Another master class, already seen why my brassica growing is so hit and miss ,apart from anything else I sow way too late ,lesson learnt, thank ýou Charles all the best for you and yours for Christmas and the year ahead.
I enjoy this series of "how to grow" a specific vegetable from seed to harvest. I am rewatching these videos before sowing the corresponding veg. Very useful. Really appreciate the "segmentation" of the video where each "step" is tagged, like in some of the newer videos. It's very useful for going back and forth.
Not only were there great gardening tips in this video, but I now know what I can use my Oxford dress shoes for, seeings how I have no other use for them.
i've started to grow my own veg whilst in lockdown.. its helped my mental health no end. These videos have proven very helpful partilcularly this one when I i found myself with so many Brocolli seedling i don't know how to deal with them. thanks
Brassica seedlings are tasty and make a wonderful addition to a late season salad. In addition, if you have extra seeds, you can sprout them and make a sandwich with them. Greetings from Southern California! Enjoyed the video lessons. Please be encouraged to keep them coming... like someone else said, they’re great for mental health! Cheers 🍻!
I Live in Charleston South Carolina. My son and I have started above ground bed which we both built together. When will be a good time for us to start our lettuce.
Mr. Dowding, I really enjoy your videos here in Virginia, USA. You go into great detail to explain so much for beginners & for all the rest gardner's. My husband was a horticulturist and I learned so much from him thru the years. He passed on several years ago so now I'm attempting gardening on my own & your videos are a God send to me. Thank you so much sir.
The greatest aid in sprouting seed is electric plant heat mats. They are only 17 watts but keep the heats nice a warm until they sprout. I prefer to avoid the fiddly job of pricking out by sowing seeds into plastic trays with 1X3 inch cells. Cheap or old seed I plant 2 or 3 per cell and with scissors cut out the weakest. With expensive seed I put 1 seed per cell as usually the expensive seed is a good germinator and consistent in growth.
I'm so glad you have this video available. I planted my cabbage seeds at the beginning of this week, in a flat, and they are already needing pricked out. Also, my broad beans are coming up nicely, and we are excited to try those this year. Thanks again for sharing. We are learning alot from you. Many blessings!
Merry Christmas Charles and looking forward to more wonderful videos in 2018. Thanks for all the tips and information this year. I started no-dig on my allotment this year and I have been delighted with the success. Just harvested the last of my potatoes,which should see my family through to new potatoes next June. Overall, about the same crop as my more intensive prior methods, but the significant difference is the lack of insect and slug attack - of the 120kg harvested, literally just a handful with holes, compared to perhaps 20-30% last year depending on variety. As my neighbours have lost out to pests on their spuds, I know it wasn’t just the season, so I put that down to no-dig and I can see some of them being tempted to try it next year too. I’ll continue your advice and try the timings recommended in your diary, to see how that works for me. Many thanks again for the time you spend on your quality videos, it’s very much appreciated. Kind regards, Gerry
Hello Gerry and thanks for the lovely feedback, most interesting about pest damage. I notice the same and often I think that others struggle to believe that things can be so much better with no dig. Great that the videos are helping you, keep up the good work.
Lovely videos with great instructions. So calm without even knowing, we are in the zone! 😊 Just looking at the plants has so much positive effects on our brain. I think kids need to be taught to take care of a few plants as a compulsory activity from KG to year 12 . It will help their traditional learning activities, their inner being and help cope with stress for sure.
Excellent video! Not just info on how to grow the cabbage and broccoli but all the bites of info related to timing and planning the succession plantings has really made me think! Gardening is not at all as one dimensional as I used to think and the info you put out there really helps! Many thanks for your efforts
8 days before 27th Feb (when you planted the first seeds) and my greyhound cabbage seeds arrived. This video just popped up an hour after my seeds arrived. Perfect timing!
Beautiful vegetables makes one salivate thinking of what foods could be made. I love the noise of cabbage and calabrese leaves it is a unique squeaky sound. Thanks for all the information- good to know we can maybe outwit the brassica caterpillars if we get to the sowing and planting early. I wish you a "Happy Christmas" and a very special New Year ahead. Enjoy some of your lovely vegetables over the holidays and put your feet up!
Yes I've seen split cabbage heads, from the exact thing you were talking about. Thankfully not to many times, but even 5 of us weren't always able to eat enough to keep up with what my father grew. Not the greatest fan of cabbage, but I'm going to try Greyhound this year and see if I can find something a way of cooking them, as in a recipe, that encourages me to eat them all. The key is not grow too much, though that's a better problem to have than too few.
Charles if you ever do anything in pots please show it! I live on a hillside and garden in half wine barrels, smart pots and 18 gallon containers and I am always looking for tips on how to get the most out of the limited soil that I have. I live in a temperate climate (it rarely gets below 7°C in the daytime) in the Pacific Northwest of the USA similar to the south of the UK, so quite wet in spring and winter. Thank you for your consideration.
Hi omfug, I live just a few miles down the road from Charles , so similar climate to both of you. I can tell you what works for me and hopefully you too: Get hold of some stable manure which is a mixture of horse poop and wheat straw , make big pile of it outside and then don’t touch it for at least a year, in the autumn spread it on top of your soil and just leave it, as Charles points out, no need to do any digging , then in spring just plant your crops right into it . I have found that in gardening it is best to keep things simple but to do them thoroughly. Hope this helps.
Thank you Charles. The thing I like about your videos is that you follow through and show us that your methods actually produce results. That is, it is not just a lesson on sowing, or pricking out, leaving us wondering how things went afterwards. May I ask if you do your lettuces the same was, i.e. scatter sowing and then pricking out to modules?
Cabbage, cauliflower, calabrese/broccoli - I peel & eat the stems of all, either raw as salad or lightly steamed. To me, cauliflower stems have the best flavour - slightly peppery but very sweet.
