It’s time to start thinking about gardening goals for the new growing season. With last year’s experience under their belt, the speaker has a clear idea of what projects and plants they want to focus on. However, there is a major challenge in the home garden that was recently discovered, which is making the speaker nervous and devastated. Despite this setback, they are determined to push forward and make the most of their growing space.
One of the speaker’s major accomplishments from last year was the installation of a polycrub, a hard-shelled polytunnel that provides covered growing space for heat-loving plants. Despite the challenges of living on a slope, the speaker was able to find a relatively level surface at the back of their property to install the polycrub. They then built raised beds inside the polycrub and used a combination of topsoil and organic compost to fill them. The speaker also discovered the benefits of siliconing the nooks and crannies inside the raised beds before filling them, which helps the beds retain moisture and keeps slugs and snails at bay.
Key Takeaways
- The speaker is reflecting on last year’s gardening experience and planning goals for the new growing season.
- Despite a major setback, the speaker is determined to make the most of their growing space, including a polycrub with raised beds and wood chip paths.
- The speaker is a proponent of no dig gardening and has discovered the benefits of siliconing raised beds to retain moisture and keep pests away.
Major Challenge in the Home Garden
One major challenge that the speaker recently discovered in the home garden is causing them to feel nervous and devastated. However, they will address this challenge shortly. Before that, the speaker talks about the wonderful thing that is the polycrub.
The speaker’s quarter-acre plot is on a slope, making it challenging to have an outdoor covered growing space that they could use to grow heat-loving plants. Fortunately, at the back of their property, there is a relatively level, slightly sloping surface, which was probably the only place that they could ideally put a polycrub. Polycrubs are hard-shelled polytunnels developed by a permaculture group based in the Shetland Islands. They are peppered throughout the Shetland Islands, and people use them as growing spaces and outdoor leisure areas.
Getting the polycrub installed was a bit of a challenge because it is a permanent structure that required planning permission. The area at the back of the house wasn’t perfect, so the speaker had to work the bank that was behind the flat area. Once they pushed the bank back and leveled the space a little bit, it was time to build the polycrub. The speaker and Josh put in the foundations for the main poles, and professional joiners helped them to build the structure in about two weeks’ time.
Once the polycrub was built, the speaker needed to put in raised beds because they knew that the ground was hard, impenetrable, and didn’t have much in the way of topsoil or nutrients. Building raised beds was their next project, and they used topsoil that they had retained from the back of the slope, combined with organic compost that they bought. Before filling the raised beds, the speaker learned the most genius thing last year when it comes to raised beds, and that is siliconing all of the nooks and crannies, crevices, and cracks inside the raised beds. This has helped each of those beds to retain moisture and also stops slugs and snails from going into those places and making themselves at home.
Despite all the challenges, installing, growing, and harvesting from the polycrub last year was one of the best things that could have ever happened, and the speaker cannot recommend polycrubs more.
Planning and Building the Polycrub
The speaker of the video shared their experience of planning and building a polycrub in their garden. A polycrub is a hard-shelled polytunnel that has been developed by a permaculture group based in the Shetland Islands. It is designed to withstand extreme weather conditions, making it suitable for outdoor growing spaces and leisure areas.
The speaker faced a major challenge in building the polycrub as their quarter-acre plot is on a slope, making it difficult to find a suitable location for a covered growing space. Fortunately, they found a relatively level surface at the back of their property, which was the ideal place to install the polycrub.
However, getting the polycrub installed was not an easy task. The speaker needed planning permission as it is a permanent structure, and the area at the back of the house was not perfect. They had to work on the bank behind the flat area and level the space before building the polycrub.
The parts of the polycrub had to be shipped from the Shetland Islands, and the speaker needed the help of professional joiners to build it. They spent a lot of time putting in the foundations for the main poles, which was challenging as the ground was hard and impenetrable.
Once the polycrub was built, the speaker realized that the ground did not have much topsoil or nutrients. They decided to put in raised beds on either side and right down the middle to grow their plants. They used topsoil retained from the back of the slope, combined with organic compost, to fill up the beds. They also siliconed all the nooks and crannies inside the raised beds before filling them, which helped to retain moisture and prevent slugs and snails from making themselves at home.
After the raised beds were built and filled, the speaker mulched the top with more compost before planting their seedlings. They started off with tomatoes, aubergines, cucumbers, and melons, which they had started in the house and hardened off in the greenhouse and out on the deck. They planted them inside the polycrub and watched them grow into a jungle of lush growth, especially in the areas where they grew the butternut squash.
Overall, installing, growing, and harvesting from the polycrub was one of the best things that happened to the speaker’s garden last year. They highly recommend polycrubs for anyone who wants to grow heat-loving plants in an outdoor covered growing space.
Filling the Raised Beds
The ground behind the polycrub was hard and lacked topsoil and nutrients. Therefore, raised beds were built on either side and down the middle. The topsoil used was retained from the back of the slope and was filtered of roots and stones. Organic compost was also added to the soil.
Before filling the raised beds, all the nooks, crannies, crevices, and cracks inside them were siliconed. This helped to retain moisture and prevented slugs and snails from making themselves at home. The video on creating raised beds shows how this was done.
Once the beds were filled, the top was mulched with more compost. Seedlings of tomatoes, aubergines, cucumbers, and melons were started in the house, hardened off in the greenhouse and on the deck, and then planted inside. The polycrub had a lot of lush growth, especially in the areas where butternut squash was grown.
The raised beds have been the best thing ever for the garden. They have helped to retain moisture and prevent pests from making themselves at home.
The Veg Patch
The speaker discusses their experience with creating a polycrub, a type of hard-shelled polytunnel, in their garden. They explain that their garden is on a slope, which makes it challenging to find covered growing space for heat-loving plants. However, they were able to find a relatively level surface at the back of their property where they installed the polycrub. The polycrub was shipped from the Shetland Islands, and professional joiners were hired to help build it. The speaker and their partner put in the foundations for the main poles, which was challenging due to the hard ground.
Once the polycrub was built, the speaker realized that the ground inside did not have much topsoil or nutrients, so they decided to build raised beds. They used topsoil that they had retained from the back of the slope and combined it with organic compost that they bought. They also siliconed all of the nooks and crannies inside the raised beds before filling them, which helped retain moisture and keep slugs and snails out. The speaker mulched the top of the beds with more compost before planting.
The speaker had a lot of success growing vegetables in the polycrub, and they plan to continue growing various types of tomatoes and other crops in it this year. They also discuss their use of wood chip paths in their vegetable garden, which suppresses grass and weeds and provides free compost over time. The lower part of the garden has a 12th no dig bed, which the speaker did not use wooden edging around as an experiment. No dig gardening has changed the speaker’s life and they explain that turning over the soil is not necessary if you just use compost to mulch.
Importance of Wood Chip Paths
Wood chip paths are an essential component of any vegetable garden. They serve several purposes and can greatly benefit the overall health of the garden.
Firstly, laying down wood chip paths suppresses the growth of grass and weeds, making it easier to walk around the garden without having to spend extra time weeding or cutting the grass. This is particularly important for larger gardens or those with a slope, where maintaining the paths can be a tedious task.
Secondly, wood chips are a free material that can be obtained from arborists and tree surgeons. This makes them an economical choice for gardeners who want to save money on garden supplies.
Lastly, over time, the wood chips will break down and turn into compost. This compost can be lifted up in a sheet and added to the no-dig beds, providing a free source of organic matter for the garden.
In summary, wood chip paths are a practical, economical and sustainable solution for vegetable gardens. They suppress weeds, provide a free source of compost, and are easy to maintain. Gardeners should consider implementing wood chip paths in their garden to improve overall garden health and productivity.
No Dig Beds
No dig gardening is a technique that has revolutionized the way people grow food. It involves mulching the soil with compost instead of turning it over, which is the traditional method. This technique has been gaining popularity in recent years because it is a more sustainable way of gardening that is also easier on the gardener’s back.
The speaker has implemented this technique in their garden by building no dig beds. They started with four completed beds and have since expanded to twelve. Wooden edging has been used around most of the beds to prevent erosion of the compost and soil into the pathways.
The lower part of the garden has a larger no dig bed that has been left without wooden edging as an experiment. The speaker plans to observe how it performs without the added support.
One of the benefits of using no dig beds is that they require less effort to maintain. The gardener does not have to spend time digging the soil over, which can be a strenuous task. Instead, they can focus on adding compost to the top of the bed, which will gradually break down and provide nutrients to the plants.
Another benefit of no dig beds is that they promote healthy soil. When the soil is left undisturbed, the microorganisms that live in it can thrive. These microorganisms are essential for breaking down organic matter and making nutrients available to plants.
In summary, the speaker has implemented no dig gardening in their garden by building twelve no dig beds. This technique is more sustainable and easier on the gardener’s back. No dig beds also promote healthy soil by allowing microorganisms to thrive.
Discovering No Dig Gardening
The speaker in the video discovered no dig gardening a few years ago, which has changed their life when it comes to gardening. They believe that everything they have been taught in the past about turning over the soil was not correct and that it is not necessary to do it. Instead, they mulch and use compost.
Last year, the speaker installed a polycrub, which is a hard-shelled polytunnel developed by a permaculture group based in the Shetland Islands. Despite the challenging installation process, the polycrub has been a fantastic addition to their garden, providing a covered growing space for heat-loving plants such as aubergines, tomatoes, peppers, and melons. The speaker also built raised beds on either side and down the middle of the polycrub using topsoil and organic compost. They also siliconed all the nooks and crannies inside the raised beds before filling them, which has helped retain moisture and prevent slugs and snails from making themselves at home.
The speaker also expanded their no dig beds in the veg patch from four to twelve, which are surrounded by wood chip paths. The wood chip paths suppress grass and weeds, provide walking spaces, and eventually break down into free compost for the vegetable patch. The lower part of the garden has a 12th no dig bed without wooden edging as an experiment, which the speaker will observe to see how it fares without the edging.
Overall, the speaker is confident and knowledgeable about their gardening techniques, and they are excited to continue growing and harvesting from their polycrub and no dig beds in the upcoming growing season.