No-dig gardening is a cultivation method favored by many organic gardeners. Japanese Masanobu Fukuoka started his pioneering research work in this domain in 1938, and the Fukuokan philosophy of "natural farming" is now acknowledged by some as the tap root of the Permaculture movement1. No-dig gardening subsequently spread to and is adapted by numerous actors in the field, including Australian Esther Deans. No-dig methods rely on nature to carry out cultivation operations. Organic matter such as well rotted manure, compost, leaf mold, spent mushroom compost, old straw, etc, is added directly to the soil surface as a mulch at least 2 or 3 inches deep, which is then incorporated by the actions of worms pulling it downwards. Worms and other soil life also assist in building up the soil's structure, their tunnels providing aeration and drainage, and their excretions bind together soil crumbs. No-dig systems are said to be freer of pests and disease, possibly due to a more balanced soil population being allowed to build up in this comparatively undisturbed environment, and by encouraging the buildup of beneficial rather than harmful soil fungi. Moisture is also retained more efficiently under mulch than on the surface of bare earth.

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