- If I were to start a garden in 2022
the first thing I'd do is wait for it to stop raining.
- [Crew] You'll be waiting a long time. (laughs)
- Even though, technically, I am starting a new garden
this year, I've outlined seven steps
that are gonna really help you to push through
any overwhelm that you have and to make sure
that you have as much fun and success as possible.
The first step never changes.
And I always say this to every new gardener.
Before you even go about buying seeds,
filling containers, worrying about what tools
you need to get, the first thing that you've gotta do
that's gonna be the best investment
and bring you the best returns
is to start creating your own compost today.
Compost for the garden is as important as a battery
is for the camera that's recording right now.
Without compost you're not gonna have a garden that works.
Creating compost is so easy.
All you need is one bucket of these materials,
and then one bucket of those materials.
And then you just chuck them into a compost bin
using that ratio of one to one until it fills up.
Turn this pile every two to three weeks with a fork.
And you should have beautiful compost in five to six months.
You don't even need to use a compost bin.
You can do it straight on the ground.
Aim for a pile about 1.2 meters wide,
90 centimeters tall.
Just keep turning it, mounting it back up.
And you're still gonna be able to make compost
and save yourself a load of money buying compost bins.
The only tip that I give to people
who've never made compost before is to add
as many different ingredients into the compost as possible.
Diversity is the key to creating
a nicely balanced compost that is rich in microbes
and also rich in nutrients to help all of your plants.
As soon as you've started creating compost it's time
for step two, which is to create
a gardening mission statement.
And in my upcoming book, The Vegetable Grower's Handbook,
it's available for pre-order now,
in that book we start with one of the first projects,
which is to create a gardening mission statement.
Ultimately, what it is is a simple sentence
that outlines what you want to get
from your growing space this year.
And you can use it to make sure that you stay on track.
Because sometimes we might get a distraction.
And it's all of those different distractions
that can send us kind of perhaps down the wrong path.
So, I use a mission statement almost as a filter.
If what I'm doing relates to the mission statement,
then I'm more than happy to go ahead and do it.
Because I know it's gonna take me
a step closer to that end goal and vision.
The other thing about a mission statement
is that it can change every year.
So, last growing season my mission statement was
to relish every harvest and escape from a busy world.
Now, this year my mission statement
is to focus on flavor over productivity.
I challenge you to think about
what your first ever mission statement is gonna be.
And just make sure it aligns to not only what you dream of,
but something that gets you very excited.
It could be a simple as growing your own potatoes
to trying to enjoy as much from the garden
over, say, the summer holidays.
Now, what I'd like you to do is once you've created
your mission statement, put it out there
as a public pledge in the comment section of this video.
Because I'd love to see what you share.
Once you've created your mission statement
it's time to move on to step number three.
And for this I'm gonna pass you on
to a good friend of mine, Nile from Nile Gardens,
who shares a really thought-provoking consideration
that I think all gardeners need to think
of before the start of spring.
- A couple of years back I heard for the first time
someone using an old Chinese proverb,
which was the best fertilizer is the gardener's shadow.
And I really love that because it's true.
Just being out in the garden is the best way
to see what's changing, what needs to be done,
what can be harvested, and the best way
to visualize ideas for the future.
I believe that gardening and growing
should be something that's uplifting.
And turning it into work can shift your mindset
into a very different place, which may actually put you off
from even going out to tend your garden.
But there's a solution.
And that's to search out or create your own spaces,
corners, and moments that you want to be in.
For me, when it comes to starting a garden
it's not just an add-on to create
a space that's attractive that you want
to be in, it's an absolute fundamental.
It's what I constantly try to achieve here in my own garden
and what I always encourage other people to do.
I'm drawn to attractive, organized, designed spaces.
So when I created my vegetable garden I made sure
that it ticked all of those boxes.
Just as nourishing as the food or plants you grow
are for your body, enjoying the outdoor space you're in
is nourishing for your spirit, or at least it should be.
But it also helps you get
the important day-to-day tasks done too.
Because having somewhere that you really love being in
is gonna draw you into that place more often,
even if it's just sitting here with a cup of tea.
Then you'll spot little jobs
that can be accomplished quickly,
breaking down the workload, and making all
of the practical elements of growing
so much easier and enjoyable.
If you've taken on an established garden search out
and build on those already existing beautiful spots.
But if you're starting from scratch put the time
and resources into building that beauty into your garden,
even in the practical areas like vegetable gardens.
