He never says like or subscribe and yada-yada press the notification yada-yada. Such a noble and gracious soul this man is. I rarely subscribe to channels on youtube but this one gets my subscription.
I dream of compost. My friends laugh at me(nicely) because that is what i get for my birthday every year, a beautiful full dump truck load of mushroom compost. Best gift ever!
Dear Mr Dowding, I absolutely adore every single video of yours. I'll soon be moving to the countryside and will have a much bigger garden and I cannot wait to re-watch all of your videos and put everything I've learned from you in practice. You are the most beautiful, knowledgeable, warm, absolutely legend of a man and we must protect you at all costs. Thank you ever so much for everything you're doing ♥️
This man is older and English. He's a humble Gardner, although he has proven and is one of the BEST gardeners in the world. Soak up his great knowledge.
My son got house with land in Germany. I just shared this video. They know I admire your skills. His 2 year old is helping. Thank you Charles 😊. Helping generations 🙏🏽
COMPOSTING HAS MADE US SO MOTIVATED, WE WORKED PULLING WEEDS IN 103 DEGREE HEAT TODAY !!!!!!! ALL WE KEPT THINKING ABOUT IS THAT THE MORE WEEDS WE PULL, THE MORE COMPOST WE CAN MAKE, THEREFORE THE LESS WEEDS WE HAVE TO PULL NEXT YEAR IN 103 DEGREE HEAT !!!!!!!
I got my local carpenter to build me a compost station like yours but with just 3 bays which we called the tram stop. It’s going gangbusters and I make sure I put in plenty of papers, straw etc. Its such a great thing to have rather than a cobbled frame made from pallets etc. it cost a bit but SO worth it. The neighbours were very curious about it but if I can get great compost, I’d say they’ll copy it. They were intrigued about the roof but I explained that air is vital and you don’t want the air pushed out by rainwater. Great video!
Mr Dowding, you have turned compost-making into a subtle art! I loved your debunking of common compost myths and hope one day to have a composting system as balanced and sustainable as yours!
Thank you Charles for the most comprehensive, thorough, no-nonsense explanation of composting. I am guilty of thinking most tasks on the allotment must be hard work, but clearly it doesn’t have to be that way. Cannot believe how much I enjoyed listening to you talk about rotting vegetation for 20 minutes!!
I had never even heard of watering your compost where I grew up because it's so humid. We moved to the desert last year and now I've found myself watering my compost all the time. Climate is everything!
Every time Charles makes a video it blows everything I thought I knew out of the window! I'll stop turning my pile every 8 days now and just let it sit and toss on those weeds like they are going out of fashion!
I worked on a kibbutz as a student (many years ago) the main thrust of the economy was food production at all costs but at the outset (1950’s) there was a lady who grew flowers in her free time. She was ridiculed , folks said she was nuts but when the flowers appeared on everyone’s tables in the dining room grown ups were seen to cry only then understanding the value of both Thanks Charles
Aaah, how I enjoy my weekly lie-in on a Sunday morning, watching Charles' latest informative video with a nice cuppa. My weekly inspiration to get back out in the veg garden and do some work ! thanks for sharing all your hard work Charles, from Australia.
I swear that you could be a professor in regards to composting!! Love how you brake all the information down for beginners. Or at lest mean I understand it. Happy harvests and stay safe
What a lovely man. I love these videos. Thank You for getting us excited about working with nature and in harmony with the magnificent earth and its abundance and generosity to us. We need to be gentle and kind to the planet we occupy. It treats us better than we realize. Happy gardening. 🙏 🐝☘️🍁🥀🌾🍃
Brilliant, reminds me of my gran, she made her own compost for1/2 acre pot and I remember helping her turn the heaps but never found out her secrets so thank you for explaining it so well. Loved you on gardeners world last night, fantastic. Best wishes from Heather, Isle of Wight
Con tu técnica, he fabricado una compostera de 1 metro cubico hace un mes, gracias por tu orientación, me ha servido bastante para enamorarme del huerto, gracias por compartir tus conocimientos... gracias
Thank you for sharing! This helps me to fully understand the process. I am eternally grateful for the knowledge you share! It’s helped me to simplify my garden further
Thanks Charles I’m 79 and a first time gardener thanks to covid 19 and have had some success and many failures. I’ve built 4 pallet compost bins one being leaf mould. All are active to hot so will have compost by spring. I’ve enjoyed my new potatoes and have many juicy delicious tomatoe sandwiches. Plan to double my bins by building on the back of my present bins. What fun along with my kitty litter. Colin.
Excellent and comprehensive. Love the tips and myth busting. I work as a gardener so have my pick of other people’s waste! I often use a lawnmower to chop and collect hedge cuttings. They compost really fast with some grass cuttings and maybe shredded cardboard.
I am a compost addict. I have been watching videos about compost making for almost a year. I’m making my own compost and vermicompost. My family don’t throw things in the trash now :) I was picking up spoiled produce from markets and coffee grounds . But because of pandemic, they throwing it away now and don’t let me pick it up. I don’t have a land, I’m renting small house and farming in my backyard.
Oh Charles another brilliant video - I learn so much every time I watch your videos - I have a compost bed that has been going for nearly 6mths & am ready to use it tomorrow as it looks & smells great. Have a wonderful day. Thanks for teaching me so much !!!!!! Cheers Denise - Australia
Great vid as usual. You often mention that you shelter your compost from rain in the UK climate as it would get too wet. I am finally figuring out that in our very hot dry South European climate we do need to let rain in, and even trap moisture inside with some kind of plastic cover as it just dries out in the hot sun and decomposition stalls. Sometimes we even need to set it down with extra water, which I don't like as water is in short supply where I garden. So climate is definitely a factor to consider, what works in the UK may not work elsewhere the same.
