Starting work on the NEW allotment + vegetable growing in back garden
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.ค. 2024
- This spring so many of my plants have been eaten by slugs :( so I've been trying to lower the population. Luckily in May and June, the plants started growing quicker than the slugs could eat them and I've managed to grow peas, tomatoes, chillies, strawberries, blackberries and some ornamental plants too. The back garden is a bit of a mess to be honest but I'm slowly getting a better idea of what grows best in our shady garden and what doesn't get affected by slugs as much. If I stay in this rented house for another year I'll definitely try something different for next year. I'm thinking cottage garden style planting by the house and a shady fern garden further towards the back where its always damp and shady. Let me know in the comments if you have any ideas. I've also started work on the new allotment patch where I'm going to focus on growing vegetables and some berries (raspberries and strawberries). Hope you enjoy!
Check out my Instagram - / alex_smith1809
Support the Just Alex Channel on Patreon - / justalexsmith
Business enquiries - justalex@kymamedia.com
Other enquiries - alexfordhamsmith@gmail.com
![โกหกเธอทั้งนั้น (Pinocchio) - SERIOUS BACON [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/P1HhTYwrR5A/mqdefault.jpg)
As the saying goes “you don’t have a slug problem, you have a duck deficiency” 🤪
Using animals as pest control is the best
And you get free fertilizer and eggs on top! Get some ducks alex!
"slug surplus" 😉
@@sunorasu3118could chickens work as well?
By about minute 17, I felt so touched. My dad was an architect with an amazing garden, and he passed away last year. I'm struggling with designing my own garden and so much wished I could sit down and talk through ideas with him. Seeing you and your dad do this was really touching. Did NOT expect to cry to this video, and just wanted to say thank you for sharing. This really meant a lot to watch.
It would be very cool if you would be able to do just a video with "interviews" of different garden-patch neighbours, what they are doing, their overall plans, how it is working out, thoughts on the whole idea, etc. I'm sure the multitude of ideas and approaches and be very informative and lovely to see
Seconded!
Hi Alex! I’m Alex but from Poland :) Your videos gave me the courage to try and start my own small balcony garden after years of killing every plant I touched. Currently, it’s thriving and somehow the plants keep multiplying on me! :) I’m moving soon and have big plans for my balcony there! Thank you! Have an awesome day!
Me too
Siema Polska
:):):)
Be warned Alex. The Greenhouse Plastic thingy with the rectangular shapes are often super bad when it comes to UV resistance and after a year or more they will literally fall out and be brittle and cover your whole garden in microplastic or bigger plastic pieces. Happened to me before with a huge Greenhouse foil because I wanted to take a cheap one. I do hope it doesn't happen to you but just so you know I wanted to mention it once.
Your dad seems like a real top bloke, gives you some good constructive ideas to build upon, can certainly see why you're such a resourceful chap yourself Alex.
When Alex uploads I want to start living again
Same brother
Agreed
Gardening made my life ok again
how sad is your life if a video makes u want to start living ??? u wanna hug
@@murphychris9811 silence before i silence u
If you dead head the petunias daily they will bloom and fill out more, also if you water them a little every day enough that they are moist not wet! They double in size.
For the last 17 years I have planted hanging baskets on my balcony and the lady that lived above me taught me everything I know. Miss Enid Waite,
God rest her soul 🥰✌️ but she told me to only ever use petunias.
Use sunflowers to create a privacy fence, best results grown in a green house then plant in ground when foot tall. It looks amazing 🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻
To get rid of slugs easily, bury a glass in the ground so that only the rim sticks out slightly, fill the glass with beer and wait two to three nights. Trust me, 100% effective.
I second this. You'll have an entire glass full of slugs. Best to go out at night and check as well just for peace of mind.
I third this. Works like a charm. Unfortunately it can also catch mice and rats (or fortunate if you want to get rid of those in your garden)
Might get som local pub walkers as well .. lol :) i use plank boards and small plastic carpets around in the garden, slugs hide under them during the sunlight and in the morning..just collect
This is a great way but you still get some slugs iv stopped it by using raised beds ✌🏻
I used a sunken plant saucer with beer to capture mine. You’d have to experiment with a Wheat, Stout or Pilsner …maybe they like it hoppy 😆
Anyone else love Alex’s garden vids
Yea they are so chill
The slugs are horrible this year! Great idea with the tongs. I’ll get some too! Would recommend to kill the slugs with hot water. It’s faster and can’t ruin your garden by composting the slugs again. I also lay out some wood as a trap for the slugs next to my plants, which I can remove quickly and collect the slugs easily.
