I really hope that this helps get you closer to growing your own food affordably, and don't forget about the Project LEACS website that is in the description. A massive thanks to Fiverr for making this project possible. Head to fvrr.co/huw to check out the services available to you and use code HUW for 10% off!

@Garricher5958

Жыл бұрын

My question(s) dealing with slugs are: What attracts slugs, and how can you distract them? Could you still use wood chips, or straw, and provide an atmosphere that is pleasing to your crops but inhospitable to the slugs? Just a couple of thoughts that I had about this. Thank you for the information that you provide. Very helpful.

@ninemoonplanet

Жыл бұрын

Any spikey plant, raspberry canes, wild blackberry canes, or after watering, dry coffee grounds. Slugs are drawn to dark moist areas, so with the heat this summer almost everywhere, I don't have as many slugs. Those I do find, I put in a small container, wait for the birds to come eat, and give them all the collected slugs.

I find a lot of people treat gardening much like they treat diet - they latch on to one method and decide its the solution in every situation. But when you look at all the variables that affect gardens (climate, soil type, slope, aspect, local fauna etc.), no two gardens are going to respond exactly the same way. You are absolutely right about having a set of general guiding principles, staying curious, and gradually learning what suits your particular garden best.

Grass clippings are all my mom used on our garden when I was a kid. We never added anything to it either, though my elderly neighbor added bags of potting soil to his. This was back in the 1970's and our tomatoes were fantastic. One time mom's bag of grass that was left to dry out was home to baby bunnies, so we had to wait a while for that bag

I’m in love with all this information! Please MORE AUDIOBOOKS so a busy stay home mom can listen to it while folding piles of laundry! Regards from Austria (I’m actually Brazilian).

Huw, your insight and wisdom are beyond your years. I appreciate your constant desire to learn and to challenge the paradigms that have been shaped over the years. Unless you/we try new things we will never know what we could be doing to improve our gardening. Thank you for always being our 'professor' and for teaching us what you know and for challenging us to not accept the status quo. (Kentucky, USA)

@HuwRichards

Жыл бұрын

Hi Darin that is very kind of you thanks. Sometimes we need to shake things up a bit because the goodness has settled at the bottom! I hope you're having a great day🌱

thank you Huw for being relentlessly pursuing efficient gardening by being in tune with your audience - comments and questions.j

@HuwRichards

Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much!!

Thank you for your comments on diet awareness. I think that is one of the most important, yet least discussed parts of gardening. So often the advise is to grow what you like to eat, but that approach is limiting. Instead the advise should be to grow a diversity of crops and then learn to prepare them in a way that you like. There are so many foods that at one time I thought I didn’t like…until I learned how to prepare them in a way I enjoyed. After that a whole world of year-round fresh home grown food opened up for me.

@ricos1497

Жыл бұрын

well put. Many people who are perhaps just starting too, probably have experience limited to the supermarket offerings, which are thinned to the most popular things (and most profitable) that the population as a whole eat. That rules out a large array of vegetables. Artichokes are almost unheard of at any supermarket near me for example.

@lindasands1433

Жыл бұрын

Love this approach 💜

@scops2169

Жыл бұрын

Yes and also there are so many foods I thought I didn’t care for but then tried them from someone’s garden and realised they’re amazing! You’re more likely to like it if it’s fresh and you grew it yourself. Gardening can massively diversify what you put on your plate, which in turn diversified your microbiome etc etc

I started a small 200 square foot garden last year. Not only it feeds me and my girlfriend but also her mother who has a cancer surgery behind her. Little did we know how important that small garden would become for her. She needs a lot of natural, organic and chemical free veggies in her diet and my small garden is providing that for her. My point is : never give up, start your garden now even if it is a small container garden. When you grow your own food you get that one thing that all the money in the world can not buy... HEALTH. Cheers mates!

I've adjusted what I ate with what I get from the garden since the onset of the pandemic... I'm cooking mostly everyday from what I can get from the garden and I'm glad in that process I'm able to invent new recipes! I would use weeds if crops weren't available or flowers too. I've invented chickweed soup, garlic greens with sardines, perilla leaf chutney, tomarillo jam, plantain salad, dockweed steam cake etc

Your soil is everything. I advise new gardeners to spend twice as much on compost than you do in plants. I love your posts Huw, fabulous and accurate

You've got the most beautiful garden! Whatever you're doing keep doing.

