Brilliant, I would never have thought about growing stuff as a green manure and if you get food then that is the bonus - I have an allotment and tackling the weeds is a complete nightmare - your video has given me the inspiration to keep on going and work on improving the soil with crops - thank you for sharing this valuable information.
Thank you people seem to think that growing something your not going to eat robs the soil of nutrients so they "give it a rest" the soil life though has not enough food and dies back . The plants though feed the microbes through the roots and the soil life brings in what they need in return. The distance the elements are That the plants needs don't matter as long as the network underground is intact and not destroyed by digging the microbes will bring it from hundreds of yards away. In essence the plants at the front of my plot can be fed from nutrients at the back. So glad the guy next door does this now as we both share the nutrients underground.
I wish this guy lived in Australia where I am. He really understands everything about gardening, soil, etc. I have a free bed here if he wants a holiday, lol.
@@nickthegardener.1120 dead right nick I'm going to go more in depth as to why it is so important and it's relationship with no dig that's upcoming. Just going to check out your channel. Cheers.
What a fantastic plot! Totally agree about roots in the ground being better than just compost. I'm trying to move away from bringing in too much from outside, the green waste compost I get often has a fair amount of plastic bits in it and manure can always be risky because of herbicides. I've always found beds that have had compost + green manures have had much better soil quality than just compost.
Hi and thankyou, your right materials brought in are always a risk and that is the reason I have never gone for the green waste compost because of the unwanted material in it. The farm I get my horse manure from I know and trust what is in it, and they bed on straw rather than wood shavings. Over the past 2 years my aim has been to get as much organic matter into the soil as I can and at this point there is ample so I now only need to lightly dress the beds once a year. My plan is to make less compost but of a real high standard, made with with green cover crops and interplanted crops on my own ground, I will add comfrey rotted wood chip and stable manure to it as its made. This compost will be made in some new bins I am about to build which will be fully aerobic and wont need turning, when it is ready the compost will be stored or used. Finally at the place this year hopefully where the plants are almost invisible to pests and disease all I need is sunlight. Cheers.
@@thevegplot Recently I've found a large source of manure and fallen leaves so I am thinking that will be my primary source of fertility that I bring in so long as it is free of herbicides (currently testing!). On a side note I accidentally green manured one of my seed boxes when I let the coriander go to seed and it spilled out all over the bed. It is still growing as a thick carpet all over the bed.
@@uptheplots cheers it's caught on with some of the plots around me the guy next to me is convinced after seeing great results this year. All his beds currently have cover crop in them and no weeds anywhere.
Thanks Robert, I will be putting some field beans pre grown in modules in the rye bed soon planting between the clumps, lets see who wins I suspect it will be the rye though. cheers.
🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏so glad your channel popped up! Exactly what I want to do with my garden and allotment. I grow phacelia and tried mustard a couple of years ago and use field beans. I'm just unsure when to do all the planting and harvesting, etc. I dislike bare soil. Thank you so much. New sub🏴
@@gromlynne3550 hi and thanks for the sub. The bed with the random veg in I broadcast that seed in April which is when the bed would have been empty. In a couple of weeks I will show different ways to terminate that bed when I get it ready for next year's crop. White Mustard can virtually be sown any time bear in mind up to a month old the frost will kill it. The mustard bed which seeded this year and is cleared the dropped seed is actually re growing right now will update on that next week and the plan for it. A good question so will elaborate on it in the update give everyone ideas for next year's season which is fast approaching. Cheers 👍
Excellent video, thanks for sharing this, you are very knowledgeable! I have learnt so much from your videos, looking forward to seeing what you will be growing next year!
What a great way to use your out of date seeds, I get a lot of trouble with moles on both of my allotments and rats making tunnels too,, must be loving the worms,
@@thevegplotI don’t grow sweetcorn anymore which is such a shame because homegrown is so sweet and delicious, miles apart from shop bought, maybe a cage over it is the way to go 🤷🏻♀️
@@lisag9493Shame are you having trouble with rodents Lisa? This year I slipped net and gauze tubes over the cobs due to the rats and mice and it worked perfectly. I have a video on that. Cheers.
