Where Have I Been? Gardening with Ben Is Back! | Allotment Catch-Up

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Hey, let's grow. Grab your gloves. It's
0:04
time to grow. Seeds and flowers and
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watch them go from the garden to the man
0:11
again.
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You're listening with Ben. Hey, let's go
0:18
with Ben.
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>> Hello and welcome to Gardening with Ben.
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How long has it been since we have done
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a podcast? Where have I been? Let's have
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a proper catch up today. And I can tell
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you absolutely loads on what's going on
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at the a lotment. Yes, it's been forever
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since our last podcast. And we'd like to
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welcome all the new listeners and to
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those that have listened to the previous
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podcasts and welcome back to our
0:50
podcast. And if you are new to it,
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there's about 400 old episodes to listen
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to if you've got the time to do that.
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But yeah, we are back with a brand new
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podcast and it's been so long since our
1:05
last podcast. I can't believe how long
1:07
it's probably been. It might have been
1:09
about eight months or so, but it has
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been a long time. But we are pleased to
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be back behind the microphone and back
1:16
recording the podcast for you to listen
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to. And it's going to be on a daily
1:21
basis. Yes, the podcasts are going to be
1:23
daily. I'm excited. I'm eager to get
1:26
going again and I'm eager to get sharing
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all my tips and advice and what I'm
1:30
getting up to down at the a lotment. And
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I'd like to tell you where we have been.
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But first up, we are going to say that
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this podcast will be coming out at 6:00
1:43
a.m. every morning so that you can
1:45
listen on the way to work or as you're
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traveling or as you're having your
1:49
morning brew. And we're going to try and
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make them a bit longer than they were
1:54
before. Usually they used to be about 5
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minutes long, but we're going to start
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trying to make them a little bit longer
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for you, sharing more tips and advice
2:02
and lots more facts and what we're
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getting up to down at the plot. So, I
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hope you're excited. If you are new to
2:08
this podcast, make sure you click that
2:10
subscribe button, hit the bell so that
2:12
you get notified when the new podcast
2:14
comes up and yeah, have a listen every
2:17
morning or when you finished work at
2:19
night. But first up, sit back, relax,
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and let's get back into our podcasts.
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So, we need to talk about where we have
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actually been. Yes, we have disappeared
2:34
for so long. And the reason being is
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that my laptop gave up. It absolutely
2:39
had enough and my mic phone also stopped
2:43
working. So, we got a new laptop and we
2:47
finally got a new microphone. So, we are
2:49
back up and running and back doing
2:51
everything. But, I haven't been hiding.
2:54
We've been posting lots more YouTube
2:56
videos. We've been posting again,
2:58
getting all that back up and running.
3:00
We've also started posting reels
3:02
regularly on our Facebook page for you
3:05
to watch and for you to see what I'm
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actually getting up to down at the plot.
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I do enjoy doing videos, but they're
3:10
just time consuming. But I want to get
3:13
more content out to you every single
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day. So, I've been sharing lots of
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videos with you on a regular basis. And
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it does take a lot of time up filming.
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And sometimes when you're filming,
3:26
you're not getting much work done down
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at the plot because you're filming. So,
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I'm trying to do as much as possible
3:33
down at the plot and trying to keep on
3:35
top of it all because there is so much
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to be getting on with down at the
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aotment, which we will talk about what
3:41
we're getting up to this autumn winter
3:43
down at the plot and sharing with you
3:45
the behind the scenes of what we're
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getting up to. I've not told people
3:49
everything what I'm going to be doing,
3:50
but I'll share with you on the podcast
3:52
what we've been doing. So, you'll be
3:53
getting excited about that. But if
3:55
you're not following us on our Facebook
3:57
and our YouTube channels, make sure that
3:59
you do follow us so that you can see the
4:01
videos for yourself of what we're
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getting up to. Obviously, it's good
4:05
talking about it, but it's good to
4:07
actually see what we're getting up to as
4:09
well. And like I said, this podcast is
4:12
going to be put out every single day for
4:14
you on the Wednesdays and the Thursdays.