@HuwRichards

Жыл бұрын

Hahah thank you very much!!

Never let anyone else change your core values Huw 😁🌱☀️

@HuwRichards

Жыл бұрын

Thank you!!😊

Patience is my most difficult gardening challenge.

Letting go of judgement is a huge theme in my life these days and has been for a while subconsciously. I appreciate this video a lot, thank you.

I'm impressed, watching from South Africa

I pull out weeds before they seed and use them as mulch and I presume the nourishment from them goes back into the soil. I'm enjoying your video.

Brilliant! Thank you Huw! 😊 I make my own compost, it's my other baby! My garden, my dogs.... and everyday, I eat my garden. Soups, salad, veggie sandwiches, homemade breads, pizzas. Healthy and happy! Thanks to you and your teachings. You're Brilliant! ❤️

What a wonderful mentality. I have always been a big fan of the eclectic method. Pick and choose, we need the best of allthat is out there! Love your work. I am trying to create soil out of pure sand….impossible to do without spending money, at least initially

If space is an issue- An indoor or basement worm bin is invaluable. Drenching seedlings in a rainwater & vermicompost mix & using any remaining vermi mix water to "water in" the seedling is an amazing boost. Composting in place over fall/winter can be valuable if a winter kill covercrop isn't possible. Just rake back what didn't decompose to the edges of the bed in spring. Direct seed or plant into soil. Use what didn't decompose as a mulch covering once plants are up. I go heavy on leaves for this as partially decomposed leaves aren't terribly "hot." It's all there in place without turning piles, screening, lifting or pushing a wheel barrow around.

I remember my grandmother always asking me " hey shugah throw this( coffee grounds, eggshells,etc) in my good dirt"

Inspiring, all positive thinking, and very well focused on the important things. We need to learn more about these.

Hey from the U.S. Always enjoy your videos. We are seeing a explosion of new home gardeners and they are getting confused with all the info out there because there is a lot of false info out there. This is why recommend you an a few others to learn from. Keep up the good work.

As always brilliantly stated - challenging the "norm" is how we learn and improve

Huw. I had the most amazing slugs pressure in my garden for the first five years some nights I could go out with two big buckets and fill them with slugs some of the slugs were huge. Then I installed two pondsI was excited as I figured I could collect the slugs and feed them to the fish but the amazing thing is the. Slug pressure completely vanished. We occasionally get the occasional slug but I think we have attracted frogs toads and nudes and I think these eat the young slugs and slug eggs I.e. they have created a natural predator balance which didn’t exist before. So I recommend putting in a small pond This year we have been visited by muntjac deer which regularly drinks from the pond and they don’t seem to take any food from the vegetable beds they prefer browsing on the lawnThe increase in insects and various pieces of dragonfly is amazing and we have also noticed swallows skimming over the pond and bats in the evening eating the insects. We have had mixed blessings as we introduced some fish which then attracted herons - the most beautiful birds but with a big appetites

Valuable video..Cheers from Australia.🙂

So much recognition, thank you! Great to hear another fan of a grass clippings mulch. Loved your talk.

Great point on curiosity. We try to plant less cold-hardy plants just to see if we can make them grow and thrive in our cold climate. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. Either way, we win because we gain knowledge and experience in the process.

Thank you Huw, such valuable information, and so encouraging for everybody

For me building soil has been the biggest challenge

Love!!! Some common sense and support that is much needed in our age. (Chicago, IL)

I regularly use coffee grounds and grass clippings as mulch, especially mixed with the bedding that I pull from my chicken coop. The 3 seem to mix well.

Love this one! I agree as a chef for over 20 years the garden is where it starts and is so much more rewarding when u get to finally eat what u have grown. Great work Huw! I use my grass clippings a lot in my garden etc they never go to waste 👌

@HuwRichards

Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much Craig!!!

