Saturday
The Germination Station
15:15
Charles has made 'no dig' popular and widely used. He develops and explains other time- and labour-saving methods of gardening, high-yielding and nature-friendly, including quick ways of growing and picking salad leaves, multi-sowing vegetables to grow in clumps, and making and using compost.
Since 1982, he has created and cropped four 'no dig' market gardens on different soils, from stone to silt to clay. In the 1980s, he cropped 7.5 acres (3ha) of 'no dig' beds. In the 1990s, he farmed in France.
Currently he grows vegetables on a third of an acre in Somerset, England zone 8. He sells £20,000 of harvests locally, mainly salad leaves, and the vegetables are a key part of course lunches at Homeacres.
Charles' mission is to encourage as many people as possible to grow their own. Gardening with the 'no dig' method is beneficial for a healthy mind and body, and protects soil life. Carbon is trapped in the ground so there is a general benefit too.
He has written fourteen books and an annual calendar of sowing dates, runs a You Tube channel with 68 million views and over 630,000 subscribers, writes for national gardening magazines, and gives talks and courses at home and abroad. He has created three online courses, No Dig Gardening, Skills for Growing and From Seed to Harvest.