It's a market garden, a school, a film studio, a laboratory, a restaurant, a wildlife reserve, an apiary, and I'm sure some other aspects I haven't thought of. It's quite a place he has there!
I'm wondering about income and outgoings. Call me nosey. How a market garden pays must have a lot to do with media - social or print - and offering courses. Of course, I may be mistaken.
@@VanderlyndenJengold I think you're right, and not just the market gardens, the whole permaculture world too, to further extent. How many "PDC's" are there? Feels a bit like a ponzi scheme. Take away the courses and none of it is profitable...
My word indeed! Omigosh! Charles, where in the world do you find the energy and the time to conduct such a full life! Do you ever rest? I am so grateful to have discovered your channel and have learned so much from you. I'm a former chef and especially liked seeing lunch served, and the wonderful produce you provide locally. And I LOVED seeing behind the scenes and meeting your team. In a sense, Homeacres has become my gardening homestead. Thank you.
Man, that garden is stunning no matter how many times I watch. Got the No Dig book, now just fingers crossed for my 18months and counting, allotment queue.
Thank you so much, Charles, for everything you do. It's obvious that you and your crew work so hard. I've learned and been inspired by many of your videos. Thanks again.❤ 🇨🇦
Love your work Charles and team. Your video of what you do is so upbeat and feel good, its got to be the greatest medicine ever. Thank you so, sow much 🍅🍒❤🧡💛💚💜🌻🍀
There`s a lot more people involved than I had imagined. Great to see both women and men working side by side. I loved seeing the lunch table set up with all the delicious food. Tempting!
Great video Charles. Nice to see all the people "behind the scenes". We bought a new house here in Sweden some 5 years ago and I happened to leave a bit of tarpaulin on some ground elder in one corner of the garden. Discovered at the end of the summer that the ground elder had died under the tarpaulin. Started googling about how to get rid of weeds and discovered your You Tube channel. You have been a massive inspiration as it started my "veggie gardening career". Ups and downs each year as regards output from different crops but never a dull moment. Thanks 👍
This video was thoroughly enjoyable!! Wonderful to see people fully engaged in the 'good stuff', the right way to live on this good Earth. Not just wellbeing in our daily lives, but wellbeing for the planet altogether. All that you and your team do Charles contributes to bringing some balance to our Earth under threat. I thank you with all my heart.
What a wonderful video !! really enjoyed watching a week in your garden and life. So inspiring to live and eat such a healthy life, truly living the good life.
Lovely video, Charles! I‘m currently struggeling to get my compost warm. Have used nettle manure, Horse Manure and the last little amount of grass clippings before getting too wet to mow, but it‘s still hardly 20°Celsius. Really nice idea to show what you‘re doing throughout a week in different work areas. I enjoyed it. Will watch this again at least one more time. Thank you! You‘ve really got a beautiful garden! Greetings from Germany🙋🏻♀️
I loved this behind the scenes video. Imagine if even 10% of the people in more developed countries lived this way- the positive impact on our local communities and economies would be exponential. I’m so glad to see how many more younger folks are eager to grow food and be self-employed. To find again that feeling of inclusion and community that has been lost in the last century….there is such a yearn for it!
Your contribution is nearly epic Charles. Education for those that rule. Love your cat too oh and Ed is great at his contribution. Thank you Charles and crew.
Me encanta todo lo que usted Hase un saludo para usted y su familia desde Junín provincia de Buenos Aires Argentina muchicimas bendiciones y felicitaciones señor❤🙋🏻🌼☘️☘️☘️☘️👏👏👏👏❤️
This video was quite enjoyable to watch and gain insight on the many moving pieces you juggle. I remember seeing images of your slice of paradise before finding the RUclips channel and I’m still blown away. It serves as an inspiration and a goal to meet.
I’m planning to set up my own market garden when we move later this year to somewhere with land, this was absolutely invaluable to see how things work at a smaller scale to a typical farm. I should very much like to visit you one day.
I see you have Robin Wall Kimmerer's Braiding Sweetgrass, such a wonderful book. And now I'm looking forward to the interview with the soil scientist from NIBIO. What he said in the short clip rings very true. Thanks for giving us a glimpse into what goes on behind the scenes!
Hello Charles and your hardworking team, it was wonderful to see behind the scenes. I have been doing no dig in my garden, which is tiny by the way, just 20ft X 47ft, for around 3 years. I was gardening previously, but not on this scale. I have had wonderful results and grow all of my tomatoes in pots. I had a bumper crop this year, growing a lot of heirlooms. I also have blue berries, black currents and 2 fig trees, all in pots. As well as raspberries in the soil. We have 4 raised beds, which are all no dig, in total too. My dad lives in Gloucester on a farm, which we visit regularly and visa versa and he is always astounded by how much variety and quantity we are able to grow every year. Many thanks for all of your hard work and for teaching me so much and also about the importance of soil too. We are about to top up our beds soon with homemade compost and organic homebase compost, which we use in the pots too. Nothing goes to waste here.
So nice to hear, and I'm delighted you are growing so much food in a small space. That feeds you on many levels for sure and you are inspiring other people as well, like your father!
I pulled weeds from my new no dig beds today...it was pure pleasure (only paths and parts of unfinished beds were compacted), it took only one hour and I've cleared 3,5 beds (1 of 0.5mx4m and 2,5 of 1mx4m), at spring I did make not even half of one bed in one hour 😅. More weeding is waiting for me, geting rid of lemon balm that took over of 1/3 of the garden 😅, and spreading lime...and I'm ready for winter.