Have you thought about using a pressure sprayer (the 5+L bottle types often advertised for spraying weed killer etc) in your greenhouse as opposed to the watering can? I find it far better for dealing with small pots, not dispersing tiny seeds, directing exactly where I want the water. Just a thought. I got the idea from when I water cacti and succulents indoors and didn't want to make a mess/ needed to choose how much water I wanted to apply. You can go from a fine mist to a thin stream but a little trick I use is to take the extension tube off and then you get a nice smooth tap like flow (for larger pots). Just a thought, I think you'd like it :)
Thanks for your replies Charles. I was wondering if you'd consider a feed/ no feed experiment. It would be really interesting to see if say a supplementation of liquid feed in the form of comfrey/ seaweed etc would make a difference to your harvest weights/ quality. I'm sure it would add a lot of complexity and time into the mix however. Just a thought. It would be interesting to know if there was really any difference at all considering the easy availability of nutrients thanks to the method you use Alex
All those nutritional greens are to be cooked and eaten also. I can't wait to make a pot of southern collard style broccoli leaves or kale cook recipe.
@@CharlesDowding1nodigI just saw them at the grocer, I would never have known they're sold or edible if I weren't a grower. My brother and I call you the Plant Whisperer, you're so relaxing...thanks for sharing
A Very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your Family. Thank you for all the excellent videos on gardening. I am storing them in my SAVE folder for reference. Much prefer them to the TV which is becoming redundant.
Watching this again to see when I should plant out my sowed indoors red cabbage plants...(using a grow light). It’s been 4 weeks and they are still so small! Just 1-2 true leaves..but still very sprout like. Perhaps it’s the store bought seed starting soil I used. Probably just need to get them in the ground already, poor lil things.
I'm going to start mine in individual cells, not got the time or space to prick out. When I get organized (next year) I will be on sowing early. I've started some seeds already but my allotment is a mess! So got to sort out the areas first. 👍
@@CharlesDowding1nodig thank you. I'm itching to get going, I did sow some seeds today, in cells but multi sowed 3-4 seeds in each cell, I compromised! Lol. 👍
@@CharlesDowding1nodig 1 question, do you ever use cardboard collars around your cabbage? You probably don't need to, I've never grown cabbage but have and a book that said it helps stop pests. I know you're busy and appreciate your time in reading and replying.👍
I need some help with growing brussel sprouts do you have a video on brussel sprouts...I enjoy your videos and your garden. Thanks for shearing all your years of knowledge
Charles Dowding well if you ever make a video about brussel sprouts please show how to plant prune and harvest. I was told to remove the bottom leaves to make room for the brussel sprouts to grow and make the stocks longer...thanks for the reply. Looking forward to your next video..
Thank for sharing and Merry Christmas. Can't wait to start my first gardening experience next year. Planted my fruit and nut trees this year and a greenhouse is coming following weeks. I'm combining permaculture with your no dig approach towards the annuals. Can't go wrong with the help of your veg diary and no dig gardening book :) I understand that a chop and drop method from permaculture might not be ideal around some annuals for slug reasons then? Composting the leaves instead and covering the soil this way should work as well is my guess.
I cant believe you throw all those beautiful greens on the compost! I would rip the leaves from the stem and steam the leaves and in my case give the stems to the rabbits
Thank you. I love all brassicas probably as much as the caterpillars do so....having covered my crop until mid August when they were bursting out of the netting, I then watched on as the white butterfly took over 😭. I've posted the result on my Instagram account so I must rethink the calendar for planting either before or after the butterfly attacks. Also, why do my brassicas grow so tall over a metre? Planting too close together maybe? Well thanks for this video, most instructive and those plants are simply amazing 😍
So sorry Kim, and see if you can buy bacillus thuringiensis on Amazon which makes leaves indigestible to caterpillars! We use it. Many of my brassicas grow over a metre tall
😀 found it on amazon, thanks. This garden suffered very heavy treatment up until 2 years ago and now it's just going crazy 🤪 and me with it. Things will balance out in the end.....I hope.
That’s amazing. Your a terrific Gardner!!! Thank you for showing us all you do. I wonder what you do with all the food you grow? There’s so much of it! I have enough seeds saved to fill up 10 acres but I only have a small property. I was wondering the other day what to do with all these seeds I’ve saved. I don’t even know that many people to give them away! LOL
That sounds a lovely problem Jane, maybe put a mention on social media. This is a market garden here so I'm selling quite a few vegetables and a lot of salad bags!
Hey Charles! I searched TH-cam for Cauliflowers and Charles Dowding and this video came up. Why? I wanted to share with you a Cauliflower soup recipe. Using two heads of Cauliflower, make a Creme of Cauliflower soup. To that we add truffle oil (the cheapest way to use truffles), garden fresh Chives and blue cheese (we are in a Roquefort vibe at the moment so we used that). If you grew up like me, with Cauliflower covered with Cheese and Breadcrumbs, then this would be a welcome reprieve. Do you dream of recipes as you grow your vegetables...I certainly do!. Take care my learned friend.
Sounds delicious Craig. I am not a great recipe person and mostly eat the vegetables in their natural state because the flavour is so good. Often for example we graze spinach while picking, to appreciate the subtle differences of sweetness between each leaf!
Hello Charles!I I notice in this and many other videos, that you make a deep hole, and put the plant securely in - but it seems like you don't backfill the hole completely - there remains an indentation around the plants. Is this by design?
I got super late cabbage seedlings that still need another week, it's October in zone8a. I'm hoping my cloths will keep them warm enough once it gets cold here
I've put one on my Instagram account last June, and there will be one in my new online course. We can't do everything on TH-cam because I want income from online courses
Charles, I made it to my first no dig harvest thanks to you. had lettuce, tomatoes, peppers and cabbage. unfortunately I had some pest problems with the cabbage. but I consider it a success nonetheless. one question, can I start a second round of cabbage in July? I'm in NY. worried about the heat. thanks so much for your videos.