Removed about 300-400 slugs this year. It’s crazy!
I am from Latvia and we have a similar thing here were you can rent a piece of land in like a gardening area in town, so people that are for example in apartments can have their own little growing space. For us it is a little bit bigger tho so you can actually put down a shed and stuff, some people even put down summer houses. Nowadays it is hard to get a plot tho, cus a lot of people want to grow stuff and you basically have to look out for somebody just selling their renting rights to it. I think it is such a great idea.
Maté you’re doing fab. Every new thing we do is a learning curve, part of the fun of it. I’m 47 and I’m enjoying watching your journey as I think we started at the same time. Good luck with the allotment. 👍🏼💪🏼
I know it's mid-growing season, but I have a solution to your slug problem...
Heard about this years ago, tried it, and have never looked back, problem solved!
bury jar lids (or small sallow plates) beside the plant, make them even with the soil and pour in some beer. It's a win win, no slugs for you, and the slugs goes out happy. I'm very happy you decided not to use slug poisons, it affects so many other creatures, so thank you!
Definitely the most effective and relaible solution👍🏻💯
Came here to say that, too!
i have been using beer for 11 years,works great.
I’ve saw something where you make a mini electric fence nailed into the timbers around your beds, not sure how effective it would be but worth a shot and probably fairly cheap to make, battery and some wire and nails
If you can, I would suggest mulching the rest of your growing space asap! You don't want all of that lovely, dark soil to roast under the sun. The more you can protect the bacteria and micro organisms in your soil, the better!
I would agree, but atm there is to many slugs for this. You're giving them a lot more space to hide in. He could just use compost on top, that also works but doesn't help the slugs multiply
I just thought that the allotment gardens are heaven for bees and bumblebees and insects! It's huge and when everything blooms they'll have so much nectar!
Helo alex me and my boyfriend love watching your videos, we're so happy you are continuing planting despite having less space. thank you so much for your updates they are our favorite to watch!! 🐑🐑🐹🐷
Hey Alex, just at the beginning of watching, but i've got an idea for your slugs so you get rid of them, but don't have to kill them (hurts my feelings a bit 😪): keep collecting them in the bucket, but without the salt water and the next time you go on a walk or drive somewhere, you put them out again (where there's no garden nearby :D). That way, they can munch on grass or forest plants and live on, but do not interefere with your garden. :) Maybe think about it. ♥
Edits: I also really enjoyed the planning and discussing ideas with your dad! ☺Thanks for keeping that in! Do other gardeners in your area also cut off the tops of their tomate plants by the end of June already? Seems a bit early to me. 🤔 Maybe they could have produced some more flowers & tomatoes. You can also harvest them when it's getting too cold and let them ripen fully inside (as long as they have started to turn red/yellow a little bit). :) And I'm very excited about the allotment! Cannot wait for update shots! 😍
I loved the talk with your dad planning the garden. I wish I could have that.
Slug remedy. Clean and dry egg shells and place them at the base of your plants. Put them all around your garden. They help to add nitrogen to your plants as well as they break down. Good luck. Nice bee video. Very informative 😊
As mentioned with the strawberry video, I reduced my slug infestation by planting geranium between my strawberries and peas, planting the geranium from cuttings. It's worth a thought, nothing to lose as you have geraniums. Could be a neat experiment.
I liked the garden allotment design, I will use that concept myself too. Thanks to dad from me! Good luck with the garden.
I really like the bit of you and your dad brainstorming. It was cool to see the thought process.
Thanks for the update Alex!
I agree Alex with pests. I believe the must be balance in the garden/ growing space. Only so many slugs and snails that can healthily co habit in the composter.
I have an old bird seed tub my Dad was going to throw in the bin and not recycle. Our resident toad went AWOL in the heatwave of '22. RIP Terry.
Our neighbours Dog isn't friendly and can hear him outside at night scaring off the foxes and rats for the caged small animals that haven't escaped yet, like the others. I have lovely neighbours...
Apart from the weather and your parents place, how are you finding growing at the house, compared to the previous place you lived in?
I didn't realise that this was going to be a new shared allotment space.
