My husband is 73 and I'm 62. USA Zone 5B. Clay. We garden on a converted small paddock 40x30, it's a flat and we started by using hugelkulture mounted beds, no dig, compost only. Our pathways are clover that stand up to walking and brings in pollinators. This is an awesome interview/conversation. 💚
The future for humanity is uncertain but we must learn to feed ourselves and start growing fruit and vegetables 🥕. Love how he’s not dogmatic . Charles you’re awesome spreading the word and teaching us so much .
I have been waiting for this video for a long time. Both of you have had such an impact to my garden in the subtropics down under. Thank you so much!!!
I consider him a great gardener and source of amazing knowledge who share with all of us. I think any opportunity given to him to explain himself and provide information is a treasure.
Sorry you feel like that. Charles said, it was more interesting than I remembered / it so went in a flash! Good questions by you. Comments suggest people like Frank debate.’ Re the finance I was trying to highlight how difficult it is to grow vegetables organically in profitable way if not on a field scale. Also lack of eye contact was because it was filmed on a phone and all done on the hoof so was not easy, not for any others reason. I like listening to interviews that are challenging and enlightening and I do tend to play ‘devils advocate’.
Love watching all his gardening his love for gardening the green fingers they are just stunning gardeners wow I love doing all of it to getting your own veggies stuff I going my own compost wow itsavery long thing but
I LOVE THIS conversation - really penetrating questions, different viewpoints, lovely polite British personalities of Charles and Bunny that I love so much having a real heated discussion about concepts. I'm also so delighted by the photo of the Soil (society?) members way back when - those are real clothes man. Yay corduroy! You know, Bunny, I've got a plate in one ankle and a very bad knee from a dancing accident - but I've discovered the slow squat. I don't typically use it in gardening yet - but I'm much improved now after strengthening the supporting muscles (yay 65 and over! I follow TH-cam physical therapists). I hope to move toward squatting over my beds in the future now that I dance for an hour every day including the squat. Much love to both of you - you are both such profound mentors of the soil for me and so many others. Warmest regards Jennie
@@annashiegl I actually watch a group of them. The most prolific are Bob and Brad. Right now I'm reading a book by a specialist in iliosacral work that theyve had on their show - Deborah B Riczo.
I loved watching you and Charles. I'm 71 and gardening for over 50 years. I love gardening in pots, but I still do Garden in the ground. You two should do more together 🌿💚🌿
Wonderful....I loved watching 2 gardening Gurus go back and forth on their firm gardening beliefs. Bunny---you are correct, elderly gardeners need raised beds.
… I have been following Charles for some time now, I adore and respect him very much … I recently found you and your tremendous contributions as well ! … being an artist and interior designer I especially appreciate your overall aesthetics to gardening and design …. Another gardener that I highly respect is the young Huw Richards, who is a rising star !… he was a follower of Charles Dowding and has developed his own direction and had become very active in the permaculture aspect of gardening … what a fascinating world gardening is !
This interview is fantastic! 2 Brilliant Gardeners talking about their organic gardening methods? The world needs more of this! I learned so much. Thank you!
This is really interesting. I would love to see a longer talk between the two of you! And it's also so interesting to hear two different sides, or maybe more like two different ways of looking at things like that. And why, if so, you might look at it differently. And also to hear what the two of you (I mean in the aspect of professional gardeners that is) find interesting or inspirering. And see what you pick up on about research that is out there. Lovely
Growing up knowing only permaculture, self-sustainability, syntropic planting, food forests, and later Charles Dowding, I really appreciate how they taught me to view weeds, ecosystems, fertiliser inputs etc. However I've always disliked how messy(!) these gardens are - CDs is neat to be fair - but I've seen a lot of rough permie gardens. I'd love to see more of a marriage between design and tidiness of "conventional" gardening with the "nonconventional" growing methods. And I also love lawn, yes, you can't eat grass, but children can't play football on the sweet potatoes.
I agree, mine is tidy like Charles’. It makes it nice to work it, some order to an inherently somewhat chaotic situation - twenty types of crops in a smallish space. Since getting chickens we have another use for the lawn besides clear area - chicken pasture. I think a lot of permie gardens take using space to the extreme, and sacrifice efficiency of labor as a result. It’s nice to have some open space for your tools, trays of seedlings you’re planting out, piles of plants you’re removing, boxes of seedling cages, etc. To me, space is precious in the garden because it’s fenced from the deer. No sprawling lavender bushes, only (real) food.
Deserts make great sand pits. Unfortunately permaculture neither covers the oceans and their link in the Great circle of Life. Destruction full steam ahead , regardless of these futile efforts.
I was doing this as a child in the 1970s and I didn't use pesticides I looked up organic ways to keep pest and disease out of the garden I would buy vintage garden books and read them to see how the older gardeners did it
I agree with many of the previous posts - what an excellent video! I have learnt so much from BG & CD over the years; two people who inspire confidence by regularly referring to scientific evidence. Fantastic to see you question each other’s approaches and in such a respectful way. Loved it, thanks.
