Greetings, Charles, from Windermere, Florida zone 9b USA 🇺🇸 Today is my 73rd birthday and I'm spending the day enjoying reading my favorite books...Skills for Growing is by my cozy chair ❤
That is so touching Peggy and I wish you a very happy birthday. The time difference is in your favour, here it is 9 pm and you on the other hand have quite a few hours left to celebrate arriving at 73!
I've been watching several of your vids every day and I'm constantly hitting pause and running out to the garden to implement something you're doing. Putting wire hoops on the outside of the fleece! Brilliant! I've been in despair, finding the wind has just tossed off the boulders I've used to hold it down. This changes everything. So simple.
I’m loving your laid back approach to gardening, it’s so realistic and makes me feel a lot better about my efforts 😊 especially with the composting and end product. Thanks for taking your time to share all of this with us!
You are a true professional on camera.. how do you talk with comfort and ease in front of the camera with no cuts in the scenes❤❤❤❤ I struggle so hard😂 I always love watching your tours ❤❤❤❤
I live about 100 miles north of the Gulf of Mexico and am amazed at how similar the climate is to yours. We have hotter summers, milder winters and generally more violent storms but your growing season and rainfall are close enough to ours to make your videos very useful. Thanks
It is so much about timing and remember all the different needs of the plants 😮, since I'm not a great planer I'll keep forgetting some vegetables like sellerie. But still slowly I am getting better thanks to you sharing your knowledge, thanks a lot 😊
Yes indeed, and if it helps to know, even I feel a little daunted in the early spring every year, when so much is ahead, needing to be sown and cared for and planted out, and then resown for succession planting in summer
So welcome to learn that your plants also struggle with growth these days Sir Charles. I still become insecure when the development is different than expected and search for what I have done wrong. I just have to understand that nature is doing her own thing each and every year. Thanks for the wonderful garden tour!😊
All looking fantastic Danny loads of well developed seedlings mate all looking lush, and fruit bushes looking great also, it amazes me how much warmer it is down your way you get at least a 3 week head start on us way up hear in the North West
Oooo I’m so glad you expressed your delight when you saw the caterpillar. I have quite a lot of these type of crawlies in my pots and beds and have always thought it wasn’t good for me, unlike the lovely earthworms. So glad they are not considered a pest. Thank you so much Charles! Learning so much from you!
I’m in the USA, zone 6B, have cool crops out and lots of seedlings coming along for after our last frost date in early May - this is my first year starting so many seedlings. I got poisoned soil last year. Thank you so much for all of the information - what lovely gardens and I admire all of the knowledge you have!
Hello, interesting to see you growing asparagus from seed. I did the same a few years ago to see if the seeds would grow, left them on the side and I was so surprised to see them all germinate, I now have a very successful bed of asparagus which is getting better year on year.
My lettuces are slow, but my Asian Greens / Winter Salads / Salad Rocket / Mustards are all bolting. The bees are loving the flowers. It never ceases to amaze me how weather affects plants different. BTW, thank you for your videos on Winter Salads. We've been eating them every lunchtime since around November.
Thank you kindly Charles for touching on some very key areas such as the downturn/lack of warmth this spring and slowed growth, the look up-close of the compost ..inspires confidence of being on the right track...; also grateful for the heads up on the de-fleecing of peas for shoots as well the spring onions...with weather also predicted to be warm...might give it a try and above all,.. cannot say this enough, Thank you most kindly for touching on the issue of perennial weeds in a no dig system,.I'm pretty much experiencing a lot of what you covered in this video and some of the solutions you've suggested are very practical and indeed a relief to learn there are solutions or work-arounds..or work-withs. Thank you for all the great work you do in these videos.
This is nice to hear and I am very pleased to be able to help you. Perennial weeds can be so disheartening and there are indeed ways to eliminate most of them! Without using poisons or disturbing the soil 💚
Here in the atlantic coast of France the winter was dry and the spring also. I’m already watering. Planting tomatoes (deep) i was scared of the depth to which everything is dry. I’m doing no dig similar to yours, but dear husband can’t help but twist the soil around (he now has understood not to overturn soil layers though) i put tags everywhere, he jokes that i sow more tags than plants... but i enjoy the volunteer herbs and flowers in the veggy garden and that’s how i keep them alive from mr tidy (i’m generally very glad he’s more tidy than me, keeps the gardens beautiful. It just means leaving a trail of tags for him)
hey northerners your spring is about to start feel happy suddenly there is soooo much to do and it will all start growing at once you can look forward to the new varieties you bought in another fit of must have/try/grow In NZ the autumn has started the garden is a real mess my remaining plants are ugly and I have one cauli to look forward to but only 4 months till spring down here
Charles as always your garden looks great. Mine is just now getting in the ground and starting to take off. Got a nice rain last night. I’m happy and excited. Take care and God bless. (Old guy from Arkansas)🇺🇸
Thank you for posting this video. Like others here, I found it very reassuring to see that you too are having problems with slow growth due to the winter-like low temperatures, wind and rainfall that we've had up till last week here in the UK. I can now rest easy that my own seedlings' slow growth is not because I've done something 'wrong'!
Thank you for your encouraging video. We're about 4-6 out from planting outdoors. Just sewed our tomatoes and eggplants in modules. Garden 2023 is on the way!
Glad it’s not just me with slow growth we are up north so the weather has been even worse. Last year my lettuce were really big by this time but the weather was really mild. I know they’ll get there eventually it’s teaching me patience!
