I forgot to go up to the allotment winter 21, so the leeks just flowered happily, and the Russian Kale! I got an amazing number of bees and other pollinators too. I needed to clear the bed to put perennial veg in this year- a complete bonus bed of leek seedlings greeted me, and are still popping up ( and yes I’m going to leave some deliberately this year! ) but I was flummoxed by a huge flush of leaves I thought were daisies and grubbed ip enthusiastically…. Then yesterday realisation dawned: I still have enough red Russian seedlings to furnish most of east Ayrshire!!! Oh well, they can go into the chicken run bed: the more the merrier, according to the chickens!
I don't have a huge plot like you Liz, just a couple of sleeper beds which are enough for me to cope with physically, and even I get overwhelmed with produce at certain times. But I only put in an average of 5-10 minutes a day because that's all I can do. It's not lazy, it's pacing!
Is there a support group for veg gardening video addicts? I don't even own my garden yet and I think I've watched every video RUclips has to offer! So relaxing 😁
Work smarter, not harder. At the core I have wide streaks of both laziness and cheapness. I've always figured that unless you're running a commercial operation, once the beds are set up and going, it should *not* be a full-time job just to tend the family garden. And it certainly shouldn't cost an arm and a leg. It really just comes down to healthy soil, fresh air, sunlight and rainwater; the plants *want* to grow; in a sense our main job is just to stay the heck out of their way.
Absolutely agree with you about staying out of the way. I do run a commercial operation here, although it is a very small one, but even then I think there is room for allowing nature to run her course to some extent.
I pregerminate my parsnip seeds. The moment they show any sign of root, I put them in their spot. Works pretty well, even with 'old' seed. In 2022 I used seed expiring 2019. But yes, you got to start with more than just a few
our local shops are running out of gardening supplies and everyone seems to be planning a vegetable garden. Seeds are also scarce now. We don't have any garden centres . Potting and seeding compost is very scarce. I'm delighted though. We have a lot of small producers that supply restaurants. As their market has fallen away, they are handing out veg boxes to old age pensioners when they collect their pensions.
I keep my seeds from vegies i buy for us n plant them its win win if its not the season for them to grow i put them in a little zip lock bag with what they are the date and when the growing time is
laid back gardening is my only way to garden now, liz. welllllllll.......sat back. lol. i'm pleased my raised bed are a little bit higher. i'm developing new ways to make life easier all the time. ..............brian
I remember years ago watching the Victory Garden. I bought the book and when planting carrots, parsnips, radishes etc, Jim Crockett recommended drilling a v-shaped hole, with a dibber, fill that hole with sand, then plant your seed, top with a bit of good soil, or also good when you transplant your thinnings. The sand helps keep the roots straight till they get strong enough to muscle the soil out of the way on their own.
Not a bad idea, although because I live in London with horrible clay soil, sand is a very bad idea as it turns the soil even harder than it is already.
I'm definitely into lazy gardening. Still got leeks in the ground that were sown in 2016. The ones from 2015 look as if the kale has smothered them. Half the weeds in the potato beds turned out to be tree spinach - transplanted to their own space before the spuds got too big. Stuff that looks like fat hen could be amaranths self seeded from last year - will transplant to their own spot as well. Half my crops this year are from volunteers - thank god I'm lazy and didn't get everything out.
"How was your day Stew?" - "Great, I've been watching Liz Zorab fiddle with her fedge, its a fruity one". Oh, ok. Great stuff this Liz, thank you and stay safe x
I bought some thick black plastic sheeting last autumn but didn't get chance to cut it to the sizes (since my ducks had to be rehomed due to council I've got a few more areas to grow in) and put down straight away but I'm hoping I've still got a bit of time to get them down to kill of any new weeds and warm soil up a little before planting, I've been using mulch type stuff to grow my potatoes in a few years now, my first year people thought it couldn't be done then year later I saw your video about it and shown them that it can absolutely be done 😊👍, I thought hay was a bad choice of bedding for ducks and chickens as it holds moisture and grows mould,I always used straw or wood shavings or both,I switch between sand,wood shavings,dengie or easichick bedding for my bantam chickens ♥️ and add it to compost heap, also sieve soil from broken down woodchip from their large walk in run to add to vegetable patches before planting,I love what you have done to your new farm 👍♥️
In this video I used grass clippings mixed with chicken/duck bedding - wood shavings or chopped rapeseed straw. In my video that shows using hay for potatoes, I use fresh hay and also hay that was used in a large field shelter that the ducks were sleeping in. They had a base layer of wood shavings and chopped rapeseed straw and then some hay around the edges to give them an area raised up off the ground. I agree with you about hay becoming wet and mouldy (and really unpleasant to handle), but I also feel that about standard straw. Glad to read that you are getting good results with your potatoes, I don't think I'll ever go back to digging trenches for them!