Just made my 4 compost bins from untreated pellets and layered green waste and shredded paper ,mulched brown leaves ,green cut grass and kitchen waste,coffee grounds ,just need a lid on top and the process begins .... than you so much for the inspiration Charles,very grateful.
So just get your compost out of your own yard, this actually makes sense and i just learned something from you, thank you so much and you truly are the Magical Gardener!
I just put bindweed roots in my compost in a moment of complete reckless abandonment as I was just too tired and hot to separate it after harvesting potatoes. This guy is now my hero.
1, yes put rhubarb leaves in 2, don’t need to turn your heap.......this was music to my ears Charles.....THANK YOU‼️🙏 I definitely have compost envy! Great to see you on Gardeners World 👍😁
It's so true making compost is an art. The first year I made a composter full of stinky slimy sludge! I did finally figure it all out and it is so rewarding, now I compost everything.
Last year I did a huge amount of compost here in the uk this year I have used it to plant tomatoes, beans, marrow and they are flourishing like never before this is on London clay. Watering compost is totally different it’s like a thirsty beast but the plants don’t seem to mind at all if you forget to water I guess compost holds a lot of water compared to soil. I followed your previous videos and so glad I did. Keep up the good work.
@Charles Dowding Thank you for sharing you pure LOVE of organic gardening with us. As a novice gardener this Spring, you lectures are such a blessing and so supportive. God Bless You.
The message I get from all your videos is not to get hung up about getting everything "right". "Right" is just a limitation we pick up from other people's expectations early in life. Chill! Let it go! And enjoy everything you do a lot more as a result. The side-kick to that is other people will find you easier to get on with.
I do like your interpretation Peter and so agree. I was in awe for too long of others' expectations, and enjoy life more now, plus the garden and teaching go better 😀
One of these days I'm going to pay a visit. I've got mobility issues from radiotherapy I was given forty odd years ago, and probably won't make it until spring. Seeing your no-dig method has enabled me to restart my vegetable growing on a small scale, and I'm especially indebted to your relaxed approach because I find experts a turnoff. Clearly you enjoy great success with your growing, yet lack the pomposity of people who think they know it all and want to impress - and to make lots of pennies in the process.
I agree! His demeanor and voice make it really easy to watch his show and learn. I call him Dr. Humus, the incredible bio-oxidative decomposition master.
except for the part of taking in other peoples lawn scraps. You dont know what people put on their lawns these days. Roundup and other kinds of chemicals in your organic compost is not organic gardening anymore, this guy is a fraud
Yes...art, science and that lovely attitude that you, and surely all your team, constantly practice and, therefore, we can enjoy watching. Such a gift!
"Everything turns into compost in the end" :) Yes! That's exactly my feelings (and experience) too :) Nature knows exactly what to do, how, & when! ;) I just keep throwing things on and leave it to Her! :) Love this as always Charles :) and as I've said once before, I love it when you disagree with the rules and the shoulds & shouldn'ts :) Love your videos :)
Thank you for explaining so clearly how to make a good compost heap. Saw you on Gardeners World last night which included clips of a younger you with the legendary Geoff Hamilton. You're a great teacher. I'm learning so much. 🌿🏡🌳
Thank you! I've been adding diseased plants and those that went to seed, while attempting to get it hot. I thought it had to be hot to kill the viruses and seeds. In the past many years, I've only had slow cold heaps, it's a huge relief to think I could get away without the heat still :-)
Pretty much everything goes on my compost heap. All of my uncooked kitchen waste, cardboard, weeds, grass and my neighbour's laurel trimmings...after they been through the mower. I've recently started using diluted urine, watered on top. I've believe this adds heat.
I wish we were neighbors so I could see in person all these wonderful educational things you are showing and explaining. I sure enjoy watching and listening to your video. And, I LOVE your accent.
I Like to add fresh course ground seafood compost in a thin layer with a small bit of soil that has clay or needs improving to generate heat every 12 inches or so in the pile. I Also have a copper coil pipe running water thru the bottom of the pile to siphon off some heat and transfer it thru the pipe to my greenhouse to heat my seedling beds and also supplement my aquaculture tanks with heat during the winter months.
I used to go down on the shore here a couple of times a year after a summer storm when there's lots of seaweed washed up & fill the back of the truck with it. Left a while for the rain to wash off the salt, then into the compost bay in layers - I wonder if it counts as brown or green (bladderwrack & kelp mostly).
Friend of mine recommended this video; delighted to have taken a few minutes to watch it; I learned allot and hoping to improve my composting. Thank you for caring so much about the small things and taking the time to share. I really liked the dates notched up to mark the time when each pile was made and turned.
in my climate humidity is so high, I found 3 brown : 1 green is promising for better compost. don't know for sure, since I pretty new in gardening. need more trials. thank you so much Charles. always amazing information.
@@bobysuryayuliavera aku baru bgt sih gardening. bisa bgt salah. hahahaha. cuman kalo kebanyakan green jadi mushy dan bau. serius aku masih banyak belajar. coba2 terus. masalah kulit telur coba aku googling dulu ya. ini serius aku amatir bgt. LOL. maafkan kalo kurang membantu.
Great video, thanks Charles. I'm trying my hand at making my first compost at the moment, but it's winter in NZ so finding materials is slow going. I'll be ready to go come spring now I've seen your video.
