@@SeanInAlaska Hey Sean. I am glad you enjoyed this. Scott and I worked on this for a few weeks because of issues and we wanted it to be right before we put it out. I am glad you found value in it
I grew up in the Caribbean. My father was a cane farmer who planted almost all the vegetables and rice that we ate. One of the most important lessons about agriculture that he taught me was......’ plant peas and/or beans right next to corn. Cover the soil with pumpkins and cucumber to keep the ground shaded from the hot sun. Near to it you can plant all the tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, okras and anything else. Don’t worry about moving them to another spot. Just make sure that you use all the cow or horse manure that you have to keep the soil healthy.’..he never had a problem with pests so I learned my lessons from him. His argument for planting the peas/ beans together with the corn was .....corn depletes the nutrition in the soil and the pulses replace it!! He was a successful farmer for 60+ years!,
Working with the wonderful weather of the Island, planting hand in hand and bringing up the soil like his own child, that was man who is now gardening in Eden. Thanks 👍
@@DSmith-ix1xf I hope you have lots of company. I am now living in the U.K. and the weather has not been very friendly to me trying to grow some of my Caribbean foods eg bodi ( long beans) and seim . I am plodding along and have been feeding my family from the fruits of my labour…..onions, garlic, beans, lettuce, pak choi, beetroots, cucumber, lots of herbs and waiting to harvest my carrots and potatoes. Anyone who works the land to produce food is my friend….hi neighbour! Happy gardening.
As did I Scott. I'm still watching yours as I write. I really enjoyed this topic and working with you was great. Thanks for the patience it took while we sorted the issues out
@@SeanInAlaska Thanks Sean We are both chuffed you really enjoyed this video. Scott and I have spoken about further videos so who knows mate :) Keep tuning in
Scott, There is a huge misconception amongst gardeners that soil gets depleted of nutrients. Soil never gets depleted of any nutrients, it has everything the plant needs. It is the life in the soil that gets depleted, killed by fungicides, herbicides, and pesticides, or simply not there to break down said nutrients into plant available forms. The reason organic material and compost work is because it introduces soil biology, bacteria, fungi, nematodes etc. to the soil that breaks down said material. It is thus more a case of soil inoculation than anything else. You look at a forest. No-one tills the soil, no-one fertilises, yet the trees keep growing and feed themselves. The soil never gets depleted. The reason farmers have to keep on fertilising is because they keep on killing the soil through tilling, pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides. It's a win-win for those selling them these poisons for they also sell them the treatment: fertiliser. Peace
Great to see this team-up from to of my favorite content creators. Also I'm SO happy to have this information! I have been thinking about putting in some more permanent structures (specifically for tomatoes) and having seen your respective gardens and this video I feel much more confident in my plan. Thank you both!
This is why No Dig works so well, it mulches and feeds the soil life. I have 8 no dig beds now, and I am adding 7 more through the winter this year. I have not stuck to rotation at all at any stage. My potatoes in pots use the same compost every year up to four years now, but being replaced in spring...Steve
Tony - I came over here from Scott's channel. Learning that I don't have to rotate my crops is a huge relief to me. Thank you both for these videos! I'm basically a new gardener with tons of things to learn. Because of my hard clay soil and Bermuda grass all over, I use 18 gallon totes and other containers for planting. I started to make compost from kitchen scraps, etc and compost tea from collard greens, thistle leaves, etc. Marigolds, garlic chives and basil are planted with my tomatoes. I have a container of rosemary nearby as well as one with mint in it. Gardening is like a lot of important things - the more I learn, the more I learn there is to learn. I'm so glad there are people like you and Scott who are willing to help us along.
This is my 20th year with my little homestead. I tried crop rotation for the first 3 years and all I got was a whole lot more work than I needed. Since then I’ve used plant guilds. The only disease and pest problems I have can be attributed to weather variations - ie; cloudier/wetter than usual seasons mean more fungals and more pests. Because I’ve been saving seeds since year one, my crops are resistant, resilient and adapted to my soil & climate.
Tony, as i said in Scott's video, you guys are my "go to" guys for all questions gardening! I really enjoyed this and would love to see you two do something like this again!
I am sure Scott and I will work again, We enjoyed it very much and we spoke until way after 10pm and I then had to travel home from the studio. 4 hours of video for this 20 min video but was well worth it because it may answer peoples questions as to why we say its a waste of time
I love this discussion because it couldn't have come at a better time: got a new home & will be converting a large, useless lawn into garden beds. I've been turning this over and over in my mind and you resolved the anxiety I've had over this. Thank you! I'm going to check out your potato videos soon as well.
I was just thinking for a rotation plan for my allotment and came across your video, Charles Dowding is also of the same opinion, feed the soil and keep the ground covered with crops. Thanks Tony.
for some reason, this is the first time I"ve seen this video and I'm a great fan of both of you..what a very vary interseting topic you guys should collaborate more, I loved it Well done
Hey Tony ,loved the collaboration with my neighbor down in Colorado springs, Gardener Scott. It was pretty cool watching and hearing you both. I too haven't believed much in crop rotation either in the 50 plus years I have been gardening, keep up the great work buddy.
I was born in the UK - edge of Fen - close to the (currently) one of the most fertile regions in the UK or Europe and yet - I am well aware that these incredibly-productive regions are going to be so depleted in its soil that my great-grandchildren might witness the ultimate impending sterility of this amazing resource. The supermarkets demand uniformity before quality and the populace rightly looks for cheap food. Pre-emergent, post-emergent and follow-on sprays plus artificial fertilization instead of feeding the soil is destined to inexorably reduce prime land to virtual desert. That saddens me. Thanks for this vid - Paul
I have great soil where I am. One thing I have found, is a nice think mat of leaves in the fall. And I till them in, in spring. Leaves offer a winter home, for helpful bugs like lady bugs. And the leaves in the soil in spring attracts tons of worms. Soil is easy to maintain, if you get the worms doing most of the work.
Hi I’m thirteen and I love gardening I have my own UA-cam channel about gardening I love making videos about gardening and giving advice to people about gardening.happy gardening.