Hey Tanya, thank you for dropping by. I've been delighted with the number of seedlings I have popping up all over the place, I'm starting to wonder why I bought so many seeds again this year!
The first time on here, enjoyed it so much, thank you. I have things growing in my small garden that the birds have brought in, my strawberries are like yours!
Excellent video Liz; it's is great to see what I call 'real life' gardening. I don't have the time or the availability of compost (it's like gold dust) to pot the strawberry runners and I just let them do their thing and, like you, I remove them in the spring and plant them where I want them. It makes me really happy to have these lovely free fruit plants :) A couple of times, when you were walking across your black ground cover, I thought you were going to do a little bit of ballet for us ;) I had a couple of old rugs and last winter I put them on the grass where I wanted a new bed, just taken it off and all the weeds are dead; so easy :D Love your channel and I think RUclips knows it! Enjoy the sunny days, looks like we are going to have a couple more. Stay safe, stay well x x
Wonderful Liz. I loved the white Borage at the end of the video. I don't think I,ve seen that before....and in full flower too. Thank the gods for my garden during this time. Not being at work means I,m well ahead with sowing, planting and potting on. Thankyou for brightening my day more! Xxx
I love borage or more to the point I love how much the bees like it. I came across this white one for the first time last year when I visited Jekka McVicar's farm, it grows just as easily as the purple one and both have gently flowered since late last summer (sown from seed in last spring).
I am loving your channel----I'm a newbie gardener in New York State, growing zone 4a, so I watch UK gardening youtube videos with great envy, but still get so much good information and useful tips. I especially enjoy your "lazy" gardening ideas, as I am 66 and not a spring chicken (although in good health, praise be). Thanks so much for sharing Byther Farm with us!
My strawberries stayed green all throughout the winter and they grew up throughout the straw and when straws not ready I use leaves. Thank you so much for the easy tip and fast solution . I grew butternut squash last year plants produced 8 squash. Would of had more but the squirrels& rabbits ate the other 2 plants.
The weeds are like a natural cover crop. Mine are getting easier and easier to pull ever year. I get a lot of creeping charlie, and it does go a bit crazy! It loves being near my strawberries. i reuse the dead leaves from my maple tree to mulch out spots in my yard, plant it out, then rake them to a different spot to kill the weeds somewhere else. Sometimes I can use the helicopters too and get them to rot the seed so they don't germinate. Maple trees are not fun weeds to pull!
Hi Liz. Lovely to see you out in the sunshine. Bit chilly here still only 4C but plants are appearing slowly. Dicentra is poking through finally but yours are well on their way. One of my favs. I have been poking around to see what is new due to my lazy gardening! It is so interesting to see what nature does on her own and that for me is the main gift for being a lazy gardener. 🌷
i found later sown parsnip seed are better in two ways. firstly, older parsnip seeds have a better germination rate and secondly, there is less chance of having a hard central core when harvesting......brian
Excellent programme loving your channel like me gardening is helping me with my lockdown with underlying health issues keeping me happy and sane thank you liz
I grew up with my dad gardening a big garden dug over every year, it became a struggle for that and other reasons. I’m in the same house with the same garden, I started the lazy no dig method. It’s so much easier. Still learning though. Enjoy your videos especially the what seeds to sow episodes 👍
It feels like such a win, doesn't it? I'm going to have a look at Google hang-outs to see whether that's something I can do for a chat with folks in the FB group and with Patrons.
Hey Kat, looks like we will be postponing a visit for the foreseeable future! I do think that in our eagerness to be super tidy we can miss out on the goodies that nature is happy to provide us with.
Liz Zorab - Byther Farm yes definitely. I am always yelling at Mr G in the Autumn/Winter for “clearing up” the allotment. One day he will learn to keep out! 😂
Really enjoying the videos liz x thank you for real world advice :) we just bought 1.3 acre small holding not far from yourselves (next county over) and most veg growing I've ever done is a few tomatoes on a patio! You and Huw have been making learning on the fly alot less daunting!
Hello! How exciting and what a great time of year to be getting going with your new smallholding! Learning on the fly is probably the best way to learn, you can observe and adjust as time goes on and as you get used to your new surroundings. If you want any info of reasonably local places to find resources, just email me or send me a message via our website.
