I too have noted the lack of cabbage white butterflies, great for my cabbages but overriding concern for the lack of 🧐 Research has showed me that we tend to have ebb & flow in terms of insect populations and also the wet winter and spring may be a contributing factor. Fingers crossed that our collective efforts to provide habitat and safe havens for our little pollinating friends amounts to success for them… and us 🙏🏼🌀💚 Also, thank you for mentioning the abomination that is man made clouds 😡 I’ve been highlighting and campaigning against this crime against humanity for a decade. We’ve gone from complete denial and accusations of “conspiracy theory” to blind acceptance. It’s very concerning. Thank you Charles 🙌🏽💚 you are a beacon and I adore you 💋
Could it be, and i'm spit balling here. The fact that with it being so late in plants growing that the wildlife is also late in arriving? TBH, I have an allotment' and i've seen quite a few cabbage whites. Although later than usual, they're starting to arrive.
Thanks so much. And we can only hope that the insects recover. I wish I could see some warmth when looking at the synoptic chart. The jet stream is behaving unusually to say the least and is very weak.
Spot on, HAARP and chemtrails are a disgrace. You just gotta look at the rainwater lab results of what's in it, tells you what they are spraying us with as none of it especially the highest being aluminium, is naturally found in nature, they are MAN MADE.
they wher out today full force in leeds , was wafting them out of the green house , lol , omg i never thought it would happen haha x but tbh they can bugger off lol :P
Hello Mr. Dowding, I am new here and saw you meet Jessica Sowards and it was quite amazing seeing you both interact. So, I look forward to checking out your channel. Thanks for hoping over the pond to homesteading get togethers. Have a great weekend! 😀🌻
Your bloopers make me laugh. "Giant Sarcophagus." I also love your "crikey!" when you find something alarming or disappointing in the garden. I love your videos. ❤
Growers are the canary in the coal mine. Similar conditions in my plot as yours Charles. I know some folk simply are unable to grok what is happening in plain sight. Many thanks again
I am in Michigan, USA. I have struggled to grow decent root crops this year, for the first time. I grow in raised beds, and fertilize like normal. Very unpredictable results!
Same for me. Put my true and tested seeds into the dirt as always…and nothing. Only the early garlic that’s given a normal harvest. But the cherries and plums make up for it with bumper crops (Stockholm, Sweden). So yeah..difficult.
I'm all the way in Pennsylvania. I have noticed less butterflies and honey bees, slow growing plants, less success in seed germination while direct sowing, and that our growing season seems to be "off" in general. It's almost like it has been pushed forward. Definitely very concerning and thank you for bringing up the clouds. Not enough people looking up at the skies to notice.
Thanks for sharing, it's worrying. I think that the stuff they are putting in the sky acts like a greenhouse gas, so ironic! Here, I noticed that when the sun shines, although it's whiter and weaker, the heat builds up more quickly.
@@CharlesDowding1nodig sorry, who is putting stuff in the sky? What stuff are they putting in the sky? Have the public been informed about this? I obviously haven't been following the news closely enough! I deleted my news app after the horrendous covid coverage 😂
Thanks to this video Charles, I know the difference between old age and late blight in potatoes. So I let my potatoes grow some more. Till this morning I noticed suddenly black spots had appeared on the leaves and it goes really fast! So i pulled the plant (very small garden) and harvested 1kilo of beautiful taties.🙏
Thank you so much for your videos Charles. I'm in Cornwall and it's been the most challenging year for growing I've ever had. Nothing much apart from brassica have germinated and grown normally. I'd use stuck in place of slow to describe my seedlings growth this year, to the extent that at one point earlier in the season I was just so at my witts end I nearly binned the lot! After nursing and pricking out tiny plants and changing composts etc, some did eventually fully grow into edible vegetables, many more didn't. I have a big table covered in sad tiny little specimens now. I'd normally be rushed trying to keep up with seedlings to prick out and modules to get in the soil at this time of year, nothing doing😢... its keeping me awake at night worrying about why this is happening now, it must be climate change ? All I do know is its affecting me deep.. we gardeners being so connected at hand and heart level with nature . Your videos are a big help to me. THANKYOU❤ 21:39
I hadn't thought about it much, but I normally see loads of swallow tail butterflies on my zinnias, and have seen very few this year. We've had alot of honeybees, bumblebees, and wasps as pollinators, but not many butterflies. Thanks for sharing a tour with us when we know you're so very busy. I need to go soak cucumbers in salt brine for pickling. Blessings to you!
Interesting, inbHungary everything was waaay sooner (2-3 weeks) then 'normal'/age old folk observations! (well, except the things I sowed too late to begin with 🤪😆)
@@CharlesDowding1nodig awwww Charles, it’s great we can learn from everyone from here and afar. I’ve out grown my small back garden and now have an allotment. Looking forward to more tips …. Happy Growing xx
Interesting tour..I’m in Atlantic Canada, zone 5B and many of the issues you describe are happening here…sparse strawberries, slow growth, even my nettles are poorly?? cold spring, poor performance for squashes, lots of slug damage, lots of lady bugs…yet virtually no worms!! Last year the garden and compost were loaded; this year next to nothing. 🤔 and just a few white butterflies; good performance on greens, blue cabbage are forming heads…usually doesn’t happen until end of August-September. And I’m with you on the creepy clouds. Been noticing it for years… Oh and I forgot to mention no mosquitos.
What you have described is exactly what we are experiencing in the UK. Virtually no worms, slugs everywhere, barely any strawberries, slow growth on everything.
LOVE hearing you've grown potatoes in the same location for 10 years. Due to space limitations, I've been growing in the same location for 4 years. In the Fall I top the mound with dry leaves, dry grasa clippings and cow manure. In the Spring I planted a cover crop and the greens are the healthieat I've ever had. Harvest ia still a ways away so we'll see how this season did.
You have fans in Uruguay too!love seeing your garden and your cat!Lets all visualize the earth restoring its natural balance,natural insects and clouds and sunshine.sending gratitude and love
I'm quite sure the slugs most people have been seeing this year are the Spanish slug variety (Arion Vulgaris). They were back out again in the last few days with the recent rain and theyu've been destroying things normal slugs don't usually touch - I've even seen them chewing the base of well established sunflowers and toppling them. Weirdly they didn't touch my celery at all but wiped out all my celeriac.
They are indeed horrible, but it's not true that they are the only slugs eating or the main one. They're not around in the spring and damage has been happening every month, even in winter. Little grey ones are bad and so are the little black keel slugs, to name just two. And snails.
❤ Thank you for the tour! I’m done in the garden today so sitting down to fill herbal tea bags from my home grown herbs while watching. I cleaned out a bed of lilies that had died off and sowed beets plus comfrey today. I sowed parsley in pots too. Dinner tonight has home grown potatoes and green beans. I just love picking fresh! Thank you for all the knowledge you share!!! 😊
Thank you Charles for acknowledging what we have discussed on Geo Engineering , we are now into mid July and its still wet and cold . Us growers must work together on this . Im currently submitting a freedom of information request on where and how often the Government are cloud seeding in the Uk
Maybe do some active research on this. If the FOI says there isn't any cloud seeding, presumably all the conspiracy theorists will assume they're lying.
