Dear Gardeners,

It's still very dry here, and we are watering salad plants, leaks, collards, salad rocket, Chinese cabbage and Brussels sprouts in particular. September had only 37 mm rain, half the average. After a dry summer, this has done no more than refresh the surface, and help existing plants to some extent.

From now until Christmas, as space opens up, we can feed the soil life. After weeding thoroughly, spread 2-3 cm of mulch on beds, and 1-2 cm of woodchip on pathways. The mulch can be any of animal manure, leaf mould, your homemade compost of variable quality, and mushroom / green waste compost you may buy. 

October is a great time to plant garlic, both outside and under cover, where it requires little space to grow. The leaves are likely to suffer less rust, with bulbs growing to a larger size.

Our feature in this newsletter is written by 15-year-old Ethan, who I have met a couple of times. I’m so impressed with his commitment to his allotments. He has a great passion for no dig growing and shares it with his friends and family.

No dig growing has increased in popularity over the last few years. We celebrate it every year with our No Dig Day, 3^rd November – do check out the details of the children’s competition, below. We want your entries!

The photo this month is for our Caption Competition. This is a sneak peak, and you can find out how to enter below. I hope you get involved and have some fun.

Best,

Charles

No Dig Day is a celebration of this wonderful method of growing, and our community. We wanted to get this on your radar so that you can make a plan for the day. How about inviting your wider community, family and friends into your garden. You could serve a hearty soup and show them around. 

There will be a caption competition announced on Charles’s social media on the morning of the 3rd November.  There are prizes for entries on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook. Each of the three winners will receive £50 and access to Charles’s Greenhouse & Polytunnel Online Course.

The children’s competition is Create No Dig - create the words ‘no dig’ in your garden using leaves, flowers, sticks, stones or vegetables, whatever you can find outside. Then photograph your creation and send it in to Nicola at [email protected]. 

This competition will be judged by Charles. The winner will receive a cash prize of £100! Second prize is £50 and third prize is £25. Each winner will also receive a 2027 Sowing Calendar. We also welcome entries from children’s school or community gardens. The competition is open to children up to the age of 16. Winners will be announced on 4th November, 2026.

Get involved on the day and share a photo of your no dig garden on social media with #nodigday, and encourage your friends and family to grow their own.

Tell us a bit about yourself and how your love of gardening/growing food started…

My name is Ethan and I’m 15.  My love for gardening began when I was about 9. I started germinating avocado seeds in jars with water and toothpicks! I enjoyed watching the roots develop and the shoots grow. I experimented with whatever seeds I could get hold of from the fruits we ate at home. We have a very small garden, so I started growing seeds in pots of all sizes on our windowsills… and still do now!  I’ve been home educated since I was 7 years old – I am fortunate that I can learn about and focus my energy on the things that I enjoy. 

What did you do next to develop your passion?

My grandmother could see that I was keen on gardening so bought me a mini greenhouse.  When I ran out of space in our garden, my parents applied for a local allotment space which I have now had for about a year.  My first job was to construct a polytunnel.  What started as a bare and empty space is now difficult to walk through with all the tomato plants, cucumbers, peppers and chillis!  When the plot next door became available, I applied and was fortunate enough to get it.  The committee could see the effort and care I have taken with my first plot, so this probably helped with their decision and they have always been very supportive of what I've done at the allotment.  My age more than likely helped too.

Are there any gardening philosophies you follow?

With the second allotment space, I plan on using the no dig method. I attended an open day at Homeacres with a friend last year and noticed the abundance of growth and hardly any weeds. I then attended a day course with Charles and absolutely loved it. I left feeling inspired and couldn’t wait to start planning!

Companion planting is something I factor into my planning.  There are so many benefits to this; it attracts pollinators and wildlife into your garden but also can deter pests.  I think it helps create a better mini eco-system. 

If I’ve had a good harvest and have too many cucumbers or beetroots etc, I like to pickle them.  But I also enjoy sharing any excess produce with friends and family. Having people to share and swap produce with helps prevent excess waste. 

What have you learned since you started growing your own food?

Gardening is trial and error.  Many plants haven’t always grown well, but if you don’t fail, then you won’t learn and get better at it. 

When growing my corn, I didn’t plant them close enough together so that they would pollinate each other. I had to self-pollinate. The corn is now growing well; I discovered that every single strand of corn silk that grows outside the ear is connected to exactly one individual kernel inside! I also felt really chuffed when a fellow allotment holder asked me how to tell if the corn is ready to harvest. If the silks are brown and dry, gently peel away a bit of the husk and pop one of the kernels with your nail, if it’s milky it is ready for harvest. If it’s watery, then leave it for longer. 

