I plan my procrastination garden every year, and each year I detour due to weather and plant volunteers. Your most ardent admirer Charles! Peace and Blessings 🌻
I too have an amazing procrastination garden, also heavily influenced by the weather - often, when the weather improves enough to overcome the reticent element, it's very late in the day... Odd, isn't it?
This year, procrastination has led me to more direct seeding outdoors vs "popping them in". Also flowers in form of covers 'nearby' vs specific planting of flowers. Keep the faith! Keep the ground covered!
I am glad I am not the only one to have had a slug problem. My pumpkins, peppers, strawberries and even my corn. 🌽 Have been battered. Only my corn and pumpkins are just hanging on. Never had it this bad before. All my outside chillies and peppers are gone. Not one strawberry has escaped the rasps. Luckily I have strawberries in hanging baskets so at least we have a few ourselves.
Slugs hate to crawl on crushed eggshells. The membrane needs to be washed out. I air dry them and reuse a glass pickle jar to store them. To crush them, use 2 long wooden handles of wooden spoons. Zone 6b. USA.
Slugs and snails have been invading my garden all spring. I have a natural trick to trap them that doesn't kill them. Simply cut an orange in half, hollow it out (munch the pulp), and then use the shell to place in the areas where the slugs are most active. They will be hiding under there early in the morning so just go out and pick up the orange and see who's under there. I have a video about it on my channel (inspired by Charles), so have a peep and see what you think. Thanks.
This year has been very good for me (first year of no-dig), just slow to start due to lower sun levels than usual. Broad beans, peas, lettuce, beetroot, onions, potatoes coming along nicely. The slug activity has been very high this spring but I use ferric phosphate slug killer, which is organic and highly effective. Some black fly on broad beans and beetroot. Cucumbers and courgettes have been slow to establish but are bouncing back quickly with the warm weather. Experienced quite a bit of pigeon damage on the cabbages, net over them now and they are recovering fine.
With no greenhouse I use my garden shed to germinate plants. The problem is they lack light and become elongated. I have to plant them as late as possible and put them out as early as possible. They are too fragile against slugs. Lessons learned: better elongated and protected until the weather is less attractive for slugs.
Great example of 1X2 meter garden. How to grow more in a small space with success. We just keep doing our best. Our garden is lush. Brandywine and Galahad tomatoes are new to our garden. 10 other veggies and herbs. You recommended Sorrel. We love the taste. You have been such an inspiration. Thank you
You are such an inspiration Charles. You barefoot made me smile. 😊 Fails...yep, I do, but 😢I take my plant fails as a compost success! Thank you for your as always lovely videos.
I decided to do my usual and plant out early despite the climate .Everything is late BUT I am getting lettuce, spring onions, my onions are harvested from sets planted last October.Some red ones are still growing to harvest later.My beets are doing ok and the spuds look good. So I am hoping to get lots of squash and Greek gigantes beans to keep for winter. It’s very cloudy from the spraying and food will be very expensive this autumn so, Good luck.
Weird weather this spring in Northern Canada cool and wet). My seeds sown outside (carrots) took FOREVER to germinate! Seedlings are slow to grow too (or maybe I'm just impatient!!) 😅
Thanks Charles my cauliflower refused to crop the first batch and the second batch I don't know whyyyyy. ..but both batches were from the same package , what may have gone wrong 😮
Rather off topic but Charles mentions in his book that badgers are fond of sweetcorn and was wondering if they have developed a taste for potatoes? I have a very strong suspicion that the badgers that visit our garden every night are eating our potatoes.. Has anyone else had this problem? I'm in North Yorkshire where we have a lot of badgers.
I'm afraid that probably is badgers. Especially if there's a mighty mess where they have been hunting for them. The scene after they eat, always looks devastating!
@@CharlesDowding1nodig Thanks for your reply. Yes big mess and they are not even ready to harvest yet LOL! One of our chickens got driven into our pond one early evening by them. Fortunately a happy ending: a night next to the boiler with her friend to dry out and get over the shock she was right as rain next morning. We are assuming that they are "teenagers" trying things out and hoping that the raw potatoes gave them indigestion. They 🤞haven't returned for 2 nights.....