Dear Liz - love your style - combining the intelligent organisation of a lady who truly knows she is doing with a relaxed and flexible attitude - it is very 'comfortable' to learn from and enjoy. I've got to learn to live with some weeds this year and I can't get my manure for the beds due to lock down and I've got to turn over my soil. Still, I can't disappoint the hundreds of seeds I've sown and am about to sow. Every good wish to you and yours and 'keep 'em coming'. - Paul
Hi Liz, hope you are staying safe and well. That was a great tip for growing potatoes, I would never have thought of using grass cuttings to grow them in. Mine are in pots already but I may use the next grass clippings to mulch them with for an extra layer of protection :-)
Hi, thank you for asking, we are both fine. The grass clippings work a treat - just make sure they are from grass that has not been treated with a weedkiller 😬
After watching this video, while nursing all the pain in my arms, back, knees, and ankles from overdoing it in the garden the last 6 days, your method is 1 million times more appealing. But, with my OCD and perfectionist disease, it's easier for me to let the dishes sit in the sink for three days than not to spend 10 hours outside when it is not raining. I bet you enjoy your garden much more than me, since it's just a job that is too taxing for my old bones and muscles.
Oh believe me, I do spend hours pulling weeds and tidying up, but I let some areas go longer before I tidy them so that I can discover the things that nature is offering for the garden before I clear it up.
I enjoy your way of gardening. I am lucky because I have a lot of lettuce that reseeded and is thriving. I am planning on growing potatoes the easy way this year. In the past I alway hilled potatoes and that was a lot of work.
Hi Carol, yes I can't believe we spent so much time moving heavy soil around our potatoes. This method is great because at the end of the season all that grass and chicken bedding stays in place to improve the soil beneath it. Win-win!
Since our whole state of Washington is on force isolation I can't get out to get any plants for my deck. I only grow a few kinds of flowers any more - but would like to have something pretty there in the summer. so I am checking my old packets of sees - daisies, Bachelor's Button, some others from a friend in California - and hoping in the next few days to get some seeds started on the deck. I do love my summer flowers. Enjoyed your video today so much - what a lovely place you have there.
Hi JoAnn, I've just spotted a number of comments that I had missed, so please accept my apologies for not replying sooner. Here in UK many plant nurseries and garden centers are offering delivery of plants so it might be worth checking with your local plant store or nursery to see if they will deliver to you. Fingers crossed that some of your seeds grow and give you a lovely display this year.
Cant wait to start planting but its still a bit easy in the merseyside area, got broad beans, cabbage, leeks and celeriac plus beetroot in modules in the greenhouse at home all waiting for it to warm up a bit.really enjoying the videos.
People like me - sometimes I'm too tired to chew soup - depend utterly on laziness to keep gardening. I couldn't till every year in time to do spring planting. It's not laziess: it's Extreme Energy Efficiency 😁😁
Hello, I'm way behind in answering comments, I'm so sorry for the long delay! This week I've been busy creating a new fence so that the ducks have (even) more space to roam around and to reduce the slug and snail population - hooray!
@@LizZorab They do love a juicy slug or snail! I adore ducks, always have. Where I live though we aren't allowed to have them. (They might disturb the neighbors. What about all the dogs that bark all day and all night? Oh, I'm told, that's your problem.) So I live vicariously through channels like yours. Hi, Quackers! Oh yes and I see you have a production manager. He's cute... Is he single? The grandcat spots him! LOL
Hi Liz, Thanks for your very informative videos. I’m wondering if I don’t have chicken bedding is there anything else I can add to the grass clippings? Does the grass attract snails and/or slugs? Thanks in advance. 😄
You could use a bit of compost over the seed potatoes to give them a nice start and then just use grass clippings or you could add shredded paper or cardboard, dry leaves - any brown materials that will mix with the greens of the grass.
Thanks again for another interesting and informative video. What is the black piping you have in your beds, I am familiar with the white and blue pipe and somehow have acquired black but I have not known if it is of food grade quality?
Hi there - great video with useful information, thank you. I am a new subscriber and a very amateur grower. I tried growing potatoes last year in my small front garden which is NW facing (I live in NE Scotland). Out of 6 plants we only got enough for one meal. Is that because there wasn't enough sun (less than usual last year) or simply because it is generally shady throughout the day, i.e just not warm enough for long enough? Also, in order to be more self sufficient, (back garden very small also), what can I grow that does like shadier areas? Thanks so much ~ Mo ps - copied my message here in-case you don't see it on a previous video x
Hello Mo, I'm not sure what went wrong with your spuds last year, if it was very wet, perhaps they were eaten by slugs, alternatively it could have been too dry for them so they didn't flourish. Potatoes are greedy feeders so a potato feed like Vitax (organic potato feed) can be really helpful. Did you earth them up? That's the process of continuing to bury the plant stems for most of the summer - it will help the plant produce more spuds too.
@@LizZorab Hi Liz - we didn't have a wet summer, just dull. We watered the potatoes regularly and did earth them up. Maybe, because they were organic, perhaps it was just one of those things. Trying again this year, but in pots this time, scattered around the sunnier back garden. Wish us luck. Many thanks for your reply.