You help so many gardeners with your videos. Thank you. This clears up the confusion and really does simplify gardening. Gardening should be fun and not so complicated.
loved the Video ,Ive got to agree that so much Info is past down through the years of gardening that it can become muddled and maybe the old way is not the best
Some stuff is still perfectly viable to use. but then others like crop rotation isnt required, People have to read their gardens and see what works for them
A nice bit of information, i do a lot of interplanting with probably about 80% of my veg, there are certain things i wouldn't grow in the same place over and over again like aliums. The method i use growing potatoes means i move from bed to bed each year because that prepares my bed for the for next few years to grow whatever else i'm growing
@@simplifygardening not just because of the white rot, other diseases can build up because of growing in the same place like canker on tomatoes, interplanting will help reduce the risks especially with companion plants
Big Ag has helped to destroy so much... I am definitely not going to model my gardening practices after it. I agree completely. If your are gardening organically with compost and many different crops then there is no reason to copy crop rotation practices. Thanks Tony and Scott 🌱
Nice one Tony. I have never practised crop rotation and I have always been no-dig. Nice to see that many others are following suit after all this time. I would say "jumping on the band-wagon" but that would be unkind. Feed the soil not the plant!
I came across your channel from watching Gardener Scott's version of this video. I have two tiny in-ground plots on my rented townhouse backyard (if you can even call it a backyard lol). I discovered crop rotation while researching garden planning online and immediately became overwhelmed. I had no clue how I was supposed to crop rotate with one 7 sq ft and one 12 sq ft plot aside from not growing peppers, tomatoes, or eggplants for several years. Thanks for the reassurance that it's not necessary. Aside from building up my soil health, I'm going to concentrate on polyculture and companion planting. Maybe one day I'll have a place big enough to crop rotate for the funsies, but right now it would be a huge hassle.
Awesome video & topic, really well done. I found you thanks to Gardener Scott. I really appreciate hearing this about crop rotation, it makes so much sense. I get moving a plant, like not planting squash or melons where I hadvsquash vine borer, for a specific reason. But it makes sense you don't have to rotate like I've always heard, when I'm planting a diverse variety and successive plantings. I wondered about this (worried really) because in one bed I grew 8 different food plants, including an herb; how was I to plant it next year? Thanks for shedding light on this. Be well!
watched both yours and gardener scots videos I've learnt so much in the short time I've been gardening. Tried growing potatoes in containers I got from Oakland gardens, Lettuce, carrots, radish, turnip with varying degrees of success. even tried Chinese lettuce which eventually bolted and went to seed because we had never seen it before. can't believe you have 21 thumbs down no pleasing some people. I appreciate the hard work you've obviously put in, thank you so much.
Yeah you always get thumbs down when the info goes against the grain. Usually for someone in this case who believes blindly that you have to. Its ok that they disagree with me and Scott, We are just putting our thoughts across and the reasoning. Folks have a right to choose to do what they wish with the information as always :)
I have discovered quite a while ago that planting my runner beans in the same area is quite successful. All I do is add compost every year and feed my plants organically through summer. This year I dug up weeds and added compost to the soil then I planted and kept feeding every week it has been very successful. But I will prepare my beds in the autumn. Digging up weeds take up gardening time, so lots of mulches this year. One year I grew Hungarian rye on my patch then I dug it in, that year I produced the best brassica ever. Thanks for the video Tony
Yes, just keep your soil fed and there should be really no problem regarding the need for rotation. I have kept my tomatoes in the same location for nearly 15 years and have no problem with production, same with the rest of the veggies!
I’ll be honest, I always thought that crop rotation was used to mitigate diseases of cruciferous crops, but as you state, building up the soil to keep it healthy with good strong microbial life should be sufficient. The beds in my back garden are tiny, so I have to plant mixed beds and have seen a number of successes and failures, although these have been more related to sunlight and soil temperature rather than disease.
@@simplifygardening crazy isn’t it? I wonder how much WWII has to do with this? The man from MAFF tendrils everywhere, telling people how they could best grow their own crops. It wold make sense if the one piece of information was spread to agriculture and homes together at the time.
My husband and I love your channel. We have found that you give T.H.E. most details on any given topic than on the other channels we watch. Garden Scott is up there too but you still take the cake. Although we love both of you guys.
Thank you Tony for posting this information. I have stopped rotating crops and all is well in my garden. I really enjoy your videos thank you for taking the time and effort to help us all!
Thank you for the video both. The way I need to grow because of shade and structures, means I can't crop rotate and it has been on my mind. But now this video has been made, it has put my mind at rest. I have used green manure in my empty bed and I wasn't sure if it works that well but now my worries have gone knowing you both use it to add nutrients to your soil. Once again... Thank you.
I know that some of the Scottish potato growers use the same fields year after year. They spread seaweed on the fields which apparently kills off the nasties.
2 of my favorite gardeners in one video. feels like Xmas. I agree that you don't need crop rotation... its actually a principal that was taught to our farmers of old by fertilizer manufacturers. Monoculture + fertilizer kills our soil.
Very interesting, thank you! I'm gardening in such a small space that crop rotation isn't even possible, although I do try to pay attention to recommendations like "don't plant alliums next to legumes" (so the bunching onions go on one side of the bed and the peas go on the other). Off to check out Scott's video...
I love you both! Watching both of your videos has gotten me through the isolation from the pandemic (along with a few others'). My garden looks like a mish-mash of different "beds" and buckets, but it is growing food, thanks to what I have been learning from you guys. Thanks for all of the time and effort you put into these videos. Eventually, we will save the planet, one gardener at a time.
I have just discovered you by pure chance. Absolutely brilliant. I learnt gardening by trial, error and observation. I have yet to grow vegetables seriously but I am about to get a small allotment, soon.
Oh, that is great Juliette. Stick with the channel we have a big year coming and I will ensure you get the info you need to make your growing year a success. Welcome to the channel :)
To my shame I've just got round to watching this video, I follow both channels and it's great to see the bouncing of ideas between two respected gardeners.
I'm looking forward to ending rotation in my small garden so plants get their preferred light and shade instead of being forced into less than ideal spots for the sake of the rotation. Thanks for this!
Hooray! I am newly retired and have the time to garden again. I had many successes and some failures this year and have now moved up to some bigger containers. I have a fall/ winter garden planted here in north east Florida. I was worried because I reused the dirt from my pots but I did work to improve it and will continue to do so. If I can master composting I will be queen of my garden.
