I was just about to make a similar comment. He maybe does have it in his head, but whether he does or he researches it for each video, the fact that he mentions both to relate to people across the globe, depending on what they use, is the sign of a very intelligent and considerate man.
Charles, you knowledge is invaluable! I quote you nearly daily with my best British accent...."compost, compost, compost"!!! I've been harvesting so much of my homemade compost and it's the most thrilling thing that between Creator and my hands, we make black gold! Thank you!
I love seeing your garden and all the updates you give. It seems so organized and peaceful there. The fleece and mesh ideas are greatly appreciated. Thank you.
It’s so nice to see your garden again. You’re my favorite gardener. And I’m so thankful that you teach anything about gardening. Thank you thank you very much 🌱
Found one of your videos on youtube a few months ago and spent several days watching them all. I've learned so much and wanted to thank you for all that you have shared. Growing broad beans for the 1st time here in Georgia, U.S. and they are covered with pretty little flowers. Using fleece has allowed us to start early this year and has kept the squirrels from digging up our beds. Salad greens for us already and our ducks are enjoying some as well :) Thank you for all that you do. Happy gardening!
A big thank you from South Burgundy Charles. I have been growing no dig for a few years, and your channel answered questions I still had. Also, your timing advice for sowings are spot on. Last summer I sowed, and then planted, kale at almost the exact date you mention in your video and it worked wonderfully (they are bolting now). This year I tried radishes multisown, sown 28/2, planted 10/3 in homemade compost under fleece, first delicious harvest last wednesday 10/4, second delicious harvest yesterday. You are right, they grow wonderfully in clumps! I think they feel better in clumps in the very dry weather we have here. They keep each other moist somehow! I now always have your « Organic Gardening » and your perpetual diary with me when going out in the garden. Your planning details are invaluable and one can see that you have been doing this and perfectioning your skills for quite a while! Thank you thank you thank you.
Fleece is a miracle product and can make an enormous difference - it practically creates a greenhouse at that early spring time of year. Bravo to this video!
Thank you Charles, your propagation vids were a boon and your pricking out and planting and covering with fleece vids are going to make so much difference in the coming year, God bless.
I have quit with the vegetable garden at the border of our village and instead took away half my lawn, made that into a vegetable garden; put a lot of broad beans in. It's it very easy to have the vegetables so nearby, I can give water from home and hunt snails at night. Also my presence of my cat prevents birdsfrom tearing up the white fleece. Last year we had terrible drought here and this winter by far not enough rain has fallen.
I keep scrap pieces of copper pipe laying around in my garden and it has really kept slugs away, mulch does too. Or an easy trap by taking a lid from a jar, like from peanut butter or mayonnaise, push into the soil so it’s flush with it and fill it with beer, snails and slugs come to the “bar” and don’t make it home 😉 Happy gardening and hunting 😊
What perfect timing, I was last night trying to decide what type and size to get. I was looking at 4M wide roll but now see 2M is perfect. Fleece for seedlings and net for butterflies and the fine mesh for carrots. Thanks Charles, you just saved me a small fortune. Many thanks Gordon
I actually bought both after watching a few of your episodes a couple months ago. Thanks again for providing great visuals. I'm pretty sure you saved a bunch of my direct sow cold weather crop items!
Over this latest frosty snap I have been using 2 layers of very fine fleece (as it was the only thing available ) and all the seedlings are loving it !
Another informative and totally worthwhile vid. Basic. Very helpful. Truly thank you. By the way, love the cap!! Please keep telling us what we need to know, creative positive gardens and recognising the problems. Best wishes. Stay safe! - Paul.
Never knew that I needed all this info is needed to buy fleece and net for the garden. So glad I watched this video as I have learned a lot of the various sorts. Thanks.
Extremely useful knowledge in my situation at the moment, so thanks you Very much Charles for another great video. We've been having this cold, dry yet very sunny and bright weather from the east for the past 7-10 days here in Denmark that I can see that you also have had in the British Isles. So, warmth is a huge limiting factor with frost at night and only 5-7 centigrades in the daytime. I will go straight to the garden and put on some fleece :) I will try to monitor the soil temperatur with/without cover - could be interesting to see how much difference it makes
Thanks to your previous videos, I was well equiped with both fleece and a hotbed in my polytunnel this year, so my vegetables and flower plants have been able to withstand April's -5°C dips. I will be using the fleece outdoors this year in hopes of keeping the flea beetles off brassicas. *garden-gloved fingers crossed*
@@CharlesDowding1nodig I ran my chickens and ducks through the garden first this year since I had to change the bed layout anyhow; I hope they had a flea feast.😊
Hello Charles, thank you for sharing. I started growing some seeds under fleece and it really works. Looking forward to watch your next video, cheers Joyce
Thank you for another wonderful video! The fleece really does work. A few weeks ago, here in Angus, I sowed carrots under fleece (inter-sown with radish) out in our quite exposed home allotment plot, and also some in an uncovered planter in our very sunny and sheltered courtyard. The ones sown under fleece still germinated a good few days earlier and the radish are well away. We also have a lot of wildlife to contend with, and I know that the fleece helps. Take care and thanks again. Kelly
@@Shanmammy .....I live in northern Minnesota, zone 3, and March still gets hard frost most nights, we usually still have snow and the ground is frozen. If I make low tunnels with green house plastic I can grow lettuce, spinach and stuff like that but it can be a challenge some years. So it really depends on your zone, a lot of Canada has a warmer growing zone than me 🤷🏼♀️ It’s always fun to try 🥰
Hi Charles, loved the video. We to are using fleece and inviro mesh on our allotment, it seems we are the only ones! Our vegetables are looking lovely and I would say the lettuce will be ready for picking in a couple of weeks. We're not to far from you ( Weymouth Dorset) so the climate is about the same. It's a shame I can't show you pictures of the allotment as its looking pretty good. A little money saver here 30 GSM fleece Home bargains dust sheets 10.5 foot square £1.60 there in the decoration part hope this helps. Take care Jo and Jerry.