I’m really happy to see the worms are doing well and your getting castings for the use in the greenhouse and garden. Like the successful manure heap in the greenhouse keeping your seedlings warm. Loving the garlic and the rest of the garden. The pond is an interesting feature.
Hello Charles I recieved your cookbook yesterday and I must say I'm thrilled with the presentation of the recipies, and I'm looking forward to making several of the dishes. Although I garden in a colder growing zone, this winter to spring weather has been odd, no snow pack at all..and 80f temps this week..its' certainly not June but it feels like it. The veggies are growing like crazy, but we need rain. Thank goodness the compost on the beds and the wood chip walk ways are helping a bit. Thankyou again for meal ideas with homegrown veggies. Blessings.
Wow Linda, your weather sounds amazing. And thanks so much for your comments on the cookbook, I should be grateful if you leave an online review somewhere. I hope that you have lots of vegetables to make the dishes from
Great camera work from Nicolla again. She does a really good job of keeping the frame on you when you are talking, but when there's something in the garden that needs emphasis, it's done straight away and very smoothly. I don't know if you both pre-plan what's going to happen, or to what extent, but if it is noticably good and pretty impressive.
Thank you Kenneth, I shall pass this to her and she will be delighted. Yes we walk it through first and that is important, and as you say she's good at following and improvising! I do sometimes change my route :)
I must say that the cool wet March and first half of April simply means that for my growing areas, certain things are doing much better than some of the drier springs we had in the SE of England the past decade. My comfrey plants which were covered in horse manure in late autumn look epic for this time of year and so does the Rhubarb Champagne. The garlic look perfect without me having to ever water them and the onion sets are firing beautifully. The broad beans and peas look super healthy, even if they've not attained a great size yet. The beetroot seem a little less keen on all the rainfall and the leaves are far more purple on clumps exposed to the elements than those under the fleece. All the fruit trees seem to be enjoying the transition to spring immensely and perennials like lovage and chives are returning with their usual vigour.
Agreed, it's been a long winter! Many of my perennials are a few weeks behind in growth from last year. I'm not surprised the veg plantings are also slowing too. Makes for a tighter timeline to get seedlings ready for summer😅
I’m glad we only planted onions so far. We just had 90*F all week and today we are getting 8-12” of snow. It’s the craziest weather I’ve ever seen as a native of WIsconsin, US. They say possibly more this weekend. Seriously, 90s to freezing in less than a day is nuts. Just another good reason to hoop all long wide rows to make changing covers easy. I had to cover everything I uncovered last week. I know I won’t use marsh hay to cover garlic again as I think it smothered some varieties.
Another wonderful inspirational walk through your garden. Every time I learn something new, and today it was the new F1 variety of purple brocolli. We have red robin and it might be the localised conditions but it was a little disappointing this year. Also perhaps my cucumbers and melon seeds were started a little bit too early! Amazing to see all the work in progress at Homeacres. I will also be showing this episode to my OH who discouraged me from planting rye and red wheat beds as green cover, as yours looks so lush I hope he blushes and admits the mistake!
So good to see you and catch up Charles, gales down here on the South coast too. My artichokes have stood up to the wind though.We have a new car so no more breaking down to Seedy Sundays!
btw, I was intrigued when you showed the worm bin. Maybe you could do a "short" video on that. We recently started on in an old ice chest. Not sure if'll it'll work but giving it a try.
Thanks and I imagine your spring is nicer than full on summer! Here we look forward to summer because it's not too hot. Good idea about the worm composting
When I was growing up, mum used to tell me to dig the back garden and put potatoes peel and old spuds I the ground and we used to get loads of spuds growing. Used to have beetroot and cabbages 🥕 strawberry 🍓 and gooseberries too.
It's always a pleasure to follow your S/W UK climate Charles. I just love your soil. Harvesting; late carrots, beetroot tomatoes and chard, it's just too hot now (44C today). Long beans next :)
I tend to leave my volunteers in situ. Still give great yield. I do plant potatoes in my compostheap as well. They do great in older compost that isnt as hot anymore
The #nodigrevolution is motoring ahead here in the NE England Charles, thanks to videos like this which keep the inspiration flowing. You’re so enthusiastic, I love it! I could do with some volunteers to help pot on my tomatoes too 😂 Ps love the red fleece which you’ve had on a few videos! The colour suits you! Thanks again for all you do
Nice video! Still a lot of snow here in the north of Scandinavia but it melts and today I am going to sow my cabbages outside and shovel som snow over them, gives nice and sturdy plants.
I am impressed how effectively you prevented the raspberries from spreading! Somehow the varieties we planted a few years ago were not as tame. Their roots came down several feet and popped out of our basement window well. We had to eliminate them last Fall out of the fear that they would take over the yard. My husband had to dig 3 feet down in some areas. We are anxiously watching the yard anticipating some might show up any day, in which case we have to dig again ... Maybe the reason yours are so well behaved is because of the no dig? How interesting!
Oh dear, that does sound difficult. And I'm afraid that deep digging will result in them spreading more widely. I'm sure in no dig that my raspberries are rooting to a considerable depth with fine roots, not the woody ones which then shoot sideways! Good luck with yours.
