It’s late October. The garden is full of vegetables, and we harvest a lot right up to Christmas.
Plus we now start the annual spreading of compost, to feed soil life over the coming year. With no dig it is quick: there is no other soil preparation and weeds grow little.
Find out more in my blog for November https://www.charlesdowding.co.uk/post/deep-autumn-november-harvests-composting-no-dig-prep
No Dig Day is approaching, on 3rd November. Children, do enter the competition! https://www.charlesdowding.co.uk/no-dig-day
No dig saves time, and delivers the harvests.
10 years of results, comparing yields from my three strip trial which we see near the beginning of this video, demonstrate the adverse effects even of just forking the soil and without any inversion. We apply the same compost on the forked beds, as on no dig beds in the adjacent strip.
This year 2023, the forked strip has yielded 86kg harvests, while the no dig strip’s harvests (same compost used) are 100kg.
The third strip, no dig with animal manure mostly from cows, has given 116kg up to 22nd October. See link below for details of this trial, running since 2014.
00:00 Introduction – keep gardening through the year and No Dig Day
01:28 Carrots, with root fly damage – how late can you sow them to avoid this? These carrots I pulled, after we washed them, showed bad damage from the maggots of root flies. They were not Oxhella nut Miami F1. We are noticing less damage on Oxhella in another bed.
03:12 Abundant beds – spring onions which followed squash, parsnips which followed spring onions, spinach which followed lettuce which followed broad beans
03:34 Snail damage to spinach, possibly a result of snails in neighbouring leek plants which are also affected by allium leaf miner – leeks are 9th year in the same bed, a trial
04:43 I explain my three-strip trial, and the resulting harvests.
06:07 A new type of compost! and the resulting harvests of squash
06:59 Romanesco cauliflower and Savoy cabbage, all sown on the longest day of the year, transplanted on 17th July
07:42 Celeriac, Prinz variety – remove lower leaves?
08:40 Garlic, planted on earliest possible date, but it’s not too late!
09:20 Broad and field beans as a temporary cover crop
09:48 Also white mustard Sinapsis alba, under asparagus – and how to clear asparagus
10:51 Compost heap that has become a little anaerobic, and how to add some air
11:49 Turnips, with mesh against cabbage root fly, and more garlic, with mustard
12:23 A late variety of raspberries, Paris – fruits ripening early this year
13:38 Lamb’s lettuce and cabbage
13:53 Adam’s mushroom project – Stropharia rugoso anulata
14:33 Autumn raspberries cut down
15:02 Compost spread on recently cleared beds, and new plantings of winter purslane, claytonia, mizuna
16:09 Brussels sprouts, Bridget variety – F1 hybrid
16:43 Medania spinach from homesaved seed
16:54 The dig/no dig trial beds, and harvest comparisons from each – up to 25th October the total harvests are 70kg from the dig bed and 82kg from no dig
17:59 How much compost to put on beds to feed soil once a year, and woodchip on pathways
18:40 Scarole endive – before and after picking
19:04 Celery, and dahlias, then Prinz celeriac deleafed
20:36 More spinach Medania, but with less soil damage
21:29 In the polytunnel – new plantings of salad leaves, plus many marigolds that have grown from their seeds
22:38 Cobea flower
23:25 Small Garden – fennel, spinach, overwintering spring cabbage and cauliflower, and brassicas incl. cauliflower – harvests so far in 2023 are 94kg
24:41 Sowing reminder resources
25:00 Broad beans – still to sow, soon
25:18 Outro
More on my three-strip trial: https://www.charlesdowding.co.uk/post/three-strip-trial-2014-2022-no-dig-forking-different-composts
And my dig/no dig trial: https://www.charlesdowding.co.uk/post/dig-no-dig-trial-2019-2022
Some of my books and my 2024 calendar are available in digital, from my website https://www.charlesdowding.co.uk/store/digital-books-and-calendars
My September tour is https://youtu.be/ihM5eQ0DQkE
Tamar Organics sell a good range of seeds but sadly not Medania spinach https://tamarorganics.co.uk/product-category/vegetable-varieties
This is my long handled wooden dibber – a great Christmas present!