So so excited to see you and Jess finally meet at the McMurray Fest on her SM posts! I loved having Jess come to our PNW in ID for the Modern Homesteading Conference and getting extra special time with her. Hope to meet you someday also! Love your sincere gentle way of sharing your depth of experienced knowledge among your beautiful gardens!
Greetings Charles, I'm so glad you got to experience summer in South Carolina. If you wanted to feel real heat, stop by Central Florida the next time. ❤ Your Garden Tour is wonderful ❤ ❤Peggy❤
Excellent video. I am on the South Coast of the Isle of Wight and have had all the same issues as yourself. As you have had a lifetime of experience and a master of what you do this has made me feel a lot better. Thank you.
I live in TX and I have had plenty of all kinds of bugs, butterflies, slugs, caterpillars, bees, wasps, mosquitos, well everything. My zinnias and sunflowers went crazy. my cucumbers did not do great and neither did my tomatoes. However I didn't try that hard either.
HI Charles! Thanks for such a great video with so much invaluable information! I'm wondering if you have any resources for how to use your sowing calendar in a different climate? I just bought a house in Northern Italy and we have over 20C every night right now, with 32 in the day, so planting beetroot and cabbage just seems a bit too early in this seemingly never ending heat, but maybe I'm wrong? Or maybe it's just me wanting plant summer veggies because I prefer them haha!
Nice to hear, and for sure I recommend in warmer climates to sow at least a month later during July and August, and in Spring about the same because cold snaps can happen at any time really, in between the warmer spells you will enjoy.
Lovely garden tour. Thank you. The team did a great job whilst you were away. My melons are around 6 inches high if that makes you feel better. 😂 I’ve noticed a distinct lack of butterflies (with the exception of the copious flutters of scarlet tiger moth), nor lacewings, hover flies, dragon flies or parasitic wasps. Bees were around earlier this summer then only seen bumblebees since. Until yesterday !!! Oh my goodness….Garden absolutely smothered in everything. As if they had all emerged in one go. Not so many today. Well…. Nothing like compared to yesterday which was an amazing sight to see. No cabbage whites yet though. So glad you and Jess finally met up. Little Benjamin will be chuffed to bits you mentioned his mum. Lovely family.
Thanks, and that's interesting about the sudden arrival of many insects, and @lucybarnard3954 says lack of warmth is reducing their flight possibilities
Everything starts in module trays here- even the cat? 😂 Always wonderful Charles, and such a fantastic thing for us to see you and Jess Sowards together finally.
My Garlic hasn't vernalised this year due to the mild winter so the bulbs haven't formed for the first time ever. So Winter's arent cold enough and Summer's aren't warm enough. We're in a sorry state.😢
Don't feel too bad ,I have unseasonable heat for weeks , 95-100 degrees F and drought, in Idaho U.S. Normal summer high was 85 degrees f. This causes a different set of problems to scramble to contend with.
@@CharlesDowding1nodig I think I made a mistake in chopping it back too quickly about 3 weeks ago. I've not seen many bees since. For a while there were loads of bees. A neighbouring plot holder is a bee keeper. I must ask him how his bees are doing when I see him. I'm sadly ignorant about the types of bees. Last year I had an absolute explosion of wasps. Completely decimated my fruit trees, although the pears and plums were really bad last year anyway round here. No one had good fruit. This year the fruit trees are laden...but it could still all go horribly wrong! The lack of insects is a bit spooky. I'm not short of voles and moles though. I keep collecting the mounds of earth!
Hi Charles, I found this channel through Jess at Roots and Refuge. Isn't she special! I can't wait to watch your videos. I myself was born in the UK but have lived in Canada for many, many years. I remember my Granddad having a back garden with rabbits and chickens as well as veg. Currently I don't have a garden but do container gardening on my balcony which is limited but something at least and its own kind of issues. Well, I'm to subscribe and start watching! Linda, Quebec city, Canada
Oh my Charles how I would love to have your weather right now. Where I live in the deep south of the United States it's in the upper 90's F 35.5 C with 80% humidity. I lived in South Wales and loved the summers, but winters not so much because it rained every day. When it wasn't raining water, it was raining ice.
Ha, I live in Pembrokeshire and we're just preparing to emigrate to the US... most likely somewhere in the 'deep south' area too. We're looking at Iowa and Florida atm. Any tips? ;)
@@ashmash1934 if you don't mind sweating profusely just walking the dog at 7AM anywhere in the deep south is perfect. But the people down here are hospitable and friendly. Most every home here has more than one gun for hunting and self defense . Many churches as we are the Bible Belt and most of us do believe in the golden rule, but not all there's always a few bad apples. Iowa is a great place to grow food and experience tornados, but winters there are pretty harsh. Florida gets both tornados and hurricanes , but so does Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi , Louisiana and Texas. South Florida is more like New York as it's made up of mostly transplanted yanks from the north, northwest Florida has the community feel like most southern states. Take my advice and live rural or small town, it's very laid back and a bit dull for the young folks lol.
@@Maria-ql3fc Aw, thank you so much Maria, that's some great info. I'm all for the guns and church! Traditional conservative Christian values is where I want to be for sure. The heat, extreme winters and the tornados are a little scary, but I think it'll be worth it. And yes 100% we will be somewhere rural. I grew up in London and I hate cities. Perhaps NW Florida then. I do like DeSantis and it seems to have most of what we're looking for. Thanks so much for the tips!
Another great video 👌 It is comforting to see that we are not alone struggling with the weather. Personally I lost most of my tomatoes, squash and my garlic started to rot in the ground due to excess moisture. I'm trying my best to adapt my sowings to the weather conditions. Thanks for your videos and your support 👍
Everything is looking really good Charles!💪 I haven't seen any butterflies this year neither😢, I've got plenty of bees though(several species)😀 I've learnt so much information/tips and tricks from you, I've been putting everything I've learnt into practice and everything is looking good, Thank you 😊 Keep up with the great content, Happy growing!🌱
I moved house and havent got my garden sorted yet- hoping to start growing more veg soon. But I've noticed in my little front garden (in Somerset) that I'm getting more honeybees this year. I have a pale lilac Campanula that was smothered in flowers in May/June and attracted lots of bees, and now my lavender has taken over. I'm deliberately trying to introduce more bee friendly plants. But I also havent seen any cabbage white butterflies, and in fact hardly any butterflies since I moved from the more urban end of my town to this more rural end, which is worrying. I'm enjoying seeing all your garden tours. I havent grown veg for some time, but am keen to get back into having a veg plot again. 🦋🐝🌻
That is encouraging at least. I have phacelia here, which always has bees, and indeed there have been some this year, but many less than normal, while butterflies appeared yesterday!
Dear Mr.Dowding, thank you very much for your sharing of your excellent farming experience. I have learned a lot from your digging techniques. I special like your compost huts and wonder if you can share how to make them pls? Thank you and best regards, Helen Chen
I saw Jessica’s video where she t you in real life. She was absolutely so excited about meeting you. If you are her garden mentor then I surely wanted to check your channel out because she has been my garden Mentor
Seems you've inspired a lot of people and changed many lives Charles! 🙂 Thank you! I have seen a couple of cabbage whites, so we'd best be on our guard.
