SEPTEMBER UPDATE

[@BARBSCOUNTRYHOME999]

Your garden looks amazing and your pasta sauce looks delicious.. Beautiful potato harvest! 🍅🥔

[@MarkyBigSmoke]

Bless you guys, really appreciate your comments. I’m always amazed that we get potatoes from just placing a seed potato on the soil. Take care

[@littleacornslandscapes2935]

Great video Mark, thanks - the allotment progress is astonishing, how quick can we re-nature !

[@MarkyBigSmoke]

Thanks Tim. I know, it just takes a little effort and consideration on our part right? All the best

[@clivesconundrumgarden]

Awesome to see the pond live mature Mark !! Amazing transformation you've there :) And a ton of succeses this summer. Glad you got so much encouragement out of the garden this summer :) Cheers Jason and Colleen 🌱🌱🌱

[@MarkyBigSmoke]

Thanks JC! I’ve really enjoyed watching the wildlife pond mature in such a short space of time. Take care guys and see you soon

[@SEBLAKPALU]

Berkebun dibulan september, sudah banyak buah tomatnya dan dijadikan saos tomat

[@MarkyBigSmoke]

This year was a good year for tomatoes! Thank you for your comments. Take care

[@RetiredSchoolCook]

🍅🍅🌽🌽🥬🥬🧄🧄🥔🥔🧅🧅🍓🍓 Thank you for the garden update . The garden looking so very nice . Great and so good , homemade sauce from the tomatoes . 🍅🍅 👍👍 🐱🦊🐦🕊🐺 🐿 Wonderful the pond is being used and enjoyed .

[@MarkyBigSmoke]

Thank you so much Lucy! It’s such a calming space to be and so good for the wildlife. Take care

[@terrykingsallotmentgardening]

Pond weed seems to come to our ponds however we try to be careful, nice footage at the end Mark. ♻️Happy gardening, Terry King.

[@MarkyBigSmoke]

Lol yes, I’ll have to live with it I’m sure! Thanks For watching to the end Terry! Have a nice weekend

[@terrykingsallotmentgardening]

@@MarkyBigSmoke 👍♥️👍

[@nikkiclarke4417]

Hi Mark, love your plot, its so majestic. What a lovely place to be. Love the wild life pond and clips at the end. Always makes me smile. Look forward to next update. Thank you for sharing.

[@MarkyBigSmoke]

Ahh thank you so much Nikki! Really means a lot. It really is such a special place to sit, watch and listen. Very lucky. I’m so pleased enjoyment to you too. Take care

[@bristolveggiebeds5310]

The plot looks so smart with all the wood chips!

[@MarkyBigSmoke]

Thanks Helen, it certainly makes a difference

[@SisterDogmata]

It's changed a lot since time we looked around! Really productive now as well. It's great when you can preserve your home grown for the winter months. Pickles and relish are great to make too, mine don't last through the winter though with my family! The pond is looking amazing so glad we get to see your visitors, the foxes are beautiful! Best wishes.

[@MarkyBigSmoke]

Thank you Sister, next year I hope to be able to pickle some onions! It’s worth it just to see the wildlife! Thank you so much for your kind words. Take care

[@GrandmaSandy]

Always love a good garden video thanks so much for sharing your beautiful garden with us. Hugs and kisses and grandma Sandy and Debbie

[@MarkyBigSmoke]

That’s very kind of you thank you. I’m so pleased that it has brought happiness to you both. Hugs and kisses back. Take care and hope you have a lovely week.

[@cozyrosemary]

It looks delicious 😋💕 ナイス！☺️🌷🧚 Your garden is so gorgeous 😍

[@MarkyBigSmoke]

Thank you so much! It tastes wonderful!

[@anitast.9043]

What a transformation Mark! Clearly you have done a lot of work. I planted about 50 leeks and they ere doing great until some creature ate every single one of them! We saw a rat and a weasel scurrying off with two large German Sheppard puppies on their heels. What creature would eat leeks? No trace of them. Greetings from Canada.