4:18
We'll be talking about what we've got up
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to at the a lotment on the Tuesdays and
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the Wednesday. so that you can see and
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hear what we've been getting up to and
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sharing with you what we're getting up
4:27
to down at the plot. The other days
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we'll be talking about different topics
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and sharing with you what we're getting
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up to exactly and
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sharing some of the tips and advice that
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I've learned throughout all these years
4:41
down at the plot because I learned so
4:43
much and I'm learning every single day,
4:46
especially now that I'm starting to get
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into flowers, growing flowers. I'm
4:50
learning so much about them and I am
4:53
still addicted to seeds and bulbs. So,
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you'll get used to that. I'll be talking
4:57
a lot about seeds and bulbs over this uh
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next few months because there's so many
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bulbs that I'm planting. But, we'll
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share with you everything that we're
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getting up to down at the a lotment. And
5:09
hopefully you will be encouraged to join
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in as well and grow along with me. if
5:14
you're not growing yourself, hopefully
5:16
this will encourage you to get growing
5:18
your own stuff down in the garden and
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the a lotment. So, what big changes have
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been happening down at our a lotment
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recently? So, our biggest change down at
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the aotment, the biggest work, the
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biggest project what that we did down at
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that a lotment and probably the most
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expensive in a long time was renovating
5:39
my poly tunnel. My poly tunnel's now
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been up about 16 to 17 years. Every
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single year I think to myself, it's
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going to go. The skin's going to rip.
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It's going to have it and it's going to
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go. But no, every single year it keeps
5:54
lasting that bit longer. And I think
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it's down to me keeping on top of
6:00
repairing it. Every time I spot a little
6:02
rip in it, I'll get some poly tunnel
6:05
tape and I'll stick it back together
6:07
again because they do seem to rip quite
6:10
a lot on the seals on the poly tunnels
6:13
um where the folds are. That's where
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they seem to rip the most. So, if you
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are having a poly tunnel, make sure that
6:20
you do get some poly tunnel tape to keep
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on top of that job because all you need
6:24
is a strong bit of wind and you've lost
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your poly tunnel skin, which you don't
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want. And like I said, it needs to be
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the actual poly tunnel tape that you
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need to get, not none of this duct tape.
6:36
It needs to be the special poly tunnel
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tape. Most places sell it online. So, if
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you have a look for poly tunnel tape,
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you'll find it. And it's really sticky.
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It waterproof as well. It works
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absolutely fantastic.
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So, my poly tunnel was starting to get a
6:53
lot of rubbish in it. It were becoming a
6:56
dumping ground. I weren't using it to
6:58
its full potential of what it could
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actually do. Yes, I was growing some
7:02
tomatoes in it. I growing cucumbers in
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it and I was starting a few seeds off in
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it, but it had lots and lots of rubbish
7:10
in 16 years worth of rubbish to be
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honest with you. So, I thought sod it.
7:15
We're going to do it. We're going to
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renovate it. We're going to spend some
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money on it. Each year I like to do a
7:20
massive project on my a lotment and this
7:22
was the project that I wanted to do. So,
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first up, we removed every single bit of
7:29
rubbish. We completely gutted it. There
7:31
was nothing left in it whatsoever. We
7:34
got rid of all the rubbish, took it to
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the tip, and we scrapped everything that
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was in it.
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Next up, I took all the flooring up,
7:43
which is black membrane, because I have
7:45
black membrane down because I have an
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issue with bindweed down at my plot.
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Bindweed just grows wherever it wants
7:51
to. So, I have black matting down to
7:53
stop any weeds coming through, which
7:56
saves you a lot of effort and time in
7:58
the long run. So, we cleared all that.
8:01
So, we took the uh black membrane up and
8:04
to be honest, it weren't that bad
8:06
underneath. It like concrete, but we dug
8:08
it over. We got all the bindweed roots
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out what were there. Obviously, they'll
8:12
grow back again, but we took them all
8:14
out, cleared it all, got rid of all the
8:17
bindweed, and it weren't too deep. it
8:20
were along the top of the soil so it
8:22
weren't too deep down. So we got rid of
8:24
all that. We dug it over. Then we put a
8:28
new black membrane layer down and I made
8:31
sure that it were a bit bigger so that
8:33
it over overlapped the sides and yeah
8:36
that it stop hopefully stops the weeds
8:38
again. So I did that. Then I purchased I
8:43
think it was
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17 raised beds. 17 metal raised beds
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which I purchased off Amazon. And yeah,
8:56
they're expensive, but they'll last
8:58
years. Fingers crossed. Hopefully it
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last about 10 to 15 years. I'll be happy
9:03
with that. And even if I do lose my poly
9:05
tunnel skin, we can still grow in them
9:07
beds. So it's absolutely perfect. So, we
9:11
put them beds in. We built them all.
