I think the folks who get all up in arms about NEVER disturbing soil, even in the beginning, probably haven’t truly had to deal with very poor soil quality and having a need to feed their family. Plus- the soil in some cases isn’t healthy. It’s not like one is tilling up a lovely patch of earth and destroying the established biome. That’s a different story. We practice no dig but a large part of our yard was crummy topsoil and sand that was brought in by a construction company from the previous owners. It was overtaken by thistles, quack grass, and bindweed. There was no growing anything on it without first doing some serious damage control. We never resorted to synthetic herbicides or fertilizers, just some digging and a lot of tenacious weeding and soil building. Now 6 years later we are really happy with our soil health. Just smothering that ground and layering compost on top would have never done the job.
I have very sandy soil no earthworm visible or health. After tilling and adding a whole load or organic matter its slowly getting there. This winter I actually spotted the odd earthworms
Weeds such as thistles, brassica weed, and fat hen, for example are primary ground repairers, let them grow to the max. Soil repairing can only start with plants, not tillage. Then start mulching composting, start cropping with legumes and brassicas
My property is pure clay after 1". Only native plants, trees flourish. I have a few raised beds, home compost, this year. Hope I'll get some nice veggies this year! I don't give up.😂
@666 the thing is every year the plants develop. Just like Hew has mention in one of his videos there would be no chance that the 'weed' you have mention would grow in thick grass up to chest height. The land was once farmed over 30 years ago the farmers passed away and left to its devices. Because the land owner is not allowed to build anything on it, they eventually decided to turn into allotment place. Even after cutting all the grass back it was impossible for anything to come through
Facts. We disturb the soil as little as possible but the reality is it's necessary sometimes. We try to do it mostly in the fall or early spring when the biome is mostly dormant and then let the soil restructure itself, plus keep it to the top 2 inches.
Lovely ideas as always! I did some trench composting in my garden last year, as I don't have room for compost bin in my garden and somehow accidentally managed to sprout a mango! 😂
I have found the easiest and tidiest method of composting is to put a spadeful of soil into a 56litre plastic bag then fill with leaves which I push down again and again. Next slowly add water then turn a few times over two days. Finally poke a few small holes in bottom of bag and place under a tree. The worms will do the work for you over 9-12 months. You may need to add a bit more water during summer.
Corn is generally considered a heavy feeder I think. I grew it last year in poor soil and had some pest troubles (Japanese beetles and cutworms), though the corn I did harvest was quite tasty. The real yield was the soil afterward, which by mulching the bed with the cut up stalks and leaving the roots in the ground over winter, became quite soft and full of worms.
Anywhere we've grown corn has become the best soil in our gardens! We also leave the roots in over winter and mulch the stalks back into the dirt. Wonderful for building soil!
In fact I even sowed chickpeas and the leaves are sour and slugs hate it. It's a double fix, u can harvest tender leaves to cook as greens and when they die down at end of season they fix nitrogen as they are a legume.
Huw, this couldn't be more timely! I have some very neglected, compacted raised beds that sat empty for about 10 years. You gave some great ideas to get me started. I think I will try the compost trenching technique. Thanks!
:) 1st year gardener here, and we did just that with our sugar pie pumpkins. I added a sprinkling of egg shells that hasn’t quite broken down, and some semi composted bits from our compost pile. They seem to be growing on nicely! Hoping for some pumpkins this upcoming fall.
You can mix eggshells with vinegar to make the minerals much more available to the plants. I learned this from the “garden like a Viking” Channel. Happy gardening!
@@andrewpalim1978 yes I’ve done this for our tomatoes & other plants too. Unsure of what the release rate is, but I figured it would be slower since that pumpkins date to maturity is much longer than some of my other plants that we use it for :)
The key word is near the end I think - "intuition". I mean some logic and time with that and you have a mix for a happy soil and garden that will get better and better for every season.
I saw a compost video on here about grinding up tree branches to use for compost. I didn’t want to spend any money on a chipper so I used clippers to remove all the fine branches and laid them down on the ground and covered them with compost.