Hello, nice video, thank you! I have one question, if I might: What is the name of that plant you want to use in your fruiting hedge? I didn't quite catch it. Thanks so much.
Hi Liz, I have 2 plastic composting bins (my garden is small) and I get what the American's call grubs, they're white fat, not long worm type things that are always in my compost when I try to use it. Are they very dangerous in the vegetable plot or garden?
I'm going to ask some other gardeners what they think and come back to you as I don't want to give you poor advice. If you are a member of my FB group, please ask in there as it's full of knowledgeable folks!
Grubs turn into beetles. One you may be familiar with are Junebugs. Those will nibble your veggies. But there are so many it would be hard to tell which it is. Think about which beetles you have in your area then you can look up information on how good or bad they may be for what you grow. Happy Gardening!!
How are you dealing wth staying home? As you know we are on Lockdown. I am still recovering from my Foot Surgery. 9 Weeks Pist op tosay x Take care guys x
Lazy or you just smart enough to know what to spend time on!! You have better things to spend your time on than unnecessary expenditure of energy on unproductive stuff!!!
If you've enjoyed this video, please share with a friend and on social media - many thanks!
Finally no nonsense about how it all looks. How does it work. How do I not work. And I laughed out loud! Thanks
I forgot to go up to the allotment winter 21, so the leeks just flowered happily, and the Russian Kale! I got an amazing number of bees and other pollinators too. I needed to clear the bed to put perennial veg in this year- a complete bonus bed of leek seedlings greeted me, and are still popping up ( and yes I’m going to leave some deliberately this year! ) but I was flummoxed by a huge flush of leaves I thought were daisies and grubbed ip enthusiastically…. Then yesterday realisation dawned: I still have enough red Russian seedlings to furnish most of east Ayrshire!!! Oh well, they can go into the chicken run bed: the more the merrier, according to the chickens!
I don't have a huge plot like you Liz, just a couple of sleeper beds which are enough for me to cope with physically, and even I get overwhelmed with produce at certain times. But I only put in an average of 5-10 minutes a day because that's all I can do. It's not lazy, it's pacing!
Absolutely it's pacing!
As a person with energy-limiting chronic illnesses, I feel you!
Is there a support group for veg gardening video addicts? I don't even own my garden yet and I think I've watched every video RUclips has to offer! So relaxing 😁
LOL! There is indeed - you can join my FB group, Friends of Liz Zorab - Byther Farm!
I love being a lazy gardener do lazy gardening in my yard
Work smarter, not harder. At the core I have wide streaks of both laziness and cheapness. I've always figured that unless you're running a commercial operation, once the beds are set up and going, it should *not* be a full-time job just to tend the family garden. And it certainly shouldn't cost an arm and a leg. It really just comes down to healthy soil, fresh air, sunlight and rainwater; the plants *want* to grow; in a sense our main job is just to stay the heck out of their way.
Absolutely agree with you about staying out of the way. I do run a commercial operation here, although it is a very small one, but even then I think there is room for allowing nature to run her course to some extent.
I pregerminate my parsnip seeds. The moment they show any sign of root, I put them in their spot. Works pretty well, even with 'old' seed. In 2022 I used seed expiring 2019. But yes, you got to start with more than just a few
our local shops are running out of gardening supplies and everyone seems to be planning a vegetable garden. Seeds are also scarce now. We don't have any garden centres . Potting and seeding compost is very scarce. I'm delighted though. We have a lot of small producers that supply restaurants. As their market has fallen away, they are handing out veg boxes to old age pensioners when they collect their pensions.
yellowlabrador buy online. The online site I use send smaller amounts for pence and you can try different types.
Check dollar tree, et cetera. They usually have seed this time of year
Save some food with seeds that you may have! and dry beans at the grocery store and stuff
I keep my seeds from vegies i buy for us n plant them its win win if its not the season for them to grow i put them in a little zip lock bag with what they are the date and when the growing time is
Same here. I'm on the East Coast/US.
I have planted some potatoes in pots but if I can get more seed I will try the grass clippings idea 👍
I love this. Its an education to me a beginner.
I Ioved this!
Thank you!
laid back gardening is my only way to garden now, liz. welllllllll.......sat back. lol. i'm pleased my raised bed are a little bit higher. i'm developing new ways to make life easier all the time. ..............brian
I remember years ago watching the Victory Garden. I bought the book and when planting carrots, parsnips, radishes etc, Jim Crockett recommended drilling a v-shaped hole, with a dibber, fill that hole with sand, then plant your seed, top with a bit of good soil, or also good when you transplant your thinnings. The sand helps keep the roots straight till they get strong enough to muscle the soil out of the way on their own.