Thank you Charles for taking the time to share your extensive knowledge and experience in something I have been grappling with for years! Your wonderfully calm, clear & well-informed delivery is a pleasure to listen to & v inspiring
Thanks for encouraging all of us to take chances with the things we have been told not to put in the heap! I have a bunch of weedy material around the garden and have been reluctant to add it. I'm going to take the chance and add it!
So encouraging for us nubees to receive of your experteez. I'm still experimenting with my 12 dump truck loads of cow manure in hay. Using saw dust, cardboard and rotten hay as browns. Garden wastes, trapped varmints that eat my crops and destroy my property and mowed grass for greens. Piles are tractor made, watered, trapped and turned. Using a 5 foot tractor tiller when turning for better air and composition. Will begin to experiment will carbon activators and bio char. I've planted my first two no till bed per your instructions and they are doing great. No weeds. Thank you.
I just got 7 birds From Tractor supply Woking on getting some Wood To Build a Coop. You provided me Alot of Knowledge. Didn’t think to build a stable style building to Store my composings. I didnt know you could Make compost without Birds. Your Videos Go a long way.
Mine is on a much smaller scale, only 3 bays, each one 1 by 1 meter, for my homegrown vegetable garden. I'm following your advices and it's been doing wonders. Growing beautiful vegs with NO DIG now. Thank you Mr Dowding !!
Большое спасибо! Ваш канал и вы вдохновили меня на постройку похожего компоста. И благодаря вам я понял ценность компоста и как его правильно готовить! Успехов вам и хороших урожаев!
I use a lot of livestock bedding in my compost, heard different things about how long manure needs to compost before being used in the garden (for preventing salmonella poisoning etc) would love some clarification on this.
Mae P I have local cow farms and goat keepers. I use used barn straw as mulch to start potatoes in the Spring. It keeps the cats out of the bed. When things warm up a bit and the plants are bigger I take it off and put it in compost or I put it as mulch around rose bushes. I’m in a climate that changes. Normally it’s cold and wet in the Spring, hot and humid in July and August. September it’s dryer but still hot. About October it starts cooling down and by November 1st we get first frost. The last two years that’s changed more like November 24th. I live near a creek so I get more insects and the creek creatures like raccoons. July and August I don’t like weeding because I get really large spiders and some snakes. Garters are no big deal but water snakes and bigger rat snakes are aggressive.
I add a lot of pig and chicken manure in my heap. I also add chicken, pig, deer, bear and fish entrails from my hunting and fishing trips, along with all kitchen wastes (meat, oils, veg, breads, etc.). Of course, I’m also adding weeds and garden clippings too. Because I could be (and likely am) introducing pathogens to my heap, I let it sit for a full 12 months untouched before using. This is probably longer than I need to, but I know it will be safe by the time I spread it.
@@xekorf interesting to see you use pig manure. I have my veg patch on old pig pens. I have just started making my own compost but have not used pig manure yet, even though i have pigs and they are not given hormones ect. I watch a tv show in Oz and he used pigs to turn over a patch and manure it. I find it odd about pig manure. Cows get viruses that transmit to people but no one worries about that in teas and manure piles. Good to see you giving it a go.
If your worried about pathogens in your compost, I would suggest adding one more step. Put manure worms in your finished compost, I doubt the hardiest of E coli could ever survive composting heat then vermi-composting. This is what I do, and all compost added to my garden is loaded with red wigglers. I have a very large pile of finished compost and and currently turning two piles with skid steer, one is still heating over 160 F and the other is 140 and cooling down. When the Compost starts to cool I''ll leave it close to the finished compost the worms will move in when ready. Soon will be starting a new compost pile. BTW, all this scare lately of infected food in our stores is from commercially raised food, which is always the problem. I haven't heard of any one becoming sick from food raised in small market gardeners.
@@peace4peaceful if you Google Joel Salatin, Poly Face Farms in US, he had cattle, chickens and pigs in rotation. The cattle eat the pasture, and trample out down, the chickens peck over the cow pats, spreading the manure and eating the insect larvae, breaking the insect cycle and the pigs are the tillers. High intensity, short period for each.
I am curious why you had your 1 month old turned heap covered in plastic when you have a roof. Please explain your reasoning for that. Thank you! Great video btw!
That was going to be my question too🙂 Charles do you cover when you have finished adding materials and leave it covered until used and, is this just in the summer? I concur with previous comments. Great, informative video. Thank you.
When I retire next year from electrical engineering, I am looking forward to becoming a backyard soil and farming engineer... Your videos are a great inspiration. Making compost as you described and also a worm farm are my next challenges in life, to be enjoyed. I love collecting stuff to feed the beast! :-)
Sometimes I think someone is playing with puppets behind the camera and Charles is just occasionally glancing over and laughing at them whilst he talks because of how his demeanor comes across lmao.
I started my first compost last year following Charles' advice; I may have turned it a couple of times and I"m amazed that it looks very similar to what is shown here. Since started two more. On further advice, I've stuck a small bucket in the loo to collect urine which I add daily too along with veg scraps and any plant waste. It's free compost at the end of the day and who can complain about that? Thank you Charles for starting me on my compost journey.
Charles, have you ever heard about Millipedes? I found a lot of difficulties on making compost with bacterial and fungal decomposition, and the Millipedes really helped me. A brasilian researcher called Maria Elizabeth Correia developed a kind of humus with these animals, and she call it "Gongocomposto".
That's a brilliant video for making good compost. I've gained lots of ideas from choosing the quantities and layering of various materials. Thank you Charles.
