I was feeling the same way. Such a beautiful calico. She seems to be very sweet and affectionate, whilst not being too demanding about it. The perfect kind of kitty.
That's a great trick of planting the garlic with the cover crop. Amazing how the timing works out so well with planting them together at the same time.
WOOHOOO, my compost finally reached a temp of 65⁰C within a day! Chipping a balanced mix of leaves, stalks, flowers, coffee ground and piles of comfrey leaves, then piling it all on top of each other in a 0.9 x 0.9 x 1.2 mtr crate covered with woven weedcloth. I know you have been teaching me this all along, but my setup finally kicked in. I'll turn this batch in 2 months and work perpetual from now on. Finally, I can make enough compost for ½ Acre in 8 months.
More co host involvement please 🐈 my cat does the same when I'm in the garden too, although he tends to roll over my freshly planted seedlings in my no dig beds.
Thank you for producing and sharing your reality. Your channel, Charles Dowding, is astonishing, education and hopefully inspiring others to start growing and being in touch with the seasons. You influence me to keep trying to grow food in my yard and teach me with every film you share. I appreciate you and your team.
I'm enjoying that you addressed this, as options. It can help those with more of one resource, and perhaps less of another, decide which way would best benefit them. Bless you, Charles.
Hello from Arkansas, USA. So glad to have received my No Dig copy a couple of weeks ago. First sowings completed, and compost mulch spread. Can’t wait to get them transplanted in the coming weeks.
@@CharlesDowding1nodig Know that feeling! We have another edition to the family since last summer. And so happy she came around. 💕💕💕💕 Still can not understand the kind of person that dumps their cat like that...
OUTSTANDING INFO, Govner. Hoping to do all your courses asap to further educate myself although I hate study since being in the army. However you as a teacher it'll be a wonderful experience & can't wait. Keep up the great work! Gary 7th generation 1st fleet convict from down under 🇦🇺
This week I went to the crountryside near my city and got some dry cow manure, they needed to get rid of it before winter. Gonna start to use it this fall. Thanks for your help Charles.
Thank you for valuable advice, Mr. Dowding. Your No -Dig method and the bedding system works great in my garden, but here in Poland, where I live, we sometimes have severe winters even to -25 degrees, and I noticed that in my garden I need soil covering with compost and on it an additional layer of e.g. fallen leaves , or straw, although for soil life, ground cover plants will work even better, as long as they can be sowed as you said early. I also noticed that the compost soil protected with a cover layer is more resistant to freezing and raises faster to live in spring, and when I remove the protective layer at the end of February or March, the ground will warm up in the rays of the sun. Greetings from Poland :)
Thank you for the "show" notes. Much appreciated. Zone 6B. East Coast USA. An exciting time. Last fall: first time saving marigold pods. Today I'm testing for viability. Thanks for sharing and introducing to us all experiences. Cool cat. ;)
Very good information and love that cat. I garden in a very similar manner and my mate in the vege garden is a ginger cat called Bodi. We need more old gardening practitioners. Good on you. Cheers from HB NZ
For what it's worth, I think I put 2 much fine compost 2 thick over time on my fruit trees and it all compacted and either suffocated the soil or is stealing nitrogen that would otherwise go to the trees to break down so I'm just letting it all break down hopefully and going 2 keep it at the 2 inches recommended, also I clicked on this video when I seen it was only 6 mins, Ive noticed I tend to click on videos more when they are around 5 minits, great video Charles hope you are doing well legend 🙂
My family weren't too fussed with the broad beans I grew last year (and they are a bit fiddly to prepare anyway)... so I think I might see if I have any of the seeds left and I'm might just plant them out now while our Autumn weather is still quite warm and they can feed the soil instead as you said :D Thanks as always.
My experience of mustard growing this past autumn is that it does well after harvesting squash (Crown Prince and Red Kuri); well after harvesting outdoor cucumber (here that happens mid-to-late September); I grew field beans in modules before transplanting out where Butternut squash was harvested (mid-to-late October) and they have done well too. I'm about to sow phacelia in the squash beds, as it will be mature and ready to pull by the time that squash is planted out (mid to late May).
Thx for your always great advice 👍🏻💚🌱 I had the some trouble with my broad beans. After sowing in October, they took the first hard frost (-15°C) with lots of snow mid of December pretty well under their fleece cover. Then we had a pretty warm period end of December till mid January. So they grew pretty high 20-30 cm. The next frost (-7°C) survived a third of them. But frost in the end of February killed them all. That was really pitty. Now i have new seeds sown and hope they will survive the aphids. I hoped to pass them by winter sowing. 🤷🏻♀️ Maybe next year...
Thanks for the video. My family has been farming for generations so my dad thinks im nuts doing no till. I think hes coming around as I develop my market farm though.
Amazing video Charles ! Loved it. I'm BEYOND excited for this season to begin :) Sorry for the long question. Charles I have a problem with my medium when I sow seeds indoor in containers. Sometimes there is a 1 centimeter crust forming on top of the soil. Its like if all the organic matter on top glued together, forming a crust. It happens within the first 3 days of sowing. I'm not talking about alguea or muchrooms growing on top of the medium, everything looks very clean, its just a solid crust of soil on top, preventing seedling to reach surface. I'm not sure what cause this crust to form, have you ever experienced such thing?
Cheers, and that sounds like you have too much soil in your mix. Fine soil will cap together like that on top. So that's the advantage of using 90% plus compost, with very little soil.
