Slash Your Biggest Gardening Cost in 2024
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- Опубликовано: 16 окт 2024
- Want to cut costs in your garden? Potting mix and compost is arguably a gardener's biggest yearly expense. in this week's episode, Ben treats us to some money saving tricks and tips for filling pots and raised beds for a fraction of the price, if not entirely for free. Better get collecting now! Off you go, but not until you've watched this!
Minimum soil depths for common crops
Min. 6in/15cm deep Min. 8in/20cm deep Min. 12in/30cm deep
Basil Beets/beetroot Broccoli
Cilantro/coriander Cabbage Carrots
Endive Chard Cauliflower
Lettuce Cucumber Chinese cabbage
Mustard greens Garlic Corn
Radishes Peas and beans Eggplant/aubergine
Scallions/spring onions Peppers Kale
Spinach Summer squash Onions
Strawberries Turnip Pumpkin and winter squash
Zucchini/courgette Tomatoes
For more videos on potting mixes, compost and all things soil-related, see this playlist:
• Dirt CHEAP Tricks for ...
For more videos on composting, watch these next:
How to Make a Compost Bin from Pallets
• How to Make a Compost ...
Supercharge Your Compost Heap
• Supercharge Your Compo...
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Sometimes I just play your videos (even if I’ve seen them), to have your pleasant voice, talking about what I love, in the background, to keep me company.
Well it's a pleasure to join you in whatever you're doing. Thanks for watching. :-)
Same here
There's a whole lot of toxic noise pollution with per same regards visuals going on in this planet...Especially when one visits the various media platforms.
Ben seems to put a wonderfull balance back into things...Just like the soil.
Calming...With all the natural interests shown, yet equally a wonderfull natural spark for the love of life. ⚡🌞
Appreciate the brilliantly knitted 4th Doctor Who scarf vibe. 👌
Go Ben!! 🌌 🌏 👨⚕️🧣🌿
You certainly deserve a thumbs up for all that hard work in this video.
Thanks Brett, appreciate it!
We had to build raised beds waist high because I am a wheelchair user. So we used hügelkultur principles like you described starting off with logs, etc. The levels dropped as much as 15-20 cm (6-8 inches) the first year, though! One perk of having such deep raised beds is we sunk multiple 20L (5 gallon) buckets that we use as inground garden worm towers. That's another option to the trench feeding you demonstrated.
~ Sandra
What a great idea Sandra (the worm towers)!
@@GrowVeg They were very successful in their first year. This is my first winter with them and we just checked on them today. Material continues to drop in the buckets and worms are visible and active despite our near freezing temperatures. I have a playlist about the garden worm towers if you are interested 😉
~ Sandra
Clever! I too have started to raise my beds because I'm getting old and sitting on one level of concrete block and then trying to get up is sometimes problematic. I just realized I have a bunch of river birch branches that blew down in storms that I could use on the bottom of the beds. Thanks for the idea!
I've been reusing potting mix for at least a decade. Sometimes I will add some all-purpose fertilizer that I have or have been given to the mix, especially when I'm getting seeds started.
Sometimes, if I'm not sure about whether the old potting mix has had any diseased plants or whatnot, I'll put them in a ceramic pot and nuke them in the microwave! Of course, after it cools, I'll mix in some all-purpose fertilizer.
Straw bales are put on the beds over the winter to keep critters (cats mostly) from thinking this is their new litter box, and to both keep weeds down and it rots into the ground over the winter and adds new dirt to the beds.
@@kalinystazvoruna8702 Raised beds and containers are definitely the way to go. I'm in a wheelchair, so it's the only way I can effectively garden. I repurpose potting soil through my worm farms or even my regular compost, but it does take a few months that way. Your microwave idea sounds a lot faster. Good luck with your garden project!
@@NanasWorms I for one am definitely interested in your wormtowers playlist. 🙂
Lovely wintery video. Thank you for braving the cold so I can enjoy from my duvet and morning cup of tea 👍🏻
It's great to get a bit of proper winter, albeit brief - all melted now!
A method of speeding up the decomposing of leaves is of course to chop them up to make them smaller. A great way to do this which is easy and fast is to put your leaves into a dustbin or plastic barrel or even a strong cardboard box, then lower a strimmer into the leaves and blitz them into fine pieces. . For a demonstration of this take a look at a you tube video by ` Brian Dow- how to leaf mulching cheap and easy`. I also chop up twigs and hedge trimmings using a garden shredder, the fast spinning type that screams like a wailing banshee which chops leaves and twigs into pieces no bigger than your little finger nail.