Such a brilliant discussion! Love it to have a proper conversation. It makes Charles the opportunity to answer some though questions and the results is a great addition to his own channel! Love from Stockholm Sweden 🤗❤️🌷
What a wonderful interview. It is great to see a respectful exchange of honest ideas - just goes to show that you 'can' provide a counter opinion without being labelled a 'troll'! LOL. I'm about to start an entirely new bit of vege patch on our property, and I am going to do it from scratch via "no dig". We're in the south island of New Zealand, and have drought issues in the summer - so your conversation with Charles has helped me to decide that raised beds won't be the best for us due to water shortages. (It's also helped to firm up my idea of adding spouting to the low side of our barn roof to collect water throughout the winter). Thank you so much!! xx
Maybe consider some fast growing hedges or tall shrubs in a row to block the wind too, it makes a huge difference here, being sheltered from the afternoon summer wind (and or not)
@@przybyla420 Good call... We have some pretty massive nor'west winds where we are - I was wondering about putting some trellis in for some veg (like cucumber or zucchini) or sweet peas to grow up - I thought that might create a little bit of a barrier while still giving it some light. At the end of the day gardening is all about trial and error, and what doesn't work out this year can be tweaked for next year. (It's quite exciting!!) Where are you?
Nice. Too bad with the wind direction, I’m lucky to have it from the west. I’m in Western Oregon about forty miles from the coast. Maybe deciduous stuff if you did plant to block the wind, then the low angle sun won’t be blocked by foliage.
Loved this video! Great seeing you questioning him and each of you supporting your gardening philosophy. I'm with you in the raised beds! I'm 66 with a knee replacement and 3 back vertebra fused so raised beds with an edge that I can sit on are wonderful. I only have 1 small one now but plan increasing. I have a Greenstalk planting tower which has been helpful too. Thank you for this great interview!
Great interview, there’s multiple ways to garden but certainly permaculture with no dig is the best way to save and help our planet. Thanks for sharing.
I was glad to hear you talk about no dig results of raised beds vs no dig ones and walking on no dig areas to get to your plants. I put in my first no dig garden this spring and the results are amazing. I get alot of comments from people as to the health and size of my plants and find that I have very few pests to contend with which I attribute to this method.
Fabulous. Good for you Charles. You sold it to the sceptics in that! Not me of course, I'm no sceptic as you know. The science is there!! Marvellous to see this on mainstream TV! We need so much more on mainstream, please. So many people think gardening is hard work. Yes, the set-up can be a bit of hard work in places, I'm removing paving slabs tomorrow from beneath a greenhouse, but the rewards are endless. This video has made my weekend
Excellent video. I have now done no dig it in the main garden and minimal weeding all summer. Thank you for all your knowledge and most importantly, for passing the information on to others. I have gained a ton of knowledge watching videos from you in the UK. i just adjust my sowing times.
Thank you for a friendly dialogue without being subservient. Agree with most of his tenets but with extreme success he has become more dogmatic--seems to happen with success it pays well.
I love the raised brick beds you did for Mary Berry, Bunny. They are sturdy enough to be sat on and just the right height & width to attend plants from both sides comfortably, and the plants looked so healthy and thriving. The brickwork was also so beautifully done that they were landscaping features in their own right. Being over 60yrs, I'm all for raised beds :)
My favorite two Gardners ❤ Love both of their ideas on gardening! From bottomless pots to no dig. Keep sharing your wonderful ideas!!! And the earth will be a better place for all.🐿🦔🐞🐜🥰
Charles is so gracious in his observations. My raised beds are only 6 to 12 inches, not two feet. Done simply to accommodate more plants than a hill. Flat ground-level beds here would roast or get flooded in our southeast Alberta climate. No dig is maybe the best... but doesn't really apply to potatoes or carrots, which root deeply. Oh well.
I made 2 large borders 18 months ago using the no dig method. I planted a combination of grasses, perennials and annuals between the already established shrubs. I had great growth both last summer and this summer. I added a foot of shredded leaves to the beds last autumn also. I garden on very heavy red clay in an area that receives about 55 inches of rain annually.
MELBOURNE Australia here, never heard of this gentleman but what an interesting program, I’m thinking of digging up my front nature strip ( not sure if you have these in England tp plant veg but now I’m thinking I might just mulch fertilise and plant Thank you, find your videos really interesting
I suppose your ‘front nature strips’ would be the equivalent of our grass verges that often front the road. There is a big move here to stop regular mowing and letting them grow more wild. Gardeners here are turning more to growing veg and fruit in their front gardens, as gardeners realise veg gardens can look fabulous and you can’t beat home grow!🐇
Charles has videos of starting no dig from scratch that might help give you tips. His videos are great for learning. And Bunnys are icing on the cake :) Hate to be without watching either of them.
@@bunnyguinness yes it is the verge and in some states they call it that! When I think of the words “nature strip” it’s really what it should be instead of grass! Maybe we all need “nature strips” instead of verges! Anyhow love your content thank you
Such a humble but brilliant idea. Animals grazing the fields and putting down manure works in the same way. So really co2 emissions are not caused by cow farts, they are actually caused by modern agriculture disrupting the soil.
If you only have a small garden, I think the most ergonomic option is a workbench raised bed: a waste-level bed elevated on sturdy legs. Or large pots or planter boxes sitting on a little raised terrace or top of a low retaining wall. Both of these eliminate bending over if they are narrow enough to reach across to sow and harvest all from one side. The workbench bed has the benefit for suburbanites of creating extra space too.