Lovely video!!! Beautiful garden, even with challenges! So fun that you and Jess Sowards met!!! Like many here, you two are absolute favorites of mine!!! Hoping that in the future you can do the energy gardening as a online class. Sounds very interesting! Thanks for your info & insights Charles!!!
Hi Charles sir, I was so happy to see you and Jess in one video you are by far my best TH-camrs and yourself and Paul Guatchi are my best no dig gardeners. I was so disappointed when your tour to South Africa was canceled 2years ago and I was so prepared and delighted to meet my garden hero but alas😢😢. Hopefully you will still plan to visit our lovely country and spread your knowledge and experience live. I would be there in a heart beat. Please never stop sharing your good work, we appreciate you so much all the way in the southern tip of the hemisphere 😊😊 fingers crossed for visit soon😂😂😂
Thanks so much for freely giving the knowledge and the pioneering of no dig. Its incredibly reassuring in this bugger of a year. Im bringing my cherry bomb chillies and cucumbers in pots inside my house every sodding night like it is in early spring... just to get some growth. Im gutted because I love pickling its one of the biggest reasons I grow and have no cucumbers yet. Its painful picking of those little ones when the keaves are too small to support them but im not giving up.... The lettuce is the gladatorial champion this year including my tomattilos which are unbreakable for aome reason in a changeable climate. I think they are from higher up in south america and can tolerate changeable conditions compared to the poor tomato.
Your garden looks beautiful charles despite the challenges. Interested in energy gardening and your thoughts, hoping you do a video on this in the future. Im loving my allotment just now, its at its peak although it has been really slow for the plants to get going.
Temp. manipulation and moving fronts. Storm raced across norther states to east coast moving at 45 MPH. Hubby tied 5 Galahad and Brandywine on 3 T- posts and Florida weave plus tied again on each side of vine to lock them in so would not slide side ways. Trees were blowing horizontal. Thanking God our tomatoes did not break. 75 MPH gusts at airport. Earlier in spring 90 to nearly 100 degrees then down to 70 to 45. Peas don't like it. USA
Clouds form when evaporated water (vapour) in the air moves up higher in the atmosphere where temperature and temperatures and air pressure are lower, causing the water vapour to condense back into droplets of water, becoming visible again. they tend to cluster around each other, forming clouds. There's a few things that can cause the water vapour to be pushed up in the atmosphere, one of which is a breeze of colder, dryer (more dense, therefore heavier) air displacing it upwards. These breezes can come from the ocean so I think you needn't worry about these clouds being in Somerset.
@@watermelonraintv The problem with your theory is that what they're spraying doesn't ever evaporate. Maybe look up "Stratospheric Aerosol Injections" and especially the "UN Treaty on Weather Warfare".
@@lesliekendall5668 what I said is not a "theory" it's how clouds work. But I'm familiar with the theory of geoengineering through stratospheric injection of aerosolized sulphate and you can rest easy knowing that certainly has not happened here. First, it's only theorized, not actually practicable, as there are not yet air craft which can fly high enough to actually release the sulphate at the correct altitude; additionally, it would in practice be sprayed closer to the equator as the sulphate would be destroyed too quickly outside of the tropics, and finally, it would not be visible to the naked eye. in fact, humans are actually releasing substantially less sulphur into the atmosphere than we were just a few years ago after many countries started banning it from being added to cargo ship fuels as it was found to be making rain more acidic... not great... but now it's believed that these sulphur emissions were actually slowing the pace of climate change... albeit temporarily.
Great tour! I'm in zone 6B in Indiana USA and have had almost a 30 degree difference in between night and day, even this Summer. And yes, the growth has been slower for tomatoes, peppers, and curcubits, until just the last week or so. We had no rain for almost a month, but got rain, and these plants have taken off now. I had a few squash and tomatoes ripen early due to the heat and then when the rain came, I got a few tomatoes with blossom end rot - rain was too much water. I'm hoping we don't get another heat wave with heat index over 100 degrees F again, but I'm going to erect shade cloth to help with that. Good luck!
The extremes are difficult for us! Yours sound dramatic. Blossom end rot is from lack of water, so it relates to the dry spell you had just before that, when they had run out of water, temporarily!
Wonderful video, I learned a lot especially about succession plantings which I have not done as much as I should. Also about covering crops. That is so interesting to see how much it helps. We all are so concerned that it keeps the sun out but we can see how it does not for you, so thank you.
Thanks for the view of your seed onions. I grew seed onions for the first time this year and after forming those big globes on top they were knocked over by wind, pulling the onions completely out of the ground! I see you have a string support around yours. I have three left that are still erect, which will give me plenty of seed for my needs. Happy you had a good visit to Iowa.
Thanks the trip was amazing. Ideally, you need more than three plants to have sufficient gene cross pollination. It's still worth saving some seeds, but I would also start over next year with new ones and make sure to support the ones you will plant in 2026 from June onwards.
thanks to your absorbing and educational videos on 'No Dig' i am now a convert on my allotment plot . just a thought on your lack of insects. maybe your dwindling rough grass areas given over to veg production and the cutting back of nettles and hedges in July might be a factor? look forward to August garden update!
Thanks. If you saw the rest of my plot, you would appreciate how many nettles there are still standing, I'm not cutting them all down! And there is a huge, huge amount of potential insect habitat here, including all the flowers everywhere
@@CharlesDowding1nodig Thanks for your reply Charles. I am pleased you are not one of the 'Slash and Burn! brigade.....only kidding 😆 Seriously, as you well know the lack of insects this year is very worrying ,Maybe its a lot to do with the very wet spring and early summer cool weather! I did spot the first cabbage white butterfly on my plot yesterday which is encouraging.... i think? 🤔
Thanks It's gteat to see the full range of what is going on in the vegetable garden and reassurimng that the succcesses and setbacks mirror many of my own this year. Though I tried melomns for the first time this year in new greenhouse. 2 of the 4 dies -rotted at the base despite my holdong of watering and another looks like it might have some kind of virus and no melons yet!! It is however the first year of the no dig greenhouse which is on an old driveway and was very (very) compacted and has a lot of gravel. The tomatoes are doing great and we have rioe tomatoes and good month earlier than the small Polytunnel last year.
Thanks for the tour Charles! Everything looks great. We are struggling with a lot of heat and not much rain lately but the heat loving plants are doing well. Just difficult to get that fall garden of brassicas going.
“Man-made clouds”? I love the observation about how being a compost maker turns the tedious chores like hedge trimming into part of a creative process. This approach to gardening appeals to me so much, perhaps because of various very off-putting experiences of digging in my formative years!
Only seen two cabbage whites this year -- very unusual in this part of Wales -- they've usually egged most plants by now unless covered in mesh with absolutely no gaps.
I envy your dahlias are already blooming. Here (above the Rhine valley), we are still waiting for them to grow bigger buds. This is a strange year indeed. But at least my tomatoes in the open don't look much worse than yours in the tunnell 😀
Earth Care Farm in Rhode Island ran by the Merner family might be a spot worth checking out for a collaboration video if ever on the East Coast of the US.. They started off as organic growers in the 1970s then progressed into supplying compost around the state. The operation is impressive with how they manage an open air compost operation while maintaining a healthy environment. They still grow crops such as garlic and rhubarb too. No Till Growers has a very good farm visit video on the farm.