Love that brain storming with your Dad. Would totally recommend to talk to an experienced grower, in your family or friend circle first. 9/10 they are local or on hand to offer advice and tips, plus are more willing to come and have a look at your growing space and help out. Local social pages are another option.
24:35 I call that the yellow bee council bush! lol The other great "council" bee bush is weigalia. Small pink/lilac flutes, great pollinator and both easy to care for and cut back.
Don't forget to bend at the knees Alex, will save your back later!
Take Care!
Hey Alex, thanks for the cool videos ! On the slugs matter,. they are detrivore in the first place, they resolve to eat living organic matter if they cannot find dead organic matter first. So if you have some dead tree leaves lying around, try covering the soil around your plants with a layer of these. Added bonus : it will keep your ground damp, and will reduce the need of watering !
Have a good one !
would love to hear more of your dad's thoughts on how he designs landscapes. seems like a wealth of knowledge
YES! Another Just Alex video! I can finally be happy for about 31 minutes and 16 seconds.
Hi Alex! I'm so happy to see you again. I love your garden. I have a garden box that as it turned out doesn't get much sun. So I decided to turn it into a compost type box. Last fall I dumped all of my containers into it at the end of the season along with some leaves and stuff. It is currently growing some amazing volunteer potatoes plants! It seems potatoes don't need tons of sun.
I love growing tomatoes, this is my first year growing them but I have dwarfed a cherry tomato plant, a large cherry tomato plant and a beefsteak tomato that i'm waiting to have flower before I get it into a large plot
Slugs went crazy this year for sure. I had a huge problem, they were eating almost everything I had planted. I used beer traps and they worked pretty good. Not gonna lie, I went berserk sometimes and killed slugs which also helped. Can't wait to see the progress of your allotment, Alex!
theres nothing better than coming home from a long day of work and seeing that alex has uploaded :D
Get yourself some runner ducks. They don’t dig up your garden like chickens will and they’ll generally leave your greens alone if they’ve got plenty of slugs to nosh on.
Turn slugs into eggs!
when dealing with tomato plants after you cut off the top and you thin them out you also want to look for any shoes that are coming out at the leaf bases Or between the leaf and the main stem if you see any sprouts coming up there you need to cut them out they're called suckers and all they do is take nutrients from the main plant they don't add anything to the plant they don't bear fruit so just clip them out carefully so you don't damage the main stem and your plants will put all their energy into the making of the fruit and making of the flowers.
Alex! I've been loving your adventure and have lost track of how long I've been following it. I live in South Korea and can't have gardens like yours or your parents, but I'm going to look into the idea of an allotment here and see if there are any I could participate in. I grew up in Canada and miss having plantlife around me. Thanks for always being so inspiring!
There appear to be large gaps up side and back of the planters re the copper tape… I’d suggest putting large plastic bottles with the bottoms cut off over seedlings as this keeps them warm and better protected from slugs and snails during their initial growing phase. 😊👍
Something we had good results when battling the slugs and snails was saving a Christmas tree and leaving it to dry out. Stores also sell the cut trees over in clearance close to Christmas. We then cut up the branches and formed a barricade around the plants ensure the pine needles were facing both directions. They seem to dislike the feel of the needles and left the plants alone (the plants we did this too had no damage as long as the was no route they could avoid the branches ) without needing to feel bad about killing any slugs and snails or spending loads of time relocating or reapplying salt or beer traps after rain. This worked well around the greenhouse as well and we applied the copper tape to the bottom of the greenhouse.
🎄🌲This works well and you can get them free after Christmas from neighbours
Glad to be back watching your videos. I see u are into beekeeping🐝 and gardening now. Nice
Had a giggle when I saw the 'vote Mr Bean' sign. You've done an amazing job in your garden and new allotment. Really liked the allotment plan that you made with your dad it is a splendid idea.
Have to say Alex. I've been watching gardening videos for a long time, but it's so refreshing to watch you trial and error as a down to earth person looking to get into gardening. Me and my partner are on a similar journey in our first house. 👍
I love watching your videos, Alex!
500k subscribers!! 🎉🎉 Well done Alex.
Carl!!! He's coming for you! 😂
ta!
