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July 2020 summer unfolds with more sowings, interplanting, weeds to hoe or pull, seeds to save, potato harvests and beware pyralids
27th June 2020 Featured
No dig update and seasonal information
Online Courses 1 and 2
This bundle includes: Online Course 1, No Dig Gardening and Online Course 2, Growing Success
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Browse the No Dig shop for books and courses by Charles
Latest news from Charles
Open Day 6th September postponed to 2021
After careful consideration Charles has decided to cancel the Open Day due to be held on 6th September. Last year the event attracted over 800 people, so this year we planned a ticketed event for maximum 100 people in two sessions. Charles consulted with his neighbours on the lane, and they are not happy with this. We are sorry and hope to be able to reschedule for some time next year, and we shall post ideas in spring.
Garden Organic release press statement regarding Aminopyralid Poisoning
Since 2019 Charles has seen a worrying increase in reports of aminopyralid poisoning from growers. James Campbell, Chief Executive of Garden Organic says: “This poisoning has been of huge concern to growers and gardeners. Particularly as many may not have connected the distressing plant damage to the organic compost or manure in which they grow.” The press release details who you should send a report to if you think your plants have been poisoned. Read the full press release here.
Read more >Start a garden, however small
Charles was interviewed by the Evening Standard. In the article are tips from Charles and Sarah Raven, about starting to grow your own fresh food.
Weedkiller in compost
The persistent pyralid poisons are hidden in some sacks of garden composts, and old manures from both horse and cow. They are sprayed on grass to kill everything except grass. Unlike other weedkillers, they persist in organic material, until decomposed by soil microbes, after spreading. Main symptom is distortion of new leaves, resulting in growth stopping. Report this to Corteva/Dow if you suspect it, and take photos of your plants growing points for evidence.
Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival – now July 2021
Charles has been invited to design a no dig garden along with co-designer Stephanie Hafferty. The show was originally scheduled in July, then in September, but even this second attempt has had to be cancelled because of Covid. See more on the RHS site. Charles and Steph are now booked for the same show at Hampton Court Palace, in July 2021. Details to follow.
Read more >The Organic Gardening Podcast discusses no dig
Both Charles and Steph are interviewed by Sarah Brown. Charles talks about his no dig method and soil health as well as and his gardening history going back to the 1980s. Steph discusses with Sarah ‘ No Dig Organic Home & Garden’, the book co-written with Charles, and also her love of using the whole plant for many different uses
Intro to Charles & No Dig Organic Gardening
Charles Dowding has explored and shared new ways to garden since 1983, most notably no dig organic gardening, and since 2003 has developed ways to continuous-crop salad leaves. Discover his weed free no dig methods to achieve superb and time-saving results in both small and large garden areas. He sells produce from Homeacres bio-intensive and no dig garden, has written nine books on no dig and organic gardening, writes for national and international magazines, runs a YouTube channel, appears on TV and radio including BBC Gardeners World, and teaches extensively at home and abroad.
For answers to your questions about no dig, see the FAQs
You can listen to my growing story on podcasts one and two with Joe Lamp’l 2019.
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As Seen In
Just wanted to thank you for the inspiration to experiment with no-dig, as I’ve tried it with amazing success in my container veg garden.
Erik Storhok
Michigan, 17.9.19
This is our first year of no dig and we are the envy of our fellow allotmenteers.
Jacqui D
You Tube Plan video 15.12.19
A combination of your you tube channel, the books I have bought from you and following on Facebook, have completely turned my gardening life around. Thank you for being so inspirational, informational, educational and thought provoking over this last couple of years.
Steve Randles, Cumbria
I learned of you while studying organic gardening at a community college in San Antonio Texas. I have since followed you on social media. In my book you are the most inspirational horticulturalist for 2019!
Jenna Leigh-Ann
Facebook 8.1.2020
I made the mistake of straying from your advice, and I tried “amending” my clay heavy soil in areas instead of continuing to add on compost with no-dig. This winter we’ve had a lot of rain and the only bed that has not flooded is the bed I left as no-dig! Now I know that digging around helps nothing, certainly not drainage. My no-dig bed absorbs the water like its nothing
Timothy K
Winter veg 27.1.20
Thank you so much for all the practical information, the exceptional food and the general sense of can-do, my favourite advice of all being ‘Alleviate your worries!’ I spent several enjoyable hours renovating a neglected bed of raspberries using compost and polythene, a job so daunting I had put it off for months. Am feeling very empowered.