Hola Charles ,es un motivo de alegría ver tus videos tan hermosos e instructivos y motivadores ,estoy agradecida por tu labor y entregarnos tus conocimientos ,la tierra es generosa un saludo desde Chile 🌷🌷🌷🇨🇱
How lovely Ximena 💚. I am in Chile 29th January to 10th January! Scroll down here mailchi.mp/charlesdowding.co.uk/new-no-dig-and-fast-compost?e=d992f1d9c9
Now I understand what you do with yourself every day. Very impressive and ambitious of you. And that comparison at the end of the dig/no dig bed was quite reveling. You could really see the difference! Funny how the extra work of digging is actually detrimental to your crops.
So wish I was able to visit home acres.......your videos will have to do. Loved the goodie bags for children, something so important to be introduced to 😊♥️
Me ha encantado ver toda esta semana de actividades y conocer un poco la gente que ayuda en este estupendo trabajo diario, hace años que sigo vuestros videos y son mis favoritos. Los entiendo gracias a los subtítulos en castellano ya que soy española y no sé mucho del idioma inglés. Gracias a todos.
LOVE this behind the scenes Video. So wish i could afford to visit your program and of course stop by the Three Horseshoe Pub for a Pint. Alas Im in America and couldnt afford to but I can dream :-)
Good afternoon Charles. That was an interesting change in pace compared to your normal videos. I enjoyed u sharing a bit more of the inner workings. I also noticed in maybe your last video , that the green sprouting calabrese broccoli was very tall an has a rather thinner stem. It is one of about six types if broc. I am growing this fall, an i had noticed how tall an thinned stem it had compared to the others. But once i saw that "The Great Charles Dowding" calabrese looked similar it helped me put any concerns to bed😊. I am here in coastal Virginia, USA, saying thank u Charles for all your knowledge u share with us.
Thanks for this, and the tall broccoli is my overwintered purple sprouting. It does indeed grow that longer, thinner stem, which is not so ideal for resisting winter wind. Also makes it harder to protect against pigeon damage!
Morning, I really love your videos and everything you do. I'm sorry that there aren't any of your books in Croatia, but there are many wonderful ones. I try to grow vegetables this way💜. Thanks for everything you do, I hope that one day books and calendars will be available. Warm greetings 😊
So interesting to see behind the scenes. Lots of busy people working with you! I just recently found you. I was watching Seed and Sparrow on RUclips and she mentioned you and No dig gardening. I am getting ready to try one of my beds. I also am going to try growing my cukes in my Greenhouse. Is there a certain type that grows better for trailing them ? Thanks so much, enjoying your videos and learning a lot!
Lovely to hear, thank you. Nice that she mentioned me. For greenhouse cucumbers, I grow them up strings to make more use of the indoor height, they're called cordon cucumbers. Of ground-growing varieties, one I like is Tanja
Another wonderful video. It's captures joy and wonderful feeling I get when ever I visit Homeacres. I spoke to someone at your openday by the cider shop. They said they had completed an intensive two day compost making course. This is an area I need to improve. Are there any plans for one next year? You've changed my life and I'm finding a lot of people I know are interested. Someone said to me today that I should do tours. That made me smile. Clearly I have been taught well. :-) Thank you for all you do and continue to inspire people.
I'm really happy to see this Simon, it's lovely you are reaching out to more people. I'm not sure which course they meant, probably the weekend one, but it's not all about compost! Even I might struggle to teach that for two days 😂
Thank you Charles. I've already completed the weekend intensive course. I'll go back through your videos. Maybe I'll just come along to a compost course anyway.
I started to ponder on your trial beds and the difference above , then the catch up ( no dig/ dig). As your whole garden is no dig I guess the small dig bed is surrounded by mycelium and wonderful soil organisms, which can move into your dig bed v quickly. If that wasn't the case then your dig area may be even less productive. If the reverse the case....ie a no dig in a dig garden the no dig bed may be less productive than yours? Sorry random thoughts. Thank you for all you fo and teach....
Those are good thoughts, Elaine! It's hard to know how fast the mycelial network can spread in, but I agree, the dig bed here is favoured in that respect. Even the pathways, have loads of good stuff in them!
Just a quick thought; at the end, you say the dig is catching up to the no dig. I've always been interested that the dig isnt that far behind the no dig, even after many years of the trial, so its not like the dig bed is getting steadily worse. Is it possible that the soil life quickly recovers from the digging, and so the dig bed effectively becomes the same as the no-dig after this "catching up"? I know there's other effects, like water soaking in, and the mulch effect, but would you think the soil life would be similar in both in the middle of the season? I used to dig in loads of leaves and compost every few years, and when I came back to do it again, there was never any trace of the stuff I put in - it was back to the same solid sand. This was a hot climate though and I didnt water much, largely just let it die down in summer and come back to life when the rain started again, so there's more going on - more variables - also, I had mulch on top that kept the soil at least covered. But its the way the huge amount of stuff I dug in just completely vanished that amazed me. The soil did slowly get better and darker though where I was watering in summer. No need to answer here, but maybe a video of actually comparing soil profiles sometime? Some means of measuring fungi etc? Nice video above. Good to see the big picture of what you do.
Brilliant, thank you Charles. Too busy to sit down for the Zoom... Persecuted by the lovely Mintie... Smashing food... Some creative automatically-generated sub-titles... One question: synthetic binder-twine or jute string for tying up tomatoes, cucumbers and melons? Mine always go loose. I had to go back to canes this year, although I'd tied a knot underneath as well. Maybe I should tie on and bury a little bit of stick as well? Looking forward to next year, with garlic and broad beans in and compost spread, and a few pea-shoots and bits of coriander from the greenhouse already.
