April Tour in a slow spring and no dig impresses
Cool, dull weather so far, but no dig no problem. Growth is helped by covers, hoop wires, and module trays, see my Crocus page tidd.ly/44dEU7d for affiliate links to the products I recommend. I earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support.
And speed up your planting with my long-handled dibber www.gardenimports.co.uk/produ...
No dig holds the aces in wet and cold, as much as in dry and warm.
We see that in the two bed comparison, starting its 12th year. Earlier years are on this page www.charlesdowding.co.uk/post...
The pallet compost heaps are homemade and I describe how to make them in my No Dig book www.charlesdowding.co.uk/prod...
Filmed by Nicola Smith 22nd April 2024 at Homeacres, Somerset UK.
00:00 Introduction
00:43 Dig/no dig bed comparison, including slug damage
01:49 Reason for using covers
02:23 Propagation in the greenhouse
02:39 Tomatoes, some planted early, replacing winter salads
03:21 Hotbed, with melons and cucumbers
04:08 Potting on
04:31 Chard
05:15 Compost trial, and my recommendations
06:47 Outside - overwintered spinach and peas for shoots
07:28 Overwintered broad beans
07:51 Carrots, many lost to slugs, interplanted with radish
08:37 Apple blossom, and tulips
09:02 Fleece over onions, reason for keeping on the ground not on hoops
09:55 Radish, and I demonstrate removing some bindweed
10:42 Edging
11:38 Salads in the polytunnel
12:02 Turnips, Tokyo Cross variety
12:46 Slugs
12:58 Asparagus - comparison between plants grown from crowns and seeds (Ariane)
13:34 Purple sprouting broccoli, and ideas for succession planting
14:16 Carrots with fleece, slow, reason for removing fleece
14:46 Garlic and brown beans - less compost, slower growth
15:02 Rye with wireworm damage
15:20 Potatoes
15:38 New piece of ground - plastic covering dandelions and creeping buttercup
16:50 Wild rocket, with mesh cover
16:59 Leeks Bandit
17:15 Piece of ground that had been covered with plastic over winter
17:48 Apple trees grafted last spring
18:05 New pond, with newts and dragonfly larva
18:50 Three-pallet compost bays
20:17 Panorama of beds, many with covers
20:52 Trial of fleece made with plant matter
20:59 New partnership with Crocus
21:14 Lettuce under fleece
21:25 Outro
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#nodig #growyourownfood #healthyfood #growyourownveggies #nodiggardening
As a 70 year old beginner I want to thank you for sharing your knowledge. Really do appreciate it 😇👍
So nice of you Don! Love that you begin at 70!.
So encouraging to see your garden already almost full inspite the wheater, so good. Thanks yet again for great information and inspiration I'll bei all day in the garden tomorrow 😅
I didn't get into our backyard garden until I found Charles and no dig. Hubby is grateful too. In 70's age young.
Great to hear!!
Always a moment of joy when i get the notification of a new video
Great to hear 🙂
Thank you for being so honest. I'm also seeing slow growth so it's great to know I'm not alone. Gardening can feel overwhelming, don't worry nature has a way of catching up and romping away.
You are welcome Tracey
Gooood morning from northern Germany.Charles,whenever a Video of you IS popping Up IT s Like an old friend is coming over. Have a nice day everyone and Happy fellow gardening ( If U can say so)
Morning! and thanks from grey and wet England 😮
How is it that Charles has a trowel whenever he needs one? Whenever I need one it's somewhere else. He left his trowel with the bindweed and then it magically appeared at the compost heap.....proof if there ever was any that Charles is a veggie wizard 🪄
Planning 😂 and I lose some!
Keep up the amazing work, I'm starting my first veggie garden and wouldn't have known where to start without your help. You're an inspiration 🌱
Great to hear and thank you 🌱
My wife takes both mine uses them , then drops them where she was working , and of course i don't know where that was .
I told Charles he was a wizard but he denied it! Glad you've noticed too.
Beautiful tour! I always love seeing Homeacres-and hearing your assessments & insights Charles-so much abundance! And always something to learn. Thank you!!!
That is lovely Robin, thank you
Ok, you must sip some water everytime Charles says "Slug". Really is quite interesting about the asparagus seed vs the crown growth... Well done, beautiful tour as always. Thank you for sharing.
