Hi Ben. Here are four top time saving tips for the garden from my daughter; 1. when you select your parents ensure they are keen gardeners and have a large garden, preferably with a green house or poly tunnel for quick propagation. It is also easier if they live reasonably close to you. 2. Visit your parents garden often, admiring any plants you would like in your garden, discuss propagation with them, particularly praise their abilities in this area and that of such as planting hanging baskets. With regular application of this treatment plants and hanging baskets will soon start to arrive when your parents visit you. Be very grateful and the supply of plants will never dry up. 3. on good weather days invite your parents for a cup of tea in your garden. Ensure secateurs, trowels, watering cans and other equipment are ready to hand. Ask for advice on planting, pruning, watering etc etc and after a while you will find they cannot help themselves, they will show you how to carry out these tasks. This treatment can be repeated every time they visit with little fear of failure. 4. Send your children to help with heavier jobs in Granny and Grampy's garden. They do not have to do much, but they will build up credit for you ensuring your parents' continued support with your garden.

It's winter here in NZ, so I like seeing lush abundant gardens on here. Helps me remember there is hope 😂 I live off grid in the moutains, so my garden is very high maintenance. Anything I plant that's edible needs to be fenced to keep it safe from wild pigs & deer. I also need to use bird netting when I plant, otherwise the birds dig the plants up while they fossic for worms. Loads of cabbage moth here in summer so I've stopped growing brassicas in the warm weather. I made tall netting tents at the end of summer for my brassicas. No white butterflies now as it's too cold and the cabbages, broccoli, coulis & sprouts are really doing well. I hardly have any lawn left to mow. The pigs have dug it up. So, I'm redesigning everything with less lawn, planting flowers & shrubs (I've learned a bit about what the deer aren't interested in - eg, lavender, lemon geranium, etc) and pathways through it all. Won't be such high maintenance when finished, but getting there is a journey alright. Hard work and weather dependant. Cold and damp today, so I'm watching gardening videos instead 🙃

I have always struggled to make good compost, but I picked up an 8 x 4 sheet of 5cm celotex text type foil covered insulation board that someone had dumped, and I made it into a hot box composter. I got the making instructions off KZfaq from Niall and have to say that it is incredible. Very easy to make and it heats up to 70 degrees C at the drop of a hat. I can put all the nasties into it and know that they will be killed off, including the seeds. In 2 months I have lovely compost and it just eats through everything I put into it. I have it on bricks in a tray that collects all the run off which is then bottled and fed or my plants. It’s a win win. I’m 70 and anyone can make one of these.

In my small urban garden I have 3 plastic compost bins and a big time saver for me is a compost screw. You just twist it down into the bin and pull up, so it mixes and aerates all in one go - no PIA moving stuff from bin to bin. Takes about 5 minutes to do and it speeds up the compost breakdown considerably.

Bulb planter!! 🤯 Thank you for featuring this, I hadn’t heard of this before.

On top of my 10 hour a day teaching, I take care of a half acre tropical farm, so any time saving tips are welcome 🙏

1:19 .......'till they're nice and heavy with water'..... Such a tiny, throw away line but so very valuable, especially for newbies! Love how your videos are SO chock full of practical info and right to the point! Love your work Ben!!

All good suggestions, thank you. My suggestions for saving time would be organization and effective use of downtime. My garden is a distance from the house so I keep a bucket with all my supplies handy (gloves, hori hori knife, pruners, trowel, dibber...). That way I'm not running back up to the house. I also take a bucket for weeds to put in the compost. It sounds silly but it saves me time. I do water by hand so I use that time to weed and prune and just check for anything that needs to be done. I do have an outdoor storage bench and cabinet but then the wasps moved in and I got skittish. When it's rainy or dark or I'm just not able to do any more work that day, that's when I do my planning, record-keeping, researching, and seed starting. Again, it sounds silly but make hay while the sun shines and get everything else done when it's not. I keep spreadsheets for all my gardens-block diagrams, lists of plants and seeds, notes as needed and a bloom chart for the pollinator and cottage gardens. No more wondering if something worked or not. I can plan inter- and rotation plantings and make lists for varieties to try next. I also keep a wish list so when I run across something (preferably on sale) I can snap it up. Going through my seeds stash periodically helps me use them before they get too old and sort the must-haves from the mehs. Lastly, I keep a garden calendar-just one of those page a month tear off desk ones. I note the last frost date and count back from there and label the weeks before, same with the first frost in the fall so I have an idea for early and late plantings to extend the season. When I'm efficient I note seed starting and transplants and it makes a good reference from year to year.

