Tilling destroys top soil and kills the habitat in which micro-organisms thrive. No-dig gardening allows living soil to build and retain its productiveness. Permaculture’s main tenet is to create more production by doing less work and instead using natural systems and relationships to do the work for us. Nature already “tills” the soil through insects, micro-organisms, and root growth. In addition, sheet mulching passively kills weeds and makes use out of typical yard and house waste. Grow a bountiful garden and produce local food without digging or tilling.
Sheet Mulching and No-Dig Gardening
These concepts are very simple, the following are a couple videos that go over the reasons and practice of no-dig gardening and sheets mulching:
Stop Tilling!
Here and some additional articles by other writers/gardeners. The most important thing to keep in mind is that you can’t really mess anything up by experimenting with sheet mulching. Take time to go over one of these articles or the videos above and give it a try. Doing is the best way of learning.
http://garden2table.blogspot.com/2007/04/how-to-sheet-mulch.html
http://www.agroforestry.net/pubs/Sheet_Mulching.html
http://stopwaste.org/home/index.asp?page=398
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheet_mulching
Thumbnail Image: Keith Evans [CC-BY-SA-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Jack Wagner is the Editor of The Free Independent-Sun. Born in Sonoma, California and currently residing in San Francisco, Jack set up The Free Independent-Sun on July 4th, 2009, after sleeping in and not making his usual trip up north for his hometown festivities. He figured he'd do something revolutionary to make up for it. In the Summer of 2010 Jack registered Seraf Media with the City and County of San Francisco as a Sole-Proprietorship. He is dedicated to articulating the finer points of the Revolution in order to bring about a Global Renaissance and Abundant World Economy. He also isn't afraid to get his hands dirty transplanting succulents. 