Interesting! 😀 thanks
It is interesting to here your struggles with the one pond. Your garden is otherwise perfect at least in my opinion so it's good to see that even the best have there struggles. Gives the rest of us hope lol.
Thanks 👍, and I am reassured that my difficulty helped you!!
Hola maestro Charles dowding como siempre le digo es un placer mirar sus plantas en general todas bonitas un lujo , abrazo enorme desde Argentina 🇦🇷 muchas bendiciones
Que lindo de tu parte, gracias Estela.
Charles, my goal is to one day have my little greenhouse with a compost bin for seedlings like you. Brilliant! You are so kind sharing your knowledge. Thank you.❤
Go you and thanks
I love your tours around Homeacres....so envious! 🤩You've worked so hard! I have recently established my first no dig bed and I have to laugh, the amount of tomato and bean seedlings coming up from our compost is crazy! 😂
Great to hear 🌱
Thanks Charles, great to see the garden, I need inspiration after all the rain and the continuing wind and lack of warm sun !
Yes it's sad so far!
Great to see the new pond doing well, how lovely to have wildlife inhabiting it already. Dragonflies are spectacular.
They are amazing
My home grown carrot is much more productive than my purchased seed too❤
So interesting! Nice work Linda
It is a relief to see that even an experienced gardener is struggling with slugs this year. It is so disheartening. I have lost all my early sowings to slugs this yea. I have one very plucky borage and a, now, unidentified brassica doing very well in the middle of my new tall raised bed😅 and am sowing my remaining seeds at pace. I am really starting to dislike slugs and snails 🐌.
Go you Victoria!
My Garden in the North England has last frost dste of middle of may similar, didnt stop me putting out some seedlings im sure those that survive will be greater genetics and well the peas have shown themselves everhwhere they dropped last year! Surprised the birds didnt get em! Happy growing thanks for the info and time much appreciated!
Slug pub lol! They are a nightmare here too - southern US, 7a. Never ending battle but at least now I'll giggle every time i put out a slug pub. So appreciate all I've learned from you sir!
Ah thanks!
I have mystery tomatoes growing in my pebble rock garden from some random day I sprayed out my compost container. They have survived two frosts so far. Plants are amazing!
so love this channel...always such a pleasure!
💚
Totally amazing. Your commitment to Homeacres shines! Thank you Charles
My pleasure Wayne and thank you 🌱
I really love your enthusiasm, it is so infectious.😊
Yay, thank you!
Stunning farm that you have Charles, thank you for the video!
Glad you enjoyed it
I saved some parsnip seeds from last year, didn't get a crop. I planted them out about 10 days ago, and just today I see them up. First year saving seeds. I enjoy parsnips so this is a real bonus. Thank you for telling us about saving our own seeds. 🇨🇦
Sounds great!
Homeacres is a magic place ✨🌱
💚
Thank you Charles!!!
😇!
thnx Charles! great video again. 😊😊
☀️
You have an absolutely beautiful garden and entire yard area.
Ah thanks
Everything looks like it's been placed in the perfect spot and it all flows together so well on your property. Looking wonderful for only April!! I hope I can plan my property accordingly to end up with such beautiful results!
Thanks so much and I hope so
Gardening obviously makes you glow from the inside out !
💚
ALWAYS good to see your new content Guv! I'm always waiting in anticipation for your new videos & the inspiration you so naturally give me is truly remarkable! Gary, 7th generation 1st fleet convict from Australia 🇦🇺
Awesome! Thank you Gary!!
@CharlesDowding1nodig that's supposed to be (Gary) NOT gay 😱 lol, thats just not my thing. My stupid fat fingers.
Made me smile!!
most enjoyable charles
Glad you enjoyed it Steven 🌱
Thank you for this garden tour. It's great to see all the things you are growing. Slug pub right in the middle of your lettuces too, I have a few of them in my garden now, to try and reduce the slug numbers.
