Curriculum Resource and FACT SHEET
Creating a No-Dig Garden
Outline: We need plants for the oxygen we breathe, many foods, fibres, building materials,
medicines and fuels, and for the pleasures of beautiful flowers. This unit links science with literacy
and numeracy in the classroom. Students have the opportunity to build and maintain a garden and
take ownership for it. They will gain a greater understanding of plants as they investigate the
process of germination, the stages in a plant's life cycle and what plants need for growth and
survival.
Outcomes
Science
ACSSU072 Living things have life cycles
ACSHE061 Science involves making predictions and
describing patterns and relationships
ACSHE062 Science knowledge helps people to understand the effect of their actions
ACSIS064 With guidance, identify questions in familiar
contexts that can be investigated scientifically and predict what might happen based on prior knowledge
ACSIS066 Safely use appropriate materials, tools or
equipment to make and record observations, using
formal measurements and digital technologies as appropriate
ACSIS071 Represent and communicate ideas and findings in a variety of ways such as diagrams, physical representations and simple reports
English
ACELA1488, ACELA1498, ACELY1687, ACELY1688, ACELY1689, ACELY1692
Maths
ACMMG084, ACMSP096
Create your own no-dig garden
Cross Curriculum Priorities
OI.1 The biosphere is a dynamic system providing conditions that sustain life on Earth.
OI.2 All life forms, including human life, are connected
through ecosystems on which they depend for their
wellbeing and survival.
OI.7: Actions for a more sustainable future reflect values of care, respect and responsibility, and require us
to explore and understand environments.
OI.8: Designing action for sustainability requires an
evaluation of past practices, the assessment of scientific and technological developments, and balanced
judgments based on projected future economic, social
and environmental impacts.
Materials: Newspaper, Pea straw, Lucerne hay or straw, Manure, Compost, Gloves, Seeds or plants, Container
or border
Introduction:
Brief introduction on what plants are, what are their uses and what they need to grow? Have different examples
of parts of plants (leaves, flowers, roots, seeds etc) to explain their functions and how they grow.
Youth Community Greening
Botanic Gardens Trust, Sydney
2015
Curriculum Resource and FACT SHEET
Activities/content:
If creating the gardens outside, find a suitable location, reminding the students of plant requirements.

If making the garden over grass, lay a thick bed of newspaper or cardboard. If making it over asphalt lay down twigs and sticks first allowing air to flow before covering with newspaper. Give the
paper layer a good soaking of water.

Lay a generous layer of Lucerne or straw, then sprinkle a layer of manure over the top of the dry
carbon layer (straw). You can also spread some dynamic lifter or blood and bone at this time if you
have some.

Continue layering straw/Lucerne, which is your carbon layer with manure (fertilizer), which adds nutrients
such a nitrogen and finish off with some compost, where
you will plant your seeds or seedlings.

NOTE: The no-dig garden will approximately half in
height in the first six months as it composts away. Therefore, if for example you want a 30cm high vegie bed, build
a 50-60cm no-dig garden.

Make the top layer ‘brown’ organic material, which
acts as a great mulch to suppress weeds, hold water and
insulate the soil.

To plant seedlings, pull aside the mulch and add one
or two handfuls of compost into the hole that you have
created. Make a hole in the compost and plant the seedling.
Conclusion and Follow up:
Discuss how to care for the gardens. What will the plants needs to survive? (Water is crucial for a nodig garden). How can we give them what they need? Good and bad garden pests and how to control
the bad ones. Show photos of problems in gardens and discuss solutions.
Youth Community Greening
Botanic Gardens Trust, Sydney
2015