But I do grow the same crop in each bed. It makes the logistics of growing food easier, as I feed my family mainly from what we grow here. I have garlic beds, they only grow garlic. The onions grow onions. The rows of beans grow beans. I'm doing no-till so growing different plants in it each year penetrate the subsoil differently, adding carbon to the depts of the soil all around once your rotation has done. I do appreciate Scott's advice on mulch. If you can get mulch of the right C/N ratio for your vegetables, like alfalfa hay you're laughing. No need for any fertilizer after that.
this is great! GS i've been seeing comments from you on various channels that i watch. i appreciate that you guys are collaborating & sharing your knowledge with so many of us. thank you both sooo much!!!
i have a healthy respect for yourself, your programmes and what you stand for, but i have to be true to myself and follow my own beliefs................................brian
Brian, The channel is here to help people and advise as folks get to know how to garden and understand what is happening in their own garden then that's when they can choose whatever method they prefer. This video isn't to convince you but offer an understanding of why we don't think it's required. The overall decision of what folks do with the info is for them to choose to use it or not my friend :)
The idea of crop rotation may also be linked to what quotas authorities set. In Canada at least, farmers are told to grow oats, then canola, the alfalfa etc depending on what expected markets and needs might be. So old stories of rotation may now be inextricably linked to what big farming has accepted. I don’t know, I’m theorizing. I don’t have enough space to rotate anything besides my trowel.
First of all I would like to congratulate both for going against the flow and the explanations. I'm new to gardening, and although we have lived here for 15 years, this year is only my third year of experimenting! We live in Galicia NW Spain and our land has very shallow sandy soil on porous ghist rock, we now have raised beds and practice no dig as far as we can. We also follow the local practice of NO rotation and fill the space as soon as it becomes vacant. I was surprised to see the same crops in the same place year after year, so I questioned a few of the neighbours and got some funny looks! they hadn't heard of the practice, and why should we change if it works, well there are fields that have been growing the same crop for over 100 years! Another point is that they leave weeds to take over once the crop is collected as ground cover, and dig them straight in when ready to plant with a covering of fresh manure. When the weeds come up again they get dug back in. And finally many gardeners leave their brassicas to self seed, so the same plants grow in the same plot year after year. The local problem is weather related, on a cool foggy morning and too hot afternoons give raise to powdery mildew and blight. Thanks for the great video, cheers
Yes Chris Mildew and blight would become an issue there. All you can do is avoid getting the leaves wet at watering and allow larger spacings for better air movement
I agree with, "Healthy Soil, Grows Healthy Plants" that are less susceptible to problems. I also believe that crop rotation Doesn't take any more "time" to do than not rotating. Especially, if you're going to amend the soil, in one way, shape, or form anyway. Leaving amending out, because 1) you're going to do it anyway, and 2) different plants thrive on different nutrients, and one would be advised to know that also. Then all that's left is how much time does it take to plant a row of beans here, rather than there. Other then the use of permanent trellis's. And why not take advantage of what last years plants left behind. Plant leafy greens where Legumes were the year before and so on. I'm subscribed to about 7 different channels that deal with gardening. My "Go To's" There's a hand full more that I browse if I'm looking for an answer to a specific question. Compare notes, and make my decision. Scott is in the later. I respect what he suggests. TYFS, Stay Safe and Well Mark and Rosa
Tony, I watched a video talk by Gabe Brown who farms 5,000 acres in North Dakota and over the last twenty years he has transformed his farm from one dependent on artificial fertilisers, chemicals and herbicides to a thriving and profitable business with huge biodiversity by practicing no till and carefully chosen cover crops inter planted with his commercial crops. Many of his ideas, apart from using livestock, can be adapted to the allotment or vegetable garden and I am in the process of experimenting on my allotment this year. He is well worth looking up on UA-cam.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge with such conviction Tony. I mentioned to you before I’m a novice but you are making sense and I will be putting it into practice.
Wow now that was very interesting,lot of very valuable information 👌 thank you so very much Tony for putting this video together.All the very best 🌱🌱🌱💕
This is so reassuring 😊👍 you both dived deep. We're still building up our soil. We keep composting and generating lots of worms too. I like to scoop the worms and mixture on top of pots where it may need more nutrients and irrigating.
Another thing that is being passed around is gardening instructions meant for industrial farming such as spacing potatoes out X inches in rows that are Y feet apart. The spacing is really only for tractor wheels.
I live in the tropics and I want to start a vegetable garden. I'm starting with infrastructure first, im building a 3 bin composting bin, a outdoor garden tool closet and I built a shed that rain harvest water, after I finish that I will be building metal raised beds that are suitable for my tropical climate, I have no problems growing bananas and other tropical fruits.
When I saw the subject I though wow both you and gardener Scott talking about the same thing? Then I watched both videos and how wonderful the collaboration of two knowledgeable Gardeners are!!!! 👏❤️👏❤️
Mulch and cover+. Singular, dogmatic methods don't make any sense to me. I use what nature gives me and what works through observation, study and effort. Completing the circle is important to me. I leave roots in ground, do covers, mulch, and add organic amendments, companion planting, raised beds for a few things, lots of no dig but not all. Constantly trying new ideas, and why not, if it doesn't work, do something different next time. I do rotate somethings but not for the conventional reasons. A lot of what you guys talked about has kind of come through time and trial and error for me. Very informative in that I feel like my intuition is reaffirmed. Great video guys.
Great video and relieved now I don't have to worry about one more thing...I was concerned what to do so that is great news! All the best to you from NY USA...enjoyed your guest Gardener Scott...I watch him too! Also enjoyed the haul of potatoes...you are the King!
Try and discuss that with your garden club or ag agency. They give that look, give a nod and then continue with their agenda. Reading it right out of the book.
Crop rotation is essentially farming without the addition of any chemicals or compost. If you farm like that it works. If you decide to add significant quantities of new nutrients via compost, you are adding back in what was depleted, so of course you don't need to crop rotate. Tony, you even admitted that when you said that planting potatoes in the ground repeatedly didn't work. But when you change the ground every year, by the addition of compost planted in buckets, it works of course...