Thanks Julie, and I hope they arrive
Charles bom dia sempre dando o melhor de si amei o vídeo ❤ obrigado
Que bom que você gostou Luisa
Always great to see how things are going at Home Acres! You have done a lot of work already this spring and things are looking very nice for sure!! The slug damage is something that we are all contending with and I wish there was a silver bullet on them, but alas we just keep on the hunt!! Thank you for sharing and encouraging!! Looking forward to an update in May!!
Glad you enjoyed it 🌱
Always a pleasure to tour Homeacres and always informative. My no-dig plot in Central Portugal is coming along but growing conditions are very different. The Learning Curve never ends!
Sounds intriguing!
As always I appreciate the helpful advice… it’s 01/05 and we’re north of you in zone 8b… our chard is busting through and up as well as our kale. Waiting to put out our peas and beans for a couple more weeks… past the last possible freeze. We planted our carrots and onions together… both looking great!
Nice results Kimberley, and here's to sunshine!
Hi Charles great tour the tomatoe comparisons are surprising I like to see the comparisons it does help out Hopefully we're soon have nice spring weather 🤞
Glad you enjoyed it and hopefully 🙂
I cannot wait to go back home, and start gardening again. I have a plot of land that I want to move my garden there. I will try to use the NO DIG method at the place. I love watching your videos even though most of the crops you grow I can't grow back home. We have a tropical monsoon climate, it's just too hot and dry with the temperatures going up to 36C. We do get 3 months of mild cold weather (cold for us 😅) with highest temperature mid day about 26C and lowest at night about 22C. That hasn't stopped me from trying out planting any plant and seeds I get. 😊😊😊😊
That sounds such a different climate and world. I can imagine your keenness and hope you get back there soon.
We are already in drought conditions here on Southern Vancouver Island. I find a heavy wood chip mulch and the use of worm castings helpful to retain moisture for the plants. The mulch also helps with weed control! Thanks for the tour. ~ Sandra
You have great solutions Sandra. Fascinating to hear and thanks for sharing.
I've been following you for a while now in anticipation of moving home and getting an allotment. I've been working on setting up as no dig following your advice and tips and have been worried with the results once I've transplanted into the ground. This film has boosted my confidence no end knowing that its the weather and not me. Thanks for all your hard work sharing your knowledge and experience.
Go you Don!!
I'm picking radishes now also and although we don't suffer from slug damage nearly as bad as you guys over in the UK, we were getting quite a bit of rain early in the month and my radishes were getting chewed a little. It's dry now though so I'm not planning on treating at all. On another note, I'm planning on enlarging my garden this summer and could use some advice. I'll be taking down a pine and maple and having the stumps ground. Most of the new area under these trees is vines and aggressive weeds so I want to do something similar to what you did when you expanded your garden on your new land with all the bindweed. So once the trees are gone I'm thinking of laying cardboard and bringing in a good top soil to lay on top and then wood chips on top of that. Not sure if I will need the plastic. I won't even think about planting until next year but my new beds will be some type of raised beds even if just slightly raised using logs as borders. At that point I'll bring additional soils/compost/organic material to fill the beds. Sound like a good plan? I'm not sure I need the first step of bringing in the top soil but it will be a very rough area and I not sure just wood chips will be enough to smother those tough weeds. Plus I'm thinking it will give another layer of soil for my future plants to grow into. If you were able to get those nice beds established in that wild field with all the bindweed I should have no problem right?
Sounds promising, but "no problem" is a relative term. You could have a lot of time needed to keep removing new growth of bindweed, and maybe other perennial weeds, be prepared! You will get there in the end if you are persistent and thorough, no for up to 2 years. When creating beds, I would not use any more soil, just compost, and I would not use any woodchip at that point. Best of luck
A great spring tour Charles, a wonderful time of year in the UK. Temperature are hitting 45 degrees C here so my final carrots and beetroot crop has been harvested. Corn, long beans, chillies and eggplants going in soon.
Oh wow that is hot, nice to hear
Tried multi sowing turnips, beets, and radishes for the first time this spring and have had just vastly better results. Kind of mind-boggling this isn't how gardening is taught from the start.