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That was a big enough job as it is self
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building all the beds. Quite easy and
9:18
simple to do, but absolutely awesome
9:21
once it all put together. And I left
9:24
pathways down either side of them. And
9:26
then I put some in the middle as well.
9:28
So, it looks absolutely perfect. I made
9:30
a slit in the black membrane so that it
9:33
lets the water out and hopefully lets
9:36
the worms through to get into the
9:38
compost. The next job was filling them
9:40
with compost. I must have purchased so
9:44
much compost to fill them raised beds.
9:46
Wow. Um my local shop said to me, "I
9:49
don't know why you didn't ask us to
9:50
deliver them. I ordered that. I bought
9:52
that much. I were buying like 20 compost
9:56
bags at a time to fill them up." But
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we've got them all filled. They're all
9:59
filled. Yes, it will need new compost in
10:01
there regularly, but I'll just keep
10:03
adding it in and mixing it up and also
10:06
adding feed into the compost as well to
10:09
keep the feed in there. So then
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hopefully we'll still get some great
10:12
produce and I'll probably replace it
10:15
eventually after a few years and replace
10:18
all that. But yeah, that was one job
10:21
completed. The poly tunnel, new raised
10:23
beds, absolutely fantastic. But I
10:26
finished it about March, April time. So,
10:30
we planted some beetroot in it. We
10:32
planted some lettuce in it. We planted
10:35
some uh peas in it along the edges.
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Absolutely fantastic. Did amazing.
10:43
Spring onions. We grew lots of stuff in
10:46
there at the beginning of the year
10:48
before we were starting to use it for
10:49
tomatoes. I thought I'll try and get a
10:51
quick crop in and get them harvested
10:53
before the tomatoes go in there.
10:55
Absolutely fantastic. Now here comes the
10:59
crux. I've never grown a successful
11:02
carrot in my 22 years of having my a
11:04
lotment. And I thought this is the time
11:07
we have got this. We are going to get a
11:10
successful carrot. And I'd got given
11:12
some carrot seed tape. Basically seeds
11:16
on a piece of kitchen roll in a tape
11:18
long. And you put it in this compost the
11:21
roll at the right spacing. And yeah, you
11:24
just put it in the compost, cover it
11:25
back with compost, water it, and you
11:28
don't need to do any pricking out or
11:29
anything like that. They're all at the
11:31
right level. So, you're not affecting
11:33
getting carrot fly or anything like
11:35
that. And it's absolutely perfect. Now,
11:38
I have got the best harvest of carrots
11:41
ever. Absolutely amazing this year. I
11:45
can't believe the carrots that I got
11:47
from it. I was over the moon. It was
11:50
such a good feeling getting the best
11:51
carrots this year. I even made some
11:53
carrot soup. I got myself a soup maker,
11:56
a ninja soup maker. Absolutely
11:58
fantastic. I've never tasted so good
12:01
soup in my life. I absolutely devoured
12:04
it, especially with having my homegrown
12:07
carrots in it. Absolutely amazing. So,
12:09
yeah, we did that. We grew tomatoes in
12:12
it. We grew some cucumbers in it this
12:14
year. Absolutely amazing crops all
12:17
around. The only issue is is that I
12:19
didn't put up good canes. So, they were
12:21
flopping around all over the place. But
12:23
that's one lesson that I've learned that
12:24
I need to do for next year. Put up
12:26
better framework for the tomatoes, which
12:28
we can do. I've learned my lesson. So,
12:31
hopefully we'll get better crops in
12:32
there. So, now I need to think about
12:35
what I'm going to be growing through the
12:36
winter in there. So, that's new to me.
12:39
I've never grown through the winter.
12:40
Usually, I just grow my onions and my
12:43
garlic and my shallots, and that's all I
12:45
usually grow through the winter. So,
12:47
we're going to be learning about what I
12:48
need to plant in there. However, I'm
12:51
growing my onions and my garlic in there
12:53
over winter. Garlic, I don't think I'll
12:56
do very well because it should be
12:57
outside and getting the cold frost on it
13:00
to help split it. But, I'm going to be
13:02
doing a lot of re redevelopment on my
13:04
plot actually itself. So, I don't want
13:07
nothing in the ground on my plot because
13:09
we're going to be absolutely gutting my
13:11
plot this year. But that's going to be
13:12
for another episode talking about what
13:14
we're getting up to down on my main
13:15
plot. So, make sure you stay tuned for
13:18
that.