That mesh looks really good. I gave up on a greenhouse because of yearly wind damage but the mesh looks like it would be worth trying for some winter veg.
I love using row covers!!..we use them because it gets hot in central Virginia and the plants get overheated..I also saw that dang white moth flying..they lay eggs on our cabbage..went and got cover!..thankyou for your wonderfully simple & informative videos..be safe & blessed🙏✝️
Recently got our book and am ready to start. Got a huge pile of chips and beds ready to go. You are a big inspiration and the fact that your not a kid really helps. Greeting from South Jersey in US. Very cool spring here so far but things are coming up. Cattle panels will work also and will last forever just need cover. Stay safe. 👍🏻💪🏻🖖🏻🐾❤️❤️❤️
Since finding the channel back in January I've watched the videos over and over again and started to do it exactly as you are and fleece all over to protect plants,I had a stroke of luck one day in town and found a 70 metre real of underfloor heating pipe for only 3.99 I cut it to various lenths and hey prestoe and theres loads,I've also started to pick rocket and mustard variety is ruby streaks and it's tasty never had it before,I have a greenhouse full of young plants of various vegetables waiting for warmer weather to go out and be planted,I do think I was a bit early in starting some off yet as there quite large especially the bean plants anyway thanks for the info and have a nice day
I use 3/4" irrigation tubing for hoops. Due to coiling, it comes with a circular bend, which makes it easy to handle and ready to use as hoops. It cuts easily too and it's made to last. It's a bit more expensive than 9 gauge wire, but it is also substantially stronger and worth getting for larger hoops. I did at 6' wide, 3' high span that could actually take a medium-heavy snow load on a small (12'L x 6'W x 7'H) hoop house.
Great tip! The only issue for me would be how to push it into the ground quickly and with enough stability. For what I am showing in these videos, the covers are not on for long and we are often moving them around.
@@CharlesDowding1nodig Thanks, yes it's more for viewers than yourself that I mention it at all. Heavy-gauge wire can be a bit hard to come by and work with. Ah, I should have mentioned that I use rebar for stakes and then fit the tubing over the stakes. This was strong enough to enclose a hoophouse in chickenwire, then cover with poly. Quite strong and meant to be semi-permanent and it kept all but the smallest animals out. In narrow raised beds, the tubing goes in easily and the walls of the bed keep them steady. I suppose if one had a load of bricks handy, the holes in the bricks could be used to stabilize the tubing and weigh down the fleece at the same time for in-ground beds. True, for row-width hoops that are only up for weeks, the wire works well. And certainly, if sturdy wire is on-hand, that's the material to use, if one can spare it. I suppose even an old, stiff watering hose could be repurposed as hoop material too, using the stake or brick method of securing. A barrel, cut in strips and halved could make small hoops too. That would be a bit of work! :)
Thank you Charles. That was very helpful. I'm new to this plant growing. I have Broad beans, runner bean's Tom plant's and Sweet pepper's as well as Beetroot all growing well. Thanks again, Malc
I just love some of the older garden and nursery equipment. Those metal hoops are wonderful. Im tired of plastic plumbing tubing as it is very ugly. I especially like what I see in UK You Tube channels! I recently was fortunate to thrift tall thick gauge metal plant markers perhaps for shrubs as they were 30” tall with a looped end and very sharp spade end to stick in tough ground. I see uses them for them in so many ways. Currently they are used in making a cage of bird netting with long stakes as the frame. The birds decimated my entire onion crop last year and these stakes have been a blessing to save the onions. They are looking fabulous this year. Fleece would have not been practical in this case. I wish the garden supply houses would become a bit more inventive and practical and economical as it concerns the gardener. Love your demonstration on using the fleece 😉
Charles, you are amazing !!! I am building a whole new garden with all the knowledge and info from your videos, it already looks so great!!! And im a total beginner. In Scotland though, so seasons are very different :) x thank u
I like the white polyethylene bug netting made buy Agfabric. The mesh is small enough (.03) to keep out most bugs, is extremely tough and durable, allows plenty of light penetration, breathes very well, and allows rain to pass through easily. Probably not as warm as fleece of course, but I still prefer it.
Thanks for all the info! --not so easy to find those same products here in the states; but will certainly give it a go! Best wishes from Kate in Olympia, WA.
Thanks to one of your previous videos, I make frequent use of fleece, either to protect young plants from cold, or against blackbirds looking for worms in the compost, or against insects, or against marauding chickens who can roam free in the winter. It was difficult to find here in Corsica (thank you Amaz*n) but now I have actually found a local supplier, it must be gaining in popularity. Mine is 30gr/sq. m.
I use www.agfabric.com/. I've seen a few different ones on Amazon, but Agfabric is working well for me. I buy directly from the company through their website.
Hello Mr. Dowding, thank you for the info regarding using fleece vs mesh and getting the heavier thickness! I didn't know that and will surely make sure to invest in the heavier fleece! God bless!!
@@CharlesDowding1nodig I went to LOWES store and they sell garden cover sheets, but they were not called Fleece and didn't mention weight thickness on the packaging. Guess I will have to look on the internet for them. :(
Hoops and fleece are a flexible and simple way to extend the season and reduce pest damage and if you take even moderate care of the fleece from year to year it is inexpensive as well.
Thanks again and again Charles. My crop tunnel hoops have been failing++ recently. They are commercial fiber glass. I've been considering my options. Am in the sub tropics and was looking at fresh cut bamboo, but then when I heard you say 4mm steel that is over 40 years old, I decided I am in. Cheers Brisbane, Australia
p.s I could not get 4mm steel, so bought 2.5mm wire, and have doubled it, wrapping one strand around another..... it is very very solid. and does the trick.
