We have had more frosts than usual, and this is a chance to see the effects. Together with a few signs of spring.
I take you on the same path as two months ago, when we last visited my garden with its 1/3 acre / 1300m2 of no dig beds and paths. https://youtu.be/zCsZtoPfx-Y
At least and thanks to no dig, there are a few weeds. All beds are ready for new sowings and plantings. We applied mulches last autumn and early winter, enough for the whole year.
00:00 Invitation to subscribe, and join this channel as a member https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB1J6siDdmhwah7q0O2WJBg/join
01:01 Woodchip is of such variable quality, I advise on options you may find
01:39 There are no pH worries, if the woodchip is coniferous
01:55 Sieving 4 year old woodchip, nice results from 12mm / half inch holes
03:00 Broad beans wiped out by December -9C frost, had been sown October
03:28 Broad beans which survived frost from December sowing, then transplanted January with fleece on top and no hoops! Is good in cold.
04:24 Rye for grain, was transplanted before winter, is being grazed!
05:05 Mustard for green manure / cover crop, killed by frost is good, no need to dig it in!
05:42 Classic no dig with few weeds
05:49 Lilia spring onions are not winter hardy!
06:08 New no dig – 5cm woody compost and black plastic on top, for May planting of squash, trialling less compost
07:12 Broccoli Claret F1 50% killed by frost
07:58 No dig bed prep, a light raking, no more
08:52 Shop bought garlic planted October, not looking good compared to homesaved
09:24 New no dig on weedy pasture, with cardboard then 10cm compost, a little woodchip on card & path around, soil was frozen when we covered it, and that is fine
10:15 18 month old bed, clean edge and Winter Giant spinach, Wintergreen cabbage
11:07 In the shed, big beetroot and carrots good to eat; also for planting to grow seeds
11:58 Worm casts / compost in sacks, for potting and containers
12:32 Brussels sprouts’ leaves eaten by pigeons but still cropping nicely
13:03 Swede / rutabaga massacred by frost
13:30 Spinach decimated by CMV cucumber mosaic virus, spring onions just ok!
14:20 Once a year no dig mulching 2-3cm new compost on beds
14:28 Same depth of woodchip on paths, makes nice soil for feeding plants in the beds
15:09 Spring cabbages mostly killed by the sever frost, are Durham Early
15:19 Garlic planted among mustard which is now dead, garlic may suffer rust
16:07 Winter compost heap has 45-50C warmth thanks to mowing old meadow stems
17:23 Mature 9 month old compost is ready, needs no sieving
18:00 Cauliflowers Aalsmeer for spring have not survived winter
18:35 Greenhouse propagation, seedlings were germinated in my conservatory, for nigh warmth
19:30 Multisown onion seedlings
19:44 Rosada F1 tomatoes, seed no longer available so I grow from suckers
20:59 Salad plants under cover all winter
21:20 Wild rocket overwintered from September sowing, to plant out next week
21:50 Hotbed space, making it 20th February
22:17 Small Garden and my 2023 Plan – no dig, no rotation is easier.
24:17 Polytunnel winter salad plants, picked 7 times already with 20kg harvest yesterday
24:54 Is frosty inside, same as outside
25:21 How we pick lettuce of outer leaves, this is Grenoble Red
25:56 First sowings now for transplanting in a month, see you then!
See this half-price offer on my Winter Gardening and Covers short course https://charlesdowding.co.uk/product/skills-for-growing-online-course-module-5-covers-and-winter-gardening/.
Filmed 17th February at Homeacres, Somerset UK by Nicola Smith.
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зима) в россии снег еще лежит – у нас такая погода как у вас в октябре месяце ) = winter) in Russia there is still snow – we have the same weather as you have in October)
We have a badger visiting for grubs, I we are wishing he would go no dig! He wants to dig beds where we're not supposed too!!
Another amazing video. The information is coming at the right time for me. 🙂
At the moment im planing on making a new bed. The 2 beds i already made last year are at the west-side of the house and i aligned them east-west. Now i've seen that you recommend north-south. Do you think its really bad if i keep the east-west alignment?
I follow you because I want to see what will happen in my next winter. I have a small can with kitchen waste and have managed to get good "worm soil". I'm going to film a video. It seems to me a very useful topic to use it in a didactic way and to alleviate the problems of recycling household waste. By leaving at home what can feed worms, we relieve part of the work of garbage collectors and we will have some substrate, even if it is only to grow a potted plant. As a child I saw one of my grandparents who recycled waste at home because when he retired he lived in a peri-urban area where there was no garbage collection. He had a well on the land where he handled organic waste. They were common practices in the field in the 50s and 60s of the last century. Australians have formalized the issue with the term "Permaculture" right? Perfect. Thanks for sharing.
