Garden Expert: 35 Years of Gardening Lessons in 12 Minutes

I've always had an interest in plants and broke ground on my first vegetable garden aged 11 it was incredibly exciting but my goodness was there a lot to learn I made a lot of mistakes attempting to dig with a hand fork for example so here are my top 10 keys to success for a really productive Garden some might say it's far from sexy but I reckon Rich healthy soil has most definitely got it going on soil is the starting point for everything we do and the basis for a healthy garden this here is a beautiful jar of homemade kimchi I'm really rather pleased with it it tastes great but more importantly it's absolutely loaded with beneficial bacteria what I consume this is going to really help my gut biome creating a healthier environment in there and a happier me and it's exactly the same with our soil look after it and it will look after your plants and the best way to do that is to top it up regularly with lovely organic mattera well rotted manure garden compost leaf mold these can all be added to naturally feed your soil and the life within it while improving its structure and performance I like to add organic Massa at least once a year usually in the winter to build soil he for the coming growing season but really it can be added at any time of the year whenever beds are empty or even added around existing crops starting a new Garden or even a new growing season is let's be honest absolutely thrilling it's an incredibly exciting time but it's this that can lead to a scatter gun approach and that can cause issues such as sewing at the wrong time overcrowding or choosing the wrong crop for your climate or soil so it's better to take a little bit of time now to work out what you'll be growing it might seem obvious but it's worth growing what you like to eat Plus either what costs more money to buy in the shops or what might give the biggest yield for the space you have think of it like writing a shopping list before you go food shopping and take your time on deciding what variety of each crop to grow if you're starting out it's worth looking for pest or disease resistant crops like these Tomatoes here these guys are resistant to blight or for example these spinach seedlings this variety here is slow to bolt which means it won't flowers quickly which means I can pick more of those lovely leaves before I need to pull up the plant enjoy pouring over the seed catalogs take your time to ponder and dream it's one of the most satisf Ying moments of the gardening year once you know what you want to grow you'll then need to work out when to sew or plant it and when you can expect to harvest it the best Gardens have something going in every month to keep the harvests coming many crops are quick Growers or will be out of the ground by Midsummer like these early onions for example now am I going to leave the soil then bare until spring not on your Nelly I will have something else waiting ready to go in after them like for example winter cabbages or a final sewing of say main crop carrots taking the time to plan what goes in when like this can make the most of the ground you have I love using the garden planner for this sort of thing you can set when crops are in the ground then view your plan month by month to see when and where gaps appear the best thing is that the plant list which all automatically updates as crops are added will show you when to sew plant and harvest making planning your next crop super easy if you want to make the most from your garden then taking the time to research what will be in the ground when can really help don't forget that you can grow upwards too cramming even more into the space that you've got as a gardener you quickly realize that you need even more space and it doesn't matter how big your garden is but by growing upwards we can squeeze even more in these are my bean arches which transform from their naked form at this time of year to fully cloaked dangling with beanie goodness in just a few months time you don't need to spend loads on arches or supports either you can make them from natural materials such as branches and I reckon they look really beautiful like this anyway many supports can be be sourced for free or even grown yourself like these lovely upright Hazel stems here these would be perfect for bean poles or you could grow your own bamboo canes like these for example make use of walls too attach pots and tubs to Vertical surfaces to create a real wow factor or how about stepping up pots on a simple step ladder type of arangement if you're starting out don't fret about purchasing ready to go plug plants or young plants like these I will let you into a little secret I buy them all the time it saves valuable time and space and it avoids those early precarious stages of growth so why not give yourself the same Advantage it can make good sense to grow warm seasoned crops like tomatoes and peppers from young plants for example it means you can grow lots of different varieties without having to sew little pinches of seeds from many different packets hubbing young plants in an instant also gets you that much closer to harvest time too of course check plants as strong and healthy before you buy them and prioritize higher value veggies I've seen