No dig, using less compost to grow great plants and have clean soil
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ก.ย. 2024
- Compared to when soil is dug and cultivated, resulting in a loss of carbon to CO2, no dig is economical with inputs of organic matter.
I show how using cardboard (just once) and a 2in/5cm mulch of compost on top is enough to kill most weeds and provide clean soil for planting.
The thumbnail shows beds I made in 2013, using thick cardboard and 2in/5cm compost, which killed many vigorous weeds except for bindweed!
In other videos I show no dig beds with more compost than this, which is good for increasing yields of vegetables, and is more time efficient per weight of harvests.
The choice is yours whether you use less or more organic matter. The great thing is that no dig requires less in the end, compared to when soil is disturbed regularly, which causes oxidation of carbon to the atmosphere.
Discover more about no dig in my course which explains its many facets charlesdowding...
See this webpage for comparisons of growth between dig and no dig beds www.charlesdow...
Find more information on Instagram charles_dowding and Twitter @charlesdowding
Filmed at Homeacres 12th June 2019 by my son Edward Dowding.
I just moved into a house that had 2 very large raised beds that were smothered with weeds. I plopped down all my moving boxes and some construction paper then covered with some topsoil and compost. My garden is chugging along beautifully. All thanks to Charles. 🌱🤘🏻
Great. You should post a video 😊
ps. Edward is a fantastic videographer! Thanks Edward for sharing your time and your Dad with all of us.
Last spring I transformed my front lawn into a vegetable garden and small ornamental garden. I smothered the grass with a layer of cardboard. Installed my raised beds , woodchips in the walkways and as mulch, and a thin layer of compost for my ornamentals. I spend very little time weeding! It's been a dream.
Lovely to hear Jennifer :)
Did exactly this on my allotment, laid about 50mm of manure on cardboard, with 50mm of compost on top of that. It's now got a crop of broad beans in flower, about to produce beans. From weed ridden grass to a crop in 4 months. Not bad!
So true I made a raised bed this year and planted it up now broad beans 3 ft high . It works ! And that's on a clay lawn . Keep saying it .
My No Dig is coming along beautifully -Thank You Charles for teaching me this method. Cheers Denise - Australia
I'm building my little forest that way. Underneath cardboard. On top of organic compost and covering of leaves and shredded twigs. The results are excellent. Without shovel, without hoe. I love your job.
I started this method four years ago and I wish Id known about it decades earlier. We had just bought a big rototiller to start all of our beds before I discovered this method and ended up selling it. This method works very very well and for very little effort or money. Something the commercial profiteers do not want the masses to know as there is no money in it. This is why the information is not advertised mainstream. Im so thankful this message is getting out there. Its one of the “you have to see it to believe it” ideas AND a wonderful way to get rid of your cardboard as the worms love it! Thank you for sharing this very practical idea. Its freed me up to start new beds without having to employ the strength of my husband all the time!!! He has better things to do. LOL!
Lovely comment thanks Janette, happy you are succeeding and it's interesting what you say about the non-commercial aspect.
Thank you so much Charles for taking the time to educate us. Due to illness it would be impossible for me to dig, but I followed your advice and covered a bit of ground with cardboard and compost and planted my teeny sweetcorn plants. They were doing brilliantly until the dog did a bit of break dancing on them and smashed them to bits.. oh well at least I know the technique works!
Love the way you teach Mr Dowding! Thank you for all of your efforts and works that encourage the gardener on working to feed the soil for healthier plants. You are appreciated more than you'll ever know! ;)
I love the way you grow and the peacefulness that comes over me when I watch your videos🌸 Thank you so much for sharing your great knowledge with all of us, it's always such a pleasure stopping by the garden you've built
Stacey Here we grow again Yes. I love Charles warm and easy demeanor as well.
I also love using cardboard. It is the fastest weed killer, and so nice that it composts. Thus, no need to pull up plastic weed barriers and such. Thank you for making this so simple
Lovely you tried it and thanks
@@CharlesDowding1nodig I am enjoying your videos very much.
That buttercup being pulled out was so softly the buttercup was thinking what a pleasure to be pulled by this gentleman lol
Finally made my first no dig bed today . Used decomposed leaves from wood behind and small amount of my homemade compost. I had to remove plastic fabric from ground which had been there a good few years. The soil below was dry and hard. I have watered all layers and will give it a few weeks maybe? Before I plant my flowers and shrubs. Then add some bagged compost also? Soil definitely looks devoid of goodness. I’m so excited moving forward with my garden 🤞🙏🏻
That is a good plan Zena :)
Your videos are so informative. I have used the cardboard with mulch on top to create veg/flower beds with great success where I live. There is no sign of the cardboard left (in the second spring) when I plant. Just the mulch and lovely soil.
Great!
I've converted a lot of lawn to vegetable garden using this method. I do pay to have mushroom soil brought in each spring, though, because I can't generate enough wood chips or compost on my own. Now instead of mowing grass I can wander around picking a salad and admiring the flowers.
Sounds wonderful Michele
Love the cardboard idea - have used it to plant a row of Bougainville on border with a field. Works very well. Thanks for video Charles
My name is Dao.
I'm from Vietnam.
Tôi không biết những gì bạn đang nói với mọi người. Nhưng tôi thích cách bạn đang làm.
I don't understand English 🥕🍆🥦
That is lovely thanks
I have been using your method for two seasons now with amazing success. Thank you!
Ah good to hear, thanks
I used your method to start my garden at our new house. Just threw the compost on top of the old lawn and planted into that with a layer of landscape fabric to control any weeds. Our native soil is very dense clay but already I've seen, or felt rather, a huge difference in our soil! Your information has been invaluable! I could have worked way harder and had not as good results and this isn't even the end of my first season here. Already getting loads of compliments from neighbors and passersby. Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge Charles!
Great to hear Erich
Thank you! My neighbor's weeds are encroaching into my lawn. I was dreading all the digging necessary to stop the invasion, but will try this instead. Cheers!
This has been so helpful and I've tried to incorporate this way of gardening at my allotments it has made gardening enjoyable again
Thanks Charles. Very helpful as my husband has just dug some footings and we have a lot of soil to find a home for. I think I'm going to cardboard some more of the lawn and fill it with the soil and finish with compost on the top. Now I know I don't need a vast quantity of compost!
I like the idea of mixing veg, flowers and trees. I also have planted cucumber, marrows and courgettes under my fruit trees. Can't wait to see what that looks like. I'm interested in how much edible "waste" comes from my crops that in a commercial setting would probably be discarded. For instance I grew too much pak choi and some of it went to seed. But I discovered that the flower buds and stems are really tasty and we have been enjoying these. Thanks again.
Respecting , nurturing and tenderly caring for the soil. We have lost so many nutrients because we ignore this simple strategy. Thanks for championing the cause Charles. Kudos to you. Xx
Last year I got my first garden aka, Jungle. I tried to grow veggies, but due to extended use of weedkillers, it was a painful lesson. Too late in the year, I started making my own compost, but not enough for what I planned for this year. So I ended up buying compost, which is far from brilliant. But in this time I’m learning valuable things from your channel. Next year will be a different story. Sometimes, I watch your videos before going to bed, they are so relaxing, calming and positive. I love your channel. ☺️ Thank you so much.
Thanks Luci
That great news, I just got a allotment, so we wanted to try the no dig, but i thought I would need tons of compost which I couldent afford. So we will give it a try. Just what I needed to hear today.thanks.
Love your videos. Don't know too much about vegs, as plants and flowers thats what I do know about. So I am enjoying learning and hopefully put into practice.
Thanks .
Thanks for the advice coming into winter here in New Zealand
The delivery is as soothing as the content!
Thankyou charles. I did put cardboard and seaweed during the winter but will be doing this going into next season. Thanks for the tip.
Thank you Charles i was getting worried about how much compost id need on my allotment but you have answered my question with this vid
@@no-diggarden
Hello and thanks for the information i have access to most compost materials horse manure grass cuttings straw coffee grounds etc and do produce my own compost.
The problem i have is the allotment soil is very poor no structure to it its like dust when dry but i could not produce the quantity of compost id need to cover the entire area overnight so Charles method of cardboard then compost sounds the way to go for me once again thanks for your imput
Mr Charles that was sooo needed for me to understand, and it’s clear for me, not much composting but just enough to fight off the weeds... thank you for always using visual explanations.
You have motivated me to start an open-air yard waste compost pile. Wow, that was a mouthful! I can't wait to see it break down and turn into beautiful black gold! Thank you for your continuing inspiration. Be blissed! daisy
Enjoy that Daisy!
Nice to see Edward is home and making your videos again!
Thank you so much for teaching us no dig organic gardening. I turned my whole front yard into a no dig, organic cottage garden starting with cardboard on lawn. This was the 4th year and it is getting better each year. God bless you from southern Indiana, USA
Lovely to hear from you Patricia and that is a fine result!
Every time I watch you, I learn something new! Thankyou so much x
I want to have a farm house someday soon. That is a really good method of removing weeds and using the weed as compost. Just brilliant!. All my seeds have germinated pretty well. The Marigold is just shooting out planted quite a few of em. Morning glory, Celosia, tomato and baby corn are coming in strong. This time around I did change the medium I was growing in as you said to Coco peat, compost and some perlite. Bin trying to harden them but, the birds keep plucking at the seedlings xD. So today I just hid them behind larger plants I have in my balcony it worked.
Hello sir thank you so much for always sharing you video with us as i learn so much thing from you. I already started making my own compost to get started planting vegetable and some fruits in my yard also i will try to use compost for my ricefield. Your garden look amazing.
Thanks Zarah and I wish you much rice, fewer weeds!
Recently found you! Thank you from America ❤️🌱🇺🇸
Welcome!!
So informative. I would like to increase border width by reducing lawn. This makes it seem really easy. Thank you!
I just did this to extend the mulch ring around my fig tree, this way I don't have to pull/dig/turn over any grass and risk damaging it's more shallow roots.
It really depends on what you have to work with! I'm in the Middle East and have very sandy soil..initially I did put put down quite a few inches of compost over cardboard (as suggested by Mr Dowding, one of my favourite gardeners) , but now as the weather is so warm where I live I can get away with just adding on layers of whatever organic materials I can scavenge (leaves..grass clippings..) and that breaks does in a mater if weeks feeding the soil..I also do lasagne/sheet mulch beds, but leaves those to decompose for a couple of months before I plant into them..
Hello fellow desert dweller! Encouraging to know you are having success. Native American dryland farming techniques are to have recessed (not raised) beds, so trying to work out how I may do that....
Impressive! Thanks for digging the cross-section of soil, really interesting to see the cardboard has broken down
Great video! I’m making great use of my cardboard collection! Thank you for all you share.
Thanks for your video..you are lucky enough to have great top soil. I would use the same process over lawn but would need to build higher given poor topsoil (well not as black and deep as yours appears to be). None the less great way to organically start a veg garden without digging. 👌 love watching your information packed videos. 😀
He is not lucky, He built the soil over the years
Dear Charles, you are my teacher of choice. The only problem is, I am in South Africa, so our seasons are reversed. I am a no-dig fanatic as well now. And only compost.
Nice to hear Koos and yes it's midsummer here!
*waves* hi Koos! Another South African here, gazing in wonder and longing at a bit of summer :)
@@tessasilberbauer6219 Hi Tessa, where are you? Lovely to hear from a fellow South African.
I did this also this spring, I planted corn, pole beans and pumpkins. 3 sisters It's growing great, the cardboard is basically gone in like 3 months.
Thank you Charles. You’re an inspiration to us all. Loved your courses! Can’t wait for the next one in Birr!
See you October!
Charles Dowding here’s hoping. Look forward to it.
Amazing Charles. I've started no dig in my little plot in my garden and now I've acquired an allotment I'm starting it there. Thank you for sharing this method its fantastic
Good to hear Anthony and remember to mulch the paths as well as beds
@@CharlesDowding1nodigThank you for your reply. I was going to use wood chippings on the pathways, Hope that will be ok?
In modertion, and not on thick weeds, without cardboard first
@@CharlesDowding1nodig thank you so much for your help. I really enjoy your channel and books and if I didn't live in Jersey I would be signing up for one of your courses. Thank you again. Anthony
Thank you Charles, fantastic information.
Thanks for the idea Charles! Looks great!
I'm sad to say that I tried to skimp by not using compost and just using a couple of inches of Miracle Gro garden soil atop of my cardboard, and then using a Miracle Gro type of fertilizer, but that didn't work very well at all. Very few weeds, which is good, and I got lots of plants, but all of my plants are very small, pale green, unproductive plants throughout. I'm listening better to Charles now and going to add aged manure compost to see if I can get my production up (it's hard to come by in my area, but I think I've found a source). Thanks Charles, you are helping the earth to harvest!
May your source be good! Thanks for the interesting feedback.
@@CharlesDowding1nodig Thank you too Charles!
First year on my allotment and i wanted to do no dig but just could not produce the amount of compost required. In fact i have only just got my first lot of unfinished compost from a pile i started last October (did not manage to make a hot compost despite trying), I collect as much organic material as possible and have two pallet made compost bins full of material but those will not likely be ready till the end of the year and will still not be nearly enough. I did use carboard and straw to mulch down the plot which did kill a lot of weeds but the couch grass is just too vigorous, it would push up through the straw and slugs would eat holes in the cardboad for the couch grass to grow through. Also it is an exposed site so keeping all the carboard in one place has been a task all it's own.
I have resorted to digging over the plots to remove the couch grass so that i can then plant into the beds, hopefully in future years I will be able to use the no dig method (once the couch grass has all been dug out).
I would use black polythene Andrew, rather than digging.
Digging out roots encourages weed regrowth.
Also if you have a full size allotment, that is a huge area to go no dig and if you get the yields that I produce here for example, you could be selling huge amounts of veg as well as growing all your own.
Glad I came across the video, I just got the price to have compost delivered for 9, 4x9 beds with 4 inches of compost
It was too much! But if I can get by with 2 inches instead may be doable. I could pick it up myself no delivery fee. Will only need 2 cubic yards instead of 4, at $40 a yard !
Yes 2in can work. Just lower yield & perhaps more weeds, but it works
@@CharlesDowding1nodig Thanks
Thank you for clarifying this!
Thank you for the video! I just moved into a new home and the three raised beds here were overgrown with weeds. I dug down and used some of the moving boxes to line the ground underneath with cardboard as a tip someone told me years ago. I have been watching quite a few of the videos done by mr Dowding and have been wondering how much compost to put on. This helps! Thank you!
Well all good, perhaps a shame you dug down as it works well to lay card on the weeds and soil organisms undisturbed
Charles Dowding, yes that was before I watched some of your methodology. Trying to learn as I go, so many different things I have been taught over time. A life time of learning never quite ends does it?
Ah I see!
So true, and it's what makes gardening so interesting
Excellent. Thanks
May Allah keep you happy
As always, such informative video. Sometimes we try to make this so hard. Lol simply simple. Just try it. Thank you. .
Great informative video for a newbie like myself 😁
Thank you for sharing 🌱
You are a great inspiration thank you
Thanks men for videoand explication. Thanks
A friend has given me a book by Masanobu Fukuoka. I expect you have read it. I shouldnt say this but i am rather enjoying pandemic because i am enjoying learning so much about gardening.
I live only feet from the Delaware River and Delaware Canal. After the great flood of 1955 when they repaired the towpath they needed to get rid of trash and fill. My yard is on this trash heap. Someone put gravel and rock down for a patio on top. These rock were monster big and a month ago someone hauled them off to use in their own projects.
I will say here that something you said in one of your videos rang my bell. You said that your very small garden ( with shed to the right and wall behind) has very little dirt and concrete down under. This gave me the idea to buy top soil and put in down as deeply as i can manage. I would have to haul it down some steps a pail at a time, and cover with compost, but this should give me a spot 15’ x 30’, plus a sunny spot for a small poly tunnel 8’x8’.
Last fall i had the large ash tree removed partially to give me sun but also because ash borors will kill it anyway. I used straw bales and glass window and ate spinach cilantro and kale all winter and well into spring.
I also grew butternut squash over a crudely built structure that allowed them to reach up to the sun last year and had a dozen squash guarding my staircase all winter. I cooked the last one just a week ago. I tried to get white runners but couldnt find them so am growing pole limas as my grandmother did for winter beans. I am growing tomatoes up strings up like you taught us to. Canning jars are ready.
I am having a good year in spite of our president and horrors coming through the media daily. You are partially responsible for keeping me engaged in healthy activities. I bought your Diary and will keep my notes in there as well. I plan on sowing as the potatoes (grown in bags) are out and seeds of brassicas gathered. Thank you. Deborah from Pennsylvania.
I apologize that my blurb is almost unreadable as it’s written on a phone and rereading is impossible
Thanks Deborah, can read it! and all nice to hear, bravo
Yes I read that book a long time ago, inspiring
Great video, many thanks.
Another brilliant piece of gardening advice, just what I need and hopefully just in time for this year. Thanks ever so much for all your videos Charles they really are a massive help.
I tought weeds were a bad thing until I got goats. Now I just chop the weeds and give it to my goats. Later the weeds will become a tasty treat for rabbits and chickens. Anyway, ever since I stopped digging( 2 years or so) ,my land absorbs so much water that I hardly ever water. Tgis mulching also saved the front of my house from a bad landslide that was threatening the foundations of my house. Now I just layer some mulch and a bag of compost and call it the day.
Charles Dawding, Paul Gauchi and Dr. Elaine Ingham are people that you definitely can learn from and save your land !
Thanks Svetla, nice work
@@CharlesDowding1nodig Thank You sir. Greetings from Bulgaria
@@svetlanikolova7673 I wondered where you are!
@@CharlesDowding1nodig Municipality Rebrovo, City Svoge 500 meters above sea level.
You should see my squash. One seedling took off at all directions occupying a 10 foot by 20 bed still growing and wants to go out the front gate. It just went insane. All I did is give it some compost and leaves a d it went crazy.
Thanks again for all you teach . It is greatly valued!
@@svetlanikolova7673 Love this, mad plants!
Amazing definitely doing this
Thanks Charles as I am only starting planting again, and I have started a compost heap, I was thinking to myself as a first year grower again on my new property, I was going to need lots of compost, and your video explains it well, that I dont so thanks again for this video, roll on 2020 season.
Thankyou!
Love it so much!
I will never understand how tidy everything is in your gardens Charles. Seems like a Herculean effort to my old bones. Just beautiful though!
Thanks Jim. Once tidy, it's less work to maintain it so.
Charles, I just watched you on Richard Perkins. You did fantastic! I've seen you on other YT'er's videos as well. Here's a small petition to you to invite some fellow similar-minded YT'er's onto some of your videos. :)
Good idea time permitting as usual.
Thank You Dear Friend 🙏always something new to learn🥰
Your videos are wonderful! I love listening to you explain this process. It’s so fascinating 😊
I can’t wait to implement this. My husband and I love to garden, and I am hoping that we can convert to this method.
Thanks so much again for all the great teaching. We also have your book on No Dig...love it!
Great to read this Christine and I wish you well
Be careful how many people you tell that you're using cardboard, before you know it you'll be hip deep in the stuff. LOL!
Iv covered areas after planting with wood chip for weed control.
Great information but this depends on where you live. My "soil" is sugar sand and it is a whole other animal.
Yes,...clean soil!!!
Thanks for all of your advice, it's so helpful!
thnk u
Thank you for clarifying this. It is very helpful.
Love your videos, absolutely brilliant, thank-you:)
Someone needs to sort the subtitles at the very beginning of this video though...... ;)
Do you have a video showing how you maintain such crisp and clean edges to your beds? Beautiful video, as always! Thank you. ~Kelli
Thanks and that one is in my online course Kelli!
How's your summer been Charles? We're still waiting for it here in Ireland!
It went away again after some warmth in May!
Here I am all comfortable in bed and now I feel the need to go out and drive stakes in the ground where I have been trying to do no dig gardening with cardboard, grass clippings and oak leaves, mostly. It's been about six weeks since I started gardening and I really don't think the clay soil is going to be improved much. Back in a moment.
Not yet. Stakes will go through my containers which have potting soil mix in them. But the clay, which was a weedy lawn before, no.
It takes time for all that soil life you are feeding and encouraging, to open up your soil. Plants can grow meanwhile and that helps too.
Wow, thanks for all this information, just excellent. I actually did that cardboard over grass and put dirt over top before I saw this. Seems to be working. If I have compost would have used it.
Smart!
