July tour after a cool | Dull and wet month | Charles Dowding

July tour after a cool | Dull and wet month | Charles Dowding
July has been cool, dull and wet. However because the 1/3 acre (1400sqm) garden is no dig and the sun is high, growth has been fantastic.

We have taken many wonderful harvests, including seeds from many vegetables. Sales in July average £760 weekly.

Beds have been coming empty and we replant with new vegetables, all by hand. We can do it quickly because there is no need to add new compost, there are very few weeds to pull, and the surface is always soft. With firm soil underneath..

Average July maximum temperature was 19.9°C / 68°F, rainfall 149 mm / 6 inches, and sunshine 158 hours. Humidity has been often high, but so far I have seen very little late blight.

One consequence of continually high moisture levels is strong growth of new weeds from seed. We therefore spend more time weeding. In comparison, last year that same amount of time was needed for watering.

I devote a fair amount of time to making compost, and show you some of the results. This includes my wormery, producing a small amount of super high-quality compost for propagation success.

Thanks to @kimvanderlaan5962 who recognised the sage and commented: That purple sage at the end is called Salvia Amistad I think, it's amazing.

00:00 Introduction, and the comparison in weather to last year
01:22 Tomatoes in the polytunnel – dropping them down, and deleafing
02:08 Melons, and reasons for not deleafing/defoliating – varieties Emir, Petit Gris de Renne and Ogen
03:03 More tomatoes – varieties Victoria’s Smile and Berner Rose
03:39 Watermelons, ripening slowly due to lack of warmth
04:59 Onions going to seed – I open a flower bud to see the seeds inside
05:54 Cucumbers, now growing downwards
06:07 Pinching out the tops of tomatoes
07:20 Peppers – varieties Astor, Liebesapfel, Hungarian Hot Wax
07:59 Aubergines – variety de Barbentane
08:11 Grenoble Red lettuce for seed
09:18 Outside – new planting of chicory for radicchio, which followed onions, and lettuce which followed spring onions
09:41 Outdoor plants growing for seed – carrots, beetroot, parsnip and lettuce
10:04 Lepiota mushrooms
10:39 A second planting of leeks, which followed wild rocket
10:46 Jerusalem artichoke
11:07 Romanesco cauliflower, 6 weeks old
11:47 Kidd’s Orange Red apple tree
12:02 Celeriac, and the effect on growth due to a nearby cherry tree
12:55 Cavolo nero and Dazzling Blue kale
13:19 Purple sprouting broccoli, and Marathon calabrese
13:33 Rhubarb, year-round cropping
13:55 A trial – growing second early potatoes (Paris) in cow manure, and risk of blight
14:34 Rye plants, and how we made new beds on an area that also had rye, and potatoes – I tread down the compost
16:05 Thoughts on what we might plant in the new space
16:35 Squash, Kuri, and leaves with downy mildew – not a problem
17:36 A squash that is rotting, and the reason why
18:22 Beetroot, which followed turnips, and chicory for radicchio
18:55 Ridge cucumbers, La Diva
19:24 Harvested onions, drying outside and under cover
20:26 Harvesting parsnip seed
21:05 Rye straw, and how it’s been used to create a mushroom farm by Adam
21:54 Broad beans just shelled out
22:36 Sunflowers, and winter squash, Marina di Chioggia
23:13 Butternut squash, still very small due to lack of warmth
23:49 Salads – endive, chicory and lettuce
23:59 Borlotti beans to dry, and water cabbages – Filderkraut and Granat, under mesh
24:44 The wormery with many slow worms, plus ants and woodlice, and how I use it to make great compost
27:11 Joan J raspberry
27:59 Compost in my 7-bay system – different aged heaps
30:43 Beautiful sunflower, dahlias, mallow (Malope Vulcan) and asters (Lady Coral)
31:31 Perennial sage, and anise hyssop
32:08 Outro

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[zachflynn]

I love these videos. At this point in my growing experience, hearing the little tid bits that Charles throws out as he’s talking about the different things is more helpful than most vegetable growing YouTube videos. We are learning some of the nuances from a master grower with lots of experience.

[coalacorey]

Where I live in Germany we had near constant rain for the past week, the growth is insane

[joydavis]

Charles, your garden is so beautiful. Love it. ❤❤❤

[simeonbanner]

What a month of well... not a lot here in Birmingham. Grey skies, rain. Let's hope we get the return of some warmth and above all sun.

[elijahfromamerica]

Thank god for charles dowding and his great advice all these years ❤❤❤master gardener 😊

[gardeningforcatlovers]

Such a great tour with such fantastic information for all, thank you. So glad you were brave enough to show us your "best" butternut squash, made me feel a whole lot better about my collection of tiddlers 😢

[dn]

Yes, clouds sure have cut lots of light out at a productive month. Many plants are not as big this year, but others are amazing. Swings and roundabouts

[greencutsguelphlandscaping]

With their colours and hues, your gardens speak so loudly about how grateful they are for all of your hard work.

Thank you for sharing this with everyone.

[chezelleconroy]

Just watching this again as we’re having a cool, dull and wet Summer here in Gippsland Australia 🇦🇺

[glow]

Beautiful garden! I wish I am not afraid of worms especially nightcrawlers. So I can create my own Compost for my baby garden

[tracyhaigh]

Following everything you do from Ojai and wanted you to know your harvest and cooking video's are my favorites ❣️

[isaMer]

I love Charles. Can't get enough of him.

[minphang]

I have watched so many of Charles' YouTube videos that everytime I go into the garden, there he is - standing right beside me! And I haven't been eating any wild mushrooms lately.

[ckoch]

Anybody else notice that Mr. Dowsing looks younger now than 3 years ago? Really enjoy these videos.

[CassiWooWoo]

Your honesty, enthusiasm & positivity is highly appreciated. Despite the miserable weather here (U.K.), you & your team deserve every success. I’ve been weighing up if I can run a heat lamp from my two 120w solar panels to zap my hundreds of green tomato’s 😂 Typing as I watch…. Whoa!! Slow worms 😍

[dorotaguziak]

Jak zwykle fascynujące wiadomości. Dziękuję. Super. 😁

[michaelsenett]

Your Camra person makes you look good 😉😉I do enjoy your volgs thank you.👍🏻👍🏻

[haileynorris]

When I see your amazing produce, it keeps me growing!! 💚🌱

[MH-qbev]

Goals! Our weather seems to be similar here in the mountains of North Carolina. I will have to pick up the sowing calendar.

[VeronicaBerramou]

I’m always inspired to keep growing when I watch your videos. With regard to peppers not ripening I saw Steve from the Allotment and Kitchen Garden Channel put a lot of windfall apples on the ground below his last year which apparently helped them ripen, also last year I had a very productive Butternut squash plant and picked off a lot of young fruit about the size you showed and either sliced and.roasted or lightly blanched them, they tasted great. No waste and I harvested 9 mature ones of a reasonable size from that one plant. Best wishes Charles and thank you.