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Charles Dowding's Veg Journal: Expert no-dig advice, month by month
Using seasonal checklists and Charles Dowding's expert no-dig advice, this month-by-month journal helps you plan bumper harvests the no-dig way.
From tomatoes to basil, carrots to coriander, Charles Dowding, the UK’s leading no-dig guru shows you how to grow a year's worth of healthy, organic crops while preserving the soil's integrity in this complete and comprehensive guide.
Follow simple steps to find success, growing more than 35 vegetables and herbs in a range of easy and accessible projects suited to all kinds of spaces and environments.
Start a no-dig vegetable plot on virgin or dug ground, improve the soil and become an expert mulcher and weeder , as well as learning the techniques for intercropping, companion planting, seed viability and crop succession.
This easy-to-follow step-by-step guide by one of Britain's top gardeners is illustrated with photos to help you learn how to plan a vegetable garden, construct a raised bed, sow seed indoors and outdoors in spring, grow on young crops, protect plants from the weather and pests through the season and, finally, celebrate the joy of harvesting.
Organised monthly from January to December , this journal is full of key dates for sowing, staking, harvesting and storing, as well as time-saving monthly checklists to help ensure a successful no-dig harvest.
From tomatoes to basil, carrots to coriander, Charles Dowding, the UK’s leading no-dig guru shows you how to grow a year's worth of healthy, organic crops while preserving the soil's integrity in this complete and comprehensive guide.
Follow simple steps to find success, growing more than 35 vegetables and herbs in a range of easy and accessible projects suited to all kinds of spaces and environments.
Start a no-dig vegetable plot on virgin or dug ground, improve the soil and become an expert mulcher and weeder , as well as learning the techniques for intercropping, companion planting, seed viability and crop succession.
This easy-to-follow step-by-step guide by one of Britain's top gardeners is illustrated with photos to help you learn how to plan a vegetable garden, construct a raised bed, sow seed indoors and outdoors in spring, grow on young crops, protect plants from the weather and pests through the season and, finally, celebrate the joy of harvesting.
Organised monthly from January to December , this journal is full of key dates for sowing, staking, harvesting and storing, as well as time-saving monthly checklists to help ensure a successful no-dig harvest.
- GenresGardeningNonfiction
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2014
140 people are currently reading
199 people want to read
About the author
Charles Dowding
33 books881 followersCharles Dowding has been pioneering organic, no dig gardening since 1982, when he began growing vegetables on a 6,000m² plot in Somerset, UK. From the beginning, his no dig methods delivered healthy, abundant crops, with fewer weeds and no need for synthetic inputs. At the time, nobody else was growing commercially at this scale without digging, and Charles has been refining the approach ever since.
Today, he shares the simplicity and power of no dig gardening with a global audience, through his books, courses, YouTube videos, social media, and regular travels to connect with growers around the world.
Charles published his first book, Organic Gardening, in 2007, and has since written 14 more. His most recent titles include New Energies for Gardening (April 2025) and Compost (September 2024). He also produces an annual Calendar of Sowing Dates, packed with practical tips based on his trials and growing experience.
From his 1,600m² Homeacres market garden in Somerset, Charles continues to experiment with crops and methods – comparing dig and no dig plots, testing new varieties, and refining techniques. The garden yields around £35,000 of produce annually and serves as a living example of how low-input, soil-first methods can lead to healthy plants and sustainable harvests.
Charles is passionate about helping others find joy and success in growing food, and believes that no dig is not just a method, but a mindset.
Today, he shares the simplicity and power of no dig gardening with a global audience, through his books, courses, YouTube videos, social media, and regular travels to connect with growers around the world.
Charles published his first book, Organic Gardening, in 2007, and has since written 14 more. His most recent titles include New Energies for Gardening (April 2025) and Compost (September 2024). He also produces an annual Calendar of Sowing Dates, packed with practical tips based on his trials and growing experience.
From his 1,600m² Homeacres market garden in Somerset, Charles continues to experiment with crops and methods – comparing dig and no dig plots, testing new varieties, and refining techniques. The garden yields around £35,000 of produce annually and serves as a living example of how low-input, soil-first methods can lead to healthy plants and sustainable harvests.