Love from India😍
will watch the video in evening with a sip of Tea
I love your food growing and gardening videos . I started my own vegetable garden this season because of your videos . I realy enjoy it and now im harvesting salads tomatoes chilis and so on (:
I just checked a few minutes ago to see if you uploaded and there was nothing. I refreashed youtube and you posted! It is such a good day! Also you have inspired me to get into gardening and I am hoping to get into beekeeping aswell!!!
We've been having slug issues too but going out at night and manually picking them hasnt come to mind before 😁 we usually just stick small containers with beer near our plants and that gets a lot of them
Watched your video over lunch today Alex, and really enjoyed it. Reminded me of when I had a lovely garden - only have a few pots now.
I was so excited to see that you connected with Northwest Wild Harvest for their 2024 morel season. They are awesome foragers and I’m sure you learned a lot from Phil and Randy. ❤️🍄🟫🍄🌲🐿️
Great video as always Alex!
Alex, for the greehouse if you use cable ties to secure the shelves it makes a huge difference because they will buck at some point without the support.
Hi Alex, my best advice would be to buy some damp proof membrane! It can be use to subdue the weeds and also to plant through too. I have specific sheets suitable for winter squash to go bazurk through every year that migrate around my plot. If your ever in the Northampton
Shire are let me know, I also have honey bees on my plot.
This is my favorite youtuber
Yes, another tour! I love your garden so much
If you don't want to harm any slugs and snails, why don't you look into ways to get rid of them? There are PLENTY of things you can get that don't torture the snail nor are harmful to the environment or other animals. For example, little pellets you can scatter around that the slugs will eat and think they're full then leave your greens alone because the pellets are way easier and energy efficient to eat than climbing up a plant.
Or get 45° downward angled "trim" to put around your boxes, the slugs cant ascend past that drastic of an angle.
Or just burying an almost empty, tall, can of beer with the top cut off.
Even just cutting the slugs in half and putting them in a bucket is WAY less terrible then basically throwing them in acid.
Also, consuder leaving some leopard slugs (the ones with spots) as they eat the eggs of the other slugs and dont eat as much greens as the others either.
New allotment is a dream, really wish my council would pull their fingers out... waiting list for an allotment where I am is decades.
When I have put down a weed block sheet like the one in your allotment when I go to plant, I cut small holes in the cloth for the plants. The water passes through to the plants but the weeds can’t push up through the cloth. Saves loads of time weeding which is job I detest. Your plants look great. Happy harvesting!!
I just got my own allotment and am so happy to have a new helpful video from Alex! Dads tips will surely come in handy over winter as I'm planning my own lot.
Here in Sweden it is exactly the same weather. Everything is slow. My sister in the Netherlands tells me the same story. We are behind with every plant that's out in the garden. Even in my greenhouses everything is late.
Yaay some wholesome content arrived!
Love your videos. Your dad gave you some very good ideas, I like his vision.
Cheers Alex - great to see you finding your feet with some gardening - I'm really looking forward to watching your journey! Your potatoes at home will easily give you plants that you can transport to the allotment, they go like crazy! Also, you don't need to chuck away old compost from your containers - it can easily be refreshed with a mix up and a little new compost - especially if you're feeding - compost is expensive right? I bet a cold frame would go great in the shady part of your garden - it would give you a longer growing season and make the shady area more productive - ferns are cool too though! Anyway - good luck - happy growing, and thanks for the cool vids!
Nearly time for your Big 500K sub celebration baked good!!! (Nudge-nudge, wink-wink 😛) I feel like squishing your cheeks like a proud aunty seeng your channel grow from less than 10K to this.😊 Well done, Alex. Well deserved!!
Pleasant surprise. It's been a minute.
Alex , Try braking up some egg shells and sprinkle them around your garden . To keep slugs out or slow them down.
Hello Alex, nice to see you back.
I’m excited to see your allotment grow.
Slugs might prefer other plants but they'll eat potato foliage with gusto if it's there, or at least they enjoyed some of mine this spring. Still a good crop of lovely new potatoes so I can't complain too much!! Good luck with the new allotment plot, looking forward to seeing it develop in more videos!
Your videos are such a vibe 🥰 I always love the music! So relaxing!
Wauw those alotments where looking sooo great ❤️🌸🌈🌈☺️🔥🧅🍐🫛🍒🍌🍓🍅🥝🌹🫑🍉🥑🌱🥦🌻
Slugs make excellent bait for chub!
Glad to have you back on Alex. Hopefully you will be back as soon as you finish your other commitments.