Thank you great as usual. Seeing all those lovely green leaves makes me wonder why you dont keep a few chickens? Fresh chicken mess for your compost too?
hi Charles, on which brassicas do you remove their bottom leaves and on which you do not? thank you for all the info you share with us. great videos. happy growing
Great thing about gardening is no matter how old the video is, it always relevant and valuable knowledge - thanks. From your 2022 calendar I’m struggling to figure out when to plant cabbages to mature in winter/spring. I planning to sow Cabbage Red Drumhead and Cabbage Winter Tundra F1 but finding it hard to find dates to sow them. Would early August be a good time?
Thanks for your helpful feedback and those varieties are both for winter, and I would sow them early July. Then if you want spring cabbage such as Wheelers Imperial, I would sow mid to late August
Thanks. Either harvest heads when they are firm and solid, not too early and when it's turning cold and then store them in an outdoor place which may even freeze a little, and they should keep for 2 to 3 months - but you will need to trim off outer leaves which will rot. Or convert into sauerkraut!
Hello Charles, thank you for the answer to my other query about where to get compost. that was very helpful. Another two queries if you don't mind my asking: Do you have some help in the gardens? Do you run a volunteer programme or do you employ additional experienced help. Secondly, do you have a wholesale supplier of fleece? Thank you so much for your wonderful videos. We were discussing tonight at our Avalon Community Energy group, how inspiring your project is. Best wishes, Juliet
Thanks Juliet and yes I have paid help of 40-45hrs weekly in the season, do about 35hrs myself. Occasional volunteers. Just google fleece to find suppliers, either Quickcrop or gardeningnaturally are good.
I am determined to do one of your no dig trials on my allotment. But is there a chance you could do a video on how you organise your greenhouse please? I am about to re-construct a greenhouse I got for nothing! It is 12' x 8' so quite substantial! Raised beds or straight into the ground? Benches? Etc, etc. In anticipation, many thanks
Hi Charles, do you think it might be possible to follow the same protocol for Savoy Cabbages? I sowed them on Feb the 16th and at this day they have already 1 to 3 real leaves, but are still small sized (approx 6 cm height). They look healthy, but I'm reluctant exposing them to sunlight too much. Missed the first batch of calabrese & cabbage but was more lucky at the second try on March the 9th. So I'll have a 10 days delay on the shedule :) Saw these plants need a high nutrient-content soil. Is it worth to add some horse manure compost at planting ? It is still a no dig area... Thank you Charles
Lovely garden and way to grow, I'm very much enjoying all your video's and two of your books to date. Not quite finished viewing all your videos but am watching them over as they are so enjoyable to view. You are inspiration for organizating and caring about gardening, it's a joy to see really in these hurry up days we now live in. Watching this video I was surprised to see pricking out done so early, I've always been informed to wait until true leaves are open. Your early method makes sense and will be incorporating it very soon. Thank you for all you time and effort in making your wonderful video's for us:) P.S. Noticed you use an Opinel knife, it looks like the perfect gardening knife. Do you happen to know the model number as I am interested in purchasing one. Thank you
Thanks Tall Cedars, and on the pricking out, be sceptical of about 80% of gardening advice! Opinel no. 8 is larger and no. 7 is a little smaller: I prefer the 8 but it's bulky in my pocket
@@CharlesDowding1nodig Yes, in viewing your books & video's I see there's far better ways to garden. I am amazed how you avoid commercial products and modern ways, something I've been looking for my whole life actually. Hence I am so glad I found you, you are a boon to the world really. It's almost seed starting time here and looking forward to it. Makes far more sense growing like nature where seeds fall close together. They then compete to thrive which is much like how you prick out the best that would likely survive naturally. Thank you for the knife size, it will come in handy.
Greetings, Charles!! I've used fleece for about 5 years, but I'm never quite sure how tightly to leave the fleece against the plants. Would it be possible to do a video on how to use and move fleece based on plant growth or is there a portion in your paid classes that discusses this? Thank you!!
See this video for a start th-cam.com/video/2J7Yc8d2eDU/w-d-xo.html And this paid module has more on it charlesdowding.co.uk/product/online-course-2-module-2-plan-for-continual-harvests/
Beautiful! Any particular reason for not eating dark green leaves? I was thinking, I'd always go for the dark greens and not for the head, for example, kale, I'm looking for the leafy dark and omit the yellowy and "heady" ones, when I'm on the green market...
I greatly enjoy your videos and have been learning so much about how to garden myself. I do have a question for you, where do you get your fleece? I cannot find any in rolls like you have in your videos. Thanks!
I’m a bull in the China shop type person; very clumsy. I can’t imagine me starting seeds as you do with a lot in a starting pot and then transplanting hygiene individual pots when they are still so young and fragile.is there an advantage of starting by that method instead of planting 1-2 seeds only in the individual cubes? I don’t want to bruise or damage the those young tender roots.
For sure you can start seedlings with two seeds per module cell. The reason I prick out is because many seeds do not germinate, therefore I avoid empty module cells. Secondly when pricking out, you can bury the long stems and convert a leggy seedling into strong and shorter one
Charles you said you put 2” cow manure in November before planting calabresse why is this as you normally say 1” every year is sufficient. Just wondering if that’s cos you growing brassicas there. Thanks Charles 🖐
Well spotted Mandy, and this is an older video where I was not measuring the compost carefully enough. I've noticed that when it's applied, it's lumpy often and the bigger lamps are 5 cm/2in above service, then after rain it settles and the average depth is closer to half that. I give the same compost to all vegetables.