Morning tony, what is the green manure that you us and how do you use it? If you have a video on it could you send me the link, you and a few other people that I watch are changing my mind on the way in which I was tort to garden. Thanks for all you help. John
Great video. Could you please give an insight into companion planting. I try to mix groups of herbs, vegetables and edible flowers to confuse problematic insects. Looks pretty also no disease.👍😊
I had an allotment for 8 years and gave it up 2 years ago because of all the unnecessary digging and moving stuff around all the time. The biggest single problem was the dreaded WEEDS forever digging them up ,they were growing faster than I could dig them up. I now grow at home in raised beds using the no dig method with excellent results and if any weeds come I just pluck them out with my fingers an absolute doddle now.
I've not long got my allotment so its not ready yet but one of my ideas is to have a waist high raised bed and I want it covered in grass and with a bulb planter I'll make some holes and plant in some turnips or broccoli for example but everything else stays as lawn and my hope is it wont need watering as much as bare soil and instead of watering I'll just come and cut the grass and leave it there to break down. And to add nutrients aswell as the grass clippings I'll use worm juice and comfrey all the juice organic feeds we can make
That was a very interesting video, this year one of my beds on a half plot allotment had a variety of plants and they have all done really well, were as the beds with just one type of croft have been full of pests! I know what Im doing next season and Im going to put green manure on the beds that have no crops over winter, Thank you ,you are inspiring.
One of the reasons I "rotate" is to allow one area to lie fallow each year. I layer it deeply with leaves over the winter and it sits for a year. This is the ONLY way I could find enough organic matter to make a difference. Spread that same amount of leaves over the entire garden there would be a thin skin that would blow away by spring.
Hi Tóny I am really enjoying your videos here in Australia,I would like to ask you,what sort if mix do you use in the grow bags for your potatoes? Thanks
my tomatoes and potatoes sure seem to benefit from it... it's not like it's any more work to plant things in a different bed... also some critters remember where things are, so you can sometimes hide plants in a different spot to fool them long enough for the plants to get past the tender sprout stage.
@@simplifygardening actually the 'rotation' i do is that when i lift my potatoes in july, i have leeks or something else to go in. I never leave any spot unused. I also do a lot of interplanting.
Interesting controversy around this. A few years ago I visited a garden in West Cork (think incredibly damp - think lots of blight around!!!) and the lady there told me that she grew her tomatoes in the same polytunnel every year. The year I visited I believe it was the 12th year she did this. All she does is cover the soil with a very thick mulch of grass clippings from the lawn and of course ensured proper ventilation. She has never had blight. Sadly, in my own garden, this very first year of growing tomatoes I got struck with blight straight away. Just my luck..... However, I'm going to try again next year. There was a period where I didn't ventilate properly as there was so much wind going on, and I was worried about the tunnel. Probably should have opened the doors nevertheless and take a gamble because I had to cut all foliage, and top all the plants in order for the first trusses on each plant not to get blight. I lost most tomatoes and the ones that didn't get blight are still green, only just starting to colour up now. I'm hoping next year will be better.
I'm agree you two garden much the same and I listened hard to you both, I'm tilter man for now because I'm trying to remove some more rocks and believe the raised beds are natural dryer and at ground level I seldom add water But respect you both highly and working in your direction but not raise bed. Building a broad fork for my future Thanks, Thanks for you each.
Folks, Make sure to get across and check out Scotts channel ua-cam.com/users/gardenerscott
Just saw Scott's video this morning and headed over to yours. I love this!
@@SeanInAlaska Hey Sean. I am glad you enjoyed this. Scott and I worked on this for a few weeks because of issues and we wanted it to be right before we put it out. I am glad you found value in it
@@simplifygardening Gardener Scott sent me here :)
Echo: I’m also here from your “cross pollinated” video with Gardener Scott. SO informative - thank you both! 🌱💫
@@rai55 Awesome welcome
I grew up in the Caribbean. My father was a cane farmer who planted almost all the vegetables and rice that we ate. One of the most important lessons about agriculture that he taught me was......’ plant peas and/or beans right next to corn. Cover the soil with pumpkins and cucumber to keep the ground shaded from the hot sun. Near to it you can plant all the tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, okras and anything else. Don’t worry about moving them to another spot. Just make sure that you use all the cow or horse manure that you have to keep the soil healthy.’..he never had a problem with pests so I learned my lessons from him. His argument for planting the peas/ beans together with the corn was .....corn depletes the nutrition in the soil and the pulses replace it!! He was a successful farmer for 60+ years!,
Your dad is a smart man
Simplify Gardening was darling , was. He died at 91 and was in his garden till his late 80s. I am not far from that!!
Working with the wonderful weather of the Island, planting hand in hand and bringing up the soil like his own child, that was man who is now gardening in Eden. Thanks 👍
@@DSmith-ix1xf I hope you have lots of company. I am now living in the U.K. and the weather has not been very friendly to me trying to grow some of my Caribbean foods eg bodi ( long beans) and seim . I am plodding along and have been feeding my family from the fruits of my labour…..onions, garlic, beans, lettuce, pak choi, beetroots, cucumber, lots of herbs and waiting to harvest my carrots and potatoes. Anyone who works the land to produce food is my friend….hi neighbour! Happy gardening.
Well unfortunately nowdays we dont have cow or horse manure to use for fertalizer. So crop rotation is easy enough for me.
Great video, Tony. I enjoyed working with you very much.
I loved these both! You guys should consider doing more of these! Great way to inform both of your bases!
As did I Scott. I'm still watching yours as I write. I really enjoyed this topic and working with you was great. Thanks for the patience it took while we sorted the issues out
@@SeanInAlaska Thanks Sean We are both chuffed you really enjoyed this video. Scott and I have spoken about further videos so who knows mate :) Keep tuning in
@@simplifygardening I've come here from Gardener Scott's video. It'd be great to see more of these collaborations.
Scott,
There is a huge misconception amongst gardeners that soil gets depleted of nutrients. Soil never gets depleted of any nutrients, it has everything the plant needs. It is the life in the soil that gets depleted, killed by fungicides, herbicides, and pesticides, or simply not there to break down said nutrients into plant available forms. The reason organic material and compost work is because it introduces soil biology, bacteria, fungi, nematodes etc. to the soil that breaks down said material. It is thus more a case of soil inoculation than anything else.
You look at a forest. No-one tills the soil, no-one fertilises, yet the trees keep growing and feed themselves. The soil never gets depleted.
The reason farmers have to keep on fertilising is because they keep on killing the soil through tilling, pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides. It's a win-win for those selling them these poisons for they also sell them the treatment: fertiliser.