Good interview had a laugh with Charlie quoted the good book...nothing new under the sun... composting is very situation pacific.The aggregate ( Golmalis the larger of the mycorrhiza actors)along with it partners mycorrhiza fungi dose mine minerals but mostly phosphorus the wood chip good for path ways many year before becoming useful.A good C/N carbon nitrogen ratio is 25, The Russians were the godfathers of the soil exploration with the massive continental area (excuse the 7 continental regions) lots of soil differences to investigate and they put names on a lot of soil types, I find people eyes drift when to much detail is relayed about soil, people need to know carbon is drawn down into the soil by plants then used to build structures most important is to care for the key stone plants/ crops and help moves down the chain thereafter I'm very glad you did this awareness video very refreshing. Sorry I went on a bit.😅
Difficult to square what you say re the Russians being godfathers of soil exploration with the dust bowls of the 60’s but many thanks for your input - I really enjoy learning about other gardeners views and knowledge from all over the world 🐇
@@bunnyguinness Here is a great book by krasil nikov.....Soil microbes and higher plants...in the 18th and 19th century teams of biologists studied soil types hence the names we have today.. 👍
I live in Cheshire, close to the Welsh border , so very damp & wet climate ! In my current garden , I have been gardening it for 11 years, i used to have wooden edges on my borders. Until last year I invested in some knee high ,metal raised beds , This year the slug population has been dramatic in its decline :) Although in my brick raised beds( in a walled garden) they still seem to hide out . So the slugs favourite plants now all go in the metal beds .
Great comment! I do think you learn a lot by challenging people and ideas and it clarified for me the important difference between consolidated soil ( great) and compacted soil (def not great). But I still won’t be dancing all over my beds!🐇
@@bunnyguinness Me neither! I agree that being willing to challenge and sometimes contradict means us viewers learn more. That's why you are so good on GQT and now this channel, which I am really enjoying.
This video was like watching two dogs meet in the street - both wagging tails, but growling at the same time. I am guessing they have both disagreed in the past. Enjoyable though - as ever on this channel.
Yes I am a bit like a Jack Russel rather tenacious and very ovcaisionally snappy but basically loyal and friendly. Charles is more like a Labrador I think. I’m a big fan of his though and don’t think we have ever disagreed much apart from about raised beds and slugs and snails! Thanks for your comments!🐇
@@bunnyguinness With hindsight, I could have chosen a nicer analogy and I wished I had. Having said that, I have learnt from personal experience, that Jack Russel's do actually rule. keep up the good work !
Thank you for the interesting video. Just a question. In Germany there is a discussion how healthy it is to use carton on the soil because of all the chemicals in it. The German Umweltbundesamt actually advises against it. I use it still, because it’s a free resource and in my mind a good way to recycle it. What is your opinion?
I don’t use it because I’m not sure, it’s complex but gardenprofessors.com have got a detailed article on it which helps enlighten me. Having employed a German Landscape Architect I realise that you are far more advanced than us Brits on ecological matters, we seem quite behind in many ways. My Japanese employer who was pioneering in many ecological matters learnt a lot from Germany and that influenced my thinking too🐇
Sometimes perfect is the enemy of the good. I use cardboard for starting my no-dig flower beds: knowing that in time the soil flora and fauna will deal with the vast majority of chemicals. For my vegetables I use the cardboard to kill the weeds when making a fresh bed, then I replace it with a deep layer of compost. I really don’t get many weeds among my vegetables that way.
Yes most definitely, makes maintenance easier as you are not bringing up fresh weed seeds which you do when you dig and the structure improves. Thanks for your comments 🐇
I'd say three factors against no-dig, well not exactly against but offering a different perspective. Namely bind weed and mare's tale etc. In my experience you simply can't eliminate them with a covering. I've had the stuff come up through double or triple lined plastic in ponds and so on. You have to at the end of the growing season or in the winter dig the beds to try to get as much out as possible. Another factor is more abstract. In "nature" soil is actually disturbed by animals, roots, trees falling etc so I think soil can adapt to that. Digging on my plot I always feel the birds, particularly the robins are very happy too. With manure added and digging it seems to me the results are impressive. Third would be the amount of compost you need to do the method, after you have put the card down. It's quite considerable if you don't have the money. Is a 5% increase in yield say really such a big deal and factors can't be attributed to one thing. Also climate change now and so when the seasons start is very unpredictable.
When you dig soil with bind weed and mares tail you are effectively propagating it when you chop up the roots. So you have to be very careful. You can get free compost ie wood shredding from tree surgeons if you know some.I usually just take deciduous shreddings though. The great thing about gardening is you don’t the way that works for you and you enjoy, I often adapt the way I do things. 🐇
What are the causes of blight ?? For once i grew several varieties of beatiful , strong looking tomato plants , packed full of fruit , then one day last week i realised they contacted blight , and had to uproot them all , it was heartbreaking .
The mulch shields the soils particles from the impact of water, too 💦 . With clay and loam that impact can caused glazing, screwing up absorption, which in turn means runoff and erosion.
The flow of the runoff across the surface also causes loss of pore space and the erosion carries soil life food downslope, causing loss of pore space and/or stops new space being created by soil life.
This was really interesting. Excellent conversation bringing up many useful points. However I have a potion of a field which has been compacted by lorries and machinery driving over it and now want to reseed it. Should I rotovate or not?
