NO DIG BEDS USING ZERO CARDBOARD! | vegetable grower UK | vlog #46

[@thecsslife]

Great to see this. I do the same in my allotment, but put horse manure on the soil before I put black plastic on top. The worms love it under the plastic and the soil is now more soft and way more fertile than when I used to dig each year.

[@TnCountryBoy]

You've got a really good looking plot. Thanks for sharing your ideas. Awesome 👍

[@filougreendog]

"thinking outside the box"... about cardboard...😀. looks a fantastic plot you have there!

[@HollyMaysGoodLife]

😂

[@mandamoosgardeningadventur8305]

I'm just in the process of doing this myself. Thank you for the confirmation that it works, happy growing...😊

[@TheEssexAllotment]

Brilliant. Thanks for watching 👍

[@FlavorsandTextures]

That is turning really good, Blessings in the 2021 growing season.

[@hnr63]

Fully agree and use exactly same method to manage perennial weeds and also improve worm population and soil structure - great update thanks

[@patjoyce7247]

Very well explained. Thanks from a new 66 year old allotmenteer!

[@TheEssexAllotment]

Thanks Pat!

[@janetbull2616]

Appreciate information given in this video thanks Alex👍

[@hugolloyd940]

Brilliant well done hard work I'd say thank you

[@mfr58]

Works great with annual weeds. I wonder how well it works with mature grass cover, couch grass and other creeping weeds? Also do you get slug issues with the sheet cover? Cheers.

[@SteveRichards27]

thinking like a market gardener now Alex ;-) : All the best - Steve

[@KimmysKitchenandGarden]

That was really interesting, you've done a great job!

[@andilemaponya2311]

Thank you,, inspiring, had to subscribe🙏

[@grrlgd3835]

Nice work. Really cool

[@LondonWorms]

Took then same approach but used cardboard from the local shop 😁 Then again my plot is 10m x 10m so a fraction of what you had to cover. Great to see the results. We've got bindweed and thistle so they're pretty persistent and resilient and it doesn't help having severely neglected plots around us spreading the seeds but it's a vast improvement to the way it was. It's still much easier to weed them out as we see them pop up. Great video. Thanks for sharing 😊👍

[@melanatedone4894]

Thanks for the tips from Canada

[@suerobertson1554]

thanks great information

[@colinchick2692]

That looks really good - way to go Alex!

[@TheEssexAllotment]

Thanks! Appreciate it 👍

[@DJ-uk5mm]

Great idea … so if you use quality pond liner then when you finish you can dig out a pond & line with your liner and fill with rainbow trout. For organic fish protein yum!

[@AllotmentAdventure]

A great informative video, keep them coming Alex.

[@TheEssexAllotment]

Thank you. 👍

[@AllotmentAdventure]

@@TheEssexAllotment your welcome

[@anthonykandes9683]

Good on you Brother,🥦🥒🌽👏

[@janenewley1014]

Ooops…hello Alex…I thought it was anew vlog…but it’s from 3 years ago😀😀😀Happy Easter, Jinxy

[@TheEssexAllotment]

Haha new one out tomorrow 😃

[@boomshankaman]

Thanks, great video, new subscriber here. I’m interested in why you use manure and compost? From most of the videos I’ve watched the most logical idea is to compost the manure to destroy and non-digested seeds. However, would I be right in assessing that it’s quicker to add manure plus compost, and does the compost act as a sun blocking layer to stop indigested seeds from growing? I hope that made sense!

[@bloophero]

Would it make any difference if I put new a good 6" of mulching compost on the top of the weeds before then putting the plastic over the top and then poking a few holes in the plastic to get some plants going straight away?

[@TheEssexAllotment]

Nope - would work great

[@SecrePeach]

Hi Alex, great advice, didn’t realise you had to let the pesky weeds germinate first 🤦🏼‍♀️ I notice your land looked like mine when you began (heavy clay) but you still had great results. I began in lockdown last March and had terrible trouble getting a full sized harvest, other than manure, blood/fish/bone and compost do you have any suggestions on land prep?

