November 2, 2024

VIDEO: Smother weeds for a potato harvest followed by abundant leeks within one year


What started as a trial of three mulch materials became two fantastic harvests, all within the same year. And for remarkably little time needed
Prerequisite to making beds like this is having access to materials, and finding or buying enough compost may be difficult. We used a tonne or more to make these beds, however that is for weed suppression and fertility over several years to come.
When you factor that in, the use of compost seems very reasonable to me. Especially when you look at the quantity of harvests. I am writing this at the turn of the year before 2021, and there are still many leeks to enjoy, plus we are still eating stored potatoes from the July harvest.

Copper trowel made by Finn https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/941976301/pure-copper-trowel

The wool and jute mulch mats are from Chimneysheep https://www.chimneysheep.co.uk/shop/

Homeacres is my quarter acre/1000sqm, no dig market and teaching garden in Somerset UK, with a temperate oceanic climate zone 8.

Filmed from December 2019 to December 2020 by Edward Dowding my son. Edited by him.
For the potato harvest and leek planting, my helper is Kate Forrester.

See my previous video for the methods and tools I recommend https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ic0LrNBuSi4&lc=UgyLezwsu5OzUG1Lm8d4AaABAg.9FqWnDNgdM89GDsiOGYUCv&feature=em-comments
My website and books explain simple methods of growing vegetables. For example these two books are on offer https://charlesdowding.co.uk/product/double-pack-no-dig-gardening-course-book-1-and-2021-gardening-calendar-both-signed/
See also my online courses https://charlesdowding.co.uk/product/online-courses-1-and-2/ and online books.

I write monthly or twice monthly blogs, see this for January 2021 https://charlesdowding.co.uk/january-2021-make-compost-wood-sides-greens-and-root-harvests-new-module-tray-small-garden/.
You can subscribe to a newsletter on my website.

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24 thoughts on “VIDEO: Smother weeds for a potato harvest followed by abundant leeks within one year

  1. Learning so much from these videos! Thank you. Probably a silly question from somebody new to the garden. Will the roots left in the soil from the potato grown form new potato's? Or would you need to re-plant for the next harvest?

  2. It's atrocious that wool is so undervalued! It's an amazing thing.
    I have my grandparents old woollen blankets that keep me as toasty as it would have them.
    They're bright green, orange and purple. They're about 45 years old

  3. I have converted lots of lawn into gardens using cardboard but have had problems with wireworm coming up from the grass through the rotted cardboard and soil. As a result I've had sprout peas, beans or any other large seed so that the swelling seeds don't get attacked by the wireworm. My experience is that it takes about 4-6 years for the wireworm to die out.

  4. I'm really glad I watched this video and thankful as well for you making it and sharing it here. Also the one where you are starting out new beds on the new plot you bought. The fact that you let us know that your original garden soil is primarily clay overlayed with silt was an eye opener and very encouraging for me since my soil here along the Columbia River of the Pacific Northwest is just like that. It encouraged me greatly because I have been worried about how to address my heavily compacted, silt and clay under layer. How will behave once I put cardboard and compost over the top of it. We are located on a hillside and our torrential winter rains was creating quite a lot of runoff and erosion from our property. I am terracing my garden beds and I believe that is creating water capture so that not so much water is escaping from our land. Thanks again for your videos.

  5. Hermosa cosecha Charles!
    Me gustaría ver un vídeo cómo haces la siembra y reproducción de morrones así llamanos a los pimientos rojos en Argentina!
    Gracias Charles!
    Buen video!

  6. Charles, we're inspired. We have three beds of potatoes already in and I'm going to start cells with a variety of leeks tomorrow to get them ready for the replacement. This kind of instruction is priceless! Thank you.

  7. Im wondering if old clothes, bedsheets and towels would work well as the weed killing ground layer. I know one could be worried about chemicals used when created the coloring etc but thinking how many times we washed them im not to worried. Ive tried with and old towel that was worn out and it seems to work so far.

    Probably alot easier to find cardboard but instead of throwing that towel i thought i give it e second purpose.

  8. In collecting comfrey leaves I found a good way to make a sheet of comfrey. I put the comfrey into trays which I piled on top of each other after they were compressed separated out the trays to dry on top of a empty bed so the comfrey juice goes into the bed. My allotment is in the middle of three railway lines so mulching is needed all the time to control the weed seeds that continually come in from the railway. I then place the dried sheet comfrey between the browning plants.

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