Still lots of insects on Vancouver Island...spring was cool but closer to seasonal temperatures, still too dry though, we are feeling the heat now. Ive also had the opposite, great year for growing, lots of berries and harvests are strong thanks to no dig!
I hear you about the butterflies. Especially the cabbage ones. I had my aspabroc and cabbages covered early on but noticed that there is hardly a cabbage butterfly to been seen. Took the covers off and they have been worm free for the most part. As a gardener is nice but also a little alarming to not have them in abundance by this part of the growing season. In my spot of Canada, we did receive rain from the latest hurricane. Southern and Eastern Ontario as well as up the river and on. I thought for sure my cabbages would pop but they are ok. The slugs are more abundant that usual but I don't think we have had your numbers. My bush beans are ramping up and I am sure we will be sick of them in a couple weeks, lol. I grew a white skin cucumber this year and they are lovely. They don't get bitter with the heat which can be an issue. I am hoping they will just keep going over the entire season. So far they are doing really well. Potatoes are doing well and we are harvesting the first fresh ones. My black raspberries(Rubus occidentalis) are abundant this year, as well as the black and red currents. I have enough to make preserves of all kinds this year. That is very exciting. Every year brings its joys and concerns. I do hope you have a glorious August full of the best weather. I have been watching Jess over at Roots and Refuge for several years now so we were all quite envious but very happy for her, that she got to meet you. You are just as popular here in Canada, so if you ever go to the capital, let us know and we will be there with bells on! 😁
Where I grow in the South West of the UK it's not just any slug that's been wreaking havoc. The prime offender is the non-native 'Spanish' slug. They eat stuff other slugs and snails leave alone. They're huge, numerous and hardy. They appear to have no natural predators here in the UK. Based on my experience this year I fear that they are set to be a major problem in the future
@@Maria-ql3fcWe have plenty of frogs, toads and birds that like slugs. They do good with eggs and young slugs, the very large ones I have to pick early mornings. Best thing we did was to put in a kid’s sandbox that is badly covered with a tarp. It is a mudpit due to all the rain and plenty of frogs and toads hide there.
Hi, I am just new to this gardening vegetables. I live in Norfolk UK every day so far rain bit worried not getting enough sun thank you for the advice you gave on this video
I've notice a lack of butterflies this year too. Our meadows would normally be covered in 100's of meadow browns now but I've only seen a few so far! It is an odd year weather wise though!
Hi Charles, lovely tour thank you. As you're so clearly concerned by the lack of butterflies - does that start to tip the balance on your thinking about spraying brassicas to kill caterpillars?
No, because I'm not even doing it this year, since there are no butterflies!! And they are one very small part of a much larger ecosystem, even in my garden.
Well done for speaking out ! Most folk are looking at their phones rather than their surroundings.
I too have noted the lack of cabbage white butterflies, great for my cabbages but overriding concern for the lack of 🧐
Research has showed me that we tend to have ebb & flow in terms of insect populations and also the wet winter and spring may be a contributing factor. Fingers crossed that our collective efforts to provide habitat and safe havens for our little pollinating friends amounts to success for them… and us 🙏🏼🌀💚
Also, thank you for mentioning the abomination that is man made clouds 😡 I’ve been highlighting and campaigning against this crime against humanity for a decade. We’ve gone from complete denial and accusations of “conspiracy theory” to blind acceptance. It’s very concerning.
Thank you Charles 🙌🏽💚 you are a beacon and I adore you 💋
Could it be, and i'm spit balling here. The fact that with it being so late in plants growing that the wildlife is also late in arriving? TBH, I have an allotment' and i've seen quite a few cabbage whites. Although later than usual, they're starting to arrive.
Thanks so much. And we can only hope that the insects recover. I wish I could see some warmth when looking at the synoptic chart. The jet stream is behaving unusually to say the least and is very weak.
Spot on, HAARP and chemtrails are a disgrace. You just gotta look at the rainwater lab results of what's in it, tells you what they are spraying us with as none of it especially the highest being aluminium, is naturally found in nature, they are MAN MADE.
@@CharlesDowding1nodig Grand solar minimum possibly a factor?
they wher out today full force in leeds , was wafting them out of the green house , lol , omg i never thought it would happen haha x but tbh they can bugger off lol :P
Thankyou for mentioning the lack of natural sunlight/man made clouds ..
Hello Mr. Dowding, I am new here and saw you meet Jessica Sowards and it was quite amazing seeing you both interact. So, I look forward to checking out your channel. Thanks for hoping over the pond to homesteading get togethers. Have a great weekend! 😀🌻
Lovely to have you hear 🙂 and you are very welcome
No butterflies here in Cornwall either.All very strange and cold at night.
I have the same story as you! Glad to be here as well!
You and Jess are my two favorite TH-cam gardeners. I'm so thrilled you connected!
💯
Me too!
Me too!@@samanthawilletts7529
Same! Both such wonderful inspirations! 💥💥
The dreamTeam ✨🦋✨
Me three!
Your bloopers make me laugh. "Giant Sarcophagus." I also love your "crikey!" when you find something alarming or disappointing in the garden. I love your videos. ❤
Glad you like them! You are an optimist 💚
Growers are the canary in the coal mine. Similar conditions in my plot as yours Charles. I know some folk simply are unable to grok what is happening in plain sight. Many thanks again
I am in Michigan, USA. I have struggled to grow decent root crops this year, for the first time. I grow in raised beds, and fertilize like normal. Very unpredictable results!
Same for me. Put my true and tested seeds into the dirt as always…and nothing. Only the early garlic that’s given a normal harvest. But the cherries and plums make up for it with bumper crops (Stockholm, Sweden). So yeah..difficult.
I'm all the way in Pennsylvania. I have noticed less butterflies and honey bees, slow growing plants, less success in seed germination while direct sowing, and that our growing season seems to be "off" in general. It's almost like it has been pushed forward. Definitely very concerning and thank you for bringing up the clouds. Not enough people looking up at the skies to notice.
I’m in Windsor, Pa and the earwigs are overwhelming this year.
Same, in North East PA. Less bees this year, and its gotten hotter about 2 weeks earlier, with less rain and more intense heat.
@@mike1968442 I've never seen so many in my whole life, it's insane! I realize they are harmless but they freak me out!
Thanks for sharing, it's worrying. I think that the stuff they are putting in the sky acts like a greenhouse gas, so ironic! Here, I noticed that when the sun shines, although it's whiter and weaker, the heat builds up more quickly.
@@CharlesDowding1nodig sorry, who is putting stuff in the sky?
What stuff are they putting in the sky?
Have the public been informed about this? I obviously haven't been following the news closely enough!
I deleted my news app after the horrendous covid coverage 😂
So nice y’all got to meet. Jess, you and Huw are my favorites.
Great mentors I get to have in my garden with me.
Thanks to this video Charles, I know the difference between old age and late blight in potatoes. So I let my potatoes grow some more. Till this morning I noticed suddenly black spots had appeared on the leaves and it goes really fast! So i pulled the plant (very small garden) and harvested 1kilo of beautiful taties.🙏
Loverly result!