What a great idea - I'll take a look, thanks.
WOW. I was just chatting about buying a leaf mulcher! This is IT! Thanks!
@@joeibassett9944 You're welcome. 👍
@bina nocht I have seen videos of people using a lawnmower as you have described and it seems to work quite well. I have a garden shredder which takes care of twigs and small branches, the larger branches - over 25mm diameter are used for Hugelkultur in the raised beds.
Great idea
We just got 8 inches of snow here in northeast Pennsylvania, and the temperature will be dipping into single digits this week, so I have been looking longingly out the window at my garden. I was happy to find a new video from you to feed my gardening spirit. It will be quite a while til spring but you have given me ideas about some things I can do even in winter! Thank you for your wonderful videos!
You're so welcome Madeleine, thanks so much for watching. :)
I’m in southeastern Pennsylvania (suburbs of Philadelphia) and not a single snowflake to date. Headed to the Pocono mountains next month so hoping for real snow tubing as opposed to manufactured snow.
Love your channel, you are so in tune with how most people garden.
I really appreciate the absolute wealth of knowledge you share whilst also not being a pushy salesman for your garden planner, it's quite refreshing!
Thanks so much, very kind of you to say. :-)
Gosh, Ben I ALWAYS learn something from you and I've been gardening for over 35 years now! Thanks so much for your enthusiasm and inspiration. Now all I have to do is wait for winter to pass!
Thanks Jane. Shortest day is around the corner and then we'll be counting down to spring!
😃😃 Ben, again, perfect timing! I'm about to move my entire garden, and I have been pondering HOW will I do this? The answer is YES, I can do every single thing you taught, today...and I don't need to buy anything to do it... Worry -FREE-...Merry Christmas Ben, family, and the Grow Veg gang! 🙂
That's really super to hear - so pleased we timed it perfectly for yo! Have a lovely Christmas also :-)
Every year, I use my own compost to grow potatoes in 30l tubs.
When they're done, some of the 'spent' compost is either bagged up to use for the next year's seed & potting on, or laid onto my beds in a 3cm layer.
Potting & growing on compost gets a good handful of BF&B per 30l a month or so before use.
That’s a great idea. Good to use all of the benefit of the compost as much as you can.
@@GrowVeg I've turned into a composting fanatic since going No Dig & with the new plot & my garden, I get through about 2.5m³ every year, plus around 1m³ of wood chips/shredded prunings/hedge trimmings for the paths between beds.
Then there's all the seaweed I compost solely to grow International Kidney potatoes they way they used to be when Jersey Royals tasted so good...
Awww, Ben 🎄 Just watching the FIRST FEW MINUTES gets me all emotional! In a GOOD WAY ☺️ It's your genuine warmth, the falling snow, the wonder if Christmastime...ahhhh, a lovely start to my week ❤️Merry Christmas ⛄
Unintentionally festive! But I'll take it! :-) A very happy Christmas to you too - enjoy! :-)
Great advice Ben I'm in the process of making some raised beds this will save me a fortune also being disabled this will be so much lighter for me to deal with 👍
That's great to hear Russel. This method definitely gives you a bit of a head start for sure.
For those of us who live in a city and don't have any trees from which to use the leaves : just go out early in the morning after a windy night carrying a supermarket shopping bag and collect fallen leaves in the park. I do the same for firewood.
Very smart move. :-)
When it comes to deadwood, if it's in a park that intentionally leaves the wood for invertebrates or in a woodland I'd personally leave it where it stands. Our wood decomposing beetles and other detritivores are having a hard time because of our historical tendency to clean deadwood up when we don't need to.
You are probably taking wood from parks that would have removed it anyway, and this isn't aimed at anyone in particular, but I thought it was a worthwhile point to add.
I have some massive pots. 20 gallon and up. They take too much soil so I fill the bottom half with leaves. At the end of the season when I dump them into other beds the leaf soil is amazing in the pot bottoms!
Brilliant - that's the way to do it!
I've just been contemplating different ways to make my garden more economical next year, so this video (and the comments section) is great timing! Thank you!
Also, that scarf looks awesome!
