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Build soil with no-dig methods and cover crops

Improve the soil while disturbing it as little as possible. USDA NRCS soil-health principles are: minimise disturbance, keep the soil covered, maximise diversity, and keep living roots in the soil.

How

1. Apply any lime or amendments recommended by your soil test (food-3).
2. Smother existing grass or weeds where beds will go. UNH Extension lists cardboard, black plastic or silage tarps, ideally left for a full year or at least several months.
3. Use sheet mulching (layering compost and organic materials over the smothered area) to build new beds without digging.
4. Add compost to beds in spring and autumn, guided by soil tests, and use a broadfork rather than a rotavator to loosen compacted soil.
5. Never cultivate wet soil: UNH notes it causes compaction once it dries.
6. Sow cover crops in beds that would otherwise sit bare. SARE lists benefits including feeding soil life, holding leftover nutrients, protecting soil from crusting and heat, and reducing erosion.
7. Keep soil covered with mulch or plants at all times.

Sources

1. Principles for High Functioning Soils. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, accessed 2026-11
2. 10 Ways Cover Crops Enhance Soil Health. SARE (Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education), accessed 2026-11
3. Low and No-Till Gardening. University of New Hampshire Extension, accessed 2026-11

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