Peace
Great to see this team-up from to of my favorite content creators. Also I'm SO happy to have this information! I have been thinking about putting in some more permanent structures (specifically for tomatoes) and having seen your respective gardens and this video I feel much more confident in my plan. Thank you both!
This is why No Dig works so well, it mulches and feeds the soil life. I have 8 no dig beds now, and I am adding 7 more through the winter this year. I have not stuck to rotation at all at any stage. My potatoes in pots use the same compost every year up to four years now, but being replaced in spring...Steve
I totally agree Pal. Most of my garden is no dig and the soil is beautiful
Tony - I came over here from Scott's channel. Learning that I don't have to rotate my crops is a huge relief to me. Thank you both for these videos! I'm basically a new gardener with tons of things to learn. Because of my hard clay soil and Bermuda grass all over, I use 18 gallon totes and other containers for planting. I started to make compost from kitchen scraps, etc and compost tea from collard greens, thistle leaves, etc. Marigolds, garlic chives and basil are planted with my tomatoes. I have a container of rosemary nearby as well as one with mint in it. Gardening is like a lot of important things - the more I learn, the more I learn there is to learn. I'm so glad there are people like you and Scott who are willing to help us along.
This is my 20th year with my little homestead. I tried crop rotation for the first 3 years and all I got was a whole lot more work than I needed. Since then I’ve used plant guilds. The only disease and pest problems I have can be attributed to weather variations - ie; cloudier/wetter than usual seasons mean more fungals and more pests. Because I’ve been saving seeds since year one, my crops are resistant, resilient and adapted to my soil & climate.
What about nutrient depletions?
Tony, as i said in Scott's video, you guys are my "go to" guys for all questions gardening! I really enjoyed this and would love to see you two do something like this again!
I am sure Scott and I will work again, We enjoyed it very much and we spoke until way after 10pm and I then had to travel home from the studio. 4 hours of video for this 20 min video but was well worth it because it may answer peoples questions as to why we say its a waste of time
Watched this twice now 👍
They're my favourite too
Thanks Tony and Scott for taking Initiative in helping people better thereselfs through knowledge of gardening yall are saving lives
Thanks Alex. I am glad you found value in the conversation Scott and I had
Thanks, Alex. It's heartwarming to hear you say that.
We have farmers that are doing some of the practices you both are talking about and they're finding great success on the large scale
I love this discussion because it couldn't have come at a better time: got a new home & will be converting a large, useless lawn into garden beds. I've been turning this over and over in my mind and you resolved the anxiety I've had over this. Thank you! I'm going to check out your potato videos soon as well.
Oh i have plenty of potato videos for you to watch. Concentrate your time on other gardening tasks rather than crop rotation
Awe my two favorite u tube gardeners together. Thanks guys!
I was just thinking for a rotation plan for my allotment and came across your video, Charles Dowding is also of the same opinion, feed the soil and keep the ground covered with crops. Thanks Tony.
This was a great topic discussion between two great gardeners, thank you much appreciated!
Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks :)
for some reason, this is the first time I"ve seen this video and I'm a great fan of both of you..what a very vary interseting topic you guys should collaborate more, I loved it Well done
QUALITY INFO EVERY TIME.
Hey Tony ,loved the collaboration with my neighbor down in Colorado springs, Gardener Scott. It was pretty cool watching and hearing you both. I too haven't believed much in crop rotation either in the 50 plus years I have been gardening, keep up the great work buddy.
Scott is here :)
Great video both. Never has it been so important to look after our soils. Particularly in main stream agriculture.
I was born in the UK - edge of Fen - close to the (currently) one of the most fertile regions in the UK or Europe and yet - I am well aware that these incredibly-productive regions are going to be so depleted in its soil that my great-grandchildren might witness the ultimate impending sterility of this amazing resource. The supermarkets demand uniformity before quality and the populace rightly looks for cheap food. Pre-emergent, post-emergent and follow-on sprays plus artificial fertilization instead of feeding the soil is destined to inexorably reduce prime land to virtual desert. That saddens me.
Thanks for this vid - Paul
I love seeing the two of you together. I love you both.
Thanks Vivian we love you too :)
Thanks, Vivian. We appreciate that very much.
I have great soil where I am. One thing I have found, is a nice think mat of leaves in the fall. And I till them in, in spring.
Leaves offer a winter home, for helpful bugs like lady bugs. And the leaves in the soil in spring attracts tons of worms. Soil is easy to maintain, if you get the worms doing most of the work.
perfect
Hi I’m thirteen and I love gardening I have my own UA-cam channel about gardening I love making videos about gardening and giving advice to people about gardening.happy gardening.
Hi garrett well done i will check your channel out
Simplify Gardening thanks 😊
You help so many gardeners with your videos. Thank you. This clears up the confusion and really does simplify gardening. Gardening should be fun and not so complicated.
loved the Video ,Ive got to agree that so much Info is past down through the years of gardening that it can become muddled and maybe the old way is not the best
Some stuff is still perfectly viable to use. but then others like crop rotation isnt required, People have to read their gardens and see what works for them
Every time I garden the lawn keeps trying to rotate itself back into the garden beds, no matter how much I don't believe in rotating~
A nice bit of information, i do a lot of interplanting with probably about 80% of my veg, there are certain things i wouldn't grow in the same place over and over again like aliums. The method i use growing potatoes means i move from bed to bed each year because that prepares my bed for the for next few years to grow whatever else i'm growing
Great stuff Monty. Alliums are fine unless you get white rot like u had. We covered this in scotts video
@@simplifygardening not just because of the white rot, other diseases can build up because of growing in the same place like canker on tomatoes, interplanting will help reduce the risks especially with companion plants
Big Ag has helped to destroy so much... I am definitely not going to model my gardening practices after it. I agree completely. If your are gardening organically with compost and many different crops then there is no reason to copy crop rotation practices. Thanks Tony and Scott 🌱
Thanks Amber. Glad you dont follow out dated theories
Highly recommend watching the documentary “Kiss The Ground” on Netflix
Will look at it thanks
"Kiss the ground" is a fantastic documentation about healthy soil. I can really recommend it for a better understanding of this topic.
Yes it is
Nice one Tony. I have never practised crop rotation and I have always been no-dig. Nice to see that many others are following suit after all this time. I would say "jumping on the band-wagon" but that would be unkind.