I've yet to see one of my careful plans survive much past May/June, as weather, available time & life events intrude. Now what exactly am I going to do with the 200+ garlic bulbs I've just harvested... 🙃🙂😁
Trying to figure out if something will finally decide to get on with production or it’s just not going to cooperate this year and you might as well compost it and replant with something else-For me an anxiety ridden decision.
Thanks once again Charles ❤ I started making notes for next year in my diary last night, then realised it will probably be a whole different year 😂 this video confirms it! 🌱🥦🥬🫛
Hi Charles, Ive been having no luck with beets yellow and red, They bolt before forming any beets and get leaf minor. It gets hot here in SW BC.What would be the problem? Thanks
Oh dear, and probably it's the spring heat. I would so again soon, around the middle of July, maybe in the shade and get them in the ground before the middle of August, for autumn harvest and they can get quite big.
U mnie nie zeszła pietruszka. Zasiałam dwa razy i klapa. Czy jak zasieje jeszcze raz to jest szansa że urośnie do zimy? Oczywiście kupiłam inne nasiona
@@CharlesDowding1nodig yes i did that thanks , so it looks like you darw a plan of your beds and work out what one wants to grow .. its a good idea . have you had any problem with your Courgettes this year ? , ive found alot of mine have long noise at the end and fat at the top almost like they have not been pollinated properly .. but the weather has been so damp so i wounder if that has effected them at all, or it may even be the seeds that are not so good as they used to be , it the variety Courgette Defender F1 Hybrid Seeds , not keen on F1 as cannot save the seeds to be honest and am thinking seed saving is very importan
Nice, you worked that out, and yes it's not an easy year for courgettes but I would say that's the weather more than the variety. I managed to get mine going in May before it cooled down in June and they are looking good, just not very productive. In these conditions, I would pick them small because they're struggling to grow large fruits
Has anyone else noticed a decline in insects. Im a bit scared as not seen a single one in last 3 days. They always congregate in my greenhouse all the hover flies= larvae to support the plants not just for the pollination.
I agree it's scary, we still have a fair few but not as many as before. The fields around here are not too heavily sprayed so that helps. But I've heard from gardeners in areas where farmland is sprayed with poisons very close to their gardens and they say there are very few insects
@@CharlesDowding1nodig yes its very scary because only the gardeners can quantify it in my opinion with regards to real life insect life. I have a literal cloud of so many diverse insects because I let all the flowers including the dreaded bindweed which Is a great asset for my insects as they have huge trumpet flowers. My 25m garden is like a haven for them all. But after the last week there are no wasps. No bees except ones crawling on the ground and sickly. Without them its not just a question of pollination but policing the pests and disease that looms. Hopefully they will come soon.
@@CharlesDowding1nodig still no insects at all and flowers falling off of my tomatoes and i found bees dead standing on a few of the leaves. Theres disheartening and then there is downright debilitating! Made 2 tonnes of my own compost in small bins over 12 months its alot of work to scavenge! And now I have to be a bee as well! Hopefully Its just a setback and they will repopulate or we will depopulate!
Yes I'm worried, it's a long-term trend which is not stopping. All insects. Here we are fortunate because surrounding fields are not sprayed too much, but I'm hearing from some gardeners close to arable farmland where there are almost zero insects.
Thanks Charles, always appreciate your honest updates and guidance, finally got my first outside tomatoes planted today hoping for a less bad blight year ! 🤞
My brassicas have done really well this year,interesting to note though,is that I haven’t seen any cabbage white butterfly this year,( South Gloucestershire) maybe they’ll turn up shortly 🤷🏻♂️ ,also didn’t get much of an attack on my broad beans either,melons coming along nicely too.other than that,things aren’t going as swiftly as it should,I’m convinced that cold snap the other week upset the apple cart,almost 3*c at night in mid June! Ridiculous 🧐
Yes sir! Always great tips and ideas as well as good examples... LOL! Barefoot "grounding " in the garden is healthy for us as well! Blessings (younger brother) and praying for your safe travels. 🌻🐛🌿💚🙏💕
dude you are amazing! Can you tell me dear Charles; When growing potatoes with compost, do you fill the compost as the potatoes grow in the compost as in the soil?
