Yvan

I kinda mostly stopped watching his utoob stuff a year or two ago*, but I still use this Charles Dowding 2023 calendar as a rough sowing guide. Shown here is April. It's a convenient physical format simple single page reference & lives next to the bed, though I do also regularly refer to other online sources. (I don't really like the popuar "what I am sowing this month" videos, I do watch some, preferably shorter simpler ones, more Plot 37 Jessie style than the OTT intensity of Outgrow Steve.)

This weekend I am planning to sow a pea gutter, a second set of broad beans in root trainers, cornflowers, nasturtiums, a tiny amount of lettuce, multi-sown spring onions and I'm hoping to get some carrot and radish direct sown down the #allotment tomorrow.

I am considering getting in early with the nasturtiums too, and maybe doing a top-up sowing of sunflowers as I had a few fails in the last round.

Better crack on I guess, the long weekend is well more than halfway gone. I have a lot to do.

Apr 5 at 9:57amWeb
Show threadYvan1d ago
* Not because of the whole weird magic water episode, though that did have a distinct chilling effect for me... but mainly because after about two years of watching his content most of it started to feel very repetitive. Especially as someone who's already been into concepts like No Dig and Permaculture since the 90s. It is for the most part great content. And his "No Dig" book is my favourite UK conditions growing guide, it also lives next the bed for any time I want to dive deeper into planning for some specific vegetable.
Show threadYvan1d ago
Next weekend is all about the cucurbits, and sweet corn.
Show threadBroadfork1d ago

@yvan I have been really disappointed by his Roots allotments affiliation and his new wares are too often a rehash of the same information instead of something new.

For his YouTube as you say, once you’ve seen his material, you’ve seen his material which is fine because when it works, don’t fix it.

It is always impressive to see what he does nonetheless.

Show threadYvan1d ago

@Broadfork yeah, the Roots thing is also a turn off. I think he seems to have become more and more "commercialised" as a professional "influencer" in recent years, which doesn't work so much for me either. I already did no-dig so didn't need him preaching that side of things at me, it was more about his growing schedules and the composting... I think it was composting videos that actually first got me started watching him.

Plot 37 is the only regular utoob allotment content I watch now, she's closer to my level of haphazard chaos 😂 I don't have a lot of time for watching stuff these days, so have cut out a lot of stuff. I watch Chilli Chump for the geographically relevant chilli growing, and otherwise just catch the odd episode of one of a handful of others if the topic looks of interest.

I think, after 20 years in the UK, I am starting to get more natrually attuned to the UK growing schedule. The last 5+ years of allotmening has helped a lot.

Show threadBroadfork1d ago

@yvan I don’t watch much gardening YouTube during the growing year. Autumn/winter is usually when I play catch up with a lot of content.

Charles’ no dig content was my entry drug to the wonderland I now occupy. I am grateful for his input but I have gone down several different tangents since then.

Show threadPete Ashton1d ago

@Broadfork @yvan I owe Dowding a lot for his compost videos circa 2020 which clearly explained a lot of things and got me started on this weird obsession. But he’s definitely susceptible to being sucked into the Woo category and yeah, his endorsement of Roots shows very little depth to his social ethics. I used to watch him to calm my brain (he has a nice voice) but I don’t think I’ve deliberately watched his stuff for year now.

All that said, his little composting book from DK is fabulous and I recommend it to all newbies.

Show threadPete Ashton1d ago

@Broadfork @yvan This has all made me realise Bruce Darrell hasn’t uploaded any Red Gardens stuff for a while. I hope he’s OK and just having a break from the algorithm.

[Edit: Ah, he’s mostly posting to his Patreon. https://www.patreon.com/redgardens ]