Huw Richards, this video is by far the best I have ever watched from you and about the work you do. You covered extremely well the most important topics from a dedicated and successful gardeners life. Thank you for your holistic views and sharing your wisdom. greetings from New Zealand

Wonderful information, and the videos are beautiful. Living in zone 4 in Alberta we have advantages and disadvantages. Disadvantage: shorter growing season and less rain. Advantages: 17-18 hours of sunlight and almost no insects (except white moths) or other pests. My 17 raised garden beds took a lot of basic grunt work to install but they have worked out great for no-digging. Potatoes aren't no dig but are extremely easy to grow and arguably our most important vegetable. You hit the mark when you said you can grow most of your food cheaply and of higher quality. Don't invest in huge lawns and mowing tractors, folks; you can't eat grass. Invest in garden labor. And yes, our own experience is the best teacher but your tips are great. Thanks a ton, Huw.

I was in Wilko yesterday and all there seeds are 70% off,I got packs of seed for 5p. Didn't pay more the 30p per pack,as all prices different depending on the make etc.. Don't know if this will help others in this time,where money is tight,I brought things to grow next year I would never have brought at full price and only coz I couldn't afford to. Many others much be in same situation,so hope this helps someone.

Thanks from Brittany, France. Mulching with grass clippings with dead leaves works really well!

Organic recipe to finish with the sloughs: surround your garden beds with coarsely shereded egg-shells. Sloughs soft body cannot allow them to cross this barrier because it gets all cut and scrapped.

@polandsgarden

Жыл бұрын

You are living in a fantasy world

@ChrisJohnson-pd4hh

Жыл бұрын

re. Egg shells and slugs, this is an old wives tale and isn't very effective.

Very helpful. USDA 4b, Western Wisconsin, USA. I use lots of grass clippings, chop and drop, and composted cow and poultry manure. We do most of what you reccomend here at Ridgetop House. We eat what is in season and spend very little on groceries during the growing season.

Thanks again Huw

Huw, I am grateful for your tip about using a thin layer of grass clippings around trees; works a treat!

Really appreciated this video. We took on a half plot allotment just over a year ago & have used no dig & permaculture ideas to get started, focusing on the soil up. Everyone told us we were doing it ‘wrong’ & that we wouldn’t get things to grow properly but we are on a pretty abundant second season. While I did appreciate that actually all everyone was trying to do was help us to get started based on what they know, I am glad I stuck to what felt right & cut out what didn’t feel like it would work based on the state our plot was in. There are definitely failures & last year it was tomatoes so this year I did some research & have grown Ukrainian & Russian varieties that are earlier & have faired far better outdoors (we don’t have the space for a polytunnel but that is definitely the dream!). For me learning what works & doesn’t & learning from failures has been a huge part of the enjoyment (though snails have been particularly bad this year which has been incredibly frustrating). This year we had our first cauliflower & cabbages; I learnt last year these have to be netted on our plot to survive the whitefly, butterfly’s, birds & slugs & snails & I make a point of buying something each month as a treat to help towards being able to improve things in the future (poles, net, seaweed meal etc) so it’s not overwhelming. I love vegetables so the point about adapting your diet, as a coeliac vegetarian, has been a huge part of my life already & is a huge part of the excitement for me; to try things I can’t easily get in shops. I have waited almost 20 years for a growing space & I have never been happier than I am now 😊

@laurabehenna7950

Жыл бұрын

Having a garden space is truly one of life's high points.

@michaelsorensen7567

Жыл бұрын

I've heard beer traps work well for slugs. Haven't had that problem yet myself

@RightOne1

Жыл бұрын

I think planting strong smelling flowers and herbs alongside will work out the same. Marigold, basil, lavender, mint, garlic, onions, tumeric, whatever one can find around.

@sarahtrew9331

Жыл бұрын

@@RightOne1 grew mint, lavender, marigold & basil, didn’t make any difference ☹️

@RightOne1

Жыл бұрын

@@sarahtrew9331 marigolds, with extra pungent smelling leaves? Worked fine for me. Basil also. But mine is a rugged mountain, so few snails. Someone has tried frog ponds. Seems like a good idea!