Great to have timed it so well! :-)
Thank you, Ben-- I see winter as my time for "gardening school" and this video taught me some new ways to work with my garden beds! I have lots of kitchen scraps to put to use-- I really like the idea of putting them right into the growing bed to become food for future plants. Thanks again!
You're welcome Suzannah. Hope you enjoy a really productive growing season once it starts.
I love the idea of winter as ‘gardening school’ ❤
Living in Johannesburg for the past 30 years where we rarely experience the 'white stuff', seeing you potter about in the snow made me smile.
It's autumn over here, but our daytime temps are still in the in the low 20c.
Nice one, Ben.
Cheers Douglas. That's warm for autumn, but maybe not for J'burg. Hope you have a lovely autumn anyhow. :-)
I would just like to say thank you! Watching your tutorials has awoken the would-be-gardener in me, and has truly been a worthy resource. THANK YOU for sharing your knowledge! 🙂
This is so lovely to hear! Thanks for watching - and happy gardening! :-)
Fantastic, Ben. Today I started removing tomato plants ( I have 10 in 6 x 45 gallon containers plus my 14 feet x 6 feet redwood bordered 16 year old bed) Still have red tomatoes! I noticed the soil grade level is down 4 inches in each one but I have an 80 gallon compost bin ready to start unloading from the bottom. I also have at least 15 gallons ( 3 x 5 gallon pails) of wood chips from last summers tree trimming for mulch. I started with that Hugelkultur method and still have that in the bottom of my beds, however someone on RUclips dug up one of their beds after 5 years and found almost no decomposition of the logs placed in the bottom of their bed. Not digging mine up.
Hi Stephen. I've found a lot of the sticky material at the bottom of my beds hasn't decomposed much - but they have slightly. I guess it takes a few years - which is a good thing I guess, in that the nutrients are slowly released over such a long timespan.
I’m glad to see I’m not the only one out in the garden when it’s snowing ! Great video thank you! I was out checking my leaf mold bins, the two year old one was looking good! ☘️ ☘️☘️☘️
Great to hear your leaf mold is looking good - something to warm the heart on a chilly day!
Thank you Ben! I really needed some of your enthusiasm on this cold and dark winter day. Can’t wait to dig into my new compost heap at the allotment!
Great to hear Nadja. :-)
Always great information and cheerfully explained. Your garden looks so cold! Thank you.
Thanks Barbie. Yes, it was jolly cold on filming day. Much warmer now. :-)
I love it here.
I used my dead heads from my limelight hydrangeas to fill my Birdies bed. Cardboard, autumn leaves, logs, & hydrangeas. Topped off with potting soil & (FREE) compost!
Brilliant!
The hydrangeas don’t include seeds?
Yeeeeeeesssss
Bring on the spring
Brilliant, enthusiastic video, thanks Ben. I've mostly gone to no-dig now (where we avoid disturbing the soil and layer mulches on top) and I'm starting to appreciate that the soil microbiology is as important as the amount of nutrients. I think that gardeners have been encouraged to over-nutrient by the abundance of cheap fossil fuel derived fertilizers (which end up in potting mixes etc) so while the price increases are painful, it should encourage folk to eak out what they can afford and rethink their approaches.
I'm more extreme in my approach so for example, where I grew tomatoes in buckets this year, I'll be reusing the buckets undisturbed, replacing the top couple of inches with fresh homemade compost and let the existing soil microbiology do it's thing.
For flowers in pots, I stick an upside down plant pot in the bottom of a planter to create a void, or use polystyrene packing. Filling a planter with compost is pointless, the roots will never reach down to use the soil at the bottom, the nutrients will just get washed away and become a pollutant.
I'm learning to become more appreciative of 'weeds' too. Weeds are great for pulling up nutrients from deeper underground, it's just a question of managing them vs 'productive' plants. I tend to stick stinging nettles in water to make 'teas' and stick everything else in the compost heap. Except bindweed (because bindweeds is evil!)
It always makes me smile (or wince) to see rows of brown wheelie bins out. Those are chock full of nutrients that people are paying the council to take away so they can buy bags compost to replace those nutrients. Madness.
Sounds like you're very economical with what you have, which is really great. I agree - why would people export their garden waste like that - it really is madness!
Thank you for another great video x you come across as a lovely and kind gentleman, very inspiring and uplifting x much love from the UK xx
Thank you so much Susi, really appreciate that. :-)
A great tip to save on bagged compost. Only buy it every other year. This way you half your cost and it gives you a chance to make some homemade compost. 18/24 month cycle if you do a cold compost.