Not a bad idea, although because I live in London with horrible clay soil, sand is a very bad idea as it turns the soil even harder than it is already.
I'm definitely into lazy gardening. Still got leeks in the ground that were sown in 2016. The ones from 2015 look as if the kale has smothered them.
Half the weeds in the potato beds turned out to be tree spinach - transplanted to their own space before the spuds got too big.
Stuff that looks like fat hen could be amaranths self seeded from last year - will transplant to their own spot as well.
Half my crops this year are from volunteers - thank god I'm lazy and didn't get everything out.
Love it!
Liz, is it really being lazy or just working smarter instead of harder? I’m looking for ways to make gardening easier. Thanks
Love your videos I have one comment though wish you would do more close-ups it's hard to see what you're doing exactly thank you so much
Really enjoy watching. Keep well both of you.
Thank you, so glad that you enjoyed it. We are both safe and well, I hope you and yours remain so too.
Liz Zorab - Byther Farm 🤗.
God Bless I love your videos
Thank you Keith, so pleased that you are enjoying them.
"How was your day Stew?" - "Great, I've been watching Liz Zorab fiddle with her fedge, its a fruity one". Oh, ok. Great stuff this Liz, thank you and stay safe x
Why isn't there a laughing face as well as a thumbs up! I just snorted tea out of my nose! 😂
@@LizZorab 👍😀
Petals on the Paving Slabs 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
You're my hero 😍 I'm a lazy gardener too! Now I don't have to feel guilty about it 😉
I bought some thick black plastic sheeting last autumn but didn't get chance to cut it to the sizes (since my ducks had to be rehomed due to council I've got a few more areas to grow in) and put down straight away but I'm hoping I've still got a bit of time to get them down to kill of any new weeds and warm soil up a little before planting, I've been using mulch type stuff to grow my potatoes in a few years now, my first year people thought it couldn't be done then year later I saw your video about it and shown them that it can absolutely be done 😊👍, I thought hay was a bad choice of bedding for ducks and chickens as it holds moisture and grows mould,I always used straw or wood shavings or both,I switch between sand,wood shavings,dengie or easichick bedding for my bantam chickens ♥️ and add it to compost heap, also sieve soil from broken down woodchip from their large walk in run to add to vegetable patches before planting,I love what you have done to your new farm 👍♥️
In this video I used grass clippings mixed with chicken/duck bedding - wood shavings or chopped rapeseed straw. In my video that shows using hay for potatoes, I use fresh hay and also hay that was used in a large field shelter that the ducks were sleeping in. They had a base layer of wood shavings and chopped rapeseed straw and then some hay around the edges to give them an area raised up off the ground. I agree with you about hay becoming wet and mouldy (and really unpleasant to handle), but I also feel that about standard straw. Glad to read that you are getting good results with your potatoes, I don't think I'll ever go back to digging trenches for them!
Thumbs up for the sweet ducks!!!
Hi Jenni, thanks for dropping by!
Excellent work Liz
Thank you! Cheers!
nice video liz
Thank you Steven, I hope you are safe and well.
yes thankyou@@LizZorab
Great video Liz! Smart gardeners live by "lazy" gardening ;)
Hey Tanya, thank you for dropping by. I've been delighted with the number of seedlings I have popping up all over the place, I'm starting to wonder why I bought so many seeds again this year!
It's nice seeing how things are with your garden.
I hope both of you guys are keeping safe.
You too Stephen, stay home and stay safe!
The first time on here, enjoyed it so much, thank you. I have things growing in my small garden that the birds have brought in, my strawberries are like yours!
Excellent video Liz; it's is great to see what I call 'real life' gardening. I don't have the time or the availability of compost (it's like gold dust) to pot the strawberry runners and I just let them do their thing and, like you, I remove them in the spring and plant them where I want them. It makes me really happy to have these lovely free fruit plants :)
A couple of times, when you were walking across your black ground cover, I thought you were going to do a little bit of ballet for us ;)
I had a couple of old rugs and last winter I put them on the grass where I wanted a new bed, just taken it off and all the weeds are dead; so easy :D
Love your channel and I think RUclips knows it!
Enjoy the sunny days, looks like we are going to have a couple more.
Stay safe, stay well x x
Oops I did it again, used OH youtube (I really must look although it is his fault for having his own account lol!)
Bahahahaha!
Thank you for your support for the channel, it's very much appreciated!
Defiantly going to try that potato growing method this year.