Thanks so much, and yes, more or less depending on the variety of potato. If they are what is called indeterminate, then there is more adding of compost to do as they grow up.
Hi Charles , what does it mean when plants leaves curl up ? In the case of our apple tree , the leaves curled up and soon after the fruit started falling off .
My first beets were eaten by ants, so I I had to plant again and they are still small. I usually have an abundance of beets by now. My broccoli and cabbages didn’t form, so I pulled everything (accept 1) and froze. I will use the leaves in sautés. I’ll have to see what to plant now. Thank you.
Evening Charles. I enjoy your videos and many others like your good self. I am learning that less is more . As I grow in confidence, i am trying to be more adventurous. But, also learning to go at my own pace and enjoy the experience. I harvested garlic, and and picked strawberries and cherries. And best of all I have a new batch of compost. That I will sieve tomorrow. Best feeling in the world! Yes I absolutely agree about referring to books . 🙏🏻😃🤗
Bonjour Charles, c’est avec plaisir que j'irai sur Fryd, malheureusement c'est en anglais et il n'y a pas de traduction possible, et comme je ne comprend l'anglais........... Dommage pour moi !
Nous sommes désolés, mais nous sommes une toute petite équipe et nous ne pouvons pas faire une version différente pour chaque langue. Nous sommes vraiment désolés !
@@spring_spirit Food forests can be as prim and proper as one likes. It depends on its caretaker. Plus, its annual plants are organized in rows and columns, but the rest of it, the perennials are designed according to all the relevant natural patterns.
I plan my procrastination garden every year, and each year I detour due to weather and plant volunteers. Your most ardent admirer Charles! Peace and Blessings 🌻
I too have an amazing procrastination garden, also heavily influenced by the weather - often, when the weather improves enough to overcome the reticent element, it's very late in the day... Odd, isn't it?
This year, procrastination has led me to more direct seeding outdoors vs "popping them in". Also flowers in form of covers 'nearby' vs specific planting of flowers. Keep the faith! Keep the ground covered!
Great shirt! Thanks for showing that it’s not always easy, you just do what you can to mitigate the damage :)
I am glad I am not the only one to have had a slug problem. My pumpkins, peppers, strawberries and even my corn. 🌽 Have been battered. Only my corn and pumpkins are just hanging on. Never had it this bad before. All my outside chillies and peppers are gone. Not one strawberry has escaped the rasps. Luckily I have strawberries in hanging baskets so at least we have a few ourselves.
Beware....I observed a magpie helping himself to my strawberries in hanging baskets!
@@SierraNovemberKiloyup I concur , magpies and other birds have been helping themselves to our hanging basket strawberries .
Slugs hate to crawl on crushed eggshells. The membrane needs to be washed out. I air dry them and reuse a glass pickle jar to store them. To crush them, use 2 long wooden handles of wooden spoons. Zone 6b. USA.
This year, I have seen more slugs also. Ended up re-sowing quite a bit. Quite a bummer really
Slugs and snails have been invading my garden all spring. I have a natural trick to trap them that doesn't kill them. Simply cut an orange in half, hollow it out (munch the pulp), and then use the shell to place in the areas where the slugs are most active. They will be hiding under there early in the morning so just go out and pick up the orange and see who's under there. I have a video about it on my channel (inspired by Charles), so have a peep and see what you think. Thanks.
I like. No “this is what you’re supposed to do” rather this is what you might try. Again, I like.❤😊
Charles would garden grounded with no shoes !
❤❤
This year has been very good for me (first year of no-dig), just slow to start due to lower sun levels than usual. Broad beans, peas, lettuce, beetroot, onions, potatoes coming along nicely. The slug activity has been very high this spring but I use ferric phosphate slug killer, which is organic and highly effective. Some black fly on broad beans and beetroot. Cucumbers and courgettes have been slow to establish but are bouncing back quickly with the warm weather. Experienced quite a bit of pigeon damage on the cabbages, net over them now and they are recovering fine.
