Charles Dowding pioneers timesaving methods of organic, and especially no dig gardening. In addition, he trials and publicises new ways of growing and picking salad leaves, and of multi-sowing vegetables. His growing methods are as applicable for small areas as large ones and his methods are used by hundreds of thousands of gardeners. He has created and cropped four no dig market gardens on different soils: stony, silt, white and ordinary clay. In the 1980s his garden covered 7.5 acres/3ha of no dig beds and was less intensive than now. Currently he crops an intensive 0.25 acres/1000 square metres in Somerset, SW England, for local sales of salad leaves and vegetables.

Most beds grow two crops a year. He has written ten books, runs a You Tube channel, has created two online gardening courses, writes for gardening magazines, appears on the BBC and gives talks/courses at home and abroad.