No dig potato harvest from weedy ground
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ธ.ค. 2024
- What started as a trial of three mulch materials became two fantastic harvests, all within the same year. And for remarkably little time needed
Prerequisite to making beds like this is having access to materials, and finding or buying enough compost may be difficult. We used a tonne or more to make these beds, however that is for weed suppression and fertility over several years to come.
When you factor that in, the use of compost seems very reasonable to me. Especially when you look at the quantity of harvests. I am writing this at the turn of the year before 2021, and there are still many leeks to enjoy, plus we are still eating stored potatoes from the July harvest.
Copper trowel made by Finn www.etsy.com/u...
The wool and jute mulch mats are from Chimneysheep www.chimneyshe...
Homeacres is my quarter acre/1000sqm, no dig market and teaching garden in Somerset UK, with a temperate oceanic climate zone 8.
Filmed from December 2019 to December 2020 by Edward Dowding my son. Edited by him.
For the potato harvest and leek planting, my helper is Kate Forrester.
See my previous video for the methods and tools I recommend • Tools and techniques: ...
My website and books explain simple methods of growing vegetables. For example these two books are on offer charlesdowding...
See also my online courses charlesdowding... and online books.
I write monthly or twice monthly blogs, see this for January 2021 charlesdowding....
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I love these timelined videos with the full process- they’re so great to share with new gardeners who just can’t quite see the full picture of doing no dig beds.
Yes, they are a wonderful reference.
I want to live in a 8 !!
This channel is so chilled, entertaining and informative, thanks for the effort.
Glad you enjoy it!
@@CharlesDowding1nodig and you can officially tag your videos as #asmr ...
P
His reaction seeing that massive potato. I felt that :)
People keep asking me what series are you watching, any good series? I tell them I've been too obsessed with gardening videos! And you're been a big part in that. I'm so glad your material was recommended to me, it was easily one of the better discoveries in such a grim, anti-social year. You go out of your way to help us all out, and it means a lot. I wish you many more glorious years of gardening to come :)
How lovely of you to say that: it is a nice recompense for the hours I can put into this.
From my point of you I do enjoy this contact and feedback, and it helps me to know what people need to know😀
Plus to appreciate how many wonderful people are out there and all over the world!
Me too. Never seem to “waste” my time with fiction and series anymore and forever coming here to watch these gardening videos. They are so relaxing that I don’t mind watching them after a busy day at work (I’m a nurse) even I try to stay away from screens to decompress a bit.
@@susannam1172 Thanks for being a nurse Susanna 🌺 such a valuable job, I feel honoured to help
Hi Charles! My girlfriend got me a signed copy of your book and the 2021 calendar for Christmas! Many thanks from the Netherlands :)
Fantastic!
I got the calendar. Best, best, best present!
I have the book but not signed :(
@@cococraigy See my bookshop! charlesdowding.co.uk/product-category/books/
@@CharlesDowding1nodig I did too! Course 1 and the calendar signed! best wishes and thanks from a huge fan, the Netherlands.
Such a blessing from God to have Charles sharing his wisdom with us.
Thank you lots, this is what basic living is all about, keeping soil healthy to keep us healthy :-)
I love these longer term videos -- thanks for taking the time to put them together!
The before and after videos are the best. Very few people do these types of videos. Thanks
So nice of you thanks
Wonderful demonstration of how simple and effective no dig gardening can be. Thank You Charles, I really hope 2021 is a successful year for you and your channel.
Hi Paul and thanks, I hope so too!
You are amazing Charles, you and the team clearly work very hard.
Yes we do 😀 thanks
We absolutely love this method! I redid our green house floor this fall with compost from the chicken yard. I planted our brassicas (mostly direct sown) on one side, onions, leeks and garlic on the other side, with lettuce and spinach in the center. At the back wall I had some pansies from a friend, so added those. I must say this is the most beautiful crop I have ever enjoyed in winter! The plants are so beautiful and heavily cropping, even the flowers. I've saved so much money and am enjoying far superior food. The one rather funny thing that happened was about a week or so after planting my veggies, there were a few thousand of one item coming up which I hadn't purposefully planted. It was tomato seedlings! We had fed tomato scraps to the chickens, and the seeds were in the compost! I brought some plants indoors to grow under a light this winter as an experiment. They're doing well. The tomato plants I left in the green house have, as I expected, disappeared due to frosts (it's just a hoop house type covered with plastic). Thank you for your help and encouragement. Have a wonderful and blessed 2021!
Sounds great Janet, and thanks for sharing!
Question: why does it appear that seeds germinate better, after having passed through the gut of an animal?