13:20
My next big project down at the front
13:22
plot was at the front of my a lotment
13:26
because my entrance is my main gateway
13:28
onto my plot. It's the bit that I see
13:30
first when I walk on. It's the first bit
13:33
that hits me when I come to the aotment,
13:35
thinking how great to see my a lotment.
13:38
And when you walk on, you want it to
13:40
look aesthetically nice and fantastic
13:43
and welcoming. And even though it's just
13:46
me that goes onto my plot, I want it to
13:47
be the place that I go, "Yes, I'm at my
13:49
a lotment. Look how great it is." So, we
13:52
had some raised beds on there, what we
13:54
made out of wood, and they'd absolutely
13:56
rotted to pieces. They've been there
13:58
about 5 years now. And it's wood chipped
14:02
as well on the front so weeds don't grow
14:04
again. and it's got black membrane down
14:06
to stop the bind weed and it's worked
14:08
fantastic. So, we've kept that. We've
14:10
kept the wood chip down and the black
14:12
membrane. However, I bought three new
14:14
raised beds. Instead of having two,
14:16
we've gone for three. I've purchased the
14:18
same ones as before, the metal ones, but
14:20
square ones this time. And we've placed
14:22
them on the entrance to our plot. Again,
14:24
we filled them all with compost, fresh
14:26
compost. Expensive job, but it's done
14:28
now. We've got the compost in there. And
14:30
I've planted 1,000 spring bulbs between
14:34
all three of them. Yes, 1,000.
14:38
I did a bulb lasagna a few years ago in
14:41
a plant pot, and I absolutely loved how
14:43
it came out. So, I've done bulb lasagnas
14:46
in all three. And if you don't know what
14:47
a bulb lasagna is, basically,
14:51
it's planting the bigger bulbs towards
14:53
the bottom and the smaller bulbs towards
14:55
the top on different layers. So it's
14:57
like your tulips and your daffodils on
14:59
the bottom layer. Then you work your way
15:01
up to the smaller alium bulbs. Then you
15:03
work your way up to any crocuses or
15:06
irises above. So yeah, we've got loads
15:09
of different layers. So fingers crossed
15:11
the squirrels don't get them and take
15:13
all the bulbs. However, we've put
15:15
netting over them to stop the squirrels
15:16
from getting onto them. So we've done
15:18
all that area. We've also done the
15:21
borders around the entrance and filled
15:23
them with bulbs. The squirrels might get
15:25
them ones because we can't put netting
15:27
over them because there's plants around.
15:28
But yeah, we've got a lot of perennials
15:30
in the entrance now. We've planted some
15:32
new roses and it's going to look
15:34
absolutely stunning come springtime. I
15:37
can't wait to share the pictures with
15:38
you once it's all done. So, that has
15:41
been our projects recently. We've also
15:44
done the entrance near my poly tunnel.
15:47
We had a load of perennial plants in
15:49
there. I get a lot of plants given to me
15:52
uh through advertising
15:54
and I just tend to put them here there
15:57
and everywhere. I just kept shoving them
15:58
in. There were no order to them
16:00
whatsoever. And I thought I need it all
16:03
weeding around there. So I thought I I'm
16:05
going to weed it all. And then I
16:07
suddenly thought, no, I'm going to take
16:09
it all out and start from scratch. So I
16:11
took every plant out what were in this
16:13
border. Uh there must have been about 30
16:16
plants in this border and I just took
16:19
them all out and there'd been a future
16:20
in there what I've been in for about
16:22
five years what I bought from Gardener's
16:24
world. What got absolutely massive and
16:28
it were in the wrong place. It stopped
16:30
me from being able to walk down my path
16:32
easily. So I dug out every plant. I
16:34
rearranged them. Put all the taller
16:36
plants towards the back and all the
16:38
smaller plants towards the front and it
16:40
looks absolutely amazing. Now I shared a
16:42
picture of that recently on a Facebook
16:44
and I also shared a reel on it as well
16:47
so that you could see what I've done on
16:50
my a lotment and this weekend's uh
16:53
tomorrow well today's job as you're
16:55
listening to this I'm going to be
16:56
planting a load of bulbs in there and a
16:58
load of cichlemen as well. So I'll share
16:59
with you what we get up to and what
17:02
we're going to be planting in there. So
17:03
yeah, those have the been the projects
17:05
that we've been doing down at the plot
17:07
recently.
17:08
So, what has been my biggest gardening
17:11
success and harvest this year? And what
17:13
has absolutely flopped? Well, it's been
17:17
an absolutely roasting year. As you
17:20
know, we've had no rain whatsoever this
17:23
summer. It's been absolutely bone dry.
17:26
And if I've got to admit something, I
17:28
never kept on top of watering. I I
17:30
absolutely hate watering my a lotment. I
17:32
don't know why, but I just it just takes
17:36
too much time and I don't always enjoy
17:38
it. We go down every couple of days and
17:40
water it when it's in summer, but yeah,
17:42
it's something that I don't absolutely
17:44
love. However,
17:47
as I mentioned before, it's took me
17:49
around 20 years to be able to grow some
17:52
cud carrots, but I'm happy to say that
17:55
we had the best harvest this year.
17:57
Again, like I said, I used the seed
18:00
tape, which was Unwinds seed tape. If uh
18:03
you've never heard of it, um Unwwinds is
18:06
the seed uh company. And if you try it,
18:10
and trust me, it absolutely worked fine.
18:12
I just grew in normal compost and they
18:15
did absolutely fantastic. I don't didn't
18:17
add no sand in it or whatsoever. I just
18:20
grew it in normal compost and they
18:22
turned out absolutely brilliant. So, I'm
18:24
going to do the same thing next year and
18:26
hopefully get another year. Maybe it was
18:29
just a one-off. It was just a fluke, but
18:31
we'll see. We'll get we'll follow the
18:33
same things that we did this year and
18:34
see if we get any next year. That's the
18:37
thing as well with gardening. Sometimes
18:38
you can just do the same things that you
18:40
do every time and one year it absolutely
18:43
fails. So, you you live and you learn
18:46
and see how well you get on with doing
18:48
different stuff.
18:50
My next biggest success was again
18:54
something that I've never been able to
18:56
grow properly. I got some white
18:58
cauliflowers and they absolutely worked
19:01
massive and delicious. If you've not
19:03
seen my photo on those on Facebook, have
19:06
a look on them and you'll see how well I
19:08
did with my cauliflowers this year.
19:10
Absolutely amazing. And yes, I even
19:14
cooked them myself. Never cooked
19:16
cauliflower in my life, but I gave it a
19:18
try and it turned out okay. I even had
19:20
some of the white cheese sauce on it as
19:22
well and it tasted absolutely delicious.
19:25
It tastes so much better when you grow
19:27
it yourself and especially when you know
19:29
what you've put into it and the effort.
19:32
And these cauliflowers, they got
19:34
absolutely decimated by the pigeons. And
19:38
then I got some netting from Oakland
19:40
Gardens. Um, if you've not checked them
19:43
out, have a look at them online. I got
19:45
some netting off Oakland Gardens and I
19:47
put them over them and I thought if they
19:49
come back they come back. If they don't,
19:51
they don't. We've lost them. We've never
19:53
had good success with cauliflowers. Um
19:56
I'd not been on to my growing area for a
19:58
bit because I've been concentrating on
19:59
the front of my plot and I just had a
20:01
wander on and I just caught them. I like
20:04
what the hell. We've got some
20:06
cauliflowers and they've done absolutely
20:08
brilliant. I've grown some purple ones
20:11
as well because we've only ever had
20:12
success with purple cauliflowers. So, I
20:14
thought, well, we'll try some white ones
20:17
and see how well they got on. And
20:19
absolutely amazing. And I didn't do
20:21
anything different and I probably didn't
20:23
hardly water them and they turned out
20:25
absolutely fantastic. As well as the
20:27
purple ones, they did brilliant as well.
20:30
My cooking apples, we had the best crop
20:33
ever this year. Again, to say how
20:36
drought it was, I never water my fruit
20:38
trees whatsoever. Never give them any
20:40
water. Probably should do, but I never
20:42
water them. And again, absolutely
20:45
amazing cooking apples this year. My
20:50
eating apples I harvested the other day.
20:52
Absolutely amazing. Squirrel had had a
20:55
lot of them and there were a few nibbles
20:56
in them, but we got a good crop off
20:58
them. Now, the best crop that I had this
21:01
year, because I'd renovated all my poly
21:03
tunnel, I thought I'm going to try
21:05
hanging baskets in there. Not just
21:07
hanging baskets, but strawberry hanging
21:09
baskets. Now, I got these hanging
21:11
baskets where they've got holes in the
21:13
side of them. I don't know if you've
21:14
seen them before. And I ended up
21:17
ordering 15 hanging baskets. And the
21:21
thing is about these 15 hanging baskets
21:23
is that they got that many holes. I
21:25
thought I'm going to have to fill them
21:26
all with strawberries. So, I've bought
21:28
300 bare root strawberries to fill them
21:31
all. And yes, that did cost a lot of
21:33
money, but we filled them all. And I set
21:36
up irrigation as well, drip irrigation
21:38
in my poly tunnel. It worked on a solar
21:40
pump uh into a water bowl and it come on
21:45
twice a day, water the hanging baskets
21:47
because everybody kept saying, "Oh,
21:49
they're going to dry out. They'll dry
21:50
out too fast in your poly tunnel. They
21:52
won't work. They won't work. They'll
21:53
just dry out and die." So, I thought,
21:55
"I'm going to prove you wrong."
21:58
I do like proving people wrong. And I
22:00
set up a drip irrigation system and they
22:02
did absolutely fantastic. And they kept
22:06
watered. All we had to do were fill the
22:09
wheelie bin up with water once a week
22:11
and it worked absolutely perfect. Had
22:13
the best strawberries, a longer season
22:16
crop from them. I harvesting them around
22:18
end of April right through to September.
22:21
Absolutely fantastic. I got the
22:23
everbearing varieties so that they keep
22:25
fruiting. Absolutely amazing. So fingers
22:28
crossed we get some good strawberries
22:30
next year. I've moved all the hanging
22:31
baskets outside now so that the rain
22:34
keeps them watered throughout the winter
22:36
period because it turns water off
22:38
ourment over the winter. So, I've put
22:40
them outside to hopefully keep them
22:42
alive and keep them watered. We'll see.
22:44
We might have to fill some gaps in, but
22:46
hopefully we'll get some great crops
22:48
again next year.
22:51
Sweet corn, not so good again. Like I
22:54
said, it were too dry this year, so it
22:56
didn't do brilliantly. But we got some
22:58
crops off them. And I managed to get
23:00
them before the rats ate them and the
23:01
squirrels because rats and squirrels
23:03
love sweet corn. And a lot of people
23:05
that I talked to on site, they all lost
23:08
the sweet corn due to the squirrels and
23:10
the rats eating them. So I managed to
23:12
get some off which were absolutely
23:14
amazing. My plums, absolutely fantastic
23:17
crop. Now I had a lot of issue with
23:20
silver leaf on it and I thought I'm not
23:23
going to get any plums on it and it
23:25
looked a sorry state for itself and I
23:27
thought I'm going to leave it see what
23:28
comes on it see if we get anything and
23:31
the plums are absolutely amazing that
23:33
much that it will lally break in the
23:35
branches because they were that heavy.
23:37
However, I don't think I'll get many
23:39
plums next year because I've given it a
23:41
massive prune back. We're not allowed to
23:44
grow as fruit trees so tall on the plot.
23:45
We have to keep them under control. uh
23:48
due to restrictions and stuff like that.
23:50
So, I've given it a massive prune back
23:52
this year. So, I don't think I'll get
23:53
many plums next year. We might get them
23:55
the year after. So, we'll have to stay
23:57
tuned for that. But either way, we got a
23:59
great crop and hopefully get some good
24:02
successful plums in the time to come.
24:05
So, we've had his cauliflowers, we've
24:07
had his lettuce, we've had great
24:08
beetroot, we've had great spring onions,
24:11
we've had loads of peas, we've had
24:13
tomatoes. So many tomatoes.
24:15
Unbelievable. cucumbers,
24:18
sweet corn as potatoes. Not the biggest
24:21
crop, but we had a great crop again
24:23
because it was so dry. Um,
24:27
that's all I can think of to be honest,
24:29
but we had such a good year to say how
24:32
hot it was. I was so happy with the
24:35
crops down at the plot. Absolutely
24:37
amazing. So, what jobs are we doing down
24:41
at the a lotment this October?
24:43
Obviously, we're halfway through. It's
24:44
my birthday on the 23rd if you want to
24:47
send me a present. I'm only joking. But
24:50
yeah, what are we doing on the a lotment
24:52
this October? We're doing so much down
24:54
at the aotment. Absolutely loads. Now,
24:57
I've planted all my onions. I planted
24:58
all my shellots. I planted my garlic. We
25:01
planted some elephant garlic. I'm going
25:03
to be sewing some broad beans this week.
25:06
So, stay tuned for the video on that.
25:07
I'll do a little video on it. And if
25:10
you're sewing broad beans this month,
25:12
you need to make sure that they're a
25:14
winter hardy variety. The variety that
25:16
I'm going to be growing is aquadulus.