Thank you so much for your videos Charles. I'm in Cornwall and it's been the most challenging year for growing I've ever had. Nothing much apart from brassica have germinated and grown normally. I'd use stuck in place of slow to describe my seedlings growth this year, to the extent that at one point earlier in the season I was just so at my witts end I nearly binned the lot! After nursing and pricking out tiny plants and changing composts etc, some did eventually fully grow into edible vegetables, many more didn't. I have a big table covered in sad tiny little specimens now. I'd normally be rushed trying to keep up with seedlings to prick out and modules to get in the soil at this time of year, nothing doing😢... its keeping me awake at night worrying about why this is happening now, it must be climate change ? All I do know is its affecting me deep.. we gardeners being so connected at hand and heart level with nature . Your videos are a big help to me. THANKYOU❤ 21:39
@CharlesDowding1nodig I've sent a comment which is on a reply to anothers comment ( @bolletjehopla47 ) and I don't know how to move it..
These are some of my favorite videos, I love the pace of your walk and your lovely explanations
I am glad you enjoyed it Erin
I hadn't thought about it much, but I normally see loads of swallow tail butterflies on my zinnias, and have seen very few this year. We've had alot of honeybees, bumblebees, and wasps as pollinators, but not many butterflies. Thanks for sharing a tour with us when we know you're so very busy. I need to go soak cucumbers in salt brine for pickling. Blessings to you!
Thanks Janet. Keep up the putting-food-by!
Yes, less light! You can tell by the flower blooms being so much later than usual. Everything has been so much later than last year.
Interesting, inbHungary everything was waaay sooner (2-3 weeks) then 'normal'/age old folk observations! (well, except the things I sowed too late to begin with 🤪😆)
I have followed Jessica since 2019 such a lovely family …. Made me smile loads when she met you and was a little star struck.. Xxxx
Thanks and I also felt that 😀
@@CharlesDowding1nodig awwww Charles, it’s great we can learn from everyone from here and afar. I’ve out grown my small back garden and now have an allotment. Looking forward to more tips …. Happy Growing xx
Lovely to hear and to you 🙂
Interesting tour..I’m in Atlantic Canada, zone 5B and many of the issues you describe are happening here…sparse strawberries, slow growth, even my nettles are poorly?? cold spring, poor performance for squashes, lots of slug damage, lots of lady bugs…yet virtually no worms!! Last year the garden and compost were loaded; this year next to nothing. 🤔 and just a few white butterflies; good performance on greens, blue cabbage are forming heads…usually doesn’t happen until end of August-September. And I’m with you on the creepy clouds. Been noticing it for years…
Oh and I forgot to mention no mosquitos.
Thanks for your comment, and this is not encouraging!
What you have described is exactly what we are experiencing in the UK. Virtually no worms, slugs everywhere, barely any strawberries, slow growth on everything.
LOVE hearing you've grown potatoes in the same location for 10 years. Due to space limitations, I've been growing in the same location for 4 years. In the Fall I top the mound with dry leaves, dry grasa clippings and cow manure. In the Spring I planted a cover crop and the greens are the healthieat I've ever had. Harvest ia still a ways away so we'll see how this season did.
Hi Sheryl, that is awesome!
I love ... cherish!! ... these monthly tours. I could spend a whole day walking through your garden.
I am glad you enjoy them Ted
I'm so glad yall finally met 💓 my 2 favorite TH-camrs
You have fans in Uruguay too!love seeing your garden and your cat!Lets all visualize the earth restoring its natural balance,natural insects and clouds and sunshine.sending gratitude and love
How lovely and thank you for this 💚
I'm quite sure the slugs most people have been seeing this year are the Spanish slug variety (Arion Vulgaris). They were back out again in the last few days with the recent rain and theyu've been destroying things normal slugs don't usually touch - I've even seen them chewing the base of well established sunflowers and toppling them. Weirdly they didn't touch my celery at all but wiped out all my celeriac.
They are indeed horrible, but it's not true that they are the only slugs eating or the main one. They're not around in the spring and damage has been happening every month, even in winter. Little grey ones are bad and so are the little black keel slugs, to name just two. And snails.
@@CharlesDowding1nodig Thanks for correcting that Charles 👍
I love the shout out to Jess! So glad you had the chance to finally meet each other, Charles....you are both my garden gurus!
Brilliant. Minty at the end walks on and sits on dig bed, has second thoughts and moves to no-dig bed !
😂
❤ Thank you for the tour! I’m done in the garden today so sitting down to fill herbal tea bags from my home grown herbs while watching. I cleaned out a bed of lilies that had died off and sowed beets plus comfrey today. I sowed parsley in pots too. Dinner tonight has home grown potatoes and green beans. I just love picking fresh! Thank you for all the knowledge you share!!! 😊
Thanks Samantha, and that sounds very soothing!
I love that your cat can also be a 'garden pest' at times! Mine loves digging up transplants this year
Glad you enjoyed South Carolina, that's where I'm from and it's been blazing hot down here this year.
Thank you Charles for acknowledging what we have discussed on Geo Engineering , we are now into mid July and its still wet and cold . Us growers must work together on this . Im currently submitting a freedom of information request on where and how often the Government are cloud seeding in the Uk
Maybe do some active research on this. If the FOI says there isn't any cloud seeding, presumably all the conspiracy theorists will assume they're lying.
Wow best of luck, mail me the info to admin@charlesdowding.co.uk
Why would they do that?
@@wicklowpatster because they are paid vast sums of money under the climate change agenda , but its ok to drop chemicals on us and our food i guess
So so excited to see you and Jess finally meet at the McMurray Fest on her SM posts!
I loved having Jess come to our PNW in ID for the Modern Homesteading Conference and getting extra special time with her. Hope to meet you someday also! Love your sincere gentle way of sharing your depth of experienced knowledge among your beautiful gardens!
Thanks so much! 💚
Greetings Charles, I'm so glad you got to experience summer in South Carolina. If you wanted to feel real heat, stop by Central Florida the next time. ❤
Your Garden Tour is wonderful ❤
❤Peggy❤
Hey Peggy that is a cool invite!! Actually, I was in Iowa (Jess drove up) and it was a very pleasant 79°F. To me that felt like a long lost summer.
Big Charlie D knowing the difference between real and manmade clouds 😘
How can you tell?
@@wicklowpatster he mentions it in the video
@@rootsandshootsgardening-v9y no, he says he reckons they're man-made. I'm asking how you can tell the difference
Yes!! We need a special of my fav youtubbers ;) JUST go and live for a month with Jess
Haha, an amazing thought
Excellent video. I am on the South Coast of the Isle of Wight and have had all the same issues as yourself. As you have had a lifetime of experience and a master of what you do this has made me feel a lot better. Thank you.
Thanks for sharing Steve, you reassure me too!
I live in TX and I have had plenty of all kinds of bugs, butterflies, slugs, caterpillars, bees, wasps, mosquitos, well everything. My zinnias and sunflowers went crazy. my cucumbers did not do great and neither did my tomatoes. However I didn't try that hard either.
I hear the concern. Beautiful work. Take care.
Thanks Charles. The bugs are confused for sure. Garden set backs here too. Glad you got to enjoy USA. Its 95 % empty.
And almost 100% trashed
Charles, you have so many American fans who love you.
Lovely to hear, thanks Charlene
Jess was so excited that you would be there and then to meet you as well she was thrilled,
Garden is looking wonderful as they always do.