Thanks Alan! That's really useful feedback about the subtitles because we correct them, but I think Anna can't have actually uploaded to YT the corrected English version ones. I'm hoping that her corrections got through to the foreign translators, I think they do. Yes, I am using synthetic twine so that it does not rot under the root ball. And you can tighten it at the top. It's a simple slip knot, quick to undo and redo.
It was nice to see everything what you and your team do, I couldn't believe the transformation in the pond from when you first started it, or did you dig another area for the pond ? for all your energy and advice I'm going to be buying a 2024 calendar, great video. Steve
Hi Charles, thanks for all your fantastic work and sharing of techniques - they continue to inspire me to grow and experiment. One question about the pond - I've read that continuous edging stones can get dangerously hot for young frogs and toads as they emerge from the pond. Perhaps your marginal plants have grown up since then, I'm sure you have your eye on it.
Hi, my pond started similar, meanwhile plants are growing shading the stones and despite your worries the toats love to hide under the cool and moist stones. It is just a matter of time😊...
Thanks for the superb insight into what your weekly work entails. Do you sell off things like your surplus tomato plants (is that what the honesty box is for?)?
Really interesting to see all the things that you - and your helpers - do in a week. When you have the courses and open garden days do you get many younger people or is it mainly more mature people? And I really like your cat 🙂
Magnificent as always and super fun seeing your cat being mischievous! I hope you got to Chatsworth - a very special place to spend time. Sending love from the Antipodes to your entire team.
Great Video Charles. I have been no dig gardening now for three years and I have recently moved to a property that has lots of trees and consequently leaves. Is it ok to use well rotted leaf mo😊ld direct as a cover ? Also I have chickens. Can I add the droppings to my compost?
Best of luck Robert. All of that is a good plan, and you could also add tree leaves to the chicken run where they will help convert them to Compost quite quickly
yeah you and huw i watch and no dig yes but i included the flowers and lots consider weeds but a lovely flower no harm to plants if fact pest control was on a war path i left alone during the season as dragonflies did a blitz on the pests. and there have been a few things that have turn out to be false. i had a tomato forest put it this was lucky if it was 3 inch spacing and random as i not wanted to get rid of what i got growing, so it was survival of the fittest on the 7th time of blight hitting them when the change in October happen then they succumbed to it. this is my first year so sometimes i know there is luck but i have saved seeds from these fruits and i will do it again as the amount i had to cook up every crop was about 7.5 kg ave 8 cropping's. i am new to this still using summer stuff as it aint dead ok wood but in slow cooker not so much . had my healthiest year as an adult and i 43 and turn out fitter than my 20's . thank you love it
Horticulture is a way of life not a job. There is no 9 to 5 working week as can clearly be seen by your video. If it wasn't so pleasurable, it would be hard work. When I visit clients, I think that I'm going to play in someone else's garden and just happen to be paid for it. I can see that you too get a lot of pleasure from your work.
On a day where storms and gales have raged and I arrive home from work after the sun has already set, it's so lovely to see an ode to spring like this video. Thank you Charles. Cheered me right up that.
I've spent the week spreading compost 🙂creating two new beds so I now have a growing space similar in size to your small garden. Planted some broad beans and garlic, stocked up on seeds and just started to harvest the kale sprouts. Your videos have been, and probably will continue to be, incredibly helpful. Thank you and everyone at Homeacres!
11:00 That is just a stunning view. Have you considered putting a LIVE feed on your channel looking at the overview of the garden? No audio, just video.
Hi Charles. Clearly your pet cat is very disciplined. Unfortunately, my neighbour's 3 cats are not at all. No sooner have I prepared a bed, or put some wood bark mulch down for a path - the cats are there to leave their autograph. Any tips to keep them away?
Hey Charles, great video, very interesting! I have a question about your seed trays, where can I order them from? I live in Switzerland and have had difficuties finding a seller who ships to Switzerland. Where can I order them? Kind regards, Stefanie
Thanks Stefanie. From what I hear, the customs duties make it difficult for products to enter Switzerland. The farm dream in the Netherlands sell my trays all over Europe, but not to Switzerland for that reason, and I don't know what the answer is, I'm afraid.
Is it that the dig bed starts catching up as the mycorrhizal fungi re-establish themselves? In doing so do they boost the availability of nutrients to the plants above that in the no dig bed for a limited time, leading to accelerated growth?
Thanks, that's nice. This was a huge amount of work to make and the viewing figures are pretty low actually! You can see more behind-the-scenes if you join as a member.
Mine too. I am currently sowing seed at start of every month, and planting out to see what happens. Lettuce works best for me in autumn/ winter, in spring they elongate, in summer they bolt so quickly ( I am in Australia).so, lettuce is a cool weather veg for me.
Pentru a ucide buruienile prin solarizare, cel mai bine este să folosiți plastic transparent, iar efectul poate apărea chiar și într-o zi, dar mai probabil într-o săptămână pentru buruienile perene.
Really interesting to see your "behind the scenes" work ....so, it isn't all done in one take?!!!! I would love to see the outtakes ! 8:05 I have not seen such beautiful little Turnips like those since we lived in France....here they seem to be "overgrown" or "pithy", IF they are to be found at all of course ! Also great to see my favourite way of growing lettuce = The "cut & come again" variety 4:59. All made into a great video, thank you.