What a great idea....I have sooooo many seeds of all sorts as I buy too many and collect my own as well. So I'm going to follow your brilliant idea and throw them into my dahlia bed which is empty now (apart from a ton of leaves) and the dahlias won't be going in for ages..... thank you so much for this brilliant idea 🌺🌹
Sound advice mate. I cultivate about a quarter acre I constantly grow cover crops and it works for me. I use just about anything, mustard, rocket, beans, any flowers, herbs etc it all gets chopped up and left and if anything persists I just lay black plastic over for a few weeks . As one lone bloke I can make maybe 5 or 6 ton bags per year of decent compost, not enough, so toss a few seeds about and job done ,let nature do the work.
@@RobertSmith-rr4zt that's right Robert the poorest soil can be made fertile just growing in it. Your right about making enough compost there is never enough. Cheers
Great instructions & congrats on your success with green manure. I need to do this now; I'm building new beds on a slope with terracing & swales to reduce erosion & have healthy soil for a change. Huge job! The green manure you recommend should help build microbiota & structure. Any Suggestions? I just found you & am subscribing - great video & looking forward to more. All the best to you from your new fan - across the pond in Virginia Beach, Virginia, on the east coast, USA. 😊
Hi there and thanks for the sub, of course roots in the ground from anything really prevent erosion rye is a good example it not only puts out alot of deep root it also builds the microbiome around them when they rot the ground drains better as well as holding water in the organic matter ie rotting roots. Rye can be spaced out in clumps and other crops grown in between just keep the rye tops trimmed. other crops planted straight after take advantage of the new channels in the soil and the abundant microbes looking for a new host. Organic matter in the soil is your friend on a sloping site so add compost, leaf mould rotted straw this all acts like a sponge holding water, as does partly decomposed wood chip in the swales. That would hold lots of water to slow down the run off and would also stop erosion, organic matter and soil would be trapped in the chip as it slowly drains. After a year or so the under layer of that chip can be turned into the growing area and replaced with new chip on top. you can see this in action in my latest video where I use the old chip to grow potatoes in buckets. The same rotted chip I would add to the beds. Cheers.
@@thevegplot Thank you so much! I really appreciate your taking the time to reply and wow - in such detail ! You are AWESOME! I am following your advice and watched how you moved the composted woodchip from your pathways. I am 3 years in on this major terracing & swales project - I spread a huge load of woodchip on the area that was basically sand and tree roots on a slope. Now I have a beautiful dark crumbly base. Love your videos!
@@thereseboogades8498 thanks mate i look at paths as compost heaps I will often drop the small weeds in them in summer after weeding they soon die. Bottom of the paths are a huge resource of compost after 18 months or so. Cheers.
Hi just found your channel it’s great, could you please tell me when you planted the mustard and is there anything I can sow now. We have just moved to this place and the soil really needs amending thanks 😊
Hi Diane at the moment and prob for the next 7 to 8 weeks the daylight hours and temps are not adequate for growth outside but you can prepare now by planting broad or field beans into module trays in a greenhouse etc and start them germinating both once germinated can be planted out as they are frost tolerant with a little protection. Start with cover crop seeds In march outside watch for frost around April and may and use fleece if needed. Grow high density cover crops solely in beds from April to suppress weeds and fertilise soil you can terminate crop in July by cutting tops off leave roots in, compost top material or leave it where it drops. as long as you return that material to the bed it's fine. Plant edible crop in July same bed either through the chopped tops or return composted material between the growing plants repeat this cycle year round for amazing soil and soil life. Keep watching for another video soon on more ways to use green manure as compost. Cheers.