Thank you for the July Tour😊
Cheers Rick
HI Charles! Thanks for such a great video with so much invaluable information! I'm wondering if you have any resources for how to use your sowing calendar in a different climate? I just bought a house in Northern Italy and we have over 20C every night right now, with 32 in the day, so planting beetroot and cabbage just seems a bit too early in this seemingly never ending heat, but maybe I'm wrong? Or maybe it's just me wanting plant summer veggies because I prefer them haha!
Nice to hear, and for sure I recommend in warmer climates to sow at least a month later during July and August, and in Spring about the same because cold snaps can happen at any time really, in between the warmer spells you will enjoy.
Lovely garden tour. Thank you. The team did a great job whilst you were away. My melons are around 6 inches high if that makes you feel better. 😂
I’ve noticed a distinct lack of butterflies (with the exception of the copious flutters of scarlet tiger moth), nor lacewings, hover flies, dragon flies or parasitic wasps. Bees were around earlier this summer then only seen bumblebees since. Until yesterday !!! Oh my goodness….Garden absolutely smothered in everything. As if they had all emerged in one go. Not so many today. Well…. Nothing like compared to yesterday which was an amazing sight to see. No cabbage whites yet though.
So glad you and Jess finally met up. Little Benjamin will be chuffed to bits you mentioned his mum. Lovely family.
Thanks, and that's interesting about the sudden arrival of many insects, and @lucybarnard3954 says lack of warmth is reducing their flight possibilities
Lovely Charles, as always. Much love from another South Carolina fan!😊
So nice thanks
I've had some bees and butterflies, but I've only seen one white butterfly so far this year. Concerning to say the least!
With some sudden warmth, I saw 30 yesterday!
Everything starts in module trays here- even the cat? 😂
Always wonderful Charles, and such a fantastic thing for us to see you and Jess Sowards together finally.
We love you over here, Charles! Thank you for sharing your inspiration and information with us!
Ah thanks Rebecca
Such a beautiful garden.
Thank you Lisa
Such a poor and disappointing year 😢 my outside tomatoes are barely even flowering. My fav crop😭. I hope one day to have a greenhouse!
My Garlic hasn't vernalised this year due to the mild winter so the bulbs haven't formed for the first time ever.
So Winter's arent cold enough and Summer's aren't warm enough.
We're in a sorry state.😢
Don't feel too bad ,I have unseasonable heat for weeks , 95-100 degrees F and drought, in Idaho U.S. Normal summer high was 85 degrees f. This causes a different set of problems to scramble to contend with.
Yay ,,I saw minty 🐈😺 just a Lil glimpse 👍 like always inspired 👍🇮🇳
So nice!
I green manured one bed with phacelia this year. I have never seen so many bees and insects on a plant! Amazing.
That's so nice! I have phacelia growing beside my polytunnel, and I'm amazed how few beers I'm seeing on it! Two years ago there were loads.
@@CharlesDowding1nodig I think I made a mistake in chopping it back too quickly about 3 weeks ago. I've not seen many bees since. For a while there were loads of bees. A neighbouring plot holder is a bee keeper. I must ask him how his bees are doing when I see him. I'm sadly ignorant about the types of bees.
Last year I had an absolute explosion of wasps. Completely decimated my fruit trees, although the pears and plums were really bad last year anyway round here. No one had good fruit. This year the fruit trees are laden...but it could still all go horribly wrong! The lack of insects is a bit spooky. I'm not short of voles and moles though. I keep collecting the mounds of earth!
The garden is wonderful, and I also have a small garden but it’s so bad taking care of the vegetables.
Hi Charles, I found this channel through Jess at Roots and Refuge. Isn't she special! I can't wait to watch your videos. I myself was born in the UK but have lived in Canada for many, many years. I remember my Granddad having a back garden with rabbits and chickens as well as veg. Currently I don't have a garden but do container gardening on my balcony which is limited but something at least and its own kind of issues. Well, I'm to subscribe and start watching! Linda, Quebec city, Canada
Lovely to hear Linda and welcome great to have you here and what great memories to have 🌱
Oh my Charles how I would love to have your weather right now. Where I live in the deep south of the United States it's in the upper 90's F 35.5 C with 80% humidity. I lived in South Wales and loved the summers, but winters not so much because it rained every day. When it wasn't raining water, it was raining ice.
Oooh best of luck. We need to combine these weathers!
Ha, I live in Pembrokeshire and we're just preparing to emigrate to the US... most likely somewhere in the 'deep south' area too. We're looking at Iowa and Florida atm. Any tips? ;)
@@ashmash1934 if you don't mind sweating profusely just walking the dog at 7AM anywhere in the deep south is perfect. But the people down here are hospitable and friendly. Most every home here has more than one gun for hunting and self defense . Many churches as we are the Bible Belt and most of us do believe in the golden rule, but not all there's always a few bad apples. Iowa is a great place to grow food and experience tornados, but winters there are pretty harsh. Florida gets both tornados and hurricanes , but so does Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi , Louisiana and Texas. South Florida is more like New York as it's made up of mostly transplanted yanks from the north, northwest Florida has the community feel like most southern states. Take my advice and live rural or small town, it's very laid back and a bit dull for the young folks lol.
@@Maria-ql3fc Aw, thank you so much Maria, that's some great info. I'm all for the guns and church! Traditional conservative Christian values is where I want to be for sure. The heat, extreme winters and the tornados are a little scary, but I think it'll be worth it. And yes 100% we will be somewhere rural. I grew up in London and I hate cities. Perhaps NW Florida then. I do like DeSantis and it seems to have most of what we're looking for. Thanks so much for the tips!
@@ashmash1934 you are very welcome 😊
Another great video 👌
It is comforting to see that we are not alone struggling with the weather. Personally I lost most of my tomatoes, squash and my garlic started to rot in the ground due to excess moisture. I'm trying my best to adapt my sowings to the weather conditions.
Thanks for your videos and your support 👍
Thanks for sharing also
Everything is looking really good Charles!💪 I haven't seen any butterflies this year neither😢, I've got plenty of bees though(several species)😀 I've learnt so much information/tips and tricks from you, I've been putting everything I've learnt into practice and everything is looking good, Thank you 😊 Keep up with the great content, Happy growing!🌱
Lovely to hear Tommy, and I'm glad you have some bees! Not to mention the decent crops
I moved house and havent got my garden sorted yet- hoping to start growing more veg soon. But I've noticed in my little front garden (in Somerset) that I'm getting more honeybees this year. I have a pale lilac Campanula that was smothered in flowers in May/June and attracted lots of bees, and now my lavender has taken over. I'm deliberately trying to introduce more bee friendly plants. But I also havent seen any cabbage white butterflies, and in fact hardly any butterflies since I moved from the more urban end of my town to this more rural end, which is worrying. I'm enjoying seeing all your garden tours. I havent grown veg for some time, but am keen to get back into having a veg plot again. 🦋🐝🌻
That is encouraging at least.
I have phacelia here, which always has bees, and indeed there have been some this year, but many less than normal, while butterflies appeared yesterday!