Hi Charles, my compost is disappearing due to a few moles, so I am having to had quite a bit more. All ok otherwise, my peas are looking good, potatoes are coming out, the garlic is fantastic but seedlings are having a hard time coming out as the nights are really cold. I think next year I will start them indoors. Last year was fine in the polly but this year is a different story. Still loving your methods though, you are the gardener fairy! We are just finishing the salad in the polly and I have a rustic salad that has sown itself in the vegetable patch so I have salads coming out of my ears!!!!!! Love and light from the Gers
Ah les taupes! Yes it's usually worth keeping seed trays in house warmth, just for the first week at least. Nice to hear news from The Gers, I hope you have enough rain.
Just one week after this piece was published the temperatures in the area were pushing 22 C! My fleece roll arrived this morning, I still anticipate having to deploy it here in mid Wales!
this is commonly used on strawberries fields, it helps with protecting plants from frost and speeds up a little growth, poly foil is also used and is better at keeping plants warmer but its less airy so you have to tkae it off an put it on, they are many thicnesses of flis and foil form many purpose, only setback it is made of plastic and recycling it is troublesome.
I think its the OLD electrical wire! Our homestead has lots of it in rolls here and there and the barn has it (detached from source) stapled to rafters and going to aged light fixtures. The wire in the 40s was a large gauge wire. TOUGH and horrid for twisting, etc w the hand, but FIRM and perfect for hoops! I'm going to have all mine cut into Hoop lengths for my garden.
17:00 yep, we got the 17 g / m2 fleece that you warned us not to buy, but I can still return it. And to make things worse it is only 1,5 m wide and 10 m long (only dimension available). It was a special offer at the checkout, but the fleece that cost more had the same dimensions, and I did not check for the gramm / m2, didn't know I should have checked that. Never mind I will shop in a larger center, I would rather have at least 2,5 m wide to be able to cover a broader bed and have enough extra material for hoops or for stones on the ground to put on.
Believe it or not, Charles, this March and early April (til today), I have been covering my seedlings in modular trays with a winter fleece, but, I doubled it due to lack of space etc., and noticed that as the early day temperatures got warmer and the early morning sun light increased...the seedlings came on very well...but with or without, keeping the compost moist in the trays is a twice or trice daily chore... I forgot to add that I use a debris netting material from (I think) Yuzet, it does break the wind big time in contrast to fleece. I have used both over pea seedlings in the early stage in the garden, the winds battered the fleece against the pea plants but the debris netting broke the wind and barely aggrevated the pea plants. I also use the debris netting to protect transplants from pheasants (as bad as sparrows where I live) and in the last few years, I have noticed their population increase from one or two to several pairs...something to do with my exposed veg at the time. I also used the debris fabric as a semi support for the peas as they grew...it kept hamsters, pheasants and other larger animals at bay...but not the weevils...lastly, the debris netting does get as heavy from rainfall as fleece can. Keeping in mind, fleece is almost a solid sheet fabric and debris netting is a type of netting.
Wow, look at the snow on 15:53. It's totally covering the mesh and yet the rockets inside are still doing great! I wonder what the temp difference is between inside and outside the mesh and the fleece, at various temps.
Great detail. I now understand what to use and when. I have an unrelated dilemma. I am a new gardener and have been following your gardening principles as carefully as I am able. I planted a cover crop of white Dutch clover last fall and am now faced with how to get rid of it. I have 7 raised beds which are 20” high x 4’x24’ so mowing is not feasible and I am on an acreage so only own a garden tractor style mower not a push one. So not an and option for me. I have also read you can trim it down and leave the trimmings as mulch but you also leave the root - which alarms me when I go to sew my tiny seeds and the root is preventing that - yes? I read another source that suggested covering with a farm poly called bunker cover or silage sheets to kill the clover but unlike plastic it doesn’t kill the microbes in the soil. I am unable to by this farmer product as it comes in LARGE sizes at great expense. So I continue in my quest and hope you could be of assistance. Would a solution be to use cardboard? I would need to remove the cardboard before I sow my veggies - timing would be key. I am zone 5 in British Columbia Canada 🇨🇦 Thanks for providing such wonderful information. I just want to do right by my little piece of soil.
Ah Trina, I feel you have been somewhat misled because people talk about cover crops as though they are the solution for so many ills, but they failed to mention the exact difficulties you now have. Your growing season is so short and precious that you do not want to lose time, getting rid of the cover crop. Cardboard is indeed your best option, but that means you cannot sow seeds direct for at least a month, or more, unless you spread about 3 to 4 inches of new compost on top of the cardboard, then you can sow and plant into that. Best to transplant not direct sow. Everything in gardening has a consequence, and you will come to realise how you need to think ahead, especially before sowing cover crops!
@@CharlesDowding1nodig so you are not a cover crop believer in my situation I take it? I will lay down my cardboard in the hopes that I can salvage my mistake. In my area it is too late to start seedlings and there are many staples like carrots, peas and beets that are not sold as seedlings. I will lay down the cardboard now and add compost on top. It is too late to start seedlings myself and many items are not available to buy organically in my area. I appreciate your very kind and timely response. Take good care.