Hello. I've been digging into the subject of Moon calendar gardening recently, but apart from a few articles and videos (including your little experiment) I haven't found substantial research on that. I'd like to know if you, Charles, or any gardeners here in the comment section have any inclinations towards that, if you apply that in your garden, if there's any scientific evidence to support doing it. What's your opinion on that? And if it is meaningful, which part of it is the most relevant, zodiac signs, the distance from the Moon to the Earth, the reflected light?
The number of your questions Tomas, illustrates how much there is to find out, how many variables there are and how difficult it is to separate them out. I think that's why there's so much conflicting advice and why it's impossible to do what you call 'scientific' research. I have tried sowing at different times, and results vary every year! I do follow aspects of moon passage in my sowing dates, but other factors often intervene!!
@@CharlesDowding1nodig It's quite remarkable that in these technologically developed and scientific times there hasn't been any proper research done on that subject. I feel that this approach is a bit like groping in the dark for something that can't be fully grasped. So why do we do it? Intuition? Subconscious desire to work along with nature? I'm almost sure (yeah, "almost" again) that the Moon and other celestial bodies must exert some influence on subtle organisms on Earth, but is it significant enough to even bother? It all seems a little disappointing in a way...
The Koliskos are scientists who spent 10 years trialling different sowing dates by the moon, in a laboratory in Switzerland I think, during the late 1920s and early 1930s. That work was initiated by Rudolf Steiner, as I understand it. The conclusion was that biggest harvests come from sowing two days before full moon. www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/kolisko-effect
My word, Homeacres is an enterprise, not just a market garden. Really enjoyed seeing the behind the scenes, you're a busy guy.
Glad you enjoyed it Wende
It's a market garden, a school, a film studio, a laboratory, a restaurant, a wildlife reserve, an apiary, and I'm sure some other aspects I haven't thought of. It's quite a place he has there!
Thankyou
I'm wondering about income and outgoings. Call me nosey. How a market garden pays must have a lot to do with media - social or print - and offering courses. Of course, I may be mistaken.
@@VanderlyndenJengold I think you're right, and not just the market gardens, the whole permaculture world too, to further extent. How many "PDC's" are there? Feels a bit like a ponzi scheme. Take away the courses and none of it is profitable...
My word indeed! Omigosh! Charles, where in the world do you find the energy and the time to conduct such a full life! Do you ever rest? I am so grateful to have discovered your channel and have learned so much from you. I'm a former chef and especially liked seeing lunch served, and the wonderful produce you provide locally. And I LOVED seeing behind the scenes and meeting your team. In a sense, Homeacres has become my gardening homestead. Thank you.
Great to hear Patricia. Yes we eat well.
Energy comes from being in my sweet spot, Ikigai
A sincere Thank You to all who work to support the delivery of Charles' beautiful mind, method, and results to us. To you I am eternally grateful 🙏💚
Thank you for your kind words Ted
Always pleasure to watch your videos, but this was a great one!!!
Thank you Charles.
Glad you enjoyed it Manol
So good to see you getting the recognition you deserve. And great to see you making time for it. So exciting for you. Well done
Thank you for your kind words Chloe
Man, that garden is stunning no matter how many times I watch. Got the No Dig book, now just fingers crossed for my 18months and counting, allotment queue.
Best of luck in that queue, and thanks
Thank you so much, Charles, for everything you do. It's obvious that you and your crew work so hard. I've learned and been inspired by many of your videos. Thanks again.❤ 🇨🇦
Our pleasure!
Thank you Charles. Again.
What you do means a lot to me a surely many others 👨🌾
Thank you for your kind words Martin 🌱
Love your work Charles and team. Your video of what you do is so upbeat and feel good, its got to be the greatest medicine ever. Thank you so, sow much 🍅🍒❤🧡💛💚💜🌻🍀
So nice, thanks
Didn’t realise how much goes into your videos.
THANK YOU 😇👍
You’re welcome 😊
There`s a lot more people involved than I had imagined. Great to see both women and men working side by side. I loved seeing the lunch table set up with all the delicious food. Tempting!
Thank you
Great video Charles. Nice to see all the people "behind the scenes". We bought a new house here in Sweden some 5 years ago and I happened to leave a bit of tarpaulin on some ground elder in one corner of the garden. Discovered at the end of the summer that the ground elder had died under the tarpaulin. Started googling about how to get rid of weeds and discovered your You Tube channel. You have been a massive inspiration as it started my "veggie gardening career". Ups and downs each year as regards output from different crops but never a dull moment. Thanks 👍
Ground Elder is delicious cooked like Spinach and made into fritters with eggs, breadcrumbs, grated cheese.......
Lovely to hear David, yes we have downs as well :)
FantasticCharles, we can see how busy your work really is including everyone whom helps😊
Thanks Rick
This video was thoroughly enjoyable!! Wonderful to see people fully engaged in the 'good stuff', the right way to live on this good Earth. Not just wellbeing in our daily lives, but wellbeing for the planet altogether. All that you and your team do Charles contributes to bringing some balance to our Earth under threat. I thank you with all my heart.
Ah lovely, thanks Annie
What a wonderful video !! really enjoyed watching a week in your garden and life. So inspiring to live and eat such a healthy life, truly living the good life.
I am glad you enjoyed it Joe 🙂
What a spectacular video, thank you, Charles.
Glad you enjoyed it Amanda
Amazing to see the inner workings.
Glad you enjoyed it 🙂
😂😂😂😂😂😂24:43❤❤❤❤❤The Cat coming out of the Lease❤❤❤❤. That was Refreshing
Ah great thanks 💚
Throughly enjoyed that and great to see the sunshine again, could feel its warm through the screen. Not long until Spring now!