@Charles Dowding I'm also very interested in that! But I only subscribe on RUclips not paying any extra. (Sorry.) Maby you could put it up for everyone to see? You are anyway awesome! 😊
I'd be very interested in this. Since visiting Home Acres last year we've made a start on a new veg garden and of course everything we've done is 150mm on top of the turf level around it. I'm sure it'll all bed down eventually and look good, but I'm interested to find how to achieve a nice edge once it's going. Love the video Charles, you're my go to reference. Just made a start with your trays, they're actually toddler proof which is quite something! Hope to attend another day with you soon.
I remember seeing a video about it, but I have been watching for a few years. I think it's just maintenance a few times a year with some hedge clippers/ scissors with long Handel's.
We went right into summer in NY. It’s been 90 F/ 32C! All the trees busted open. Well the flowering trees were already out. Kind of scary but for now gorgeous
My veggies seem to be so behind. It's been so chilly up here. I feel heartened by what you said about the carrot seeds. Never that successful for me but I do actually have some coming up! ...just waiting for the battalion of slugs to arrive hahaha. You always inspire me Charles. Thankyou!
Dock whole root removal is done by spinning the plant. Grab the plant firmly as close to the ground as possible. Start twisting it until you feel the snap. (Don't let it unwind) That should separate the root inner part from its 'skin' . Pull and tadaa no dig weeding in no dig garden 😊 I found it easier when the plant is slightly bigger. Jung Docks are too slippery
Hey Charles- my garden is fully & I mean fully covered with Fleece & shade cloth (including the big sail over the complete garden area)- we today 16/4/2023 are having 30C days which is completely weird for mid April. I hope your weather over there doesn't go so silly. Great Video Thank You. Cheers Denise- Australia
Hi Denise, that sounds difficult. I'm pretty sure that the weather in many places is being corrupted by unseen forces. Although some you can see, the trails in the sky and I'm starting to see them quite a bit here now. So far, our weather is not too affected but it seems they can do it quite easily now.
Excellent video as always! Everything looks yummy and green. I guess I started my cool weather greens too early and only one group of lettuce sprouted. I will get out there this weekend and re sow the rest. There’s still time here in the Pacific NW I think to get some harvest before I can plant out my tomato seedlings.
Hey Charles, love to see how you bumble through your garden like a very proud red bumble bee. Love to see that you face the same weather impact that I do... I have delayed some sowings, because I can't do a hotbed... but thinking about some elektric warmth mats for next season... for some veg. i'll go and buy some seedlings from my local organic gardening Center... for you to expensive for me for some stuff it is okayish
I have a tool for removing dandelions and other similar taproot weeds, it's called a weed hound. Works great and disturbs the soil much less than a shovel or trowel.
Hello Charles, could you do a video about your wheat and grain patch, please!? How do you sow, harvest and process the grains, do they need further drying and how do you store them properly until you use them? We would love to grow our own grains but are intimidated by the many unknowns during the process. Thank you!
@Charles Dowding Oh! Thank you so much! I will watch it right away! You're videos are amazing! I have learned so much from you already! May God bless you for inspiring and educating so many people to get out and grow healthy foods!!!!
I look forward to the garden tours! 👏🏼I always pick up helpful tips. My site is also very windy 💨(25-30 mph gusts in the winter) and I keep the fleece in place with small metal binder clips (used for papers) on each hoop. In Zone 8b our spring temps have been below normal with more chilly weather expected 🥶 I’m going to try to hand pollinate my Asian pear trees because last year with similar conditions I hardly got any fruit 😒 I’m not hearing or seeing any pollinators 🐝
That’s interesting. Last year I saw very few pollinators and had a skimpy crop but this year I saw a lot of pollinators and had a heavy crop (until a late freeze). I wonder if trees that tend to bear in alternate years produce flowers that are not as attractive to insects some years. Hmmm
@@CharlesDowding1nodig I was just mentioning I use binder clips to anchor fleece to metal hoops (my site can be very windy) and maybe trying to hand pollinate my Asian pear trees because last year in similarly cold conditions there was hardly any fruit.
Hey Charles! Love your channel! Like a lot of Australians, my partner and I are planning a party with friends to celebrate the crowning of a new British King on May 6th. Not sure where your loyalties lie but I thought it may be a good theme at least for a few videos to mark the occasion. Cheers!
Have fun Craig and thanks. I don't know if you'll be surprised to hear that I'm quite a radical politically and no great fan of the monarchy. I'm worried about wealth and power being concentrated in fewer and fewer hands and my mission is to empower people from the bottom up, by growing their own food. I respect all the people like yourselves who feel differently and hope that you have a great party. Just, I can't join in!
In the USA zone 6B South Central PA (Lancaster County). We have had the opposite problem. Temps in the 80s. Supposed to cool down to the 60s tomorrow. Too late for my beautiful daffodils & the arugula.
Thanks for sharing and I wish my lettuce was like yours. It's been fairly cold here (mid 40s to low 50s) this spring and the radish and turnips and spinach have not done much since planting. The lettuce has only firmed up some. I have more seedlings queued up! Looking forward to a 60s and 70s. I'm at 47 degrees N latitude and I looked up Somerset is at 51 degrees North. Your veggies are doing amazingly. Must be the compost!
hey, those asparagus! very cool to see. I have 240 mary washingtons motoring away in the greenhouse as we speak, good to see you growing an older bi-gendered variety as well!
Impressive, how you are able to memorize all the dates you seeded, planted, the delay after which each and every plant will produce, for how long, when you will harvest, what other plant will replace the previous ones, etc.