@@trinadumka9688 I believe in any approach which is feasible and which results in better harvests. Sometimes cover crops have a place, sometimes not. Good luck with your season
@@CharlesDowding1nodig the garden is a teacher and I believe my lesson is what you have shared. My season is short and so a cover crop is not the right approach for zone 5 in the beautiful Shuswap region of BC. I am of the understanding that bare soil left over winter with snow cover is not ideal. Would you recommend to cover my beds with leaves in the fall? My growing season is late May planting - harvest is early September with root vegetables taken mid-October. Our winter snow is heavy, wet and abundant from December to the end of February with temperatures of 0C to -1C, with a 2 week cold snap in January or February of -18C. March is typically 9C by day but can dip to -1C overnight. April mild temperatures to mid teens by day and +5C overnight. Rainy season is May to the beginning of July. July to August temps are 30+ with no rain for a month. Mother Nature can still provide in these conditions!
@@CharlesDowding1nodig - thanks for that info. I def need robust, as I've only been able to source the 17gsm fleece here in France, which is really pathetic and tears so easily. Would the Envirotect mesh be sufficiently small mesh to keep flea beetles out? If so, then I will definitely get some, and maybe get the heavier fleece for cold protection with hoops as you suggested.
I am looking to purchase fleece for my garden, and was curious what weight I should get. I am California 9A. I love your work, love the way you garden! Beautiful gardens!
Charles Dowding thank you. I will look up the conversion. I love your videos and am so very inspired by them. I have a large area of DiRT, that I dream to transform little bit by little bit - into a no dig garden. I have a load of horse poop coming this weekend. 😎.
Great detailed info...thank you! I’m in Florida and what would you use for the opposite? Too much heat/sun, like for my peppers. They get sun spots. 🌞🌝
So interesting solution ti adopt in a climate like our (in the Alps). I was wondering if you ever try any natural material TNT made of pure cellulose or something similar. I'm struggling to find anything plastic free for my garden. Thank you
I've tried a cover of sheep wool, which makes a cover that is far too heavy especially when wet and it drops wool on sala plants, and cotton which is expensive and decomposes quite quickly. They both make me value the plastic more!
I’m in Colorado and we get wildly fluctuating Spring temperatures with snow as late as mid-May. I’d like to use fleece but find it’s made of polypropylene and I avoid plastics like the plague. Could burlap be an alternative?
Always enjoy watching your videos Charles; I would like to make some hoops just like yours, but I'm not sure what length to cut the wire. Do you know the measurments of yours?
Thank you Charles for all your informative and educational videos. I started watching them about 3 months ago and have seen 20 to 30 so far. I live in Midwest Illinois, USA and use fleece to help protect the young plants from colder temperatures and hungery critters. Do you use the fleece to help shade or what would you recommend? I look forward to your videos; again thanks and happy gardening.
I'm always amazed about how you have both the metric and imperial measurements ready in your head!
Although I was a little shocked when the auto generated closed captions said that he had a -327 Fahrenheit frost !!
I was just about to make a similar comment. He maybe does have it in his head, but whether he does or he researches it for each video, the fact that he mentions both to relate to people across the globe, depending on what they use, is the sign of a very intelligent and considerate man.
I agree, except that a metre is roughly 3.3 feet, but a square metre is 3.3 x 3.3 square feet: more like 10 square feet.
I think it's all the nutrient dense organic veggies Charles eats :)
I agree! Amazing!
Charles, you knowledge is invaluable! I quote you nearly daily with my best British accent...."compost, compost, compost"!!! I've been harvesting so much of my homemade compost and it's the most thrilling thing that between Creator and my hands, we make black gold! Thank you!
Thanks, I should love to hear Texan British!
I try my best Texan British as well!
Your the best gardener I've ever seen. I want to be like you. :)
me too.
@@gerreddy9287
I just want a Charles Dowding of my very own!
I'd rather be a student
I want to be his child
hi Charles, I remember my dad using old net curtains when i was a kid...... thanks...love your vids....
I love seeing your garden and all the updates you give. It seems so organized and peaceful there. The fleece and mesh ideas are greatly appreciated. Thank you.
It’s so nice to see your garden again. You’re my favorite gardener. And I’m so thankful that you teach anything about gardening. Thank you thank you very much 🌱
Found one of your videos on youtube a few months ago and spent several days watching them all. I've learned so much and wanted to thank you for all that you have shared.
Growing broad beans for the 1st time here in Georgia, U.S. and they are covered with pretty little flowers. Using fleece has allowed us to start early this year and has kept the squirrels from digging up our beds.
Salad greens for us already and our ducks are enjoying some as well :) Thank you for all that you do. Happy gardening!
I am happy to hear this Sara, thanks for writing
A big thank you from South Burgundy Charles. I have been growing no dig for a few years, and your channel answered questions I still had. Also, your timing advice for sowings are spot on. Last summer I sowed, and then planted, kale at almost the exact date you mention in your video and it worked wonderfully (they are bolting now). This year I tried radishes multisown, sown 28/2, planted 10/3 in homemade compost under fleece, first delicious harvest last wednesday 10/4, second delicious harvest yesterday. You are right, they grow wonderfully in clumps! I think they feel better in clumps in the very dry weather we have here. They keep each other moist somehow!
I now always have your « Organic Gardening » and your perpetual diary with me when going out in the garden. Your planning details are invaluable and one can see that you have been doing this and perfectioning your skills for quite a while! Thank you thank you thank you.
Super results Cecile and thanks for sharing
Fleece is a miracle product and can make an enormous difference - it practically creates a greenhouse at that early spring time of year. Bravo to this video!
This helps me understand how to apply mesh and hoops in our frosty Canadian climate. Thanks Charles.
Thank you Charles, your propagation vids were a boon and your pricking out and planting and covering with fleece vids are going to make so much difference in the coming year, God bless.
Nice to hear Chaz
This sort of presentation I really 'DIG'.
I have quit with the vegetable garden at the border of our village and instead took away half my lawn, made that into a vegetable garden; put a lot of broad beans in. It's it very easy to have the vegetables so nearby, I can give water from home and hunt snails at night. Also my presence of my cat prevents birdsfrom tearing up the white fleece. Last year we had terrible drought here and this winter by far not enough rain has fallen.
