Great advice, thanks for sharing.

What is a cardboard cut out, exactly? I understand cardboard but not sure what art is "cut out"

​@@margieperse9490 A cardboard cutout can be something that is cut out of cardboard--for instance a figure or image that you press out of a larger piece. In this case I think he actually took pieces of cardboard that came from a larger piece. If so, they could be called off cuts I suppose. It's another version of a wooden plank. I did this and forgot a bit and was just lucky to get the plants uncovered.

Top tip 👌 thanks mate. Plus the cardboard is biodegradable so this method is really garden-friendly.

I do this on all things I direct sow and on any bare ground too. It also helps deter cats and other critters from using my veg beds as litter boxes! Once the seedlings are up I'll either fold the cardboard or use thinner strips to cover between rows. It really saves me a lot of headaches with weeds and watering. Also around newly planted trees or shrubs.

Awesome! You’re growing so well. 😃🌱

Certainly does - and it’s a great tip, thank you.

That is very helpful. Thankyou for sharing that tip, I am going to try it!

I sprout them in water then stir them into a cornstarch slurry, cooked till pudding, cooled and then I pipe the pudding with the seeds folded in gentlyinto the rows... massive success!

Wow! Seriously!? My first thought was "the rats would enjoy that feast and make a mess of the row".... You never have trouble with rodents with that method?

Wow I’m definitely going to try that

😄😆😅

I sometimes think I should clean them, but when you’re gardening who has the time for that!

Meet lots of gardeners that like having dirty finger nails despite actually doing very little

Our neighbour looked in horror at my soil covered hands just after she moved in, is it a skin condition she asked! I do appreciate feeling the soil that my plants are growing in and a decent nail brush works wonders once gardening is over for the day.

@@GrowVeg All I do is turn the dial to full on my hose nozzle and spray the tips of my fingers/toes; great use for all that hot water that builds up in hoses sitting in the sun. I also use hot hose water to take periodic showers throughout the day; however, I only wear pajama shorts, or nothing, so the drying time is minimal... Nonetheless, when you work in, and with dirt, you will get dirty.

Hope you get better soon!

You got this 👌 and never too late

Best wishes on your recovery. Good for you about feeling cheered. That ability is a real strength.

@@tesstess3371 thank you so much 🥰

@@mikebobbings9601 thank you so much I was in a serious car accident, my shoulder is still not working and leg injuries but I’ll do my best to do some container gardening for my mental health 😊

Thanks so much. :-)

Worth the tedium to avoid the thinning if you can!

That bit about AVOIDING having to thin carrots to prevent the carrot scent attracting pests was extremely helpful😘

I am still learning after 10 yrs. Small garden; I do square foot gardening.

@@eliseville yes. It certainly was.

@@marilynmitchell2712 Try simple indoor hydroponics. You`ll be amazed.

Cheers James!

I’ve heard of this variety but never tried it. Would love to do so.

I allow some of all varieties f radishes to bolt. They are good fresh- better than radish root! Great pickled.

I sympathise with you Elizabeth. In central Scotland we often have May frosts and late August or September frosts, too. However, some leafy greens and winter salads continue under glass. Good luck.

@@DavidMartin-ym2te I'm in NE, Montana. We suffered torrential downpours the end of June which wiped out whole towns & ranches just hours from here. Our snail mail is still 10 days behind because our small town's post is distributed through one of the larger cities that was in the midst of that flood. Until this morn, we'd had NO speck of rain since June's end. On Thursday, our high was 105F.....the sun doesn't set till almost 9pm, sometimes 10pm....it was still 103F at that hour. I've a mucked-up C-spine injury, but I'm a stubborn lass & had to save my garden. So between fighting off those biting flies & poking deep spikes all over the garden on Friday, I'm past exhausted. It was 88F yesterday and after the slow & steady rain we received today......our high was 57F. Prime temps for a crock pot of Venison & Bean Chili. If my injury wasn't causing me to feel so nauseous, I'd be grabbing a bucket of my NO chemical grown variety of peppers, shallots, basil, & Roma sized tomatoes to add to a couple lbs. of venison I've been saving in my freezer for the Fall. I'm loving the fresh air throughout the house, but I'm worried the extreme temp change will end up killing what already had a late transplant 3 wks into May due to 2 separate wet blizzards in mid April that closed over 500 miles of interstate. I wish whomever reads this the very best....it's going to be a demanding year on us all. Cheers, ~ Covah

Thanks for those kind words Elizabeth. Hopefully you can extend the season a bit with row covers etc. Interesting part of the world you live in. Hopefully you’ve been spared the searing heat of further south this summer.