I also use my old mail added as my brown material.
I always dig a large trench in early spring and fill wityh the kitchen waste over the course of a few months to grow my runner beans in. Holds the moisture and feeds the beans. Works a treat!
Great tips Ben 👍 your scarf 🧣 is awesome!
Haha - cheers very much! :-)
You are my favorite gardener, always so informative and encouraging.
Thank you so much, that's very kind of you to say.
@@GrowVeg You're very welcome Ben.
That is what I have been doing!!!! Im so happy you made a video about this.
Way back in the fifties my dad used to dig out a trench before Christmas and this got gradually filled with kitchen and hen house waste and then back filled . He called it his bean trench and this what I have done ever since.
I was recently told that if I put un-rotted stuff in the ground it would use up more goodness to break down than it would ultimately add. Still doing it though!
I like this idea.
Better than dumping table scraps on a compost pile.
I think you're definitely doing the right thing. :-)
I believe the large woody elements also suck up water and act as reservoirs that the plants can draw moisture from. It's called a Hugelkultur bed.
That's right - a good source of moisture too.
I had 17 tomato plants and chili plants in containers this year. I've tipped out all of the containers, took out the roots and added quail manure and quail bedding and am currently letting it rot together in my greenhouse. I hope this works out. I won't have to buy new potting mix next year if it does.
Works great!!! I love to use kitchen scraps, 'leftovers' I get from the local children petting zoo, leafes, local stores often throw out unsold plants -> check for illness keep the soil 😁
Definitely worth a try - I'm sure it will certainly help. :-)
You can overwinter the chilli plants in a frost-free shed or porch. Keep them fairly dry but give some water now & then and they should grow again in spring.
@@stan1050 I know, but I just don't have frost free place to keep them. Plus, I enjoy trying new varieties every year.
Have just installed a excellent heating system, to dry the house out as we don't use all of the bedrooms, the sunny one has become my over wintering area and spring seed sowing area. The peppers have loved it, have since learnt should have cut them back more and repotted them into a more sandy mix.
Fantastic video, thank you. I really hate buying potting mix by the bag, because of all that plastic that’s left over. This idea of reusing old potting mix is great 😊
Thank you Ben. I have a pot out front with cotton in it. I bought the seeds and they had a blueish sheen so I called the company to see if they were treated and they said yes. I was reasonably sure they were so I put the seeds in a 5 gallon pot that had old perlite commercial potting soil and I filled in some organic mix on top about 4 inches. I felt guilty but now I don't. My plans were to put vermi culture compost lumps on the top of all my pots, including this one but did not get to it. I grew many first timers this year, I tried rice, peanuts, cotton, vetch, sweet potato and cantelope. Lets not forget garbanzos! Most of these did not do well because they went in very late, I put my starts in about July. Here in CA, I thought I would give it a try anyhow. For the first time in 30 years, I harvested a ripe, delicious, though small, cantelope. The sweet pot, only got a thick root on it but I put everything back in the pot as it still green leaf tips. Vetch seems to take awhile to establish but everything that had a hairy vetch in the pot did extremely well considering. Cotton young plants with aphids despite the chems. Peanuts did not send out shoots to go in the ground to grow the peanuts. The rice several seeds sprouted but only a few plants got over 7" tall, all gone. Cherry tomatoes still going strong and lettuce which I thoroughly enjoy with olive oil and hemp seeds. So thanks again for ok'ing and making good again nearly gone potting soil. 😊
Sounds like you've had a mixed year Jeanette - hopefully an earlier start this coming year will bring even great success. Well done on the cantaloupe - I've never grown one of those and imagine garden-grown are incredible!
Instead of directly reusing old potting mix I sling it into the compost heap, which eventually will end up in my beds. It also helps act as a compost accelerant.
That’s a great move Chris.
Fantastic as always Ben, thank you for a wonderful year of top tips, have a wonderful Holiday, and a wonderful New Year 😀
And to you too - thanks so much for watching. :-)
Merry Christmas! May there be lots good things and love in your life next year! Thanks very much for your inspiration on youtube!!