Lovely to see this
Garlic carrots lettuce onions corn. That's in my 2x2m patch.
❤❤
💚
With no greenhouse I use my garden shed to germinate plants. The problem is they lack light and become elongated. I have to plant them as late as possible and put them out as early as possible. They are too fragile against slugs. Lessons learned: better elongated and protected until the weather is less attractive for slugs.
That sounds very difficult, good luck
Great example of 1X2 meter garden. How to grow more in a small space with success.
We just keep doing our best. Our garden is lush. Brandywine and Galahad tomatoes are new to our garden. 10 other veggies and herbs.
You recommended Sorrel. We love the taste. You have been such an inspiration. Thank you
Fantastic, and you are very welcome 🌱
You are such an inspiration Charles. You barefoot made me smile. 😊 Fails...yep, I do, but 😢I take my plant fails as a compost success! Thank you for your as always lovely videos.
💚
I also liked to get fried and do a little gardening. Wait a sec
I decided to do my usual and plant out early despite the climate .Everything is late BUT I am getting lettuce, spring onions, my onions are harvested from sets planted last October.Some red ones are still growing to harvest later.My beets are doing ok and the spuds look good.
So I am hoping to get lots of squash and Greek gigantes beans to keep for winter.
It’s very cloudy from the spraying and food will be very expensive this autumn so,
Good luck.
I love working barefoot in a no dig garden also, Charles!
Great to hear 🌱
Great idea, Charles. Tiny, but Mighty❤👍💪👍❤️
Thank you Charles Great video
You are welcome
Thanks for interesting video 👍🍀💚🌻
You are welcome Grażyna
@@CharlesDowding1nodig
🙂👍 Danke für die Antwort,🍀🍀🍀💚
How’s your herb garden growing? Mine is growing faster than I can harvest, dry and the flowers are delicious for teas!
It's good thanks, more than we can use for sure. But thyme died off this winter, too wet!
Weird weather this spring in Northern Canada cool and wet). My seeds sown outside (carrots) took FOREVER to germinate! Seedlings are slow to grow too (or maybe I'm just impatient!!) 😅
Many are reporting similar!
I'm from R & R farm videos. Jess sent me LOL Hi Anna. Thank you
Lovely to have you hear Anna, welcome 🙂
Great videos my friend, thank you for sharing 3:33
We had very cold spring, and beetroot just didn't germinate at all in my beds.
That is maddening, and you could try multi-sowing undercover if you have that space, to transplant
😂 ❤ I love the shirt! Xx
Thank you Karen
Thanks Charles my cauliflower refused to crop the first batch and the second batch I don't know whyyyyy. ..but both batches were from the same package , what may have gone wrong 😮
Wish I knew!
Maybe it wasn’t cold enough over winter to trigger it to grow the cauliflower bit.
What Would Charles Do?
Sage advice.
Rather off topic but Charles mentions in his book that badgers are fond of sweetcorn and was wondering if they have developed a taste for potatoes? I have a very strong suspicion that the badgers that visit our garden every night are eating our potatoes.. Has anyone else had this problem? I'm in North Yorkshire where we have a lot of badgers.
I'm afraid that probably is badgers. Especially if there's a mighty mess where they have been hunting for them.
The scene after they eat, always looks devastating!
@@CharlesDowding1nodig Thanks for your reply. Yes big mess and they are not even ready to harvest yet LOL! One of our chickens got driven into our pond one early evening by them. Fortunately a happy ending: a night next to the boiler with her friend to dry out and get over the shock she was right as rain next morning. We are assuming that they are "teenagers" trying things out and hoping that the raw potatoes gave them indigestion. They 🤞haven't returned for 2 nights.....
I've yet to see one of my careful plans survive much past May/June, as weather, available time & life events intrude.
Now what exactly am I going to do with the 200+ garlic bulbs I've just harvested...
🙃🙂😁
Good point
Trying to figure out if something will finally decide to get on with production or it’s just not going to cooperate this year and you might as well compost it and replant with something else-For me an anxiety ridden decision.