Q. About and row cover materials. Charles. The best compost results in the whole wide world. We ran out of grass for compost so using kitchen scraps. Grass in yards has plenty of dandelions because we Don't want to spray any weed killer. Bees like it. Not much blooms in April here. It is 90 F degrees today. Zone 6b. A bit cooler maybe tomorrow. Question. One cover we have, used in fall to extend garden year. Would that work? Didn't get fleece. Bush beans not up yet and Brussels Sprouts hardening off. May need it under hoops w. cover ``````````About the pond. When we dug ours the ground was compact sand Jack hammer was used at one point. Rubber liner is now 20 yr old. Filter and skimmer. One end small area is below frost line so gold fish won't freeze. I love the shelves you have. Layers. We use ours for potted pond plants, special soil for pond plants. Our gold fish pee and plants use it. Much respect from East Coast USA.
I live in the SE US and haven’t sprayed anything at any time for years. I do believe I have much less insect damage and more beneficial insects than ever since I stopped using commercial fertilizer and sprays.
Thank´s Charles! A question: Could you please say a little something on potting soil and direct sowing: How come it´s not necessary to use potting soil when directly sowed? - It´s used in the modules, so how come we don´t use it when directly sowed?? The same with transplants. The main reason for me asking is, that I have not succeeded when transplanting. Greetings from Stockholm/Sweden, Lat 59, Lon 18, zone 6b-7.
It sounds like you need to improve the soil in your beds by adding some more compost on top. Potting soil or compost is expensive, and time-consuming to produce, because we are making something of super high-quality, to grow decent sized plants in not much root volume. Hence it is quite different to normal compost. It would be a waste to put that on the ground, where the plant should easily find enough food and moisture.
Yes, once you start gardening you really take notice. I have checked however, and day lengths still seem unaffected, so the seasons should still stay in rotation. I do wonder how the gurus are going to manage to make the “weather” perfect all over the globe. I prefer to simply adapt to what we are given.
Even the seed trays look beautiful, you’re such a garden master! Stunning!
Thank you 🙂
Greetings, Charles, from Windermere, Florida zone 9b USA 🇺🇸
Today is my 73rd birthday and I'm spending the day enjoying reading my favorite books...Skills for Growing is by my cozy chair ❤
That is so touching Peggy and I wish you a very happy birthday. The time difference is in your favour, here it is 9 pm and you on the other hand have quite a few hours left to celebrate arriving at 73!
Beautiful! The tulips are a nice touch!🤗🤗
🌹
I've been watching several of your vids every day and I'm constantly hitting pause and running out to the garden to implement something you're doing. Putting wire hoops on the outside of the fleece! Brilliant! I've been in despair, finding the wind has just tossed off the boulders I've used to hold it down. This changes everything. So simple.
Nice to hear Heather! 💚
I’m loving your laid back approach to gardening, it’s so realistic and makes me feel a lot better about my efforts 😊 especially with the composting and end product. Thanks for taking your time to share all of this with us!
Thanks Cassie 💚
You are a true professional on camera.. how do you talk with comfort and ease in front of the camera with no cuts in the scenes❤❤❤❤ I struggle so hard😂 I always love watching your tours ❤❤❤❤
Ah thanks Kay, it just flows 😎 and surely you can do it, stay relaxed
Thanks Charles. SO good to see your update, really encouraging and reassuring I’m not the only one with slow lettuce😊
Mine too .. haven't grown much more than the size they went in a good few weeks ago
Ditto. Luckily the lettuce in my coldframe is already ready for harvest
Same here
So reassuring on every level. A guiding hand Charles, thank you x
🌺 thanks Sarah
agreed, your comment says it all!
I found your module trays here in Norway, bought at a local farm. Very happy about that! 🌿
How amazing!!
I live about 100 miles north of the Gulf of Mexico and am amazed at how similar the climate is to yours. We have hotter summers, milder winters and generally more violent storms but your growing season and rainfall are close enough to ours to make your videos very useful. Thanks
How fascinating! Nice to hear
Not so different in temperatures up here 400 miles north in southern Scotland, bit harder frosts and cooler winds . 😮
It is so much about timing and remember all the different needs of the plants 😮, since I'm not a great planer I'll keep forgetting some vegetables like sellerie. But still slowly I am getting better thanks to you sharing your knowledge, thanks a lot 😊
Yes indeed, and if it helps to know, even I feel a little daunted in the early spring every year, when so much is ahead, needing to be sown and cared for and planted out, and then resown for succession planting in summer
So welcome to learn that your plants also struggle with growth these days Sir Charles. I still become insecure when the development is different than expected and search for what I have done wrong. I just have to understand that nature is doing her own thing each and every year. Thanks for the wonderful garden tour!😊
Thank you for sharing this, and I hope that my report is more positive in May!
Thank you so much for the tour. One can feel your excitement about the condition of the garden.
Cool, thanks
I wondered why I could hear you better!! I love the wind for that reason alone😊 sooopa videos thank you Charles and team.❤
Awesome! 😂😂
All looking fantastic Danny loads of well developed seedlings mate all looking lush, and fruit bushes looking great also, it amazes me how much warmer it is down your way you get at least a 3 week head start on us way up hear in the North West
Thanks, sorry to hear that, I hope your weather warms soon!
Thank you 😇
Oooo I’m so glad you expressed your delight when you saw the caterpillar. I have quite a lot of these type of crawlies in my pots and beds and have always thought it wasn’t good for me, unlike the lovely earthworms. So glad they are not considered a pest. Thank you so much Charles! Learning so much from you!