What a fantastic video. I really enjoyed it. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it Valerie
Always a great pleasure to watch these Charles, best regards Roy and Tanya
Thanks both, nice to connect here after leaving Twitter. Apart from a few like you, I do not miss it!
Lovely video, Charles!
I‘m currently struggeling to get my compost warm. Have used nettle manure, Horse Manure and the last little amount of grass clippings before getting too wet to mow, but it‘s still hardly 20°Celsius.
Really nice idea to show what you‘re doing throughout a week in different work areas.
I enjoyed it. Will watch this again at least one more time. Thank you!
You‘ve really got a beautiful garden!
Greetings from Germany🙋🏻♀️
Many thanks Daniela. Your heaps will warm up rapidly by April, I am sure
Very nice program Charles, teaching and sharing a dinner with the class, hats off to the staff as well great job!
Thank you Leland 🙂
The gardeners equivalent of the rock and roll lifestyle 😁. Success well deserved.
🕺🏼 love it
Yesterday my fellow allotment friend said he is going no dig just like me 😊 made my day and your name came up again off course 😉
Fantastic to hear Marister!
I loved this behind the scenes video. Imagine if even 10% of the people in more developed countries lived this way- the positive impact on our local communities and economies would be exponential. I’m so glad to see how many more younger folks are eager to grow food and be self-employed. To find again that feeling of inclusion and community that has been lost in the last century….there is such a yearn for it!
Thanks, and yes it heartens me no end! 10% would make a huge difference.
Biggest issue preventing that here, is access to land. Mostly owned by a few.
Your contribution is nearly epic Charles. Education for those that rule. Love your cat too oh and Ed is great at his contribution. Thank you Charles and crew.
Our pleasure!
Wow, this was SUCH a dynamic, joyful video...I LOVED IT!!! Love seeing all the behind the scenes things that happen there. Wonderful!
Our pleasure Carole!
Me encanta todo lo que usted Hase un saludo para usted y su familia desde Junín provincia de Buenos Aires Argentina muchicimas bendiciones y felicitaciones señor❤🙋🏻🌼☘️☘️☘️☘️👏👏👏👏❤️
Gracias Margarita
Absolutely amazing ❤ thank you for sharing a glimpse into the no dig headquarters of the world!
😎 haha yes, HQ!
This video was quite enjoyable to watch and gain insight on the many moving pieces you juggle. I remember seeing images of your slice of paradise before finding the RUclips channel and I’m still blown away. It serves as an inspiration and a goal to meet.
Awesome, thank you Jordan
I was always thinking that's you are a very busy guy... I'm in awe how you manage it all, and not burn out.
Thanks Sascha. Ground and soil energy :)
Fantastic video, thank you for sharing
Glad you enjoyed it Su
Love this combo of busy-ness… ooo I can’t wait for spring although my plot needs winter of course ❤
Oh yes! Thanks Rita
I’m planning to set up my own market garden when we move later this year to somewhere with land, this was absolutely invaluable to see how things work at a smaller scale to a typical farm. I should very much like to visit you one day.
That is nice Philip, best contact Nicola admin@charlesdowding.co.uk
Very enjoyable thank you
I am glad you enjoyed it Don
I see you have Robin Wall Kimmerer's Braiding Sweetgrass, such a wonderful book.
And now I'm looking forward to the interview with the soil scientist from NIBIO. What he said in the short clip rings very true.
Thanks for giving us a glimpse into what goes on behind the scenes!
Thanks, well spotted too!
Hello Charles and your hardworking team, it was wonderful to see behind the scenes. I have been doing no dig in my garden, which is tiny by the way, just 20ft X 47ft, for around 3 years. I was gardening previously, but not on this scale. I have had wonderful results and grow all of my tomatoes in pots. I had a bumper crop this year, growing a lot of heirlooms. I also have blue berries, black currents and 2 fig trees, all in pots. As well as raspberries in the soil. We have 4 raised beds, which are all no dig, in total too. My dad lives in Gloucester on a farm, which we visit regularly and visa versa and he is always astounded by how much variety and quantity we are able to grow every year. Many thanks for all of your hard work and for teaching me so much and also about the importance of soil too. We are about to top up our beds soon with homemade compost and organic homebase compost, which we use in the pots too. Nothing goes to waste here.
So nice to hear, and I'm delighted you are growing so much food in a small space. That feeds you on many levels for sure and you are inspiring other people as well, like your father!
Impressive set up Charles , friendly atmosphere as I would have expected from you , brilliant well done .
Cheers John
I pulled weeds from my new no dig beds today...it was pure pleasure (only paths and parts of unfinished beds were compacted), it took only one hour and I've cleared 3,5 beds (1 of 0.5mx4m and 2,5 of 1mx4m), at spring I did make not even half of one bed in one hour 😅.
More weeding is waiting for me, geting rid of lemon balm that took over of 1/3 of the garden 😅, and spreading lime...and I'm ready for winter.
I'm happy to see this, and thanks for your feedback 💚
That was fabulous! What a great team you've built. Ye deserve all the prosperity into the future.
Hola Charles ,es un motivo de alegría ver tus videos tan hermosos e instructivos y motivadores ,estoy agradecida por tu labor y entregarnos tus conocimientos ,la tierra es generosa un saludo desde Chile 🌷🌷🌷🇨🇱
How lovely Ximena 💚. I am in Chile 29th January to 10th January! Scroll down here mailchi.mp/charlesdowding.co.uk/new-no-dig-and-fast-compost?e=d992f1d9c9
😃🌷🤗
Now I understand what you do with yourself every day. Very impressive and ambitious of you. And that comparison at the end of the dig/no dig bed was quite reveling. You could really see the difference! Funny how the extra work of digging is actually detrimental to your crops.