The beauty and vibrancy of your garden inspires me to the point that, rather than challenge you on any of your methods/decisions, I'm in danger of slavishly following your every suggestion. Thank you for fostering a spirit of continual exploration and experimentation. The information you offer on your channel is a gift, and encouraging people to be thoughtful, creative and free in their gardens is an additional gift. Many thanks!

totally agree about using whatever's growing in the garden. It's winter here in New Zealand, but I have brassicas and baby leeks, beetroot and yams. They don't make a complete meal, but it all helps

“Diet awareness” - this is my learning journey! You put this so well, Huw, and I don’t think we appreciate this principle as much as we should. I need to work harder on eating ‘in season’ and growing appropriate quantities. I’ll get there, but in the meantime the family must endure courgette season!!

@aw6707

Жыл бұрын

I remember fondly courgette season (zucchini here in the US) and dearly wish I had that abundance back! My soil presently is a far cry from my parents black gold.

Another great video. Your videos resonate with me so much. I always have something new to apply to my garden or thought process after each video. I’m so glad you are addressing the affordability of gardening. I grow organically and want to grow delicious food as cheaply as possible. Thank you again for putting these videos out.

@HuwRichards

Жыл бұрын

Awh you're very welcome Sarah and comments like yours means so much to me!

I have been very impressed with the growth of the healthy soil in my garden space over the years we’ve spent gardening. We started using no dig approaches a few years ago now. It sounds so cliché sometimes…. but it honestly seems to just get better and better every year, and the perennial plants pump out more in response. Keep growing and keep learning. It’s such a fun journey. Love the content brother. Thanks for all that you do!

I discovered by accident that used ground coffee tea got rid of allium leaf miner from my leeks. I’ve saved bags of used coffee grounds to mulch leeks this year. 👍🏻 We have to say we’re using it as a mulch because EU says coffee grounds can’t be used as an insecticide 🙄

I've used grass clippings forever and never had any issues. It feeds, keeps the moisture in and keeps the soil cool. I remember one year I was living in an apartment and the management let me clear a small plot beside the building and I used grass clippings and we had a drought and the top was crispy n crunchy but lift up that layer and underneath it was green and moist and I had great results and awesome tomatoes that year. Have always used this great, free resource. :)

I love gardening, even the low level combat in which you sometimes must engage in order to fend off the wildlife without poisons or minefields.

I’ve always considered compost to be soil, composting is just a sped up version of what the forest does, creating soil, so I thought it unusual to see that UK gardeners considered it a ‘mulch’. Gardeners in Australia wouldn’t dream of leaving their composted beds uncovered and I’m sure you guys discovered the reasons during your heat wave.

@flatsville1

Жыл бұрын

Compost isn't soil. It is broken down organic matter before the spent humus stage. Soil is made of sand, silt & clay (solum.) Air space & water retained by organic material (humus) in the O Horizon make a better soil. But, it still must have sand, silt & clay at its core to be soil.

@crossing3790

Жыл бұрын

what about soiled underware. hmm

@christinamoxon

Жыл бұрын

Our soil is completely clay in our area of the UK. And it's nothing like compost. You need a pick axe to dig in our ground but raised beds and pots filled with bags of lovely fresh compost are amazing. I wouldn't be able to grow much at all without it. I mulch with wood chips or grass clippings, which helps in the heatwaves. So no, nothing like your experiences in Australia.

@helenharland6050

Жыл бұрын

@@christinamoxon You’ve misunderstood my comment I think. I have the same native soil as you and consistently add compost to it to improve its structure & fertility, I also have raised beds filled with compost. Maybe the term ‘mulch’ is understood differently here. Point is just top dressing your beds with compost can still result in drying out in warm weather if you don’t add another layer of material like straw, grass clippings to keep moisture in and soil cooler, like you and Huw are doing. That extra material also encourages worms, which also will improve structure and fertility of your native soil.

@Scott3387

Жыл бұрын

@@helenharland6050 Normally drying out isn't a problem but that kind of mulch encourages slugs which are always a big problem. However that might be a myth as shown.