💚
Hi Charles loved the video as always new tips thank you lv Irene 😘 xx
So glad Irene x
Charles, you such a wonderful and a very honest person!
Cheers Ivan
Brillant tour again , really enjoyed it and of course great video footage merci Nicolas , merci Charles for taking the time . A bientôt .
I’m picking head lettuce right now too from this years February plantings
Full on 🥬
You're great at these updates now! That was a really interesting data dump, wonderfully done!
Thanks!
Beautiful garden 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼🤗💗
Thanks Susan
I’m in the USA, zone 6B, have cool crops out and lots of seedlings coming along for after our last frost date in early May - this is my first year starting so many seedlings. I got poisoned soil last year. Thank you so much for all of the information - what lovely gardens and I admire all of the knowledge you have!
Good luck esp with the soil! and thanks
Thanks for the tour Charles, my garden is ramping up now too. Going hard into sunflowers, peppers, tomatoes
Sounds great Cormac
Hello, interesting to see you growing asparagus from seed. I did the same a few years ago to see if the seeds would grow, left them on the side and I was so surprised to see them all germinate, I now have a very successful bed of asparagus which is getting better year on year.
Thanks for sharing, I wish to have grown all mine from seed!
Beautiful gardens, Charles. Always so inspiring to watch your videos.
Thank you so much William. I hope the book is on the way!
My lettuces are slow, but my Asian Greens / Winter Salads / Salad Rocket / Mustards are all bolting. The bees are loving the flowers. It never ceases to amaze me how weather affects plants different. BTW, thank you for your videos on Winter Salads. We've been eating them every lunchtime since around November.
Thanks for sharing, great you have daily salad leaves
Thank you kindly Charles for touching on some very key areas such as the downturn/lack of warmth this spring and slowed growth, the look up-close of the compost ..inspires confidence of being on the right track...; also grateful for the heads up on the de-fleecing of peas for shoots as well the spring onions...with weather also predicted to be warm...might give it a try and above all,.. cannot say this enough, Thank you most kindly for touching on the issue of perennial weeds in a no dig system,.I'm pretty much experiencing a lot of what you covered in this video and some of the solutions you've suggested are very practical and indeed a relief to learn there are solutions or work-arounds..or work-withs. Thank you for all the great work you do in these videos.
This is nice to hear and I am very pleased to be able to help you. Perennial weeds can be so disheartening and there are indeed ways to eliminate most of them! Without using poisons or disturbing the soil 💚
Thank you so very much Charles.
💚
thnx great tour Charles!
Here in the atlantic coast of France the winter was dry and the spring also. I’m already watering. Planting tomatoes (deep) i was scared of the depth to which everything is dry.
I’m doing no dig similar to yours, but dear husband can’t help but twist the soil around (he now has understood not to overturn soil layers though) i put tags everywhere, he jokes that i sow more tags than plants... but i enjoy the volunteer herbs and flowers in the veggy garden and that’s how i keep them alive from mr tidy (i’m generally very glad he’s more tidy than me, keeps the gardens beautiful. It just means leaving a trail of tags for him)
Wow already! Good luck.
I used to live in Astaffort 47, 1990's
hey northerners your spring is about to start feel happy suddenly there is soooo much to do and it will all start growing at once you can look forward to the new varieties you bought in another fit of must have/try/grow
In NZ the autumn has started the garden is a real mess my remaining plants are ugly and I have one cauli to look forward to but only 4 months till spring down here
Thankyou.
I hope that winter gives you time to sort the garden :)
Charles as always your garden looks great. Mine is just now getting in the ground and starting to take off. Got a nice rain last night. I’m happy and excited. Take care and God bless. (Old guy from Arkansas)🇺🇸
Hello Charles, love every visit.
Thanks so much
Thank you for posting this video. Like others here, I found it very reassuring to see that you too are having problems with slow growth due to the winter-like low temperatures, wind and rainfall that we've had up till last week here in the UK. I can now rest easy that my own seedlings' slow growth is not because I've done something 'wrong'!
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you for your encouraging video. We're about 4-6 out from planting outdoors. Just sewed our tomatoes and eggplants in modules.
Garden 2023 is on the way!
Nice to hear Darren
Glad it’s not just me with slow growth we are up north so the weather has been even worse. Last year my lettuce were really big by this time but the weather was really mild. I know they’ll get there eventually it’s teaching me patience!
Go you!
Fantastic, thanks for the tour
Our pleasure
I’m really happy to see the worms are doing well and your getting castings for the use in the greenhouse and garden. Like the successful manure heap in the greenhouse keeping your seedlings warm.
Loving the garlic and the rest of the garden.
The pond is an interesting feature.
Us too Rick, thanks!
Hello Charles I recieved your cookbook yesterday and I must say I'm thrilled with the presentation of the recipies, and I'm looking forward to making several of the dishes. Although I garden in a colder growing zone, this winter to spring weather has been odd, no snow pack at all..and 80f temps this week..its' certainly not June but it feels like it. The veggies are growing like crazy, but we need rain. Thank goodness the compost on the beds and the wood chip walk ways are helping a bit. Thankyou again for meal ideas with homegrown veggies. Blessings.
Wow Linda, your weather sounds amazing. And thanks so much for your comments on the cookbook, I should be grateful if you leave an online review somewhere. I hope that you have lots of vegetables to make the dishes from
Same here. USA. No dirty snow on the curbs this winter. 90F today. Connecticut 6b. Not natural but I'm a conspiracy theorist.