No I wouldn’t. You could try an All Terrain Airator, you can hire hand held ones. Bit difficult to give useful answer as I’m not sure if it’s severe and the scale of it.🐇
I started a vegetable garden 5 years ago with the no dig method. The only problem is that I never have enough compost or grass clippings. Could you tell me (by volume) the amount of compost you add to each sowing per square meter? Thank you
I generally add about 25mm depth to the whole raised bed, can’t really equate it to a volume.sometimes with crops such as with potatoes, globe artichokes etc I just put cattle dung straight on the top and that would be a good 50mm depth. I like to keep my raised beds topped up with compost so if the soil level had dropped more, I would add more. Hope this helps 🐇
Ps I also get my local tree surgeon to drop off deciduous shredding when he is near, he does this for free. I leave them in a pile for around 3 months as they leach tannic acid initially which can be toxic, and then use these.
I think it might work with perseverance. Plant shoots take the path of least resistance so they will grow between the layers of cardboard rather than piercing up through it. Hence with careful layering they will eventually either grow themselves to death trying to find the light, or be severely weakened.
@@angelacross2216 so far they have always pushed thru just about anything even commercial strength weed cloth. I have had some luck if I add gravel on top though but if it’s just compost it will come right thru.
Eat them, they're edible (shoots) and there's some scientific reports about how they may help combat the bacteria that produce the Lyme disease. Can use them similarly as you'd use rhubarb but do keep in mind that they get a bit slimy when cooked.
This year is a horrible slug year here; even saw slugs during the day on the trees in the forest. But yeah anything out of the sun harbors slugs, was moving tiles and had left one slightly ontop of another, came back to find a slug underneath it 😂 You'd think that the wild ducks, toads and hedgehogs would do their job but clearly they don't.
It seems quite combative. An interesting lack of eye contact. Lots of raised chin defensiveness from Dowding. Maybe they should have had a drink and a sit down before hand.
Aweful interview. Like running fingers over a blackboard when you probed his finances! What a cheek, a GUINNESS golden spoon-type having the NERVE to go there!! Charles is a serious person with 60 something years of knowledge and deserved far more respect that you gave him. His gentleness and subtlety versus your gauche BBC self righteousness = knock out for Charles. The question I ask myself is would BG have asked such questions of Alan TitchMarsh (who also makes his money from books/media not by pushing a trowel?) No! Ps. Work on your eye contact BG. Not looking at someone normally either means you don't like the person or you're lying? So, which is it?
Sorry you feel like that. Charles said if the interview after watching video,‘it’s more interesting than I remembered - it so went by in a flash! Good questions by you. Comments suggest people like Frank debate.’ The reason I brought up finances is many people find making money out of growing organic veg if NOT on a field scale(ie with big machinery) is extremely difficult. Agree about eye contact but was recorded on a phone and had to interview on the hoof and was busy thinking up next question. I often play devils advocate as it brings out interesting points that might not emerge otherwise.
He's a polite fellow then, isn't he? I live in France and when my wife and me went recently for a weekend at the George V we had a poor meal. When the waiter asked us if everything was to our satisfaction we, of course, said yes.
My husband is 73 and I'm 62. USA Zone 5B. Clay. We garden on a converted small paddock 40x30, it's a flat and we started by using hugelkulture mounted beds, no dig, compost only. Our pathways are clover that stand up to walking and brings in pollinators. This is an awesome interview/conversation. 💚
Love seeing these two seasoned gardeners spar back and forth and would love to see more. ~ Lisa
Lovely that both of you have real experiences and spend time pondering why and how can it be better. Thanks.
The future for humanity is uncertain but we must learn to feed ourselves and start growing fruit and vegetables 🥕.
Love how he’s not dogmatic .
Charles you’re awesome spreading the word and teaching us so much .
I have been waiting for this video for a long time. Both of you have had such an impact to my garden in the subtropics down under. Thank you so much!!!
Many thanks, that’s amazing !🐇
I consider him a great gardener and source of amazing knowledge who share with all of us. I think any opportunity given to him to explain himself and provide information is a treasure.
He's the Man
Long Live The King of No-Dig
That was a great interview. As a believer you still challenged him. I think he enjoyed it too!
Sorry you feel like that. Charles said, it was more interesting than I remembered / it so went in a flash! Good questions by you. Comments suggest people like Frank debate.’ Re the finance I was trying to highlight how difficult it is to grow vegetables organically in profitable way if not on a field scale. Also lack of eye contact was because it was filmed on a phone and all done on the hoof so was not easy, not for any others reason. I like listening to interviews that are challenging and enlightening and I do tend to play ‘devils advocate’.
Sorry wrong reply !🐇thanks for your comment!
Love watching all his gardening his love for gardening the green fingers they are just stunning gardeners wow I love doing all of it to getting your own veggies stuff I going my own compost wow itsavery long thing but
Charles has hugely inspired my gardening,and now I've discovered your videos, so happy 😍😍
I LOVE THIS conversation - really penetrating questions, different viewpoints, lovely polite British personalities of Charles and Bunny that I love so much having a real heated discussion about concepts. I'm also so delighted by the photo of the Soil (society?) members way back when - those are real clothes man. Yay corduroy!
You know, Bunny, I've got a plate in one ankle and a very bad knee from a dancing accident - but I've discovered the slow squat. I don't typically use it in gardening yet - but I'm much improved now after strengthening the supporting muscles (yay 65 and over! I follow TH-cam physical therapists). I hope to move toward squatting over my beds in the future now that I dance for an hour every day including the squat.