I loved the lawn mower footage Charles. Watching you throw your machine around the bushes and over the rough edges has made me feel far less guilty about how I handle my own, and about the cursing that often accompanies this activity. Mostly, advertising for grass cutting macines is shown on the easy straight and flat bits, but as you said, the mower is a great reducer of other problems as well, and it makes a great rubbish picker upper, too. I was going to write vacuum cleaner there, but I have stopped using that name in favour of the German 'Staubsauger,' literally dust sucker, because it is far more descriptive of what the machine actually does, so, is there a perhaps better name for the highly adaptable mower that honours the full range of its abilities.
SINCE COMPOSTING..... WE HAVE BECOME MUCH MORE CALM, RELAXED, AND FOCUSED !!!!!!! WHO KNEW THAT THERE COULD BE SO MANY PSYCHOLOGICAL BENEFITS IN A LOT OF PLANT MATTER, DIRT, AND CRAP !!!!!!!!
He never says like or subscribe and yada-yada press the notification yada-yada. Such a noble and gracious soul this man is. I rarely subscribe to channels on youtube but this one gets my subscription.
😀 thanks
@@CharlesDowding1nodig Exactly. He lets the videos do the talking. And people like and follow because the content is first rate.
I’m so in love with him! In a friendly garden loving way🌸
Haha yeah I instantly subbed
Yeah he's great, there's no hyperbole and the style is so chill. Exactly what the internet is missing!
I dream of compost. My friends laugh at me(nicely) because that is what i get for my birthday every year, a beautiful full dump truck load of mushroom compost. Best gift ever!
Love that Angela!
That would be the best birthday gift ever. I would love that. My life revolves around compost. Keep well.
Dear Mr Dowding, I absolutely adore every single video of yours. I'll soon be moving to the countryside and will have a much bigger garden and I cannot wait to re-watch all of your videos and put everything I've learned from you in practice. You are the most beautiful, knowledgeable, warm, absolutely legend of a man and we must protect you at all costs. Thank you ever so much for everything you're doing ♥️
Thankyou Diana, I wish you growing success!
This man is older and English. He's a humble Gardner, although he has proven and is one of the BEST gardeners in the world. Soak up his great knowledge.
Hope you are right 🥦
My son got house with land in Germany. I just shared this video. They know I admire your skills. His 2 year old is helping. Thank you Charles 😊. Helping generations 🙏🏽
Lovely to hear.
I love how relaxed you make these processes seem. Its nice to see such an uncomplicated view of the garden.
Have a nice day 👌🏻🙏🏻💯
Its sointeresting
You have a big storage
Well organize storage
Youhavemany resources to make compost
Hello İm a Turkish man interested in gardening. I dont understand most of your words but I can understand you because of your peaceful voice
Bunu duymak ne kadar güzel ve çok teşekkürler, size yardımcı olmaktan ve başarılar dilerim!
Same here and I’m from Newcastle! 😅
@@The19610211 I'm from Newcastle, Ontario, Canada and my great grandmother was from Newcastle, U.K. :)
Put on Closed Captions.
From one of those darn French Canadians that don't understand British accent, but love it nonetheless.
@@roweyurboat573 that's amazing
COMPOSTING HAS MADE US SO MOTIVATED, WE WORKED PULLING WEEDS IN 103 DEGREE HEAT TODAY !!!!!!! ALL WE KEPT THINKING ABOUT IS THAT THE MORE WEEDS WE PULL, THE MORE COMPOST WE CAN MAKE, THEREFORE THE LESS WEEDS WE HAVE TO PULL NEXT YEAR IN 103 DEGREE HEAT !!!!!!!
Charles Dowding is the epitome of "Stay Calm and Carry On".
Agree! He seems like a very happy calm guy. I like it. 😊
@@RagingRapunzel - I rather like the way he pauses to choose the right word he wants to say; reminds me of a long gone friend of mine.
I love listening to Charles. The world is a better place when he speaks.
Thanks Lisa
I got my local carpenter to build me a compost station like yours but with just 3 bays which we called the tram stop. It’s going gangbusters and I make sure I put in plenty of papers, straw etc. Its such a great thing to have rather than a cobbled frame made from pallets etc. it cost a bit but SO worth it. The neighbours were very curious about it but if I can get great compost, I’d say they’ll copy it. They were intrigued about the roof but I explained that air is vital and you don’t want the air pushed out by rainwater. Great video!
I really want a decent composting station. I got a little shitty one atm.
I've recently found an inexpensive carport. I've considered using it, but I am quite fond of this timber framed one.
FlowerGrower Smith I have compost but I put it in a chicken wire cage. It takes longer than his method.
those beams aren't cheap, that's for sure. He has some money tied up into that structure, hah.
@@julie4178 that's true. I'm Not being ungrateful
Mr Dowding, you have turned compost-making into a subtle art! I loved your debunking of common compost myths and hope one day to have a composting system as balanced and sustainable as yours!
So nice of youMohammad and I wish you success
@@CharlesDowding1nodigSehr gute Videos, aber leider fehlt die deutsche Übersetzung. Das wäre sehr schön.
Thank you Charles for the most comprehensive, thorough, no-nonsense explanation of composting. I am guilty of thinking most tasks on the allotment must be hard work, but clearly it doesn’t have to be that way. Cannot believe how much I enjoyed listening to you talk about rotting vegetation for 20 minutes!!
Glad it was helpful in your plotting!