Great camera work from Nicolla again. She does a really good job of keeping the frame on you when you are talking, but when there's something in the garden that needs emphasis, it's done straight away and very smoothly. I don't know if you both pre-plan what's going to happen, or to what extent, but if it is noticably good and pretty impressive.
Thank you Kenneth, I shall pass this to her and she will be delighted. Yes we walk it through first and that is important, and as you say she's good at following and improvising! I do sometimes change my route :)
I must say that the cool wet March and first half of April simply means that for my growing areas, certain things are doing much better than some of the drier springs we had in the SE of England the past decade. My comfrey plants which were covered in horse manure in late autumn look epic for this time of year and so does the Rhubarb Champagne. The garlic look perfect without me having to ever water them and the onion sets are firing beautifully. The broad beans and peas look super healthy, even if they've not attained a great size yet. The beetroot seem a little less keen on all the rainfall and the leaves are far more purple on clumps exposed to the elements than those under the fleece. All the fruit trees seem to be enjoying the transition to spring immensely and perennials like lovage and chives are returning with their usual vigour.
Nice results Rhys!
Agreed, it's been a long winter! Many of my perennials are a few weeks behind in growth from last year. I'm not surprised the veg plantings are also slowing too. Makes for a tighter timeline to get seedlings ready for summer😅
Narrow window!!
8:40 "even an underliner under the liner" 😄
Brilliant video. Loved the tour. I found the sound level perfect! :-)
Awesome, thank you!
Fresh garlics are amazing!
Hard winter this year but all look so niece, your hard work is paying off 👩🌾
Thanks Annette
Thank you so much for sharing!!
I’m glad we only planted onions so far. We just had 90*F all week and today we are getting 8-12” of snow. It’s the craziest weather I’ve ever seen as a native of WIsconsin, US. They say possibly more this weekend. Seriously, 90s to freezing in less than a day is nuts. Just another good reason to hoop all long wide rows to make changing covers easy.
I had to cover everything I uncovered last week. I know I won’t use marsh hay to cover garlic again as I think it smothered some varieties.
Oh wow, so sorry. This is geoengineering and it makes growing food so difficult. Sounds like you are coping but growth can't be brilliant.
Another wonderful inspirational walk through your garden. Every time I learn something new, and today it was the new F1 variety of purple brocolli. We have red robin and it might be the localised conditions but it was a little disappointing this year. Also perhaps my cucumbers and melon seeds were started a little bit too early! Amazing to see all the work in progress at Homeacres.
I will also be showing this episode to my OH who discouraged me from planting rye and red wheat beds as green cover, as yours looks so lush I hope he blushes and admits the mistake!
Ah this is nice, hope he likes it too!!
Such a wonderful, helpful video, thanks so much, the f1 broccoli looks sensational, when was that planted ?
Xx
@@rachaeltate2836 Thanks. Sown mid June planted mid July after beetroot
So good to see you and catch up Charles, gales down here on the South coast too. My artichokes have stood up to the wind though.We have a new car so no more breaking down to Seedy Sundays!
So nice to hear Sheila! x
@@CharlesDowding1nodig Thanks Charles.x
It's full on spring time in Texas. Such an exciting time of year. Always enjoy your tours. Thanks for sharing!
btw, I was intrigued when you showed the worm bin. Maybe you could do a "short" video on that. We recently started on in an old ice chest. Not sure if'll it'll work but giving it a try.
Thanks and I imagine your spring is nicer than full on summer! Here we look forward to summer because it's not too hot. Good idea about the worm composting
@@CharlesDowding1nodig Spring last all of about 5 minutes before the heat takes over. I'll watch in the future for the worm composting video. :)
When I was growing up, mum used to tell me to dig the back garden and put potatoes peel and old spuds I the ground and we used to get loads of spuds growing. Used to have beetroot and cabbages 🥕 strawberry 🍓 and gooseberries too.
🌱🌱🌱😎 nice
Great video as always. I enjoyed it so much more because the volume was louder and I didn’t miss anything Charles said👍👍. Thank you from Canada zone 3
You just make me laugh so much! I clearly need to pretend there is a wind, every time. 💨💨💨
Great tour, thank you. I've ordered your cookery book, I'm looking forward to making the sour dough rye bread 😊
Ah great!
May I say, excellent camera work💕
Yay, thank you to Nicola 😎
Agreed. And the outside audio came through really well. No windy sound and your voice didn't sound like you are yelling. 😊
It's always a pleasure to follow your S/W UK climate Charles. I just love your soil.
Harvesting; late carrots, beetroot tomatoes and chard, it's just too hot now (44C today). Long beans next :)
Oof, 44C is hot, and it's only April! Thanks.
I tend to leave my volunteers in situ. Still give great yield. I do plant potatoes in my compostheap as well. They do great in older compost that isnt as hot anymore
Nice methods Ed
Great informative video as ever, thank you.
Alan 💚💚🥬
Winter holding on here in Oregon too, Charles. Great tips as usual!
Thanks 👍 and may spring arrive soon, not too forcefully!
Nice to see you so excited.
Reassuring to see your growth has been slow too...!
thanks Charles
Thank you
I’m just so happy it’s spring ❤ Ty for the tour
The #nodigrevolution is motoring ahead here in the NE England Charles, thanks to videos like this which keep the inspiration flowing. You’re so enthusiastic, I love it! I could do with some volunteers to help pot on my tomatoes too 😂 Ps love the red fleece which you’ve had on a few videos! The colour suits you!