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18 Comments
You might be surprised by your raspberries next year. I put a layer of woodchip under my quince tree and inoculated it with Stropharia. Not only did I get tasty mushrooms, the quince exploded with fruit and has been for the past three years. I put it down to mycelial activity.
You'll probably get your first flush in the first summer warmth. Wine caps are a summer mushroom, they like warm temperatures. Please make sure Adam does his due diligence when he harvests his first wine cap. Positively identify that it's the right fruit, then eat only a small piece and wait for several hours to see if there are any ill effects. He's created a nice home for all mushrooms, not just wine caps.
Hopefully that compost was aged long enough. We have a place here that uses it, or at least they used to. They aged it a year. But nice to hear how we'll it works!
so brave to mention human compost. I am sure this is controversial, and still you say it. My teacher at the biodynamic school always hammered on this fact: the 'leak' in the circular agriculture is all the burned human waste. Our system isn't geared to it, and with modern technology we should be able to break down all the toxins and chemicals we put in our bodies. Just imagine the savings in artificial nitrogens put on our lands…. Did you ever test that compost ?
I'm jealous
Hey Charles, so good seeing all you have going on in the garden. It still looks great. Our garden has a lot of winter plants growing. Just finished a rock job around our cabin foundation. Back to the other garden projects now. Going to give a church class here for people coupled with a Bible reading for next year starting March to help teach and feed folks. I promise your name and techniques will be discussed in the teachings. I still have tons of green tomatoes but I think I’m going to pick them all and bring them inside. Going to be getting cold this week. Freezing temps. Thanks Bubba, love all your videos. (Old guy from Arkansas)🇺🇸
Always a pleasure seeing what's going on in the garden. I really like hearing the difference between the no dig and tilled beds, amazing the abundance. For a home gardener growing different food in those 2 sections, what a haul. Must say, I'm looking forward to this winters videos. I even like hearing what people name their property, I bought seeds from one named…hand me down farm, love that.
What veg can you grow in a garden that doens't get sun now until mid-late March? I live at the North East base of a big hill.
Apart from 21 June, is it possible to sow romanesco in spring and have an earlier crop? I am missing this vegetable on your ‘22 calendar 😊
I know you don't like the statement but I have put my garden to bed for the winter except for some kale, swiss chard and lettuce. We will soon have inches of snow( had our first snow fall today) and temperatures in the -15C range. Not many things can grow in that for 4+ months.
Yes! No putting the garden to bed. One of my favorite quotes from Eliot Coleman is: "That's because there is no goal called "putting in the garden." The garden is in all the time. The goal is to eat well." (in reference to conventional gardens being "put in" on Memorial Day)
Hello Charles! Could I ask you for help please? On the video you mentioned that you will remove the marigolds seedlings as they could be an issue, and we are keeping our plants sharing the space with the winter planting (salad leaves, purple sprout, mustard) thinking that they would be fine while surviving the weather. Should we remove them instead? Thanks SO much in advance!
Thanks Charles, such an inspiration 🌱🌱
I have to grow brassicas under cover to keep pigeons from pecking the leaves and killing the plants, but you seem to be growing them without cover. Any tips please Charles?
Though, I'm a huge fan of the channel somehow I cannot go past the use of toilet compost.. No, no need to explain, I get it but it's something I would not use in my edible garden. Still, you continue to inspire me with your growing ideas and methods.
Charles…..just a thought on so snails/slugs in the leaks…..they are multi down……sooooo…..right at ground level they have crevices to hide in between and work their way to the top blades of the leaks……. absolutely just a thought….
Multi sown
@CharlesDowding what is the definition of soil when it comes to dig or no dig? Does the no dig beds eventually make contact with the soil below? Happy gardening from Australia to you 😊
Jam-packed episode with really useful information. Fabulous. I can't find Adam's You Tube site though. Any help?