I’ve tried broccoli for three years. Spring and now a fall try. All with disappointing results. My current batch is no exception. It grew quite tall 36” and the head is small and looks like it’s preparing to flower. Any thoughts on this? Multi years same results. Beds are all compost as per your videos. Everything else grows fine in the same soil. Appreciate any advice. Thanks
Is calabrese the same thing as broccoli and just another UK vs US terminology or are they distinct? My bit of Googling leads me to believe that maybe calabrese is a sub-category of broccoli.
That is correct Christopher. Strictly speaking calabresee is the early, green, large heads of broccoli which came originally from plants that were raised in Calabria, which is southern Italy. In the UK we do use the word calabrese for most Broccoli of summer and autumn. The sprouting broccoli of spring which is often purple here, is called purple sprouting broccoli! I made a video about that this spring th-cam.com/video/NqgGMdO3Rp4/w-d-xo.html
It’s easy to bop through green thumb stuff and conclude I’m no good at this when the truth is the info is chockful of silly myths. Thanks for your facts and showing us how this gardening thing works. What do you think of sprouting seeds on paper towel then putting good ones in modules?
I guess you harvest all your cabbages and calabrese in one go and sell them. Any advice for planting for continuous supply for the home? Just a case of succession sowing, or can you just pick them as you need them?
In the summer they mature quickly and cabbage especially, I do sell fast! But the broccoli make second shoots after that first big head, so you can keep picking for one or two months. Then cabbage you sow early May will be ready for a long period in autumn, We make sauerkraut too.
Hi, came across your video ❤, I’m in South West UK. It’s late July would I be able to get red cabbage to grow to harvest.? I have seedlings that have popped up in greenhouse and wondering if it’s worth trying to grow now. Thanks
Another master class, already seen why my brassica growing is so hit and miss ,apart from anything else I sow way too late ,lesson learnt, thank ýou Charles all the best for you and yours for Christmas and the year ahead.
Many thanks Jerry
Jerry
Is it ok to seed garbages in September? Or is it too late now ?
I enjoy this series of "how to grow" a specific vegetable from seed to harvest. I am rewatching these videos before sowing the corresponding veg. Very useful. Really appreciate the "segmentation" of the video where each "step" is tagged, like in some of the newer videos. It's very useful for going back and forth.
Charles Dowding is the Bob Ross of vegetable gardens!
Honoured :)
Not only were there great gardening tips in this video, but I now know what I can use my Oxford dress shoes for, seeings how I have no other use for them.
Thanks, and I love this 😀
Cabbages are so pretty in the garden! Giant flowers!
i've started to grow my own veg whilst in lockdown.. its helped my mental health no end. These videos have proven very helpful partilcularly this one when I i found myself with so many Brocolli seedling i don't know how to deal with them. thanks
Thanks for sharing this Paul, hope your harvest will be good :)
Hi Paul, I too have taken my garden to a new level over this silly lock down. I hope your harvest was bountiful.
Brassica seedlings are tasty and make a wonderful addition to a late season salad. In addition, if you have extra seeds, you can sprout them and make a sandwich with them. Greetings from Southern California! Enjoyed the video lessons. Please be encouraged to keep them coming... like someone else said, they’re great for mental health! Cheers 🍻!
In more ways than one; that's the benefit of a green head!
Seasons greetings Charles, I do prefer a video that gives the stages of growth from sowing to harvest, thank you for sharing. Mike B
Michael Brotherton yes the whole story!
I Live in Charleston South Carolina. My son and I have started above ground bed which we both built together. When will be a good time for us to start our lettuce.
I love how you do things and your property is just beautiful too. Thanks for sharing.
Literally the only channel I watch a video longer than 15 minutes and the time flies. Great content, keep it up!
Glad you enjoy it Eric
Mr. Dowding, I really enjoy your videos here in Virginia, USA. You go into great detail to explain so much for beginners & for all the rest gardner's. My husband was a horticulturist and I learned so much from him thru the years. He passed on several years ago so now I'm attempting gardening on my own & your videos are a God send to me. Thank you so much sir.
Thanks Barney that is nice to hear
The greatest aid in sprouting seed is electric plant heat mats. They are only 17 watts but keep the heats nice a warm until they sprout. I prefer to avoid the fiddly job of pricking out by sowing seeds into plastic trays with 1X3 inch cells. Cheap or old seed I plant 2 or 3 per cell and with scissors cut out the weakest. With expensive seed I put 1 seed per cell as usually the expensive seed is a good germinator and consistent in growth.
I'm so glad you have this video available. I planted my cabbage seeds at the beginning of this week, in a flat, and they are already needing pricked out. Also, my broad beans are coming up nicely, and we are excited to try those this year. Thanks again for sharing. We are learning alot from you. Many blessings!
Thanks Janet and that all sounds most promising!
Our friendly slugs
Merry Christmas Charles and looking forward to more wonderful videos in 2018. Thanks for all the tips and information this year. I started no-dig on my allotment this year and I have been delighted with the success. Just harvested the last of my potatoes,which should see my family through to new potatoes next June. Overall, about the same crop as my more intensive prior methods, but the significant difference is the lack of insect and slug attack - of the 120kg harvested, literally just a handful with holes, compared to perhaps 20-30% last year depending on variety. As my neighbours have lost out to pests on their spuds, I know it wasn’t just the season, so I put that down to no-dig and I can see some of them being tempted to try it next year too. I’ll continue your advice and try the timings recommended in your diary, to see how that works for me. Many thanks again for the time you spend on your quality videos, it’s very much appreciated. Kind regards, Gerry
Hello Gerry and thanks for the lovely feedback, most interesting about pest damage. I notice the same and often I think that others struggle to believe that things can be so much better with no dig.
Great that the videos are helping you, keep up the good work.
