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November 2022 make and spread compost, prevent pests, deal with weeds, new no dig books, amazing autumn growth

Written by

Charles Dowding

Last Updated

October 30, 2022

Now is a great time to boost the life of no dig soil with new compost and other mulches, wherever you can find space to spread them. Growth here is still strong after a warm and sunny October with decent rain by night! Most beds in this temperate climate can still be growing plants, including new plantings.

The feature photo is 26th October.

Weather and light

The last two months have balanced to some extent the dry summer. September and October have contributed 40% of the year’s 505mm/20in rainfall, over 200mm in the two months compared to 86mm in the three months of summer – see my weather reports.

November will not see growth like this! Even if the temperature stay above average, the lack of light means new leaves are thinner and smaller. Plants which show most growth are those with already-strong root systems, such as leeks, kale, spinach and Brussels sprouts.

On a personal note, I was thrilled in late October to hear that Edward had won the Paul Mellon Centre’s British Art in Motion award. It’s for his documentary about the 1930s, through a study of Edinburgh’s Southern Motors garage by architect Basil Spence.
Allotment support, please sign this petition to protect a Lincoln allotment site from being built over.

25 sqm small garden 24th October when we made a video, releasing soon. Harvests so far in 2022 are 79kg vegetables and a full size British allotment is ten times this area, showing how that is more than needed to feed most allotment keepers.

Charles, Edward Dowdingprizewinner — With Edward prizewinner! Photo Mitch McCullough

After 60mm rain the pond finally has some water and is holding the level now, which may actually be the water table! — After 60mm rain the pond finally has some water and is holding the level now, which may actually be the level of the water table!

Homemade compost

You can still make new heaps now as long as you have sufficient green material. This could be fresh green leaves for another few weeks, and then as we go towards winter it becomes materials like coffee grounds and fresh horse manure. Green provides volume, warmth, and bacterial breakdown.

Ideally to these greens, add a quarter to a third of brown materials. These include any woody material in small pieces, soil, paper, cardboard and wood ashes.

When you add different materials in layers you don’t need to physically mix those layers, The microbes do a great job of that. Layer thickness could be 5cm/2in green and 1cm/half inch brown, roughly!

Brown heaps

If your main add is browns, you will have a more slowly decomposing heap with mainly fungal action. An example is leaf mould which can take two years to become compost. You can speed it up to one year, by running a lawnmower over tree leaves and adding grass.

Marie-Eve Velikson came on a weekend course here in July, and she is in NY State, proud of her compost heaps

Inside a Dalek, which I turned in early August and it's 4-6 months old, ready to spread now or later — Inside a Dalek, which I turned in early August and it’s 4-6 months old, ready to spread now or later

This October photograph shows the amazing value of one application of compost 10 months earlier. Already there have been heavy crops of spring planted vegetables. Everything here is a second or third planting, with no further application of compost

Spreading compost now for no dig

It’s that time again. Late autumn is when earthworms and other soil life are looking forward to a good meal of organic matter landing on the surface, from tree leaves and plants dying as the season finishes. We replicate and multiply this by spreading compost as a surface mulch. There is no need to sieve it

The word mulch means any material on the surface. Surface compost has many advantages including it’s high concentration of microbial life, a variable amount of nutrients which are not water soluble, and minimum habitat for molluscs including slugs.

Path soil

Now is a good time to feed the soil life in your paths. A thin 2-3 cm depth of preferably small wood chips serves to keep path soil in top condition. Then it’s more able to offer passage for roots which can feed and find moisture, these roots are under your feet during the growing season. Chips of any type of tree are good to use, including conifers.

Brigitte F1 Brussels sprouts coming ready and we have spread new homemade compost for the year ahead

As with Brussels sprouts, under the broccoli we remove enough leaves to be able to spread compost for the year ahead, while the savoy cabbage cannot receive that yet because there is not space, although I like to deleaf them as well to keep slug numbers under control. Broccoli followed beetroot and cabbage followed onions

Compost allows easy planting of any vegetables and I'm using the space beside 2 year asparagus, fennel planted 8 weeks — Compost maintains a soft surface. and allows easy planting of any vegetables at any time. Here I’m using the space beside 2 year asparagus, with Florence fennel transplanted 8 weeks ago

Other sources of fertility

When working in the Inner Hebrides 1981, on Iona, I observed the islanders spreading a lot of seaweed on their gardens in the autumn. Then most of it had decomposed before spring, adding lots of organic matter to the sandy soil below, with a fine nutrient balance. They laid seaweed up to 15cm/6in thick and without washing out the salt, despite what you may hear.
In the spring after doing this, you often need to remove seaweed stems. At least before you can put in seeds or small transplants.

Qualities of different composts

I’ve been running a trial all year of different composts in these sacks, and the first harvest was in July of potatoes. I had planted them in April, two per sack which could have been one, of Charlotte. We have made a video about both plantings and shall release it before Christmas.

The leek harvest was mid October, with many of the leaves showing pale green verging on yellow. Som could have grown more, especially the mushroom and homemade composts.

Leeks in bags of different composts, planted July after potatoes and with no feeding

Leeks in bags harvest was highest from mushroom and homemade composts — The harvest in kg was Johnson Su woody unsieved .05, Moorland Gold potting .17. old green waste .37, soil .29, sieved wood chip .31, mushroom .43. homemade .50

Same Philomene leeks in soil in the small garden, sown same date but planted three weeks earlier also after potatoes, some leeks weigh 0.3kg

New Books

It’s been a busy year in every way, also with my Skills book and the annual Calendar, which we offer as a bundle.

The cookbook is shipping from 5th November, you can preorder now. We are holding a launch event in a café in Saint Werburgh’s Bristol, on 10th November. Book soon if you want to place because there are only 40 remaining.

The Children’s book will preorder from us in early January, and is online to preorder at Waterstones now.

No Dig published 1st September by Dorling Kindersley, is selling fast see below

No Dig Cookbook self-published by No Dig Garden, published 1st December and available now

Children's no dig published by Welbeck, 19th January 2023, the simplicity of no dig and with beautiful illustrations — Children’s no dig published by Welbeck, 19th January 2023, the simplicity of no dig and with beautiful illustrations

Promoting no dig

We are doing a lot and want the international day of no dig celebration to be a joyful occasion, widely publicised. We look forward to seeing your exploits and are already receiving some lovely entries for the children’s garden competition.

On 3rd at 11am I’m doing an Instagram live with Gardens Illustrated. Part of this is a competition on their website, where you have the chance to win my No Dig book.

Edward filmed me in a video to preview no dig day, and our small garden video is appearing 31st October.

My no dig talk at Toppings bookshop in Bath was a sell out with 130 people and the bookshop sold out of a large stock of No Dig books as well — My no dig talk at Toppings bookshop in Bath was a sell out with 130 people. The bookshop sold out of their large stock of No Dig books as well

#nodigday is 3rd November every year, do tell the world!

Small garden film set-up with Edward on camera, 24th October, photo Mitch McCullough

Brassicas with no dig and surface compost

When I started gardening 40 years ago, these were always called “heavy feeders”. Yet with no dig you can treat them the same as all other plants. For example every bed here has the same amount of compost spread on it, around 2.5m/1in annually..

A compost mulch means fertility is always high. See the third photograph below, with large cabbages growing in the eighth consecutive year in the same bed. Learn much more in my grow-cabbage online lesson.

More importantly, I pay a lot of attention to pest control, so important for brassicas.

No dig helps because the moisture retained by undisturbed sol and compost mulch reduces whitefly and aphid populations.
We spray Bacillus thuringiensis over the top of brassica plants, every 18 days from 10th July to mid October. It’s a soil bacteria which has the effect of making leaves in the adjustable two caterpillars only. Buy it now for next summer, it’s in dry powder form and stores for years.

Chinese cabbage Yuki F1 after clearing outer leaves. Despite the mesh cover there is some caterpillar damage. not too much. Sown 81 days earlier

Cabbages planted 10 days later than normal here and between almost-finished potatoes are catching up, but with lighter heads - Filderkraut and Granat — Cabbages planted 24th June, 10 days later than normal here and between almost-finished potatoes are catching up, but with lighter heads – Filderkraut and Granat

Cabbages and cauliflower in a bed which has grown brassicas every summer in the previous seven years

Weed Control with no dig and surface compost

I had a question on Instagram about couch grass shooting up in many places after mulching – what to do? The photo looked dramatic and showed that there were a lot of strong roots in the soil. A subsequent message revealed that the plot owner had used thin packaging cardboard, and this is not sufficient to delay rapid regrowth of couch grass. If you have that situation, use even a double layer of thick cardboard.

I suggested to buy or scrounge a large sheet of black plastic – simple black polythene, not woven polypropylene- to cover the whole plot including paths, until mid March, even early May if planting courgettes, sweetcorn etc. You could roll it back in stages, and you can use it again. Make a few slits to let rain through in winter, and remove any green shoots of new couch grass leaves, when still small. And treat other perennial weeds the same way.

Annuals or perennials

Annual weeds are best tackled small, even at two leaf stage which means they’re pretty well invisible. If you can disturb them at this point, using a trowel or hoe and preferably on a dry day, they should die without needing to be removed.

Whereas perennial weeds do not die so easily and I put them on the compost heap, toots and all. As you can see in the photo below of bindweed roots, which I had levered out with a trowel, and some were from a heap of delivered compost which they were growing in, from my soil below the heap. Hence very long!

Small seedlings of annual weeds are in this case almost too large for successful hoeng at this time of year, when it's so damp — Small seedlings of annual weeds are in this case almost too large for successful hoeng at this time of year, when it’s so damp. We may need to hand with them. They come from a heap of manure where I had allowed wildflowers to seed!

Just two weeds to pull, and lepiota mushrooms (not edible but mycorrhizal we reckon) from wood in the compost partly

I had been using a trowel to lever out the new growth of bindweed roots, which also included some from a heap of compost, and they are now all on my compost heap where they will degrade over winter. It’s vital to know that they are not invincible and they have a life limit of maybe 1-2 months in a winter heap which is not hot

Bindweed, Convolvulus and Calystegia

The exception is bindweed, because of how it does not grow during winter. Therefore any cardboard or plastic applied now on bindweed roots will have little effect until April. It may still be worth mulching for other weeds, but be ready in April and onwards to keep removing growth of new bindweed shoots, which will appear through the mulch you have applied now or in the winter.

Cardboard on perennial weeds is a good start point - here in April there was a lot of bindweed and I doubled up, before applying compost — Cardboard on perennial weeds is a good start point – here in April there was a lot of bindweed and I doubled up, before applying compost. I planted and sowed this bed on the same day, pp43-5 of No Dig

Perennial weed examples are couch grass, creeping thistle, and creeping (running!) buttercup

In late April, two months after applying 7cm compost with no cardboard and on vigorous weeds, with black plastic on top, bindweed and some couch grass are regrowing already

Pest Control

I have been caught out! We generally suffer some damage to plant roots from wireworms, which can live in soil for up to four years and are the larvae of click beetles. I’ve not taken them too seriously until this autumn when they have done terrible damage to rye, for grain harvests next summer. The photos explain more.

With no dig, these pests are not exposed to the surface where possibly they might be eaten by birds. That however it’s not guaranteed and I would still prefer not to disturb the soil because it would damage other inhabitants. For me that outweighs potential reduction of pests. I know a farmer who cultivated regularly for nine years attempting to be rid of wireworm, yet he still suffered damage to new plantings, as well as all the damage he had caused to his soil.

My big plan to grow rye for lots of bread is floundering, here I'm searching for wireworm — My big plan to grow rye for lots of bread is floundering, here I’m searching for wireworm. This area was pasture in February and grew potatoes plus squash and sweetcorn in the summer

We found one or more of these wireworm under almost every rye plant, often burrowing into the main stems, so we squashed or cut them and re-planted, either with the same plants or with new ones in places

No Dig Success in a Dry Summer

Rhys has been a no digger since 2007. He read my frost book, came on a day course and was one of the main contributors to my forum in those early days. There were not many of us practising no dig in those days, and I really appreciated Rhys’ comments and contributions.

He’s a thoughtful guy and likes to analyse and understand what’s going on with his soil and plants. His results this year have been wonderful, after the allotment site run out of water in July. Do have a look.

Rhys Jaggar, No dig in a year of drought 2022

Athos celeriac was not watered until mid August, transplanted 24th May and still swelling

Athos celeriac with septoria 'blight' on leaves, was watered and is larger — Athos celeriac with septoria ‘blight’ on leaves, was watered and is larger, transplanted same time

Many of these beds received at least some water during July and August mainly, all applied by hand, photo 24th October

Autumn’s speedy growth – warmth not light

As Rhys comments, the amount of growth in a mild autumn can be phenomenal. And yet the day length is equivalent to mid February, during October’s last week. The amount of growth in autumn reflects temperatures being much higher than in February, and plants having strong root systems already in place, so that they can put on growth more rapidly.

Undercover

Growth in polytunnels and greenhouses is now significantly more rapid than outside, thanks partly to wind protection. It’s not about frost reduction because plants in a polytunnel will freeze on a cold night, due to warmth escaping rapidly though the only-thin sheet of polythene. I actually leave the doors open at night (except in gales) because some movement of air prevents the temperature dropping too low.

One thing that’s important is to clean your plastic, so that all the precious winter light can enter.