It's endlessly fascinating, and psychologically too: why such resistance to doing less work!
So wish I was able to visit home acres.......your videos will have to do. Loved the goodie bags for children, something so important to be introduced to 😊♥️
Great video
Thank you I am glad you enjoyed it Daiquiri
I hope you have time for some quiet time. You are so busy!
Yes it's quieter now thanks!
Me ha encantado ver toda esta semana de actividades y conocer un poco la gente que ayuda en este estupendo trabajo diario, hace años que sigo vuestros videos y son mis favoritos. Los entiendo gracias a los subtítulos en castellano ya que soy española y no sé mucho del idioma inglés. Gracias a todos.
Un placer, me alegro que lo hayas disfrutado Mariola
Charles obrigado pelo vídeo amei❤
Meu prazer, fico feliz que você tenha gostado Luisa
Thankyou for your existence Sir 😊
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Me encanta todo el trabajo que hay detrás!!
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I need a vacation after that week....
😂!
What a lovely video. Its lovely to see your team and a peek behind the scenes. Would love to see more of this type of video.
Me too 👍
Thanks Tracey.
The stats currently show that regular viewers 'are less interested than usual'!
Me threee, really enjoyed seeing how it all works behind the scenes ☺
Charles, that was fantastic. Respect from Africa 🇿🇦
Glad you enjoyed it 🙂
It’s a great video, really enjoyed it and thank you for sharing Charles 🥰
Glad you enjoyed it Yanee
I love your garden ❤️
Thank you Brenda
LOVE this behind the scenes Video. So wish i could afford to visit your program and of course stop by the Three Horseshoe Pub for a Pint. Alas Im in America and couldnt afford to but I can dream :-)
Dreaming Dan have good results, and thank you 💚
Good afternoon Charles. That was an interesting change in pace compared to your normal videos. I enjoyed u sharing a bit more of the inner workings. I also noticed in maybe your last video , that the green sprouting calabrese broccoli was very tall an has a rather thinner stem. It is one of about six types if broc. I am growing this fall, an i had noticed how tall an thinned stem it had compared to the others. But once i saw that "The Great Charles Dowding" calabrese looked similar it helped me put any concerns to bed😊. I am here in coastal Virginia, USA, saying thank u Charles for all your knowledge u share with us.
Thanks for this, and the tall broccoli is my overwintered purple sprouting. It does indeed grow that longer, thinner stem, which is not so ideal for resisting winter wind. Also makes it harder to protect against pigeon damage!
Morning, I really love your videos and everything you do. I'm sorry that there aren't any of your books in Croatia, but there are many wonderful ones. I try to grow vegetables this way💜. Thanks for everything you do, I hope that one day books and calendars will be available. Warm greetings 😊
Maybe one day! Thanks for writing, happy growing
Thenks ❤
Anyone else feeling that they are watching an illicit deal happen with the intro?
😮
So interesting to see behind the scenes. Lots of busy people working with you! I just recently found you. I was watching Seed and Sparrow on RUclips and she mentioned you and No dig gardening. I am getting ready to try one of my beds. I also am going to try growing my cukes in my Greenhouse. Is there a certain type that grows better for trailing them ? Thanks so much, enjoying your videos and learning a lot!
Lovely to hear, thank you. Nice that she mentioned me. For greenhouse cucumbers, I grow them up strings to make more use of the indoor height, they're called cordon cucumbers. Of ground-growing varieties, one I like is Tanja
Parabéns 🥂
Obrigado Luisa
Another wonderful video. It's captures joy and wonderful feeling I get when ever I visit Homeacres.
I spoke to someone at your openday by the cider shop. They said they had completed an intensive two day compost making course. This is an area I need to improve. Are there any plans for one next year?
You've changed my life and I'm finding a lot of people I know are interested. Someone said to me today that I should do tours. That made me smile. Clearly I have been taught well. :-)
Thank you for all you do and continue to inspire people.
I'm really happy to see this Simon, it's lovely you are reaching out to more people.
I'm not sure which course they meant, probably the weekend one, but it's not all about compost! Even I might struggle to teach that for two days 😂
Thank you Charles. I've already completed the weekend intensive course. I'll go back through your videos. Maybe I'll just come along to a compost course anyway.
Good point you have!!!
They must not have changed their clocks yet - it's still May there
Great video Charles! I've got to ask though, do you ever rest!? 😂
Yes in bed!
I started to ponder on your trial beds and the difference above , then the catch up ( no dig/ dig). As your whole garden is no dig I guess the small dig bed is surrounded by mycelium and wonderful soil organisms, which can move into your dig bed v quickly. If that wasn't the case then your dig area may be even less productive. If the reverse the case....ie a no dig in a dig garden the no dig bed may be less productive than yours? Sorry random thoughts.
Thank you for all you fo and teach....
Those are good thoughts, Elaine! It's hard to know how fast the mycelial network can spread in, but I agree, the dig bed here is favoured in that respect. Even the pathways, have loads of good stuff in them!
Just a quick thought; at the end, you say the dig is catching up to the no dig. I've always been interested that the dig isnt that far behind the no dig, even after many years of the trial, so its not like the dig bed is getting steadily worse. Is it possible that the soil life quickly recovers from the digging, and so the dig bed effectively becomes the same as the no-dig after this "catching up"?