His "and that is all good" at the end was lovely to listen to. You've got a fantastic voice to listen to Charles
Ah thanks :)
Thank you Mr Charles Dowding. I'm from Ghana and you've had a very big impact in my life... I'm most grateful
You are very welcome Francis, nice to hear
I don't know how you do it. Give so much information yet it seems you've simplified compost for me. Rock on.
Lovely to hear thanks
I had never even heard of watering your compost where I grew up because it's so humid. We moved to the desert last year and now I've found myself watering my compost all the time. Climate is everything!
Charles talking about compost? Instant thumb up! No-one has helped me more to heat up a compost heap than Charles and his advice.
Cool!!
Every time Charles makes a video it blows everything I thought I knew out of the window!
I'll stop turning my pile every 8 days now and just let it sit and toss on those weeds like they are going out of fashion!
I worked on a kibbutz as a student (many years ago) the main thrust of the economy was food production at all costs but at the outset (1950’s) there was a lady who grew flowers in her free time. She was ridiculed , folks said she was nuts but when the flowers appeared on everyone’s tables in the dining room grown ups were seen to cry only then understanding the value of both Thanks Charles
What a great thing and thanks for sharing such a lovely memory
Aaah, how I enjoy my weekly lie-in on a Sunday morning, watching Charles' latest informative video with a nice cuppa. My weekly inspiration to get back out in the veg garden and do some work ! thanks for sharing all your hard work Charles, from Australia.
I swear that you could be a professor in regards to composting!! Love how you brake all the information down for beginners. Or at lest mean I understand it. Happy harvests and stay safe
He’s already a master in all things gardening. 😁😁😁👌
@@aldix1578 haha he certainly is
Probably the best video I've seen about making compost. Thanks for sharing!
I don’t know why more people don’t compost it’s good exercise and cost nothing. Thanks for another great vid. Very helpful.
Brilliant! Only you can brighten up a wet Saturday morning with a discourse on compost. Will be turning my neglected compost heap tomorrow!
Nothing as satisfying as good compost, when it's good I say ' it's that good you can put it on your toast.'
Buckets are so underrated. You should do a video on the gardeners need for buckets.
Love this, and such a romantic video title 💚!
You can’t have too many buckets. Also milk crates you can stand on them, sit on them, and carry things in them. A wonderful invention.
What a lovely man. I love these videos. Thank You for getting us excited about working with nature and in harmony with the magnificent earth and its abundance and generosity to us. We need to be gentle and kind to the planet we occupy. It treats us better than we realize. Happy gardening. 🙏 🐝☘️🍁🥀🌾🍃
Many thanks Bernadette
Brilliant, reminds me of my gran, she made her own compost for1/2 acre pot and I remember helping her turn the heaps but never found out her secrets so thank you for explaining it so well. Loved you on gardeners world last night, fantastic. Best wishes from Heather, Isle of Wight
Con tu técnica, he fabricado una compostera de 1 metro cubico hace un mes, gracias por tu orientación, me ha servido bastante para enamorarme del huerto, gracias por compartir tus conocimientos... gracias
¡Qué lindo leer esto, y felicitaciones, también me hace feliz!
Thank you for sharing! This helps me to fully understand the process. I am eternally grateful for the knowledge you share! It’s helped me to simplify my garden further
Thanks Charles I’m 79 and a first time gardener thanks to covid 19 and have had some success and many failures. I’ve built 4 pallet compost bins one being leaf mould. All are active to hot so will have compost by spring. I’ve enjoyed my new potatoes and have many juicy delicious tomatoe sandwiches. Plan to double my bins by building on the back of my present bins. What fun along with my kitty litter. Colin.
Good stuff Colin, very satisfying
Excellent and comprehensive. Love the tips and myth busting. I work as a gardener so have my pick of other people’s waste! I often use a lawnmower to chop and collect hedge cuttings. They compost really fast with some grass cuttings and maybe shredded cardboard.
I am a compost addict. I have been watching videos about compost making for almost a year. I’m making my own compost and vermicompost. My family don’t throw things in the trash now :) I was picking up spoiled produce from markets and coffee grounds . But because of pandemic, they throwing it away now and don’t let me pick it up. I don’t have a land, I’m renting small house and farming in my backyard.
That is awesome Natalya, well done.
Odd that they now throw it away, there is a paranoia about Covid!
Oh Charles another brilliant video - I learn so much every time I watch your videos - I have a compost bed that has been going for nearly 6mths & am ready to use it tomorrow as it looks & smells great. Have a wonderful day. Thanks for teaching me so much !!!!!! Cheers Denise - Australia
You hit the nail on the head with regard to the confusion of brown and green. Nice explanation -- cleared it up nicely. Thanks!
Glad it was helpful Jeff 😀
Great vid as usual. You often mention that you shelter your compost from rain in the UK climate as it would get too wet. I am finally figuring out that in our very hot dry South European climate we do need to let rain in, and even trap moisture inside with some kind of plastic cover as it just dries out in the hot sun and decomposition stalls. Sometimes we even need to set it down with extra water, which I don't like as water is in short supply where I garden. So climate is definitely a factor to consider, what works in the UK may not work elsewhere the same.
CSGOWoes true. We all have to work with what we have where we are. Seattle sends you rain!
Just made my 4 compost bins from untreated pellets and layered green waste and shredded paper ,mulched brown leaves ,green cut grass and kitchen waste,coffee grounds ,just need a lid on top and the process begins .... than you so much for the inspiration Charles,very grateful.
Nice work! Sounds really good
So just get your compost out of your own yard, this actually makes sense and i just learned something from you, thank you so much and you truly are the Magical Gardener!
