Esther Deans

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Esther Dean, poet, writer, gardener, conservationist, became famous in the 1970-1980s for her books which developed a no dig method of gardening by covering her lifeless soil (you can also cover the lawn) with newspaper and then wads of weed-free straw. She did this inside a garden border.

She recommends layers of: (1) of newspaper (2), lucerne hay (3), organic fertilizer (4), loose straw (5), another sprinkle of organic fertilizer (6) compost (7). You can also use little pockets of good compost and seedlings in a top layer of loose straw (we use browned grass clippings and rotten straw, which is fertilised by the ducks bathing water).

Esther was still alive in 1995. She lived in Northern Sydney. She influenced the work of Bill Mollison and A Sampson-Kelly in Permaculture.

[edit] References

Dean, Esther (1977). Esther Dean's Gardening Book: Growing Without Digging. Harper and Row.
Dean, Esther (1994). No-Dig Gardening & Leaves of Life. HarperCollinsPublishers. ISBN 0-7322-7099-5.
Gillbert, Allan (2003). No-Dig Gardening. ABC Books. ISBN 0-7333-0941-0.