Is there a particular variety of rye grass you use or are they all of a muchness? I’m going to try starting some in modules over the next few weeks, just waiting for the daylight hours to pick up. I think that I still have some westerwolds so nothing lost if it doesn’t germinate, but it would be nice to get something growing.
@@paul_herts hi Paul I actually use cereal rye grain and not rye grass you could also use wheat grain I believe rye is a bit tougher over winter though and makes deeper root. You can buy rye and vetch seed together sold as cover crop seed ebay have it for example. I just ordered 2 kilos of brown mustard seed which is enough seed for 1 acre of land am splitting that between 3 of us on the plots more than enough for all of us to sow the whole plot twice. I will use it next year though. Cost is 8 pounds each so 4 pound a year. 5 rye grains per module is plenty to sow for a thick clump so a handful of eye grain goes a long way. Cheers.
@@thevegplot I’m struggling unfortunately. Only found a 2kg bag, not sure how far it goes but that’s gonna be too far 😂 and that’s for delivery in autumn anyway, so I don’t need to rush a decision!
@michaelross2054 good question Michael, this is cereal rye grown for it's grain as used in rye bread etc. rye grass is totally different and used for lawns and grazing etc. Cheers.
@@jez-bird personally I wouldn't do that because the soil is probably low on nutrients the spuds need also second plantings of potatoes almost always get blight here so wasted.a second planting this year would have been blighted for sure. I will however plant spuds in the same bed the year after as the compost dressing will fix any soil deficiency in fact I'm doing that next year. Cheers.
@thevegplot I didn't mean a second spud planting per se, but a sowing of any crops for autumn/winter ie winter cabbage etc. Basically it looked like you're sowing lots of cover crops in the middle of the season when there's still so many veggies that can go in at that point, and I was wondering why 🙂
@jez-bird AHH ok i see, yes lots of beds with cover crop but still beds with brassicas and other things in growing at that time. My planting is more dense than most due to the high fertility in the soil so I get more food from a given area, only really grow what we eat so not a massive variety of veg on the plot. Grow more than enough beans, peas,brassicas,spuds, carrots, onion garlic mangles etc to last the year. I have bought no veg in the last two years. The tunnel is filled with similar when the toms come out to grow on over winter, will explain more on cover crops in the next video they are so versatile with the different ways you can grow them.👍
@@jez-bird yes that's right the cover crops are also how I make the compost for next year's crops, there is no where I can get better nutrient and bacterial rich material to make the compost with, now soil is healthy I'm aiming for a self sustaining site that needs very little material bringing in. Cheers.
@@bloggalot4718 yes it is, happy to say no sign of clubroot around my plot on the mustard did have some earlier in the year on some cauli at the back, that bed has mustard now no sign of club root though 👍
Great advice, thanks! I love green manure techniques and so do the worms! 🌿🌿🌿
Good to hear friend and thanks
Brilliant, I would never have thought about growing stuff as a green manure and if you get food then that is the bonus - I have an allotment and tackling the weeds is a complete nightmare - your video has given me the inspiration to keep on going and work on improving the soil with crops - thank you for sharing this valuable information.
Thank you people seem to think that growing something your not going to eat robs the soil of nutrients so they "give it a rest" the soil life though has not enough food and dies back . The plants though feed the microbes through the roots and the soil life brings in what they need in return. The distance the elements are That the plants needs don't matter as long as the network underground is intact and not destroyed by digging the microbes will bring it from hundreds of yards away. In essence the plants at the front of my plot can be fed from nutrients at the back. So glad the guy next door does this now as we both share the nutrients underground.
I wish this guy lived in Australia where I am. He really understands everything about gardening, soil, etc. I have a free bed here if he wants a holiday, lol.
😁 thanks June I wish I had your climate here. 👍
😅
Great tip for terminating the rye.👌👍 Its definitely better to have a root in the ground rather than compost.👌👍😁
@@nickthegardener.1120 dead right nick I'm going to go more in depth as to why it is so important and it's relationship with no dig that's upcoming. Just going to check out your channel. Cheers.