I always use grass clippings as a mulch. It works amazing. 😊

Huw, before watching this video I really liked what you had to share in some of your other videos I’ve watched. After seeing this one and learning more about your gardening / food sovereignty philosophy I’m absolutely in love with you. Thank you for speaking into these things with clarity and directness. Much love, friend. 💕🙏🏽💕

OMG I have seen your videos before and only just realised that I hadn't subscribed (or google lost the link), This is the best and most gut hitting video that I have ever watched, I know that you need to feed the soil, I have practiced 4 year crop rotations for many years, I read the packets of seeds that tell me to plant X so many inches apart and rows x apart so have lots of uncultivated soil around my plants. I am also well aware that I don't produce a lot but what I do is utterly lovely . Keep the soil covered; I realise that particularly in the current drout. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR LUCID AND SENSIBLE WORDS! I have now subscribed and hit the bell and will let others know about your wonderful intelligent and sensible channel.

One should never stop learning!

Agreed. I only grow what I like and will eat.

This video is full of wisdom. Thank you❤

One of the very best videos I have watched. Thank You Hugh, very thoughtful and extremely helpful 🤗🤗

I used grass clippings to mulch my French and runner beans. Worked really well in conjunction with nasturtiums shielding the roots.

Amazing content as always!

@HuwRichards

Жыл бұрын

Thanks Bob!

*Steve's Seaside Kitchen and Allotment Channel*

@HuwRichards

Жыл бұрын

Great channel that

How I would like this project to be massified to be happy... a big hug from the community of Maipu Chile😀👍👍

Hello from Kentucky, USA. The only experience I have growing veggies is a couple of bowls of lettuce and kale. If I can ever get rid of the Bermuda grass infesting my yard, I hope to start growing a few veggies (even tho I don’t care for many of them, I’m thinking I’ll be more likely to eat them if I grow them myself). Your videos are an excellent resource that I often watch more than once, trying to absorb as much info as I can so that when I get my garden going I won’t feel like I don’t have a clue where to start. I’ve been composting for years, using it in my flower beds so I won’t have to start from scratch with that. Thank you sharing your vast knowledge so generously! 💚

@MrBigCookieCrumble

Жыл бұрын

Peas and beans could be a good start, they're fun, require little work and sugar peas are just the best! Sweet pea is also really pretty, we like them very much. :) Just plopp 'em in the ground and give em something to climb on. We use two ways in our tiny garden; Put 3 sticks together so they form like a 3-sided pyramid, tie string around them leading up to the top, plant in each corner of the "pyramid". Alternatively you can put sticks in a line and draw string inbetween, making like a little fence of string, plant along the "fence".

@vancouvervixen4253

Жыл бұрын

I conquered Bermuda grass and an infestation of stinging nettle and even virginia creeper by using black plastic, put down in Early fall, then once pulled up in spring I did no dig with cardboard and compost on top. I did a 25x25 area and planted in it this spring immediately with barely any return of perennial weeds, shockingly successful!! If you’re not aware of Charles Dowding I strongly suggest taking a look at his amazing videos here on KZread! I used his method and will never go back!!

@ninemoonplanet

Жыл бұрын

A lot of people gather up the dead leaves, stuff from neighbourhood, pile it where they want to grow something, then put at least 3 layers of cardboard over, add soil, then soak it.

@ninemoonplanet

Жыл бұрын

Do this in late summer, heat and the other materials will not allow seeds to sprout well. Dark garden fabric added early in spring will warm the soil, keep adding more dried material until you're satisfied with the results, then remove the fabric and plant. The cardboard will decompose, add nutrients (although very little). Just make sure no plastic tape or labels are on the cardboard.

@jcking6785

Жыл бұрын

@@vancouvervixen4253 Charles Dowding is wonderful, such a vast wealth of knowledge! Between him and Huw, you can learn everything you need to know about growing veggies! I have been contemplating the black plastic and think it may be my only solution. Thanks for the additional tips!

Well done!! You hit all bases, Huw!! 🌻🌻🌻

@HuwRichards

Жыл бұрын

Thank you! :)

Very timely video. Thanks for that. I found out how beneficial it is to plant thickly and keep the soil covered this last week. I was away from my garden for 5 days during a rather hot spell followed by a heat wave! The plants in my raised beds where I planted a number of different crops thickly (mostly because I am not a very patient person) not only survived but thrived. I'm cutting a lot of lettuce and kale. Kale is always my best crop, not that I like it a lot but because I just enjoy growing it. Then I'm forced to eat it too. LOL I got carrots too for the first time and chard...lots. It has really made a difference.