Much love to both of you - you are both such profound mentors of the soil for me and so many others.
Warmest regards
Jennie
Lol I need to learn this squat, which youtuber do you recommend?
@@annashiegl I actually watch a group of them. The most prolific are Bob and Brad. Right now I'm reading a book by a specialist in iliosacral work that theyve had on their show - Deborah B Riczo.
@@jenniewilliams1668 oh yes I watch Bob n Brad too, they're great and really know their stuff. Thank you for the other recommendation. ☺
Lots of useful, challenged info available, too.
Makes Very useful viewing 👌✌️
I loved watching you and Charles. I'm 71 and gardening for over 50 years. I love gardening in pots, but I still do Garden in the ground. You two should do more together 🌿💚🌿
Wonderful....I loved watching 2 gardening Gurus go back and forth on their firm gardening beliefs. Bunny---you are correct, elderly gardeners need raised beds.
… I have been following Charles for some time now, I adore and respect him very much … I recently found you and your tremendous contributions as well ! … being an artist and interior designer I especially appreciate your overall aesthetics to gardening and design …. Another gardener that I highly respect is the young Huw Richards, who is a rising star !… he was a follower of Charles Dowding and has developed his own direction and had become very active in the permaculture aspect of gardening … what a fascinating world gardening is !
Bunny stirring the pot with Charles this is a great video with my two fav TH-cams. We all learn so much from these two. Love this video
This interview is fantastic! 2 Brilliant Gardeners talking about their organic gardening methods? The world needs more of this! I learned so much. Thank you!
I love that you could agree to disagree and challenge each other respectfully. Thank you for a great interview.
Awesome Bunny, way to stand your ground. Seriously though, nice chat!
This is really interesting. I would love to see a longer talk between the two of you! And it's also so interesting to hear two different sides, or maybe more like two different ways of looking at things like that. And why, if so, you might look at it differently. And also to hear what the two of you (I mean in the aspect of professional gardeners that is) find interesting or inspirering. And see what you pick up on about research that is out there. Lovely
lovely video....you two provide such great insight. Wish we could all see the importance of soil health.
What a treat.Charles is in the south west where it is very wet and Bunny is in the east where it is dry.Hence more slugs in wooden sides in west.
Growing up knowing only permaculture, self-sustainability, syntropic planting, food forests, and later Charles Dowding, I really appreciate how they taught me to view weeds, ecosystems, fertiliser inputs etc. However I've always disliked how messy(!) these gardens are - CDs is neat to be fair - but I've seen a lot of rough permie gardens. I'd love to see more of a marriage between design and tidiness of "conventional" gardening with the "nonconventional" growing methods. And I also love lawn, yes, you can't eat grass, but children can't play football on the sweet potatoes.
I agree, mine is tidy like Charles’. It makes it nice to work it, some order to an inherently somewhat chaotic situation - twenty types of crops in a smallish space. Since getting chickens we have another use for the lawn besides clear area - chicken pasture. I think a lot of permie gardens take using space to the extreme, and sacrifice efficiency of labor as a result. It’s nice to have some open space for your tools, trays of seedlings you’re planting out, piles of plants you’re removing, boxes of seedling cages, etc. To me, space is precious in the garden because it’s fenced from the deer. No sprawling lavender bushes, only (real) food.
Funnily enough, the main crop garden at Zaytuna farm is pretty organized and tidy from what I’ve seen. Like a standard market garden more or less.
Deserts make great sand pits. Unfortunately permaculture neither covers the oceans and their link in the Great circle of Life. Destruction full steam ahead , regardless of these futile efforts.
I was doing this as a child in the 1970s and I didn't use pesticides I looked up organic ways to keep pest and disease out of the garden I would buy vintage garden books and read them to see how the older gardeners did it
I agree with many of the previous posts - what an excellent video! I have learnt so much from BG & CD over the years; two people who inspire confidence by regularly referring to scientific evidence. Fantastic to see you question each other’s approaches and in such a respectful way. Loved it, thanks.
Two of my favs!
Loved watching two experts discussing their passion. Best thing I’ve seen in ages, unfaltering conviction. Thank you 🐰
Ms. Bunny & Mr. "No-Dig" !! Wonderful exchange of opinions. Especially the pros & cons of raised beds
Such a brilliant discussion! Love it to have a proper conversation. It makes Charles the opportunity to answer some though questions and the results is a great addition to his own channel! Love from Stockholm Sweden 🤗❤️🌷
I love this man!!!!! He is amazing!!
Whole lot of respect for this man. The womsplaining was intense in this, but Charles did at least get a few words in.
Love this so interesting.
The man, the myth, the legend
Super discussion and lovely vegetables despite it being a show garden.
Love your program- very interesting during the lockdowns in Melb
What a wonderful interview. It is great to see a respectful exchange of honest ideas - just goes to show that you 'can' provide a counter opinion without being labelled a 'troll'! LOL. I'm about to start an entirely new bit of vege patch on our property, and I am going to do it from scratch via "no dig". We're in the south island of New Zealand, and have drought issues in the summer - so your conversation with Charles has helped me to decide that raised beds won't be the best for us due to water shortages. (It's also helped to firm up my idea of adding spouting to the low side of our barn roof to collect water throughout the winter). Thank you so much!! xx
Maybe consider some fast growing hedges or tall shrubs in a row to block the wind too, it makes a huge difference here, being sheltered from the afternoon summer wind (and or not)
@@przybyla420 Good call... We have some pretty massive nor'west winds where we are - I was wondering about putting some trellis in for some veg (like cucumber or zucchini) or sweet peas to grow up - I thought that might create a little bit of a barrier while still giving it some light. At the end of the day gardening is all about trial and error, and what doesn't work out this year can be tweaked for next year. (It's quite exciting!!) Where are you?
