New Garden: No-till? Double Dig? Something else?

Here are some pics! Rainwater system gets water from sump pump from basement, and is hooked up to soaker hoses. You can see our happy potatoes, our so-so peppers, and some of our sadder plants. Lots of wood chips left to spread, and should have a couple of yards of compost to lay down come this fall!

Your pile of good soil is important because it has native soil life that is not in the wood chips and compost. So sifting the weeds out and mixing it with the compost will will turn it into soil. The life and death of the organisms in the soil is what releases the nutrients to the plant roots.  
Be wary of any grass roots that are long with a white growing tip. These are the invasive and will grow along under the cardboard until they find an opening then come up. Do not cut the root because each piece will grow. dry them and then burn them.

I am experimenting with growing a garden in leaves! Nothing but leaves!

Let me tell you how much I am loving this... I built two fences about 2 to 3 feet apart and filled it with last years oak leaves about 2’ high (I had to do something with them anyway). I can leave the garden for more than a week and the plants don’t need watered, everything I have planted is doing great in spite of frosts, chipmunks, neglect, and a fairly dry spring. I did cover the leaves in a layer of mulch, but I think it would have done okay if it didn’t have it. I have a sprinkler hose mounted above the mulch, it doesn’t get every inch but it hasn’t needed to.

It has reduced to about a quarter of the height since I put it together (not what I wanted but I can deal with it. The tomato’s have been productive since late May (in Ohio) when I transplanted them. I have blueberries ripening, Three varieties of  tomatoes, peppers, celery, cabbage, ground cherries, beans, cucumbers, squash, Comfrey, and sweet potatoes all growing in this bed. Many from seed, several are transplants