Should you keep wooden borders in your no-dig garden beds?
In short: Wooden edges can be helpful when starting a garden, but they may not be necessary forever. This video demonstrates the process of removing five-year-old timber sides from a no-dig bed and explains how to transition to rounded, compost-based edges for a weed-free finish.
Charles Dowding explores the lifecycle of garden bed borders at Homeacres, his 1000sqm market garden in Somerset, UK. In this demonstration, he removes wooden sides that were installed in 2015, showing that while structures are useful for initial setup, they can eventually be replaced.
The process involves using cardboard to suppress weeds along the perimeter, followed by the application of compost to shape rounded, natural edges. This method maintains the integrity of the no-dig system while removing the need for permanent wooden materials.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Wooden edges (1) – why and how to remove sides, two stages
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