Nice. Too bad with the wind direction, I’m lucky to have it from the west. I’m in Western Oregon about forty miles from the coast. Maybe deciduous stuff if you did plant to block the wind, then the low angle sun won’t be blocked by foliage.
Loved this video! Great seeing you questioning him and each of you supporting your gardening philosophy. I'm with you in the raised beds! I'm 66 with a knee replacement and 3 back vertebra fused so raised beds with an edge that I can sit on are wonderful. I only have 1 small one now but plan increasing. I have a Greenstalk planting tower which has been helpful too. Thank you for this great interview!
Outstanding!
Great interview, there’s multiple ways to garden but certainly permaculture with no dig is the best way to save and help our planet. Thanks for sharing.
Fascinating conversation.
I was glad to hear you talk about no dig results of raised beds vs no dig ones and walking on no dig areas to get to your plants. I put in my first no dig garden this spring and the results are amazing. I get alot of comments from people as to the health and size of my plants and find that I have very few pests to contend with which I attribute to this method.
Brilliant video, I have just spent a day at home acres . It all makes so much sense . Thank you for sharing. Heather Isle of Wight.
Fabulous. Good for you Charles. You sold it to the sceptics in that! Not me of course, I'm no sceptic as you know. The science is there!! Marvellous to see this on mainstream TV! We need so much more on mainstream, please. So many people think gardening is hard work. Yes, the set-up can be a bit of hard work in places, I'm removing paving slabs tomorrow from beneath a greenhouse, but the rewards are endless. This video has made my weekend
Plants love being together. Touching, cuddling, communicating, keeping toasty. Prince Charles was right all along.
Great interview!
Excellent video. I have now done no dig it in the main garden and minimal weeding all summer. Thank you for all your knowledge and most importantly, for passing the information on to others. I have gained a ton of knowledge watching videos from you in the UK. i just adjust my sowing times.
Thank you for a friendly dialogue without being subservient. Agree with most of his tenets but with extreme success he has become more dogmatic--seems to happen with success it pays well.
Loved the banter between you both.
I love the raised brick beds you did for Mary Berry, Bunny. They are sturdy enough to be sat on and just the right height & width to attend plants from both sides comfortably, and the plants looked so healthy and thriving. The brickwork was also so beautifully done that they were landscaping features in their own right. Being over 60yrs, I'm all for raised beds :)
Two of my favorite gardeners, loved this union!
Excellent interview! Always interesting to challenge somebody. Thanks a lot!
My favorite two Gardners ❤ Love both of their ideas on gardening! From bottomless pots to no dig. Keep sharing your wonderful ideas!!! And the earth will be a better place for all.🐿🦔🐞🐜🥰
Great interview, we 💚love💚 Mr Dowding
The elegant face of rivalry. Aka expressing difference of opinion. 👨🏽🌾🧏🏽👨🏽🔬
He has also convinced me. 😀
Now I know he's a veggie I respect him even more, he didn't discover no dig but he's made it mainstream for everyone to discover ,great human being
I do have to agree about the raised beds. As someone who suffers with rheumatoid arthritis, I find raised beds as a godsend.
Wonderful insights into both your gardening journeys.
fantastic interview...Ill need to rewatch a few times to take all the info in, there was so much packed in there...thank you
Charles is so gracious in his observations.
My raised beds are only 6 to 12 inches, not two feet. Done simply to accommodate more plants than a hill. Flat ground-level beds here would roast or get flooded in our southeast Alberta climate.
No dig is maybe the best... but doesn't really apply to potatoes or carrots, which root deeply. Oh well.
… apparently you haven’t tried growing potatoes in cardboard boxes … !
Well done. Good to see a good challenge on raised beds. Back and knees not what they use to be. 😂😂
Look how amazing those vegs look. 🥦 🌶
I made 2 large borders 18 months ago using the no dig method. I planted a combination of grasses, perennials and annuals between the already established shrubs. I had great growth both last summer and this summer. I added a foot of shredded leaves to the beds last autumn also. I garden on very heavy red clay in an area that receives about 55 inches of rain annually.
wonderfully informative interview. Congratulations!
MELBOURNE Australia here, never heard of this gentleman but what an interesting program, I’m thinking of digging up my front nature strip ( not sure if you have these in England tp plant veg but now I’m thinking I might just mulch fertilise and plant
Thank you, find your videos really interesting
I suppose your ‘front nature strips’ would be the equivalent of our grass verges that often front the road. There is a big move here to stop regular mowing and letting them grow more wild. Gardeners here are turning more to growing veg and fruit in their front gardens, as gardeners realise veg gardens can look fabulous and you can’t beat home grow!🐇
Charles has videos of starting no dig from scratch that might help give you tips. His videos are great for learning. And Bunnys are icing on the cake :) Hate to be without watching either of them.