Thank you so much for your lovely comment Barbara. I hope you had a lovely Christmas and I wish you the very happiest New Year also :-)
I have a compost bin that is filled with layers of green and brown, making compost for later in the year. Between growing seasons, I try to return biology to the soil by leaving the plant roots in the raised beds and grow pots, and covering open areas with a thick layer of leaves. I also practice chop and drop when I can. Everything else goes into the compost bin. I just ordered a 10x12 foot greenhouse kit that will be here in a few days, and am in the process of battening down the hatches ( clamping low tunnel greenhouse plastic, 6 mil, in place), for a coming hard freeze with temps forecasted down to 13F, or -10.5C. Will my garden survive? I expect some loses from unprotected plants, but I expect most plants under the low tunnel protection, and my unprotected cold hardy plants to survive. This will be the ultimate test of my gardening skills and preparation. My ultimate goal is to keep my garden producing year round.
Hope you survive the cold snap Jay - I'm sure you will. :-)
@@GrowVeg Thank you! -5C with no problems, -10C with three consecutive days of daytime high temperatures ranging from -6c to -2c have me a bit concerned. It is going to test my skills and preparations to the limits. I'll give everything a good watering tomorrow, batten down the hatches, and ride the storm out. I'm not worried about the cabbage, spinach and shard. The mustard will probably be okay too. I am concerned about the turnips, beetroot, lettuce, endive, and kohlrabi. If everything makes it through this week, the rest of the winter will be a breeze. My greenhouse kit just came in, now I have to purchase lumber for the base, and three 60cm x 244cm x 20cm raised beds to go inside it.
Ok
I do agree with you about the price of potting mix. The price goes up and the bags get smaller. The cheaper stuff at the supermarkets seems to be good but they do not get it in early enough.
What is the advantage of putting the stuff straight into the raised bed rather than composting first, which will heat up better in a compost bin. Also you seem to be well surrounded by walls. I find I need to cover leaves or else they dry out and simply blow away. I find lawn clipping do a great job of keeping them in place.
I find kitchen scraps attracts rats. They are very good at digging. They particularly like melon skin and pumpkin seeds.
The advantage of adding material direct is simply time and effort-saving. Just bung it on and let time do the rest. You could, of course, compost first and then add in the compost - that would work really well.
My garden is relatively sheltered but I may need to go out and weigh down the leaves to stop them blowing away. The usual culprit for scattering leaves is the birds though - digging around for a morsel to eat.
@@GrowVeg And with me the hedgehogs love digging under leaves.
Simple n easy ways 👍👍👍
I filled three quarters of my large pot with grass clippings and topped it up with potting mix and it grew amazing basil for two seasons. Eventually it choked on the mulch below but I’d grown some more by then. Saved a bunch of money and time👍
Great to hear this Emma! :-)
Good on you, Ben! Always a thumbs up from me on your videos. You are a wealth of gardening knowledge.
Thanks so much, really appreciate it. :-)
Welp the depth list in the description is priceless could have saved a lot of plants last year sans extreme weather changes
God Bless you ...thanks x
we started our first effort at raised bed veggie gardening last year, we started with plugs as it was fairly late in the season, we ended up with carrots the size of my thumbnail and radishes the size of my little finger nail lol, lettuce was the only real success as our beetroots also failed miserably, out onions were the size of spring onions, we have 2x 10ft x 4ft beds and pots, we are not giving up and this year we started planting plugs and tomatoe plants end of April from local greenhouse growers, along with other crops, fingers crossed we have some success this season.
Hopefully the earlier start will make all the difference Andre.
@@GrowVeg thanks Ben. Also thankyou for the wealth of superb videos packed with info. For newbies like us it's just ingesting all that info requires many repeat viewings.
Thank You Ben for a great growing year! Happy holidays everyone!
Happy holidays to you too! :-)
Thank you for great video
very informational.
Just an additional consideration, some species of plants and trees give off chemicals that prevent other plants from growing around them. Black Walnut is one, but I'm sure there are others. These varieties should never be used for compost or to replace soil. Great video. 💜
Thanks, tips gladly took in. 👍
Good shereing big like
DIY potting mix is worth trying. Garden soil and or compost with peat moss.
Lovely videos and channel Ben.