Snail and Slug hunts can be the key!
I keep scrap pieces of copper pipe laying around in my garden and it has really kept slugs away, mulch does too. Or an easy trap by taking a lid from a jar, like from peanut butter or mayonnaise, push into the soil so it’s flush with it and fill it with beer, snails and slugs come to the “bar” and don’t make it home 😉
Happy gardening and hunting 😊
What perfect timing, I was last night trying to decide what type and size to get. I was looking at 4M wide roll but now see 2M is perfect. Fleece for seedlings and net for butterflies and the fine mesh for carrots. Thanks Charles, you just saved me a small fortune.
Many thanks
Gordon
Super result Gordon, thanks
Thank you Mr. Dowding for your wonderful informational videos and your personal replies to questions. Three thumbs up!
I actually bought both after watching a few of your episodes a couple months ago. Thanks again for providing great visuals. I'm pretty sure you saved a bunch of my direct sow cold weather crop items!
You are an walking encyclopedia, so love the living pages of information ! Blessings
I watch you every night and I’m learning so much. This is my first year doing the no dig method. We’ve gotten our best harvest yet.
Thanks for posting and I am happy to hear you are doing well
Over this latest frosty snap I have been using 2 layers of very fine fleece (as it was the only thing available ) and all the seedlings are loving it !
Mr Dowding, Another great video, you sharing your gardening knowledge is always so appreciated!! :)
I now know what I shall be using the wire for left in the garage from a previous owner, thank you again for the great video. X
Can I ask what gauge of wire is it that you use, want it to be strong enough for the winds I have here
Another informative and totally worthwhile vid. Basic. Very helpful. Truly thank you. By the way, love the cap!! Please keep telling us what we need to know, creative positive gardens and recognising the problems. Best wishes. Stay safe! - Paul.
Cheers Martyn 😀
Never knew that I needed all this info is needed to buy fleece and net for the garden. So glad I watched this video as I have learned a lot of the various sorts. Thanks.
Extremely useful knowledge in my situation at the moment, so thanks you Very much Charles for another great video. We've been having this cold, dry yet very sunny and bright weather from the east for the past 7-10 days here in Denmark that I can see that you also have had in the British Isles. So, warmth is a huge limiting factor with frost at night and only 5-7 centigrades in the daytime. I will go straight to the garden and put on some fleece :) I will try to monitor the soil temperatur with/without cover - could be interesting to see how much difference it makes
i carnt get over the amount you grow and so early well done
A big Thank you from Oregon USA.
I really enjoy your videos!
Encouraging Article on Countryfile Charles, Farmers doing no -dig , hope more farmers do it and save the soil
Ah good!
I saw this too and thought of Charles, it was very interesting. No dig on a large scale ☺
Thank you Charles for sharing! You have opened my mind to the possibilities of extending the growing season. Valuable knowledge. 😊🌱
Thanks Charles. Had to revisit this video as I'm getting more experimental (and hopefully more savvy) with using covers. Love from Wisconsin, USA.
Great to hear!
Thanks to your previous videos, I was well equiped with both fleece and a hotbed in my polytunnel this year, so my vegetables and flower plants have been able to withstand April's -5°C dips. I will be using the fleece outdoors this year in hopes of keeping the flea beetles off brassicas. *garden-gloved fingers crossed*
Nice to hear.
Flea beetles are difficult though, I often wonder if some eggs are in the soil, then hatch after a mesh cover is on.
@@CharlesDowding1nodig I ran my chickens and ducks through the garden first this year since I had to change the bed layout anyhow; I hope they had a flea feast.😊
You have taught me so much. My garden is booming and we get so much food. Thank you
Hello Charles, thank you for sharing. I started growing some seeds under fleece and it really works. Looking forward to watch your next video, cheers Joyce
Your gardens are so nice to look at. Thanks again Charles.
Now that the last of the snow is gone and I can get into my garden I think I'll give this a try.
You are so much like my uncle! Love your friendliness!
I cant stop looking at your gorgeous tulips!
Glad you like them!
Thank you for another wonderful video! The fleece really does work. A few weeks ago, here in Angus, I sowed carrots under fleece (inter-sown with radish) out in our quite exposed home allotment plot, and also some in an uncovered planter in our very sunny and sheltered courtyard. The ones sown under fleece still germinated a good few days earlier and the radish are well away. We also have a lot of wildlife to contend with, and I know that the fleece helps. Take care and thanks again. Kelly
Lovely to hear that Kelly
The tulips are so beautiful.
Living in Norway and could not be growing without protection with fleec and mesh. I use hoops, as well. Thanks for a great update.
Do you start February as well? I’m in USA and about 100 miles from Canada. I’m thinking maybe I could start in March
@@Shanmammy .....I live in northern Minnesota, zone 3, and March still gets hard frost most nights, we usually still have snow and the ground is frozen. If I make low tunnels with green house plastic I can grow lettuce, spinach and stuff like that but it can be a challenge some years. So it really depends on your zone, a lot of Canada has a warmer growing zone than me 🤷🏼♀️
It’s always fun to try 🥰
Hi Charles, loved the video. We to are using fleece and inviro mesh on our allotment, it seems we are the only ones! Our vegetables are looking lovely and I would say the lettuce will be ready for picking in a couple of weeks. We're not to far from you ( Weymouth Dorset) so the climate is about the same. It's a shame I can't show you pictures of the allotment as its looking pretty good. A little money saver here 30 GSM fleece Home bargains dust sheets 10.5 foot square £1.60 there in the decoration part hope this helps.
Take care Jo and Jerry.