Feed the soil not the plant!
I came across your channel from watching Gardener Scott's version of this video. I have two tiny in-ground plots on my rented townhouse backyard (if you can even call it a backyard lol). I discovered crop rotation while researching garden planning online and immediately became overwhelmed. I had no clue how I was supposed to crop rotate with one 7 sq ft and one 12 sq ft plot aside from not growing peppers, tomatoes, or eggplants for several years. Thanks for the reassurance that it's not necessary. Aside from building up my soil health, I'm going to concentrate on polyculture and companion planting. Maybe one day I'll have a place big enough to crop rotate for the funsies, but right now it would be a huge hassle.
Awesome video & topic, really well done. I found you thanks to Gardener Scott. I really appreciate hearing this about crop rotation, it makes so much sense. I get moving a plant, like not planting squash or melons where I hadvsquash vine borer, for a specific reason. But it makes sense you don't have to rotate like I've always heard, when I'm planting a diverse variety and successive plantings. I wondered about this (worried really) because in one bed I grew 8 different food plants, including an herb; how was I to plant it next year? Thanks for shedding light on this. Be well!
My 2 favorite gardeners😊. Thanks for the informative video. It cleared things up for me😊
Thanks Denise im so glad you enjoyed scott and my conversation
watched both yours and gardener scots videos I've learnt so much in the short time I've been gardening. Tried growing potatoes in containers I got from Oakland gardens, Lettuce, carrots, radish, turnip with varying degrees of success. even tried Chinese lettuce which eventually bolted and went to seed because we had never seen it before. can't believe you have 21 thumbs down no pleasing some people. I appreciate the hard work you've obviously put in, thank you so much.
Yeah you always get thumbs down when the info goes against the grain. Usually for someone in this case who believes blindly that you have to. Its ok that they disagree with me and Scott, We are just putting our thoughts across and the reasoning. Folks have a right to choose to do what they wish with the information as always :)
I have discovered quite a while ago that planting my runner beans in the same area is quite successful. All I do is add compost every year and feed my plants organically through summer. This year I dug up weeds and added compost to the soil then I planted and kept feeding every week it has been very successful. But I will prepare my beds in the autumn. Digging up weeds take up gardening time, so lots of mulches this year.
One year I grew Hungarian rye on my patch then I dug it in, that year I produced the best brassica ever. Thanks for the video Tony
Excellent post, gentlemen.
Glad you enjoyed it Douglas
Yes, just keep your soil fed and there should be really no problem regarding the need for rotation. I have kept my tomatoes in the same location for nearly 15 years and have no problem with production, same with the rest of the veggies!
I’ll be honest, I always thought that crop rotation was used to mitigate diseases of cruciferous crops, but as you state, building up the soil to keep it healthy with good strong microbial life should be sufficient.
The beds in my back garden are tiny, so I have to plant mixed beds and have seen a number of successes and failures, although these have been more related to sunlight and soil temperature rather than disease.
Its something thats been dragged out fo farming single crops and people think its beneficial but in the garden situation not really required so much
@@simplifygardening crazy isn’t it? I wonder how much WWII has to do with this? The man from MAFF tendrils everywhere, telling people how they could best grow their own crops. It wold make sense if the one piece of information was spread to agriculture and homes together at the time.
My volunteers come back in the same spots each year and theyre healthy and happy In many spots i now have almost regular crops of volunteers
Free plants and thats the perfect way to garden
My husband and I love your channel. We have found that you give T.H.E. most details on any given topic than on the other channels we watch. Garden Scott is up there too but you still take the cake. Although we love both of you guys.
Wow, thank you! Jill i appreciate that and please do pass on my thanks to your husband too. I am glad you are finding value in the channel
Thank you Tony for posting this information. I have stopped rotating crops and all is well in my garden. I really enjoy your videos thank you for taking the time and effort to help us all!
Hey Marlena. Glad you are find value in my videos :)
Great topic. I hope your vertigo is better Tony
Vertigo is much better thanks :)
Thank you for the video both. The way I need to grow because of shade and structures, means I can't crop rotate and it has been on my mind. But now this video has been made, it has put my mind at rest. I have used green manure in my empty bed and I wasn't sure if it works that well but now my worries have gone knowing you both use it to add nutrients to your soil. Once again... Thank you.
Glad its put your reservations to bed Craig
I know that some of the Scottish potato growers use the same fields year after year. They spread seaweed on the fields which apparently kills off the nasties.
Thanks so much Tony. I watch both your channel and Gardner’s Scott. I’ve learned so much from y’all. Really enjoyed the video.Thank you.👩🌾
Love the new format 👍 great info
Well this is just a series I am thinking of doing, Not all videos will be like this Malk but just something to change things up a little
2 of my favorite gardeners in one video. feels like Xmas. I agree that you don't need crop rotation... its actually a principal that was taught to our farmers of old by fertilizer manufacturers. Monoculture + fertilizer kills our soil.
Yeah I totally agree. A great way to move more products
Very interesting, thank you! I'm gardening in such a small space that crop rotation isn't even possible, although I do try to pay attention to recommendations like "don't plant alliums next to legumes" (so the bunching onions go on one side of the bed and the peas go on the other).
Off to check out Scott's video...
Enjoy Scott's video and look around his channel too its great
I love you both!
Watching both of your videos has gotten me through the isolation from the pandemic (along with a few others'). My garden looks like a mish-mash of different "beds" and buckets, but it is growing food, thanks to what I have been learning from you guys.
Thanks for all of the time and effort you put into these videos. Eventually, we will save the planet, one gardener at a time.
We love you to Sandy. 1 garden at a time
I have just discovered you by pure chance. Absolutely brilliant. I learnt gardening by trial, error and observation. I have yet to grow vegetables seriously but I am about to get a small allotment, soon.
Oh, that is great Juliette. Stick with the channel we have a big year coming and I will ensure you get the info you need to make your growing year a success. Welcome to the channel :)
My 2 favorite gardening channels working together. Love it.
Glad you enjoyed it Stephen
You two are powerhouse gardeners with great practices and advice. Thank you
Thanks Annie glad you enjoyed the video
To my shame I've just got round to watching this video, I follow both channels and it's great to see the bouncing of ideas between two respected gardeners.