Thanks for a great video. Some really useful tips and ideas. Happy growing 🙂
Glad it was helpful bud!
What a fantastic plot! Totally agree about roots in the ground being better than just compost. I'm trying to move away from bringing in too much from outside, the green waste compost I get often has a fair amount of plastic bits in it and manure can always be risky because of herbicides. I've always found beds that have had compost + green manures have had much better soil quality than just compost.
Hi and thankyou, your right materials brought in are always a risk and that is the reason I have never gone for the green waste compost because of the unwanted material in it. The farm I get my horse manure from I know and trust what is in it, and they bed on straw rather than wood shavings. Over the past 2 years my aim has been to get as much organic matter into the soil as I can and at this point there is ample so I now only need to lightly dress the beds once a year. My plan is to make less compost but of a real high standard, made with with green cover crops and interplanted crops on my own ground, I will add comfrey rotted wood chip and stable manure to it as its made. This compost will be made in some new bins I am about to build which will be fully aerobic and wont need turning, when it is ready the compost will be stored or used. Finally at the place this year hopefully where the plants are almost invisible to pests and disease all I need is sunlight. Cheers.
@@thevegplot Recently I've found a large source of manure and fallen leaves so I am thinking that will be my primary source of fertility that I bring in so long as it is free of herbicides (currently testing!). On a side note I accidentally green manured one of my seed boxes when I let the coriander go to seed and it spilled out all over the bed. It is still growing as a thick carpet all over the bed.
This is a great idea, I hope more people do this. Great use of old seed in that one bed, must try that myself
@@uptheplots cheers it's caught on with some of the plots around me the guy next to me is convinced after seeing great results this year. All his beds currently have cover crop in them and no weeds anywhere.
I wanted to use rye but it was the termination of rye that put me off and you just nailed what I was looking for. Great way of termination
Thanks Robert, I will be putting some field beans pre grown in modules in the rye bed soon planting between the clumps, lets see who wins I suspect it will be the rye though. cheers.
@thevegplot yes I think the rye will win, but the beans will be there for a while.
@robertcunninghammusic6712 long enough Robert
@@thevegplot yes so worth doing as it would take a while before the rye wins
🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏so glad your channel popped up! Exactly what I want to do with my garden and allotment. I grow phacelia and tried mustard a couple of years ago and use field beans. I'm just unsure when to do all the planting and harvesting, etc. I dislike bare soil. Thank you so much. New sub🏴
@@gromlynne3550 hi and thanks for the sub. The bed with the random veg in I broadcast that seed in April which is when the bed would have been empty. In a couple of weeks I will show different ways to terminate that bed when I get it ready for next year's crop. White Mustard can virtually be sown any time bear in mind up to a month old the frost will kill it. The mustard bed which seeded this year and is cleared the dropped seed is actually re growing right now will update on that next week and the plan for it. A good question so will elaborate on it in the update give everyone ideas for next year's season which is fast approaching. Cheers 👍
Excellent video, thanks for sharing this, you are very knowledgeable! I have learnt so much from your videos, looking forward to seeing what you will be growing next year!
@@charlottecapstick789 thanks Charlotte will be getting the wood chip compost ready for the potato buckets next.
What a great way to use your out of date seeds, I get a lot of trouble with moles on both of my allotments and rats making tunnels too,, must be loving the worms,
@@lisag9493 hi Lisa yep got rats and moles too on mine out of the two the rats are the worst especially when the sweetcorn is ready. 👍
@@thevegplotI don’t grow sweetcorn anymore which is such a shame because homegrown is so sweet and delicious, miles apart from shop bought, maybe a cage over it is the way to go 🤷🏻♀️
@@lisag9493Shame are you having trouble with rodents Lisa? This year I slipped net and gauze tubes over the cobs due to the rats and mice and it worked perfectly. I have a video on that. Cheers.