Lovely videos with great instructions. So calm without even knowing, we are in the zone! 😊 Just looking at the plants has so much positive effects on our brain. I think kids need to be taught to take care of a few plants as a compulsory activity from KG to year 12 . It will help their traditional learning activities, their inner being and help cope with stress for sure.
That would be amazing
Thanks for the efforts that u put into these videos.
Excellent video! Not just info on how to grow the cabbage and broccoli but all the bites of info related to timing and planning the succession plantings has really made me think! Gardening is not at all as one dimensional as I used to think and the info you put out there really helps! Many thanks for your efforts
Thanks N Alt that is encouraging feedback for me, great that you see more possibilities and opportunities.
This week planting Asparagus in our No Dig garden which I have never planted before zone 8b... Thanks for your Video on it very helpful.
8 days before 27th Feb (when you planted the first seeds) and my greyhound cabbage seeds arrived. This video just popped up an hour after my seeds arrived. Perfect timing!
Wonderful! Someone knew...
Beautiful vegetables makes one salivate thinking of what foods could be made. I love the noise of cabbage and calabrese leaves it is a unique squeaky sound. Thanks for all the information- good to know we can maybe outwit the brassica caterpillars if we get to the sowing and planting early. I wish you a "Happy Christmas" and a very special New Year ahead. Enjoy some of your lovely vegetables over the holidays and put your feet up!
Thanks Dorothy, we are heading to Cape Town in fact!
Yes I've seen split cabbage heads, from the exact thing you were talking about. Thankfully not to many times, but even 5 of us weren't always able to eat enough to keep up with what my father grew. Not the greatest fan of cabbage, but I'm going to try Greyhound this year and see if I can find something a way of cooking them, as in a recipe, that encourages me to eat them all. The key is not grow too much, though that's a better problem to have than too few.
Thanks for sharing James
Your growi g season is magic, Ontario Canada is much shorter
Love your transplant method,
Beauty Foods♡♡♡♡♡ thanks for videos♡
So nice of you and I hope things are warming up for you now
Charles if you ever do anything in pots please show it! I live on a hillside and garden in half wine barrels, smart pots and 18 gallon containers and I am always looking for tips on how to get the most out of the limited soil that I have. I live in a temperate climate (it rarely gets below 7°C in the daytime) in the Pacific Northwest of the USA similar to the south of the UK, so quite wet in spring and winter. Thank you for your consideration.
I shall bear this in mind omfug, similar climate indeed, but lack of time may preclude it
hi Omfug, have a google for ABC Sophie Thomson wicking beds, the queen of wicking beds in Australia...moderate climates
Hi omfug, I live just a few miles down the road from Charles , so similar climate to both of you.
I can tell you what works for me and hopefully you too: Get hold of some stable manure which is a mixture of horse poop and wheat straw , make big pile of it outside and then don’t touch it for at least a year, in the autumn spread it on top of your soil and just leave it, as Charles points out, no need to do any digging , then in spring just plant your crops right into it . I have found that in gardening it is best to keep things simple but to do them thoroughly. Hope this helps.
With your help I’m hoping to grow brassicas like you (I wish) As always, thanks for sharing your knowledge
Love that you use cm. Im from Sweden and inch a dont really understand👍🏻😁
2.5cm = 1inch.
30cm = 12 inches
12 inches = 1 foot
I'm from the uk and I don't understand inches!
Merry Christmas! Charles. love your narration and garden. thank you for sharing and inspiring
:)
Thank you Charles. The thing I like about your videos is that you follow through and show us that your methods actually produce results. That is, it is not just a lesson on sowing, or pricking out, leaving us wondering how things went afterwards.
May I ask if you do your lettuces the same was, i.e. scatter sowing and then pricking out to modules?
JustAnn 4 thanks Ann
This guy is like the Mr. Rogers of Gardening. So wholesome. I'm mesmerized.
Sam Rhoades yes very pleasant and such ample good sense!
Yep I got that old school PBS vibe the first few seconds of watching him.
Now I just put on his videos to have something pleasant in the background.
omgosh that's exactly it!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your family!!🎄 Thank you for your beautiful and informative videos. 🤗❤️
Thanks you Charles. Demystifying my next challenge cabbage and calabrese. Merry Christmas and Happy new year.
Nice to hear Linda and I wish you the same
Cabbage, cauliflower, calabrese/broccoli - I peel & eat the stems of all, either raw as salad or lightly steamed. To me, cauliflower stems have the best flavour - slightly peppery but very sweet.
this was SO helpful. Thank you. from Rockford Michigan
Thank you for all your teachings. Much appreciated.
Watching you from PNG. Awesome.
Merry Christmas Charles To You and Your FAMILY.
Ur garden looks clean and green
thanks Marilyn
Charles Dowding ur very welcome Sir...
Rushing off to sew my calabrese.
Charles - thanks for the advice, much appreciated
Good video
I am going to do this now .Can't wait to get them cabbages!
Have you thought about using a pressure sprayer (the 5+L bottle types often advertised for spraying weed killer etc) in your greenhouse as opposed to the watering can? I find it far better for dealing with small pots, not dispersing tiny seeds, directing exactly where I want the water. Just a thought. I got the idea from when I water cacti and succulents indoors and didn't want to make a mess/ needed to choose how much water I wanted to apply. You can go from a fine mist to a thin stream but a little trick I use is to take the extension tube off and then you get a nice smooth tap like flow (for larger pots).
Just a thought, I think you'd like it :)
Another quick thing is you can eat calabrese leaves rather than placing on compost. Maybe not to your taste?
Thanks Alex, perhaps, if it's rapid. Seed issues are rare for me.
Yes good point, a bit fibrous, depends on hunger :)
Thanks for your replies Charles. I was wondering if you'd consider a feed/ no feed experiment. It would be really interesting to see if say a supplementation of liquid feed in the form of comfrey/ seaweed etc would make a difference to your harvest weights/ quality. I'm sure it would add a lot of complexity and time into the mix however. Just a thought. It would be interesting to know if there was really any difference at all considering the easy availability of nutrients thanks to the method you use
Alex
That is a beautiful head of broccoli sir.