[@MarkyBigSmoke]

Hey Anita! Thanks for stopping by. Really appreciate it. What! That’s crazy. Obviously a leek loving creature that’s very hungry! At least you’re feeding the wildlife. Maybe you can try converting or protecting half the leeks next time so you get some too?! Canada is a beautiful place! I have relatives there. Take care of yourself.

[@anitast.9043]

@@MarkyBigSmoke Britain is a beautiful place! I am in Ontario. Canada is a massive country. I have lost touch with all my UK relatives unforntunely. Very puzzling that the leeks are gone especially when I have several sunflower seed holders, two wildlife ponds and they go after leeks! Silly creatures.

[@DigDaveDig]

Plot looks absolutely fantastic, well done. Some great wildlife clips there too. Cheers

[@MarkyBigSmoke]

Cheers Dave! It came together this year! All the best

[@DigDaveDig]

@@MarkyBigSmoke amazing transformation , and not without a lot of effort, it's paying off now though. Nice one

[@MarkyBigSmoke]

Cheers very much. It was worth the effort! Making a wildlife pond will bring even more creatures to the plot! All the best Dave

[@DigDaveDig]

@@MarkyBigSmoke I'm thinking of expanding my pond, something to consider over winter. Cheers

[@MarkyBigSmoke]

It’ll be well worth doing if you can. I’ll be looking out for any changes you make! Winter is best

[@LivingtheNorthernLife]

Nice job on the garden Mark! Looks like you're wearing a Rode Wireless Go 2 at the 4:40 mark?

[@MarkyBigSmoke]

Well spotted Andrew. Indeed I am. All the best

[@titiaswildlifecottagegarden]

Wow, what a transformation, bravo👏🏻🥰 The pond is looking fabulous. Love the footage of the animals visiting the pond ❤️ With what kind of camera are you filming it with? I would love to capture such footage in the future to. After watching your pond build videos, I have established an idea on how to make my own shelving. My pond size will be (much) smaller, I thought after digging the first shelve, to dig the deep hole right away. And slowly slope the sides with a small shelve in between. Otherwise I might end up with a very small deep hole. I think that is a good way to ensure a nice cool and warm pond throughout the year.

[@MarkyBigSmoke]

Thanks Titia, I’m pleased with how it’s maturing and how natural it looks. I have a wildlife trail camera with movement sensor. It records moving and still images. Yes, you can definitely make a smaller pond just like Joel Ashton has done. Good luck with your pond. The design sounds great!

[@titiaswildlifecottagegarden]

@@MarkyBigSmoke A wild trail camera sounds great. Seeing your pond want me to dig my own so badly😅 But 100% all pond build videos are all on grass or existing soil. My garden is paved over with a spade depth of sand, before the clay soil starts. At first I thought of reinforcing the edge by laying narrow bricks along the edge under the liner etc. But the sand might be to unstable. It would be nice to get some clay soil from a company nearby who collects it from building sites. And then replace the perimeter of the pond plus the surrounding area by clay and compact it in place. Then digging the actual pond without loosing the sturdiness of the walls. It's just a theory to problem solve my paving/sand situation. I will for sure contact Joel and other people who have experience with pond builds, on how to handle this situation.

[@MarkyBigSmoke]

Good ideas! Joel has so much experience with making ponds of all sizes and in different soils. All the best

[@LivingtheNorthernLife]

we should cut the potatoes install of planting full ones?

[@MarkyBigSmoke]

Yes, agreed! Lesson learned

[@DigwellGreenfingers]

Brilliant Mark. Your plot is inspirational mate and that is one cracking wildlife pond! As you say, better luck next year with the #sspchallenge2022 but 1kg from 1 spud isn't to be sniffed at.

[@MarkyBigSmoke]

Cheers Steve! We live and learn eh lol we live and learn eh? Yeah, as you’ve probably worked out, this space is just as much for the wildlife as it is for growing veggies lol. There’s always next year. Take care

[@DigwellGreenfingers]

@@MarkyBigSmoke As much as I'd like a small pond on my tiny plot I don't need one as every man and his dog has "installed" one on their plots all around me. Saves me space but I benefit from all the wildlife - win win! Frogs/toads/newts galore (still loads of slugs though!)