So much in gardening and its teaching could be improved for sure, and nice to hear that
Great tour Charles thank you - Something I wanted to share with you that I have noticed since paying more attention to the Allium leaf situation ... I have often noticed a little damage here, never enough for it to be much in my awareness... Hearing you talk of it more recently made me pay more attention. I've not (to date) noticed it on our Onions or garlic, although I am not completely sure how it would show up in garlic (which we grow at LOT of) - Noticed quite a bit of it in our Leeks when I was first begining to harvest this winter and was feeling slightly concerned. I grow long standing varieties of Leeks and we are still harvesting now (although some are starting to flower) and I have noticed now and for the last while, that I am now seeing very little, if any leaf miner damage... and we have been eating a lot of Leeks through the hungry gap! Its almost like they can grow through it/repair prehaps if the damage isn't too much maybe?! 💚✌🌿
Thanks so much for sharing this encouraging information! I've been noticing similar and I'm seeing quite a bit of the little white spots on leaves of spring onions, but without too much subsequent damage. Time will tell!
Your pond is beautiful. I think dragonflies take a few years to mature. Thanks for sharing your gardens and experiences. Zone 6b USA. WOW compost. Looking forward.
I'm watching those nymphs now!
Thanks for the tour Charles. My plot is a noticeably behind yours. Perhaps testimony to the maturity of your no dig beds and method? I have to be really super vigilant in growing this season and going forward due mainly to imo weather modification. The recent attacks on farmers livelihoods will expand to all growers. I said some time ago that if I could afford it and enough flattish land I would erects a massive polytunnel (cathedral size) to mitigate the effects of noticeable worsening growing conditions. I have been growing veg for over 50 years now and I have knowledge and experience of what is really happening. This post is not for conventionalists
I feel the same actually, from the sky pollution I see every day and reduced light. Wish I could say more but already I am noticing a drop in view numbers and new followers, on FB /IG too.
I understand and will not labour this point YT FB Etc all artificially manipulate likes and hits if it does not fit their globalist narrative Many people are too just not ready to accept what is happening. You have a business to run. Look at some of the comments when you tried to expand peoples Experience as to the true nature of water.! If I have any contribution of this nature to make in future I will email you. Many thanks again
I feel the same way. Uncertain times ahead. I want to grow as much of my own as possible. And am chuffed I've found your channel. Thank you. 👍🏼
Glad to have you here Julie 🌱
Charles, give the 'old' pond another chance and get a contractor in that can seal it off properly. She'd be a beauty
Thanks, and I just don't want the hassle of that at the moment
Hello again Charles. On the Texas coast I've red ponderosa beefsteak tomatoes fruiting, but very cloudy most of the time. Maybe 1 day in a week of real sunshine. Sort of no-dig. Minimal digging really. It works
Thanks for sharing, great about tomatoes and not about your sky!
Thanks again for a very nice video. I really have to grit my teeth not to put the tomato plants in the greenhouse yet, but I have installed a thermometer that remembers the coldest night temperatures and it still goes down to 7-8°C even if I keep the greenhouse closed. I would indeed rather wait until they no longer drop below 10°C to be safe. Mid-May is the time we aim for in Belgium.
Good luck! Only I don't understand where this 10°C rule comes from! My tomatoes have had two nights this week of 3°C and they are looking strong
OHHH I'll give it a try then !!! Thank you
Charles! Hope you are doing well! Started the "minimal disturbance" 😀11 months ago because of videos like yours and the plot of land (in Portugal) that my parents used to work in has tranformed into a lush environment. Google Maps even updated and I can see the beds as they were last December 😄 Compost works great in keeping the soil moist (here the rain is not a common presence) and over time i can see the benefits of having a general soil cover, even if it's just weed clipings on parts I'm not activily cultivating. Even though I have to deal with a thougher environment with regular over 20º since the beggining of March, less rain and overall less biodiversity around me, these methods work. they feel right, they are easy to organize and the life and systems respond very well all around. This to say I thank you for putting yourself out there on the internet to function kind of like a grandpa passing down teachings! 😃
Hello Abilio, loverly to hear from you and thanks for sharing. I'm so happy that no dig works nicely in your environment.