@Covah. Great to hear fresher temperatures have returned. Sounds far more civilised temperatures!

@@GrowVeg It seems a game of *Weather Roulette* NO matter where you reside in the past decade for certain. That one day of cool rain & temps is all that's projected for August. It's 97F & super sunny right now/5:30pm. Cheers, ~ Covah

Thanks for the kind words, and I'll certainly consider your suggestion for a future video. :-)

Great tip, many thanks. 😀

I like to eat the radish leaf stems too. They grow well with hydroponics indoors too if you use the clay beads so the roots can expand. I plan to experiment with doing it soon and want to try Summer yellow squash in 5 gallon buckets with hydroponic solution to grow a couple in Winter inside. I`m in a 5th wheel camper though and it may be too big to pull off. I have a lot of the little tabletop gardens and that`s how I grow my lettuce and bok choy.

I bought 1/4 pound of the normal round radish seeds but also have some small packets of the long carrot-like breakfast radishes I need to allow to make a lot more seeds. I like to put a few seeds here and there in the garden for a snack every now and then. I do the same with leaf lettuce. Wherever weeds might try to grow I choke them out with edibles and I let a lot of lettuce go to seed so I don`t have to keep buying more, especially any unusual plants that stand out from the rest. All the seeds I buy are open pollinated so I can plant a lot of them then let the best or unusual ones to make more. I love beets and bought 1/4 pound of those too. I`m planting some kolhrabi for the first time this Fall. It looks delicious.

We like to nibble on the young radish seed pods too! Like a crispier, mildly spicy green bean. And when they are dried out and ready to harvest the seeds, the seed pods are fun to pop! Like popping bubble wrap!

That really is winning. Great job!

Swiss chard was one of the main ingredients in some chutney I made and my family said it was the best they’d ever had. It’s a good job I had grown too much. It was my first planting of it and I had a few that just grew like crazy! I didn’t know what to do with it all so made the chutney. 😂

Great tips, thanks Wendy.

Got a window sill? Grow herbs there, got room under your bed? Grow mushrooms there got a table or cabinet? Grow something that tolerates lower light levels. You dont need a big garden to garden, you dont even need a garden to do gardening

Various containers on a patio or balcony: grow potatoes, lettuce, turnips, carrots, leeks, onions, cabbage, tomatoes, herbs of all types, Asian greens, radishes, beetroot, peppers …. Basically anything! Well, that’s what I do anyway, on my patio. For example, a caravan washing up tub has provided my salad lettuce, radishes and spring onions since April.

Oh wow - that's really fantastic to read. Great result! :-)

I've never had beet greens but want to try growing them this year - any recommendations on how to cook them?

Beet Greens are often sold in market here in VA. They’re typically more expensive then the beet itself. Wash and dry the greens. Rough chop and fry in olive oil and garlic, add a little salt and pepper and serve as a super healthy side. They do shrink a lot, like spinach, so you’ll need a lot if you’re serving dinner.

@@NicolaiAAAYes. They’re excellent sautéed in olive oil with garlic. There is a slight bitterness to the stem so I tend to cut off most of them, leaving just a few small pieces for texture. Gently cook minced garlic in the oil, once they are soft add your greens and cover. Add additional oil as needed. Stir and add salt and pepper. They are very tasty and extremely high in vitamins. Good luck.

That's what I did for my beets this year too! Great idea.

Hmmmm... I do the same, but sort of opposite. I get large roots first, leave the small ones. The small ones then grow larger as I harvest the large ones.

That’s a great way to do things.

Great tip with the carrots Katie, thanks for sharing. 😀

Great to have you along Tim, thanks so much for watching!

Yes squash bugs have moved in with their families and new babies!! It is a skirmish ever night and every morning to keep my squash protected!!

Thanks Vanessa, that means a lot. I appreciate you watching. 😀

Radishes and piri piri mayo sounds yum 😋

Thanks so much 😀

Me too both the ones in tubs and in the ground are up!

