August sunshine returns? After an incredible amount of rain during the last five weeks, 180 mm here, there is a sudden reappearance of high pressure from the southwest. It’s delightful news. I don’t think there will be a prolonged heatwave through August, but at least we should see some sunshine at last! Starting around Wednesday, after a new storm in August’s first weekend, with high winds once more. Weather governs so much of what we need to do. Having said that, the timings of sowing and transplanting stay similar. See next section. This video shows Homeacres no dig garden on 31st July. For ..read more

July’s second half in the no dig garden, we need to harvest and replant despite the weather. I see little sign of the cool winds and heavy showers ceasing apart from an odd day or two. Seize those dry moments to harvest vegetables coming ready, then replant the empty spaces. With no dig it is quick and simple. See my latest newsletter for details. Harvests of potatoes in trial beds, and re-planting the beds with leeks Between storms we harvested the Charlotte second early potatoes of my no rotation trial. This is year nine of growing potatoes in the same ground. There is the annual 3cm comp ..read more

This is a key month of the whole year. As well as offering many harvests, it offers the chance to sow and plant many more vegetables. As well as giving more to eat through late autumn and winter, this keeps soil full of plants. See my July newsletter for more details, also my growing notes for July 2022. It’s more healthy for soil to be growing plants than to be empty. One of the fallacies of old teachings is that “soil needs a rest”, whatever that means! With No-Dig, your soil is healthy, fertile and can grow a second crop each year, without addition of any extra organic matter,. An exception ..read more

Late June, often the weather changes around this time of solstice. I hope so, after five weeks without rain for most of us. Find more details in my recent newsletter, do subscribe if you have not already. Nonetheless, temperatures will stay warm, including at night. This helps growth to continue if roots can access moisture. That is the limiting factor for many of us.  If you can, keep watering these vegetables that need it most, see my short video. It’s best to continue watering as though no rain is forecast, because sometimes it does not happen and your plants suffer. But if it then doe ..read more

No dig soil drains and holds moisture. Nonetheless what we do in June depends on the balance of sun and rainfall. “A dripping June keeps all in tune” is balanced by the need for good light levels. Current forecasts suggest rain for the south after about 10th June, and I hope for it. See my new newsletter for June with lots of advice for the coming few weeks. Remember also you can subscribe to my weekly advice newsletter. And see the recent Homeacres tour video for more ideas, and to gain ideas. The month of May saw 48mm rain in its first half with little sunshine, and zero thereafter with su ..read more

May’s second half has so much potential for new plantings and harvests. No dig makes it easier because as gross speeds up, we have less time to deal with weeds. And if you have been keeping up with removing the odd few perennials, and hoeing new germinations when they’re very small, this should not be too difficult. Please see my latest newsletter for gardening ideas as summer approaches. It’s an exciting time. And my Spacings video has ideas for inter-planting. Pests As with the word weeds, this is a relative term description. For most of us however, slugs can be highly destructive and my ..read more

May 2023 no dig sowings are meeting damp weather. It’s a wet and dull spring here. March and April had the most rain since 2001, and the least sun since 2004. Any lack of light is bad for growth, and I do not like the veil of medium level cloud I am seeing a lot. The positive from clouds is higher night temperatures, and I’m confident of seeing no more frost here. Thanks also  to winds from the south more than north. It’s therefore possible to plant out tomatoes and courgettes, but there is no rush to do so because it is not warm at all. On the other hand if your plants are well grown, yo ..read more

You can now make many sowings as the weather improves, at last. So far, it’s been a difficult spring for gardening. Too much wind and many cold nights. Above all a lack of sunshine. In England at least. Perhaps for you it has been better and I hope so. In fact from 1st to 9th April, we had more sunshine than in all of March. And temperatures are inching upwards, although there is ground frost as I write this on 15th April. I’ve just published a newsletter to subscribers of my twice monthly letter on Mailchimp, with many details about how to cope with the weather and what to do in the coming fe ..read more

March has been remarkably dull, one of the least sunny months I’ve ever recorded, at a time when we are hoping for the first rays of warm sunshine. Nonetheless, it has been mild (nights average 5C, days 11.5C), and growth is okay if not brilliant. There are tons of plantings you can make now, as in transplants 3 to 5 weeks old, and new sowings direct. See my newsletter update for those details. Until late April, I cover all new seeds and transplants with fleece, as in the photo. While under cover, we have huge pickings of new salad from 6-7 month old plants. Knowledge Packs From the onli ..read more

Spring can be joyful, frustrating, beautiful, dour! Much as we love the good bits, we have to accept that there will always be setbacks and it’s good to be prepared. Don’t sow too early and use covers to protect your plantings, unless your climate is particularly warm. There are many details in my new online update. From mid March you can make outdoor sowings direct in the soil. Such as carrots, parsnips, onion, spring onion, spinach, radish, turnip, coriander, dill and parsley. Any cover of fleece will speed germination. You can find these tips in my No Dig book, which we ..read more