Wonderful Liz. I loved the white Borage at the end of the video. I don't think I,ve seen that before....and in full flower too. Thank the gods for my garden during this time. Not being at work means I,m well ahead with sowing, planting and potting on. Thankyou for brightening my day more! Xxx
I love borage or more to the point I love how much the bees like it. I came across this white one for the first time last year when I visited Jekka McVicar's farm, it grows just as easily as the purple one and both have gently flowered since late last summer (sown from seed in last spring).
Keep calm and carry on gardening.
I am loving your channel----I'm a newbie gardener in New York State, growing zone 4a, so I watch UK gardening youtube videos with great envy, but still get so much good information and useful tips. I especially enjoy your "lazy" gardening ideas, as I am 66 and not a spring chicken (although in good health, praise be). Thanks so much for sharing Byther Farm with us!
Welcome Anne, so pleased that you are enjoying the channel, please feel free to let your friends know about it and encourage them to subscribe too 😃
My strawberries stayed green all throughout the winter and they grew up throughout the straw and when straws not ready I use leaves. Thank you so much for the easy tip and fast solution . I grew butternut squash last year plants produced 8 squash. Would of had more but the squirrels& rabbits ate the other 2 plants.
The weeds are like a natural cover crop. Mine are getting easier and easier to pull ever year. I get a lot of creeping charlie, and it does go a bit crazy! It loves being near my strawberries. i reuse the dead leaves from my maple tree to mulch out spots in my yard, plant it out, then rake them to a different spot to kill the weeds somewhere else. Sometimes I can use the helicopters too and get them to rot the seed so they don't germinate. Maple trees are not fun weeds to pull!
your channel is truly inspirational thank you for sharing
Thank you! I'm glad that you are enjoying the videos.
Hi Liz. Lovely to see you out in the sunshine. Bit chilly here still only 4C but plants are appearing slowly. Dicentra is poking through finally but yours are well on their way. One of my favs. I have been poking around to see what is new due to my lazy gardening! It is so interesting to see what nature does on her own and that for me is the main gift for being a lazy gardener. 🌷
i found later sown parsnip seed are better in two ways. firstly, older parsnip seeds have a better germination rate and secondly, there is less chance of having a hard central core when harvesting......brian
It's always great to be a lazy Gardener. Stay safe!
I hope you have a wonderful day!
You stay safe too!
Mother Nature is such a wonderful teacher to the students who observe.
Absolutely Angela and the more I observe the more I'm learning!
Nature teaches us brilliantly and with rewards when we learn.
Excellent programme loving your channel like me gardening is helping me with my lockdown with underlying health issues keeping me happy and sane thank you liz
Thanks for you kind words Shaun. Yes the gardening will keep us going while we have to stay at home.
I grew up with my dad gardening a big garden dug over every year, it became a struggle for that and other reasons. I’m in the same house with the same garden, I started the lazy no dig method. It’s so much easier. Still learning though. Enjoy your videos especially the what seeds to sow episodes 👍
Love it when things come up for free, Bonus!!!
It feels like such a win, doesn't it? I'm going to have a look at Google hang-outs to see whether that's something I can do for a chat with folks in the FB group and with Patrons.
Another great video Liz. I’m like you, I let a lot of my plants do what they want and that’s how I get new plants and seeds.
Hey Kat, looks like we will be postponing a visit for the foreseeable future! I do think that in our eagerness to be super tidy we can miss out on the goodies that nature is happy to provide us with.
Liz Zorab - Byther Farm yes definitely. I am always yelling at Mr G in the Autumn/Winter for “clearing up” the allotment. One day he will learn to keep out! 😂
I started digging my strawberries up too about half way ready for the new beds
And you have a lot of strawberries to move! Where are you going to put them? I know you told me and I can't remember!
@@LizZorab building a raised bed for the.
Hi Liz , I am enjoying watching you work in your garden thank you for sharing.🙂
Thank you Carole. I'm really enjoying the sunshine we are having, it's letting me potter around outside without 3 layers of thermals on - hooray!
Really enjoying the videos liz x thank you for real world advice :) we just bought 1.3 acre small holding not far from yourselves (next county over) and most veg growing I've ever done is a few tomatoes on a patio! You and Huw have been making learning on the fly alot less daunting!
Hello! How exciting and what a great time of year to be getting going with your new smallholding! Learning on the fly is probably the best way to learn, you can observe and adjust as time goes on and as you get used to your new surroundings. If you want any info of reasonably local places to find resources, just email me or send me a message via our website.
@@LizZorab thank you liz that would be amazing! I might well take you up on that offer!
I made the cloche today with your idea.