Hi Jo and Jerry, sounds great, thanks for the tip and yes shame about no pic! If on FB you could post and tag me.
That mesh looks really good. I gave up on a greenhouse because of yearly wind damage but the mesh looks like it would be worth trying for some winter veg.
I love using row covers!!..we use them because it gets hot in central Virginia and the plants get overheated..I also saw that dang white moth flying..they lay eggs on our cabbage..went and got cover!..thankyou for your wonderfully simple & informative videos..be safe & blessed🙏✝️
Cheers Laura :)
Thank you! This is very useful information! The storage piece was a big help. All the best to you!
Thanks!! you just saved me wasting my money on the 17g fleece! You're a legend...great videos!
Recently got our book and am ready to start. Got a huge pile of chips and beds ready to go. You are a big inspiration and the fact that your not a kid really helps. Greeting from South Jersey in US. Very cool spring here so far but things are coming up. Cattle panels will work also and will last forever just need cover. Stay safe. 👍🏻💪🏻🖖🏻🐾❤️❤️❤️
Thanks for your nice message and I hope the warmth comes soon
All questions answered in one video! Thanks so much Charles!🌱
Since finding the channel back in January I've watched the videos over and over again and started to do it exactly as you are and fleece all over to protect plants,I had a stroke of luck one day in town and found a 70 metre real of underfloor heating pipe for only 3.99 I cut it to various lenths and hey prestoe and theres loads,I've also started to pick rocket and mustard variety is ruby streaks and it's tasty never had it before,I have a greenhouse full of young plants of various vegetables waiting for warmer weather to go out and be planted,I do think I was a bit early in starting some off yet as there quite large especially the bean plants anyway thanks for the info and have a nice day
I found the pipe in a charity shop
Well improvised and fine work Julian
I found some thick wire for the top of mesh fencing that I think will be perfect for hoops. Excited to give it a go!
Great idea, hope it's strong
I use 3/4" irrigation tubing for hoops. Due to coiling, it comes with a circular bend, which makes it easy to handle and ready to use as hoops. It cuts easily too and it's made to last. It's a bit more expensive than 9 gauge wire, but it is also substantially stronger and worth getting for larger hoops. I did at 6' wide, 3' high span that could actually take a medium-heavy snow load on a small (12'L x 6'W x 7'H) hoop house.
Great tip! The only issue for me would be how to push it into the ground quickly and with enough stability. For what I am showing in these videos, the covers are not on for long and we are often moving them around.
@@CharlesDowding1nodig Thanks, yes it's more for viewers than yourself that I mention it at all. Heavy-gauge wire can be a bit hard to come by and work with. Ah, I should have mentioned that I use rebar for stakes and then fit the tubing over the stakes. This was strong enough to enclose a hoophouse in chickenwire, then cover with poly. Quite strong and meant to be semi-permanent and it kept all but the smallest animals out. In narrow raised beds, the tubing goes in easily and the walls of the bed keep them steady. I suppose if one had a load of bricks handy, the holes in the bricks could be used to stabilize the tubing and weigh down the fleece at the same time for in-ground beds. True, for row-width hoops that are only up for weeks, the wire works well. And certainly, if sturdy wire is on-hand, that's the material to use, if one can spare it. I suppose even an old, stiff watering hose could be repurposed as hoop material too, using the stake or brick method of securing. A barrel, cut in strips and halved could make small hoops too. That would be a bit of work! :)
Thank you Charles. That was very helpful. I'm new to this plant growing. I have Broad beans, runner bean's Tom plant's and Sweet pepper's as well as Beetroot all growing well. Thanks again, Malc
Sounds a good start Malc!
The shouts are fantastic. That is new to me.
I just love some of the older garden and nursery equipment. Those metal hoops are wonderful. Im tired of plastic plumbing tubing as it is very ugly. I especially like what I see in UK You Tube channels! I recently was fortunate to thrift tall thick gauge metal plant markers perhaps for shrubs as they were 30” tall with a looped end and very sharp spade end to stick in tough ground. I see uses them for them in so many ways. Currently they are used in making a cage of bird netting with long stakes as the frame. The birds decimated my entire onion crop last year and these stakes have been a blessing to save the onions. They are looking fabulous this year. Fleece would have not been practical in this case. I wish the garden supply houses would become a bit more inventive and practical and economical as it concerns the gardener. Love your demonstration on using the fleece 😉
Thanks Janette and that sounds an excellent re-use of old materials
I bought a beautiful sharp spade from an architectural reclamation yard. Lovely watering cans too.
Valuable information! I love your videos. I look forward to each one! Thank you !
Mesh is required in my area for growing anything in the cabbage family. Cabbage loopers will eliminate entire fields.
Charles, you are amazing !!! I am building a whole new garden with all the knowledge and info from your videos, it already looks so great!!! And im a total beginner. In Scotland though, so seasons are very different :) x thank u
Wow great
I like the white polyethylene bug netting made buy Agfabric. The mesh is small enough (.03) to keep out most bugs, is extremely tough and durable, allows plenty of light penetration, breathes very well, and allows rain to pass through easily. Probably not as warm as fleece of course, but I still prefer it.
Greetings from the other side of the pond. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you, Charles (and Edward). So helpful.
Love your gardens and always appreciate the information. Your wire hoops look like they are made with fence tension wire, I use it for my hoops.
Very timely. Just been working in my garden and found a radish uprooted. Little beggars. Now covered in fleece.
Thanks for all the info! --not so easy to find those same products here in the states; but will certainly give it a go! Best wishes from Kate in Olympia, WA.
Best of luck Kate
Thanks to one of your previous videos, I make frequent use of fleece, either to protect young plants from cold, or against blackbirds looking for worms in the compost, or against insects, or against marauding chickens who can roam free in the winter. It was difficult to find here in Corsica (thank you Amaz*n) but now I have actually found a local supplier, it must be gaining in popularity. Mine is 30gr/sq. m.