Watching from the Ruapehu District in New Zealand. 🥒🥕🍓
Great to have you watching! :-)
I’ve been building flower beds in our backyard for my wife by digging out about a foot of the terrible fill clay our lot sits on and then layering in twigs and wood chips, then flipping over the sod I cut out (just the top 1-2”) on top of that, then layering on kitchen scraps, grass trimmings, my homemade compost, and leaves and more wood chips. It really cuts down on the garden dirt I need to buy since with only need to fill the final 5” or so. And gives me a way to use some of the early spring grass clippings because my winter/spring grass is going nuts this year and I have to cut it twice a week. And my compost piles are overflowing.
What a great method! :-)
I do about the same but rejuvenate potting mix with a little fresh and worm castings. Once they sprout I water with a little fish and kelp
Great Video Ben. Well Done.
Great ideas. Have a wonderful holiday season with family and friends.
And you Debra. :-)
Absolutely brilliant for someone new to gardening.
Lovely enthusiastic interesting character too. Reminds me of Graeme Garden!
Thanks for this interesting and informative channel.
You are most welcome - thanks for watching! :-)
I’m pretty sure you said this in a previous vid. IF you can - run your mower over leaves and small twiggy bits before using in lasagna method. Gives microbes more surface area to work on. Another thing- top lasagna off with cardboard so you can use stone or branches to hold in place. 😎 your videos are lovely. Keep up the good work!!
That's a really great idea Elizabeth. I should probably have done that with the leaves I added. May still do it to give things a bit of a helping hand.
Just signed for a new 280m2 allotment so this will come in handy thanks Ben!
Glad to hear it. Enjoy your new allotment!
Love your video! I wish I had a bit more time for planting. I live in zone 3, the temperature drops down to -30/-40 C during winter time. The only thing I can do in my garden then is to feed those poor birds.
Wow, that's fresh!
@@GrowVeg Yes. Crispy fresh air for sure! 😂
@amigos4erin Thank you! I do have decent growing season. I just hope it could be a bit longer.
Love your videos! And see your making the most of the snow lol
Wow..thank you..I have lots of comfrey..
Know i know where i bed my honey melons in next year. Thanx a lot!
Thank you
Always great advice! Thank you!
Happy New Year Ben! Happy to see you again on RUclips!
Thanks so much - and to you! 😀
I was given 5 collard palettes (1m L x 1.2m W x 0.2 H). I was delighted as I came across the lasagna method before and was hoping I'll be able to do this one day. Unfortunately I didn't have at my disposal hay but my layers have cardboard, sticks, leaves, green kitchen scraps, a mix of top soil, old manure and compost. Now it's all resting over the winter and can't wait to start planting 😁.
Sounds like you'll have a super growing medium to plant in come spring - top work!
🥶Great tips&tricks🥶
Fantastic tips thanks. MERRY CHRISTMASxx
Ben you are so wonderful and helpful thank you so much 🙏🏼
Hi really enjoying the videos as always.
I am currently in the process of filling some large and very deep raised beds , (about 12,500 liters/12.5m³ total)
They are almost full, so far im only £155 out of pocket
Weve put in:
2m³ of logs at the bottom like hugelculture (free)
1m³ homemade compost (free)
3m³ wood chips (£50 delivered)
3m³ council compost/soil improver (£85 delivered)
3m³ horse manure (£20 delivered)
Just need to find some good clean cheap topsoil! 😅
That's a really great start, and VERY impressed with the good value on all of that!
@@GrowVeghi thanks for getting back , , I'm amazed by how active you are in the comments, I don't think there's anyone on the internet that puts as much effort as you put into answering people's questions . Certainly not in the garden community . You're like a comment answering machine !! 😅
And yes it's GREAT start were really looking forward to this season 😃👍
Helpful as always. Thanks Ben!
Cheers Katie! :-)
If you're gardening entirely in containers within a limited space and don't fancy buying one of those 300L+ compost bins, I've found that composting in a 80L black plastic outdoor refuse bin with a few holes drilled in it works incredibly well. B&M sell ones with secured lids for £14 if you're in the UK.
i bought one at a car boot for £4....new
Many local authorities have special offers on compost bins.
I just used old buckets that are cracked or have holes in them already due to wear and tear. I have a big tarp that I put all the local dry leaves on and other plant waste and just keep adding these to my buckets based on what they need at the moment. I use recycled cardboard to cover piles and buckets.
Great tips!
I love composting in place. Awesome video
Wonderful…so good to see another prog on composts…unfortunately not a money saver for me as I do all these already …but great advice for those who haven,t yet. I reuse soil from veg growing for flowers rather than the other way round…and then when I think any soil has really been reused enough I use it as an autumn mulch on my raised veggie beds…doesn’t,t have any/many weed seeds by then😀Jinxy
Sounds like you're incredibly efficient Jane - good work!