Another excellent post! I really like the idea of using green manures and cover crops because they reduce the amount of external inputs needed. Question: Can green manures replace the need for compost and external inputs entirely? If not, how did your ancestors do farming? I imagine they couldn't afford to haul a bunch of organic matter across country for their farms.
My ancestors would have had lower output per square metre, that's my main consideration and it means you would need to spend more time for less food on a larger area. Some of them would have had animal manure which is compost, and very effective
The local farmer does green manure in winter. Looks much better than bare soil. Greetings from north germany. Thanks to Anna for putting me on the no dig map. xx
Being Cheeky I have a gardening question because I’m sure you will know the answer! I’ve looked everywhere and can’t find an answer! So here’s the question ‘Everything you read tells you that once you plant asparagus crowns you should allow about three years before cropping to allow the plant to build energy, what I can’t find out is, if the crowns where clearly at least 3 years old at the time of planting is so you still have wait further 3 years? Thank you
If the crowns were indeed that old, they will be checked by transplanting and lose up to 1 year from that, so it's a good question and I would wait two years rather than three. Also you could pick a few asparagus in May of the second year after plantin
I have plenty of compost, but I'll be experimenting with companion planting around my veggies so the soil around the plant is covered with something that's alive. I have a lot of extra herb/flower seedlings that I don't mind leaving "stunted" under my hot peppers. I don't keep old seeds, so everything extra will be planted somewhere.
So cool can watch this all day!would love to see a trial on white clover as a cover crop. I use it in a garden that has no composting possibilities, on a 2,5m by 2,5 square im growing 5 fruit trees and some shrubs. They need lots of nitrogen which the trifolium seems to capture and deliver. Im really curious what would happen in a vegetable garden case. Either a sow in a green patch of white clover. Or the "sow&capture, destroy& release kinda preworked bed.
I'm looking for cool season cover crops and white clover does not grow much in the winter. In a vegetable garden it's incredibly invasive, I know people who have sown it and regret it! Be careful. For sure it's great under trees and bushes.
6 หลายเดือนก่อน +1
@@CharlesDowding1nodig thanks! Yes im aware of its invasiveness. But apart from that im not aware of the negative sides of the Clover😬 does it steal nutrients away? Of does it do something else apart from appearing everywhere?
Its invasive quality is 100% enough to cause me not to grow it. That is another drain on time, edging. Also it is taking nutrients plus moisture from path soil which prevents vegetable roots accessing them.
Hi have you ever heard of using table salt in a trench months before you sow beetroot I live in Wales so there is a lot of coal in the ground but all I can find on it is beetroot originally grew on the coast you are a clever man so I wanted your opinion I'm going to do an experiment
Beetroots are descended from seaside plants, so that might be why it works, I do not do it, but there's no harm in trying! Or seaweed would be even better.
Evening Charles, another really useful educational video. Just woundering, I know you said you keep and save some of your own mustard seed for cover cropping but just woundering if there is anywere that mustard seed can be purchased in big quantaties for the purpose of cover cropping? I can only seem to find small packet which I am presuming I would need large amounts of to cover an area of 300m2. Thanks
Thank you, and yes, try Kings seeds in the UK, but you might need to open a commercial account. Otherwise maybe an agricultural store or merchant of some kind. I have also saved seed from 20 plants and that worked well, harvest in July
I see compost mainly as a cover that prevents moisture to evaporate. The soil keeps longer the needed moisture. Also it is not compacted, allowing easier root development for seedlings. The more roots, the stronger the plant. It is an attractive habitat for worms. Make a hole in the ground, put compost and it attracts worms. Not to speak about the nutrients for them if it is fresh compost. Green cover crops can play that role but in my opinion to a lesser extent. I prefer to throw them on a not too thick heap where they decompose slowly. At that time they are closer to what compost does.
Great video Something I'm trying to figure out What winter type cover crop to plant for using as compost material as early as possible way spring time.
Cats, give me strength, the neighbourhood moggies would shit in my raised beds like mad if I hadnt invested in The RSPB ultrasonic scarer, not nice when you are trying to grow food. I guess Charles cat has a litter tray?
Have you tried fenugreek as a cover crop Charles? I was thinking it makes sense because as a legume you can eat the shoots (although not sure how they compare to pea shoots), and they will fix some nitrogen too. But also, because the seeds are a commonly used spice in Indian cookery you can get a large quantity of seeds for very little money. I've tried growing shop bought fenugreek seeds and they germinated well. I haven't yet tried as a cover crop - I just grew them for making curry - but thinking of using them in Autumn as a green manure.
@@CharlesDowding1nodig No, I meant buying seed not growing/saving your own seeds. You can get 1 kilo of fenugreek seeds from a supermarket for just a few pounds. Compared with buying from a seed merchant where it's several times the price.
Good point, but my concern is more that I have no vacant soil until mid September, and by then, something like fenugreek doesn't have time to grow a lot of organic matter before winter, hence I grow mustard
Hi Charles, interesting video as always. You mention that planting a cover crop after the last harvest in the autumn doesn't really give time for the plants to grow much before winter. Does planting the cover crop before the last harvest make a difference? Would that work, or is that what you've already tried? Thanks :)
Many autumn vegetables have strong leaf cover and it's simply not possible. If there is a chance to sow earlier, I have done that with corn salad for example under delayed cabbage, something to eat
Hello Charles, Je mets chaque année des fèves en octobre du côté sud contre un mur et je n'ai jamais eu de problème ,elles passent très bien l'hiver 👍 En mars je sème de nouveau des fèves ( toujours mes propres graines) sur plusieurs parcelles ( au milieu de la largeur) et vers le 21 avril je mets 1 route de patate de chaque côté des fèves Quen pensez-vous ?🤔 Comme vous,jaime faire des expériences 😅 Pépé JP de ch'nord
Hello Tank you for vidéo Et merci pour votre livre en français, c'est plus facile pour moi 😅 Le plus difficile c'est le compost. J'ai beaucoup de copeaux ( rabotage machine) ça chauffe bien mais il me semble que c'est long à ce décomposer. Sorry for my English very Tank you. Maxime BZH
I find it hard to get my head round cover crops…they take nutrition from the soil to grow & then put it back. So apart from keeping weeds down, & adding organic matter, how does it benefit? Like you I prefer home compost (plus some free well rotted horse manure (as I live in the country!)
