Charles Dowding is an internationally recognized organic gardening expert, and a former winner of the Garden Media Guild Practical Journalist of the Year award. He contributes articles to many magazines, including Gardeners' World, Gardens Illustrated and Grow It! He talks on radio and television, and runs courses and advises on best practice, including for the National Trust in the UK.

He is a veteran organic grower, having practised no-dig gardening for many years. In his gardens he has conducted experiments to compare differences in growth between vegetables on dug and undug soil, showing that the dug beds have slightly lower yields, and more weeds and slugs. He established a new garden from scratch, to illustrate no-dig practice and form the basis for further experimentation.

He says: "I have always been interested in looking 'behind the scenes' and asking why things are as they are, questioning practices that are taken for granted. This led me to grow organically, at a time when the chemical approach was rarely challenged."

His books for Green Books are:

• Organic Gardening: the natural, no-dig way
• Grow Organic Salad Leaves and Greens
• How to Grow Winter Vegetables
• Gardening Myths and Misconceptions
• How to Create a New Vegetable Garden

Find out more at www.charlesdowding.co.uk.