Well done I enjoyed watching that, I do not think I could cope with the Snow, LOL. Mind you gardening here in Perth, Western Australia can be a challenge when temps go about 40c in Jan & Feb. Will tune in to your channel. Thanks
Oh wow - that's very warm! :-)
I am also learning from our horticulturist to make like his garden 🏡
Good ideas...thank you 🧐🤓
Another great Video, full of useful info. Thanks so much. Happy holidays from Queenstown, New Zealand.
Thanks so much Mike - and you. :-)
I may have mentioned this last year, but the same applies today. I usually put my soil together; Worm castings, vermiculite/perlite and coco-coir. I ran out and was desperate, so I purchased bag soil and the same thing as last year, while sifting through I found broken glass, plastic, metal and rocks. I will never buy soil again. This year I have what might be too much, I saved all the dead leaves shredded them and now they look just like the perfect compost.
That's shocking to have found broken glass etc in the bagged soil. That's really poor! Sounds like you're definitely better off making your own.
Great advice thank you
fabulous tips! thanks for sharing these! so useful...
Glad you found them useful Lisa, thanks for watching. :-)
Howdy Ben and Rosie! 👋 This one is loaded with info that's gonna help a lot of folks. 😃 I have always reused soil...amending it for the next crop. I haven't had a problem with disease spreading. I use all the methods you shared plus growing in other mediums such as straw or leaves. I grow my potatoes in leaf mold or leaves...just a few inches of soil beneath them. Next year I plan to grow my sweet potatoes in leaf mold...using the soil I usually grow them in for another crop.👩🏾🌾
Sounds like you've got a superb system going for your potatoes there Valorie. Very efficient. :-) A very warm and happy Christmas to you.
@@GrowVeg Merry Christmas to you and yours Ben! 😃
Awesome scarf
Thank you!
Omg 🥶🥶🥶⛄️ and no gloves. Merry Christmas Ben and family 🧑🎄🎄 and Happy Grow Year 🎄2023
I should really invest in a decent pair!
Brilliant video Ben.
I was in B&M yesterday and it was £8.99 for a bag of Jack’s Magic!
Definitely the way forward learning to make your own 👍
It's amazing how much composts have shot up in price Mark!
Here's how to save money, go to your local canal with a bucket on a vert strong pole, and pull out, let it dry for 2 weeks, and you have the best compost. And your helping the canals.
Really quite imaginative tip, thank you so much!
It is deep winter here in Ontario Canada so it is a joy to see you working away in your garden preparing for next season. We do have milder spells which I shall now take advantage of using your advise
Thank you and Happy New Year!
And a happy New Year to you too Helena!
!!!! vegetables are awesome. ty
They certainly are!
last season potting mix as a base for worms to provide the best potting mix !
This video popped up and I was puzzled.. save gardening money for 2024 in 2023? Now I get it. :D
I put used soil from pots in sunken vermicomposters similar to what you have at 6:08 although I used buckets with holes topped with heavy terracotta saucers so that I can control it easier and keep out unwanted critters, particularly moles, mice, and raccoons that are attracted to soldier fly larvae as well as the worms.
What a great idea for keeping out the unwanted critters. :-) Hope you have a very productive 2024.
I am loving your videos, they are giving me such info and knowledge!!! I do have one question... what is your take on the difference between potting mix vs raised bed or in ground garden soil?!?!
There's nothing wrong with garden soil, but it will get you off to a stronger start if you can enrich it in some way - with lots of well-rotted organic matter. When starting a new raised bed I always just start with old plant material and then a layer of either compost or well-rotted manure.
My local trash company allows all residents to pick up two 50lb bags of compost each week. Self service and the bags can easily hold more than 50lbs each. It's consumer grade compost, so there's a bit of trash and plastic but very little. Certainly not perfect but if you are already using graywater then it's hard to beat free compost.
That's a really great resource to have!
I throw old potting mix on top of raised beds or use them as a layer to start a new lasagna bed
Great idea.
Loving the mention of vegan alternatives! It'd be great to have a video explaining some of the various alternatives if possible!
Thanks for the suggestion Christophe.
I wish this video came out before I planted garlic in all the raised beds 🤦🤣