https://stream.echo6.co/videos/watch/d7ec83d0-6d8b-4c77-9343-60c4b769efb4 I take you around my garden of 1500 m² or 1/3 acre cropped ground, for examples and ideas. The garden is quiet at this time, but we notice how the rhubarb is springing to life already. No dig bed prep for the year ahead is straightforward. Feed soil life with a surface mulch around 2.5 cm or one inch thick, measured after it settles. And feed the soil you walk on as well, with a little woodchip on pathways. Average bed width is 1.2 m and path width 40 cm (4ft x 16in), see my recent planning video: https://youtu.be/zol5pP1ytKk My trial results from 2023 show clear benefits of leaving soil alone. https://www.charlesdowding.co.uk/post/dig-no-dig-trial-2019-2022 Even forking depresses yield, by 20% this year; and over 10 years by 9% altogether. This is my Three Strip Trial: https://www.charlesdowding.co.uk/post/three-strip-trial-2014-2022-no-dig-forking-different-composts 00:00 Introduction 00:22 2024 courses at Homeacres 01:12 Most beds are now harvested, but some veg still survive just, eg chard 01:25 Mulching beds with compost 02:01 Slug damage to spinach leaves 02:28 Mulching with wood chip, different grades 02:57 The small polytunnel, mulched back May before tomatoes - compost on paths with, no woodchip 03:34 Virus damage to kale, I reckon 04:05 Purple sprouting broccoli, Claret F1 variety, netted against pigeons 04:42 Rhubarb, variety Timperley Early - root taken from my mother's garden 05:09 Woodchip, four years old and sieved 05:42 Red mustard plants with frost damage, and how to clear 06:03 Salad rocket, covered with fleece 06:12 Comparison between green and red-leaved plants in winter 06:29 Leeks with Allium leaf miner, and how to protect them 08:01 Mustard against wireworm, and rye for grain for bread 08:36 Harvested veg stored in the shed, and levels of frost resistance 10:08 The big pond, with black plastic around to kill buttercup (sorry!) 11:05 Beds empty in winter are not bare soil, they are mulched with compost, and woodchip on paths 11:30 Mustard in a bed, killed by frost, with garlic coming through 11:56 Brussels sprouts Brigitte F1 12:38 Corn salad/lamb’s lettuce 13:09 Asparagus, with mustard which will fade soon 13:24 Broad beans, killed by frost - a companion plant for garlic- were sown 22nd September 13:50 The three-strip trial - comparison of harvest totals 15:17 Winter carrots sown on 5th July, fairly late - being left in the ground, and sowing later against root fly 16:02 Winter purslane - good in mild weather and harvested 20th December 16:12 My dig/no dig trial beds and comparison harvest totals 17:37 Adam composting - thin layer of green waste and then 4 month old homemade 18:10 Large polytunnel - mulched in May with 4cm/1.5 in compost - now has two month planted winter salads, Grenoble Red, two types of endive, different mustards, salad rocket, land cress 19:55 A milder leaf - Claytonia/winter purslane - and chervil 20:26 Upcoming videos - and one with Olivier en francais https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXaWYNyhS2U&t=1391s Filmed and edited 18th December by Nicola Smith at Homeacres market garden, Somerset, UK, zone 8 climate - temperate oceanic You can join this channel by paying a monthly fee, to support our work with helping gardeners grow better, and to receive monthly videos made only for members: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB1J6siDdmhwah7q0O2WJBg/join #wintersolstice #wintergardening #nodig #nidiggardening #growyourownfood Wed, 15 Apr 2026 09:26:42 GMT https://validator.w3.org/feed/docs/rss2.html PeerTube - https://stream.echo6.co https://stream.echo6.co/client/assets/images/icons/icon-512x512.png https://stream.echo6.co/videos/watch/d7ec83d0-6d8b-4c77-9343-60c4b769efb4 All rights reserved, unless otherwise specified in the terms specified at https://stream.echo6.co/about and potential licenses granted by each content's rightholder.