If you have transplants, maybe replant, or plant between existing
Thanks once again Charles ❤ I started making notes for next year in my diary last night, then realised it will probably be a whole different year 😂 this video confirms it! 🌱🥦🥬🫛
Keeps us alert!
I'm really keen to try the app. But why can't we get it in Australia?
Sorry I don't know!
Australia is very different in terms of planting dates. We're working on an update introducing climate zones and also the southern hemisphere. On it!
Damn tried to download App from otherwise of world in Nz but doesn't exist over here
Yes, sorry, we're on it, however. Stay tuned!
Hi Charles, Ive been having no luck with beets yellow and red, They bolt before forming any beets and get leaf minor. It gets hot here in SW BC.What would be the problem? Thanks
Oh dear, and probably it's the spring heat. I would so again soon, around the middle of July, maybe in the shade and get them in the ground before the middle of August, for autumn harvest and they can get quite big.
Perhaps its me but I can’t get the search facility to work - I was looking for polytunnel stuff
I shall ask the app guys to reply
U mnie nie zeszła pietruszka. Zasiałam dwa razy i klapa. Czy jak zasieje jeszcze raz to jest szansa że urośnie do zimy? Oczywiście kupiłam inne nasiona
Na pewno masz jeszcze czas, lipiec to dobry miesiąc na wysiew pietruszki
@@CharlesDowding1nodig dziękuję za odpowiedź
does it run on a pc ?
Yes, you can see here fryd.app/en
How does this app work ? 🙂
See this site login.fryd.app/en/plan
@@CharlesDowding1nodig yes i did that thanks , so it looks like you darw a plan of your beds and work out what one wants to grow .. its a good idea . have you had any problem with your Courgettes this year ? , ive found alot of mine have long noise at the end and fat at the top almost like they have not been pollinated properly .. but the weather has been so damp so i wounder if that has effected them at all, or it may even be the seeds that are not so good as they used to be , it the variety Courgette Defender F1 Hybrid Seeds , not keen on F1 as cannot save the seeds to be honest and am thinking seed saving is very importan
Nice, you worked that out, and yes it's not an easy year for courgettes but I would say that's the weather more than the variety. I managed to get mine going in May before it cooled down in June and they are looking good, just not very productive. In these conditions, I would pick them small because they're struggling to grow large fruits
Has anyone else noticed a decline in insects. Im a bit scared as not seen a single one in last 3 days. They always congregate in my greenhouse all the hover flies= larvae to support the plants not just for the pollination.
I agree it's scary, we still have a fair few but not as many as before. The fields around here are not too heavily sprayed so that helps. But I've heard from gardeners in areas where farmland is sprayed with poisons very close to their gardens and they say there are very few insects
@@CharlesDowding1nodig yes its very scary because only the gardeners can quantify it in my opinion with regards to real life insect life. I have a literal cloud of so many diverse insects because I let all the flowers including the dreaded bindweed which Is a great asset for my insects as they have huge trumpet flowers. My 25m garden is like a haven for them all. But after the last week there are no wasps. No bees except ones crawling on the ground and sickly. Without them its not just a question of pollination but policing the pests and disease that looms. Hopefully they will come soon.
@@CharlesDowding1nodig still no insects at all and flowers falling off of my tomatoes and i found bees dead standing on a few of the leaves. Theres disheartening and then there is downright debilitating! Made 2 tonnes of my own compost in small bins over 12 months its alot of work to scavenge! And now I have to be a bee as well! Hopefully Its just a setback and they will repopulate or we will depopulate!
😊 💚 😊
💚
hi all slugs and snail have been bad for me and onion fly .. i wont let them beat me
🙌
Our bee population is dwindling 🇺🇸 have you noticed a decline in yours 🐝
Yes I'm worried, it's a long-term trend which is not stopping. All insects. Here we are fortunate because surrounding fields are not sprayed too much, but I'm hearing from some gardeners close to arable farmland where there are almost zero insects.
yes, great shirt!
Thank you
Not to upset the elephant in the room, but why is the weather being modified? 😮
It's always about you, isn't it?
@@az55544 You may not agree but personal attacks are unnecessary.
