29th December 2020 Trials

Starting out in 2013 I made two large beds, five feet wide and sixteen feet long (1.5x5m), the same area as Lower Farm’s experiment, and used old oak planks from a tree at Lower Farm which I had

9th February 2019 Winter

Be careful of sowing too early, there is no rush in spring because later sowings often catch up as it warms and lightens. For example I plan to sow tomatoes on 18th March this year. In the next two we

10th December 2018 Site News

Welcome to my site and I hope you enjoy navigating around. There is a lot of information here. In fact, the amount of advice and data I offer has made it a big job to reorganise for the new site. For

7th December 2018 No Dig Growing

Compost & Mulches Compost etc for beds, from Woodhort, based in Somerset Online turf sell mushroom compost £78 cubic metre, also bulk composts and soil Corker is a family-run nursery in Kent and

7th December 2018 Sowing

These dates are distilled from 38 years trial and error in my gardens, where my results have highlighted best timings for best results. You can sow these vegetables at different times and they will gr

7th December 2018 Sowing

The vegetables I have found worth sowing and growing in clumps For certain vegetables, there are considerable benefits of sowing two or more seeds together, as opposed to a single seed per module or s

7th December 2018 Seeds and Varieties, Sowing

Which seed variety to buy – these have worked for me, over several seasons. Firstly let’s consider seed quality, of what you may buy. Seed Sourcing and freshness Companies like Plants of D

7th December 2018 Seeds and Varieties, Sowing, Videos

Skills you need to make the most of your precious seeds and to elongate the growing season, through early sowing, overlapping crops and filling empty spaces at any time. My tips cover where to sow, ho

7th December 2018 Schools, Sowing

The gardening methods I recommend, no dig with less rotation and ultimately less weeding, are great for youngsters in school. My videos receive good comments in terms of child friendliness. This is fr

5th December 2018 No Dig Growing, Trials

Photo 6th September 2020, dig left and no dig right This trial began in 2007 and ran until 2012 at Lower Farm. It’s to compare growth of the same vegetables in a dig bed and a no dig bed, all ha

5th December 2018 Articles, Uncategorized

Imagine a vegetable garden in winter, and you’ll probably conjure up an expanse of bare earth alongside a frosted-up greenhouse. But market gardener Charles Dowding’s plot couldn’t be more diffe

4th December 2018 Articles, No Dig Growing

I write regularly for Gardeners World, Kitchen Garden, Country Smallholding, Optimum Nutrition and Dove (Bruton parish) magazines, occasionally for the Daily Telegraph and others. In November 2015 for