Has gardening led to any other related interests?

My mum and I signed up for a bee keeping course in early 2025.  Through contacts we have made, I now have my own apiary of 2 hives on a nearby farm.  I was fortunate enough to collect a swarm, with assistance from my mentor, and had to pay for my second hive.

All pollinators play an important role in gardening and I get great enjoyment from tending to the bees.  The sound of around 40, 0000 of them buzzing when you are up close to the hives feels exciting, even if putting a bee suit on in the recent heatwave has been challenging! I love the whole process of caring for the bees, spinning and jarring the honey.  I sell the jars of honey to family and friends; this helps me pay for things I need. I am also working on perfecting a natural hair product with the wax.

What have been the benefits to you of gardening?

Gardening has helped me tremendously with my anxiety. Being outside, tending to the allotment allows me time to slow down and think in a calming environment. Breathing in fresh air and working in the soil makes me feel grounded and happy.

Joining community groups has helped me with my confidence - I speak to people of all ages about shared interests and we learn from each other. I’ve made some wonderful friends, some who are in their 80s, and through these relationships I’ve found that people are often willing to help.  

My family is super supportive.  As I’m not yet 18 years old, I can’t go to the allotment on my own, so my family and I spend more time together enjoying the space that I’ve created, which is magic! 

Watching and caring for the seeds I plant and grow and then harvesting and bringing them home to eat is a feeling that I don’t think will ever get old. Knowing that I grew the food, and the processes that I’ve taken to get there, makes eating the food that much more enjoyable.  Years ago, I wouldn’t eat lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers or most vegetables!  I was a fussy eater. Now, I eat fruit, salad, and vegetables in abundance, and of course it tastes so much better.

What would you say to a young person who might want to start gardening but doesn’t know where to begin?

If you don’t have space at home, start growing in pots on windowsills or ask a family member or neighbour if you can use a section of their garden. Getting an allotment space can take a long time, so get on a waiting list as soon as you can.

Gardening doesn’t have to be expensive.  When I walk locally, people often have pots and gardening equipment for free outside their homes.  I have been known to look in skips too (I ask permission first). It’s important to me to reuse where possible and plastic trays and containers put out for recycling can work brilliantly for growing seeds and plants. 

I’d love to see more young people interested in gardening. Soon, I hope to start a YouTube channel about gardening and bee keeping. It would also help me see my progress over time.  Our everyday life has become more dependent on technology; don’t get me wrong, the internet is a great tool - we have access to information and are able to connect with more people but we need to go outside, talk to people and enjoy what nature has to offer. Being outdoors is so good for our well-being. 

What is next for you?

Horticulture is definitely what I want to do on a full-time basis. Being outdoors is where I feel happiest!

Would you like to share your experience of growing and gardening with children?

However large or small your project, we would love to hear from you.

We hope that by showing what’s possible, others will be encouraged to get started with their ideas.

Please email Nicola: [email protected]

To help with the planning of a school garden, please see this page of my website.

For a Sowing Timeline in the Northern Hemisphere, please see this page, and for the Southern Hemisphere, please click here.

For starting a new no dig allotment or garden, this is the page.

First Tunnels offer schools a 20% discount. Do see their page here, where they feature the Future Gardeners Forum!

We would like this resource list to grow and turn into a toolkit to help set up and run a successful growing space for children, so if you have any resources you think would be helpful, please email Anna, [email protected]

Below are the contact details for the Future Gardeners Forum speakers, 2024 and 2025. Do follow along with their projects via Instagram or their websites.

Alby Jones, @nodigkid

Beth Rochford, @rootzup

Karen Waterston, @thegardenofideas

Helen Cross, @grow_cook_inspire

Tom Houghton, @thecommunitygrowers_cic, @thebostonmarketgarden

Hannah and Ross, @lettinggrow

Lara Honnor – Skool Beanz 
@skoolbeanz

Jess Creasey – Cornwall Grows CIC 
@cornwallgrows

Phil Brown – Headteacher, Bottesford Junior School 
Website: https://www.bottesfordjuniors.com/school-garden/

Sarah Alun-Jones - GROW
@wearegrow
https://www.wearegrow.org

Dan Romans-Hay – Woody School Farm, Streatham
@woodyschoolfarm
[email protected]

Matt Willer – The Papillon Project
@thepapillonproject
https://www.thepapillonproject.com