Double Digging: Bio Intensive Gardening

If you’re planning a garden I recommend an age old method that was used as far back as medieval times. Double digging results in the most luscious perennials, double to triple the yield in your vegetable garden, less disease, less watering, more earthworms and microbes, and improved soil structure.

For perennial and flower gardens you will probably only need to do it once and forget about it, unless you totally replant. Every spring, when you clean and prepare your garden for the coming seasons of blossoming color, you add a bit of compost and gently turn the topsoil. The healthy, enriched soil will naturally fight disease, and the lush, vigorous foliage will hinder weeds. As your plants increase in size, it may be necessary to thin or move some of the plants to another location. The lighter, aerated soil makes that easy to do.

Because of the work involved in double digging, it is recommended for smaller spaces. I created my design, laid out my beds, but it took two years to double dig and plant 8 beds of perennials. It is both labor and time intensive on the front end, but saves a lot of time in soil preparation from year to year. It is highly recommended for rocky and heavy, clay- based soil as it improves fertility and soil structure immensely. If you vegetable garden, be sure to rotate your crops annually, add compost and lightly turnover the topsoil before you plant. You may need to re-dig and add compost deeper into the soil about every 4-5 years.

It is best to double dig in autumn and early winter so the frost and water has time to settle the soil and break the clods. Do not dig if the soil is waterlogged. If your soil is somewhat good, early spring is fine.

Tools Needed:

• Canes for measuring trenches
• Flat edged, narrow 12 in. deep digging spade
• 12 in. 4 pronged digging fork (this is for loosening the second 12 in. and the rocks and heavy soil can bend the prongs so buy a fork with thick prongs).
• Digging board (a plank of wood to stand on while digging so you don’t compress the soil)
• Wheelbarrow
• A bed about 5’x15-20’ (Lay out perpendicular if digging on a slope)
• Organic compost

1. Mark your plot with canes
2. Mark the width of your first trench and keep your trenches straight as you begin digging.
3. Start digging the first trench by placing the soil off to the side. This soil will be used to fill the last trench you dig. Dig to about 1 ft. down the length of the trench.
4. Using the digging fork loosen and fork over the soil another foot deep. (this is the second or “double” dig)
5. Add a generous amount of compost to the base and fork into the loosened soil.
6. Measure your next trench and, as you dig, throw the dirt into the first trench on top of the organic matter.
7. Repeat Steps 4-6 until you’ve dug all your trenches, keeping the top surface level to prevent the soil from shifting to one end. If you need to position yourself on the fresh soil to dig, be sure to use the plank to prevent the soil from compressing while you dig;
8. When you’ve completed your final trench, move the soil you set aside from the first trench with your wheelbarrow to fill in the last trench;
9. Let your soil settle before planting. This happens naturally if dug in the autumn, but you can use the digging board with gentle weight if it needs to happen faster.

Double digging is not for gardening wimps or those with bad backs. If you don’t personally want to sweat…and sweat you will, hire some young man to do it, but supervise, so he does it the right way. If you want serious yields and healthy plants this is the best and only way to prepare your soil. Double dig for an outstanding garden.