😂I love the weederbot! Ben, you saved me a couple of hours of work with this video. I had planned to do one thing, and you showed me a better way. Thanks so much.

I recently bought a long handled bulb planter to save my knees, but have to say the hand held one is a better design. You forgot to water the hole before planting - this helps the roots go deeper. Mulch & hoeing also prevent the soil from moisture loss, which means less watering too.

I adore your videos, Ben! I always learn so much. I wanted to add to your tip about using bark chippings for paths. Bark chips house beneficial insects but also deter nuisances like ticks. Ticks won't cross wood chips, and if you sprinkle in some cedar shaving or chips, mosquitos will also keep away.

I use a push mower. Today's modern ones are fantastic. No engine, no noise, no fuel, no smelly fumes. Once you start pushing it propels itself. Mine is a Victa. Very sharp blades, very effective. Does a great job with little effort. A walk in the park really and happy neighbours 😃😃😃😃😃😃

Ben, your garden is enchanting! 😃 Thanks for the time saving tips.🙂

Create a meadow with wild flowers instead og grass.

I recycle old fencing and reuse bits of it for my cucumbers, pumpkins and squash to climb. Saves space and my back. Couple of metal t-posts and attach the old wire. Also use it for my berries and around the fruit trees.

Starter plants cost about 5 dollars each or more here, about the same as a pack of quality seeds. I can't imagine the cost to plant an entire garden that way.

In my greenhouse I have a bed with 5 terracotta plant pots buried as ollas. They are sealed and connected with pipe and are fed from the water butt overflow (which is fed from the greenhouse roof). My cucumbers just look after themselves.

I would disagree with #2 thoroughly water the rootball prior to transplanting. If you soak the seedling in the pot the soil will all just fall away from the plant and roots when you take it out of the pot. Better to leave it a little dry so the plant and soil all come out in one piece.

over here in Cape Town South Africa i have kikuya grass, guaranteed to grow right through a raised garden bed, it just will not die, digging it out is the only way.

I own 10 acres in California, US and this was a GREAT video! I will be implementing some of these things into my chores in the coming season! Thank you!

Love the bulb planter idea😍

Thanks for the tips Ben! They were right on time!

Yes! Loved it and got a lot of hints!

My wife uses grass clippings between plants and paths it's worked well to keep out weeds and moisture in soil

Thanks Ben - yet another amazing video. The bulb planter was the main 'light bulb' moment for me! Tell me please, I have permanent vegetable patches with hoggin paths to avoid too many weeds - they are full with soil already . How often should I remove soil and top up with mulch? Plug plants is my second big take home - online I assume?

Great tips, thank you.😁

Thank you!

Best tip I can give is, don't fall asleep watching Hover flies on your Basil, & get a Sunburned nose. Or is that just me. Lol. 🌞👃 Your Garden is looking abundant. 👍 TFS GV, take care everyone. ❤️🙂🐶

I used the planner this year and it makes it so organized because I have a visual. Plus companion planes. Recommend!

Beautiful garden you got ! God bless.

Ben, your videos are so helpful and inspiring! Your passion comes across in such abundance. I’m on my second batch of composting worms, thanks to your guidance, and those chappies are just getting on with the job! 🙏 A little off topic, Down here in Kent there are lots of commercial orchards and they use wooden ‘bulk bins’ to gather the fruit, eg apples. My friend was able to get an old one for me and it’s ideal as a raised bed. Although it’s about 0.5m deep and has a wooden bottom bit. So it’s self contained. Great height to work for us older folk! I have mine on my tiny patch which is old paving slabs! (Work in progress!) 😉

Great ideas

Great video.

Direct sowing into the ground absolutely produces more vigorous plants that produce more food. After using transplants for years, and using starter pots to make my own, this year I'm kind of shocked at how much better the direct sows really did. Peas, cukes, whatever. Everything just does better when it develops it's root system in the ground it started in.

Great update once again , loads of useful tips 👍

Ben, I have mulch in between my raised bed, and landscape fabric underneath, but i have a HUGE problem with couch grass growing up in the mulch. It is driving me crazy. How do you avoid that without constantly having to weed, and add more mulch. There is no easy fix... you just have to stay on top of it, and it's is a HUGE chore. :-( It keeps getting away from me.

Love it !