I will be planting black eyed peas(cow peas). It is supposed to open up the soil by having an extensive root system, as well as a deep tap root. In the past I've used cover crops. Thank you for this video.
I started my no-dig watching Charles Dowding's videos, and he is truly a master. But I like the way your thinking is going, thank you for this wonderful information. I am learning so much and will keep watching.
I do a few different things on my allotment. I’m no dig, layer mulch IE: cardboard,mulch,compost and then when planted I cover in straw. Straw is the Ruth Stout method. I always do crop rotation, companion planting. Next year I will be adding Square Foot Gardening to the mix.
Broadforking disturbance isn't the same as tiller disturbance though. With a tiller, the entire soil structure, and the biology, gets pulverized. With a broad fork, the soil gets loosened, but the animals are not destroyed/scared off and the fungal hyphae are not greatly broken up.
I'm still not convinced that it's a stable soil structure though. That air pocket isn't going to stay there, it's going to collapse after the first heavy rain.Yeah it feels great but is very unlikely to help unless you need the light structure immediately (for sowing etc)
@@Scott3387 It will settle back down. However, fungi and bacteria build soil nodules that increase pore spaces. A tiller breaks those up allowing the rain to compact the soil even more. A broad fork loosens the soil without creating a fine powder. It will have to be redone occasionally. That will be when the farmer/gardener notices the soil structure getting too firm.
@@ecocentrichomestead6783 my point was not with regard to the negatives but merely that there is little benefit. There is almost nothing that is 'too firm', most garden soil will handle any roots without need for this very temporary artificial movement of the soil.
Amazing! I learn more about soil health and gardening from your videos than I do from half the gardening books in my library! Keep these wonderful videos coming. Hello from Kansas and it's clay soil.......sigh.
Love the condensed comfry juice. I srarted a bunch of comfry last year. I dont mind if something useful spreads out. Im still trying to figure out where to plant them so they can, as my garden is small. Im still amazed at how much I can fit in that little space. I even found a bag of really shriveled up poatoes with really long sprouts. I had one long bed so in they went. They are doing quite well.
Our soil here looks great when its moist but drys out rather quickly. Im always trying to add more mulch/organic matter/grass clippings/partially decomposed compost to try to keep in the moisture during the heat of the summer.
Such a great video! So many things I would never have thought about and I’m always so worried about disturbing the soil while following the no dig method 👍
I will definitely try that jadam way fertilizer! at the beginning of spring I blender some kitchen scraps and do the trench compost, give it some weeks to compost, hopefully quickly so it will feed my garden come growing time! So many awesome tips you always share!
Hi everyone has anyone ever had problems with cats defecating in their raised beds.. I just spent weeks preparing raised beds and have now realized neighborhood cats have been using them as litter trays.. I am so upset.. cat poop is quite toxic and I don't know what to do now any advice would be appreciated 😢
I feel your pain! I tried many smells that they supposedly don't like and what worked was orange peel, but you've got to keep topping it up every few days for freshness. In the end I invested in those solar powered cat scarers that emit a high-pitched sound the cats hate. 100% effective so far. So frustrating and unfair that we bear the burden of animals that aren't ours!
I just got an allotment which I believe has been dug and had harsh chemicals for weed killing put on it for many years and the soil is awful! I am frantically trying to buy more compost for broccoli and potatoes but now I think I may just stick the potatoes into trenches and see what happens
To reinvigorate your soil try electro culture (copper wire wrapped around wood or bamboo sticks 3 - 6 ft tall with the copper wire in the ground). Its done wonders on my garden but like with anything don't believe anything people say try it out for yourself and see if it makes a difference. There are countless videos on youtube.
Hi Huw. What can i do about the loads of roots a tree and hedges nearby is sending up my raised bed ....i mean its just taking over and so hard to dig ...i cant even dig a trench to compost in it.😢
Welcome. Thank you for the fast shipping of the book Veg in one bed! I have a question. I bought soil for raised beds and seedlings after earthworm breeding. Unfortunately, nothing grows well in it. The plants are very weak, small, the earth has a raid. What to do to save this substrate? Natural fertilizers? Or is this substrate too rich in nutrients? I started using hummusic acids, probiotics, beneficial EM organisms. I used this soil for all the beds raised :(
Broadforking can be detremental on established beds (increased disruption & oxidation) rule of thumb: if you can push a regular fork all the way in without standing on it, it dunt need broadforking, don't take my word for it, do a side by side for the lightbulb moment at yeild comparrison time.