Me and my brother have an allotment in Canterbury. we have just finished double digging the final.plot, we get loads of horse manure, which we have dug in we have the best allotment in the area we don't believe in no dig its a lazy way of growing vegetables all the digging is completed before Christmas ara soil is very good full.of worms because of the amount of horse manure we apply green compost goes into the areas where manure is not needed this also is dug in
In your 25 square metre garden how much(kilo) compost is necessary?
I get so excited when I see a new video! I learn something new each time and I just love your kindhearted approach to gardening and teaching others. Thank you for sharing your garden, even though not all plants were performing, it gives us all encouragement that gardening is never perfect. Just keep trying and learning from what nature gives us!
(25:06) what are those plants bottom middle screen, with lots of little round,s leaves,?????
Where is the most reasonable place to get compost for no dig beds in Hampshire,my local council delivers a tonne bag but it’s pricey at £175 ,can you use soil conditioner for no dig?
I must say, the initial work of no dig is quite intense… I have spent a good week now spreading compost on about 400m² and am still not finished! Quite amazing that you started such a project on your own about 8 years ago. I am completely drained and probably 30 years younger than you were at that time ;D I really hope everything works out!
Thank you so much for sharing your failures as well as successes. It encourages me.
Thank you for sharing your challenges! So many of us struggle & scratch our heads trying to sort what went wrong in what should otherwise have been a good season. With your expertise & track record, it's encouraging to me for you to share that you have struggles & head scratches too. Cheers to Spring & a new season
England has had one of the coldest winters for many years, in terms of the number of hard frost nights. Together with the very hot summer last year (40oC) and the driest Feb for 30 years, England is facing tough times. Drought is looming again. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/one-hot-dry-spell-away-from-drought-returning-this-summer-national-drought-group-warns
Great video thanks very much for continuing to share. Please could you post a link for where to find the woodchip sieve? That is a fantastic idea but I can't find anything online for it. Thanks.
Have you ever thought to try king stropharia mushrooms (also known as wine cap or garden giants) into your bigger wood chip composting to help it along and get a different crop to go along with your garden veg?
I'm only just learning mushrooming in my yard and want to buy the king strophara but ive got several logs of golden oyster and 8 logs of shiitake mushrooms that just bloomed last fall for the first time. I only ended up with about 15 big shiitake mushrooms for the first go round but they should fruit as long as the logs last.
I have pearl oysters seeded into some downed logs but the one flush of them I got was pilfered by a naughty rabbit.
I would love to get some wood chips and start the wine caps as I do love mushrooms of all types.
With the cost of groceries rising higher and higher my family have decided to come help me make new beds and raise up my old greenhouse/ hoophouse since I finally gathered all the needed materials.
Your way of harvesting lettuces and greens and it even works with celery has really helped with my hydroponics inside.
Its way too cold here to keep things outside even in my hoop houses in michigan . Growing a few greens and green onions under LED lights has really helped the budget.
Hi Charles,
I find your videos so helpful and educational, I just got an allotment plot last year, and I’m just starting out, I can’t find on some of the videos what time of year you make the video…? Where can I find this info?
Thank you Charles, as always. Third time I’ve watched this one. So much useful information for a self taught novice like me, in my 3rd year as an allotmenteer. I’m enjoying reading your new book No Dig, so useful. Please don’t stop your free YouTube vids. I learn a lot from reading but nothing beats being shown visually how to do things and what they should look like. Always so comprehensive. Thank you Charles. Kind Regards Pat Joyce
Re: adding wood ashes from the woodstove to garden and to garden soil I always feel like the ashes are so strong that no matter how lightly I sprinkle them I feel like I'm 'burning' good enzymes and bacteria and worms. How do you fine add wood ash ?
How do you maintain the edge of the bed? The grass …do u use a whipper snipper
Also I think this year the war on us via climate change is affecting how we grow. Chemicals are sprayed into the stratosphere in order to mosify westher and those chemicals make it down to our surface and cause damage
we ahve had such a hard winter. i lost a load of carrots and potatoes! its been a hard year completely! every year is different
Here in BC, we had the same overwintering experience. For some reason, crops that are normally tough didn't do too well. I suspect lower than normal sugar levels.
I am heartened that you have the odd failure or damage as well. I am in the 5th year of my allotment and hopefully this season I will avoid some of the mistakes I have made over that time and produce vegetables that I want to eat and to share. I love everything about your garden and am grateful that you share your knowledge so graciously. Here's to 2023 x
Potreste aiutare anche in Italia?
dear Charles, like many others, thank you for teaching me how to grow vegetables I've never thought of growing before. The education has been unmeasurable and your book has now replaced my recipe books in being the most used book this couple of months! I have a question about tomato sowing dates. In your book and your latest video on month to month sowing, you mention March as good time to sow but here at the end of this video, you mention 10th May. Hope you can clarify this? Thank you so much again.
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