Greetings from sunny Barbados. The sun, sea and sand are free but potting mix and anything to do with gardening costs two arms and a leg. So glad I found your vids, they cut thru a lot of the mulch out there. I am a container gardener. Living on an island that is 166 Sq miles, land is scarce. Anyhow, I am growing tomatoes, cukes, pumpkin, okra, lettuce and sweet peppers. Lucky for me my neighbour's banana shoots jump the fence so I have some banana trees. Also plantain and mango. Tried to make mango wine with excess fruit, but something went wrong. All that to say..thank you for all vids, tips, hacks and knowledge sharing. Keep growing!

Whatever camera you're using , that is a quality result 👌

Excellent tips 👍

I always tell people to grow from seed and never buy seedlings. To many people dont realize that you wont save money gardening if you buy all the plants

I started using the garden planner back in January and I love it. Makes planning out the garden a breeze. I also just installed drip irrigation. Its a bit of a trick with a well established garden but Im glad its in and running.

Hello Ben! Europe is suffering drought this year (and probably for the yeara to come...). Can you please make a video on tips for saving water? What can we do about the soil, how can we get the most with the water we use, how to organise our gardens and what would be some not so thirsty veggies, trees and flowers?

I love your videos! 💗 Started raining more often here in the Philippines, your hacks will certainly help me finish my dream garden 😊

Thank you Mr Ben : )

fab vid thank you

Your garden looks amazing Ben! 🌱☺️

Be careful shoving mowers around boarders especially if the grass is longer. There could be hedgehogs or amphibians hiding there.

Always great info Ben! Thanks for sharing Tertill Weeding Robot with your followers!

Great video. I have been thinking about setting up drip tape!!! I think I’ll do that this summer for my tomatoes! :) saves so much time as I soent hours in this heat wave watering and watering and watering! Lol

Inspiring video, thanks Ben. I wonder if you could cover how to reuse pots … do you have to wash and sanitise them? Also, why do you put garden soil on your table top instead of in a container when you’re repotting? It seems to work really well, but are there other reasons you do this.

very good healthy and beautiful plant please friend kitchen garden lanting information

I put some wood chip paths on my allotment. The woodchip brought the insects, and then the birds came to root around in the woodchip to get at the insects. I mean I guess it's good for the birds, but it's not so good for the neat paths.

I love the idea of the perennial kale. I’ve never heard of that species before.

I didn’t know we could grow edible nectarines in the UK out in a plain orchard.

Great video my friend. Can you make an episode about beneficial insects/pests?

So impressed by your nectarines! I had no idea we could grow these in England although I think you are a little more south than us, we are in North Yorkshire. Do you know the variety of nectarine you are growing? How long have you had it? Do the fruits ripen fully? Intrigued and very tempted to find a corner for a little tree…..

Hi Ben, how did you make the bark paths, did you put down cardboard first? Thanks 👍

Hi Ben, thank you for this. I’m a little late catching up on the videos. For raised beds I have an issue that they’re too full with “not great” soil etc. Would you dig it out despite no dig, as there’s no space left on top to mulch as it falls off the sides 😱 Advice very welcome! Thanks, Tracy

Hello Ben. I use electric fence posts to make fruit cages with netting just while the fruit is ripening. It keeps the birds off most of the fruit. The anchor points for wires can also be used to anchor the netting to give some sides that won't dislodge in the wind. The square tops of the posts have enough of an edge to hold the roof and any extra can be draped further down overlapping the walls and can be held in place on the anchor points. As for compost, I have a potential problem. There is a black ant colony that has taken over my compost that I'm preparing ready to spread on my beds before planting next spring. If I use this compost, will I be spreading ants too? If so, how can I avoid doing that while still using this compost? I hope you have an answer.

I like the plonk and forget things philosophy.

drip irrigation with timers might be one of the best time savers I've used. one year I used drip on half a garden, and one of those impact tsk tsk tsk sprinklers on the other half. the drip side took weeks longer to become weed infested. I am a terrible gardener and don't like weeding, sooo, I just kinda plant extra to compensate. Okra showed me that I over compensated haha

How do i start a compost heap in my small city garden?

Hi Ben, so enjoy your vids. Curious about your compost pile. I just started one like yours, with all browns. Think I saw eggshells in your here. I'm concerned about wild animals and rodents coming into my compost area. Advice please. Tks loads :):):)

I’m wondering if these raised bed structures are available in other countries? I live in Australia, Melbourne.

