*The information contained in this pack has been taken from two of my online courses, No Dig Gardening and Skills for Growing, so if you have purchased these courses, you will already have the information. For any queries, please email anna@charlesdowding.co.uk

Please note, these are digital products and only accessible via the website. They are not downloadable.*

This triple pack will set you up for creating and maintaining a successful garden, with far less effort than you might have imagined.

Planning includes how you might set up and lay out a garden or plot. Then how to create a rough plan of cropping for the whole year. And much advice about succession planting and whether or not you need to rotate your vegetable crops.

Beds for ease of creation and use

I consider bed width and orientation, and whether you need sides to your beds, or probably don’t!

With no dig, it’s fine to tread on soil occasionally. It is firm yet open. This means you can have beds of any width, and align them in whichever way works best for you in the context of your site.

Pathways to value

We look at the benefits and importance of well-maintained paths. You see examples from different parts of Homeacres, and from my previous garden at Lower Farm. 

Planning

This is knowledge to help you make viable choices about what to plant where and when, through all the seasons. It’s easier with no dig because there is neither much ground preparation, nor weeding.

Consistent success when propagating is a vital part of having fresh and stored harvests throughout the year. 

You can sow in nine out of twelve months. This helps to keep your beds full with succession sowings. Much of what grows after midsummer and through autumn is from second sowings.

Features of successful plant raising

There are three main aspects.

1. Using top quality seeds.
2. Using suitable trays, according to each vegetable you sow.
3. Sourcing a really good compost for filling trays, and also pots, whichever type you are using.
4. I guide you through the many ways to be successful.

There is also a large section about the best ways to transplant, without hardening off, another great timesaver.

Spacing 

Plants grow differently at different spacings! Much as plants need space to grow to their full potential, they also do not start well in wide open spaces.

Each vegetable has a potential best spacing, at which it can grow to a decent, but not excessive, size. It will find sufficient nutrients and moisture, and harvests will be even and regular.

Close spacings

Close spacing can be a form of companion planting. Small seedlings, especially, do not thrive when there are wide distances to their closest neighbours. 

Plants are like people and companion planting means, literally, companionship. Having said that, if you space vegetables too closely, much as they will grow, the harvest might not be what you want. 

Growth changes with spacing

You learn how the space between plants affects how quickly they start cropping, as well as how big they grow. You can vary spacings according to desired results.

For example, if you want baby carrots, or small lettuce leaves for a quick harvest by cutting, then space closely. If you want larger carrots, and longer-lived lettuce plants, give them more room.

Knowledge pack contents – includes text, photos and video

Planning

• Bed width and orientation, sides or not
• Making a bed
• Paths – how they feed your plants and how to look after them
• 3 examples of planning
• Succession and rotation

Propagation

• Seeds and seed saving
• How to propagate strong seedlings
• The benefits of multisowing
• Transplant or sow direct

Spacing

• The how and why of spacing
• Examples of close spacings
• Examples of wider spacings