Muy bueno todo lo que ase la verdad me fascina soy prinsipiante estoy queriendo empezar con mi huerto ahora están germinando mis semillas en un semillero yo ahora estoy en época de primavera verano mi consulta es recomendable sacar mi semilleros al initerperie igual tengo bastantes árboles que le protejan de este clima soy argentina chaco sona norte saludos
Esto suena fantástico, que tengas una primavera maravillosa
Le consulto tiene algunos videos del huerto en versión castellano si no es mucha molestias son muy interesantes sus vídeos estoy al tanto de sus vídeos grasias saludos desde Argentina chaco ahora estamos en una temporada vastante calurosa llegamos a los 40°
Been watching you for several years, in 2019 adopted some of your no dig compost methods and the results are amazing with much less work. Thank you... from America
Nice work PaPa, thanks for sharing!
I love using cardboard as mulch... a few years ago I figured out that it triggers morels to fruit!
Well well, nice result 😀
@@CharlesDowding1nodig Yes, very surprising, but very consistent! :)
Yes very good way to make light work and very productive for food in a small or large space . Thank you kindly for sharing . Howie
عمل ممتاز
my raised beds are filled as followed: (starting at the base working towards the top)
2 inch layer cardboard / paper scraps
charcoal (i smoke jerky, so always have spare)
2 inch layer of grass clippings
2 inch layer horse shit (straight from the breeding farm)
rest topped with clean fill (then watered to help compact it all down a little)
wood chips on top
by the time the plants get down through the layers everything breaks down in time for it too be food for the plants, never needing too add anything for the plants for over 12 months.
i use a low cost liquid seaweed fertiliser for watering once a week.
some of my basil plants are 3 foot high !
this method is insane...
edit: if anyone live in a town where there is a horse racing track, you will be able to get free horse shit everyday of the week. just ask, you will be blown away at how many people are throwing it away.
Amazing!
@@CharlesDowding1nodig would love too see you trial this method on your channel too see the results in another country ! i'm in far north queensland in australia.
I see your point but I would not because my advice is always to simplify.
For some reason things often get complicated and seemingly difficult.
Your recipe is great, but I can encourage fine results simply and quickly.
Great video. Thank you.
I am a beginner, starting a new garden.
How long does it take for the weeds to die after laying cardboard? Once cardboard decomposes, wouldn't weeds come back up? Or would the weeds decompose back in the soil?
Also once I have made the bed, can the grass in the surrounding area be left as it is? Bear in mind that grass in the surrounding area is full of weeds.
Lastly, this method requires less effort but more expensive as more organic matter/compost is required. Do you use mulch on top of compost? If so which compost do you use?
FANTASTIC! Elegant Simplicity! I am going to try this over the weekend in heavy clay, rock, moss and very sour compacted soil. Should I add a bit if lime to sweeten the soil before laying the cardboard and compost or just leave it sour? (I may already be complicating things as humans tend to do.) I am very excited to try this and can't wait for your books to arrive! Thank you! Izzy
compost will "sweeten " it
Yes Izzy no worries over "sour", as Dave says the compost sweetens it, gradually. Simple is best.
Hi Charles, great video as always. I have some questions which I'm not clear about and I have read all the comments and answers on this video:
1) You have said that this method can be used any time of the year, but if the cardboard and compost method is used during the autumn and winter months when the seeds are dormant surely the cardboard will rot away before the seeds start to germinate and it will not be serving it's purpose. In this case is it not more prudent to mulch with JUST compost during the autumn and winter months and then during early spring or very late winter apply the cardboard with a second thin layer of compost on top to catch all the germinating weed seeds? I can't see the purpose of applying the cardboard during the months when the seeds are mostly dormant, can you please clarify this?
2) You have replied to a lady asking about galvanised steel staples who asked (2 months ago) whether the use of them would pollute the soil. You appear to think that they do pollute the soil, your comment as follows : ''I would not do that, they would pollute the soil and not work either as the card will rot around the metal quite quickly plus soft ground won't hold the lower end''. I note that you use stainless steel for your hoops, so am I to assume that you deem the use of stainless steel to be acceptable but galvanised steel not to be acceptable in the garden? I use galvanised staples in the garden to hold down netting over my hoops but despite being galvanised they do rust up very quickly in the ground. There don't appear to be any stainless steel garden staples that I can find in the UK. Would you kindly shed some more light on this?
I am not trying to catch you out, I'm just very focused on the details and I converted over to nodig because of you and I'm always trying to do better. Any help is appreciated.
Thanks Redat, it's misunderstandings.