@@growingwithfungi Thank you North Coast Organic, sending much love your way all the way to Ireland, which someday I hope to visit!
After obsessing over your videos and information, I understand your compost to be central to the life of your garden. You're so good at making it.
I wish I could give more than one like, sadly I cannot.
Gotcha covered
you're not alone friend
here to help
You can share :)
I just put bindweed roots in my compost in a moment of complete reckless abandonment as I was just too tired and hot to separate it after harvesting potatoes. This guy is now my hero.
How lovely Gwynn 😀
1, yes put rhubarb leaves in
2, don’t need to turn your heap.......this was music to my ears Charles.....THANK YOU‼️🙏
I definitely have compost envy!
Great to see you on Gardeners World 👍😁
You are so welcome Lynn
It's so true making compost is an art. The first year I made a composter full of stinky slimy sludge! I did finally figure it all out and it is so rewarding, now I compost everything.
Last year I did a huge amount of compost here in the uk this year I have used it to plant tomatoes, beans, marrow and they are flourishing like never before this is on London clay. Watering compost is totally different it’s like a thirsty beast but the plants don’t seem to mind at all if you forget to water I guess compost holds a lot of water compared to soil.
I followed your previous videos and so glad I did. Keep up the good work.
You know when Charles drops a video...it's going to be a good day.
Absolute legend❤
Haha thanks :)
I love how simple you keep this process! Thank you!
@Charles Dowding Thank you for sharing you pure LOVE of organic gardening with us. As a novice gardener this Spring, you lectures are such a blessing and so supportive. God Bless You.
Wonderful, thanks
Love compost and I love making it. Thanks for sharing.
The message I get from all your videos is not to get hung up about getting everything "right". "Right" is just a limitation we pick up from other people's expectations early in life. Chill! Let it go! And enjoy everything you do a lot more as a result. The side-kick to that is other people will find you easier to get on with.
I do like your interpretation Peter and so agree. I was in awe for too long of others' expectations, and enjoy life more now, plus the garden and teaching go better 😀
One of these days I'm going to pay a visit. I've got mobility issues from radiotherapy I was given forty odd years ago, and probably won't make it until spring. Seeing your no-dig method has enabled me to restart my vegetable growing on a small scale, and I'm especially indebted to your relaxed approach because I find experts a turnoff. Clearly you enjoy great success with your growing, yet lack the pomposity of people who think they know it all and want to impress - and to make lots of pennies in the process.
@@PeterBrodie hope to meet you Peter though time is short
He has much Peace and Knowledge
💯
Diego Martin Pintos
Yes! I find I gain as much from his calm, yet joyful, delivery as I do from the wealth of knowledge that he delivers.
I agree! His demeanor and voice make it really easy to watch his show and learn. I call him Dr. Humus, the incredible bio-oxidative decomposition master.
@@johnbrzenksforearm8295 haha 👌🏻
except for the part of taking in other peoples lawn scraps. You dont know what people put on their lawns these days. Roundup and other kinds of chemicals in your organic compost is not organic gardening anymore, this guy is a fraud
Yes...art, science and that lovely attitude that you, and surely all your team, constantly practice and, therefore, we can enjoy watching. Such a gift!
Thanks so much Beatriz
"Everything turns into compost in the end" :) Yes! That's exactly my feelings (and experience) too :) Nature knows exactly what to do, how, & when! ;) I just keep throwing things on and leave it to Her! :) Love this as always Charles :) and as I've said once before, I love it when you disagree with the rules and the shoulds & shouldn'ts :) Love your videos :)
Thankyou Mary
The construction on your compost bays is beautiful. I am definately taking notes and you're helping me plan out my own garden. Many thanks 🇮🇪
You can do it!
Thank you for explaining so clearly how to make a good compost heap. Saw you on Gardeners World last night which included clips of a younger you with the legendary Geoff Hamilton. You're a great teacher. I'm learning so much. 🌿🏡🌳
Beautiful video. Very happily watch 23 minutes on composting!
Thank you for yet another informative and just plain lovely clip. You're the best! Also great job Edward!
Lovely to hear all your birds singing.
Thank you! I've been adding diseased plants and those that went to seed, while attempting to get it hot. I thought it had to be hot to kill the viruses and seeds. In the past many years, I've only had slow cold heaps, it's a huge relief to think I could get away without the heat still :-)
Your videos are very informative Charles. Thanks! I'm a Farm foreman at an Organic farm in Zambia and this has been quite helpful.
Great to hear, amazing how the videos reach so far.
I was in Zambia, in 1991, learnt a lot about the differences to here in climate and growing!
Another wonderful lesson, thank you. A friend of mine chips his kitchen greens in the food processor, esp brasica.
I can watch compost videos all day. It is even better when made by you, sir. Peacefull yet educational. God bless.
So nice of you WIlliam
Pretty much everything goes on my compost heap. All of my uncooked kitchen waste, cardboard, weeds, grass and my neighbour's laurel trimmings...after they been through the mower. I've recently started using diluted urine, watered on top. I've believe this adds heat.
I wish we were neighbors so I could see in person all these wonderful educational things you are showing and explaining. I sure enjoy watching and listening to your video. And, I LOVE your accent.
I Like to add fresh course ground seafood compost in a thin layer with a small bit of soil that has clay or needs improving to generate heat every 12 inches or so in the pile. I Also have a copper coil pipe running water thru the bottom of the pile to siphon off some heat and transfer it thru the pipe to my greenhouse to heat my seedling beds and also supplement my aquaculture tanks with heat during the winter months.