Dear Mr.Dowding, thank you very much for your sharing of your excellent farming experience. I have learned a lot from your digging techniques. I special like your compost huts and wonder if you can share how to make them pls? Thank you and best regards, Helen Chen
You are very welcome Helen, thanks, and see this new book www.charlesdowding.co.uk/product/compost. Pre-order from me or online stores geni.us/Compost
I saw Jessica’s video where she t you in real life. She was absolutely so excited about meeting you. If you are her garden mentor then I surely wanted to check your channel out because she has been my garden Mentor
It was lovely to meet her and lovely to have you hear Suzanne 🙂
Seems you've inspired a lot of people and changed many lives Charles! 🙂 Thank you! I have seen a couple of cabbage whites, so we'd best be on our guard.
👍 thanks Tim
I've only seen 1 cabbage white butterfly.😮👌👍
@@nickthegardener.1120 so have I and the little Fecker had managed to get in my netted brassica bed! It was trapped in there!
Your garlic looks beautiful hanging there 🤩🤩🤩.
😍
Great video as usual sir! Thank you for sharing your experiences with us! Blessings on your growing season sir.🌻🐛🌿💚🙏💕
Thank you kindly
Picking up the good energy! Every time you take us for a tour is energizing❤ and I also sprang for some anti cat dookie nets this year 😂
Nice!!
Lovely video!!! Beautiful garden, even with challenges! So fun that you and Jess Sowards met!!! Like many here, you two are absolute favorites of mine!!! Hoping that in the future you can do the energy gardening as a online class. Sounds very interesting! Thanks for your info & insights Charles!!!
Great thought thanks
Hi Charles sir, I was so happy to see you and Jess in one video you are by far my best TH-camrs and yourself and Paul Guatchi are my best no dig gardeners. I was so disappointed when your tour to South Africa was canceled 2years ago and I was so prepared and delighted to meet my garden hero but alas😢😢. Hopefully you will still plan to visit our lovely country and spread your knowledge and experience live. I would be there in a heart beat. Please never stop sharing your good work, we appreciate you so much all the way in the southern tip of the hemisphere 😊😊 fingers crossed for visit soon😂😂😂
That's nice! Partly it's a question of working out venues and costs. I do like your country.
Thanks so much for freely giving the knowledge and the pioneering of no dig. Its incredibly reassuring in this bugger of a year. Im bringing my cherry bomb chillies and cucumbers in pots inside my house every sodding night like it is in early spring... just to get some growth.
Im gutted because I love pickling its one of the biggest reasons I grow and have no cucumbers yet. Its painful picking of those little ones when the keaves are too small to support them but im not giving up....
The lettuce is the gladatorial champion this year including my tomattilos which are unbreakable for aome reason in a changeable climate. I think they are from higher up in south america and can tolerate changeable conditions compared to the poor tomato.
Yes indeed! And tomatillos are hardy, so true
Your garden looks beautiful charles despite the challenges. Interested in energy gardening and your thoughts, hoping you do a video on this in the future.
Im loving my allotment just now, its at its peak although it has been really slow for the plants to get going.
Many are saying this, and we shall unless I decide not to give too many indications
Just when I thought "boy, it's been a while since we've had a tour video"! Perfect timing!
💚
Man made clouds...such a sad thing when a perfectly beautiful blue sky slowly turns to a muddled mess. Thanks for showcasing this issue.
Temp. manipulation and moving fronts. Storm raced across norther states to east coast moving at 45 MPH. Hubby tied 5 Galahad and Brandywine on 3 T- posts and Florida weave plus tied again on each side of vine to lock them in so would not slide side ways. Trees were blowing horizontal. Thanking God our tomatoes did not break. 75 MPH gusts at airport. Earlier in spring 90 to nearly 100 degrees then down to 70 to 45. Peas don't like it. USA
Incredible extremes, amazing tomato work!
Clouds form when evaporated water (vapour) in the air moves up higher in the atmosphere where temperature and temperatures and air pressure are lower, causing the water vapour to condense back into droplets of water, becoming visible again. they tend to cluster around each other, forming clouds. There's a few things that can cause the water vapour to be pushed up in the atmosphere, one of which is a breeze of colder, dryer (more dense, therefore heavier) air displacing it upwards. These breezes can come from the ocean so I think you needn't worry about these clouds being in Somerset.
@@watermelonraintv
The problem with your theory is that what they're spraying doesn't ever evaporate.
Maybe look up "Stratospheric Aerosol Injections" and especially the "UN Treaty on Weather Warfare".
@@lesliekendall5668 what I said is not a "theory" it's how clouds work. But I'm familiar with the theory of geoengineering through stratospheric injection of aerosolized sulphate and you can rest easy knowing that certainly has not happened here. First, it's only theorized, not actually practicable, as there are not yet air craft which can fly high enough to actually release the sulphate at the correct altitude; additionally, it would in practice be sprayed closer to the equator as the sulphate would be destroyed too quickly outside of the tropics, and finally, it would not be visible to the naked eye.
in fact, humans are actually releasing substantially less sulphur into the atmosphere than we were just a few years ago after many countries started banning it from being added to cargo ship fuels as it was found to be making rain more acidic... not great... but now it's believed that these sulphur emissions were actually slowing the pace of climate change... albeit temporarily.
Great tour! I'm in zone 6B in Indiana USA and have had almost a 30 degree difference in between night and day, even this Summer. And yes, the growth has been slower for tomatoes, peppers, and curcubits, until just the last week or so. We had no rain for almost a month, but got rain, and these plants have taken off now. I had a few squash and tomatoes ripen early due to the heat and then when the rain came, I got a few tomatoes with blossom end rot - rain was too much water. I'm hoping we don't get another heat wave with heat index over 100 degrees F again, but I'm going to erect shade cloth to help with that. Good luck!
The extremes are difficult for us! Yours sound dramatic. Blossom end rot is from lack of water, so it relates to the dry spell you had just before that, when they had run out of water, temporarily!
Wonderful video, I learned a lot especially about succession plantings which I have not done as much as I should. Also about covering crops. That is so interesting to see how much it helps. We all are so concerned that it keeps the sun out but we can see how it does not for you, so thank you.
Great, thanks
all looking great charles
Cheers Steven
I saw my first cabbage white today. No doubt they will bounce back next year.
I take nothing for granted now
Hola, me gusta mucho sus videos y vi algunos doblados en castellano , me encanto , muchas gracias , un abrazo,
Me alegro que lo hayas disfrutado 🙂
Here in Hamilton, New Zealand I too noticed a huge lack of white butterfly our last summer. Plus codlin moth, cicada and cricket also.
Even there. Possibly it's microwaves, along with so many changes
No Cabbage moth here in Co Wicklow, Ireland here too. Kale harvest today was pristine
I'm struggling with them in Canada and happy to share if you'd like! 😆
Thanks for the view of your seed onions. I grew seed onions for the first time this year and after forming those big globes on top they were knocked over by wind, pulling the onions completely out of the ground! I see you have a string support around yours. I have three left that are still erect, which will give me plenty of seed for my needs. Happy you had a good visit to Iowa.
Thanks the trip was amazing.
Ideally, you need more than three plants to have sufficient gene cross pollination. It's still worth saving some seeds, but I would also start over next year with new ones and make sure to support the ones you will plant in 2026 from June onwards.