@@bunnyguinness yes it is the verge and in some states they call it that! When I think of the words “nature strip” it’s really what it should be instead of grass! Maybe we all need “nature strips” instead of verges! Anyhow love your content thank you
Such a humble but brilliant idea. Animals grazing the fields and putting down manure works in the same way. So really co2 emissions are not caused by cow farts, they are actually caused by modern agriculture disrupting the soil.
Let’s not absolve those gassy cows.
@@ThreeRunHomer or those gassy vegans 😂
👍❤️😊
two of my favorite ppl
If you only have a small garden, I think the most ergonomic option is a workbench raised bed: a waste-level bed elevated on sturdy legs. Or large pots or planter boxes sitting on a little raised terrace or top of a low retaining wall. Both of these eliminate bending over if they are narrow enough to reach across to sow and harvest all from one side. The workbench bed has the benefit for suburbanites of creating extra space too.
Good interview had a laugh with Charlie quoted the good book...nothing new under the sun... composting is very situation pacific.The aggregate ( Golmalis the larger of the mycorrhiza actors)along with it partners mycorrhiza fungi dose mine minerals but mostly phosphorus the wood chip good for path ways many year before becoming useful.A good C/N carbon nitrogen ratio is 25, The Russians were the godfathers of the soil exploration with the massive continental area (excuse the 7 continental regions) lots of soil differences to investigate and they put names on a lot of soil types, I find people eyes drift when to much detail is relayed about soil, people need to know carbon is drawn down into the soil by plants then used to build structures most important is to care for the key stone plants/ crops and help moves down the chain thereafter I'm very glad you did this awareness video very refreshing. Sorry I went on a bit.😅
Difficult to square what you say re the Russians being godfathers of soil exploration with the dust bowls of the 60’s but many thanks for your input - I really enjoy learning about other gardeners views and knowledge from all over the world 🐇
@@bunnyguinness Here is a great book by krasil nikov.....Soil microbes and higher plants...in the 18th and 19th century teams of biologists studied soil types hence the names we have today.. 👍
I live in Cheshire, close to the Welsh border , so very damp & wet climate ! In my current garden , I have been gardening it for 11 years, i used to have wooden edges on my borders. Until last year I invested in some knee high ,metal raised beds , This year the slug population has been dramatic in its decline :) Although in my brick raised beds( in a walled garden) they still seem to hide out . So the slugs favourite plants now all go in the metal beds .
No dig works as long as you buy in masses of compost. Producing the amount of compost needed would be a full time job in itself.
It's nice to see Bunny bicker with someone other than Bob for a change! Great post
Great comment! I do think you learn a lot by challenging people and ideas and it clarified for me the important difference between consolidated soil ( great) and compacted soil (def not great). But I still won’t be dancing all over my beds!🐇
@@bunnyguinness Me neither! I agree that being willing to challenge and sometimes contradict means us viewers learn more. That's why you are so good on GQT and now this channel, which I am really enjoying.
This video was like watching two dogs meet in the street - both wagging tails, but growling at the same time. I am guessing they have both disagreed in the past. Enjoyable though - as ever on this channel.
Yes I am a bit like a Jack Russel rather tenacious and very ovcaisionally snappy but basically loyal and friendly. Charles is more like a Labrador I think. I’m a big fan of his though and don’t think we have ever disagreed much apart from about raised beds and slugs and snails! Thanks for your comments!🐇
@@bunnyguinness With hindsight, I could have chosen a nicer analogy and I wished I had. Having said that, I have learnt from personal experience, that Jack Russel's do actually rule. keep up the good work !
I loved the analogy - but then I adore all dogs! 🐇
Dear Bunny, Please interview Stephanie Hafferty…now that would be a far more interesting interview!
Thank you for the interesting video. Just a question. In Germany there is a discussion how healthy it is to use carton on the soil because of all the chemicals in it. The German Umweltbundesamt actually advises against it. I use it still, because it’s a free resource and in my mind a good way to recycle it. What is your opinion?
I don’t use it because I’m not sure, it’s complex but gardenprofessors.com have got a detailed article on it which helps enlighten me. Having employed a German Landscape Architect I realise that you are far more advanced than us Brits on ecological matters, we seem quite behind in many ways. My Japanese employer who was pioneering in many ecological matters learnt a lot from Germany and that influenced my thinking too🐇
@@bunnyguinness Thank you for your answer. It is such an inspiration to see your great designs!
Sometimes perfect is the enemy of the good. I use cardboard for starting my no-dig flower beds: knowing that in time the soil flora and fauna will deal with the vast majority of chemicals. For my vegetables I use the cardboard to kill the weeds when making a fresh bed, then I replace it with a deep layer of compost. I really don’t get many weeds among my vegetables that way.
This year i made a no dig cardboard bed , with a brick border rather than wood .
Really enjoyed this. What an interesting topic. Do you also apply the no dig concept outside the veg garden, i.e In borders etc?
Yes most definitely, makes maintenance easier as you are not bringing up fresh weed seeds which you do when you dig and the structure improves. Thanks for your comments 🐇
I'd say three factors against no-dig, well not exactly against but offering a different perspective. Namely bind weed and mare's tale etc. In my experience you simply can't eliminate them with a covering. I've had the stuff come up through double or triple lined plastic in ponds and so on. You have to at the end of the growing season or in the winter dig the beds to try to get as much out as possible. Another factor is more abstract. In "nature" soil is actually disturbed by animals, roots, trees falling etc so I think soil can adapt to that. Digging on my plot I always feel the birds, particularly the robins are very happy too. With manure added and digging it seems to me the results are impressive. Third would be the amount of compost you need to do the method, after you have put the card down. It's quite considerable if you don't have the money. Is a 5% increase in yield say really such a big deal and factors can't be attributed to one thing. Also climate change now and so when the seasons start is very unpredictable.