Great and informative as usual....Happy holidays!
All those nutritional greens are to be cooked and eaten also. I can't wait to make a pot of southern collard style broccoli leaves or kale cook recipe.
Sounds delicious
@@CharlesDowding1nodigI just saw them at the grocer, I would never have known they're sold or edible if I weren't a grower. My brother and I call you the Plant Whisperer, you're so relaxing...thanks for sharing
A Very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your Family. Thank you for all the excellent videos on gardening. I am storing them in my SAVE folder for reference. Much prefer them to the TV which is becoming redundant.
You are well organised and thanks mrsgbee
Watching this again to see when I should plant out my sowed indoors red cabbage plants...(using a grow light). It’s been 4 weeks and they are still so small! Just 1-2 true leaves..but still very sprout like. Perhaps it’s the store bought seed starting soil I used. Probably just need to get them in the ground already, poor lil things.
Yes Anna it does sound like the compost/soil is not up to much, and they may well be better outside, under a cover of some kind at least
Muchas gracias Charles por presentar los videos con los subtítulos en español!!! Hace mucho tiempo que los esperaba.
Encantadora gracias
I'm going to start mine in individual cells, not got the time or space to prick out. When I get organized (next year) I will be on sowing early. I've started some seeds already but my allotment is a mess! So got to sort out the areas first. 👍
Best of luck
@@CharlesDowding1nodig thank you. I'm itching to get going, I did sow some seeds today, in cells but multi sowed 3-4 seeds in each cell, I compromised! Lol. 👍
@@CharlesDowding1nodig 1 question, do you ever use cardboard collars around your cabbage? You probably don't need to, I've never grown cabbage but have and a book that said it helps stop pests. I know you're busy and appreciate your time in reading and replying.👍
You can do that. I cover with fleece or mesh.
Lol, I've watched many of your videos and I must say, I think you have a love/hate relationship with slugs.
Wish me luck. Planting out all my cold weather crops in Zone 7 Virginia this weekend. Hoping all my work isn't wasted...
Ah Ronda I am sure it will be fine, and cover with row crop after planting
awesome demonstration. Masterful teachings.. Thanks again.
have a nice christmas
You actually sowed 40 broccoli seeds! I counted them :P Will watch on to see how many germinated!
OK, looks like you had 28 germinate. so roughly 70% germination rate, not bad!
You are thorough! Thanks for feedback :)
I need some help with growing brussel sprouts do you have a video on brussel sprouts...I enjoy your videos and your garden. Thanks for shearing all your years of knowledge
Thanks and not yet, it depends if I can grab a cameraman when planting!
Charles Dowding well if you ever make a video about brussel sprouts please show how to plant prune and harvest. I was told to remove the bottom leaves to make room for the brussel sprouts to grow and make the stocks longer...thanks for the reply. Looking forward to your next video..
Thank for sharing and Merry Christmas. Can't wait to start my first gardening experience next year. Planted my fruit and nut trees this year and a greenhouse is coming following weeks. I'm combining permaculture with your no dig approach towards the annuals. Can't go wrong with the help of your veg diary and no dig gardening book :)
I understand that a chop and drop method from permaculture might not be ideal around some annuals for slug reasons then? Composting the leaves instead and covering the soil this way should work as well is my guess.
yes Philippe all good and happy gardening
I cant believe you throw all those beautiful greens on the compost! I would rip the leaves from the stem and steam the leaves and in my case give the stems to the rabbits
Yes, broccoli leaves are delicious in smoothies as well. They also freeze well, raw, and you can use them in the winter.
Thanks Charles, exactly the information I need today!!!
Great :)
you seem like your absolutely lit, thats the only way to garden in my opinion.
😂
Thank you. I love all brassicas probably as much as the caterpillars do so....having covered my crop until mid August when they were bursting out of the netting, I then watched on as the white butterfly took over 😭. I've posted the result on my Instagram account so I must rethink the calendar for planting either before or after the butterfly attacks. Also, why do my brassicas grow so tall over a metre? Planting too close together maybe? Well thanks for this video, most instructive and those plants are simply amazing 😍
So sorry Kim, and see if you can buy bacillus thuringiensis on Amazon which makes leaves indigestible to caterpillars! We use it. Many of my brassicas grow over a metre tall
😀 found it on amazon, thanks. This garden suffered very heavy treatment up until 2 years ago and now it's just going crazy 🤪 and me with it. Things will balance out in the end.....I hope.
That’s amazing. Your a terrific Gardner!!! Thank you for showing us all you do. I wonder what you do with all the food you grow? There’s so much of it! I have enough seeds saved to fill up 10 acres but I only have a small property. I was wondering the other day what to do with all these seeds I’ve saved. I don’t even know that many people to give them away! LOL
That sounds a lovely problem Jane, maybe put a mention on social media.
This is a market garden here so I'm selling quite a few vegetables and a lot of salad bags!
Hey Charles! I searched TH-cam for Cauliflowers and Charles Dowding and this video came up. Why? I wanted to share with you a Cauliflower soup recipe. Using two heads of Cauliflower, make a Creme of Cauliflower soup. To that we add truffle oil (the cheapest way to use truffles), garden fresh Chives and blue cheese (we are in a Roquefort vibe at the moment so we used that). If you grew up like me, with Cauliflower covered with Cheese and Breadcrumbs, then this would be a welcome reprieve. Do you dream of recipes as you grow your vegetables...I certainly do!. Take care my learned friend.
Sounds delicious Craig.
I am not a great recipe person and mostly eat the vegetables in their natural state because the flavour is so good. Often for example we graze spinach while picking, to appreciate the subtle differences of sweetness between each leaf!
