our gardeners started using the no-dig gardening method to grow thriving fruits and vegetables for the palace.

No-dig gardening is a sustainable approach that involves covering the ground with organic matter and cultivating soil without digging or tilling. From December to April we complete the most important job of no-dig gardening, by covering 254 beds with compost.

Here, Ichiho Garbutt, a gardener at Hampton Court, gives insight into how no-dig gardening benefits the palace's Kitchen Garden, plus some tips on how it can help your garden grow.

A gardener moving soil from a wheelbarrow on to a new vegetable patch in a kitchen garden. The sun shines behind the gardener. — *Image: The gardens team use no-dig gardening to grow delicious fruits and vegetables in time for spring. © Historic Royal Palaces*

Why should we use no-dig gardening?

No-dig gardening is a technique championed by horticulturalist Charles Dowding which has been getting lots of attention in recent years - and for good reason.

No-dig gardening focuses on building healthy soil without the need to dig, encouraging gardeners to cooperate with the complex ecosystem found within soil. Soil is rich with microbes, fungi and invertebrates that work together to support plant growth.

A gardener emptying soil from a wheelbarrow in a garden — *Image: Our gardeners use the complex ecosystem found in soil to provide nutrients for crops in the Kitchen Garden. © Historic Royal Palaces*

How do we use the no-dig method at Hampton Court?

In the winter, we carry trailers of compost from the pile in Home Park into the Kitchen Garden. The compost is then spread on top of the beds, applying a 5-centimetre layer.

The one-acre garden is managed by two gardeners and a dedicated group of volunteers, so this technique also saves our backs by avoiding lots of unnecessary digging! This practice also has many advantages for the soil, such as retaining its moisture, improving its structure and encouraging beneficial organisms.

One such organism includes earthworms, which transport compost from the surface deep into the soil. As they burrow through the ground, they create channels that allow air, water and nutrients to reach the roots, improving the soil structure of the Kitchen Garden.

A person moving soil from a wheelbarrow on to a new vegetable patch in the Kitchen Gardens. — *Image: The pretty and functional Kitchen Garden is managed by two gardeners and a dedicated group of volunteers. © Historic Royal Palaces*

How does no-dig gardening help the environment?

No-dig gardening stores carbon dioxide in the soil while digging releases carbon into the atmosphere. By preventing soil disturbance, the no-dig method offers an environmentally friendly approach to gardening.

Making compost in the Kitchen Garden

Our compost is made onsite by the Estate team from our garden waste. We collect green material throughout the year, which we shred and turn to make a lovely crumbly compost.

This compost is not only used in our Kitchen Garden, but throughout the rest of the gardens at Hampton Court.

A person with a spade sifting some compost and soil. — *Image: We collect green material throughout the year and process the compost in the Kitchen Garden. © Historic Royal Palaces*

Hungry crops, such as tomatoes, aubergines, peppers and squashes, thrive on nutrient-rich soil, so we use horse manure instead of green waste compost on these no-dig beds. This is the only time we apply nutrients to the soil.

After we have covered the beds with compost or horse manure, we add a thick layer of bark chip on the paths between beds. This helps to define each garden bed while also suppressing weeds.

Various pumpkins and squashes placed on a crate in the Kitchen Garden at Hampton Court Palace. Showing vegetables of varying sizes maturing in the autumn sunshine. Beds containing herbs and other produce can be seen in the background — *Image: For hungry crops like pumpkins and squash, we use horse manure as an alternative to compost. © Historic Royal Palaces*

How no-dig gardening can benefit your garden

No-dig gardening is our core cultivation technique in the Kitchen Garden. Here are some ways this low-effort, eco-friendly approach can benefit your allotment or garden.

Maintain the soil’s ecosystem

When you dig or till, you disrupt the natural balance of the soil’s ecosystem. This causes the structure to break apart, exposing delicate organisms to the air, which can dry them out and kill them.

Create a healthy and resilient garden

By leaving the soil undisturbed and adding nutrients to the top, microorganisms can flourish, creating a healthier, more resilient garden.

Reduce weeds

By maintaining the ecosystem, you can reduce the number of dormant weeds that typically surface in gardens, which means less maintenance for both new and experienced gardeners.

No-dig gardening is a sustainable and resourceful way to maintain a healthy, productive garden. With less work, fewer weeds and the added benefit of healthier soil, it’s a fantastic option for your garden.

In the Kitchen Garden at Hampton Court, this technique has created an abundance of fruit and vegetables. Not only is this produce used in delicious dishes in our Tiltyard Café, it is also often available to visitors to take home for a charitable donation.

So why not visit the Kitchen Garden and see the wonderful produce grown from no-dig gardening?

Ichiho Garbutt Gardener
Gardens and Estates at Historic Royal Palaces

A gardener's cart in a garden, showing small pumpkins and squashes on top of the cart, surrounded by green herbs growing in the beds. — *Image: A gardener's cart in the Kitchen Garden, with fruit and vegetables often available for visitors to take home. © Historic Royal Palaces*

The benefits of no-dig gardening in the Kitchen Garden

Why should we use no-dig gardening?

How do we use the no-dig method at Hampton Court?