I'm looking forward to ending rotation in my small garden so plants get their preferred light and shade instead of being forced into less than ideal spots for the sake of the rotation. Thanks for this!
exactly give them the best conditions
Thank you for your fantastic discussion. I follow Gardner Scott and now I am also following you!
Hey Lar. Welcome to the channel. Dig around the videos i hope you decide to stivk around
Hooray! I am newly retired and have the time to garden again. I had many successes and some failures this year and have now moved up to some bigger containers. I have a fall/ winter garden planted here in north east Florida. I was worried because I reused the dirt from my pots but I did work to improve it and will continue to do so. If I can master composting I will be queen of my garden.
Well i have the perfect video for you about composting ua-cam.com/video/n1cVCkCfwi0/v-deo.html
But I do grow the same crop in each bed. It makes the logistics of growing food easier, as I feed my family mainly from what we grow here. I have garlic beds, they only grow garlic. The onions grow onions. The rows of beans grow beans. I'm doing no-till so growing different plants in it each year penetrate the subsoil differently, adding carbon to the depts of the soil all around once your rotation has done.
I do appreciate Scott's advice on mulch. If you can get mulch of the right C/N ratio for your vegetables, like alfalfa hay you're laughing. No need for any fertilizer after that.
Thank you Tony for sharing and making for us
Very much enjoyed, thank you both !
this is great! GS i've been seeing comments from you on various channels that i watch. i appreciate that you guys are collaborating & sharing your knowledge with so many of us. thank you both sooo much!!!
You're very welcome. It was great working with Tony.
Glad you enjoyed it. Scott and I had a great time working together
Wow! Two of my favorite garden experts. Love the video! I'd like to see more of these videos. Steve from Michigan
Hey Steve. We have spoken about future videos mate, So who knows what is around the corner. I really enjoyed working with Scott doing this
i have a healthy respect for yourself, your programmes and what you stand for, but i have to be true to myself and follow my own beliefs................................brian
Brian, The channel is here to help people and advise as folks get to know how to garden and understand what is happening in their own garden then that's when they can choose whatever method they prefer. This video isn't to convince you but offer an understanding of why we don't think it's required. The overall decision of what folks do with the info is for them to choose to use it or not my friend :)
The idea of crop rotation may also be linked to what quotas authorities set. In Canada at least, farmers are told to grow oats, then canola, the alfalfa etc depending on what expected markets and needs might be. So old stories of rotation may now be inextricably linked to what big farming has accepted. I don’t know, I’m theorizing. I don’t have enough space to rotate anything besides my trowel.
Agreed where single monoculture was grown
First of all I would like to congratulate both for going against the flow and the explanations.
I'm new to gardening, and although we have lived here for 15 years, this year is only my third year of experimenting! We live in Galicia NW Spain and our land has very shallow sandy soil on porous ghist rock, we now have raised beds and practice no dig as far as we can.
We also follow the local practice of NO rotation and fill the space as soon as it becomes vacant.
I was surprised to see the same crops in the same place year after year, so I questioned a few of the neighbours and got some funny looks! they hadn't heard of the practice, and why should we change if it works, well there are fields that have been growing the same crop for over 100 years!
Another point is that they leave weeds to take over once the crop is collected as ground cover, and dig them straight in when ready to plant with a covering of fresh manure. When the weeds come up again they get dug back in.
And finally many gardeners leave their brassicas to self seed, so the same plants grow in the same plot year after year.
The local problem is weather related, on a cool foggy morning and too hot afternoons give raise to powdery mildew and blight.
Thanks for the great video, cheers
Yes Chris Mildew and blight would become an issue there. All you can do is avoid getting the leaves wet at watering and allow larger spacings for better air movement
I agree with, "Healthy Soil, Grows Healthy Plants" that are less susceptible to
problems. I also believe that crop rotation Doesn't take any more "time" to do than
not rotating. Especially, if you're going to amend the soil, in one way, shape, or
form anyway. Leaving amending out, because 1) you're going to do it anyway,
and 2) different plants thrive on different nutrients, and one would be advised to
know that also. Then all that's left is how much time does it take to plant a row of
beans here, rather than there. Other then the use of permanent trellis's. And why not
take advantage of what last years plants left behind. Plant leafy greens where
Legumes were the year before and so on.
I'm subscribed to about 7 different channels that deal with gardening. My "Go To's"
There's a hand full more that I browse if I'm looking for an answer to a specific
question. Compare notes, and make my decision. Scott is in the later. I respect what
he suggests.
TYFS, Stay Safe and Well
Mark and Rosa
Thank You! I am just starting out on my first 'Bed' for veg for us to eat. That video really was informative.
Glad you got value from it Paul
Tony, I watched a video talk by Gabe Brown who farms 5,000 acres in North Dakota and over the last twenty years he has transformed his farm from one dependent on artificial fertilisers, chemicals and herbicides to a thriving and profitable business with huge biodiversity by practicing no till and carefully chosen cover crops inter planted with his commercial crops. Many of his ideas, apart from using livestock, can be adapted to the allotment or vegetable garden and I am in the process of experimenting on my allotment this year. He is well worth looking up on UA-cam.
Thanks Mike
Thanks for sharing your knowledge with such conviction Tony. I mentioned to you before I’m a novice but you are making sense and I will be putting it into practice.
Thats great Pat. Im glad its helping you
Wow now that was very interesting,lot of very valuable information 👌 thank you so very much Tony for putting this video together.All the very best 🌱🌱🌱💕
I am very glad you enjoyed it and found value in it Joyce :)
Brilliant information. thank you both.
This is so reassuring 😊👍 you both dived deep.
We're still building up our soil. We keep composting and generating lots of worms too. I like to scoop the worms and mixture on top of pots where it may need more nutrients and irrigating.
Just keep working on your soil Suzy. Before long its gonna look after you
Another thing that is being passed around is gardening instructions meant for industrial farming such as spacing potatoes out X inches in rows that are Y feet apart. The spacing is really only for tractor wheels.
I totally agree with you Phillip, all based around farming
I live in the tropics and I want to start a vegetable garden. I'm starting with infrastructure first, im building a 3 bin composting bin, a outdoor garden tool closet and I built a shed that rain harvest water, after I finish that I will be building metal raised beds that are suitable for my tropical climate, I have no problems growing bananas and other tropical fruits.
thats awesome to hear keep me updated
Fascinating!!