Laura Evans
After day course 12.2.20
No-dig is a life changing way to garden. I’ve fallen in love with my garden again. Thank you!
Donna Creager
YouTube Beautiful Veg
I started this method four years ago and I wish Id known about it decades earlier. We had just bought a big rototiller to start all of our beds before I discovered no dig and ended up selling it. This method works very very well and for very little effort or money.
Janette Lavender
I am in Northern California, a mile east of the ocean. From your videos I attempted my first No Dig garden at the end of 2018. Even through winter storms it started producing, and by the time spring arrived, I had an abundant, healthy, thriving garden, with my nearest neighbours deciding they must take up the method themselves.
Linda Schneider
This has been my first year of no dig, I had such an amazing time and had loads of produce. Thank you Charles for all your help and amazing videos, and your books are brilliant.
Elaine Hutchinson
You Tube
I thoroughly enjoyed your online course and have learnt so much. I am just starting out on an allotment plot and already notice how few weeds I have compared to my plot-holder neighbours. And I’m loving weed-free paths!
Susan Souter
Cindy Conner
Californian flower farmer
I have learned so much from watching your videos. You’re an excellent teacher — concise and generous at the same time. You helped rekindle my love of growing food. Thank you!
Andrea Berry
I LOVE your videos and the online course was fantastic. Can’t wait for the next one.
Sharon Gunn
gardening in Texas USA
This has been my first year of no dig, I had such an amazing time and had loads of produce. Thank you Charles for all your help and your books are brilliant.
You have changed my approach to gardening, and I couldn’t be happier now than when I’m outside planting and growing and seeing the amazing results of your no dig advice.
Thank you sir for your amazing video advice. I followed your every thing to the letter I have an amazing garden and abundance
Complete incredible stuff in under 7 months: took keys of property on 6th December last year 1 acrePoly tunnel in place, my beds are feeding 5 people not fully but incredibly. Thank you for changing our lives.
Tinker bell
August 2018
“Many thanks for making the journey to Sheffield last week, and providing such a fantastic and stimulating talk for our audience. Everyone loved it!”
Gareth Roberts of Regather
Sheffield’s Festival of Debate Talk Attendee
“Charles has become the guru of no dig gardening. He’s a really good grower, organic, has fabulous produce and we went down to Somerset to see how he does it…. I’m a convert now, I want to dig as little as possible.”
Monty Don
BBC Gardeners World
I came on a course last August, and it has given me so much direction and understanding in my gardening thinking. And your updates through the winter are an absolute tonic.
Clare Finzi
Course Attendee
Have just received your splendid calendar with the sumptuous pics. An annus mirabilis at Homeacres methinks!! It will take pride of place in the potting shed to remind us what we should be doing
Jim Buckland
Head Gardener at West Dean College, Chichester.
July 2020 summer unfolds with more sowings, interplanting, weeds to hoe or pull, seeds to save, potato harvests and beware pyralids
June has been warm and with mixed weather, including decent rainfall! of 107mm so far. Rain in June is the best of any month, after the surge of growth in spring. At Homeacres it has rescued my peas,
June mid month new picking and plantings, intersowing carrots, making and using composts, pyralid weedkiller hidden in composts
The weather is cooler and damper than May, but only 28mm/1.1in rain here so far. The soil under growing plants is still dusty – but some of you have had big rain, even too much. “A drippin
June 2020 extreme weather, early harvests, mulching, no dig garlic, webinars, insects, keep sowing, problems with bought composts
May was the driest ever month here, in 47 years of my records. 1990 came close with 4mm rain compared to 3.2mm (0.13in) in May 2020. In the last 20 years, the previous driest May was 2010 with 34mm, s
August 2019 summer winds down, open day, no dig transformation, insect problems, new no dig beds, onions
Writing this in a thunderstorm, our first substantial rain for two months of lovely warmth, over 40mm so far and 46mm in the end (1.9in) in four hours. All soaked in, watering finished for 2019 except