@@dudeusmaximus6793 I sold mine ~10yrs ago after I was challenged about the practice and we did a side by side on established beds, best result was no different to no boradfork, worst was ~10% less yeild, we're on heavy clay so it was really hard work broadforking for a new bed, we found using a 50mm bulb planting auger on a 150mm grid pattern filling the holes with compost and building no-dig beds on top was much more effective (and much easier in compacted clay) mimicing nature as if a tree had been culled leaving the roots to rot down. I firmly believe this practice will become more popular than broadforking once it becomes more widely known.
Thanks Huw, exactly what I needed! My first year of allotmenting, and I have a patch at one end that I hadn’t dug over and mulched when I took on the neglected plot last October. Though I don’t eat potatoes, I think I’ll give the potato method a go. Who knows, I may even end up eating some! Do you have any bright ideas about getting shot of brambles? The roots go so deep I can’t get them out and the pesky things are popping up all over the plot 🤦🏼♀
you can remove all above ground cover, then treat the new bramble growth with trichlopyr or glyphosate (fast), or try to starve them off sunlight aggressively with plastic or canvas (slow). The slow method can take multiple years.
@@thestorytelleruk Preferably not, and with both compounds it will take 2 months to be broken down. It's fast and kills the root system though, which is quicker than starving them out. firmly established brambles are hard to get rid off.
Thank you for the video! How do you deal with the wire worm issue on new ground where there's been lawn/weeds for many years? A big issue for me, as I am converting half an acre of this into a veg garden
Grew them for years. If you overwinter them they are good raw and very sweet like jicama if you've had that. Put them in with roasts, soups, I suppose you could stir-fry them or even fry them singly, I've even ground them and ground them into flour for bread. Problem is most people can't tolerate them, they would practically give me dysentery for days. However I've read that lacto fermenting them cuts that problem down drastically. I may start growing them again just to see.
Hi Huw! A bit off topic but I noticed your tomato plants are already blooming. I'm having some issues with pole beans, ground cherries and cucumbers flowering already as well and they're not outside yet. Is this a sign they're stressed? Over fertilized? Are you going to nip the flowers off of your tomato plants or just leave them?
I would plant loads MORE, if... I had a way to keep the animals from digging up, & eating my SEEDs and plants. It is not worth ALL the work hand working clay dirt and planting just to see that ALL the work ruined in a few hours, makes you sad, depressed and a ton off pissed off... Its NOT worth the pain at this TIME.
It's awfully depressing to see your hard work destroyed. The best thing is to look at the damage to find out which animals are responsible (birds, mice, voles, raccoons, baboons... i don't know your country) and build barriers against them. E.g Baboons destroy nets which are fine for birds... you have to know your target to avoid wasting money. You could take photos & google image search, or chat with neighbours etc. Good luck
Think of it as feeding the beasties. And you get the leftovers. But, you know, keep trying to figure out how to cordon off some of the garden. My first year I lost probably 60% of my seeds. This year I'm shooting for 70-80% survivors with improved planning
@@ChaosOrZen i'd be happy to share if i could afford more space and time to make up for it. But i'm too disabled & poor to be able to garden more or afford any space but pots
Always grow a surplus so you have enough to feed yourself, pests and the weather. A surplus also acts as compost fodder too. Cover the ground (and plants) with any suitable cover e.g. fleece, old net curtains etc. you don’t need a frame for the cover, just throw it over the plants and ground and weigh down the edges with anything suitable e.g. old wood, branches, used plastic bottles filled with water etc. When you water, just water directly on top of the cover, don’t worry about the cover touching the leaves. You end up creating a nice micro climate under the cover as a bonus. Once your plants are well established you can take the covers off unless you want to leave them on.
