Windy April Tour and a slow start to spring

Spring 2023 here has often felt wintry, with cool winds, occasional frosts (four in April), and a notable lack of sunshine through March. Just 66 hours in the whole month, less than in most Decembers. Sowing and planting has continued in the rain, using my lineage of average best dates. No dig helps massively because we can access the ground in all weathers. And without causing compaction because the soil structure is firm, stable, yet open to roots. Even this year, my sowing dates have been good for plants to get underway. Then growth after planting has mostly been slow. Later sowings in 2023 have not lost time compared to earlier sowings. 00:00 Introduction 00:34 Spinach and lettuce under fleece 01:32 Securing a cover against wind using extra hoops 01:47 Potatoes just planted in a trial bed of no rotation 02:55 Overwintered broad beans, some frost damage 03:56 Leeks rising to flower 04:32 Asparagus, a taste of spring 05:02 Sorrel, a taste of late winter - broad-leaved and buckler-leaved 05:54 Raspberries, with metal border 06:25 The wormery 07:21 Apple mint 08:19 A pond… this one will have a liner! 08:50 Homeacres’ soil profile, and the water table 09:16 6/7-month-old woodchip 09:56 Mustard 10:16 Garlic, with coriander interplant 10:44 Compost heap 12:20 Carrots and radish - mesh covers not fleece 13:08 In the greenhouse, much warmer! 13:47 Flowers for interplanting 13:52 Celeriac and celery, both pricked out 14:21 Lettuce and broccoli in module trays 14:37 Hotbed, giving warmth to peppers, aubergines, tomatoes and asparagus 15:47 Tomato plants, potted on 16:18 A quick look at different composts 17:09 Tulips, and orach - lovely colours 17:42 Peas, with fleece recently removed 17:59 Brassicas with fleece still on - cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli 18:22 Onions, with fleece recently removed 18:37 Lettuce with fleece plants lying directly over 19:04 A brassica bed with spring cabbage, and spinach 19:22 A new no dig bed - removing a dandelion, and a look at the soil beneath 20:15 How to deal with perennial weeds 20:48 Surviving broccoli plants, Claret F1 hybrid 21:36 Rye for grain 22:09 Wood in homemade compost 22:39 Lettuce plants in the polytunnel, in their 5th month of cropping, including Red Lace mustard 23:47 Clearing lettuce plants and getting the ground ready for next plantings 24:44 No rush for sowing cucurbits Filmed 12th April by Nicola Smith, at Homeacres no dig garden in Somerset UK, zone 8 winters and zone 5b summers. temperate oceanic climate. Knowledge packs giving detailed info on different aspects of growing no dig veg available here: 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: