November 2024

Written by

Charles Dowding

Last Updated

November 2, 2024

No dig food for soil life, Charles spreads compost under broccoli before winter. On the right is a bed where I cleared courgettes and on 11th October we planted garlic, then spread compost and sowed mustard Sinapis alba, scattering the seed on top.

Late autumn already. No dig day is 3rd November.

Same view 12 days later, shows the impressive growth of white mustard in autumn

Apply compost mulch now or soon

Now is the time for giving food to soil organisms, for the whole year ahead with one application of compost. In the main photo of Brussels sprouts, there is new compost under them.

Through 42 years of doing this, I have found it's the way that works best for soil, and is the most efficient use of time. We can do this now and it's one less job to do in the spring.

Plus the compost we apply before it gets too cold, is broken up by winter weather. Therefore by spring, it's soft and not sticky, ready for new seeds and plants.

Pallet compost bays, on left we almost finished filling, nd three months old on top on right — Pallet compost heaps, on the left we almost finished filling, and on the right there is three months old compost on top, just turned from the bay out of picture to the right

Making compost using three pallet-heaps

You can make these heaps so easily. A three bay system requires just 10 pallets and 12 short pieces of wire. You don't need any stakes in the ground.

Find details in my Compost book, which also is available with me narrating.

The heap in the middle is never filled with fresh material, but receives the turned contents of each outer heap. In the photo above, it has three-month compost from the bay on right Out of picture), on top of five-month compost from the bay on left. See my video, which includes other types of heap and how to manage them.

Timings and results will vary according to how quickly you can fill each bay. At Homeacres we fill them within two months, then leave them for two months before turning. At that point, the worms have arrived and soon after that the compost can be used. Or if you leave it, it turns into exquisite worm compost of reduced volume.

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I use corrugated iron over both the recently finished heap, and the middle one of maturing compost. Otherwise they become soggy and smelly from rainwater displacing air in the compost.

As winter approaches, the garden continues to evolve

Aerial view of Homeacres on 31st October shows how most beds are still growing vegetables and cover crops. Some have had compost before the sowings and plantings of autumn, some have new compost under tall plants, and most will receive new compost after final harvests.

Two busy months ahead

I love the slower rhythm of autumn and the feeling of caring for soil. I'm noticing a lot of worm casts on beds and paths, and it's a pleasure to be feeding those earthworms, Lumbricus terrestris.

They are very different to the red worms, Eisenia fetida brandling worms, which we see in maturing compost. They live and die near the surface of soil and leave eggs which can survive for eight years.

That's why they always appear whenever plant material is decaying. I'm finding a fair few in chicory hearts I harvest, when the outer leaves start to decay.

Eisenia fetida red or brandling worms in my wormery, near the surface under the plastic cover I just removed.

Plant care

High humidity in mild autumn weather can cause beautiful green celeriac leaves to go yellow and brown very quickly, from Septoria apiicola, sometimes called late blight of celeriac. Celery and parsley suffer it too. I have just twisted off the lowest and most affected leaves.

Fortunately, most of the growing is done and the main thing now is to harvest them before the remaining leaves start to rot, because the blight could then get into the bulb. It’s nice that celeriac store really well, because they are so high in dry matter, and I just keep them in boxes in a shed. With a mouse trap nearby.

Learn more in my guide to growing celery and celeriac.

No dig romanesco cauliflower, sown June and planted July after beetroot — It's the season for romanesco cauliflower, sown June and planted July after beetroot. 3 sprays of Bacillus thuringiensis kept caterpillars at bay, and removing lower leaves reduced slug numbers around the plants.

No dig, so beautiful

Compared to digging (see photo below and my Trials page), no dig is quicker, and less effort is needed. Plus, from using the same amount of compost you get more harvests.

As the Financial Times said, in a review of my No Dig book, it's a no brainer!

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Dig bed on left and no dig on right, same compost applied. Harvests so far in 2024 are 75kg from the dig bed and 89kg from no dig, both beds 1.5 x 5 m

Growth speed with no dig

Tokyo turnip harvest 60 days since they weremultisown, 48 days since transplanted with a mesh cover throughout — Tokyo turnip harvest 59 days since they were multisown, 47 days since transplanted with a mesh cover throughout. Previous harvest was potatoes. Photo 25th October

And sowings for November

Not many! Broad beans before mid-month, sweet peas and peas for shoots under cover, and plant garlic outside if not already done. Two days before full moon is a powerful time to sew any seeds, for strong results. This month that is 13th of November.

For broad beans, sow either in module trays, or direct outside. The cells are small in the trays I designed, so I transplant the little seedlings within two weeks.