[@TheEssexAllotment]

You may have seen I’m using a Broadfork to get air into the soil, other than that, it’s a slow process of organic material on top and deep rooted plants to break up the soil. The good thing about clay soil (generalisation) is that it’s packed full of nutrients so when it does start to break up it will become good soil. Unlike really Sandy soil that holds little or no nutritional value. ✌️

[@SecrePeach]

Thanks Alex, that’s a great help. I really struggled last year, all my plants seemed to be about 6wks behind in growth/harvest and being an absolute beginner I had no idea why. In the end I got so disheartened I decided to start again, being in wet Cornwall I decided to dig 12” down to loosen it, add a bit of perlite plus all the goodies and top with compost so hopefully things will be better. Thanks for telling me it’s not a quick fix so my hopes won’t be completely dashed this season but good to know hopefully I’m on the up 🤞🏼

[@allotmental.]

I put tarpaulin over a few areas of my plot and will move around as weeds pop up 😃

[@Robutube1]

Really intriguing and helpful. That's a huge area of plastic tarp so how did you stop the wind getting under it and lifting it (a problem I've had with much, MUCH smaller areas). Also, do you leave the plastic tarps down beneath the soil (if yes, how do you get a decent growing depth, because you're putting the plastic on to the surface).Many thanks.

[@TheEssexAllotment]

No the plastic is removed - compost and manure on the bare, weed free ground. The bigger the tarp, the harder it is for the wind to lift. Held down with a few pegs and some bags of compost. 👍

[@Robutube1]

@@TheEssexAllotment Hi Alex, many thanks for replying and being so helpful. Subbed 😀👍.

[@TheEssexAllotment]

No worries! Thank you! 👍

[@Iamam313]

Great video, so if I understand things right you want to let weeds sprout in the summer but you don't want them to go to seed right? So you cover them sometime before the period of going to seed

[@TheEssexAllotment]

Correct. 👍

[@Iamam313]

@@TheEssexAllotment is there a calendar with the approximate dates or periods (months) with this depending on geographical region or hardiness area?

[@annecanty1227]

Great videos. What do u do about watering? Can't imagine the size of beds!!

[@TheEssexAllotment]

I have a mains water supply - will be irrigation eventually. But hose and sprinklers at the mo 👍

[@bullasbullas]

Hi Alex, where did you get such a large tarpaulin/plastic sheet? Was it very expensive?

[@ichhasseamerika]

How much time to wait between laying down the manure, then then the compost, and then planting? Or all at same time? Thanks for vid!

[@theodorspireanu9291]

How much land you work ? is that your only source of revenue ? Thanks for your time.

[@francoiselemeur7325]

Cardboard didnt work for me. The soil was like cement underneath after 7 months of continuos brittanny rain My seeds never grew in the cold spring,but weeds still came Total fiasco. I much prefer to put a black tarp. Then cover crop here or there.

[@felixwatts571]

Think outside the box! See what you did there

[@L_Martin]

11:50 - stupid question, but how do you know if the weeds have germinated or not?

[@TheEssexAllotment]

You can see them when you check on it… periodically I’d lift areas of the plastic to check. And you’d see green leggy weed shoots dying and drying out

[@L_Martin]

@@TheEssexAllotment 👍 thank you!

[@TheEssexAllotment]

No worries. Thanks for watching 😁

[@kirahagan270]

Great video Alex. How would you deal with a badly rotavated very uneven allotment? How would you level it? Rotavate it again?

[@pinballwizard6906]

✌️😎

[@anasazirose]

Worms love to eat cardboard, cardboard attracts worms, worm poop is great for the plants, as are worm tunnels. Plastic degrades into microplastics, needs picked up and stored then off to the landfill when its too degraded to use.

[@TheEssexAllotment]

Im aware - Where do you suggest I find enough cardboard to cover 3 acres? Idealistic at best - it’s thick, reusable plastic and when it’s no longer of use it’ll be disposed of correctly.

[@tangokaleidos1926]

@@TheEssexAllotment I don't use anything under my beds, no cardboard or plastic. I just lay good topsoil and compost on top and I plant where no soil is showing, something like arugula or other greens and then thin out later. It suppresses the weeds. It is easier and cheaper and no plastic. Great video! Thanks for sharing.

[@horitauri]

@@TheEssexAllotment Dont most businesses have cardboard for recycling? Wouldn't you get enough from the city to cover the area if you did it in stages?

[@shristib918]

Where can I get cow manure please ?

[@TheEssexAllotment]

I contacted my local farmers - they dropped me a load off