The concept of no-dig gardens has been around since it was first promoted by Ester Deans in 1977. To make a no-dig garden, begin first of all with a very thick layer of newspaper - a thickness of at least twenty sheets interleaved to prevent weeds from making their way up through the garden.
You can begin straight on top of grass, weeds or even concrete.
It is necessary to create borders of some kind around the garden to keep the layered material in place. This may be boards, blocks or bricks. One solution is to use inexpensive foam troughs to make a square with the troughs as the borders. The square within the troughs becomes the no-dig garden. The troughs are filled with potting mix and planted too. Another three troughs can be added on to make another square garden and so on.
The recommended material is spoiled lucerne hay, though grass hay, stable straw and pea straw are also OK. In addition to the straw you will need some good organic fertiliser eg pelletised cow manure, blood & bone, Dynamic Lifter. You will also need some compost. Hopefully you will already have a compost bin making use of kitchen waste, leaves and lawn clippings. (If you have someone come to mow the lawn, always get them to put the clippings in the compost bin. Don't have them taken away!)
Soak the thick layers of paper that form the base and put a thick layer of straw on top. Sprinkle the straw with the fertiliser and water well. Add more layers of straw and fertiliser in this way until the desired thickness is achieved. Cover the entire bed with compost so that the straw is hidden.
For best results, germinate seeds in small pots and transplant them into wells of 
compost in the layered material. When transplanting seedlings, keep as much of the seed-raising mixture around the roots as possible.
Another important thing to remember is to locate your no-dig garden in a spot sheltered from wind. The roots of plants grown by this technique do not anchor the plants as effectively as they do in a normal garden, so they are more easily blown over.