What a great idea....I have sooooo many seeds of all sorts as I buy too many and collect my own as well. So I'm going to follow your brilliant idea and throw them into my dahlia bed which is empty now (apart from a ton of leaves) and the dahlias won't be going in for ages..... thank you so much for this brilliant idea 🌺🌹
Sound advice mate. I cultivate about a quarter acre I constantly grow cover crops and it works for me. I use just about anything, mustard, rocket, beans, any flowers, herbs etc it all gets chopped up and left and if anything persists I just lay black plastic over for a few weeks . As one lone bloke I can make maybe 5 or 6 ton bags per year of decent compost, not enough, so toss a few seeds about and job done ,let nature do the work.
@@RobertSmith-rr4zt that's right Robert the poorest soil can be made fertile just growing in it. Your right about making enough compost there is never enough. Cheers
Wow!!! I garden solo, as well. Whew! Love it - even though I have far more projects and tasks than I have hours in the day. Enjoy!
@@thereseboogades8498 it's not really work if you enjoy it 😁 👍
Looks good.
@@mjones8170 cheers
Great instructions & congrats on your success with green manure. I need to do this now; I'm building new beds on a slope with terracing & swales to reduce erosion & have healthy soil for a change. Huge job! The green manure you recommend should help build microbiota & structure. Any Suggestions? I just found you & am subscribing - great video & looking forward to more. All the best to you from your new fan - across the pond in Virginia Beach, Virginia, on the east coast, USA. 😊
Hi there and thanks for the sub, of course roots in the ground from anything really prevent erosion rye is a good example it not only puts out alot of deep root it also builds the microbiome around them when they rot the ground drains better as well as holding water in the organic matter ie rotting roots. Rye can be spaced out in clumps and other crops grown in between just keep the rye tops trimmed. other crops planted straight after take advantage of the new channels in the soil and the abundant microbes looking for a new host. Organic matter in the soil is your friend on a sloping site so add compost, leaf mould rotted straw this all acts like a sponge holding water, as does partly decomposed wood chip in the swales. That would hold lots of water to slow down the run off and would also stop erosion, organic matter and soil would be trapped in the chip as it slowly drains. After a year or so the under layer of that chip can be turned into the growing area and replaced with new chip on top. you can see this in action in my latest video where I use the old chip to grow potatoes in buckets. The same rotted chip I would add to the beds. Cheers.
@@thevegplot Thank you so much! I really appreciate your taking the time to reply and wow - in such detail ! You are AWESOME! I am following your advice and watched how you moved the composted woodchip from your pathways. I am 3 years in on this major terracing & swales project - I spread a huge load of woodchip on the area that was basically sand and tree roots on a slope. Now I have a beautiful dark crumbly base. Love your videos!
@@thereseboogades8498 thanks mate i look at paths as compost heaps I will often drop the small weeds in them in summer after weeding they soon die. Bottom of the paths are a huge resource of compost after 18 months or so. Cheers.
Fantastic video, thanks for sharing!
no problem thanks for the nice comment
Great idea .Will try this ,thank you 🙂
@@susiespearing6165 thanks it will really improve your soil life.
New subscriber here, thank you so much for sharing❤😊
Thanks for the sub here to show a simple way to grow healthy food at minimal cost. 👍
Hi just found your channel it’s great, could you please tell me when you planted the mustard and is there anything I can sow now. We have just moved to this place and the soil really needs amending thanks 😊
Hi Diane at the moment and prob for the next 7 to 8 weeks the daylight hours and temps are not adequate for growth outside but you can prepare now by planting broad or field beans into module trays in a greenhouse etc and start them germinating both once germinated can be planted out as they are frost tolerant with a little protection. Start with cover crop seeds In march outside watch for frost around April and may and use fleece if needed. Grow high density cover crops solely in beds from April to suppress weeds and fertilise soil you can terminate crop in July by cutting tops off leave roots in, compost top material or leave it where it drops. as long as you return that material to the bed it's fine. Plant edible crop in July same bed either through the chopped tops or return composted material between the growing plants repeat this cycle year round for amazing soil and soil life. Keep watching for another video soon on more ways to use green manure as compost. Cheers.