@@CharlesDowding1nodig Every great cook and chef seeks out growers with an indefatigable passion for their produce. Bon Appetit!
I will focus on cabbages more next year😊
Tus vídeos son geniales aprendo bastante con solo seguirlos.... que pena que no tenga subtítulos en español...pero igual los sigo... felicitaciones..
Mucho gracias
That cabbage looks sweet to me. I’m ready to make cabbage soup lol you make me really jealous of your home 🏡 😂
Thanks Peach and yes the flavours of these vegetables are intense, so easy to cook a tasty meal
Fantastically beautiful
You should try to eat the leaves. They are delicious cooked!
Hello Charles!I I notice in this and many other videos, that you make a deep hole, and put the plant securely in - but it seems like you don't backfill the hole completely - there remains an indentation around the plants. Is this by design?
Yes Sue, they do well like that and it's quicker!
I got super late cabbage seedlings that still need another week, it's October in zone8a.
I'm hoping my cloths will keep them warm enough once it gets cold here
I hope that works for you. Fingers crossed!
I love your channel :)
Discovered your channel recently, Must of watched about 20+ videos so far! Can you do a how to grow cauliflower video please?
I've put one on my Instagram account last June, and there will be one in my new online course. We can't do everything on TH-cam because I want income from online courses
Charles, I made it to my first no dig harvest thanks to you. had lettuce, tomatoes, peppers and cabbage. unfortunately I had some pest problems with the cabbage. but I consider it a success nonetheless. one question, can I start a second round of cabbage in July? I'm in NY. worried about the heat. thanks so much for your videos.
Well done Sam, and I would. They will need mesh cover against heat and insects until about mid September.
@@CharlesDowding1nodig
thanks
the leaves make good dehydrated chips
Thanks! Good to know
Thank you great as usual. Seeing all those lovely green leaves makes me wonder why you dont keep a few chickens? Fresh chicken mess for your compost too?
Thanks, and a big reason is that we have a lot of foxes here!
hi Charles, on which brassicas do you remove their bottom leaves and on which you do not? thank you for all the info you share with us. great videos. happy growing
On pretty much all of them but mainly the larger plants such as broccoli, kale and cabbages
@@CharlesDowding1nodig thank you for your reply. And when do you start removing them on cabbages?
When I see yellowing and many holes, see this video th-cam.com/video/IixZ1IbYOLQ/w-d-xo.html
I appreciate your teachings, I sincerely wish I could do an apprenticeship with you. Thank you from Yosemite National Park area, USA
Thanks Abigail that is a nice compliment, I hope your garden grows well
Great thing about gardening is no matter how old the video is, it always relevant and valuable knowledge - thanks. From your 2022 calendar I’m struggling to figure out when to plant cabbages to mature in winter/spring. I planning to sow Cabbage Red Drumhead and Cabbage Winter Tundra F1 but finding it hard to find dates to sow them. Would early August be a good time?
Thanks for your helpful feedback and those varieties are both for winter, and I would sow them early July. Then if you want spring cabbage such as Wheelers Imperial, I would sow mid to late August
@@CharlesDowding1nodig Thank you. I will add it to your calendar.
Your broccolis are so nice. Our one keep on getting aphids and never grow big
Thanks, may be variety and soil needs more compost
Do you know of a cabbage that grows really large but is light in weight I was told that’s the best cabbage for making stuffed cabbage
Best bet for that would be to grow at wider spacing say 24in and harvest immature, before too firm
I was going to ask you what calabras was when I saw that it is what we in the US call broccoli.
Is there any herb or flower that keeps the brassica pests away, or the main one? Those white butterflies..
In the US, we call calabrese broccoli. In Brazil, calabresa is a sausage...
Useful to know this Masca!
Thank you😊
Beautiful gardens. How do you store cabbage for winter please?
Thanks. Either harvest heads when they are firm and solid, not too early and when it's turning cold and then store them in an outdoor place which may even freeze a little, and they should keep for 2 to 3 months - but you will need to trim off outer leaves which will rot. Or convert into sauerkraut!
You can eat the outer leaves like collards
Hello Charles, thank you for the answer to my other query about where to get compost. that was very helpful. Another two queries if you don't mind my asking: Do you have some help in the gardens? Do you run a volunteer programme or do you employ additional experienced help. Secondly, do you have a wholesale supplier of fleece? Thank you so much for your wonderful videos. We were discussing tonight at our Avalon Community Energy group, how inspiring your project is. Best wishes, Juliet
Thanks Juliet and yes I have paid help of 40-45hrs weekly in the season, do about 35hrs myself.
Occasional volunteers.
Just google fleece to find suppliers, either Quickcrop or gardeningnaturally are good.
Thank you so much for your helpful answers Charles. Happy growing!
I am determined to do one of your no dig trials on my allotment. But is there a chance you could do a video on how you organise your greenhouse please? I am about to re-construct a greenhouse I got for nothing! It is 12' x 8' so quite substantial! Raised beds or straight into the ground? Benches? Etc, etc. In anticipation, many thanks
No wooden sides, just compost mulch where you grow, a bench for propagation, nothing fancy.
Best of luck with your trial.
Hi Charles, do you think it might be possible to follow the same protocol for Savoy Cabbages? I sowed them on Feb the 16th and at this day they have already 1 to 3 real leaves, but are still small sized (approx 6 cm height). They look healthy, but I'm reluctant exposing them to sunlight too much.
Missed the first batch of calabrese & cabbage but was more lucky at the second try on March the 9th. So I'll have a 10 days delay on the shedule :) Saw these plants need a high nutrient-content soil. Is it worth to add some horse manure compost at planting ? It is still a no dig area...
Thank you Charles
You can do any of that! Enjoy your cabbage.