Really nice Charles, great video.🌱🌱🙏🙏
I am glad you enjoyed it 🌱
I'm glad you're bringing attention to man-made clouds. It's been ignored for long enough.
It's happening here in uk?
@@Terri-n6w It has been happening since the 60s, but they call it 'geo engineering'. Everyone else calls them C h e m t r a i l s.
What are man-made clouds?
thanks to your absorbing and educational videos on 'No Dig' i am now a convert on my allotment plot . just a thought on your lack of insects. maybe your dwindling rough grass areas given over to veg production and the cutting back of nettles and hedges in July might be a factor? look forward to August garden update!
Thanks.
If you saw the rest of my plot, you would appreciate how many nettles there are still standing, I'm not cutting them all down! And there is a huge, huge amount of potential insect habitat here, including all the flowers everywhere
@@CharlesDowding1nodig Thanks for your reply Charles. I am pleased you are not one of the 'Slash and Burn! brigade.....only kidding 😆 Seriously, as you well know the lack of insects this year is very worrying ,Maybe its a lot to do with the very wet spring and early summer cool weather! I did spot the first cabbage white butterfly on my plot yesterday which is encouraging.... i think? 🤔
Thanks It's gteat to see the full range of what is going on in the vegetable garden and reassurimng that the succcesses and setbacks mirror many of my own this year. Though I tried melomns for the first time this year in new greenhouse. 2 of the 4 dies -rotted at the base despite my holdong of watering and another looks like it might have some kind of virus and no melons yet!! It is however the first year of the no dig greenhouse which is on an old driveway and was very (very) compacted and has a lot of gravel. The tomatoes are doing great and we have rioe tomatoes and good month earlier than the small Polytunnel last year.
Sounds pretty fine Ray, considering
Execelent! Thank you!
Thanks for the tour Charles! Everything looks great. We are struggling with a lot of heat and not much rain lately but the heat loving plants are doing well. Just difficult to get that fall garden of brassicas going.
Good ol Indiana!
“Man-made clouds”? I love the observation about how being a compost maker turns the tedious chores like hedge trimming into part of a creative process. This approach to gardening appeals to me so much, perhaps because of various very off-putting experiences of digging in my formative years!
Nice to hear.
Yes I'm afraid so, just watch the sky if you have some blue to see.
@@CharlesDowding1nodig What should we be looking for in the sky?
What's unusual about the clouds in this video in particular?
Only seen two cabbage whites this year -- very unusual in this part of Wales -- they've usually egged most plants by now unless covered in mesh with absolutely no gaps.
Yes it's incredible
Ditto, West Wales 😮
I envy your dahlias are already blooming. Here (above the Rhine valley), we are still waiting for them to grow bigger buds. This is a strange year indeed. But at least my tomatoes in the open don't look much worse than yours in the tunnell 😀
That is an interesting comparison! I'm glad your tomatoes are performing
Looking fantastic there.
Minty, Your So photogenic ❤❤❤
😊 thank you, she is!
Thank you 🐈
Earth Care Farm in Rhode Island ran by the Merner family might be a spot worth checking out for a collaboration video if ever on the East Coast of the US.. They started off as organic growers in the 1970s then progressed into supplying compost around the state. The operation is impressive with how they manage an open air compost operation while maintaining a healthy environment. They still grow crops such as garlic and rhubarb too. No Till Growers has a very good farm visit video on the farm.
Thanks so much, and I did see that video which shows how impressive the operation is. I shall certainly bear them in mind.
Dill is lovely with potato as well!
Good tip
Still lots of insects on Vancouver Island...spring was cool but closer to seasonal temperatures, still too dry though, we are feeling the heat now. Ive also had the opposite, great year for growing, lots of berries and harvests are strong thanks to no dig!
Sounds great Stacie, thanks for the comparison
I hear you about the butterflies. Especially the cabbage ones. I had my aspabroc and cabbages covered early on but noticed that there is hardly a cabbage butterfly to been seen. Took the covers off and they have been worm free for the most part. As a gardener is nice but also a little alarming to not have them in abundance by this part of the growing season.
In my spot of Canada, we did receive rain from the latest hurricane. Southern and Eastern Ontario as well as up the river and on. I thought for sure my cabbages would pop but they are ok. The slugs are more abundant that usual but I don't think we have had your numbers.
My bush beans are ramping up and I am sure we will be sick of them in a couple weeks, lol. I grew a white skin cucumber this year and they are lovely. They don't get bitter with the heat which can be an issue. I am hoping they will just keep going over the entire season. So far they are doing really well. Potatoes are doing well and we are harvesting the first fresh ones.
My black raspberries(Rubus occidentalis) are abundant this year, as well as the black and red currents. I have enough to make preserves of all kinds this year. That is very exciting.
Every year brings its joys and concerns. I do hope you have a glorious August full of the best weather.
I have been watching Jess over at Roots and Refuge for several years now so we were all quite envious but very happy for her, that she got to meet you. You are just as popular here in Canada, so if you ever go to the capital, let us know and we will be there with bells on! 😁
Thanks for this Angela, nice to hear. At least you are having reasonable harvest of most things. It looks like I should be in Alaska next May!
@@CharlesDowding1nodig 🤔 I've never been to Alaska. Next May you say😁
Yes, and as soon as we have details, I shall post them
Where I grow in the South West of the UK it's not just any slug that's been wreaking havoc. The prime offender is the non-native 'Spanish' slug. They eat stuff other slugs and snails leave alone. They're huge, numerous and hardy. They appear to have no natural predators here in the UK. Based on my experience this year I fear that they are set to be a major problem in the future
@@ComUnSas ducks and geese will eat them
@@Maria-ql3fcWe have plenty of frogs, toads and birds that like slugs. They do good with eggs and young slugs, the very large ones I have to pick early mornings.
Best thing we did was to put in a kid’s sandbox that is badly covered with a tarp. It is a mudpit due to all the rain and plenty of frogs and toads hide there.
Literally hours ago I said to my husband that there are no butterflies. I noticed the absence as we were looking at our big uncovered red cabbages.
😮
Boa tarde Charles obrigado pelo vídeo ❤
de nada Luisa
Good energies! Amen to that!
Hi, I am just new to this gardening vegetables. I live in Norfolk UK every day so far rain bit worried not getting enough sun thank you for the advice you gave on this video
First year! Hang in there!!
I've notice a lack of butterflies this year too. Our meadows would normally be covered in 100's of meadow browns now but I've only seen a few so far! It is an odd year weather wise though!
Yes so cool!!
Indeed. A strange year regarding weather this year.
Thank you so much !
Hi Charles, lovely tour thank you. As you're so clearly concerned by the lack of butterflies - does that start to tip the balance on your thinking about spraying brassicas to kill caterpillars?
No, because I'm not even doing it this year, since there are no butterflies!! And they are one very small part of a much larger ecosystem, even in my garden.
Thanks for the tour. You have not commented on the grains you are growing. Is it for chooks?
Cheers
For grinding in my mill to make rye bread th-cam.com/video/cQxUtpAItFM/w-d-xo.html
Beautiful garden! Likewise, I'm seeing far fewer insects this year. Hopefully fewer alium leaf miner as well😉
I hope so too!
@@brians1001 I can certainly spare a lot of my insect pest if you need to see some, we have an abundance of them in the southern U.S.