Where did you buy the gooseberry bush and apricot tree

Thanks Ben great video n Tips I turned part of my lawn into the No dig garden 3 years ago after watching Charles Dowling brought in a truck load of Compost been Amazing everything growing beautiful

Oh excellent I use a bulb planter too it’s the same size as the starter pots I use 👍👍. I think I may move my asparagus crowns in winter is that ok? They have been in this bed only a year but it’s not an ideal location. Everything looks fantastic and lush 👍 thank you for sharing Ben have a great week 🐝 safe

Great stuff as always, Ben - although beans… hmmm… I’ve read a lot about them being an easy crop but last summer my broad beans were decimated by blackfly and this summer it’s been the turn of my runner beans to experience similar treatment. Am I just unlucky? (I even followed your advice to do some companion planting with nasturtiums this year and have attracted loads of ladybirds etc too… all to no avail…)

I wish the Garden Planner was aware of local pest pressure. A friend of ours recently retired and I suggested the Garden Planner to her. She used the Easy to Grow filter and put in half a yard full of a variety of summer squashes when, unfortunately, only one summer style squash, Italian Trombocino, can grow here due to the Southeastern Squash Vine Borer. Now she knows why a skinny little zucchini costs two bucks American around here. I grow summer squash in a screen house with double protective doors. Pests are a huge issue in our year-round warmth and local pest knowledge is the difference between success and failure here in the Deep South.

I was told turmeric was a perennial but my plants have died back so do I need to pull them out and replant in the spring or can I leave them and they’ll be OK thanks

Hello Ben, I have harvested peas now, none left. Should I remove the plants or will it bear peas again? Please guide

A water tip for next week, if all your planting is in pots, then stick old plates underneath to catch the run off and let the plant soak it back up. You can always buy plastic plant pot bases but recycling eh? I also use aquarium gravel as mulch on some of my window boxes - it has an added bonus of slowing the flow of water so it doesn't just run along the surface of the soil then down the sides and straight through the bottom. I also have a tomato plant in my kitchen - its plant pot is resting in an old salad bowl which means I can water it from the bottom.

I’d like to get rid of the grass pathways between the garden boxes, but we are on a hillside so wood chip paths might be slippery underfoot. Is there a good way to have low maintenance pathways?

I had no idea there was a mowing robot..

My time-saving tip: when watching KZfaq, set playback speed to 1.5x - 2x.

We love your programme. Thank you for all the advice. May we ask, will mulch harbour slugs? Would the benefit of retaining water be outweighed by the slug attacks?

My KZfaq time saving tip: Watch videos on 1.25 speed (or 1.5 speed if the presenter speaks more slowly) so I can squeeze a couple more gardening videos into my busy day. :) If you're not sure how to do this, look at the controls near the bottom of the video. Near the Closed Captioning "CC" box is a cog icon for 'Settings'. Adjust your playback speed here. Happy gardening and viewing, everyone!

Jury for me is out on no dig... Surely everything on the planet needs oxygen to thrive?. Surely this must include the microorganisms that are deep. Also a tip that was handed down from grandfather to Dad to me. Take any vegetables and when established i found hoeing between the rows not only get rid of weeds but oxygen in the roots push on a growth spurt, never fails. When i do this i water if needed and after that little growth spurt i feed and they push on again.

I feel like no dig doesn't use any native soil. We have such gorgeous native dirt here... u don't even have to improve it...

What is the name of the app please?

Does anyone ever eat rhubarb as a veg? All I can find are dessert recipes.

First complain about machine.. Etc Then get happy about robotic weed remover lol

The two what you use in on this video can you send me the spelling fight please bro

The way the world is going, they’ll soon make it illegal to BUY plants for planting ( food ) Save all your seeds guy’s ✊🏼✊🏼✊🏼

It’d be funny if after he said “well I won’t keep you any longer then” and the video ends

my tip: no raised beds, absolutely useless

Sorry Ben. This regular fan of yours got little out of this one; not the best I've seen from you. Still luv you tho!

Love your tips, but come on, Ben, automated lawnmowers!? They are horrible for small wildlife. Look into the danger of those robot mowers for hedgehogs, one of the gardener's best friends.

you drive me crazy , you people , you constantly talk about raised beds ,raised beds, dont dig, dont dig,, you never mention how much money it costs to fill the bloody beds , reminds me of an insurance policy that you skirt over the benefits, but they don't mention the hidden pitfalls in cost , and by the way ,where did you get all the compost from to fill the beds ?? ,grrrr 😣😣😖😖