Yeah, you are back😃
Love from germany 🇩🇪🙏♥️
It’s going to be so wonderful, I’ve just started mine and it’s so nice to be growing in my own backyard!
So excited to see how your allotment evolves over time.
You are a smart boy......hi from southamerica!!!
Hey Alex, just a note: Slugs eat everything, in my garden they attacked the potatoes and tomatoes as well, the tomatoes were less damaged tho. I have a part of the garden that I do not care if it is eaten by slugs, I think that helped. I also spread eggshells (roughly ground up) against the slugs but I have come to therms with the slugs this year, since my garden is still new and I need to remove about two decades of not keeping up with the garden.
I used carrot and potato peels , I kept vegetable scraps in a small plastic tray . I put tray next to my growing vegetables and one evening I picked the tray veeery heavy full of massive snails and slugs 🐌 no need to go around , they all just come into the tray themselves 😃
You must be on the new roots allotment site ! Good luck on your new adventure
Tip for slugs, planting a couple of marigolds near by will make the slugs eat them first before your plants and then you don’t have to kill them.
Just amazing. Very excited for the next chapter
hi alex a good tip for the snalis a smal plastic container and some cheap bear fil it up and then place the beer filed container somewere around the plants and it wil catch alot refresh in couple of days
you did the greenhouse cover like I do a duvet, from the inside hahaha
To hinder slugs from getting to your goodies, spread out crushed eggshells on top of the soil.
The slugs won't attack your plants and will actively help feed them if you leave your soil constantly covered with dead plant material and cover crops. I have tons of snails on my balcony and they never attack my plants. Instead they eat whatever leafy material is decomposing on top. They prefer when it's fresh, hence another reason why permanent cover crops are essential
You were the person that convinced me to start gardening thank you for that
Lovely video fella, look forward to seeing you develop the allotment, great ideas you have
hi Alex! your videos make me happy:) keep doing what you are doing!
Instead of using expensive weed cloth to suppress weeds, you might want to consider using layers of newspaper to block out the sun and as your garden expands, you can turn the newspaper into the compost instead of having to remove anything from on top
Love your videos Alex. So well made!
Your dad seems like such a nice guy!
I can't wait when I can get a garden started
Another way you could get rid of slugs is getting a slab of wood making it wet and leave it out overnight. Then, you just get rid of them in the morning as they’ll be all over the wood
Great work Alex! We found that the best way to deal with slugs was to plant vast amounts of plants. We started our plot in November with a polytunnel, which we paid off by May, by planting all the seeds in our packets and selling the extra plants at car boot sales. We found that calendula attracted the slugs away from the seedlings, and that if you plant *everything* then most of it will survive :) Looking forward to following your journey!
Great video Alex - Very enjoyable to watch - Thank you
Hey alex, you still need to connect a 9v battery to the copper tape (probably more than one with the amount of beds you have XD) just make sure you cut a slit in the middle of the tape so that the current can go around in a loop and not cause a short-circit 👌
I would always firmly secure those mini greenhouses to something, having had one blown over when it contained a tonne of expensive plant starts, most of which were destroyed and what was left unidentifiable, because the tags were all over the garden. The covers can't be expected to last more than a year or two outside if you're lucky and the frames rust pretty badly too. Most people who buy them never buy them again. I use something similar, broken down, as shelving on potting shed staging, but only because I got them brand new for next to nothing on FB Marketplace.
slugs are a really good bait for river chub free line them the chub recognize the plop they make when you cast them in.i have been using rock salt/grit i have got left over from winter to put a border around my veg patch and also a sprinkle all over and around my seedlings helps keep them away and its also safe but you still need to keep looking at night as well because you will never completely get rid of them all
@Alex if you were to go to a market garden shops and ask them for a weeds and grass materials for sure that they would have them in their shop that my son is guaranteed to block every weeds and grass for growing ( market garden/ grower commercial here in Australia) hope that this will help you out a bit ❤
Ahh, new chill vid and Hearthstone, the best combo :)
Btw, do you play any video games Alex?
Tks a lot ❤, that was my life the last 3 month as well. Record 140 one trip
If you want to grow the famous display of red trailing geraniums grown in window boxes in the black forest, the variety they use is Leucht Cascade. I spent a lot of time there, and family gave me the variety name so I could grow them in the UK. Don't know if you can still get them in the UK in 2024.
imagine being this blessed and young