@@timstewart8690 many seeds have a level of germination inhibitor on them and need weather or bacteria or fungi to decompose it, a kind of vernalisation by microbes
I love these longer videos.
This year is like starting very good! Your videos are amazing . The timeline over the season shows your dedication!
Love your never-ending enthusiasm for gardening, living things, and helping the rest of us. 😎. Greetings from Colorado Springs!
Thanks so much Carolyn
Video suggestion: half hour compilation of Charles harvesting veggies. 😃😃
Hi again. Interesting, I didn’t think it would but it decomposed faster than I thought & roots went through. Yes you are right, cardboard less expensive but it is good these companies are trying to find another way to sell their product. Wishing them success.
Have ordered some wool mulch mats - anything to support our farmers! Thanks for the tip.
Oh, a change of logo I like it! Well I never knew that you could store green potatoes for next years sowings. I must’ve thrown my green potatoes into the brown bin for the council to take away for the last 30 years. Yikes! What a total waste, never again. Thank you for another great video I’m 57 and I’m still learning I can’t believe it. Who would’ve thought that you can eat the tops from carrots as well, I shall have to look into that for next year. I hope you have a happy and prosperous New Year, keep going, you are changing the world one garden at a time 🌱🍀❤️
Thanks so much Tina and always nice to hear from you!
I have never planted my home grown potatoes as seed because those growing in my garden are prone to blight.
I would love to be able to make use of green potatoes in this way.
@@lynnfomison3935 I think you could. I don't see how blight spores can transmit on seed, unless they are in the tuber and then it would have rotted away ling before April
Thank you Charles. My husband and I along with son and D-I-L just purchased 23 acres to farm and sawmill You are an inspiration that we can do this.
That is an awesome and large project and I wish you well
He's a calming presence
Witam ,odkryłam Twój kanał niedawno i bardzo mnie zainspirował. Teraz nałogowo oglądam odcinki i mogłabym słuchać w nieskończoność Twojego spokojnego kojącego głosu w tych paskudnych czasach. Pozdrawiam serdecznie z Polski😘😘
Pozdrawiam!!
Thanks as ever Charles - I love your approach , in particular the way you question things and constantly do trials to test your hypothesis. It’s the scientist in you !
I am delighted to say that I use a very similar method of no-dig gardening except that because I am elderly and disabled I first had raised beds constructed. Within the beds I added bails of straw which have gradually degraded - I guess this is the case because the soil level steadily drops. Before I suppress the weeds with cardboard, I add a layer of harvested comfrey leaves, which I hope adds minerals. During the autumn, I added plastic gravel trays filled with small pebbles and stood flower pots full of plants and bulbs on top so that their roots could reach down into the collected rain water, whilst allowing the compost within the pots to drain freely. I am currently being rewarded for this effort with numerous blue and yellow small irises that I would normally be able to sell at garden clubs in aid of my favourite charities. My small potatoes saved from last year are chitting on several window sills.
Lovely methods and results!
Thank you Charles its always so refreshing to find a new video from you 😊
My pleasure Annie
Charles, we're inspired. We have three beds of potatoes already in and I'm going to start cells with a variety of leeks tomorrow to get them ready for the replacement. This kind of instruction is priceless! Thank you.
Wonderful!
Charles, very useful subtitles especially for non English speakers. Much easier to look for later on.
Glad you like them!
Love your approach to gardening! Now I have to plant some leeks!
Wow. You could make an awesome vat of leek and potato soup with that lot.
Nice trial, nice crops!
thank you for showing!
The wool carpet is also a nice experiment. I think it has also helped the left bed to be feed a little bit better.
Thanks Daniela and yes it did make a difference 😀
Showing the long range outcome of your work is both really interesting and helpful.
I love all your videos; but for me this video is one of the best - mainly because you make gardening look so simple!! It is amazing how you converted the entire landscape in just a few months and harvested over 50KGs of fresh food from it!! it is truly inspiring.
So nice of you to say Safuvan, good luck
Greetings Charles! From cold-summery 40 degrees south Tasmania where I had a frost on the 28th of December that killed my scarlet runners and courgettes ... yet again ... grrr ....
I would love to know how much all those trimmed-off leek leaves weighed! The delicious dark green ones! You could increase your yields dramatically if you included them in your trial weights. Yes I am grumbling about you overtrimming leeks again. I know you were talking about me! The green part is so tender, sweet and delicious, and more nutritious than the white bit. Do make a big luscious pot of leek and potato soup sometime, including the leaves, with dill, parsley, lots of milk, butter and white pepper. What a feast! I may convert you to no-trim yet! Keep these wonderful videos coming . You are the inspiration and guidance for thousands of us.