That’s ingenious!
I used to go down on the shore here a couple of times a year after a summer storm when there's lots of seaweed washed up & fill the back of the truck with it. Left a while for the rain to wash off the salt, then into the compost bay in layers - I wonder if it counts as brown or green (bladderwrack & kelp mostly).
More green than brown I reckon
Great tip!
Friend of mine recommended this video; delighted to have taken a few minutes to watch it; I learned allot and hoping to improve my composting. Thank you for caring so much about the small things and taking the time to share. I really liked the dates notched up to mark the time when each pile was made and turned.
Sounds promising Daryl, and thanks
in my climate humidity is so high, I found 3 brown : 1 green is promising for better compost. don't know for sure, since I pretty new in gardening. need more trials. thank you so much Charles. always amazing information.
Where are you, if you don't mind me asking?
@@laceysnursery5080 in Indonesia.
@@lukibenjamin741 Will be right there!
3 brown banyak ya. Kulit telur termasuk brown?
@@bobysuryayuliavera aku baru bgt sih gardening. bisa bgt salah. hahahaha. cuman kalo kebanyakan green jadi mushy dan bau. serius aku masih banyak belajar. coba2 terus. masalah kulit telur coba aku googling dulu ya. ini serius aku amatir bgt. LOL. maafkan kalo kurang membantu.
He is in such good shape and looks healthy and happy! That’s what eating whAt you grow and working hard does! Great video
Many thanks
Great video, thanks Charles. I'm trying my hand at making my first compost at the moment, but it's winter in NZ so finding materials is slow going. I'll be ready to go come spring now I've seen your video.
Thank you Charles for taking the time to share your extensive knowledge and experience in something I have been grappling with for years! Your wonderfully calm, clear & well-informed delivery is a pleasure to listen to & v inspiring
Glad it was helpful!
It's a big green lasagna! Great information to improve my compost pile.
Thanks for encouraging all of us to take chances with the things we have been told not to put in the heap! I have a bunch of weedy material around the garden and have been reluctant to add it. I'm going to take the chance and add it!
Ah good!!
I'm off to tend my heap. Thanks Charles.
So encouraging for us nubees to receive of your experteez. I'm still experimenting with my 12 dump truck loads of cow manure in hay. Using saw dust, cardboard and rotten hay as browns. Garden wastes, trapped varmints that eat my crops and destroy my property and mowed grass for greens. Piles are tractor made, watered, trapped and turned. Using a 5 foot tractor tiller when turning for better air and composition. Will begin to experiment will carbon activators and bio char. I've planted my first two no till bed per your instructions and they are doing great. No weeds. Thank you.
Wow larger scale! Sounds excellent and thanks for your feedback.
Sounds like you've definitely got enough to set up some windrows
That's the great thing about North Australia, compost's will be hot no matter the size.
And also a great place for wildlife to lay eggs, if you want to help out your local population.
Was good seeing you on Gardeners World, Charles! TEAM NO DIG!
Ah thanks. We shall be offering tee shirts printed with exactly that phrase!
That was really helpful Charles even for me with two council plastic bins. I’m not filling mine enough.
I just got 7 birds From Tractor supply Woking on getting some Wood To Build a Coop. You provided me Alot of Knowledge. Didn’t think to build a stable style building to Store my composings. I didnt know you could Make compost without Birds. Your Videos Go a long way.
Good luck with birds and building!
I aspire to be like Charles. Wonderful information.
Mine is on a much smaller scale, only 3 bays, each one 1 by 1 meter, for my homegrown vegetable garden. I'm following your advices and it's been doing wonders. Growing beautiful vegs with NO DIG now. Thank you Mr Dowding !!
That is awesome Nelson, thanks for feedback
I put everything through the shredder now to increase the surface area an speed up the breakdown process.
What kind of shredder do u have Ed? If u don’t mind me asking.... is it a farm tool or can anyone get one?
I'm doing research for my school project. And this video really helped me. I just wanted to thank you!
You're so welcome!
Compost is really free. Cause waste you would of normally thrown away, is put in to make a product that gives more life to something else
*have! "Would h-a-v-e".....why do you do this?
@@fatdad64able you could understand the comment so why try to belittle. It isn't nice be kind
@@fatdad64able colloquialism
The world would be a boring place if you and Anton ran it.
Большое спасибо! Ваш канал и вы вдохновили меня на постройку похожего компоста. И благодаря вам я понял ценность компоста и как его правильно готовить! Успехов вам и хороших урожаев!
Это приятно слышать Анджело и спасибо за ваш отзыв
I use a lot of livestock bedding in my compost, heard different things about how long manure needs to compost before being used in the garden (for preventing salmonella poisoning etc) would love some clarification on this.
Mae P I have local cow farms and goat keepers. I use used barn straw as mulch to start potatoes in the Spring. It keeps the cats out of the bed. When things warm up a bit and the plants are bigger I take it off and put it in compost or I put it as mulch around rose bushes. I’m in a climate that changes. Normally it’s cold and wet in the Spring, hot and humid in July and August. September it’s dryer but still hot. About October it starts cooling down and by November 1st we get first frost. The last two years that’s changed more like November 24th. I live near a creek so I get more insects and the creek creatures like raccoons. July and August I don’t like weeding because I get really large spiders and some snakes. Garters are no big deal but water snakes and bigger rat snakes are aggressive.