Same here, and I just sowed another batch today.

@@jaytoney3007 who knew! I’ve gardened for years, had no idea. Great, isn’t it!

Nice work to have them up so fast!

This is really fab to hear! :-)

What an exciting start to the season Monique. Even if you have to leave a few veggies in the ground, I’m sure the next people who move in will be very grateful. Happy gardening. 😃

@@GrowVeg yes that’s very true! I’ve decided on a couple of things so far, but there will no doubt be a few more 😂😂 It’s been a long time since I’ve been excited about the start of the gardening season. It’s so nice to be inspired again!

Bet your compost is beautiful stuff!

Wow, thank you!

I think a late summer should hopefully do you proud. Thanks for watching 😀

One tip on growing lettuces so they won't get bitter - MULCH the soil around them. The mulch keeps the soil from heating up and makes a world of difference. I've grown sweet lettuces through 90 degree temps this way!

Enjoy today Valorie, and I do hope you get a old amount of rain to get things going.

Thanks so much! :-)

Well done on getting a greenhouse - very exciting development! :)

Sounds like you’re doing an incredible job their Ashlee. Great soil is a labour of love, and I’m sure yours will be superb after a few season.

That’s great to hear Mizrael - so pleased you’re enjoying the Garden Planner.

Can the Garden Planner be utilised for Australia?

Mizrael, might we politely enquire from where might we obtain such?

You're doing great there - well done! :-)

Great to hear! 🌱

Exactly what I was thinking.

I’m sure you will Rosemary.

Cheers Roger! 😀

That’s super-impressive Sarah!

Thanks so much, really appreciate it. :-)

Brilliant move Stewart.

Hi Prune. Hoping to do a garden tour later in summer. The lemon grass has finally got into its stride and is looking promising.

My lemon grass is growing fast now in its pot, will wait for your next update tour to find out what happens to it in the autumn! I know that I could just look it up but you give such succinct directions so will keep watering and liquid seaweed feeding pending your next instalment 😁

Sounds like you’re doing loads to keep the harvests coming Stephen. Great job!

Hello 👋 How are you doing today??

It really is a great technique. :-)

Great to have uses for both Monika. Love borscht!

Small people take up a LOT of time!

Cheers Eric! Really appreciate you watching.

Very best of luck. You’ll ace it this time round!

& fyi, eat the greens from Your beets as they pop up & as You then them out! Excellent in salads!

@@gabriellat5927 Yes! that's what we did, they tasted very yummy, better than spinach I think ...My husband was a little disappointed though but it was a learning experience and we'll do better next time!

@@cheesekake1841 I always had little or very 'distorted' beets. Until I gave them some kali. Made a HUGE difference. Healthy plants and bigger beets, that are still really nice to eat even when they are huge. My garden neighbor told me patent kali (which might be a Dutch way to say it) makes everything healthier and tastier.

@@Terrapanthera What’s Kali?! I’ve got beets ready to plant. Thanks so much!

My feeling too 👍

Thanks very much for the information about horsetail. I'll give that a try.

What superb advice. Thank you so much for taking the time to share all this.

My parents always do an Xmas harvest of potatoes :D

Great to hear your about to be sowing again - keep those harvests coming!

So pleased Rebecca. 😃

Oooh that sounds good can I ask how you cook them please?

I too discovered cooked radishes, especially good when they get too spicy for our taste. They can be cooked just like turnips, we boil them and serve with butter. It takes the edge off of the spiciness, and there is still plenty of flavor.

@@barbaragregory8421 ooh that sounds great thank you!

How do you eat purslane? The radishes are great oven roasted with olive oil, sea salt and “herb de provance”. The lavender takes away any of the bitter if they have been left in the garden too long. We throw the tops in soup.

Looks like I’ll need to try cooking up summer radishes too. 😋

I'm in Maine, USA zone 5 and I feel your pain! My fava beans just withered up in this heat and even the potatoes are struggling a bit. Tomatoes and corn are having the time of their lives though!

It’s strange weather everywhere. Here in the UK it hasn’t rained properly since June. Very alarming.

Find out about frost crops. Winter wheat is what farmers do.

You can do a greenhouse.

All great recommendations Erik.