Is no dig practices, unbiblical? There seems to be a lot of talk about tilling the ground in the bible. Surely it can't be wrong if the good book speaks well of it
No dig practises are not unbiblical. In fact, that was how food grew in the beginning, before the fall of Adam and Eve. It was only after the humans sinned that the ground started to bring forth "thorns and thistles" and humans had to eat bread by the "sweat of their brows" - that is, they had to start working hard - (and likely, digging) in order for the soil to produce food. (Genesis chapter 3, verses 18 and 19).
I think the folks who get all up in arms about NEVER disturbing soil, even in the beginning, probably haven’t truly had to deal with very poor soil quality and having a need to feed their family. Plus- the soil in some cases isn’t healthy. It’s not like one is tilling up a lovely patch of earth and destroying the established biome. That’s a different story. We practice no dig but a large part of our yard was crummy topsoil and sand that was brought in by a construction company from the previous owners. It was overtaken by thistles, quack grass, and bindweed. There was no growing anything on it without first doing some serious damage control. We never resorted to synthetic herbicides or fertilizers, just some digging and a lot of tenacious weeding and soil building. Now 6 years later we are really happy with our soil health. Just smothering that ground and layering compost on top would have never done the job.
I have very sandy soil no earthworm visible or health. After tilling and adding a whole load or organic matter its slowly getting there. This winter I actually spotted the odd earthworms
Weeds such as thistles, brassica weed, and fat hen, for example are primary ground repairers, let them grow to the max.
Soil repairing can only start with plants, not tillage. Then start mulching composting, start cropping with legumes and brassicas
My property is pure clay after 1". Only native plants, trees flourish. I have a few raised beds, home compost, this year. Hope I'll get some nice veggies this year! I don't give up.😂
@666 the thing is every year the plants develop. Just like Hew has mention in one of his videos there would be no chance that the 'weed' you have mention would grow in thick grass up to chest height. The land was once farmed over 30 years ago the farmers passed away and left to its devices. Because the land owner is not allowed to build anything on it, they eventually decided to turn into allotment place. Even after cutting all the grass back it was impossible for anything to come through
Facts. We disturb the soil as little as possible but the reality is it's necessary sometimes. We try to do it mostly in the fall or early spring when the biome is mostly dormant and then let the soil restructure itself, plus keep it to the top 2 inches.
Lovely ideas as always! I did some trench composting in my garden last year, as I don't have room for compost bin in my garden and somehow accidentally managed to sprout a mango! 😂
I have found the easiest and tidiest method of composting is to put a spadeful of soil into a 56litre plastic bag then fill with leaves which I push down again and again. Next slowly add water then turn a few times over two days. Finally poke a few small holes in bottom of bag and place under a tree. The worms will do the work for you over 9-12 months. You may need to add a bit more water during summer.
Corn is generally considered a heavy feeder I think. I grew it last year in poor soil and had some pest troubles (Japanese beetles and cutworms), though the corn I did harvest was quite tasty. The real yield was the soil afterward, which by mulching the bed with the cut up stalks and leaving the roots in the ground over winter, became quite soft and full of worms.
Anywhere we've grown corn has become the best soil in our gardens! We also leave the roots in over winter and mulch the stalks back into the dirt. Wonderful for building soil!
You have such a unique and kind approach to gardening, love your videos and books.
Would you please do a video on how you combat aphids and slugs. Both are attacking our plants again this year
In fact I even sowed chickpeas and the leaves are sour and slugs hate it. It's a double fix, u can harvest tender leaves to cook as greens and when they die down at end of season they fix nitrogen as they are a legume.
Huw, this couldn't be more timely! I have some very neglected, compacted raised beds that sat empty for about 10 years. You gave some great ideas to get me started. I think I will try the compost trenching technique. Thanks!
:) 1st year gardener here, and we did just that with our sugar pie pumpkins. I added a sprinkling of egg shells that hasn’t quite broken down, and some semi composted bits from our compost pile. They seem to be growing on nicely! Hoping for some pumpkins this upcoming fall.
