How to Create a New Vegetable Garden: Producing a beautiful and fruitful garden from scratch

I just love this book and sure wish I would have had it when we moved to our new house last fall. It would have saved me a ton of money on the roto tiller and all this other stuff I bought to start fresh with our garden. I had a garden at our old house but needed to turn about a half acre of weedy pasture into a new garden when we moved.Charles Dowding's no-dig approach to starting a new garden is nice and simple and doesn't cost a ton of money. Plus it's SO much easier than doing all that digging! I started watching some of his videos on YouTube and decided to get this book. He is based in the UK and I'm in the US but no problems because he always gives measurements and weights in both metric and imperial units. He's just so calm and encouraging, he lets you know that you CAN do this! I loved the book so much I bought a second copy for my daughter who is buying her first home next month. I plan to purchase a few more of his books. He is such a treasure trove of useful information! This book is well worth the money. Take a look at his YouTube listed under the username Charles Dowding and also Morag Gamble for more info on this type of gardening.

I was looking for a better way to do my garden and came across Charles You Tube videos , I liked what I saw so purchased numerous books written by him. They are all informative and so far I have been happy with the results in the garden, I have put a lot of his ideas to work and a few from other individuals for the No Dig garden that I have, it's fun to experiment with the ideas and find out which seems to work best for you. My weeding time has been cut down by an incredible amount, I have 2 Tillers and have not used them this year, production has been OK, but I believe the more I work with the No Dig, it will only get better.I have given a few of his books to my children and work with them in their gardens. Only problem I have is getting enough compost made. He is in a different temperate zone , he is in 8A in the UK , I believe and I am at 6A in the USA, so some planting time and such he describes has to be adjusted for your growing area. Also some terms in the UK need deciphered to we Americans, not to difficult, but he does use both measurement standards. To sum up quickly, excellent advise from a very knowledgeable gardener.

Excellent book on gardening in general, but especially on starting in a new spot. Best discussion of invasive perennial weeds I've ever found in a gardening book. Advice not only on beds but paths as well. How long to expect covered weeds (with their light blocked) to remain a threat and when you could reasonably expect to see them gone. Extremely clear writing plus photographs that explain a lot. Also photographs of the author's various beds, how each was started under different conditions. His experiments with added products, with more or less digging, with several crops in one space each year. Lots more, from seed starting to space saving.Must mention the author seems truly invested in whether the reader goes on to enjoy gardening and is successful. He includes even those photos that show mistakes and carefully tells what he did wrong.I had a few difficulties understanding some words, since I'm not from the UK but the US, but in context I figured out what was meant pretty quickly. Not a problem.The book is quite attractive, well bound, and the pages are of good paper. Would make a nice gift.

Charles Dowding's No Dig gardening is transforming home and commercial gardens around the world. Loaded with photos and examples and charts, this book tells you how to get started from nothing. How to establish beds and plant the same day! No digging! Ever! My garden is 2 years old now, and producing beautifully. Still very low maintenance.

I have found this book to be very helpful. I have no experience with no-till gardening. I originally found this author's youtube videos, which I enjoyed so much that I went to amazon to see if he had any books, turns out he has a number of them. This book is a great guide for everything from beginning to end. I'm very happy with this book (worth every cent) and have already picked out the next book I will be ordering from this author. Hope this helps!

This book gives the most complete directions in how to do a no till method of gardening ever, with little to no work after it is started. If your wise enough to benefit from someone else's experience and wisdom you must have this book. I also want to thank Charles Dowding for sharing his vast experience that will put anyone just starting out years ahead.Think You, S. E. Cooper

I bought this for my grown son and his wife. They are using it to start a big garden and really love it. It answered many of their questions and gave them lots of good information.

This is a must have book for those serious about a no dig highly productive organic garden. I plan to buy more books buy this author. Even though I live in a colder climate with similar soil structure I am still able to apply his concepts. Love this book.

New to allotments and a bit lost? This book seems to have all the answers in an easy-to-read and down to earth format. My new allotment has transformed from a patch of noxious weeds in heavy clay, subject to constant strong winds and this year suffering yet another spring drought, to a productive plot from which I have already taken a few catch crops. All this since mid-March and in large part thanks to the common sense guidance from Charles Dowding. If I have a question, I quickly refer to my well-thumbed New Veg Garden and off I go. I can't recommend this highly enough if you are a rookie veg gardener and I suspect even seasoned gardeners might find much to ponder.

We bought one of Charles newer books and it wasn't really what we were looking for as new gardeners so I returned it and bouggt this book. This is everything you could need, and more, it is a great book with invaluable information, great photos, and the best calenders.I definately recomend this book if you are new to vegetable gardening as we are!

I have many gardeing books, but this one is unusual. Charles not only describes his approach in a down to earth and practical way, he actually tests his theories, showing how the different approaches - dig or no-dig, compost or not, etc. actually affected the yield that he got from his plot. This is an honest and unpretentious book, written by someone who clearly knows his stuff, and has worked out what works, rather than what umpteen books say you should do.

Great book which I ordered after watching Charles Dowding on You Tube and starting my own no dig veg plot. The book makes good reading - veggies are coming on brilliantly.

This book rekindled my enthusiasm to reinstate my veg garden by following the no dig principles instead of the normal digging i did in the past. The results have been fantastic with virtually little weeding. I have purchased the rest of Charles Dowding's books. highly recommend for new and experienced gardeners.