Thanks again for all you do
Thanks for sharing this Tracey. I love your enthusiasm too :)
Nice video! Still a lot of snow here in the north of Scandinavia but it melts and today I am going to sow my cabbages outside and shovel som snow over them, gives nice and sturdy plants.
Good luck, amazing method!
Great video and some lovely growth from the plants. Di you make a video of how to create your wormery??😁🌱☀️
Thanks and not yet, later this year
That's good to know about the bind weed. I have quite a lot of it on my allotment.
It's not easy, but possible, good luck!
I am impressed how effectively you prevented the raspberries from spreading! Somehow the varieties we planted a few years ago were not as tame. Their roots came down several feet and popped out of our basement window well. We had to eliminate them last Fall out of the fear that they would take over the yard. My husband had to dig 3 feet down in some areas. We are anxiously watching the yard anticipating some might show up any day, in which case we have to dig again ... Maybe the reason yours are so well behaved is because of the no dig? How interesting!
Oh dear, that does sound difficult. And I'm afraid that deep digging will result in them spreading more widely. I'm sure in no dig that my raspberries are rooting to a considerable depth with fine roots, not the woody ones which then shoot sideways! Good luck with yours.
Great video Charles well done to all your team too 🌱🌱🌱
Glad you enjoyed it 👍
❤ thank you!
Thank you. Love my No Dig Cookbook.
Ah great to hear, thanks
Your edges look so nice and clean, could you maybe explain how you maintain them this nicely at some point?
Yes I will
@Charles Dowding I'm also very interested in that! But I only subscribe on RUclips not paying any extra. (Sorry.) Maby you could put it up for everyone to see?
You are anyway awesome! 😊
I'd be very interested in this. Since visiting Home Acres last year we've made a start on a new veg garden and of course everything we've done is 150mm on top of the turf level around it. I'm sure it'll all bed down eventually and look good, but I'm interested to find how to achieve a nice edge once it's going. Love the video Charles, you're my go to reference. Just made a start with your trays, they're actually toddler proof which is quite something! Hope to attend another day with you soon.
He's got a man who does it.
I remember seeing a video about it, but I have been watching for a few years. I think it's just maintenance a few times a year with some hedge clippers/ scissors with long Handel's.
Piekny pouczający film Mistrzu 🥰
Cieszę się, że to znalazłeś 💚
Thanks for that beautiful inspiration!
We went right into summer in NY. It’s been 90 F/ 32C! All the trees busted open. Well the flowering trees were already out. Kind of scary but for now gorgeous
How amazing!
I never knew that about raspberries! Thankfully, mine are in pots but handy to know if I ever did them in-ground!
brilliant vid its nippy here in southern ireland to day .i have tomatoes onions sets and lettuice growing indoors @ the moment
Thanks, sounds good!
My veggies seem to be so behind. It's been so chilly up here. I feel heartened by what you said about the carrot seeds. Never that successful for me but I do actually have some coming up! ...just waiting for the battalion of slugs to arrive hahaha. You always inspire me Charles. Thankyou!
Thankyou Jenny, and here's hoping for warmth :)
Dock whole root removal is done by spinning the plant. Grab the plant firmly as close to the ground as possible. Start twisting it until you feel the snap. (Don't let it unwind) That should separate the root inner part from its 'skin' . Pull and tadaa no dig weeding in no dig garden 😊 I found it easier when the plant is slightly bigger. Jung Docks are too slippery
Nice tip, shall try it 😀
Hey Charles- my garden is fully & I mean fully covered with Fleece & shade cloth (including the big sail over the complete garden area)- we today 16/4/2023 are having 30C days which is completely weird for mid April. I hope your weather over there doesn't go so silly. Great Video Thank You. Cheers Denise- Australia
Hi Denise, that sounds difficult. I'm pretty sure that the weather in many places is being corrupted by unseen forces. Although some you can see, the trails in the sky and I'm starting to see them quite a bit here now. So far, our weather is not too affected but it seems they can do it quite easily now.
Excellent video as always! Everything looks yummy and green. I guess I started my cool weather greens too early and only one group of lettuce sprouted. I will get out there this weekend and re sow the rest. There’s still time here in the Pacific NW I think to get some harvest before I can plant out my tomato seedlings.
Many of us are finding growth slow this year! Thanks for your comment
Hey Charles, love to see how you bumble through your garden like a very proud red bumble bee.
Love to see that you face the same weather impact that I do... I have delayed some sowings, because I can't do a hotbed... but thinking about some elektric warmth mats for next season...
for some veg. i'll go and buy some seedlings from my local organic gardening Center... for you to expensive for me for some stuff it is okayish
Hi Sascha, oddly I cannot see any comment
@@CharlesDowding1nodig : you mean: you see that I commented, but not "the text of my comment" ?
@@saschathinius7082 Exactly. No writing!
@@saschathinius7082 Now I see it! Cool
I have a tool for removing dandelions and other similar taproot weeds, it's called a weed hound. Works great and disturbs the soil much less than a shovel or trowel.
Hello Charles, could you do a video about your wheat and grain patch, please!? How do you sow, harvest and process the grains, do they need further drying and how do you store them properly until you use them? We would love to grow our own grains but are intimidated by the many unknowns during the process. Thank you!
We made this video last summer ruclips.net/video/cQxUtpAItFM/видео.html
Good luck with your grain growing :)
@Charles Dowding Oh! Thank you so much! I will watch it right away! You're videos are amazing! I have learned so much from you already! May God bless you for inspiring and educating so many people to get out and grow healthy foods!!!!