25:19
And yeah, we'll be growing them. So, see
25:21
how well I get on. So, if you want to
25:23
join, mate, feel free to join in. We're
25:25
also planting as pansies. We've planted
25:28
some wall flowers. We've planted
25:30
thousands of bulbs. We're going to be
25:32
planting even more bulbs this week. I've
25:34
not finished. And obviously we'll be
25:36
planting tulips in November to stop uh
25:39
any
25:41
fire uh tulip fire getting into the
25:44
bulbs. We'll be planting all them in
25:46
November. So stay tuned for what tulips
25:48
we've got. We've got absolutely so many
25:50
different varieties. We must have about
25:52
12 varieties of tulips. I can't wait to
25:54
see them next year. That is one thing
25:56
that I am looking forward to. We're
25:59
going to be having a look at what we can
26:01
continue to grow in the poly tunnel.
26:03
However, I've got to clear out all my
26:04
tomato plants. So, my cucumber plants in
26:06
there and get all them cleared before we
26:08
can think about what we're going to be
26:10
growing in there. We're also growing as
26:12
Christmas potatoes. We've just moved
26:14
those into our greenhouse because if
26:17
you're growing Christmas potatoes, they
26:19
need to be brought indoors now because
26:22
frost is coming. It's colder at night.
26:24
The cold will damage the plants and
26:27
yeah, you'll lose your potato plants.
26:29
So, if you're wanting Christmas
26:30
potatoes, fetch them inside. keep them
26:33
watered and keep them that little bit
26:35
warmer. I'm also looking after the
26:38
birds. Again, I didn't feed them
26:39
throughout the summertime because
26:41
there's plenty around for them to eat,
26:42
but we've filled up all those bird
26:44
feeders and we're getting ready for
26:46
keeping them fed through the autumn
26:47
winter. And hopefully they'll move into
26:50
my bird house in the springtime because
26:52
I absolutely love seeing the wildlife
26:54
down at the a lotment. It does make my
26:56
day when I'm seeing the robins, the blue
26:58
tits, the blackbirds. I absolutely love
27:01
seeing all the wildlife down there. Even
27:03
though it does attract the rats and the
27:04
squirrels, we've put squirrel proof bird
27:06
feeders up now. So hopefully we'll not
27:09
be spending as much as a fortune on seed
27:12
as we were doing last year. So yeah,
27:15
we've got a lot happening down the plot
27:18
in October. I'm also going to be
27:20
redeveloping a new area on my a lotment,
27:22
but we're not going to tell you what
27:24
we're going to be doing down there.
27:25
We're going to be sharing with you what
27:28
we're getting up to in the coming
27:30
episodes and it's going to be a big
27:32
project, something that I'm looking
27:34
forward to doing and it's going to be
27:36
around near where my seating area is on
27:38
my plot. So, I'm excited for sharing
27:40
what I'm going to be getting up to. So,
27:42
stay tuned for that. We're going to be
27:43
starting that hopefully in the next
27:45
couple of weeks down at the plot. All
27:47
being well, the weather's all right. And
27:49
the thing is with having an aotment,
27:51
there's always something to be done. If
27:54
it's raining, you can go in your poly
27:55
tunnel in your shed and start preparing
27:57
that ready for next year, ready for the
27:59
springtime because you won't be able to
28:02
get chance to do it or you'll be sowing
28:03
all your seeds and everything like that
28:05
in the springtime. So, you need to get
28:06
all these jobs done now. And if the
28:08
weather's nice, go outside and do jobs
28:11
outside. There's always plenty to be
28:12
done.
28:14
repair beds, build new areas, make
28:17
improvements, try and make it as
28:18
maintenance-free as possible and try and
28:20
get as many jobs done as in the weather
28:23
that you can. I used to just shut down
28:26
over winter and Christmas. I used to
28:29
finish after I harvested my sweet corn
28:32
in September and I wouldn't go back to
28:33
the plot until January. And I'd be
28:35
rushing last minute to try and get
28:37
everything done. And since I've started
28:39
carrying on throughout the winter
28:40
period, it's been a lot more better. and
28:43
easier and less stressful and we've made
28:47
some great improvements over the years.
28:51
So, what is next for the podcast and
28:54
what are we going to be doing with it?