You can mix eggshells with vinegar to make the minerals much more available to the plants. I learned this from the “garden like a Viking” Channel. Happy gardening!
@@andrewpalim1978 yes I’ve done this for our tomatoes & other plants too. Unsure of what the release rate is, but I figured it would be slower since that pumpkins date to maturity is much longer than some of my other plants that we use it for :)
Great video! Thanks Huw
The key word is near the end I think - "intuition". I mean some logic and time with that and you have a mix for a happy soil and garden that will get better and better for every season.
Of all your many WONDERFUL videos, this one may have helped me the most Thank you!!
I saw a compost video on here about grinding up tree branches to use for compost. I didn’t want to spend any money on a chipper so I used clippers to remove all the fine branches and laid them down on the ground and covered them with compost.
I will be planting black eyed peas(cow peas). It is supposed to open up the soil by having an extensive root system, as well as a deep tap root. In the past I've used cover crops. Thank you for this video.
I started my no-dig watching Charles Dowding's videos, and he is truly a master. But I like the way your thinking is going, thank you for this wonderful information. I am learning so much and will keep watching.
I do a few different things on my allotment. I’m no dig, layer mulch IE: cardboard,mulch,compost and then when planted I cover in straw. Straw is the Ruth Stout method. I always do crop rotation, companion planting. Next year I will be adding Square Foot Gardening to the mix.
Broadforking disturbance isn't the same as tiller disturbance though.
With a tiller, the entire soil structure, and the biology, gets pulverized.
With a broad fork, the soil gets loosened, but the animals are not destroyed/scared off and the fungal hyphae are not greatly broken up.
I'm still not convinced that it's a stable soil structure though. That air pocket isn't going to stay there, it's going to collapse after the first heavy rain.Yeah it feels great but is very unlikely to help unless you need the light structure immediately (for sowing etc)
@@Scott3387 It will settle back down. However, fungi and bacteria build soil nodules that increase pore spaces. A tiller breaks those up allowing the rain to compact the soil even more.
A broad fork loosens the soil without creating a fine powder. It will have to be redone occasionally. That will be when the farmer/gardener notices the soil structure getting too firm.
@@ecocentrichomestead6783 my point was not with regard to the negatives but merely that there is little benefit. There is almost nothing that is 'too firm', most garden soil will handle any roots without need for this very temporary artificial movement of the soil.
Good stuff, Huw
Well said. Great video as always
I do the islands in my horrid soil.thanks huw!
Amazing! I learn more about soil health and gardening from your videos than I do from half the gardening books in my library! Keep these wonderful videos coming. Hello from Kansas and it's clay soil.......sigh.
That was - once again - just at the right time! Thank you! Super helpful! ❤🙏🏻
Love the condensed comfry juice. I srarted a bunch of comfry last year. I dont mind if something useful spreads out. Im still trying to figure out where to plant them so they can, as my garden is small. Im still amazed at how much I can fit in that little space. I even found a bag of really shriveled up poatoes with really long sprouts. I had one long bed so in they went. They are doing quite well.
Very informative video, thanks for sharing!! Your soil looks healthy and rich. Looking forward to more great ones!
Love your pragmatic approach, Huw!😊
Thanks Huw, this is so helpful!
This gives me hope. Moving my comfrey to a fore sunny spot with some protection in the heat of day.
would love some more info on how to flip over the turf to start a new bed in a grassy area x
Brilliant video! Thank you for sharing your rich experience with us.
Very practical advice, thanks!
Our soil here looks great when its moist but drys out rather quickly. Im always trying to add more mulch/organic matter/grass clippings/partially decomposed compost to try to keep in the moisture during the heat of the summer.
Add clay. :)
where are you located? and is it sand?
Such a great video! So many things I would never have thought about and I’m always so worried about disturbing the soil while following the no dig method 👍
I will definitely try that jadam way fertilizer! at the beginning of spring I blender some kitchen scraps and do the trench compost, give it some weeks to compost, hopefully quickly so it will feed my garden come growing time! So many awesome tips you always share!
Hi huw you have vegetable at beautiful good.🙂
Another great video! Thank You!
