How To Grow LOADS of Food in Poor Soil (Minimal Compost Ideas) 

I think the folks who get all up in arms about NEVER disturbing soil, even in the beginning, probably haven’t truly had to deal with very poor soil quality and having a need to feed their family. Plus- the soil in some cases isn’t healthy. It’s not like one is tilling up a lovely patch of earth and destroying the established biome. That’s a different story. We practice no dig but a large part of our yard was crummy topsoil and sand that was brought in by a construction company from the previous owners. It was overtaken by thistles, quack grass, and bindweed. There was no growing anything on it without first doing some serious damage control. We never resorted to synthetic herbicides or fertilizers, just some digging and a lot of tenacious weeding and soil building. Now 6 years later we are really happy with our soil health. Just smothering that ground and layering compost on top would have never done the job.

Corn is generally considered a heavy feeder I think. I grew it last year in poor soil and had some pest troubles (Japanese beetles and cutworms), though the corn I did harvest was quite tasty. The real yield was the soil afterward, which by mulching the bed with the cut up stalks and leaving the roots in the ground over winter, became quite soft and full of worms.

Lovely ideas as always! I did some trench composting in my garden last year, as I don't have room for compost bin in my garden and somehow accidentally managed to sprout a mango! 😂

The key word is near the end I think - "intuition". I mean some logic and time with that and you have a mix for a happy soil and garden that will get better and better for every season.

Would you please do a video on how you combat aphids and slugs. Both are attacking our plants again this year

Huw, this couldn't be more timely! I have some very neglected, compacted raised beds that sat empty for about 10 years. You gave some great ideas to get me started. I think I will try the compost trenching technique. Thanks!

You have such a unique and kind approach to gardening, love your videos and books.

:) 1st year gardener here, and we did just that with our sugar pie pumpkins. I added a sprinkling of egg shells that hasn’t quite broken down, and some semi composted bits from our compost pile. They seem to be growing on nicely! Hoping for some pumpkins this upcoming fall.

I will be planting black eyed peas(cow peas). It is supposed to open up the soil by having an extensive root system, as well as a deep tap root. In the past I've used cover crops. Thank you for this video.

Of all your many WONDERFUL videos, this one may have helped me the most Thank you!!

Great video! Thanks Huw

Broadforking disturbance isn't the same as tiller disturbance though. With a tiller, the entire soil structure, and the biology, gets pulverized. With a broad fork, the soil gets loosened, but the animals are not destroyed/scared off and the fungal hyphae are not greatly broken up.

I started my no-dig watching Charles Dowding's videos, and he is truly a master. But I like the way your thinking is going, thank you for this wonderful information. I am learning so much and will keep watching.

Very practical advice, thanks!

That was - once again - just at the right time! Thank you! Super helpful! ❤🙏🏻

Love your pragmatic approach, Huw!😊

Love the condensed comfry juice. I srarted a bunch of comfry last year. I dont mind if something useful spreads out. Im still trying to figure out where to plant them so they can, as my garden is small. Im still amazed at how much I can fit in that little space. I even found a bag of really shriveled up poatoes with really long sprouts. I had one long bed so in they went. They are doing quite well.

Brilliant video! Thank you for sharing your rich experience with us.

Very informative video, thanks for sharing!! Your soil looks healthy and rich. Looking forward to more great ones!

Thanks Huw, this is so helpful!

Such a great video! So many things I would never have thought about and I’m always so worried about disturbing the soil while following the no dig method 👍

Amazing! I learn more about soil health and gardening from your videos than I do from half the gardening books in my library! Keep these wonderful videos coming. Hello from Kansas and it's clay soil.......sigh.

This gives me hope. Moving my comfrey to a fore sunny spot with some protection in the heat of day.

Another great video! Thank You!

I saw a compost video on here about grinding up tree branches to use for compost. I didn’t want to spend any money on a chipper so I used clippers to remove all the fine branches and laid them down on the ground and covered them with compost.

I will definitely try that jadam way fertilizer! at the beginning of spring I blender some kitchen scraps and do the trench compost, give it some weeks to compost, hopefully quickly so it will feed my garden come growing time! So many awesome tips you always share!