I know there's other effects, like water soaking in, and the mulch effect, but would you think the soil life would be similar in both in the middle of the season?
I used to dig in loads of leaves and compost every few years, and when I came back to do it again, there was never any trace of the stuff I put in - it was back to the same solid sand. This was a hot climate though and I didnt water much, largely just let it die down in summer and come back to life when the rain started again, so there's more going on - more variables - also, I had mulch on top that kept the soil at least covered. But its the way the huge amount of stuff I dug in just completely vanished that amazed me.
The soil did slowly get better and darker though where I was watering in summer. No need to answer here, but maybe a video of actually comparing soil profiles sometime? Some means of measuring fungi etc?
Nice video above. Good to see the big picture of what you do.
Brilliant, thank you Charles. Too busy to sit down for the Zoom... Persecuted by the lovely Mintie... Smashing food... Some creative automatically-generated sub-titles... One question: synthetic binder-twine or jute string for tying up tomatoes, cucumbers and melons? Mine always go loose. I had to go back to canes this year, although I'd tied a knot underneath as well. Maybe I should tie on and bury a little bit of stick as well? Looking forward to next year, with garlic and broad beans in and compost spread, and a few pea-shoots and bits of coriander from the greenhouse already.
Thanks Alan! That's really useful feedback about the subtitles because we correct them, but I think Anna can't have actually uploaded to YT the corrected English version ones. I'm hoping that her corrections got through to the foreign translators, I think they do.
Yes, I am using synthetic twine so that it does not rot under the root ball. And you can tighten it at the top. It's a simple slip knot, quick to undo and redo.
It was nice to see everything what you and your team do, I couldn't believe the transformation in the pond from when you first started it, or did you dig another area for the pond ? for all your energy and advice I'm going to be buying a 2024 calendar, great video. Steve
Cheers Steve.
That is a new pond! Dug last winter by Adam, lined in April.
Hi Charles, thanks for all your fantastic work and sharing of techniques - they continue to inspire me to grow and experiment. One question about the pond - I've read that continuous edging stones can get dangerously hot for young frogs and toads as they emerge from the pond. Perhaps your marginal plants have grown up since then, I'm sure you have your eye on it.
Hi, my pond started similar, meanwhile plants are growing shading the stones and despite your worries the toats love to hide under the cool and moist stones. It is just a matter of time😊...
Cool, thanks!! Yes, it is going like that with new growth over the top and we are looking to remove a few this winter to make passageways
míster charly se ve todo rico el dia de hoy! comparte una receta! 🤪👍
😀 ask William Mowbray! William@figandspoonfood.com
Thanks for the superb insight into what your weekly work entails.
Do you sell off things like your surplus tomato plants (is that what the honesty box is for?)?
Thanks and I give them away, the box is for vegetables we leave by the road, twice weekly when available
Such an interesting channel. When does compost become soil?
it depends! If good biology, within 18 months perhaps but it's a very fluid "dividing line"
@@CharlesDowding1nodig thank you
Really interesting to see all the things that you - and your helpers - do in a week. When you have the courses and open garden days do you get many younger people or is it mainly more mature people? And I really like your cat 🙂
Thanks helen that's nice. Since lockdown I am seeing many younger people, so now it's all ages while before it was more people over 55 roughly.
My kids and or dogs have lost/eaten my dibber stick and I was hoping you’d tell me where I could buy your one please?
Oh no! In the UK, Garden Imports. In the US, AllAboutTheGarden
Magnificent as always and super fun seeing your cat being mischievous!
I hope you got to Chatsworth - a very special place to spend time. Sending love from the Antipodes to your entire team.
Next year perhaps. Thanks Wendy x
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Great Video Charles.
I have been no dig gardening now for three years and I have recently moved to a property that has lots of trees and consequently leaves. Is it ok to use well rotted leaf mo😊ld direct as a cover ? Also I have chickens. Can I add the droppings to my compost?
Best of luck Robert. All of that is a good plan, and you could also add tree leaves to the chicken run where they will help convert them to Compost quite quickly
yeah you and huw i watch and no dig yes but i included the flowers and lots consider weeds but a lovely flower no harm to plants if fact pest control was on a war path i left alone during the season as dragonflies did a blitz on the pests. and there have been a few things that have turn out to be false. i had a tomato forest put it this was lucky if it was 3 inch spacing and random as i not wanted to get rid of what i got growing, so it was survival of the fittest on the 7th time of blight hitting them when the change in October happen then they succumbed to it. this is my first year so sometimes i know there is luck but i have saved seeds from these fruits and i will do it again as the amount i had to cook up every crop was about 7.5 kg ave 8 cropping's. i am new to this still using summer stuff as it aint dead ok wood but in slow cooker not so much . had my healthiest year as an adult and i 43 and turn out fitter than my 20's . thank you love it
Go you! Thanks for sharing
Horticulture is a way of life not a job. There is no 9 to 5 working week as can clearly be seen by your video. If it wasn't so pleasurable, it would be hard work. When I visit clients, I think that I'm going to play in someone else's garden and just happen to be paid for it. I can see that you too get a lot of pleasure from your work.
So right Dafydd!
On a day where storms and gales have raged and I arrive home from work after the sun has already set, it's so lovely to see an ode to spring like this video. Thank you Charles. Cheered me right up that.
Wonderful, thanks James.
Yes May seems a long time ago now!