And I really do believe it will make all the difference
for you, not only to your own wellbeing,
but to the garden's wellbeing too.
- What I love about what Nile said is that,
effectively, you're doing a little bit of a mind hack
by creating a place you always want to be in.
And that means that you're always going to have
an opportunity to do some more gardening.
And if you want to support his channel,
please do go over and subscribe and say hello.
And also, whilst you're at it give this video a thumbs up
if you're finding it helpful and motivational.
You'll be pleased to hear that once the first three steps
are out of the way it's time to focus on the actual doing.
Now, if you're anything like me you've probably
watched hundreds of YouTube videos.
And you've probably scrolled Pinterest
on loads of different gardening categories
because that's what I like to do
in my spare time for gathering ideas.
What you want to do now is to take
your core ideas, and whittle them down into,
how can you apply this into your own space?
You really wanna take your time with this process
because you're putting in those steps
to create the garden infrastructure
that's gonna make everything else much easier down the line.
It's almost like getting a table
laid ready before serving some food.
You have everything ready.
So as soon as the food comes out it's on your plate.
You can get going and eating, no waiting about.
So, really spend a little bit of time
whilst doing this, creating your space.
Now, this process sounds easy,
but there are definitely gonna be times where you think,
actually, I don't know where to put this compost bin.
Or I'm not sure what size container I should use.
And this is where step five comes in to save the day.
Step five is where you'll start
to feel everything come together.
So, gardening is a new skill.
And for any skill whatever you're undertaking
you've got to understand the core foundation
on which you're going to build all your knowledge.
And what I've done is I've created a free online course,
completely free audio course
with Liz Zorab, where it's literally
The First Time Veg Gardener audio course
to give you every single core fundamental
to help kind of hold your hand on this new journey
of yours and to make sure that you don't fall
into any kind of key pitfalls
that a lot of new gardeners do,
and to also reach those successes a little bit sooner.
The link to this course can be found
in the video description.
And the lesson about nature's influence
is particularly important to listen to.
Once you have that rough overview
of the core fundamentals and pillar stones
of what gardening is the only other thing you need
to worry about is the just in time method of learning.
So, rather than trying to learn everything upfront
and reading all of the gardening books,
what just in time offers is whenever you reach
a question you have, or a skill that needs learning,
or a potential challenge to overcome
you research that, so it's nice and clear.
And then you put it into practice right away.
And chances are that's gonna stick with you
a lot more than just doing the theory.
Because you're bringing the theory and practical together.
And over time you're gonna be really surprised
with how quickly your gardening knowledge
is naturally going to increase
and improve as you do this method.
And very soon you'll start seeing
different patterns all joining together.
So, in your second gardening season
you'll be ready to hit the ground running.
Step six is to create a very simple planting plan.
The main reason why this is so important
is I found without a plan it's really easy to fill up
all of your space, and then suddenly realize
that you've got a lot of other things that you want
to plant, and there's nowhere to fit it in.
So, all you need to do is have your mission statement.
And then you want to visualize how you want
your garden to look in say July or August.
What kind of crops, what things are you growing there?
You can even, you know, if you wanna grow
some ornamentals include those in the list.
And make a list of all of these things.
And then all you do, and this is when
you bring in the just in time method,
is you come back to where you are at today.
Work out the timings.
And create a very simple bullet point
to-do list for each month.
For example, if you want to grow potatoes in containers,
and you want to have your first harvest in July.
You bring it back to say March to-do list.
Buy the potatoes, plop them up in a bucket, easy-peasy.
Then, in April make sure that they're watered, and so on.
By creating a to-do list it acts
as your accountability partner.
It gives you the timing, everything on a plate
for you to have a nice smooth season.
If you're feeling artistic you can also create
a very rough bird's eye plan of your growing space,
including all your containers, and pots, et cetera.
And then write what you want growing in those.
And that can align with your to-do list.
So, you've got that visual asset,
but also that assistant accountability asset.
It's now time for the last step.
Step number seven is a really easy one,
it's to focus on getting that first harvest.
When you have that first harvest under your belt
not only do you experience that amazing feeling
of growing your own food, it boosts your confidence.
And it also opens you up to a whole world of possibilities.
If you want your first ever harvest
in as little as two weeks, and you have
a sunny window sill, then pea shoots are a must.
Now, at the moment it is February.
And if you do feel ready to start sowing
there isn't that much to get started.
However, I've created this list
of seven most productive edible crops to start sowing
this month to help get you on your way.