Their roots being alive through winter can help soil biology to stay more active and they are converting sunlight into carbon which is a net benefit for soil. For sure, they're not for every bed or every situation.
You could do that, or my preferred option is to spread it before sowing, and then it grows through the compost, which continues to mature through winter, and you are all ready for spring
I want to eat the tops and the rest we clear because it's just before putting in little plants and seeds, and they would be in the way Plus would encourage slugs
I’m starting new garden beds in soil that’s very sandy and nutrient deficient. I was thinking I’d lay down cardboard, and then a mix of compost/topsoil (it’s what I have) and a cover crop to give it some nutrients and help with weeds and then plant in the spring. Or I have mulch I could put on top instead of the cover crop, or in addition to? Any tips/thoughts would be greatly appreciated!
To grow great vegetables on that soil, I suggest you need at least 15 cm or 6 inches of compost, which can be from any origin including animal manure. I would put the soil first and then all the compost on top. I'm not convinced that a green manure will add a huge amount of nutrition, but will add a little carbon. But I would do that, rather than simply mulching with undecomposed organic matter
Hi. I have three bays in the vegetable garden, behind my house. Brown cockroaches have appeared sometimes and I'm worried about the house being close. What could I be doing wrong to make them appear and how can I solve it?
As long as your house is clean and tidy, I'm sure you will be fine there and cockroaches are agents of decomposition, so they belong in a compost heap when it's immature
Not at all because the compost keeps being eaten by soil organisms and loses volume. Where I add 1 inch/2.5 cm every year, the level does not rise, or just a little if we add more
I've returned to this video as I intend to sow cover crops this autumn/winter because I haven't enough home-made compost for all my beds. I'm in central Portugal where the winter is mild and wet so growing some things over winter is easier. My question is: when the broad beans and peas are over you said you cut them to the ground, do you then leave the plants to decompose on top of the beds or remove them to the composting bays?
That all sounds good and I say a big yes to using that winter weather you have, for growing. I remove old plants to the compost heap because otherwise they accumulate slugs underneath, and often they're in the way of new plantings. And it depends partly what you are doing with that ground in the next month or two.
Could I ask your advice please Charles?A few years ago I asked Some travelling gardeners to get rid of my pampas grass. They asked me whether I was using my front garden to grow veg. When I said No they put something on the pampas grass that totally killed it in the middle, although all the outside of it has grown back. Everything else around it is still green. Now years later I would like to grow veg in the front garden but I'm worried that the soil may have been poisoned by what was put on the pampas grass. I don't know what it was. What do you think please?
It sounds bad Jeanette, but I don't know, partly because you're not 100% clear whether that area is no still empty of anything growing. If it is, that sounds like a bad person! Otherwise, it should be okay.
Hi Charles, what is your advice on adding Comfrey to compost bins, I have ordered some plants on ebay but mistakingly though they were Bocking 14 which don't seed, would it be a bad idea to plant these in my garden, will they be invasive and spread to my neighbours garden. Thanks - martin.
If they are not Bocking 14, I would not plant themyour garden because they will seed and spread. I don't especially value them because they take a lot of space and are quite invasive. Hopefully you could put them somewhere where they are out of the way a bit.
Thanks, don't think I'll plant them at all, will maybe use nettles instead in my compost bin as I hear they are equally good to add nutrients. Thanks for help. Martin
I borrowed your garden journal from my library and have been reading it today, but can you please explain what drawing a drill means? You are using it quite a bit in March's chapter, but I'm not sure what you mean.
If you were to get a broom stick (without the broom head), or similar, and drag it along soft earth, the path left by the stick is a drill. That's what you plant your seeds into.
Cat poo ? What do you do with it Charles ? I put it deep under new trees when planting so it's not wasted but also not contaminating compost. I suspect they mostly go up in the wild woods leaf litter though as they don't come indoors
I noticed that you use/test various substrates for sowing, including your own compost. However, never use only worm compost. Is it too "strong"? You should include a cartoon of your cat in your logo :)
Thanks. And the reason I never use pure worm compost is because it's too valuable! Also, in fact, because it's usually quite dense and wet, and seedling roots need air
It might take longer because it rarely gets hot and how long depends on the bedding, whether it's straw which is best for composting, or wood shavings which take longer
I find cover crops extremely difficult if all beds are taken the whole year. My problem is that compost is from same year and only half rotted by november. Can i put this on beds already over winter or would you not recommend that? Thanks 4 ur good work and vids. Salutations jardinals des cevennes
Merci bien! I agree that cover crops are not easy in a vegetable garden, and that's often not well explained. Compost such as you describe can be spread in November and it will continue to decompose through winter. In late winter, you can rake off any woody pieces and it should have become much softer thanks to frost.