Thanks 💚
Hi everyone has anyone ever had problems with cats defecating in their raised beds.. I just spent weeks preparing raised beds and have now realized neighborhood cats have been using them as litter trays.. I am so upset.. cat poop is quite toxic and I don't know what to do now any advice would be appreciated 😢
I feel your pain! I tried many smells that they supposedly don't like and what worked was orange peel, but you've got to keep topping it up every few days for freshness. In the end I invested in those solar powered cat scarers that emit a high-pitched sound the cats hate. 100% effective so far. So frustrating and unfair that we bear the burden of animals that aren't ours!
@@phoebehope6549 hi Phoebe these are great suggestions thank you so much for your help!! :)
Yup, I've used netting, chicken wire, canes and sticks latticed over the top depending on the plants. Doesn't look great but reasonably effective
They hate the smell of used coffee grounds, which are also a good source of nutrition for the soil.
Hi Hugh will u producer a booklet specific to making those nutritional feeds
11:09 What is that white powder?
I just got an allotment which I believe has been dug and had harsh chemicals for weed killing put on it for many years and the soil is awful! I am frantically trying to buy more compost for broccoli and potatoes but now I think I may just stick the potatoes into trenches and see what happens
To reinvigorate your soil try electro culture (copper wire wrapped around wood or bamboo sticks 3 - 6 ft tall with the copper wire in the ground). Its done wonders on my garden but like with anything don't believe anything people say try it out for yourself and see if it makes a difference. There are countless videos on youtube.
In Australia it is too hot without high levels of mulch
How do you grow such beautiful plentiful carrots? Do you have a video on this process
Thank you! And what about clay soil because its very compact?
Thanks for sharing 🌱👍❣
Where do you buy the seaweed?
Hi Huw. What can i do about the loads of roots a tree and hedges nearby is sending up my raised bed ....i mean its just taking over and so hard to dig ...i cant even dig a trench to compost in it.😢
Welcome. Thank you for the fast shipping of the book Veg in one bed! I have a question. I bought soil for raised beds and seedlings after earthworm breeding. Unfortunately, nothing grows well in it. The plants are very weak, small, the earth has a raid. What to do to save this substrate? Natural fertilizers? Or is this substrate too rich in nutrients? I started using hummusic acids, probiotics, beneficial EM organisms. I used this soil for all the beds raised :(
Broadforking can be detremental on established beds (increased disruption & oxidation) rule of thumb: if you can push a regular fork all the way in without standing on it, it dunt need broadforking, don't take my word for it, do a side by side for the lightbulb moment at yeild comparrison time.
Nah couldn't do that with a fork
@@HuwRichards I shoulda said without standing on it with both feet, do the side by side you'll be surprised.
I mostly do it anymore for the deep roots like long carrots, parsnips and salsify, but you are right good managed soil and permabeds rarely need it.
@@dudeusmaximus6793 I sold mine ~10yrs ago after I was challenged about the practice and we did a side by side on established beds, best result was no different to no boradfork, worst was ~10% less yeild, we're on heavy clay so it was really hard work broadforking for a new bed, we found using a 50mm bulb planting auger on a 150mm grid pattern filling the holes with compost and building no-dig beds on top was much more effective (and much easier in compacted clay) mimicing nature as if a tree had been culled leaving the roots to rot down. I firmly believe this practice will become more popular than broadforking once it becomes more widely known.
@@glassbackdiy3949 Interesting!
Thanks Huw, exactly what I needed! My first year of allotmenting, and I have a patch at one end that I hadn’t dug over and mulched when I took on the neglected plot last October. Though I don’t eat potatoes, I think I’ll give the potato method a go. Who knows, I may even end up eating some! Do you have any bright ideas about getting shot of brambles? The roots go so deep I can’t get them out and the pesky things are popping up all over the plot 🤦🏼♀
you can remove all above ground cover, then treat the new bramble growth with trichlopyr or glyphosate (fast), or try to starve them off sunlight aggressively with plastic or canvas (slow).
The slow method can take multiple years.