Sounds good Caro
Great video, thanks for all the info. Now to find the right product here in the US
Agribon row cover in the US?
I use www.agfabric.com/. I've seen a few different ones on Amazon, but Agfabric is working well for me. I buy directly from the company through their website.
Hello Mr. Dowding, thank you for the info regarding using fleece vs mesh and getting the heavier thickness! I didn't know that and will surely make sure to invest in the heavier fleece! God bless!!
Glad to help Debbie
@@CharlesDowding1nodig I went to LOWES store and they sell garden cover sheets, but they were not called Fleece and didn't mention weight thickness on the packaging. Guess I will have to look on the internet for them. :(
Hoops and fleece are a flexible and simple way to extend the season and reduce pest damage and if you take even moderate care of the fleece from year to year it is inexpensive as well.
this method of covering vegetables is excellent. I believe it can also be applied against the intense summer sun in Brazil.
Yes with mesh not fleece (too hot)
Oh how I wish Id had this recently available. I will be stocking up on this to have handy.
Thanks again and again Charles.
My crop tunnel hoops have been failing++ recently. They are commercial fiber glass.
I've been considering my options.
Am in the sub tropics and was looking at fresh cut bamboo, but then when I heard you say 4mm steel that is over 40 years old, I decided I am in.
Cheers
Brisbane, Australia
p.s I could not get 4mm steel, so bought 2.5mm wire, and have doubled it, wrapping one strand around another..... it is very very solid. and does the trick.
That is clever and well done!
Hi Charles, my compost is disappearing due to a few moles, so I am having to had quite a bit more. All ok otherwise, my peas are looking good, potatoes are coming out, the garlic is fantastic but seedlings are having a hard time coming out as the nights are really cold. I think next year I will start them indoors. Last year was fine in the polly but this year is a different story. Still loving your methods though, you are the gardener fairy! We are just finishing the salad in the polly and I have a rustic salad that has sown itself in the vegetable patch so I have salads coming out of my ears!!!!!! Love and light from the Gers
Ah les taupes! Yes it's usually worth keeping seed trays in house warmth, just for the first week at least.
Nice to hear news from The Gers, I hope you have enough rain.
Thank you for this very informative video. You e answered all my questions including the width of the wire for the hoops.
I'm so glad!
Thank you Charles that was really helpful, as always
For folks in the US, not sure about other places, you can use mason ladders (Home Depot sells them) as the most amazing hoops!
I should have used a mesh for my onions. The birds love nibbling at the green tops - while probably laughing at the scarecrow in the bed!
Just one week after this piece was published the temperatures in the area were pushing 22 C!
My fleece roll arrived this morning, I still anticipate having to deploy it here in mid Wales!
Yes typical spring weather... I expect it to be worth using from Weds 24th
@@CharlesDowding1nodig A hint of frost this morning!
@@abcbcde9985 April!
Thank you very much Charles.
If i had S chance, i will go and see that beautiful garden of yours..
this is commonly used on strawberries fields, it helps with protecting plants from frost and speeds up a little growth, poly foil is also used and is better at keeping plants warmer but its less airy so you have to tkae it off an put it on, they are many thicnesses of flis and foil form many purpose, only setback it is made of plastic and recycling it is troublesome.
Haha. I'm in love with your hat!
I think its the OLD electrical wire! Our homestead has lots of it in rolls here and there and the barn has it (detached from source) stapled to rafters and going to aged light fixtures. The wire in the 40s was a large gauge wire. TOUGH and horrid for twisting, etc w the hand, but FIRM and perfect for hoops! I'm going to have all mine cut into Hoop lengths for my garden.
Sounds sensibly frugal!
I didn't have any fleece so used plastic sheets to get things started late April early May instead of a green house or tunnel.
Yes! Yes! Yes! Get our Dowling fix
17:00 yep, we got the 17 g / m2 fleece that you warned us not to buy, but I can still return it. And to make things worse it is only 1,5 m wide and 10 m long (only dimension available). It was a special offer at the checkout, but the fleece that cost more had the same dimensions, and I did not check for the gramm / m2, didn't know I should have checked that. Never mind I will shop in a larger center, I would rather have at least 2,5 m wide to be able to cover a broader bed and have enough extra material for hoops or for stones on the ground to put on.
Best of luck Franz!
Believe it or not, Charles, this March and early April (til today), I have been covering my seedlings in modular trays with a winter fleece, but, I doubled it due to lack of space etc., and noticed that as the early day temperatures got warmer and the early morning sun light increased...the seedlings came on very well...but with or without, keeping the compost moist in the trays is a twice or trice daily chore... I forgot to add that I use a debris netting material from (I think) Yuzet, it does break the wind big time in contrast to fleece. I have used both over pea seedlings in the early stage in the garden, the winds battered the fleece against the pea plants but the debris netting broke the wind and barely aggrevated the pea plants. I also use the debris netting to protect transplants from pheasants (as bad as sparrows where I live) and in the last few years, I have noticed their population increase from one or two to several pairs...something to do with my exposed veg at the time. I also used the debris fabric as a semi support for the peas as they grew...it kept hamsters, pheasants and other larger animals at bay...but not the weevils...lastly, the debris netting does get as heavy from rainfall as fleece can. Keeping in mind, fleece is almost a solid sheet fabric and debris netting is a type of netting.
Interesting comment John, nice results
Wow, look at the snow on 15:53. It's totally covering the mesh and yet the rockets inside are still doing great! I wonder what the temp difference is between inside and outside the mesh and the fleece, at various temps.
Not a lot and those plants do survive freezing, but the mesh protects a little and keeps wind off too
Thanks!