When you dig soil with bind weed and mares tail you are effectively propagating it when you chop up the roots. So you have to be very careful. You can get free compost ie wood shredding from tree surgeons if you know some.I usually just take deciduous shreddings though. The great thing about gardening is you don’t the way that works for you and you enjoy, I often adapt the way I do things. 🐇
What are the causes of blight ?? For once i grew several varieties of beatiful , strong looking tomato plants , packed full of fruit , then one day last week i realised they contacted blight , and had to uproot them all , it was heartbreaking .
The mulch shields the soils particles from the impact of water, too 💦 . With clay and loam that impact can caused glazing, screwing up absorption, which in turn means runoff and erosion.
The flow of the runoff across the surface also causes loss of pore space and the erosion carries soil life food downslope, causing loss of pore space and/or stops new space being created by soil life.
This was really interesting. Excellent conversation bringing up many useful points.
However I have a potion of a field which has been compacted by lorries and machinery driving over it and now want to reseed it. Should I rotovate or not?
No I wouldn’t. You could try an All Terrain Airator, you can hire hand held ones. Bit difficult to give useful answer as I’m not sure if it’s severe and the scale of it.🐇
@@bunnyguinness thank you so much for replying. I might just try taking the surface before reseeding.
If you can’t get a hand shovel in the soil (when it’s moist) then it could use broadforking I would think.
I throw my charcoal from barbecuing into my garden beds. Must help somewhere down the line. Bit like using activated charcoal for myself.
I was trow away from a few Facebook garden groups for promoting the no-dig method (I was polite)
He won’t be moved! 😁 No to raised beds.
I started a vegetable garden 5 years ago with the no dig method. The only problem is that I never have enough compost or grass clippings. Could you tell me (by volume) the amount of compost you add to each sowing per square meter? Thank you
I generally add about 25mm depth to the whole raised bed, can’t really equate it to a volume.sometimes with crops such as with potatoes, globe artichokes etc I just put cattle dung straight on the top and that would be a good 50mm depth. I like to keep my raised beds topped up with compost so if the soil level had dropped more, I would add more. Hope this helps 🐇
Ps I also get my local tree surgeon to drop off deciduous shredding when he is near, he does this for free. I leave them in a pile for around 3 months as they leach tannic acid initially which can be toxic, and then use these.
What do you recommend if you have knotweed. Doesn’t it grow through even if its smoother with cardboard and tons of compost?
I think it might work with perseverance. Plant shoots take the path of least resistance so they will grow between the layers of cardboard rather than piercing up through it. Hence with careful layering they will eventually either grow themselves to death trying to find the light, or be severely weakened.
@@angelacross2216 so far they have always pushed thru just about anything even commercial strength weed cloth. I have had some luck if I add gravel on top though but if it’s just compost it will come right thru.
Eat them, they're edible (shoots) and there's some scientific reports about how they may help combat the bacteria that produce the Lyme disease.
Can use them similarly as you'd use rhubarb but do keep in mind that they get a bit slimy when cooked.
"penetrometer"... Is that for garden use?
You can use them, but they are very expensive, unless you are a soil scientist or similar professional you would usually just borrow one. 🐇
If interrupting Charles wast enough, her claim that raised beds don't harbor slugs ended it for me
This year is a horrible slug year here; even saw slugs during the day on the trees in the forest. But yeah anything out of the sun harbors slugs, was moving tiles and had left one slightly ontop of another, came back to find a slug underneath it 😂
You'd think that the wild ducks, toads and hedgehogs would do their job but clearly they don't.
It seems quite combative. An interesting lack of eye contact. Lots of raised chin defensiveness from Dowding. Maybe they should have had a drink and a sit down before hand.
check out the work of paul stamets
Wow he does seem interesting many thanks 🐇
Please let him speak
I found her to be argumentative with a tendency to interrupt. Hard to watch as a result......
Agree to disagree 😀
Aweful interview. Like running fingers over a blackboard when you probed his finances! What a cheek, a GUINNESS golden spoon-type having the NERVE to go there!! Charles is a serious person with 60 something years of knowledge and deserved far more respect that you gave him. His gentleness and subtlety versus your gauche BBC self righteousness = knock out for Charles. The question I ask myself is would BG have asked such questions of Alan TitchMarsh (who also makes his money from books/media not by pushing a trowel?) No! Ps. Work on your eye contact BG. Not looking at someone normally either means you don't like the person or you're lying? So, which is it?
Sorry you feel like that. Charles said if the interview after watching video,‘it’s more interesting than I remembered - it so went by in a flash! Good questions by you. Comments suggest people like Frank debate.’ The reason I brought up finances is many people find making money out of growing organic veg if NOT on a field scale(ie with big machinery) is extremely difficult. Agree about eye contact but was recorded on a phone and had to interview on the hoof and was busy thinking up next question. I often play devils advocate as it brings out interesting points that might not emerge otherwise.
He's a polite fellow then, isn't he? I live in France and when my wife and me went recently for a weekend at the George V we had a poor meal. When the waiter asked us if everything was to our satisfaction we, of course, said yes.