Hooray! I hope it works well for you 😃
Dear Liz - love your style - combining the intelligent organisation of a lady who truly knows she is doing with a relaxed and flexible attitude - it is very 'comfortable' to learn from and enjoy. I've got to learn to live with some weeds this year and I can't get my manure for the beds due to lock down and I've got to turn over my soil. Still, I can't disappoint the hundreds of seeds I've sown and am about to sow. Every good wish to you and yours and 'keep 'em coming'. - Paul
Thank you for your kind words. Weeds can be a nuisance but there so many that we can eat, perhaps we could look at them as a bonus crop instead 😉
Lovely video
Thank you Mary.
Hi Liz, hope you are staying safe and well. That was a great tip for growing potatoes, I would never have thought of using grass cuttings to grow them in. Mine are in pots already but I may use the next grass clippings to mulch them with for an extra layer of protection :-)
Hi, thank you for asking, we are both fine. The grass clippings work a treat - just make sure they are from grass that has not been treated with a weedkiller 😬
After watching this video, while nursing all the pain in my arms, back, knees, and ankles from overdoing it in the garden the last 6 days, your method is 1 million times more appealing. But, with my OCD and perfectionist disease, it's easier for me to let the dishes sit in the sink for three days than not to spend 10 hours outside when it is not raining. I bet you enjoy your garden much more than me, since it's just a job that is too taxing for my old bones and muscles.
Oh believe me, I do spend hours pulling weeds and tidying up, but I let some areas go longer before I tidy them so that I can discover the things that nature is offering for the garden before I clear it up.
So relaxing to watch. Thank you.
I really enjoy your instructive and interesting videos! Thanks. I have shared it on Facebook! Stay safe!
Thank you Ellie, that's very kind of you and it's much appreciated. 😃
I enjoy your way of gardening. I am lucky because I have a lot of lettuce that reseeded and is thriving. I am planning on growing potatoes the easy way this year. In the past I alway hilled potatoes and that was a lot of work.
Hi Carol, yes I can't believe we spent so much time moving heavy soil around our potatoes. This method is great because at the end of the season all that grass and chicken bedding stays in place to improve the soil beneath it. Win-win!
Bless you Liz and your family. Take care. 🌱 y
Hello Liz, Brilliant totally!! Thank you for sharing your knowledge in the garden, much appreciated! 😉💗💗💗
So pleased that you enjoyed it! 😊
I don’t know how I missed this video but it’s just become one of my favorites. Thank you so much liz 💖🥕🥔🍀🌱
Great Channel this, very pleasant and relaxing feel to the videos. I love lambs lettuce btw, the best salad green of the lot.
Glad you enjoy it!
You can use the onions as spring onions in salads.
I like to let the onions grow a bit and then cut the greens to chop and store in the freezer for use in omelettes and stir-fries. Yum!
Since our whole state of Washington is on force isolation I can't get out to get any plants for my deck. I only grow a few kinds of flowers any more - but would like to have something pretty there in the summer. so I am checking my old packets of sees - daisies, Bachelor's Button, some others from a friend in California - and hoping in the next few days to get some seeds started on the deck. I do love my summer flowers. Enjoyed your video today so much - what a lovely place you have there.
Hi JoAnn, I've just spotted a number of comments that I had missed, so please accept my apologies for not replying sooner. Here in UK many plant nurseries and garden centers are offering delivery of plants so it might be worth checking with your local plant store or nursery to see if they will deliver to you. Fingers crossed that some of your seeds grow and give you a lovely display this year.
Cant wait to start planting but its still a bit easy in the merseyside area, got broad beans, cabbage, leeks and celeriac plus beetroot in modules in the greenhouse at home all waiting for it to warm up a bit.really enjoying the videos.
Hello Pauline, I'm glad that you are enjoying the videos, I really enjoyed making this one 😃
I bought some parsnip seeds(Guernsy) last year, and sowed 4 seeds in each toilet roll, amazed at the germination, probably 70% germination.
That's great news, congrats! I hope you have a super harvest this year 😀
Nice video
Thank you!
Lovely video, loads of wisdom in it, very useful to see you clearing your strawberry bed with scissors, I will be doing that tomorrow!
I find cutting the stems (and even some of the leaves) much easier and quicker than trying to hand pull them.
@@LizZorab To escape the shrieking kids next door, I have escaped to the allotment and am doing just that 🤣
That's a brilliant idea for growing potatoes! :)
Thank you, it's not an original idea. It's based on the Ruth Stout method of using hay to grow potatoes (and other veg).
Loved this video as I do all of yours Liz. Thank you for doing what you do. Cheers :)
Thank you Ollie, that's very kind of you. Cheers to you too!
Lovely Liz. God bless. From Nova Scotia
People like me - sometimes I'm too tired to chew soup - depend utterly on laziness to keep gardening. I couldn't till every year in time to do spring planting. It's not laziess: it's Extreme Energy Efficiency 😁😁
So true!