I find your approach to challenging and looking at "how to make it better" very rewarding - Well done Huw

Great video, as always! Thank you for highlighting the crucial link between diet and gardening - shifting the focus to, “what am I fortunate enough to be able to grow in my garden/space that will nourish my body today?” 🌱

@juanitaglenn9042

Жыл бұрын

Haha all I've got so far this year is kale, radishes, strawberries and peas. Slugs have obliterated almost everything else. Luckily it's dried up this week and some of my plants are recovering and we are getting some sun so maybe things will grow😎

So very inspirational. Blessings to you and this community.

Amazing video Huw. I really appreciate you taking the time to make this, share your knowledge and your passion. I'm just about to have my garden and I'm so excited to use what I've learnt here

@HuwRichards

Жыл бұрын

That's very kind thank you!! I'm pleased you enjoyed this video and got a lot from it! Best of luck with all of your growing I'm so excited for you 🌱

this was a really good video Huw. You covered it very well. love your vids. keep them up and thanks

@HuwRichards

Жыл бұрын

Thank you so much David!!😊

Awesome shout out to Farmer Jesse! I love watching both of you. I’ve learned so much - thanks

Great points you made in your summary - tying soil health/growing to your diet (or modifying the diet to the growing seasons/capabilities). It's going to be a tough road for many people who don't know how to cook (always eating out or buying pre-packaged foods), and getting something to grow when the "feedback loop" can be 2,3 or 4 weeks until months later, and something could disrupt that (bad weather, pests, poor soil, mismatched watering, fertilizer needs)

giving thanks for everything..thank you..

your videos are so good and peaceful

Brilliant video, very excited to process this philosophy more, and I appreciate your approach to advertising, so grounded and providing real value

Hi Huw, some great ideas and information about soil. Thanks for sharing and take care 🙂

I use grass clippings and comfrey cuttings all the time. I'm in zone 7a. Thank you for all your videos.

Thank u for ur time and effort in teaching us. U r an inspiration!

Thank you for this! As a woman of principles, I consider this your best video ever. I am working on a project to help people grow food plants in their apartments. God loves city people, too!

Your garden always looks lush and appetizing Huw !

@HuwRichards

Жыл бұрын

Thank you Troy!

100% on compostable paths -- no brainer.

I absolutely agree with this

“Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many.... But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all {as in, a thriving garden??}, then accept it and live up to it.” ~attributed to the Buddha...except for the garden bit

💚🌱 Thank you Huw, for such wonderful perspective. Spot on.

I cannot get enough of your garden!!! Stunning!

@HuwRichards

Жыл бұрын

Awh thank you!!!

Completely agree!

Been watching for years Huw. Thank you for all your great content. You are absolutely my fave!!

@HuwRichards

Жыл бұрын

Wow that's so kind of you than you Nicole!

fabulous theory.. thank you!

Good guidelines!

This was really good. Thanks, man!

Love you! Thank you!

Great video! Thank you!

Huw you are teaching me so much. Thank you. I look forward now to each of your videos - it's perked up my intetest and passion no end! God bless you and all your family. 🙏👍😘

@HuwRichards

Жыл бұрын

You are very welcome! Thank you for the lovely comment :)

Brilliant. Thank you. Best regards from Vancouver Island.

Thank you.

I really enjoyed this video

Thank you for your amazing experience

@HuwRichards

Жыл бұрын

It's my pleasure! Thanks for watching :)

Rabbit bedding is an amazing mulch. So many people have back garden rabbits. I use miscanthus bedding, rabbit poo is a cold manure and can be put straight onto your beds. I mix mine with grass clippings and there are so many worms in the areas I've used the rabbit bedding.

Hello Hew, like you I have vege gardened since I was a young teenager. Which for me is 60+ years. I've gardened no dig for about 5. I love using grass clippings on my garden. Especially around seedlings. Snails won't go across fresh grass clippings. I'm not sure about slugs. I've also learnet that rabbits do not like the pungent smell of Calendulas. I love watching your utube channel for good ideas and inspiration. All the best. from New Zealand. 💖

Very interesting and informative video thanksxx

Huw, thank you for the input about gardening . MABUHAY🇵🇭