Good stuff Charles. Indeed the simplest way to improve soil is to grow a plant in it. If you can grow healthy plants, then you can see super increases in soil health. We have been known to spray a cover with a mineral profile, based on shortfalls in testing, and let the cover crop carry this in to the soil releasing it as the cover decomposes. It has proved a good method to power soil over winter for the spring. Also simply adding a mineral amendment with a humic acid in the autumn allows us to capitalise as you say come spring planting. Mustard will also fumigate the soil helping reduce potentially risky nematodes which is a great benefit of course. Love the under planting. We did this too this year using Mizuna and Potatoes..muzuna finished..soil warmed and potatoes came up as we did the third heavy cut of the salad. We also have a bed we tried to mix 55day type lettuces (mostly endives and Maravila) interplanted with radishes. The radishes we pulled from day 35 giving space to the lettuces that we headed. We also plant beds using multiple crops that suit each other well..things like planting rucula with mustard and parsley which appear to work well and taste delicious as a cut leaf mix. There are many examples of this found in older texts that appear more mindful if some of the more modern growing books
Does the cat ever use the garden bed as a litter box? How do you deal with that? I've found out a cat in my neighborhood had been doong that, so had to cover my beds.
I have just taken on my first allotment and am looking to have no dig beds. Do you have any tips on how to start without spending a fortune? Buying enough compost all at once would be super expensive
Here you can see my tips www.charlesdowding.co.uk/get-started and here th-cam.com/video/laBXwOdbOlw/w-d-xo.html also www.charlesdowding.co.uk/education/starting-a-no-dig-allotment
I covered my raised beds with straw last fall. 1 bed i planted garlic in. Can i plant right through the straw or wood that need to be removed to the compost pile?? Any ideas?
Straw works for garlic, but less so for say lettuce because it can harbour slugs which eat them. Plus it makes it difficult to sow carrots. So it depends!
@@CharlesDowding1nodig ohhhhhhhh. Thank you!!!! I just planted a few seedlings in through the straw just yesterday! Today, straw be gone!. I just got 2 of your books yesterday with the 3rd, Lettuces, coming today. Thank you for sharing all your knowledge AND answering questions!!!!!
Since watching your vidoes ive become sceptical of alot of other products now what do you think of fish blood and bone? I put itnon my chili plants each year but Im actually wondering its just a marketing ploy because the plants should have all they need with no dig.
I need to be honest: My ears are completely focused on Charles Dowding but my eyes are focused on his cat the entire time.
Cute!!!
I was feeling the same way. Such a beautiful calico. She seems to be very sweet and affectionate, whilst not being too demanding about it. The perfect kind of kitty.
Agree. My boy Meece wouldn't be as mellow (he'd be on my shoulder & in my face).😊
That’s the cats main objective 😹
Mine too! 🐈
You should definitely keep the new co-host!
😂
Minty is one persistent cat, a most excellent kitty indeed.
You can tell a good soul by how a cat acts around them. Minty is as always very welcome in your content Charles!!!
Thank you
Oh my gosh, we LOVE a Minty episode!! 🥰 She's seriously the cutest little companion~
😍
That's a great trick of planting the garlic with the cover crop. Amazing how the timing works out so well with planting them together at the same time.
Yes, and I wonder if it will help prevent rust which always reduces my overwintered garlic harvest.
WOOHOOO, my compost finally reached a temp of 65⁰C within a day! Chipping a balanced mix of leaves, stalks, flowers, coffee ground and piles of comfrey leaves, then piling it all on top of each other in a 0.9 x 0.9 x 1.2 mtr crate covered with woven weedcloth. I know you have been teaching me this all along, but my setup finally kicked in. I'll turn this batch in 2 months and work perpetual from now on. Finally, I can make enough compost for ½ Acre in 8 months.
That's great to hear of your success 🙌
More co host involvement please 🐈 my cat does the same when I'm in the garden too, although he tends to roll over my freshly planted seedlings in my no dig beds.
So does Minty!
Short and sweet but full of valuable information. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and time. Love the kitty.
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you for producing and sharing your reality. Your channel, Charles Dowding, is astonishing, education and hopefully inspiring others to start growing and being in touch with the seasons. You influence me to keep trying to grow food in my yard and teach me with every film you share. I appreciate you and your team.
Thank you very much for your kind words. I am glad you enjoy the content.
Kitty is looking so regal sitting between the broad bean beds! 👑
💚
I'm enjoying that you addressed this, as options. It can help those with more of one resource, and perhaps less of another, decide which way would best benefit them. Bless you, Charles.
Thanks 💚
Hello from Arkansas, USA. So glad to have received my No Dig copy a couple of weeks ago. First sowings completed, and compost mulch spread. Can’t wait to get them transplanted in the coming weeks.
Thanks for sharing!
I follow you many years, i like your videos somuch! Greetings from Slovenia!
Awesome! Thank you!
The best videos on the web have a lovely pet (especially a calico cat)!
We agree!
Great strategies, and that cat is so sweet! 😸
💚
mister charly hoy disdrute mucho tu video.. y a mintie.. yo estoy enamorada de ella.. 🤫😍.. cada dia aprendiendo de sus trasmisiones 🖐️👍
love your cat
Thank you
Great Charles, again a nice good video 👍
Helene in Sweden
Thanks Helena
My question for Charles is: how do you keep your cat from making toilets in the beds?
I cannot, so she does, so I left them and put them on the compost heap in the middle
Awww, such a cute cat 😍😍😍😍💕
She adopted me, is a joy!
@@CharlesDowding1nodig Know that feeling! We have another edition to the family since last summer. And so happy she came around. 💕💕💕💕 Still can not understand the kind of person that dumps their cat like that...
Thank you Charlles. I always tune in and share your content. I appreciate the knowledge you share with us.
Cheers Louis that is nice
Thank you for sharing!❤
Lovely female cat, I assume from her colouring…🙂
Yes, thanks, she is Minty
Good morning Charles, I enjoyed the visit. I hope you are enjoying this time of year, so much to look forward to. Take care.
Glad you enjoyed it Naomi 🌱
Such a brilliant balance 🧄🌿🧄
💚
Thank you for sharing lots of great tips and ideas.
You are very welcome
OUTSTANDING INFO, Govner. Hoping to do all your courses asap to further educate myself although I hate study since being in the army. However you as a teacher it'll be a wonderful experience & can't wait.
Keep up the great work!
Gary 7th generation 1st fleet convict from down under 🇦🇺
Cheers Gary, that's nice and I love how you sign yourself!
This week I went to the crountryside near my city and got some dry cow manure, they needed to get rid of it before winter. Gonna start to use it this fall. Thanks for your help Charles.
Great to hear Lukas
Thank you for valuable advice, Mr. Dowding. Your No -Dig method and the bedding system works great in my garden, but here in Poland, where I live, we sometimes have severe winters even to -25 degrees, and I noticed that in my garden I need soil covering with compost and on it an additional layer of e.g. fallen leaves , or straw, although for soil life, ground cover plants will work even better, as long as they can be sowed as you said early. I also noticed that the compost soil protected with a cover layer is more resistant to freezing and raises faster to live in spring, and when I remove the protective layer at the end of February or March, the ground will warm up in the rays of the sun. Greetings from Poland :)
Lovely feedback thanks so much! 💚
Thank you for the "show" notes. Much appreciated. Zone 6B. East Coast USA. An exciting time. Last fall: first time saving marigold pods. Today I'm testing for viability. Thanks for sharing and introducing to us all experiences. Cool cat. ;)
Lovely to see and good luck!
What a beautiful little calico you have!! My Dad has a beautiful little calico called Angie.
Great name 🐈
Very good information and love that cat. I garden in a very similar manner and my mate in the vege garden is a ginger cat called Bodi. We need more old gardening practitioners. Good on you. Cheers from HB NZ
Thank you Cliff 🌱 🐈
Keep inspiring us!
💚
More great tips, thanks for this Charles !
Happy to help
Such a simple system its brilliant really
💚
Gloria a ti,señor,por todo/ viva Christo Rey
A wonderful update. Thanks, from 40 degrees C Asia 🙏
Glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Your kitty is adorable 🙂
Thanks
Tienes al mejor gato granjero de Inglaterra 😂😂🐈🐈🥬🥦🫑🌸👏🏻👏🏻Saludos desde Tenerife!!
😍 🐈
For what it's worth, I think I put 2 much fine compost 2 thick over time on my fruit trees and it all compacted and either suffocated the soil or is stealing nitrogen that would otherwise go to the trees to break down so I'm just letting it all break down hopefully and going 2 keep it at the 2 inches recommended, also I clicked on this video when I seen it was only 6 mins, Ive noticed I tend to click on videos more when they are around 5 minits, great video Charles hope you are doing well legend 🙂
My family weren't too fussed with the broad beans I grew last year (and they are a bit fiddly to prepare anyway)... so I think I might see if I have any of the seeds left and I'm might just plant them out now while our Autumn weather is still quite warm and they can feed the soil instead as you said :D Thanks as always.
Top plan!
Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow at the folk café
😎 a great venue!
Thank you as always Charles 🍄
You are welcome Suzanne
My experience of mustard growing this past autumn is that it does well after harvesting squash (Crown Prince and Red Kuri); well after harvesting outdoor cucumber (here that happens mid-to-late September); I grew field beans in modules before transplanting out where Butternut squash was harvested (mid-to-late October) and they have done well too. I'm about to sow phacelia in the squash beds, as it will be mature and ready to pull by the time that squash is planted out (mid to late May).
Thx for your always great advice 👍🏻💚🌱
I had the some trouble with my broad beans. After sowing in October, they took the first hard frost (-15°C) with lots of snow mid of December pretty well under their fleece cover. Then we had a pretty warm period end of December till mid January. So they grew pretty high 20-30 cm. The next frost (-7°C) survived a third of them. But frost in the end of February killed them all. That was really pitty. Now i have new seeds sown and hope they will survive the aphids. I hoped to pass them by winter sowing. 🤷🏻♀️ Maybe next year...
Yes for February, 20 to 30 cm is making them vulnerable and I would sow next year right at the end of October.
Thank you ✌🏻💜✌🏻
You are welcome
Thanks for the video. My family has been farming for generations so my dad thinks im nuts doing no till. I think hes coming around as I develop my market farm though.
Best of luck with land and father! I had similar, and the best bit is when they see it working
Amazing video Charles ! Loved it. I'm BEYOND excited for this season to begin :)
Sorry for the long question.
Charles I have a problem with my medium when I sow seeds indoor in containers. Sometimes there is a 1 centimeter crust forming on top of the soil. Its like if all the organic matter on top glued together, forming a crust. It happens within the first 3 days of sowing.
I'm not talking about alguea or muchrooms growing on top of the medium, everything looks very clean, its just a solid crust of soil on top, preventing seedling to reach surface. I'm not sure what cause this crust to form, have you ever experienced such thing?
Cheers, and that sounds like you have too much soil in your mix. Fine soil will cap together like that on top.
So that's the advantage of using 90% plus compost, with very little soil.
@@CharlesDowding1nodig Thank you !!!
Another excellent post! I really like the idea of using green manures and cover crops because they reduce the amount of external inputs needed.
Question: Can green manures replace the need for compost and external inputs entirely?
If not, how did your ancestors do farming? I imagine they couldn't afford to haul a bunch of organic matter across country for their farms.
My ancestors would have had lower output per square metre, that's my main consideration and it means you would need to spend more time for less food on a larger area. Some of them would have had animal manure which is compost, and very effective
The local farmer does green manure in winter. Looks much better than bare soil. Greetings from north germany. Thanks to Anna for putting me on the no dig map. xx
Being Cheeky I have a gardening question because I’m sure you will know the answer! I’ve looked everywhere and can’t find an answer! So here’s the question ‘Everything you read tells you that once you plant asparagus crowns you should allow about three years before cropping to allow the plant to build energy, what I can’t find out is, if the crowns where clearly at least 3 years old at the time of planting is so you still have wait further 3 years? Thank you
If the crowns were indeed that old, they will be checked by transplanting and lose up to 1 year from that, so it's a good question and I would wait two years rather than three. Also you could pick a few asparagus in May of the second year after plantin
Thank you
love video bomb from the kitty 😺.
💚 🐈
I have plenty of compost, but I'll be experimenting with companion planting around my veggies so the soil around the plant is covered with something that's alive. I have a lot of extra herb/flower seedlings that I don't mind leaving "stunted" under my hot peppers. I don't keep old seeds, so everything extra will be planted somewhere.
Boa noite obrigado Charles ❤
De nada
Here in northeast Arizona, we had snow yesterday and today! March 8.
I hope it warms soon :)
Talking sweet animals: my new podenco mix from the animal shelter has just beheaded my purple sprouting broccoli, seems to be a gourmant😮
🥲
So cool can watch this all day!would love to see a trial on white clover as a cover crop. I use it in a garden that has no composting possibilities, on a 2,5m by 2,5 square im growing 5 fruit trees and some shrubs. They need lots of nitrogen which the trifolium seems to capture and deliver. Im really curious what would happen in a vegetable garden case. Either a sow in a green patch of white clover. Or the "sow&capture, destroy& release kinda preworked bed.
I'm looking for cool season cover crops and white clover does not grow much in the winter. In a vegetable garden it's incredibly invasive, I know people who have sown it and regret it! Be careful. For sure it's great under trees and bushes.
@@CharlesDowding1nodig thanks! Yes im aware of its invasiveness. But apart from that im not aware of the negative sides of the Clover😬 does it steal nutrients away? Of does it do something else apart from appearing everywhere?
Its invasive quality is 100% enough to cause me not to grow it. That is another drain on time, edging.
Also it is taking nutrients plus moisture from path soil which prevents vegetable roots accessing them.
Hi have you ever heard of using table salt in a trench months before you sow beetroot I live in Wales so there is a lot of coal in the ground but all I can find on it is beetroot originally grew on the coast you are a clever man so I wanted your opinion I'm going to do an experiment
Beetroots are descended from seaside plants, so that might be why it works, I do not do it, but there's no harm in trying! Or seaweed would be even better.
Evening Charles, another really useful educational video.
Just woundering, I know you said you keep and save some of your own mustard seed for cover cropping but just woundering if there is anywere that mustard seed can be purchased in big quantaties for the purpose of cover cropping?
I can only seem to find small packet which I am presuming I would need large amounts of to cover an area of 300m2.
Thanks
Thank you, and yes, try Kings seeds in the UK, but you might need to open a commercial account. Otherwise maybe an agricultural store or merchant of some kind. I have also saved seed from 20 plants and that worked well, harvest in July
I honestly think you should pop a GoPro on your cats collar and film a "tour" video in the eyes of your cat, if your cat will allow it 😂
😂
I see compost mainly as a cover that prevents moisture to evaporate. The soil keeps longer the needed moisture. Also it is not compacted, allowing easier root development for seedlings. The more roots, the stronger the plant. It is an attractive habitat for worms. Make a hole in the ground, put compost and it attracts worms. Not to speak about the nutrients for them if it is fresh compost. Green cover crops can play that role but in my opinion to a lesser extent. I prefer to throw them on a not too thick heap where they decompose slowly. At that time they are closer to what compost does.
Thanks Charles! I always love your videos... Please , would you tell me what kind of shoes you were wearing ing in this video? Thank you
Muck boots, no name on boot!
Nice.
Thank you Holly
Buenisimo😊
🙂
Minty needs her own ticktok page 😂😂😂😂
😂
I hope you have catnip and catmint growing
‼️ yes indeed
Great video
Something I'm trying to figure out
What winter type cover crop to plant for using as compost material as early as possible way spring time.
Depends on your climate, but broad/field beans are worth a try
Many thanks
Sunny Hampshire is home
Cats, give me strength, the neighbourhood moggies would shit in my raised beds like mad if I hadnt invested in The RSPB ultrasonic scarer, not nice when you are trying to grow food. I guess Charles cat has a litter tray?
Haha no Paul, I remove them
Have you tried fenugreek as a cover crop Charles? I was thinking it makes sense because as a legume you can eat the shoots (although not sure how they compare to pea shoots), and they will fix some nitrogen too. But also, because the seeds are a commonly used spice in Indian cookery you can get a large quantity of seeds for very little money. I've tried growing shop bought fenugreek seeds and they germinated well. I haven't yet tried as a cover crop - I just grew them for making curry - but thinking of using them in Autumn as a green manure.
Nice idea, but I'm not growing these cover crops over many months and would not have time for seeds to develop
@@CharlesDowding1nodig No, I meant buying seed not growing/saving your own seeds. You can get 1 kilo of fenugreek seeds from a supermarket for just a few pounds. Compared with buying from a seed merchant where it's several times the price.
Good point, but my concern is more that I have no vacant soil until mid September, and by then, something like fenugreek doesn't have time to grow a lot of organic matter before winter, hence I grow mustard
Hi Charles, interesting video as always.
You mention that planting a cover crop after the last harvest in the autumn doesn't really give time for the plants to grow much before winter. Does planting the cover crop before the last harvest make a difference? Would that work, or is that what you've already tried? Thanks :)
Many autumn vegetables have strong leaf cover and it's simply not possible. If there is a chance to sow earlier, I have done that with corn salad for example under delayed cabbage, something to eat
@@CharlesDowding1nodig good to know, thanks :)
I find issue with planting winter cover crops too late is not enough daylight to get them growing much.
Exactly!
Oh very food
Hello Charles,
Je mets chaque année des fèves en octobre du côté sud contre un mur et je n'ai jamais eu de problème ,elles passent très bien l'hiver 👍
En mars je sème de nouveau des fèves ( toujours mes propres graines) sur plusieurs parcelles ( au milieu de la largeur) et vers le 21 avril je mets 1 route de patate de chaque côté des fèves
Quen pensez-vous ?🤔
Comme vous,jaime faire des expériences 😅
Pépé JP de ch'nord
Pépé c'est fort bon truc, allez-y
Hello
Tank you for vidéo
Et merci pour votre livre en français, c'est plus facile pour moi 😅
Le plus difficile c'est le compost. J'ai beaucoup de copeaux ( rabotage machine) ça chauffe bien mais il me semble que c'est long à ce décomposer. Sorry for my English very Tank you. Maxime BZH
Maxime merci, peut être ajoute des graines de cafe, ca fait chauffer
@@CharlesDowding1nodig 👍
I find it hard to get my head round cover crops…they take nutrition from the soil to grow & then put it back. So apart from keeping weeds down, & adding organic matter, how does it benefit? Like you I prefer home compost (plus some free well rotted horse manure (as I live in the country!)
Their roots being alive through winter can help soil biology to stay more active and they are converting sunlight into carbon which is a net benefit for soil. For sure, they're not for every bed or every situation.
Hello Charles, I have a question about what do you do afterwards with the mustard plants? Can you put compost directly on them in spring?
You could do that, or my preferred option is to spread it before sowing, and then it grows through the compost, which continues to mature through winter, and you are all ready for spring
Why don’t you just leave the cut tops of broad beans to rot on the top like the mustard?
I want to eat the tops and the rest we clear because it's just before putting in little plants and seeds, and they would be in the way Plus would encourage slugs
Charles, have you experimented with adding alfalfa meal or pellets to the soil?
It would be expensive for soil, I prefer adding compost, but for containers it works well where you do not have much volume for adding material
кішка зачьотная ))
I’m starting new garden beds in soil that’s very sandy and nutrient deficient. I was thinking I’d lay down cardboard, and then a mix of compost/topsoil (it’s what I have) and a cover crop to give it some nutrients and help with weeds and then plant in the spring. Or I have mulch I could put on top instead of the cover crop, or in addition to? Any tips/thoughts would be greatly appreciated!
To grow great vegetables on that soil, I suggest you need at least 15 cm or 6 inches of compost, which can be from any origin including animal manure. I would put the soil first and then all the compost on top. I'm not convinced that a green manure will add a huge amount of nutrition, but will add a little carbon. But I would do that, rather than simply mulching with undecomposed organic matter
@@CharlesDowding1nodig thank you! Do you suggest I wait until spring to plant anything in it?
I am in New England zone 4, can I use your
Mustard cover crop strategy here in Maine with garlic?
Yes I would try it although it might not be quite so big by November
Hi. I have three bays in the vegetable garden, behind my house. Brown cockroaches have appeared sometimes and I'm worried about the house being close. What could I be doing wrong to make them appear and how can I solve it?
As long as your house is clean and tidy, I'm sure you will be fine there and cockroaches are agents of decomposition, so they belong in a compost heap when it's immature
Charles i have a question: over the years keep adding compost wouldn't build up too much height? How do you deal with that?
Thanks in Advance
Not at all because the compost keeps being eaten by soil organisms and loses volume. Where I add 1 inch/2.5 cm every year, the level does not rise, or just a little if we add more
I've returned to this video as I intend to sow cover crops this autumn/winter because I haven't enough home-made compost for all my beds. I'm in central Portugal where the winter is mild and wet so growing some things over winter is easier.
My question is: when the broad beans and peas are over you said you cut them to the ground, do you then leave the plants to decompose on top of the beds or remove them to the composting bays?
That all sounds good and I say a big yes to using that winter weather you have, for growing.
I remove old plants to the compost heap because otherwise they accumulate slugs underneath, and often they're in the way of new plantings. And it depends partly what you are doing with that ground in the next month or two.
@@CharlesDowding1nodig Thanks, Charles, for your feedback; always helpful. I'll source a quantity of suitable cover crop seed and go for it!
Could I ask your advice please Charles?A few years ago I asked Some travelling gardeners to get rid of my pampas grass. They asked me whether I was using my front garden to grow veg. When I said No they put something on the pampas grass that totally killed it in the middle, although all the outside of it has grown back. Everything else around it is still green. Now years later I would like to grow veg in the front garden but I'm worried that the soil may have been poisoned by what was put on the pampas grass. I don't know what it was. What do you think please?
It sounds bad Jeanette, but I don't know, partly because you're not 100% clear whether that area is no still empty of anything growing.
If it is, that sounds like a bad person! Otherwise, it should be okay.
@@CharlesDowding1nodig Thanks so much for answering Charles.
You are welcome Jeanette
Can you recommend a mustard variety that kills easily with frost?
Sinapis alba
Can we give a shout out to Minty the Cat?
Hi Charles, what is your advice on adding Comfrey to compost bins, I have ordered some plants on ebay but mistakingly though they were Bocking 14 which don't seed, would it be a bad idea to plant these in my garden, will they be invasive and spread to my neighbours garden. Thanks - martin.
If they are not Bocking 14, I would not plant themyour garden because they will seed and spread. I don't especially value them because they take a lot of space and are quite invasive. Hopefully you could put them somewhere where they are out of the way a bit.
Thanks, don't think I'll plant them at all, will maybe use nettles instead in my compost bin as I hear they are equally good to add nutrients. Thanks for help. Martin
I borrowed your garden journal from my library and have been reading it today, but can you please explain what drawing a drill means? You are using it quite a bit in March's chapter, but I'm not sure what you mean.
If you were to get a broom stick (without the broom head), or similar, and drag it along soft earth, the path left by the stick is a drill. That's what you plant your seeds into.
Haha yes, the line of open soil/compost for dropping seeds into
Cat poo ? What do you do with it Charles ? I put it deep under new trees when planting so it's not wasted but also not contaminating compost. I suspect they mostly go up in the wild woods leaf litter though as they don't come indoors
Since my compost heaps get hot, I scoop up the poo wherever found and add it to them, in the middle, preferably
I noticed that you use/test various substrates for sowing, including your own compost. However, never use only worm compost. Is it too "strong"?
You should include a cartoon of your cat in your logo :)
Thanks. And the reason I never use pure worm compost is because it's too valuable! Also, in fact, because it's usually quite dense and wet, and seedling roots need air
Hi. Is there a different way to compost cow manure for the garden or is it the same for veg/wood matter?
It might take longer because it rarely gets hot and how long depends on the bedding, whether it's straw which is best for composting, or wood shavings which take longer
I find cover crops extremely difficult if all beds are taken the whole year.
My problem is that compost is from same year and only half rotted by november. Can i put this on beds already over winter or would you not recommend that? Thanks 4 ur good work and vids.
Salutations jardinals des cevennes
Merci bien!
I agree that cover crops are not easy in a vegetable garden, and that's often not well explained. Compost such as you describe can be spread in November and it will continue to decompose through winter. In late winter, you can rake off any woody pieces and it should have become much softer thanks to frost.
How do you stop them all being eaten by mice or birds?
I have a cat. And fortunately not an excess of pigeons here
Good stuff Charles. Indeed the simplest way to improve soil is to grow a plant in it.
If you can grow healthy plants, then you can see super increases in soil health.
We have been known to spray a cover with a mineral profile, based on shortfalls in testing, and let the cover crop carry this in to the soil releasing it as the cover decomposes. It has proved a good method to power soil over winter for the spring.
Also simply adding a mineral amendment with a humic acid in the autumn allows us to capitalise as you say come spring planting.
Mustard will also fumigate the soil helping reduce potentially risky nematodes which is a great benefit of course.
Love the under planting. We did this too this year using Mizuna and Potatoes..muzuna finished..soil warmed and potatoes came up as we did the third heavy cut of the salad.
We also have a bed we tried to mix 55day type lettuces (mostly endives and Maravila) interplanted with radishes. The radishes we pulled from day 35 giving space to the lettuces that we headed.
We also plant beds using multiple crops that suit each other well..things like planting rucula with mustard and parsley which appear to work well and taste delicious as a cut leaf mix. There are many examples of this found in older texts that appear more mindful if some of the more modern growing books
That is all cool, thanks for sharing these great ideas
Does the cat ever use the garden bed as a litter box? How do you deal with that? I've found out a cat in my neighborhood had been doong that, so had to cover my beds.
She does, and I put it on the compost heap, which is hot in the middle
I assume I’d have to find some protection for peas in zone 7b with our snowfalls?
Yes def.
@@CharlesDowding1nodig thank you
I’m curious about the metal hoops you use for supports - where can I buy some please
You can see my recommendations here www.charlesdowding.co.uk/store/gardening-products
I have just taken on my first allotment and am looking to have no dig beds. Do you have any tips on how to start without spending a fortune? Buying enough compost all at once would be super expensive
Here you can see my tips www.charlesdowding.co.uk/get-started and here th-cam.com/video/laBXwOdbOlw/w-d-xo.html also www.charlesdowding.co.uk/education/starting-a-no-dig-allotment
I covered my raised beds with straw last fall. 1 bed i planted garlic in. Can i plant right through the straw or wood that need to be removed to the compost pile?? Any ideas?
Straw works for garlic, but less so for say lettuce because it can harbour slugs which eat them. Plus it makes it difficult to sow carrots. So it depends!
@@CharlesDowding1nodig ohhhhhhhh. Thank you!!!! I just planted a few seedlings in through the straw just yesterday! Today, straw be gone!. I just got 2 of your books yesterday with the 3rd, Lettuces, coming today. Thank you for sharing all your knowledge AND answering questions!!!!!
Great to hear and you are very welcome
Since watching your vidoes ive become sceptical of alot of other products now what do you think of fish blood and bone? I put itnon my chili plants each year but Im actually wondering its just a marketing ploy because the plants should have all they need with no dig.
Nice to hear, and I agree that most products are not needed, thanks to soil biology making food available