@@az55544 touche
@@plantpotpeople the insufferable ethics police
WWCD - take his shoes off and get grounded 🙂
Weather?? Geoengineering!!!✈☠🤬
Thanks Charles, always appreciate your honest updates and guidance, finally got my first outside tomatoes planted today hoping for a less bad blight year ! 🤞
Great to hear and I hope you have success with your tomatoes Andy
Nice but app isn't available in Australia
Try Gardenate. I’ve found it useful.
Working on it!
This is brilliant Charles 👌 Showing us mortals how the heroes fair with slug problems and what not… 💚
*fare
Sorry Swedish auto spell 😂
Thanks Eva. And auto-spell is mad for gardening, does not recognise the word sow!
My brassicas have done really well this year,interesting to note though,is that I haven’t seen any cabbage white butterfly this year,( South Gloucestershire) maybe they’ll turn up shortly 🤷🏻♂️ ,also didn’t get much of an attack on my broad beans either,melons coming along nicely too.other than that,things aren’t going as swiftly as it should,I’m convinced that cold snap the other week upset the apple cart,almost 3*c at night in mid June! Ridiculous 🧐
That sounds good. Yes we are still lacking sunlight. And for those butterflies I normally reckon early July is when they make a ground appearance.
Yes sir! Always great tips and ideas as well as good examples... LOL! Barefoot "grounding " in the garden is healthy for us as well! Blessings (younger brother) and praying for your safe travels. 🌻🐛🌿💚🙏💕
Thanks!
Such a shame the app is not available in South Africa
dude you are amazing! Can you tell me dear Charles; When growing potatoes with compost, do you fill the compost as the potatoes grow in the compost as in the soil?
Thanks so much, and yes, more or less depending on the variety of potato. If they are what is called indeterminate, then there is more adding of compost to do as they grow up.
Hi Charles , what does it mean when plants leaves curl up ? In the case of our apple tree , the leaves curled up and soon after the fruit started falling off .
Oh dear, and I'm not sure why.
Any experience with nematodes as a slug control Charles?
They work, but are quite expensive, have built-in obsolescence and are made by a corp. I'd rather not buy from
Same failure here with cauliflower and first time witnessing cabbage root fly on calabrese. 😢
Sorry to hear that 😮
Bom dia Charles obrigado duas vezes pela tradução e pelo vídeo maravilhoso como sempre ❤
Você é muito bem-vindo
My first beets were eaten by ants, so I I had to plant again and they are still small. I usually have an abundance of beets by now. My broccoli and cabbages didn’t form, so I pulled everything (accept 1) and froze. I will use the leaves in sautés. I’ll have to see what to plant now. Thank you.
Evening Charles. I enjoy your videos and many others like your good self. I am learning that less is more . As I grow in confidence, i am trying to be more adventurous. But, also learning to go at my own pace and enjoy the experience. I harvested garlic, and and picked strawberries and cherries. And best of all I have a new batch of compost. That I will sieve tomorrow. Best feeling in the world! Yes I absolutely agree about referring to books . 🙏🏻😃🤗
Wonderful Lilac, great to hear of your success and well done on the compost 🌱
Bonjour Charles, c’est avec plaisir que j'irai sur Fryd, malheureusement c'est en anglais et il n'y a pas de traduction possible, et comme je ne comprend l'anglais........... Dommage pour moi !
Ah mince! C'est en allemand aussi mais pas encore en français.
Nous sommes désolés, mais nous sommes une toute petite équipe et nous ne pouvons pas faire une version différente pour chaque langue. Nous sommes vraiment désolés !
Mr Dowding, you never speak of guilds. Why not, what’s the reason? Is it unnecessary or not useful in this type of a situation? Thank you.
Please excuse my ignorance, but what are ‘guilds’ in relation to gardening?
@@mikeross4 A team of plants grown together, to mutually benefit one another. It’s call companion-planting.
Search permaculture + guilds
I always thought guilds were part of food forests, not orderly gardens like the one Charles has.
@@spring_spirit Food forests can be as prim and proper as one likes. It depends on its caretaker. Plus, its annual plants are organized in rows and columns, but the rest of it, the perennials are designed according to all the relevant natural patterns.