You don't want to use glyphosate at all, especially near food you're growing. Stuff's deadly.
@@thestorytelleruk Preferably not, and with both compounds it will take 2 months to be broken down. It's fast and kills the root system though, which is quicker than starving them out.
firmly established brambles are hard to get rid off.
@@Tinky1rs Indeed but sometimes, needs must :) Thank you!
@@thestorytelleruk It's deadly to plants, that's why it's used.
Thank you for the video! How do you deal with the wire worm issue on new ground where there's been lawn/weeds for many years? A big issue for me, as I am converting half an acre of this into a veg garden
What's the ratio between compfry"water" and water?
How do you prepare Jerusalem artichokes
I would like to know this also
Grew them for years. If you overwinter them they are good raw and very sweet like jicama if you've had that. Put them in with roasts, soups, I suppose you could stir-fry them or even fry them singly, I've even ground them and ground them into flour for bread. Problem is most people can't tolerate them, they would practically give me dysentery for days. However I've read that lacto fermenting them cuts that problem down drastically. I may start growing them again just to see.
I wash of the soil, cook them and then peel the skin of. I like them cold in salads, but ating warm or deep frying slices is also possible.
❤
What kind of potatoes were they? Blythe reaistant? Could not uderstand
Blight resistant....Sarpo Mira is the type I think he said?
Hi Huw!
A bit off topic but I noticed your tomato plants are already blooming. I'm having some issues with pole beans, ground cherries and cucumbers flowering already as well and they're not outside yet. Is this a sign they're stressed? Over fertilized? Are you going to nip the flowers off of your tomato plants or just leave them?
I wouldn't expect any response from this person.
Does poor soil quality not produce crops that are low in nutrients due to depleted nutrient soil?
Sweet corn is the heaviest feeder.
Poor soil will produce a stunted yellow plant.
💚💚💚❤
I would plant loads MORE, if... I had a way to keep the animals from digging up, & eating my SEEDs and plants. It is not worth ALL the work hand working clay dirt and planting just to see that ALL the work ruined in a few hours, makes you sad, depressed and a ton off pissed off... Its NOT worth the pain at this TIME.
It's awfully depressing to see your hard work destroyed. The best thing is to look at the damage to find out which animals are responsible (birds, mice, voles, raccoons, baboons... i don't know your country) and build barriers against them. E.g Baboons destroy nets which are fine for birds... you have to know your target to avoid wasting money.
You could take photos & google image search, or chat with neighbours etc. Good luck
Think of it as feeding the beasties. And you get the leftovers. But, you know, keep trying to figure out how to cordon off some of the garden. My first year I lost probably 60% of my seeds. This year I'm shooting for 70-80% survivors with improved planning
@@ChaosOrZen i'd be happy to share if i could afford more space and time to make up for it. But i'm too disabled & poor to be able to garden more or afford any space but pots
Always grow a surplus so you have enough to feed yourself, pests and the weather. A surplus also acts as compost fodder too.
Cover the ground (and plants) with any suitable cover e.g. fleece, old net curtains etc. you don’t need a frame for the cover, just throw it over the plants and ground and weigh down the edges with anything suitable e.g. old wood, branches, used plastic bottles filled with water etc. When you water, just water directly on top of the cover, don’t worry about the cover touching the leaves. You end up creating a nice micro climate under the cover as a bonus. Once your plants are well established you can take the covers off unless you want to leave them on.
Is no dig practices, unbiblical?
There seems to be a lot of talk about tilling the ground in the bible. Surely it can't be wrong if the good book speaks well of it
The Greek word for "till" in the Bible means to cultivate and farm.
No dig practises are not unbiblical. In fact, that was how food grew in the beginning, before the fall of Adam and Eve.
It was only after the humans sinned that the ground started to bring forth "thorns and thistles" and humans had to eat bread by the "sweat of their brows" - that is, they had to start working hard - (and likely, digging) in order for the soil to produce food. (Genesis chapter 3, verses 18 and 19).
How do you get rid of moles and voles without setting your property ablaze? 😂😁 I'm about to lose my mind and my garden 😳