Charles is passionate about helping others find joy and success in growing food, and believes that no dig is not just a method, but a mindset.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 9, 2018
Before I get to the hubby’s thoughts on the book – as I’ve mentioned a myriad number of times, I kill plants. The spider plant is barely living. If we were dependent on me running the garden for us to eat well, let’s just say we’d be dead by now. That aside, I did look through the book and it’s aesthetically beautiful. The photos are bright, bold and colorful; certainly motivating to anyone wanting to start a vegetable garden. Hopefully you all will be less murderous towards plants than I.
The book is, as the title indicates, a journal offering advice for planting and soil care for each month of the year. The challenge arises in that the author is British and the United States has 12 different hardiness zones for planting (or up to 45 if you use sourcing other than the USDA.) Great Britain has 4. As Mr. Dowding writes what he knows, much of his advice is to the zones where he lives which is, if I am reading the map correctly 7 or 8. The maps say we are 5a/6b. So, not all of the info is applicable but that doesn’t mean the book isn’t useful.
Having the journal available as a reminder to do certain things on a schedule is always a good thing and in knowing your area you can basically apply the information to what is appropriate for your area. It will also serve as a great record for next year when you start all over again.
If you are curious about no dig gardening or have started the practice the book will offer you lots of advice on how to make it the way of life for your garden (Farm note: we have been very happy here with how it has helped with the output of our garden.) You will also find tips on how to grow plants like tomatoes and zucchini – although I personally don’t know how anyone or anything could kill a zucchini once it started to grow. They are prolific.
All in all it’s a book that offers you a place to keep notes, keep organized and learn.
The book is, as the title indicates, a journal offering advice for planting and soil care for each month of the year. The challenge arises in that the author is British and the United States has 12 different hardiness zones for planting (or up to 45 if you use sourcing other than the USDA.) Great Britain has 4. As Mr. Dowding writes what he knows, much of his advice is to the zones where he lives which is, if I am reading the map correctly 7 or 8. The maps say we are 5a/6b. So, not all of the info is applicable but that doesn’t mean the book isn’t useful.
Having the journal available as a reminder to do certain things on a schedule is always a good thing and in knowing your area you can basically apply the information to what is appropriate for your area. It will also serve as a great record for next year when you start all over again.
If you are curious about no dig gardening or have started the practice the book will offer you lots of advice on how to make it the way of life for your garden (Farm note: we have been very happy here with how it has helped with the output of our garden.) You will also find tips on how to grow plants like tomatoes and zucchini – although I personally don’t know how anyone or anything could kill a zucchini once it started to grow. They are prolific.
All in all it’s a book that offers you a place to keep notes, keep organized and learn.
November 5, 2020
This was a useful book, although would have been more useful when a pandemic hadn't keep me off the allotment for 7 months of the year :(
September 5, 2018
What a fun, yet practical little book! Veg Journal boasts ample space to record notes and gardening to-do lists every week of the year, interspersed with beautiful photographs and detailed advice and tips on growing more than 35 edible crops, as well as how to tackle tasks such as composting, dealing with pests, and constructing a raised bed. Although the book is written by a U.K. gardening expert, the information and the journal feature remains appealing for all readers, regardless of where they garden.
April 7, 2022
A great starting point I think. I'm certainly no expert. There was something not quite in-line with my own personal ethos, I think (I can't really pinpoint what it was), but very helpful and he's certainly very knowledgeable and experienced. I would recommend this, and I will be reading more of his in-depth course books.
March 20, 2020
Many little details, covered sparingly, so it's an easy read. One I'll need to refer back to until I've absorbed all of its learnings.
January 8, 2021
Great workbook for a no-dig garden. Eventually I hope to have a full garden, I will be going straight to this book for the prep work.
September 19, 2024
Will use all year
Excellent book will use on and off all year. Tells you about when you plant out and what. Good guide for the allotment.
Excellent book will use on and off all year. Tells you about when you plant out and what. Good guide for the allotment.
May 15, 2020
This brings balance into farming with cover crops and without a plough. We have so much to learn. Charles also has amazing videos on YouTube. Though this isn't the most condensed of his books, it reminds one of what should be done at each time of year - or what we missed!
September 13, 2021
Increíble y súper informativo mes a mes
March 22, 2023
Good clear sound advice for the novice and the experienced.
January 30, 2014
AWESOME ENJOYABLE GOOD READ PRACITAL
Charles Dowding's Veg Journal: Expert no-dig advice, month by month (Hardcover)
by Charles Dowding
Charles Dowding's Veg Journal: Expert no-dig advice, month by month (Hardcover)
by Charles Dowding
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews