Beginners No Dig - Hotel chef creates amazing garden

Chef Darren Stephens took the opportunity of lockdown in 2020, to start a no dig garden. His learning came from my online teaching, such as this video https://youtu.be/0LH6-w57Slw. Within a few months he was intensively cropping a quarter acre / 1000 m² of grassland. He is a motivated and hard-working man, with just two days help per week. Since 2023 he has expanded the area, using compost covered by black plastic on the surface. To grow pumpkins and squash initially. His results are impressive - huge harvests, and a beautiful space for work and pleasure. The garden produces micro greens and flowers as well as vegetables. The climate is similar to Homeacres: oceanic temperate, zone 8 winter and zone 5b summer. The land is owned by Homewood Hotel, near Bath in Somerset UK. 31 rooms and it's a venue for weddings. See a different kind of hotel garden, Raymond Blanc's which also is no dig, https://youtu.be/ZZtQZ_l4RKM My module trays which Darren is using are from Containerwise in the UK https://containerwise.co.uk/product/charles-dowding-60-cell/ Worldwide distributors are on my website products page https://www.charlesdowding.co.uk/store/gardening-products Find garden products to help you achieve top results more easily, on my Crocus page https://www.crocus.co.uk/products/_/vid.3796/numitems.100/sort.7/ Filmed and edited by Edward Dowding 21st May 2024, in a wet and relatively sunless spring. 00:00 Introduction 00:59 Darren explains how he changed from being chef to gardener, and why he chose to go no dig 02:01 Creating the veg garden at the start, and the compost he used 03:21 The compost bays, what goes in them and how they’re managed 05:19 Salad beds 06:06 Asparagus 06:23 Black membrane on beds to suppress weeds 07:21 My advice to add more compost 08:44 Strawberries 09:06 Beetroot 09:15 New area of garden, created in January 09:56 Pumpkins and cut flower garden 10:04 Fence, against deer 10:25 Squash, and potatoes - Charlotte and Pink Fir Apple 11:23 Propagating plants, Darren does this at home 11:47 Raspberries 12:32 Type of ground 12:48 Mint 13:16 Big blackberries 13:42 Beetroot 13:47 Spinach, with chard to follow, or dwarf beans 14:01 We discuss planning, and being fluid! 14:41 In the polytunnel - nasturtiums 15:38 Communication with the kitchen 16:34 Garlic planted between salads 16:42 Woodlice 17:03 Melons 17:36 Hotel guests visiting the garden 19:03 Outro 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 #nodig #healthyfood #nodiggardening #growyourownveggies #growyourownfood