Little ones are my favorite to roast in oven with herb butter the skin on the new potatoes are so soft
Here in Australia I’ve seen a similar type of wool mulch used by our organic meat delivery service as an insulator with the cardboard box packaging as a way to avoid using polystyrene boxes. I’ve been adding it as a blanket to my worm bin which has worked well but now I have a new way to repurpose it. Thanks Charles!
Fantastic!
I am glad that you made this video, Sir. I am the one that made a comment about luck with no dig potatoes versus in ground digging. I have many plans for the new growing season. I'm using old flower beds around a Victorian home. The flower beds are enormous and while I like flowers, I much prefer having plants producing food. In Wyoming we battle dandelions and something called Canadian thistle. A nightmare I've been dealing with in the flower beds is barberry. The roots of barberry are very prolific, if there is any slip of root left, it will begin growth again in a very short amount of time. I'm also dealing with bindweed. Thank you for all you do in regards to gardening tips. If you would like to try some different types of seeds you may not have came across before, I have plenty of extras that I save from year to year. I even gather my own lettuces and herbs seed.
Big project and thanks for your offer, think Customs may not be keen
@@CharlesDowding1nodig I would have to study the customs list and white list if there is one in the UK, I know that Canada has a white list. But, for the most part, it depends on the type of seed I think.
Great idea. Definitely going to grow potatoes this way this year in sha Allah. But will use cardboard. Thank you once again.
Великолепный метод, все ясно и просто! Прекрасно снято - целый сезон в одном видео. Благодарю!
Спасибо и с удовольствием
I love my no dig beds. I only have x7 12 sq ft beds, I allow 20 mins to potter around them hand weeding and the flower bed alongside them. Most of that time is spent in the flower bed which wasn't lined with cardboard first. I find your method and videos extremely helpful as I build my garden. Thank you for the constant content.
Sounds great!
Incredible demonstration of no dig and succession planting! Love maximizing output for small spaces. Thoroughly enjoyed this video.
Very informative and a pleasure to watch. On a side note, i try to stay away from bracken as they are carcinogenic.
Great potatoes.
💚
Thank you Charles. Again in the finer detail is where the hope is found. My garden is almost 7months old and the hope is after 1 year all my beds would be in a healthier productive place. Some times the mental struggle is very real.
Respect from Africa 🇿🇦
Hang in there Justus!
MasyaaAllah,,how amazing the result is.
"Honey! Charles said I can just sit on the couch, because doing less creates more." 😂 Couldn't resist, have a great New Year Charles and thanks for a wonderful video.
I have started watching your videos because your zone is the same as mine here in New Zealand, so is very relevant to my own garden. Great advice!
Wonderful, and I guess you are Wellington - Christchurch, I hope not too windy
@@CharlesDowding1nodig no, further south in North Otago, near Kurow. My garden is very well sheltered by hills and very tall mature trees. I looked for someone posting videos that had a sort of similar situation. It can get very dry here, but we have a very reliable gravity fed water system. You would get a lot more rainfall per annum than us, but this years spring, early summer has been amazing - so much rain.
Hello Charles. Beautiful to see your NoDig garden and the two crops. Good to see that Kate is helping you. Wish you all a happy new year.
Thanks 👍
HAPPY NEW YEAR Charles! Wishing everyone "enough" of whatever you need. Gratitude daily and joy regularly.
Yea! Thank you! Nice to be in touch through this year, and keep well 🌺
@@CharlesDowding1nodig LET'S GROW 2021! TY AND CHEERS!
Hi Charles. Thanks. Saludos desde La Paz BC S México 🌸🎄🎁
thanks Charles for once again inspiring us to continue gardening the no dig method ,also thanks Edward for bring such a enjoyable video again
Dear Charles,
thank you for the kindly, timely, informative and encouraging vids. My garden has been therapeutic and productive thanks to your input.
A very good new year to you and all your kin.
Lang may your lum reek.
Happy to help. Wonderful comment, eek!
Super, il y a la traduction française pour les fans de potager et du partage de vos expériences. Bonne année au potager !
Chouette. On l'a achetée.
@@CharlesDowding1nodig Grand merci !
Godd you're good... My brain is bubbling.... Thank You 🌄🎵🌷🎵🎶
You're welcome 😊
As far as I can trace my family tree we have for many generations been small farmers / small holders. As a young lad, I'm now retired, my lessons in gardening involved digging and double digging, two spade depths! Then again in spring and then rake over. I can't thank you enough for changing my growing methods. It's allowed me to continue gardening longer than I ever expected. If I hadn't found your video's we would now have lots of grass and a few shrubs around the edge's. Thanks very much for your valuable information, keep us the great work.