28:56
So, like I said, it's going to be back
28:58
seven days a week. Yes, it can be
29:00
stressful recording all these. But
29:02
hopefully I'll keep on top of it and
29:04
keep them coming out for you because so
29:05
many people have been asking where my
29:07
podcast are is. And I must admit, like I
29:10
said, I've had trouble with my laptop
29:12
with my microphone. And hopefully it's
29:14
back up and running now. So hopefully it
29:17
all goes to plan and it all all be
29:19
pretty good and
29:22
and hopefully we'll get some great
29:24
episodes out for you over the time. It's
29:27
going to be at six o'clock every
29:29
morning. The podcast will go live. So
29:31
then you can either listen on Spotify,
29:33
on Apple Podcasts. If you've got an an
29:36
Alexa, you can even say Alexa, play
29:38
Gardening with Ben, and it will pop up
29:40
on Alexa as well. Every day we're going
29:44
to be posting uh different topics that
29:46
we're going to be talking about, whether
29:48
it's seasonal gardening advice, growing
29:50
guides, what we've been up to on the a
29:52
lotment on the Tuesday and the
29:54
Wednesday. And at the first of every
29:56
month, we'll be sharing what vegetables
29:58
and flowers to sew that month. And then
30:01
at the end of the month, we'll talk
30:03
about our monthly roundup of what we've
30:05
got up to down at the plot over the last
30:08
month and what successes and failures
30:10
we've had down there. Why does gardening
30:14
mean so much to me and why do I enjoy
30:16
sharing it all with you on podcasts, on
30:20
videos, on posts? Well, I got my I got
30:24
into gardening back around 1998.
30:29
Yes, a long time ago. And I used to help
30:31
my dad on his a lotment. And I loved it.
30:34
I love spending time in the garden. I
30:36
love spending time with my dad and
30:37
learning how to grow vegetables and
30:40
flowers and get into it and obviously
30:43
tasting the great produce. And when I
30:45
turned 18, I thought, why the hell am I
30:47
helping my dad when I can get my own a
30:49
lotment now? I'm old enough. I'm allowed
30:51
to have one and they weren't popular
30:53
back then. So I got an a lotment
30:55
straight away and thankfully it's
30:56
opposite my dad's plot. So whenever I
30:59
need a bit of watering doing he always
31:01
pops on and gives it a bit of a water
31:03
which I'm absolutely over the moon with
31:06
him doing as well. So, it's always great
31:08
at that.
31:10
And
31:11
then I suddenly started like making a
31:14
diary on Facebook just for myself really
31:17
of when I posted when when I planted
31:19
stuff, where I grew it, how successful
31:22
it was, some of my harvest, etc. And it
31:25
was just for myself for a diary. Little
31:27
did I know that 10 years later, 32,000
31:31
people have been following me on
31:33
Facebook. And yeah, I'm absolutely over
31:35
the moon with it. and I didn't expect
31:37
anything to come of it and I absolutely
31:40
love sharing the tips and advice and
31:42
during the COVID I started going live on
31:45
Facebook. Yes, I don't go live anymore.
31:47
I do apologize but people were see uh
31:50
chatting to me. I were nervous to go
31:51
live because I thought people might ask
31:54
me questions that I don't know and like
31:56
I say all the time I don't know
31:58
everything. I'm just a gardener that I
32:00
enjoy on my a lotment and sharing the
32:02
tips and advice that I learn. I don't
32:04
know all the tips uh advice what I
32:06
should give but the things that I do
32:09
give it's what I've learned myself and I
32:12
just love sharing the tips and advice of
32:14
what I get up to and a lot of people
32:16
enjoy listening to it. So thank you
32:19
everybody that does say about doing the
32:22
podcast and how much you've missed it
32:24
and hopefully fingers crossed we are
32:27
back on a roll and back with podcasts
32:30
every single day. So yeah, tomorrow's
32:34
episode we'll be talking about what
32:37
we're getting up to down at the a
32:38
lotment. So there we go everybody.
32:41
That's a little catch up on where I've
32:43
been and what's been happening here at
32:44
Gardening with Ben. I'm really looking
32:47
forward to bringing you along on the
32:48
next chapter. So don't forget we're back
32:51
tomorrow morning at 6:00 a.m. with
32:53
another episode. Until then everybody,
32:56
remember, keep smiling, keep shining,
32:59
and keep gardening with Ben. Everybody,
33:02
>> another day, another sea.
33:06
A little sunshine is all we need. Keep
33:10
smiling,
33:11
keep shining. Until then, keeping
33:15
with
33:17
See you tomorrow.

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Where Have I Been? Gardening with Ben Is Back! | Allotment Catch-Up

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