Just been looking around the back garden on 29/04 and two Casablanca potatoes are just emerging, the Nantes carrots sown on 11th have just emerged after 2 inches of rain overnight on Saturday. And today, the tomatoes are out enjoying the sunshine on the first nice day we've really had in April in NW London. The Welsh Onions are just emerging from the pods to show seed-like heads after re-emerging for about the 8th year and all the leeks I sowed mid-month indoors are all emerging beautifully, not to mention celery and marigolds. I am trying growing five exhibition shallot plants in a row between three Little Gem Lettuces (the fourth in a square got eaten by a slug), hoping that the lettuces will have harvested by the time that the Shallots actually need any more space.... Learning lessons about how long spring onion-, winter squash- and sweetcorn seeds last: had to go and buy some new ones this morning as the older seed I used proved unfit for purpose.....
Go you Rhys. Yes old seeds can be frustrating!
Geoengineers want to blot out the sun which might be ok for California but would be a disaster for UK growing as we get marginal sun hours as it is.[about the same as Norway]
I so agree
My fabric cover looks like that right now too! Our cat often uses the holes to hop in and check things out, and probably leave some "presents" to my chagrin... But like you say, its good ventilation. I've had a bluetooth thermometer in the low tunnel, and on a sunny day it reads well into the 80s, even the low 90s F even when its only 60 outside. Its still so hard to believe that even the fabric can hold in that much heat!
Oh wow! And yes they are so simple and effective
Looks amazing Charles.......try some chunks of onion amongst your wheat to help deter the wire worms
Thanks for the tip
18:26 Wow! Very cool. I've never seen one before, who knew they snoozed like that in a pod underwater?
Wow just looked up that Melcourt organic stuff, wish we could afford to use that! I'm almost grateful it's our first year growing veg so peat free will be all we've known. Must work on our home compost set up....
I hope you succeed because yes it's pricey although the small cells of my CD trays see it go further
@@CharlesDowding1nodig this is a good point, will see how we go and maybe consider it just for seeds next year.
Great video! I put a small wood chip border around my no dig garden. It's a bit of wasted space, but I wonder if it will help the edge from creeping in.
Nice thought but not a lot, worth doing on balance
This no dig is amazing unfortunately I haven’t got a large enough garden plus it’s all under rab and gravel. Your clips are so interesting and I have followed a lot of your advise on sowing, and grow everything in raised beds and pots. Diolch Herms
Sorry to hear that but you are growing well!
Thanks Charles always nice to have a tour to see how your crops are further on than mine in South Derbyshire. Interested to know when you did you sow your tomatoes?
17th March Martin!
I am changing to no dig for next year. You where saying about the slugs I keep digging up slugs and not 1 or 2 I mean loads . I have beer traps and slugs pellets out but they are ignoring both they like lettuce and greens better. Love the videos.
Go you next year!
Thank you the info about the Melcourt compost. I was wondering why the plants I have growing in it (undercover) are so slow - maybe a combination of cold and poor compost? I shall mix it with some homemade and hope for improvement.
Glad it was helpful!
When would you test bought compost and how would you test it? Maybe a new video just on that for the people who need to buy compost? It is always hard for me to buy compost in the spring and spread it on all my beds without the tiny voice in the back of my mind yelling “what if it’s bad compost and it’s going to ruin your plants”!?
Test asap and I am the same as you, often wondering because I've not had time to test it. As soon as you have it if possible, sow broad beans. I shall see about a video!
Great video Charles. I sowed asparagus seeds for the first time this year and they've all come up. I take it I don't plant them out till next year? I'm planning to use them as dividers between bays on the allotment instead of wood. Also re the carrots - I had a disaster last year so am trying a new method where you lay seed on wet kitchen paper and cover, then when you see white roots you transplant them individually into egg trays (filled with compost). After that you just lay them on the ground. Am excited to see how it turns out for us this year. I also think you should include the dandelion leaves in your salad bags!!
I planted asparagus at 5 months in June. Thanks for the carrot idea, not sure about the leaves as they toughen up quite fast
I'm using that egg carton method too, sounds brilliant. for the moment I still have to transplant them into the ground, I hope they do
@@manuelagosso265 I find they dry out quickly but as long as you keep them well watered should be good. I just lay them on the ground and it hasn't stopped raining since!