Lovely to hear Peter!
Hallo Mr.Dowding ich wünsche Ihnen und ihrer Familie Ein Frohes und Gesundes 2021 und vielen Dank für ihre schönen Videos.Ich habe schon einige Beete nach ihrer Methode vorbereitet !Viele Grüße aus Germany
Danke Petra und ich wünsche dir viel Erfolg
Excellent. Just finished making 4 new beds for next year using this method in North Germany. Thanks for all your support Charles. Cheers, Alex
Hallo Nordlicht, wo genau gärtnerst du?
@@therevelation19 Hallo. Ich wohne und arbeite in Arpsdorf im Garten. Arpsdorf liegt westlich von Neumünster. Ich bin Engländer, lerne aber Deutsch. Entschuldigung für mein Deutsch. wo sind Sie?
@@alexanderbradshaw8148 , hey, das finde ich total toll! Dein deutsch ist echt super, zumal manche es als Muttersprache kaum beherrschen. Ich lebe und gärtner in Sachsen-Anhalt, in der Nähen der Bachstadt Köthen. Denke, wir haben hier etwas mehr Frost als Ihr, wo ihr so nah an der Küste seid. Aber es ist erträglich. Zone müsste so zwischen 7a und 7b sein.
The only thing I have a problem with is Yarrow and Bitter Dock which seem to push through the multch. Lost of weeding last year but I did have a great haul of carrots without carrot fly despite not protecting at all, I hear yarrow can be a reason for this. Anyway had a lovely cauliflower cheese tonight from the garden.
@@therevelation19 Super, wir sind in 7b, denke ich. Ich mache meine Samen ca. 2 Wochen nach Charles. Letztes Jahr war mein erstes Gartenjahr hier.
Another v good watch Charles, and yes, cardboard is great as a layer to smother out weeds. Great to see the succession cropping of potatoes and then of leeks. All the best there for 2021, Hugh 🌿🌿👍🏼
Hi Hugh, Thanks 👍
What a fantastic video. Didn’t want it to end
very useful video. Thank you. Love from sri lanka.
Glad it was helpful Chandi
Brilliant presentation. I have learned yet more from your asides...I'm now very encouraged to do the multi cropping next year. Love the sound of crunchy veg being picked!
Charles you are a fantastic human and i hope you are very proud, ive recently got a large hill patch and hope to start some terraced, no dig beds using your info, thank you!
You can do it Luke!
Amazing harvest! Thank you for great videos, I have learned so much from you!❤
I'm using the free white mulch that's all over my yard right now (snow) and I'm going to jump right on with cardboard and compost as soon as it thaws.
Nicely put, nature keeps giving! ❄️
No doubt, your no dig gardening is the best and fastest way to grow good quality and quantity of food for table. Plus, you make the most nutritious soil. 😍
Thanks so much for your many informative videos, Charles. I watched this one last spring, and it inspired me to try it myself. I made a new no-dig bed with cardboard and compost, directly over weeds and grass, planted the potatoes, and then later "hilled-up" the potatoes with a second layer of compost.
The potatoes thrived in the compost, and the harvest was plentiful. This year I expanded the bed, and I already have new plants pushing through the surface.
I'm fortunate to have an endless supply of compost. (six horses make a lot of manure!) I'm also fortunate to have a loader-tractor to manage the manure and compost. It's so much easier to dump the compost onto a new bed with a tractor, instead of a wheelbarrow!
This year I added another new "bed" of sorts for potatoes. I built a new retaining wall behind my compost piles, and back-filled the wall with compost. I now have potatoes growing in that loose back-fill, in a bed that is roughly three feet wide and 70 feet long. That should grow enough potatoes to feed my entire extended family around Denver!
Your no-dig process is sure wonderful and easy for people who have lots of compost!
Hi Ted, that is great to hear. All the best.
Such an interesting and informative video. Thank you for experimenting and sharing!
Hands on videos are the best to watch this is like victory garden on pbs back in the day only better
😀
It always amazes me how much food you grow in such a small space. It proves we don't need acres to feed ourselves. We just need to be wise about it. Thank you again for a wonderful video. I don't get a lot of time to watch in garden season, but now I'm going to binge watch what I've missed since last April.
I read a very good book once, I can’t remember the title or author. But it showed you how to be self sufficient in veg and meat on 1/4 of an acre a family of 4, very interesting.
@@daniellesunley4807, I am working towards that goal. We have six acres, but my garden is small (less than 1/4 acres) but growing every year. Four acres are pasture for the goats and donkeys.
