No-dig expert, market gardener and author Charles Dowding talks about his new book, the books he reads, and what he’s up to next
‘I didn’t harvest a single carrot. That was a sharp lesson’: Charles Dowding on his no-dig journey and how to compost well
What is your new book about?
It’s a companion to my No Dig guide (2022). There are chapters on compost in pretty much every book I’ve written, but I’ve never majored on the subject. My aim here was to set composting out in clear terms – I don’t want to give readers a recipe, I want them to understand what they’re doing so that they can find a method that works for them.
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What did you learn from writing it?
I had to do extra research and justify the things I’ve been doing or believing. That’s what I love about my work – it’s based on what I do or what I can trial, and then I’ll share what works.
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What one idea would you like to share from the book?
Line your heap on the inside with something like cardboard to hold the moisture and warmth. I know this contradicts most of what’s commonly advised about having open sides, to let air in. But we don’t want air flowing into our heap, where it’s going to dry the materials and cool them down. It’s all about trapping the air with enough brown materials such as small pieces of wood, and keeping access without it getting soggy, as too much water also excludes air. I’ve only been lining my pallet heaps with cardboard for about five years, and the difference is phenomenal. If you’ve got a heap, keep it open while you’re adding to it, but as soon as the heap is finished, cover it against the rain.
What books are on your shelves?
I like older books by people such as organic gardening pioneers Albert Howard and Eve Balfour. I also enjoy old farming books. You can find forgotten jewels or ideas. But a lot of the rules seem to come from Victorian times, where owners of stately homes had an excess of labour and were looking for jobs for their gardeners in the winter, such as double digging and pot washing. I don’t brush out my module trays between uses and I certainly never sterilise them.
What sparked your interest in gardening?
Picking raspberries in the garden with my mother, when I was about 14. I loved raspberries, but more than anything it was about working with my mother. When I was about 18 she persuaded me to help her to plant some trees. I’d done farm work, sitting on a tractor, but not the more manual gardening jobs. I really enjoyed it.
Do you have any plans for your current garden?
Not to extend it! I’ve got over two-fifths of an acre of very intensively cropped beds. It’s set up in such a way that I need to be there for a lot of the time to make it look really good. I’m thinking more about how I can keep it running, maybe more efficiently, and having more time for travelling and teaching, because I’m getting invitations to speak around the world.
What is your biggest growing failure?
Getting too ambitious back in the 1980s. I had seven-and-a-half acres of no-dig raised beds and was asked by a wholesaler in London to grow an extra acre of carrots. I borrowed a rotavator and paid a contractor to drill the carrots. All I got coming up was chickweed – I didn’t harvest a single carrot. That was a sharp lesson in not overextending. It was also a real reinforcement of no dig, as it’s such a brilliant way of controlling weeds. I still make mistakes and still learn. But I never try new things on too big a scale.
Do you have any guilty gardening secrets?
I struggle with houseplants. But I don’t beat myself up about it – it’s just a different skill.
What’s your favourite garden to visit?
The Newt in Somerset. The Roman villa is my favourite part – I grew up just a mile from there and would never have imagined anyone building an actual villa near the remains that I visited as a six-year-old. Ellie Dunn, who runs the main vegetable garden, has a good understanding of no dig. I also love the kitchen garden at Sissinghurst. It’s a really good advert for growing your own, for no dig and for compost.
What else are you up to at the moment?
I’ve got a busy winter of writing ahead, revising my first book on organic gardening and my online courses. And I’m looking to travel much more.
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