What is 'double digging'?

What is 'double digging'?

Tracy DiSabato-Aust (Garden Designer and Author) gives expert video advice on: What are the key steps to garden bed preparation?; What is 'double digging'?; Do I need to double dig my garden bed? and more...

Double digging is a archaic technique that's very seldom used anymore. When I used to teach at Ohio State I would have my students double dig beds just as a little experience, but we dig out 12 inches of soil, amend the subsoil, amend the backfill that we've removed, and put it back into the soil. It's a beautiful way to amend soil, but very labor intensive.