Dzień dobry 😊 Choć sama nie mam grządek podwyższonych, tradycyjnie uprawiam warzywa,to zawsze korzystam z metody zakładania grządek. Na jesieni zamiast folii do zduszenia trawy, użyłam innego sposobu a efekt lepszy niż się spodziewałam. Wyłożyłam kartonami cały obszar i na nie położyłam czarną agro włókninę ( ona przepuszcza wodę) . Wczoraj gdy przekopywałam ten teren doznałam szoku. Dżdżownic na całym terenie od groma, a ziemia nie była zwykłą ziemią, była wg mnie dobrze przerobionym kompostem. Znalazłam też pędraki i ślimaki, dzięki przekonaniu juz ich nie ma a tak by robiły szkody. Wszystko ma swoje plusy i minusy. Żadna metoda nie jest idealna w 100%. Dziś będę pomagać siostrze zakładać juz 2 grządkę podwyższoną. Stosuję pana rady i przekazuje siostrze której ten typ uprawy odpowiada 😊 Pozdrawiam z Polski 😊
Dziękuję za podzielenie się swoimi metodami, miło, że dzielisz się moimi, życzę powodzenia w ogrodzie Twojej siostry.
Hey Charles! Garden's looking great. Have you thought about doing a liner for your big dam also after the success of the little one? What are your future plans there, besides skinny dipping? ;)
I prefer it now as a wet dry feature!. A liner would be such a massive use of resources.
I’d been trying to make good compost for years but until I started doing it pretty much the way you do I never had excellent compost. Grass clippings seemed to give it a real boost. Also I would like to see a video on grafting. I have a few trees I would like to be able to reproduce but I’m kind of clueless on the subject.
That's great to hear, shall see about grafting!
Charles, have you ever tried clear plastic mulch? I’ve never used plastic mulch, but the videos I see using clear mulch seem to make sense. They promote germination and then the intense heat kills off the young growth. I think it would also kill off the slugs as well! Apparently the trick with solarization is to ensure the edges are well sealed, and there are no leaks in the plastic
Well, for it to work you need sun!
your getting slugs. I had alot of slug problems last year but this year I seem to be having a aphid problem haha. crazy how different each garden can be.
So true, very few aphids here after ladybirds survived winter so well
I am wondering whether the slugs are out of control not just due to wet spring but whether the birds have been unable to feast on them as the plants have been covered to protect from cold
Last summer, autumn and winter, there were very few covers on my garden and the incessant wet conditions meant the slug populations could grow and grow. By November, I saw snails in numbers I had never seen before, compounded by the relative absence of birds which have been killed by eating slug pellets from the fields, and many other reasons. Lack of birds is quite a problem! So this spring with the rain continuing, we have not had much chance, and actually undercover. I've had some of my best results because plants are stronger, and can resist slug, predation better. Carrot seedlings are the main casualty because they cannot get strong before being eaten.
The thing I like about saving seed is you can save seeds from the strongest or most vigorous etc plants to hopefully pass on those traits. Who knows what the plants health/vigor were like from seeds that are purchased.
Yes, it feels like they slept less than previously!
I know this is a daft question 🤔. I'm a semi beginner Gardner. But how do you collect seed from carrots? I'd like to try this method maybe next year. If this years carrots take. Just moved to a totally new area and have gad a rather stressful start to growing in a totally different environment. Thank you for sharing your wisdom.
Hi Julie, you can see this video here for some information on this kzhead.info/sun/lax_l5qSfKWDdq8/bejne.html
Never liked turnips until we started making kimchi and fridge pickles. Started a kimchi bed this year. In the greenhouse next to the ginger 😀
That is awesome!
Bonsoir Charles, Superbe tour de ton potager 👍👏 Cet après midi, j'ai repiqué 25 blettes dont 1 variété à carde rouge . J'ai rempoté aussi les cornichons,melons, concombres, courgettes et courges dans de + grands godets 😉 Les 17,19 et 20 avril j'ai rempoté aussi 220 tomates ,30 variétés dont 17 nouvelles ( graines reçues d'un ami français passionné qui a aussi une chaîne youtube 😉) Un peu fou hein Charles ou juste passionné ?😁 Ce soir nous avons eu 15 mms de pluie sur 30 minutes 😲 Les limaces vont être à la fête !! Bon dimanche Pépé JP de ch'nord
Haha JP, tous est semblable a ici, tant de plantes et de pluie!