Good stuff, Huw

Well said. Great video as always

I do a few different things on my allotment. I’m no dig, layer mulch IE: cardboard,mulch,compost and then when planted I cover in straw. Straw is the Ruth Stout method. I always do crop rotation, companion planting. Next year I will be adding Square Foot Gardening to the mix.

Thanks 💚

Thanks for sharing 🌱👍❣

I do the islands in my horrid soil.thanks huw!

Our soil here looks great when its moist but drys out rather quickly. Im always trying to add more mulch/organic matter/grass clippings/partially decomposed compost to try to keep in the moisture during the heat of the summer.

would love some more info on how to flip over the turf to start a new bed in a grassy area x

Hi everyone has anyone ever had problems with cats defecating in their raised beds.. I just spent weeks preparing raised beds and have now realized neighborhood cats have been using them as litter trays.. I am so upset.. cat poop is quite toxic and I don't know what to do now any advice would be appreciated 😢

Welcome. Thank you for the fast shipping of the book Veg in one bed! I have a question. I bought soil for raised beds and seedlings after earthworm breeding. Unfortunately, nothing grows well in it. The plants are very weak, small, the earth has a raid. What to do to save this substrate? Natural fertilizers? Or is this substrate too rich in nutrients? I started using hummusic acids, probiotics, beneficial EM organisms. I used this soil for all the beds raised :(

Hi huw you have vegetable at beautiful good.🙂

Thank you for the video! How do you deal with the wire worm issue on new ground where there's been lawn/weeds for many years? A big issue for me, as I am converting half an acre of this into a veg garden

I just got an allotment which I believe has been dug and had harsh chemicals for weed killing put on it for many years and the soil is awful! I am frantically trying to buy more compost for broccoli and potatoes but now I think I may just stick the potatoes into trenches and see what happens

Hi Hugh will u producer a booklet specific to making those nutritional feeds

Thank you! And what about clay soil because its very compact?

In Australia it is too hot without high levels of mulch

How do you grow such beautiful plentiful carrots? Do you have a video on this process

Hi Huw. What can i do about the loads of roots a tree and hedges nearby is sending up my raised bed ....i mean its just taking over and so hard to dig ...i cant even dig a trench to compost in it.😢

To reinvigorate your soil try electro culture (copper wire wrapped around wood or bamboo sticks 3 - 6 ft tall with the copper wire in the ground). Its done wonders on my garden but like with anything don't believe anything people say try it out for yourself and see if it makes a difference. There are countless videos on youtube.

Thanks Huw, exactly what I needed! My first year of allotmenting, and I have a patch at one end that I hadn’t dug over and mulched when I took on the neglected plot last October. Though I don’t eat potatoes, I think I’ll give the potato method a go. Who knows, I may even end up eating some! Do you have any bright ideas about getting shot of brambles? The roots go so deep I can’t get them out and the pesky things are popping up all over the plot 🤦🏼‍♀

Where do you buy the seaweed?

What's the ratio between compfry"water" and water?

11:09 What is that white powder?

Hi Huw! A bit off topic but I noticed your tomato plants are already blooming. I'm having some issues with pole beans, ground cherries and cucumbers flowering already as well and they're not outside yet. Is this a sign they're stressed? Over fertilized? Are you going to nip the flowers off of your tomato plants or just leave them?

Sweet corn is the heaviest feeder. Poor soil will produce a stunted yellow plant.

Does poor soil quality not produce crops that are low in nutrients due to depleted nutrient soil?

Broadforking can be detremental on established beds (increased disruption & oxidation) rule of thumb: if you can push a regular fork all the way in without standing on it, it dunt need broadforking, don't take my word for it, do a side by side for the lightbulb moment at yeild comparrison time.

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What kind of potatoes were they? Blythe reaistant? Could not uderstand

How do you prepare Jerusalem artichokes

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I would plant loads MORE, if... I had a way to keep the animals from digging up, & eating my SEEDs and plants. It is not worth ALL the work hand working clay dirt and planting just to see that ALL the work ruined in a few hours, makes you sad, depressed and a ton off pissed off... Its NOT worth the pain at this TIME.

Is no dig practices, unbiblical? There seems to be a lot of talk about tilling the ground in the bible. Surely it can't be wrong if the good book speaks well of it

How do you get rid of moles and voles without setting your property ablaze? 😂😁 I'm about to lose my mind and my garden 😳