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.
Before your summer plantings of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, aubergines, melons and so forth, it’s a good time to spread the annual dose of compost. This year we used the contents of last year’s hotbed, so that’s one year old horse manure. With a little mushroom compost on top, and some green waste compost on the paths.
Garlic is growing strongly. At this time last year we started losing green leaves to the orange spots of rust. There is not too much rust at present, but it is spreading The first photo shows interplants of coriander. When garlic is spaced in rows like this, you can intersow or interplant many vegetables, see my new video.
This is an experiment to see how it can work with early planting of tomatoes outside and with fleece over. We shall put stakes in, in about a week, after removing the fleece – this is in the small garden
Pests
As with the word weeds, this is a relative term description. For most of us however, slugs can be highly destructive and my recommendation is to reduce any places where they can hide in dry conditions. That becomes the base, for foraging in the Dumpert conditions at night.
I have noticed some slug damage, for example to the turnips below. I had harvested one of the four and there was a slug in the hole. See my webpage about coping with slugs. The second photo has radish with leaves eaten by flea beetles, even though they were growing under mesh. That cover is quite old and had too many holes. Flea beetles love small brassica leaves. That’s why I do not sow any salad rocket, mizuna or pak choi until August.
Wild rocket is prolific in May. This is Athena, sown September in a tray in the greenhouse, then pricked into my CD small module cells, then potted to 9cm pots in November, still in the greenhouse. We planted it outside late February and this is one plant! Spacing is 30cm, there is a fine mesh cover against flea beetle and we keep cutting until July.
Multisown turnips and one of the four harvested has left a hole, ideal for the slug!
Typical flea beetle damage on young brassica leaves, many small holes and often perfectly round
Mid May at Homeacres
Misty May morning, my trial beds are on the left and the no dig one nearest is looking strong, compared to dig on its left. There is not a lot of space for the many new plantings soon happening.
Charlotte potatoes have been in for one month and they are from homesaved seed. We shall pull compost around them this week in case of ground frost. Behind is rye sown last October, for making bread!
An interplant of spring onion between celeriac, with the onions coming ready before celeriac need all the space. They are under thermacrop for protection from rabbits.
An Amazing, Confidence-Building Course for No Dig Beginners
I can't recommend this course highly enough. We are just starting our new allotment plot and building it entirely around the no dig method. Charles Dowding's online course has been absolutely amazing. It provides clear, step-by-step explanations for everything, which has been perfect for us. It has given us both the practical skills and, just as importantly, the confidence we needed to progress with our project. It's an invaluable resource for anyone looking to start their own no dig journey.
As a relatively newbie to the vegetable garden I found myself mega motivated to make the most of my small garden. Amazed at the wealth of knowledge laid down in this book and I for one will be glued to it. First job a small greenhouse, then we’re off!!
This is the 3rd time of buying Charles’ no dig calendar and, as always, I can’t wait for February to start sowing. That’s how good it is! The photos are so inspiring and the information gives you complete confidence to not only give it a go, but succeed! The layout means you’re unlikely to miss anything and I especially value the overview at the back which allows you to go straight to the vegetable you’re interested in and see which months you can sow and how many times during the year you can sow. In this way there is always something ready to plant. There is a wealth of other really useful information besides when to sow. I would highly recommend the calendar for anyone who wants to grow no dig veg on any scale.
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