Thanhks những chia sẻ kinh nghiệm của bạn với mọi người 👍.
Hân hạnh!
I could watch 3 hours of this
Very kind Ted, thank you
IT'S A CAT! Stalking. It's nice.
Another question, sir. I wonder why the slugs are destroying the open lettuce beds and not the small tunnel where your winter cropping? I should imagine they love the little bit of extra warrants in there lol
It's a good question, and the answer is because in the tunnel, I can keep it much drier than outside. Slugs do not like dry environments, and that's one very nice thing about growing under cover, you can control the moisture level by watering less, or sometimes more.
I could elevate my own garden experience if I would wear a jacket like that.
😂 go you!
Always a joy to watch! Could the better growth be down to the no dig bed being in the middle? The slugs are probably full by the time they get there!:-)
😂 they came from all sides and ends
You need some southern United States red clay soil for that pond to seal her up, so it holds water.
Yay. A fellow Southerner.
We’ve struggled with soil temperature. Just finished building a wooden 70 square meter green house with 2ft high no dig beds. I’ve risked it and planted tomatoes. We’re seeing 23c day time temps inside and 12c nights at moment. Flooding is our issue in spots of the no dig garden but it rises as fast as I comes and doesn’t flow through the land. This is our first year. Only started working the land November 2023.
That sounds really exciting. You will be fine with tomatoes at those temperatures. Last night my greenhouse was 3°C and the tomatoes look very well today.
@@CharlesDowding1nodig same here they’ve been in 10 days now and are not showing any signs of stress. When do you start thinking about capsins.
After mid-May!
@@CharlesDowding1nodig thanks. Just an idea on future vids, what about doing some time lapse videos. Backed with some southing music. The longer the better. So relaxing to watch.
Thank you for the idea 🙂
Hi Charles, thank you as always for the inspirational garden tour! Quick question, when you do the edging of the beds, do you put the 'turf' on the compost heap?? Thanks 😊
A pleasure Laura, and it's not exactly turf but grass with roots and some soil, goes on the heaps
@@CharlesDowding1nodig Great! Thanks so much 😄
I'd be interested in getting some of that garden fleece made from plant matter to try. Can anyone provide a link to the product? Hopefully Charles will give us a nice video on it in the future.
Here you are! tidd.ly/4aLZCNS
I'm envious of the turnips. For the 3rd year in a row, I am getting luxurious leaves, but no "bulbs". Different places each time. Nice compost, sandy native soil, warm spring, cold spring... Nothing seems to make a difference. So Frustrating! I'll work out out!
Hey Kirsty, are you growing this variety Tokyo Cross F1? For me it way better than so many others, which, as you say, make a lot of leaves compared to the roots.
Fascinating comment about the beetles that get killed with digging the soil, meaning these beetles which feed on slugs cannot spring into action… We humans in general really are not good at seeing the bigger picture, it seems.
Interesting how you say your home saved seed was more successful. Reka from Gardeners World said that seeds that come from the place that they’re growing do much better!
Yes, and that is common knowledge, but actually saving seeds is quite difficult for many vegetables!
Charles, what do you think of this April compared to other years weatherwise? I'm up in Shropshire and I feel like we had no Spring apart from a day here or there and the rain has been something else? It's been so awful wasn't sure if I was imagining it..😅 atb
I so agree that it has often felt horrible. But then I remember other not so good Aprils and even a recent one in 2021 was colder than this with more frost. Nights have been not too cold because of the dense cloud cover but days have felt really cold, and dark. We and our plants need sunshine!
@@CharlesDowding1nodig we do indeed.. 🌞🌞
So slow and drab. I want yellow days not grey ones! 🙏🏼💚💚💚
I should have put my clean, dry, crushed eggshells down when I planted my carrots. Some that have loads of shells bake their shells to be sure the membrane of egg is gone. A trap for wire worm is pieces of potato on a shape stick to use as a handle. Praying for bountiful harvest. Always enjoying your videos Charles and team.
It's been cold and wet here in SW WA State also. Summer is coming. What insect is bothering your wild rocket?
