The Modern Victory Garden

Double-dug, raised beds are highly productive because the process loosens the soil to a depth of 24 inches allowing roots to penetrate more deeply and creates a raised, very well amended bed.  It is one of the secrets to a seriously productive garden.  I will be straight up with you though - this is really hard work!   The good news is - that if you double dig your bed and then avoid walking on the growing bed soil, amend with compost regularly, and occassionally use a U-Bar/Broadfork or garden spade to lift and aerate - then you should never have to double dig that bed again.   If you are creating new beds or trying to rejuvenate a garden bed, I would encourage you to give double digging a try.  

1) Start at one end of the area and dig a one-shovel-deep trench across the width of the plot. I use a garden spade to do my double digging.  (This is an existing 8 foot by 4 foot long garden bed that is being extended with another 4 feet of bed area.)

 2)  Place the soil in a wheelbarrow  as you dig the first trench and set it aside for now.  You will need this soil during the last stage of the double dig process.

3)  At the bottom of the trench, thoroughly loosen the soil with a garden fork or spade.

 4)  Add several inches of quality finished compost to the bottom of the trench.

 5)  Sprinkle rock minerals into the bottom of the trench as needed and indicated for your soil   My soil tends to be acidic and generally requires phosphorous and to a lesser degree potassium.   I use a handful each of dolomitic lime (adjusts ph and adds calcium), rock phosphate, and greensand to the bottom of the trench.   Do not get carried away with amendments - a light dusting is more than sufficient and too much can cause imbalances that will give you grief later on.  

6)  Use your garden fork to mix the compost and rock minerals into the soil at the bottom of the trench.  I use a lifting motion to ensure I am mixing and aerating the soil at the same time.

7)  Next, dig another trench beside the first - placing the soil from the second trench into the first. 

8)  Loosen the soil in the bottom of the second trench and amend it in the same manner as done in the first.  Continue this process until the entire garden area has been completed.

9)  Fill the final trench with the soil from the first that you set aside in the wheelbarrow.

10) Rake the top of the bed to level the soil out and break up any clods.  Add a layer of good finished compost to the top of the soil. 

11)  Sprinkle another light dusting of rock minerals on to the top layer of soil over the compost (same as used in the lower trench portions) and then use your garden fork to mix it into the top few inches of soil.

12) Do a final raking to smooth the bed and you are done!

This bed is now ready to be planted up.   The soil is loose, full of humous, and well mineralized.  Notice how much more volume the soil has from the original soil that was in the bed at the start?  This aeration and amendment process dramatically improves the texture and quality of the growing bed.