Thanks :)
Thank you both for your immense knowledge. Blessings.
Glad you enjoyed
Amazing how you both have the same wall colours and house plants!!!
Ian this is my studio which i took you around in the last video. We greenscreened it into scotts for continuity
enjoyable video
Cheers Steven
When I saw the subject I though wow both you and gardener Scott talking about the same thing? Then I watched both videos and how wonderful the collaboration of two knowledgeable Gardeners are!!!! 👏❤️👏❤️
Glad you enjoyed it Kimiye, It was great to work on this with Scott
Tony just fabulous- the most informative video. I am going to have a look at Scotts channel as well. Cheers Denise - Australia
Mulch and cover+. Singular, dogmatic methods don't make any sense to me. I use what nature gives me and what works through observation, study and effort. Completing the circle is important to me. I leave roots in ground, do covers, mulch, and add organic amendments, companion planting, raised beds for a few things, lots of no dig but not all. Constantly trying new ideas, and why not, if it doesn't work, do something different next time. I do rotate somethings but not for the conventional reasons. A lot of what you guys talked about has kind of come through time and trial and error for me. Very informative in that I feel like my intuition is reaffirmed. Great video guys.
Great video and relieved now I don't have to worry about one more thing...I was concerned what to do so that is great news! All the best to you from NY USA...enjoyed your guest Gardener Scott...I watch him too! Also enjoyed the haul of potatoes...you are the King!
Thanks mate. I am glad you enjoyed this and found you can save yourself some time this year
Try and discuss that with your garden club or ag agency. They give that look, give a nod and then continue with their agenda. Reading it right out of the book.
Wonderful format mate. More to come in the winter months i hope.
There will be lots to follow 😀
Crop rotation is essentially farming without the addition of any chemicals or compost. If you farm like that it works. If you decide to add significant quantities of new nutrients via compost, you are adding back in what was depleted, so of course you don't need to crop rotate. Tony, you even admitted that when you said that planting potatoes in the ground repeatedly didn't work. But when you change the ground every year, by the addition of compost planted in buckets, it works of course...
Morning tony, what is the green manure that you us and how do you use it? If you have a video on it could you send me the link, you and a few other people that I watch are changing my mind on the way in which I was tort to garden. Thanks for all you help. John
Great video. Could you please give an insight into companion planting. I try to mix groups of herbs, vegetables and edible flowers to confuse problematic insects. Looks pretty also no disease.👍😊
Hi Chris its already programmed in for a video based on it
As usual a fantastic video! Thanks 🙏
I had an allotment for 8 years and gave it up 2 years ago because of all the unnecessary digging and moving stuff around all the time. The biggest single problem was the dreaded WEEDS forever digging them up ,they were growing faster than I could dig them up.
I now grow at home in raised beds using the no dig method with excellent results and if any weeds come I just pluck them out with my fingers an absolute doddle now.
I've not long got my allotment so its not ready yet but one of my ideas is to have a waist high raised bed and I want it covered in grass and with a bulb planter I'll make some holes and plant in some turnips or broccoli for example but everything else stays as lawn and my hope is it wont need watering as much as bare soil and instead of watering I'll just come and cut the grass and leave it there to break down. And to add nutrients aswell as the grass clippings I'll use worm juice and comfrey all the juice organic feeds we can make
Thats perfect Juan so just ensure to keep that soil covered
That was a very interesting video, this year one of my beds on a half plot allotment had a variety of plants and they have all done really well, were as the beds with just one type of croft have been full of pests! I know what Im doing next season and Im going to put green manure on the beds that have no crops over winter, Thank you ,you are inspiring.
Thats awesome Pauline. Great to hear your using the cover crop too
One of the reasons I "rotate" is to allow one area to lie fallow each year. I layer it deeply with leaves over the winter and it sits for a year. This is the ONLY way I could find enough organic matter to make a difference. Spread that same amount of leaves over the entire garden there would be a thin skin that would blow away by spring.
The organic matter is still feedingbthe microbes though
Hi Tóny
I am really enjoying your videos here in Australia,I would like to ask you,what sort if mix do you use in the grow bags for your potatoes?
Thanks
brillant conversation enjoyed it very much
Thats great you enjoyed it
Congratulations to both of you, excellent video
Glad you enjoyed it Susana
I've been reading a lot about remineralization. Its fascinating.
my tomatoes and potatoes sure seem to benefit from it... it's not like it's any more work to plant things in a different bed...
also some critters remember where things are, so you can sometimes hide plants in a different spot to fool them long enough for the plants to get past the tender sprout stage.
Great tips thanks
True. If i rotate crop it is just out of practical reasons
Exactly Ed no other reason for it mate
@@simplifygardening actually the 'rotation' i do is that when i lift my potatoes in july, i have leeks or something else to go in. I never leave any spot unused. I also do a lot of interplanting.
Interesting controversy around this. A few years ago I visited a garden in West Cork (think incredibly damp - think lots of blight around!!!) and the lady there told me that she grew her tomatoes in the same polytunnel every year. The year I visited I believe it was the 12th year she did this. All she does is cover the soil with a very thick mulch of grass clippings from the lawn and of course ensured proper ventilation. She has never had blight.
Sadly, in my own garden, this very first year of growing tomatoes I got struck with blight straight away. Just my luck..... However, I'm going to try again next year. There was a period where I didn't ventilate properly as there was so much wind going on, and I was worried about the tunnel. Probably should have opened the doors nevertheless and take a gamble because I had to cut all foliage, and top all the plants in order for the first trusses on each plant not to get blight. I lost most tomatoes and the ones that didn't get blight are still green, only just starting to colour up now. I'm hoping next year will be better.
Its on days you close it up Richard creates the perfect conditions for blight to take hold
@@simplifygardening Unfortunately I've noticed that..... lol - ah well next year I'll do better.
@K Barnes Airflow and keeping leaves dry is the key for avoiding blight
I'm agree you two garden much the same and I listened hard to you both, I'm tilter man for now because I'm trying to remove some more rocks and believe the raised beds are natural dryer and at ground level I seldom add water
But respect you both highly and working in your direction but not raise bed.
Building a broad fork for my future
Thanks, Thanks for you each.
Broad forking is a good way to add air without digging and disturbing the soil life too much