Yes of course. It’s called the Garden Planner. You can find out more about it here: www.growveg.com/garden-planner-intro.aspx

@@GrowVeg thank you!

I’m in E TN in the Valley and this was my first time having a garden. I think we had like only a few weeks of warm weather between April and May before it turned HOT. And then June was brutal. Our neighbors said all their blueberry flowers dried off from the heat so they got no blueberries this season. My plants almost didn’t grow at all until I used a shade cloth on them. I put it up Memorial Day weekend and then they finally started growing. Peppers are still stunted though. Potatoes were in containers and did poorly. My sweet potatoes barely have any vines. It was a rough year to start gardening in TN lol. But at least the tomatoes that did grow are delicious. Can’t go back to grocery store tomatoes.

I had similar weather in central Alabama. The early heat wiped out my beets and spinach, my carrot harvest was abysmal, and my lettuce and endive bolted early. I'm hoping for a better fall harvest, and experimenting with other varieties of carrots, Purple Dragon, Kyoto Red, and Uzbek Gold. Germination was high, nearly 100 percent, and the sprouts are off to a healthy start. So far, they are doing much better than Danvers.

Sounds like you guys are really having to contend with some seriously challenging growing conditions. Let’s hope for more settled, typical weather for the remainder of summer.

Our local extension office has sheets for print that include planting times and germination temps. If downloaded into a data sheet, you can add lines and columns, color code planing times and even add notes about germination, best growing spots on your property and other information. Some programs even let you sink it into your calendar/reminder apps.

Great stuff Jeanette.

Nice one Brandy!

What are palleted carrots? Tried ‘googling’ but nothing, sounds interesting.

They are carrot seeds that farmers use, each seed is wrapped in clay so very easy to sow and the get very little pest damage if you want to sow direct. I get them off eBay

@@lewisgardner1660 thanks so much for reply I understand now, pellets, I was thinking about wooden pallets 😂 ☺️

I paid about £4 for a 1000 seeds earlier this year, i sowed them in toilet roll centres and out of 50 sown there was only about 5 that didn’t germinate, I like doing then in tubes they seem to grow nice and strait and the tube keep the pests at bay but most important I can then plant the whole plant still in the tube in nice rows at the right distant apart.

@@EvangeliseGood RIGHT! I was reading it the same way!🤣 If it had been spelled correctly, we wouldn’t all be wondering…”What the heck?..”

I just planted some rainbow chard starts and covered them with row cover fabric. Like frost cloth. I put two pieces of PVC pipe at each end of end of the short row, draped the fabric over, weighed in down with stones and used clips to hold the fabric to the pipe. You really have to do it as soon as you plant starts, or as soon as you have leaves and before any insect damage has occurred as that will spread. Works really well. Super clean and insect free. I lift the fabric to water while looking around for cabbage moths or other insects trying to get in and immediately replace the cloth. Ha! Good luck to you.

Hi Beth. I get leaf miners every year. They aren’t a big problem in the beets but are a nuisance in the chard. I will need to try covering them as @Barbie c suggests.

We're always learning as gardeners Robert!

According to the video Ben did on carrots, no. I say try it though and see what happens.

They may replant, but will most likely not be vey straight.

@@barbiec4312 Thank you Barbie

I have tried replanting seedlings, but they never really thrive. Really carrots need to be sown and grown direct.

@@GrowVeg Point taken. Thanks

Controversial James, but fair enough! :-)

It's possible that you've not heard enough about potatoes. Pound for pound, they're more filling than anything out there. They're calorically dense, which is why people gain weight eating them; they were/are extremely important to humanity's survival. But they're also not as different from sweet potatoes as people make out. Sure, they don't have the same nutrient profile as kale, but neither do tomatoes, peppers, squash, spinach, beans, etc. They have their own niche. Potatoes have been slandered.

Potatoes have most of the vitamins humans need with the skin on, are very filling, tasty, calorically dense, and easy to store. Of course, in the modern world being calorically dense isn't necessarily a great thing, but if you're trying to live off your garden or grow most of your calories, potatoes are a must-have. I agree with avoiding grains as they're far less efficient both in calories per square foot and labor

Haha, I’ve had that shock me before as well.

Thanks som much. :-) Hugs and kisses back at yer!

Cheers Desmond, that really means a lot and your ongoing support is appreciated. :-)

Thank you. :-)