Thanks for sharing, Liz. The ducks are adorable, in your garden. LOL Not allowed in mine. :(
Hello, I'm way behind in answering comments, I'm so sorry for the long delay! This week I've been busy creating a new fence so that the ducks have (even) more space to roam around and to reduce the slug and snail population - hooray!
@@LizZorab They do love a juicy slug or snail! I adore ducks, always have. Where I live though we aren't allowed to have them. (They might disturb the neighbors. What about all the dogs that bark all day and all night? Oh, I'm told, that's your problem.) So I live vicariously through channels like yours. Hi, Quackers! Oh yes and I see you have a production manager. He's cute... Is he single? The grandcat spots him! LOL
Slowly catching up again Liz still need to try and get outside in my own garden
Hi Linda, thank you for watching the videos, it's much appreciated 😃
A woman after my own heart... I am exactly the same, and trying to convert fellow allotmenters to the lazy (and more wildlife-friendly) ways.
🖐🖐🖐 fellow lazy gardener here and couldn’t agree more: laid back is so much more worth it than faffing about with the alternative 😆
Waves back with smiles. You get bonus points for using one of my favourite words in your comment :-)
Hi Liz,
Thanks for your very informative videos.
I’m wondering if I don’t have chicken bedding is there anything else I can add to the grass clippings?
Does the grass attract snails and/or slugs?
Thanks in advance. 😄
You could use a bit of compost over the seed potatoes to give them a nice start and then just use grass clippings or you could add shredded paper or cardboard, dry leaves - any brown materials that will mix with the greens of the grass.
Liz Zorab - Byther Farm
Thanks great idea for using the grass saving putting in on the heap to rot then fetching it to use! Easier...👏
Thanks again for another interesting and informative video. What is the black piping you have in your beds, I am familiar with the white and blue pipe and somehow have acquired black but I have not known if it is of food grade quality?
Hi, the pipe was here when we moved in so I don't know what it is made from, I've always assumed it's MDPE. Sorry that I can't be of more help.
@@LizZorab Thanks Liz
Hi there - great video with useful information, thank you. I am a new subscriber and a very amateur grower. I tried growing potatoes last year in my small front garden which is NW facing (I live in NE Scotland). Out of 6 plants we only got enough for one meal. Is that because there wasn't enough sun (less than usual last year) or simply because it is generally shady throughout the day, i.e just not warm enough for long enough? Also, in order to be more self sufficient, (back garden very small also), what can I grow that does like shadier areas? Thanks so much ~ Mo
ps - copied my message here in-case you don't see it on a previous video x
Hello Mo, I'm not sure what went wrong with your spuds last year, if it was very wet, perhaps they were eaten by slugs, alternatively it could have been too dry for them so they didn't flourish. Potatoes are greedy feeders so a potato feed like Vitax (organic potato feed) can be really helpful. Did you earth them up? That's the process of continuing to bury the plant stems for most of the summer - it will help the plant produce more spuds too.
@@LizZorab Hi Liz - we didn't have a wet summer, just dull. We watered the potatoes regularly and did earth them up. Maybe, because they were organic, perhaps it was just one of those things. Trying again this year, but in pots this time, scattered around the sunnier back garden. Wish us luck. Many thanks for your reply.
Hello, nice video, thank you! I have one question, if I might: What is the name of that plant you want to use in your fruiting hedge? I didn't quite catch it. Thanks so much.
Lycesteria Formosa, commonly known as Pheasant Berry. 😃
Thank you, the Latin name really helps me, as I am only learning the English names of the plants. Best wishes from Germany 🌞
Hi Liz, I have 2 plastic composting bins (my garden is small) and I get what the American's call grubs, they're white fat, not long worm type things that are always in my compost when I try to use it. Are they very dangerous in the vegetable plot or garden?
I'm going to ask some other gardeners what they think and come back to you as I don't want to give you poor advice. If you are a member of my FB group, please ask in there as it's full of knowledgeable folks!
Grubs turn into beetles. One you may be familiar with are Junebugs.
Those will nibble your veggies.
But there are so many it would be hard to tell which it is. Think about which beetles you have in your area then you can look up information on how good or bad they may be for what you grow. Happy Gardening!!
How are you dealing wth staying home? As you know we are on Lockdown. I am still recovering from my Foot Surgery. 9 Weeks Pist op tosay x Take care guys x
I haven't noticed a difference yet, I tend not to leave our smallholding very often, so I'm used to staying at home. I hope you are staying safe.
Lazy or you just smart enough to know what to spend time on!! You have better things to spend your time on than unnecessary expenditure of energy on unproductive stuff!!!
Lazy ! My garden gets just like then I think
‘What’s gone on here!?’
dude!
👍👩🌾🐝😷🙏