Amazing experience. Greetings from Ukraine!
18:19 doors that open by themselves really freak me out lmao. Epic info as always
It is good you are trying different types of weed suppressant and the results. I'm so pleased the cardboard is used, as we are moving house and also having to move allotments. So we will have a abundance of boxes
I learn so much from your presentations, and have a great fondness for your ways. Thank you; I find it wonderfully calming to watch and listen to you doing the work you love. I am inspired to try some of your methods here in coastal Maine.
You are so welcome and I wish you success!
Love your channel and gardening method, thank you!
You are so welcome!
Thanks!
And thank you Jennifer
Have bags & bags of collie fur....maybe I will use for mulch 😊😊😊
Hola, saludos desde España, le he descubierto hace muy poco, pero estoy agradecida porque estoy aprendiendo mucho, Gracias por compartir los conocimientos.
Gracias Mariola, y mi placer
I love your methods because it's just the way I'd naturally do things... Gentle.. leaving the poppy thank you
Great Charles, a very simple tuition for a new no dig area.
Greetings from Poland 🇵🇱
Great story, details and contents. Thank you so much for putting all the various time segments into this video! A fair comparison, very informative.
Glad it was helpful Tibor!
Your videos are the best!! Happy New Year Charles.
Another very enjoyable video thanks
Super harvest and demonstration!
I am so happy to see a possible way to stop bindweed.
I use several layers of burlap sacks from a local coffee roaster as a mulch base in paths. Works pretty well and breaks down over time.
So interesting Kris, nice improvisation!
@@CharlesDowding1nodig , keeps the bags out of a landfill as well :-)
You are full of knowledge. Thank you for sharing. Lots of work ahead for me 😊
Спасибо что делитесь опытом, это очень актуально мульчирование и компостирование. Высоких Вам урожаев и новых идей!
sr charles ,gracias por sus consejos,ud ama lo que hace y como explica felicidades
Thank you for this very interesting and informative channel! Happy New year from Styria/Austria!
It was very interesting. Thank you, Charles!
Hi charles.i love it
You sold me with this video. I will be starting a new garden and orchard this spring. We just bought 26 acres. Of course, I want to keep our garden small enough to handle but big enough to grow all the food that two vegans might eat in a year. Currently, I have 4 4X8 indoor areas planted exclusively to baby greens. The new 6b inland forest/pasture place has an entirely different climate and yearly precipitation than my current 9b desert location. I love new adventures.
Best of luck Suzy!
Fantastic video, thank you so much for sharing. Really inspired now to get more beds started 👍
So glad!
I am amazed at the no dig method, I just put in two new 8 x 4 raised beds this year and have begun building the soil. it is amazing how quick the soil builds i am also enjoying two books of your I got for Christmas. I got How to grow winter vegetables and the vegetable garden Diary. I will be buying more of your books this year.
Sounds great Toney, thanks for feedback
Thank you for another great video! I love how you take us from start to finish. For the potatoes in the wool mulch being greener than the jute and the leeks being larger, it could be due to the wool providing nutrients to the soil as it breaks down. It offers a lot more than just smothering the weeds.
You are welcome and yes that is a good point, we are noticing it more elsewhere
simple and brilliant, Charles. I hope I can obtain good results too, next season.
You can do it!
Ty as always for your videos and your time.
Had your book for Christmas, veg bed has been prepared with old compost and a trailer full of cow manure , waiting for spring 😀
Wonderful Neville
I really have enjoyed this video!
I'm so glad!
Hi hello from Southeast England, thank you very much for your video, lately I too like: 'High Altitude' messaged you here, I like watching the TH-cam video's on growing for food.
I am coming up to 74 years of age and been doing year by year, a little more in the way of growing helped by people like yourself, who spend time with
showing and pointing the way forward.
I very much know how time-consuming actually it is in the making of filming/uploading and presenting to us, the public as my son does
same for his hobby of fishing:
Fishing for memories
At the present time of COV 19 it has become much more difficult for my son to make video's because it is necessary to keep a distance from the public
and this can be rather difficult, when the public are interested in learning what fish may be in the net and get closer to take a look.
It was very rewarding to see that you are keeping well and strong and enabling to present good film footage, the amount of rain in the last few weeks
makes me inquire with you, as to how things are for you in respect to this with your NO DIG.
Cheers Mike and please say hello to your son, that sounds a good hobby/job. It is mostly my son making these videos so we do not have the distancing worry.
Muchas gracias, un video excelente. Me encantan sus explicaciones y la felicidad que muestra. Saludos desde España. Esther