Excellent info!
I appreciate this thanks
Wonderful advice as always thank you
Another outstanding informative video!
Very informative as usual. Thank you👍
Amazed the mesh survived that wind & snow......I doubt it would survive on my plot 💨🤨 worth a try tho 🤞
Very nice thank you. Alberta Canada🇨🇦
Thank you very much for good video. Sawasdee.
thank you for the good advice
Great detail. I now understand what to use and when. I have an unrelated dilemma. I am a new gardener and have been following your gardening principles as carefully as I am able. I planted a cover crop of white Dutch clover last fall and am now faced with how to get rid of it. I have 7 raised beds which are 20” high x 4’x24’ so mowing is not feasible and I am on an acreage so only own a garden tractor style mower not a push one. So not an and option for me. I have also read you can trim it down and leave the trimmings as mulch but you also leave the root - which alarms me when I go to sew my tiny seeds and the root is preventing that - yes? I read another source that suggested covering with a farm poly called bunker cover or silage sheets to kill the clover but unlike plastic it doesn’t kill the microbes in the soil. I am unable to by this farmer product as it comes in LARGE sizes at great expense. So I continue in my quest and hope you could be of assistance. Would a solution be to use cardboard? I would need to remove the cardboard before I sow my veggies - timing would be key. I am zone 5 in British Columbia Canada 🇨🇦
Thanks for providing such wonderful information. I just want to do right by my little piece of soil.
Ah Trina, I feel you have been somewhat misled because people talk about cover crops as though they are the solution for so many ills, but they failed to mention the exact difficulties you now have.
Your growing season is so short and precious that you do not want to lose time, getting rid of the cover crop. Cardboard is indeed your best option, but that means you cannot sow seeds direct for at least a month, or more, unless you spread about 3 to 4 inches of new compost on top of the cardboard, then you can sow and plant into that.
Best to transplant not direct sow.
Everything in gardening has a consequence, and you will come to realise how you need to think ahead, especially before sowing cover crops!
@@CharlesDowding1nodig so you are not a cover crop believer in my situation I take it? I will lay down my cardboard in the hopes that I can salvage my mistake. In my area it is too late to start seedlings and there are many staples like carrots, peas and beets that are not sold as seedlings. I will lay down the cardboard now and add compost on top. It is too late to start seedlings myself and many items are not available to buy organically in my area. I appreciate your very kind and timely response. Take good care.
@@trinadumka9688 I believe in any approach which is feasible and which results in better harvests. Sometimes cover crops have a place, sometimes not. Good luck with your season
@@CharlesDowding1nodig the garden is a teacher and I believe my lesson is what you have shared. My season is short and so a cover crop is not the right approach for zone 5 in the beautiful Shuswap region of BC. I am of the understanding that bare soil left over winter with snow cover is not ideal. Would you recommend to cover my beds with leaves in the fall?
My growing season is late May planting - harvest is early September with root vegetables taken mid-October. Our winter snow is heavy, wet and abundant from December to the end of February with temperatures of 0C to -1C, with a 2 week cold snap in January or February of -18C. March is typically 9C by day but can dip to -1C overnight. April mild temperatures to mid teens by day and +5C overnight. Rainy season is May to the beginning of July. July to August temps are 30+ with no rain for a month.
Mother Nature can still provide in these conditions!
I'll be very interested to hear your review on the Envirotect mesh when you have the opportunity Charles.
So far, it's more robust and less warm but I am unsure by how much
@@CharlesDowding1nodig - thanks for that info. I def need robust, as I've only been able to source the 17gsm fleece here in France, which is really pathetic and tears so easily. Would the Envirotect mesh be sufficiently small mesh to keep flea beetles out? If so, then I will definitely get some, and maybe get the heavier fleece for cold protection with hoops as you suggested.
I am looking to purchase fleece for my garden, and was curious what weight I should get. I am California 9A. I love your work, love the way you garden! Beautiful gardens!
Thanks Delores and I know only the metric numbers, either 25 or 30 grammes per square metre.
Charles Dowding thank you. I will look up the conversion. I love your videos and am so very inspired by them. I have a large area of DiRT, that I dream to transform little bit by little bit - into a no dig garden. I have a load of horse poop coming this weekend. 😎.
Great detailed info...thank you! I’m in Florida and what would you use for the opposite? Too much heat/sun, like for my peppers. They get sun spots. 🌞🌝
Ha nice problem, say the white mesh over them
So interesting solution ti adopt in a climate like our (in the Alps). I was wondering if you ever try any natural material TNT made of pure cellulose or something similar. I'm struggling to find anything plastic free for my garden. Thank you
I've tried a cover of sheep wool, which makes a cover that is far too heavy especially when wet and it drops wool on sala plants, and cotton which is expensive and decomposes quite quickly. They both make me value the plastic more!
I’m in Colorado and we get wildly fluctuating Spring temperatures with snow as late as mid-May. I’d like to use fleece but find it’s made of polypropylene and I avoid plastics like the plague. Could burlap be an alternative?
Always enjoy watching your videos Charles; I would like to make some hoops just like yours, but I'm not sure what length to cut the wire. Do you know the measurments of yours?
2.5m 8ft 6in
thank you
Thank you Charles for all your informative and educational videos. I started watching them about 3 months ago and have seen 20 to 30 so far. I live in Midwest Illinois, USA and use fleece to help protect the young plants from colder temperatures and hungery critters. Do you use the fleece to help shade or what would you recommend? I look forward to your videos; again thanks and happy gardening.
We don't need shade! But mesh works for that.
What type of mesh and fleece do you use? Any particular thickness and/or brand you prefer for each type? Thanks for your help! Beautiful garden.
See this video Stacy ruclips.net/video/xwcQ4THPeaM/видео.html