Sounds the same, and flea beetles are bad on brassica small leaves here
While I was watching this I was thinking that dandelion root (dehydrated) sells for about 40 quid a kilo on amazon, and the dried flowers for *way* more - though they are a pain to harvest (you need to strip al the 'green'). I keep thinking I need to do this as I love Dandelion and Burdock, but it's really hard to buy - except for the nasty chemical cheap-n-nasty. [yes, I know about Fentimans ,but it's expensive and hard to get hold of; ~2:80 for 330ml where I am, down south] Anyway, as there's an abundance of dandelions, seems a sham to just kill them off where there's potential profit
I have harvested and dried dandelion roots to make coffee, and I'm always amazed how long it takes and how little I get! Those prices make perfect sense. I'm very happy to let a lot of dandelion plants grow wild here
I'm still struggling to persuade people that it's perfectly OK to put perennial weeds & their roots into compost. Heck, I've composted mares-tail & Japanese knot-weed in the past with no sign of regeneration. Weather here is finally supposed to warm up next week - fingers crossed...
That echoes my experience, and I guess it shows how deeply the conditioning runs. Thanks for sharing your excellent results!
Charles. SOS short on compost as overwintered piles were slow to restart. Bought in municipal compost that looked fully broken down but 40c when tipped. Temp dropped quickly to 20c even after I turned it. Been at 20c for two weeks, added a microbial drench to activate it / kickstart the mesophilic life. Can I safely use it now as a bed top up +2-3cm) for the likes of peppers, toms and salads?
Sounds good Jen since the temperature has dropped. I would use it as you say, as a surface addition up to 3cm deep
@@CharlesDowding1nodig thanks for the reassurance. Beginning of yr 4 as a "Dowding convert" never enjoyed growing more and think we're up to about 30 different crops per the year now.
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Thanks for sharing all your knowledge. Is no dig compatible with an area full of bind weed?
Ha ha yes but you still need to keep removing it, after the initial mulching gives you two months respite. Here after weekly removal during two summers it's gone
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Is it okay to plant out tomatoes out of cover if you have two nights going down to 7° in the next two weeks? Or should I wait until nights are consistently over 10°?
Yes, it is totally fine to plant tomatoes with those temperatures. From my experience, I'm not sure where this worry about below 10°C temperatures comes from. Because tomatoes I've transplanted before cold nights, as low as 2°C, have always grown fine once it warms up.
Thank you so much @@CharlesDowding1nodig cheers!
I've got a tomato out & it's been 2.4 or 2.9 on a couple of nights. Hasn't affected the tomato.
Exellent video, again 🙂 do you perhaps know where I can find the biofleece you mentions, crocus does'nt deliver in Belgium and i can't find on google
Thanks and that's a pity. Try Andermatt in search because that's the company who make it and I have a feeling they will be delivering in Europe.
@@CharlesDowding1nodig thank you Charles, i will look it up! weather in Belgium is almost the same as UK, but some clear days without chems too! I always enjoy a bit of sun!
We so need the sun Cindy!
What do you do when cabbages flower? Tall ones. Do you throw them away ?
Tall cabbage? Chop them up to compost
Do you need to worry about cross pollination of different cucumber varieties if all grown in the same polytunnel? Thanks
No, you do not. Any cross pollination is only of the seeds and not of the fruits. Somebody out there must be saying this and I keep being asked, it's frustrating. Please contradict anybody who says this! Feel free to quote me.
@@CharlesDowding1nodig thanks for clarifying. Does that mean you shouldn’t save seed from these?
I would not. Depends if you like the uncertainty :)
Do you have any spring sown Broccoli or Cabbage planted out yet? When do you typically plant them?
Yes for sure, and you can see some on the two trial beds quite close to the house. They are growing okay but not as rapidly as normal. Normal planting date is end of March or early April for the first harvests in June to early July.
Where do you get your thin metal hoops from? That you use to for the fleece to cover the beds?
This is my affiliate link tidd.ly/4d9oGQo They may have run out. You are looking for 4 mm high tensile, galvanised and straightened wire, they can cost 7 to £10 each, and are worth it!
What are the metal wires you use for your hoops? I love how easy they store on you walls and how they seem to have a lot of uses. But I can't figure out where you got them from or what they are sold as.
HI Rob, You can find them here on my crocus page tidd.ly/44dEU7d