I look forward to the garden tours! 👏🏼I always pick up helpful tips. My site is also very windy 💨(25-30 mph gusts in the winter) and I keep the fleece in place with small metal binder clips (used for papers) on each hoop. In Zone 8b our spring temps have been below normal with more chilly weather expected 🥶 I’m going to try to hand pollinate my Asian pear trees because last year with similar conditions I hardly got any fruit 😒 I’m not hearing or seeing any pollinators 🐝
That’s interesting. Last year I saw very few pollinators and had a skimpy crop but this year I saw a lot of pollinators and had a heavy crop (until a late freeze). I wonder if trees that tend to bear in alternate years produce flowers that are not as attractive to insects some years. Hmmm
Maybe! I wish I could see the original comment but for some reason it's not showing on my screen
@@CharlesDowding1nodig I was just mentioning I use binder clips to anchor fleece to metal hoops (my site can be very windy) and maybe trying to hand pollinate my Asian pear trees because last year in similarly cold conditions there was hardly any fruit.
Ah thanks, hope the pears fruit!
Hey Charles! Love your channel! Like a lot of Australians, my partner and I are planning a party with friends to celebrate the crowning of a new British King on May 6th. Not sure where your loyalties lie but I thought it may be a good theme at least for a few videos to mark the occasion. Cheers!
Have fun Craig and thanks.
I don't know if you'll be surprised to hear that I'm quite a radical politically and no great fan of the monarchy. I'm worried about wealth and power being concentrated in fewer and fewer hands and my mission is to empower people from the bottom up, by growing their own food.
I respect all the people like yourselves who feel differently and hope that you have a great party. Just, I can't join in!
In the USA zone 6B South Central PA (Lancaster County). We have had the opposite problem. Temps in the 80s. Supposed to cool down to the 60s tomorrow. Too late for my beautiful daffodils & the arugula.
You have to endure amazing extremes, difficult for plants. The daytime temperature range here in April so far is 13°F
I agree with your comment regarding perennial weeds. I am now in my 2nd year of no dig and have now very few mares tails
Lovely to hear Martin
Thanks for sharing and I wish my lettuce was like yours. It's been fairly cold here (mid 40s to low 50s) this spring and the radish and turnips and spinach have not done much since planting. The lettuce has only firmed up some. I have more seedlings queued up! Looking forward to a 60s and 70s.
I'm at 47 degrees N latitude and I looked up Somerset is at 51 degrees North. Your veggies are doing amazingly. Must be the compost!
Thanks for this Gary and those temperatures do not sound great. We have been just a little warmer, 50s and the odd 60, just enough!
@Charles Dowding thank you for replying and confirming the temperature difference. Cheers!
Great Stuff, Thanks Charles!
hey, those asparagus! very cool to see. I have 240 mary washingtons motoring away in the greenhouse as we speak, good to see you growing an older bi-gendered variety as well!
Thanks
Ooo you can grow lotus in the digged place.
Great video Charles x
Thanks John
Impressive, how you are able to memorize all the dates you seeded, planted, the delay after which each and every plant will produce, for how long, when you will harvest, what other plant will replace the previous ones, etc.
Thank you, it's my life! 🌱😀
Q. About and row cover materials.
Charles. The best compost results in the whole wide world.
We ran out of grass for compost so using kitchen scraps. Grass in yards has plenty of dandelions because we Don't want to spray any weed killer. Bees like it. Not much blooms in April here.
It is 90 F degrees today. Zone 6b. A bit cooler maybe tomorrow.
Question. One cover we have, used in fall to extend garden year. Would that work? Didn't get fleece.
Bush beans not up yet and Brussels Sprouts hardening off. May need it under hoops w. cover
``````````About the pond.
When we dug ours the ground was compact sand Jack hammer was used at one point. Rubber liner is now 20 yr old. Filter and skimmer. One end small area is below frost line so gold fish won't freeze.
I love the shelves you have. Layers. We use ours for potted pond plants, special soil for pond plants. Our gold fish pee and plants use it.
Much respect from East Coast USA.
I live in the SE US and haven’t sprayed anything at any time for years. I do believe I have much less insect damage and more beneficial insects than ever since I stopped using commercial fertilizer and sprays.
Nice to hear Yvonne!
I'm picking my purple sprouting broccoli now, there's lots more to come.
Wonderful!
Thank´s Charles! A question: Could you please say a little something on potting soil and direct sowing: How come it´s not necessary to use potting soil when directly sowed? - It´s used in the modules, so how come we don´t use it when directly sowed?? The same with transplants. The main reason for me asking is, that I have not succeeded when transplanting. Greetings from Stockholm/Sweden, Lat 59, Lon 18, zone 6b-7.
It sounds like you need to improve the soil in your beds by adding some more compost on top.
Potting soil or compost is expensive, and time-consuming to produce, because we are making something of super high-quality, to grow decent sized plants in not much root volume. Hence it is quite different to normal compost. It would be a waste to put that on the ground, where the plant should easily find enough food and moisture.
every year seems to be VASTLY different from each other!
‼️ is true
Yes, once you start gardening you really take notice. I have checked however, and day lengths still seem unaffected, so the seasons should still stay in rotation. I do wonder how the gurus are going to manage to make the “weather” perfect all over the globe. I prefer to simply adapt to what we are given.
@@hp-cs7mx I’m am the same!