@ thank you much appreciated
Thank for teaching ways to grow. Amazing 🤗
@@mariamosher5053 my pleasure thanks for watching. 👍
Is there a particular variety of rye grass you use or are they all of a muchness? I’m going to try starting some in modules over the next few weeks, just waiting for the daylight hours to pick up. I think that I still have some westerwolds so nothing lost if it doesn’t germinate, but it would be nice to get something growing.
@@paul_herts hi Paul I actually use cereal rye grain and not rye grass you could also use wheat grain I believe rye is a bit tougher over winter though and makes deeper root. You can buy rye and vetch seed together sold as cover crop seed ebay have it for example. I just ordered 2 kilos of brown mustard seed which is enough seed for 1 acre of land am splitting that between 3 of us on the plots more than enough for all of us to sow the whole plot twice. I will use it next year though. Cost is 8 pounds each so 4 pound a year. 5 rye grains per module is plenty to sow for a thick clump so a handful of eye grain goes a long way. Cheers.
@ I’ve just done a quick google and come up with “Green Manure Forage Rye (Hungarian Grazing) Seeds”, is this the sort of seed?
@paul_herts sounds like grass rye that Paul, you want cereal rye as in rye grains they look the same as wheat mate
@@thevegplot I’m struggling unfortunately. Only found a 2kg bag, not sure how far it goes but that’s gonna be too far 😂 and that’s for delivery in autumn anyway, so I don’t need to rush a decision!
@paul_herts Found this Paul should do the job mate. www.ebay.co.uk/itm/254687854733
What kind of rye?
@@questforbalance plain rye whole grain you can get it on eBay etc sold as seed.
An excellent ideal with lots of good ideas. Is the Rye you sowed the same variety as Grazing Rye?
@michaelross2054 good question Michael, this is cereal rye grown for it's grain as used in rye bread etc. rye grass is totally different and used for lawns and grazing etc. Cheers.
Thank you.
Why wouldn't you use the bed after potatoes etc to plant a second crop, ie for autumn or winter harvest?
@@jez-bird personally I wouldn't do that because the soil is probably low on nutrients the spuds need also second plantings of potatoes almost always get blight here so wasted.a second planting this year would have been blighted for sure. I will however plant spuds in the same bed the year after as the compost dressing will fix any soil deficiency in fact I'm doing that next year. Cheers.
@thevegplot I didn't mean a second spud planting per se, but a sowing of any crops for autumn/winter ie winter cabbage etc.
Basically it looked like you're sowing lots of cover crops in the middle of the season when there's still so many veggies that can go in at that point, and I was wondering why 🙂
@jez-bird AHH ok i see, yes lots of beds with cover crop but still beds with brassicas and other things in growing at that time. My planting is more dense than most due to the high fertility in the soil so I get more food from a given area, only really grow what we eat so not a massive variety of veg on the plot. Grow more than enough beans, peas,brassicas,spuds,
carrots, onion garlic mangles etc to last the year. I have bought no veg in the last two years. The tunnel is filled with similar when the toms come out to grow on over winter, will explain more on cover crops in the next video they are so versatile with the different ways you can grow them.👍
@@thevegplot gotcha, you're basically not looking to grow more than you can actually eat so the early cover crop makes sense 👍👍
@@jez-bird yes that's right the cover crops are also how I make the compost for next year's crops, there is no where I can get better nutrient and bacterial rich material to make the compost with, now soil is healthy I'm aiming for a self sustaining site that needs very little material bringing in. Cheers.
Mustard is a member of the same family as cabbage and I would not recommend it if you club root as it spread with mustard.
@@bloggalot4718 yes it is, happy to say no sign of clubroot around my plot on the mustard did have some earlier in the year on some cauli at the back, that bed has mustard now no sign of club root though 👍