carrots individual ones sold in plugs which when you do the sums is just insanely expensive when I started I would sew absolutely everything directly into the soil where it's to grow now there's absolutely nothing wrong with that and in fact it's the best way of starting off root crops like carrots or sayfe par slips but there's also a very good reason why it's sometimes worth sewing into plugs or pots and then transplanting as in later days germination is often more reliable in a controlled environment away from slugs and other pests whether that be a greenhouse a cold frame or even just indoors on your window sill by sewing into plug trays or pots like this I can plant out my plants in exactly the right spacing using really sturdy healthy little sinkings it also means I can start something off while there's no room outside so that these can be growing on and once the earlier crop is finished they'll be ready to go out and it means I can enjoy and earlier start the growing season by starting them off in the warm now then I would strongly recommend that you get yourselves some really solid sturdy trays like these these will last for absolute decades as gardeners we need the three PS by the shovel load patience positivity and pragmatism you see little knocks and setbacks aren't just likely to happen they're almost certain to weeds will always be there you can never hope to eradicate them but slow and steady weeding will help to keep you on the forward foot a few minutes of weeding by hand or ho every week should help to keep you on top of those weeds and bear in mind that many weeds are really valuable for wildlife so don't sweat it if it's a bit weedy towards the edge of your plot that's my excuse anyway in the same vein pests are par and parel of gardening life slugs aphids Leaf miners pigeons they're all out there waiting for you to head indoors and turn your back so they can get onto your crops but don't try and annihilate them instead just put into place sensible precautions like slug traps and netting to keep them off and bear in mind that many pests are inv valuable food source for the sorts of beneficial bugs and birds that we do want in our Gardens and never ever use artificial pesticides or weed killers is just not cool there will be setbacks there'll be downright failures too but Embrace each failure as an opportunity to learn for next time like these massacred brassers the lesson learned put covers on properly much earlier if there's one piece of growing season advice that's incredibly low Tech but stunningly effective it's to mulch mulching is when you lay down materials over the soil surface to cover it and the best mulches are natural and organic my favorite mulch is grass clippings which can be scattered around crops here and there throughout the growing season and if you'd like a video on that well I'll pop a link to it down below in nature soil doesn't stay bare for long and in the absence of permanent ground cover mulching can do a lot to keep the soil happy it will shade it from the hot sun so that soil moisture stays in there for longer it will help to give weeds a really tough time pushing through and as it decomposes it will help to build your soils fertility and structure mulching can dramatically cut down on your workload for all the above reasons straw compost wood chips leaves all of these will help and my suggestion is to use whatever you can produce in your own garden or find locally and on that note bear in mind the gardening need and cost loads if you don't want it to for many of us the whole point of growing our own is to save a little bit of money you can often find seeds very cheaply or for free at local seed swaps you can repurpose lots of old containers like yogurt pots or mushroom trays and so on as cheap containers and if you're willing to put in the effort you you can find organic matter to nourish your soil for free if you're willing to go and collect it many things in gardening that cost a bit have an alternative that's either free or at least very cheap here are some ideas to get your creative juices flowing experiment try new things push the boundaries this is good life advice generally but when it comes to gardening is what helps to keep things fresh you never know you might discover a new veget V that you love or perhaps a new growing method that transforms the way you do things honestly as a gardener the more I learn the more I realize there's still so much more to learn and I love that if you're looking to start a completely new Garden then check out this video next where I discuss practicalities such as sunlight shelter and water collection all the vital stuff in the meantime comment below on what you're hoping to grow this season or catch you next time

Channel: GrowVeg

Views: 173,052

Keywords: garden planning, how to start a garden, organic gardening, gardening, garden, grow food, grow food for free, grow food not lawns, grass clippings, mulch, mulching, grow your own, grow veg, growveg, gardening mistakes, starting a garden, vegetable gardening, veggie garden advice, how to, tips and tricks, ben the gardener, what to avoid, gardening tips for beginners, gardening tips, beginner garden, diy projects

Id: MOF1y7eGmiI

Length: 12min 0sec (720 seconds)

Published: Sat Mar 09 2024