Charles Dowding grew up on a dairy farm in Somerset. After graduating from Cambridge, he worked for a hotel in the Inner Hebrides before starting to grow organic vegetables commercially on the family farm in the early 1980s. In 1990 he left behind what was by then a large market garden to live in France and Zambia. Returning to Somerset in the mid-1990s, he established a bed and breakfast and vegetable growing business at Lower Farm in Shepton Montague, Somerset. There, Charles's salad bags were the main output from his two-acre garden of permanent raised beds and fruit trees. Charles runs vegetable-growing courses and lectures and writes books on his unique growing techniques. Since 2012 Charles has begun a new garden at Shepton Mallet in Somerset which he has designed using no-dig principles. Charles Dowding received the RHS Elizabeth Medal of Honour in March 2024, one of the highest honours in horticulture.

Introduction

January
First principles
Tools you need
A few accessories
Jobs for the month

February
Growing in the space you have
Raising plants under cover
Why nödig?
How nödig works
Jobs for the month

March
Sowing outside
What kind of beds?
Keeping paths weedfree
Dealing with weeds
How to grow tomatoes
Seed freshness
How to grow spinach
How to grow leeks
Jobs for the month

April
Pricking out
Examples of commonperennial weeds
How to grow potatoes
Organic fertilizers
Keeping on top of weeds
Intercropping
How to grow lettuce
How to grow carrots
Potting on tender plants
Creating nödig beds
Jobs for the mon

May
How to grow basil
Time to plant out
How to grow peas
Salads: planning crops
How to grow sweetcorn
How to grow dwarf French beans
A year of harvests from two undug beds
Some common annual weeds
Jobs for the month

June
Harvesting salad crops
How to grow runner & climbing French beans
How to grow peas for shoots
How to grow chard & beetroot
How to grow courgettes
Jobs for the month

July
Second cropping
Herbs
How to grow chicory/radicchio
How to grow summer purslane and land cress
How to grow onions
Versatile vegetables
Taking on an allotment
Jobs for the month

August
Tackling pests and diseases
How to grow radishes
Green manures
How to grow oriental leaves & rocket
How to grow endive
How to grow cabbages
When to water
Tackling potato and tomato blight
Jobs for the month

September
Seed saving tips
How to grow garlic
How to grow lamb’s lettuce
Growing salads in containers
Growing under cover
Using organic matter
Tackling slugs and snails
How to grow winter purslane
Jobs for the month

October
Companion planting
Growing winter salads
Making your own compost
Mulching to control weeds
Jobs for the month

November
Crop rotation
Growing perennial vegetables
Making your own wooden beds
Types of composts & manure
How to grow broad beans
Jobs for the month

December
Chicory for forcing
Pests in winter
Working with the moon
Buying composts & manures
Storing vegetables for winter
Jobs for the month
Suppliers & resources

Index
Acknowledgments