Staoles comment is because her staples would most likely stay in the soil 'for ever' and rust away = mild pollution, plus not be an effective way of anchoring the card. My hoops are temporary and always reused, yes maybe a bit of rust although they are galvanised, and not in the ground for long in any one place.
The card is against perennial weeds, not seeds. If your only weed problem is seeds, you don't need it. Just compost, then hoe weed seeds when tiny, as seen. Is quick.
More answers in my FAQ's charlesdowding.co.uk/faqs/
Nice👏👏👏
Sir, you should make a video with really specific info about making compost... Im just starting my vegetable garden and i reckon here in Mexico few soils and composts are free of chemicals, as people here are far from organic culture in general.
Also it'd be great to share info about vegetables growing in quite a different climate than UK, but still in the northern hemisphere, because I've watched every video of yours and still struggling... probably as a consecuence of extreme heat and easy growing pests.
....also, do you send your books to Mexico?
The basics for compost is brown and green - dried leaves, coffee grounds, shredded paper, straw, then things like food waste, grass clippings, clippings from your garden, etc. Usually start with a thicker brown layer like straw, then green, then brown, then green, can also add depending on the size of the compost bin you have manure etc keep in mind that if it is fresh it will need time to mature before you use it. I have a small bin I put anything into it that will decompose and its full of worms and insects. I cover food waste with grass clippings or rhubarb leaves from when I harvest which helps to keep the smell down and keep animals away.
Your climate sounds difficult Diego.
Compost making video here th-cam.com/video/Kf6CGj7xpFE/w-d-xo.html
Yes we send to Mexico, sorry it's expensive
Could you please one day make a video on no dig on clay soil? I got an allotment plot I am implementing cardboard and compost and plant directly into compost I am worried roots may not break though cardboard and I to have clay especially carrots kale and actually all other plants ? I would greatly appreciate your advice ? Thank you 😊
I gardened on clay in both of my previous places between 1992 and 2012. The results were fantastic. Only in the first year your results may be less awesome, unless you apply a lot of compost say 10 to 15 cm. It depends also when you laid the cardboard, because if recently, that means roots won't pass through until late summer.
Thank you for your great ideas
I’m frustrated with my mulch garden currently. I covered a part of my garden with cardboard, overlapping the edges by several inches, and several inches of mulch, and the bindweed I tried to smother is still finding its way through all of that. This is the second year bindweed has made its presence in my garden and it seems to be flourishing in the mulch. Every morning I go out and pull out any creeping vine I see. But new ones pop up every day and I know that the rhizomes are nearly impossible to get rid of. I really don’t know what to do about it other than spend time every day pulling out any weed I see. I managed to kill the Bermuda grass in my garden using the same method. I thought that was the worst weed at the time as it, too, spreads with rhizomes. I even lined the parameter of my garden with plastic and covered with mulch to stop any rhizome-spreading weeds from creeping in, which is doing a decent job except for one area where the bindweed keeps popping out and up from the plastic’s edge. Digging into my garden mulch and soil I see tons of the bindweed rhizomes. It’s very discouraging. For awhile I really enjoyed not weeding hardly at all except for the occasional one here and there.
Seems odd there can still be so many.
No weed roots are invincible so they must weaken soon. Sorry its such a job.
Hello Charles! I still love watching your videos!
Im thinking about starting my first trial no dig bed using cardboard and compost along a patch plagued by stinging nettles, bindweed and a ground cover plant with thick leathery roots and saucer sized leaves. All 3 I have struggled with for years!
This is a large area and I was wondering in you had any tips on how to source large quantities of compost please? Its the only think stopping me moving forward right now!
Cheers Emma and I would start with less compost on a smaller area.
Meanwhile cover the rest with polythene/tarp for a year to weaken the weeds, then you will need less compost.
For large amounts it depends where you are and it need not be perfect compost.
I enjoy your videos so much but unfortunately I am a terrible gardener. I neglected the garden for a long time but this year have gone back to it as the garden looks so sad. My bones won't let me dig any more but am delighted that I have lettuces and peas growing now. There is an area I'd like to try this cardboard idea on. One of the cardboard boxes I have has a shiny surface on one side. I assume I can't use this? Or can I?
Nice to hear and I would not use that as the shiny laminate does not decompose
@@CharlesDowding1nodig As I thought. Thank you Charles.