Lovely garden and way to grow, I'm very much enjoying all your video's and two of your books to date. Not quite finished viewing all your videos but am watching them over as they are so enjoyable to view. You are inspiration for organizating and caring about gardening, it's a joy to see really in these hurry up days we now live in. Watching this video I was surprised to see pricking out done so early, I've always been informed to wait until true leaves are open. Your early method makes sense and will be incorporating it very soon. Thank you for all you time and effort in making your wonderful video's for us:)
P.S. Noticed you use an Opinel knife, it looks like the perfect gardening knife. Do you happen to know the model number as I am interested in purchasing one. Thank you
Thanks Tall Cedars, and on the pricking out, be sceptical of about 80% of gardening advice!
Opinel no. 8 is larger and no. 7 is a little smaller: I prefer the 8 but it's bulky in my pocket
@@CharlesDowding1nodig Yes, in viewing your books & video's I see there's far better ways to garden. I am amazed how you avoid commercial products and modern ways, something I've been looking for my whole life actually. Hence I am so glad I found you, you are a boon to the world really.
It's almost seed starting time here and looking forward to it. Makes far more sense growing like nature where seeds fall close together. They then compete to thrive which is much like how you prick out the best that would likely survive naturally.
Thank you for the knife size, it will come in handy.
Greetings, Charles!! I've used fleece for about 5 years, but I'm never quite sure how tightly to leave the fleece against the plants. Would it be possible to do a video on how to use and move fleece based on plant growth or is there a portion in your paid classes that discusses this? Thank you!!
See this video for a start th-cam.com/video/2J7Yc8d2eDU/w-d-xo.html
And this paid module has more on it charlesdowding.co.uk/product/online-course-2-module-2-plan-for-continual-harvests/
@@CharlesDowding1nodig Excellent! Thank you, Charles!
Wow!! Yummy stuff!!
Beautiful! Any particular reason for not eating dark green leaves? I was thinking, I'd always go for the dark greens and not for the head, for example, kale, I'm looking for the leafy dark and omit the yellowy and "heady" ones, when I'm on the green market...
I love to eat Broccoli leaves, almost more then the broccoli head.
Great comments both. I eat lots of green leaves and love broccoli heads too. Actually like the stem more than anything.
Such a wealth of greens!
I greatly enjoy your videos and have been learning so much about how to garden myself. I do have a question for you, where do you get your fleece? I cannot find any in rolls like you have in your videos. Thanks!
See gardeningnaturally.co.uk and more links in my Links page under Learn on website
If there is a glut of cabbage, how do we store them for a decent amount of time?
My preferred option is to make sauerkraut, for eating over months to come, although it does become more sour with time!
I’m a bull in the China shop type person; very clumsy. I can’t imagine me starting seeds as you do with a lot in a starting pot and then transplanting hygiene individual pots when they are still so young and fragile.is there an advantage of starting by that method instead of planting 1-2 seeds only in the individual cubes? I don’t want to bruise or damage the those young tender roots.
For sure you can start seedlings with two seeds per module cell.
The reason I prick out is because many seeds do not germinate, therefore I avoid empty module cells. Secondly when pricking out, you can bury the long stems and convert a leggy seedling into strong and shorter one
Charles you said you put 2” cow manure in November before planting calabresse why is this as you normally say 1” every year is sufficient. Just wondering if that’s cos you growing brassicas there. Thanks Charles 🖐
Well spotted Mandy, and this is an older video where I was not measuring the compost carefully enough. I've noticed that when it's applied, it's lumpy often and the bigger lamps are 5 cm/2in above service, then after rain it settles and the average depth is closer to half that.
I give the same compost to all vegetables.
I’ve tried broccoli for three years. Spring and now a fall try. All with disappointing results. My current batch is no exception. It grew quite tall 36” and the head is small and looks like it’s preparing to flower. Any thoughts on this? Multi years same results. Beds are all compost as per your videos. Everything else grows fine in the same soil. Appreciate any advice. Thanks
Sorry to hear that Jim and I reckon it's the variety, you need an F1 because seed companies have let many of the older varieties lose quality
@@CharlesDowding1nodig thanks Charles. I’ll give it a go.
Is calabrese the same thing as broccoli and just another UK vs US terminology or are they distinct? My bit of Googling leads me to believe that maybe calabrese is a sub-category of broccoli.
That is correct Christopher. Strictly speaking calabresee is the early, green, large heads of broccoli which came originally from plants that were raised in Calabria, which is southern Italy. In the UK we do use the word calabrese for most Broccoli of summer and autumn.
The sprouting broccoli of spring which is often purple here, is called purple sprouting broccoli! I made a video about that this spring th-cam.com/video/NqgGMdO3Rp4/w-d-xo.html
It’s easy to bop through green thumb stuff and conclude I’m no good at this when the truth is the info is chockful of silly myths. Thanks for your facts and showing us how this gardening thing works.
What do you think of sprouting seeds on paper towel then putting good ones in modules?
Thanks, and you can if you wish, or sow in tray of compost and prick out, for seedlings with shorter stems
I guess you harvest all your cabbages and calabrese in one go and sell them. Any advice for planting for continuous supply for the home? Just a case of succession sowing, or can you just pick them as you need them?
In the summer they mature quickly and cabbage especially, I do sell fast! But the broccoli make second shoots after that first big head, so you can keep picking for one or two months. Then cabbage you sow early May will be ready for a long period in autumn, We make sauerkraut too.
Thanks Charles - That’s really helpful! 😀
Hi, came across your video ❤, I’m in South West UK. It’s late July would I be able to get red cabbage to grow to harvest.? I have seedlings that have popped up in greenhouse and wondering if it’s worth trying to grow now. Thanks
I would not try that, red cabbage needs more time to make a worthwhile head. It's still possible to sow savoy cabbage for harvest in March and April.
I would like to have tips regarding cornflower