I add a lot of pig and chicken manure in my heap. I also add chicken, pig, deer, bear and fish entrails from my hunting and fishing trips, along with all kitchen wastes (meat, oils, veg, breads, etc.). Of course, I’m also adding weeds and garden clippings too. Because I could be (and likely am) introducing pathogens to my heap, I let it sit for a full 12 months untouched before using. This is probably longer than I need to, but I know it will be safe by the time I spread it.
@@xekorf interesting to see you use pig manure. I have my veg patch on old pig pens. I have just started making my own compost but have not used pig manure yet, even though i have pigs and they are not given hormones ect.
I watch a tv show in Oz and he used pigs to turn over a patch and manure it.
I find it odd about pig manure. Cows get viruses that transmit to people but no one worries about that in teas and manure piles.
Good to see you giving it a go.
If your worried about pathogens in your compost, I would suggest adding one more step. Put manure worms in your finished compost, I doubt the hardiest of E coli could ever survive composting heat then vermi-composting. This is what I do, and all compost added to my garden is loaded with red wigglers. I have a very large pile of finished compost and and currently turning two piles with skid steer, one is still heating over 160 F and the other is 140 and cooling down. When the Compost starts to cool I''ll leave it close to the finished compost the worms will move in when ready.
Soon will be starting a new compost pile.
BTW, all this scare lately of infected food in our stores is from commercially raised food, which is always the problem. I haven't heard of any one becoming sick from food raised in small market gardeners.
@@peace4peaceful if you Google Joel Salatin, Poly Face Farms in US, he had cattle, chickens and pigs in rotation. The cattle eat the pasture, and trample out down, the chickens peck over the cow pats, spreading the manure and eating the insect larvae, breaking the insect cycle and the pigs are the tillers. High intensity, short period for each.
At 12:48 ! My Heart started to race!! Hands and chopping machinery!
I am curious why you had your 1 month old turned heap covered in plastic when you have a roof. Please explain your reasoning for that. Thank you! Great video btw!
To keep it's moisture in!!
That was going to be my question too🙂 Charles do you cover when you have finished adding materials and leave it covered until used and, is this just in the summer? I concur with previous comments. Great, informative video. Thank you.
@@tannerqgm Not always but yes in dry weather the plastic helps. Occasionally it encourages rats, then I remove it!
When I retire next year from electrical engineering, I am looking forward to becoming a backyard soil and farming engineer... Your videos are a great inspiration. Making compost as you described and also a worm farm are my next challenges in life, to be enjoyed. I love collecting stuff to feed the beast! :-)
Best of luck Tibor, what a fine project
Sometimes I think someone is playing with puppets behind the camera and Charles is just occasionally glancing over and laughing at them whilst he talks because of how his demeanor comes across lmao.
Nice thought, thanks!
@@CharlesDowding1nodig Don't ever change, Charles! :)
I started my first compost last year following Charles' advice; I may have turned it a couple of times and I"m amazed that it looks very similar to what is shown here. Since started two more. On further advice, I've stuck a small bucket in the loo to collect urine which I add daily too along with veg scraps and any plant waste. It's free compost at the end of the day and who can complain about that? Thank you Charles for starting me on my compost journey.
How good to read this! And yes, any urine is free and beneficial, there is a book called Liquid Gold, all about it, by Carol Steinfeld
@@CharlesDowding1nodig Thanks for the advice Charles! I ordered Liquid Gold through a 2nd hand bookshop and it arrived today!
@@hkeenan1000 Great
Charles, have you ever heard about Millipedes? I found a lot of difficulties on making compost with bacterial and fungal decomposition, and the Millipedes really helped me.
A brasilian researcher called Maria Elizabeth Correia developed a kind of humus with these animals, and she call it "Gongocomposto".
How cute!
Millipedes arrive in mine when it cools, and also in piles of woody material. I like them.
Thank you so much, I learn and learn and learn from your videos. Love that you de-bunk the foolish myths...
My pleasure Suzanne 💚
I wish Charles was my uncle.
And I wish Charles was my father
That's a brilliant video for making good compost.
I've gained lots of ideas from choosing the quantities and layering of various materials. Thank you Charles.
Glad it was helpful Derek
I loved the lawn mower footage Charles. Watching you throw your machine around the bushes and over the rough edges has made me feel far less guilty about how I handle my own, and about the cursing that often accompanies this activity. Mostly, advertising for grass cutting macines is shown on the easy straight and flat bits, but as you said, the mower is a great reducer of other problems as well, and it makes a great rubbish picker upper, too.
I was going to write vacuum cleaner there, but I have stopped using that name in favour of the German 'Staubsauger,' literally dust sucker, because it is far more descriptive of what the machine actually does, so, is there a perhaps better name for the highly adaptable mower that honours the full range of its abilities.
Haha, I have a love hate relationship with my mower 😂
SINCE COMPOSTING..... WE HAVE BECOME MUCH MORE CALM, RELAXED, AND FOCUSED !!!!!!! WHO KNEW THAT THERE COULD BE SO MANY PSYCHOLOGICAL BENEFITS IN A LOT OF PLANT MATTER, DIRT, AND CRAP !!!!!!!!
Deep thoughts and so right!
For someone that composts 6 ton years, you’ve got to know what your doing sir.
After watching your earlier videos about composting, I finally got motivated to build mine. It's up and running, and good and hot.
Good to hear!
Charles Dowding adds a pile of brown every chance he gets.
I dont get it?
haha
@@ElderandOakFarm It's a double entendre
for tossing in 'browns' for the heap (sticks, soil). He could also mean dukey. Get it?
I could listen to you for hours. Great video and explanation of composting. Definitely need to buy a garden shredder.
Glad it was helpful