Charles Dowding is an English horticulturalist and author who has pioneered modern
no dig and organic soil management since 1983.
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Life and work
Dowding spent his childhood on a dairy farm in Somerset. He graduated from his degree in geography at Cambridge University
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...
in 1980, having been influenced by environmental writers such as Rachel Carson
Rachel Louise Carson (May 27, 1907 – April 14, 1964) was an American marine biologist, writer, and conservationist whose influential book '' Silent Spring'' (1962) and other writings are credited with advancing the global environmental ...
. ["How does your garden grow"]
''Guardian'' 4 November 2015 In the 1980s he worked for a hotel Hebrides
The Hebrides (; gd, Innse Gall, ; non, Suðreyjar, "southern isles") are an archipelago off the west coast of the Scottish mainland. The islands fall into two main groups, based on their proximity to the mainland: the Inner and Outer Hebr ...
. [Quarto Books biography]
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Dowding joined the Soil Association
The Soil Association is a British registered charity. The organisation activities include campaigning – against intensive farming, for local purchasing and public education on nutrition – and certification of organic foods. It was establ ...
and began with his own organic, no dig market gardening, interested in improving quality of soil, while making a vegetable garden beautiful, ornamental, productive and supportive of biodiversity. He became influenced by the approaches of gardeners such as Ruth Stout
Ruth Imogen Stout (June 14, 1884 – August 22, 1980) was an American author best known for her "No-Work" gardening books and techniques.
Early and mid-life
Ruth Imogen Stout was born June 14, 1884, in Girard, Kansas, the fifth child of Quaker ...
, who championed strategies of leaving organic matter on the soil surface, rather than working it into the soil. [ Dowding started one of the UK's first vegetable box distribution schemes, bringing produce to local homes. ][ In 1990 he left to live in France and Zambia before returning to settle back in Somerset for the rest of his life. He has worked four farms in Somerset, trialling and teaching organic, no dig methods and experimented with various forms of mulch. ][ With his wife he also ran a bed and breakfast business, inspired by their time in France.
At Homeacres, near Castle Cary, Dowding now lectures and runs courses on no dig gardening methods, writing for assorted newspapers and the BBC. He is described as the "Guru of No Dig" and has published over ten books on the subject. In 2021 the work was featured at the RHS ]Hampton Court Flower Show
The Hampton Court Garden Festival (formerly The Hampton Court Flower Show) is an annual British flower show, held in early July. The show is run by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) at Hampton Court Palace in the London Borough of Richmond u ...
[''Gardeners' World'', BBC]
4 May 2017["No dig gardening"]
''House Beautiful Magazine'' 11 February 2020
Methods
Dowding states that, with one helper, he can produce 100 kg of produce from a 10sqm plot and generates £20,000 worth of vegetables per year (2020 prices). He does not believe in the principles of crop rotation
Crop rotation is the practice of growing a series of different types of crops in the same area across a sequence of growing seasons. It reduces reliance on one set of nutrients, pest and weed pressure, and the probability of developing resistant ...
, or digging out vegetables to harvest. Hoeing and other forms of soil disturbance are minimally used; no pesticides, herbicides, fungicides or synthetic fertilisers are used. Main resources for enriching crops are pesticide-free manure and homemade organic compost. He proposes that if the soil is left unmolested, the community of biodiverse microbes, insects, invertebrates and important fine fungi can thrive. He suggests that fully alive humus holds moisture, air, and food for the resident life. Fungal proteins, such as glomalin
Glomalin is a glycoprotein produced abundantly on hyphae and spores of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi in soil and in roots. Glomalin was discovered in 1996 by Sara F. Wright, a scientist at the USDA Agricultural Research Service. The name com ...
from arbuscular mycorrhizal
An arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) (plural ''mycorrhizae'', a.k.a. ''endomycorrhiza'') is a type of mycorrhiza in which the symbiont fungus (''AM fungi'', or AMF) penetrates the cortical cells of the roots of a vascular plant forming arbuscules. ( ...
fungi, are left intact to spread and thrive, benefiting the soil, and leading to a reduction in erosion. After weeding, adding a thick layer of mulch to the soil helps to feed the plot and keep the annual weeds from growing by blocking their access to light."Getting down to earth"
5 April 2008 ''Guardian''[
Traditional garden methods suggest that soil should be dug over each autumn in order to aerate it, aid drainage and add growth improvers like manure. ]["Can you not dig it?" ''New Scientist'', 9 November 2021] Dowding and other 'no dig' proponents state these approaches are not needed and do not support the resources of the soil.
Publications
* ''Organic Gardening: The Natural No-Dig Way'' (2007)
* ''Salad Leaves for All Seasons: Organic Growing from Pot to Plot'' (2008)
* ''Charles Dowding's Vegetable Course'' (2012)
* ''How to Grow Winter Vegetables'' (2011)
* ''Gardening Myths and Misconceptions'' (2014)
* ''Charles Dowding's Veg Journal: Expert no-dig advice, month by month'' (2014)
* ''How to Create a New Vegetable Garden: Producing a Beautiful and Fruitful Garden from Scratch'' (2015)
* ''Charles Dowding's Vegetable Garden Diary: No Dig, Healthy Soil, Fewer Weeds'' (2016)
* ''No Dig Organic Home & Garden: Grow, Cook, Use, and Store Your Harvest'' (2020)
* ''Charles Dowding's No Dig Gardening: From Weeds to Vegetables quickly and easily'' (2020)
* ''Skills for Growing'' (2022)
* ''No Dig'' (2022)
References
External links
Gardeners' World guide to no dig gardening
BBC ''Gardeners' World Magazine'', 3 February 2020
"Getting down to earth", No dig gardening.
''Guardian'', 5 April 2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dowding, Charles
English gardeners
English garden writers
People from Somerset
People from Shepton Mallet
English horticulturists
Permaculturalists
Organic gardeners
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)