I've spent the week spreading compost 🙂creating two new beds so I now have a growing space similar in size to your small garden. Planted some broad beans and garlic, stocked up on seeds and just started to harvest the kale sprouts. Your videos have been, and probably will continue to be, incredibly helpful. Thank you and everyone at Homeacres!
You have had a productive week, thank you for your kind words Tim.
11:00 That is just a stunning view. Have you considered putting a LIVE feed on your channel looking at the overview of the garden? No audio, just video.
Cheers Sean, I had not considered that and there is a thought, Wi-Fi signal permitting!
Just think I will have to pop down next year. Maybe early summer.
See you!
Hi Charles. Clearly your pet cat is very disciplined. Unfortunately, my neighbour's 3 cats are not at all. No sooner have I prepared a bed, or put some wood bark mulch down for a path - the cats are there to leave their autograph. Any tips to keep them away?
😮 oh dear and I only know about using some kind of physical barrier, such as bird netting or sticks with thorns over the top of beds
Enjoyed this video, you've got a great cook there why not sprinkle in more cooking slots?
When we get organised! Maybe next spring
Hey Charles, great video, very interesting! I have a question about your seed trays, where can I order them from? I live in Switzerland and have had difficuties finding a seller who ships to Switzerland. Where can I order them?
Kind regards, Stefanie
Thanks Stefanie.
From what I hear, the customs duties make it difficult for products to enter Switzerland. The farm dream in the Netherlands sell my trays all over Europe, but not to Switzerland for that reason, and I don't know what the answer is, I'm afraid.
Is it that the dig bed starts catching up as the mycorrhizal fungi re-establish themselves?
In doing so do they boost the availability of nutrients to the plants above that in the no dig bed for a limited time, leading to accelerated growth?
Could be! And structure re-creates.
did you ever make it to Chatsworth? it's an impressive garden…!
Not yet!
realy enjoy the vidoes and would like to see more behind the scenes vidoes 😃
Thanks, that's nice. This was a huge amount of work to make and the viewing figures are pretty low actually! You can see more behind-the-scenes if you join as a member.
My lettuce always grows really tall, even though I cut and come again. Anything I'm doing wrong or is it just weather causing them to bolt?
We pick rather than cut, and they crop for ten weeks on average. There may be other differences.
Mine too. I am currently sowing seed at start of every month, and planting out to see what happens. Lettuce works best for me in autumn/ winter, in spring they elongate, in summer they bolt so quickly ( I am in Australia).so, lettuce is a cool weather veg for me.
@@CharlesDowding1nodigthank you for the tip sir!
Overwhelmed with guests? They just followed those radishes; they're blood bright beacons. 🌞
Beautiful!
Ce folie îmi recomandați pentru solar verde sau albă?
Pentru a ucide buruienile prin solarizare, cel mai bine este să folosiți plastic transparent, iar efectul poate apărea chiar și într-o zi, dar mai probabil într-o săptămână pentru buruienile perene.
@@CharlesDowding1nodig Mă refeream la sera/solar de legume.
Really interesting to see your "behind the scenes" work ....so, it isn't all done in one take?!!!! I would love to see the outtakes ! 8:05 I have not seen such beautiful little Turnips like those since we lived in France....here they seem to be "overgrown" or "pithy", IF they are to be found at all of course ! Also great to see my favourite way of growing lettuce = The "cut & come again" variety 4:59. All made into a great video, thank you.
Nice to hear! and yes, my tours are the one take videos
Always get excited to see the adorable kitty hanging out! 😊
Us too!
Hats - sell hats for gardeners - sell hats for gardening students so they don't have to watch Charles with their hands shading their eyes.
Pleasein italy
Grazie. Mi piacerebbe, ma un video di questa durata costerebbe 150 dollari, e non so se ci siano abbastanza spettatori italiani per giustificarlo!
great video
Thank you Steven
Thank you for another wonderful video, brother Charles !
Thank you for sharing this, i really enjoyed it. I started my garden 3 years ago and learning so much thanks to you, best teacher ever!
So nice to hear, thanks
Hello. I've been digging into the subject of Moon calendar gardening recently, but apart from a few articles and videos (including your little experiment) I haven't found substantial research on that. I'd like to know if you, Charles, or any gardeners here in the comment section have any inclinations towards that, if you apply that in your garden, if there's any scientific evidence to support doing it. What's your opinion on that? And if it is meaningful, which part of it is the most relevant, zodiac signs, the distance from the Moon to the Earth, the reflected light?
The number of your questions Tomas, illustrates how much there is to find out, how many variables there are and how difficult it is to separate them out. I think that's why there's so much conflicting advice and why it's impossible to do what you call 'scientific' research. I have tried sowing at different times, and results vary every year! I do follow aspects of moon passage in my sowing dates, but other factors often intervene!!
@@CharlesDowding1nodig It's quite remarkable that in these technologically developed and scientific times there hasn't been any proper research done on that subject. I feel that this approach is a bit like groping in the dark for something that can't be fully grasped. So why do we do it? Intuition? Subconscious desire to work along with nature? I'm almost sure (yeah, "almost" again) that the Moon and other celestial bodies must exert some influence on subtle organisms on Earth, but is it significant enough to even bother? It all seems a little disappointing in a way...
The Koliskos are scientists who spent 10 years trialling different sowing dates by the moon, in a laboratory in Switzerland I think, during the late 1920s and early 1930s. That work was initiated by Rudolf Steiner, as I understand it. The conclusion was that biggest harvests come from sowing two days before full moon. www.encyclopedia.com/science/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/kolisko-effect
@@CharlesDowding1nodig I'll have a look, thank you.