Small Garden No Dig Tour: From Frost to Heatwave in May

A tour of my small No Dig garden after an extraordinary spell of weather, from frost in mid-May to a heatwave just days later. Despite the extremes, many crops are growing strongly and some are already ahead of schedule. Filmed on 22nd May, when we were just entering a heatwave (30 to 34°C, low 90s F), which I anticipated by planting the very small cucumbers you see. Since filming this video, I have also posted a short about watering the different vegetables:    • Watering according to plant size and maturity  . The previous week had seen night temperatures as low as -1°C (30°F). The tomatoes survived thanks to a double layer of fleece on hoops. The support system is a new idea, supplied by a friend, and uses cable from washing lines which were being thrown out. You can see how the barrel fruits and vegetables are thriving, all from watering the top so that water trickles down and can be used as needed. The contents are two-thirds compost and one-third soil, and the barrel was filled nine months ago. My T shirt is sold by Teemill https://charlesdowding.teemill.com. 🎥 Filmed May 22nd 2026 by Carly Dutton-Edwards In Homeacres No Dig Garden, Somerset, UK 🎵 Music: Rory Dunwoodie, @rorydinwoodiemusic IG: rorydinwoodiemusic You can join this channel by paying a monthly fee, to support our work with helping gardeners grow better, and to receive monthly videos made only for members:    / @charlesdowding1nodig   00:00 Introduction - recent weather 01:15 Peas, Hurst Greenshaft variety 01:57 Saving pea seed 02:22 Supporting peas 02:45 Strawberries, Florence variety 03:17 Broad beans, timing of harvest - options 05:06 Weeds 05:37 Blackberry plant, moved 05:53 Dahlias from seed 06:11 Lettuce - Batavian and Cos, and some cross-pollination 07:40 Brassicas - kohlrabi 08:15 Cabbage and calabrese 08:30 Coriander - Cruiser variety 08:51 Empty space, few options for planting 09:17 Cucumber, La Diva variety - transplanting 10:36 Tayberry - timing of watering 11:31 Jostaberry 11:59 Black plastic for hedge bindweed 12:28 Strawberries, Marshmello variety 12:50 The barrel - how I water 13:31 Planting into the barrel - Greek basil, and chilli Scotch Bonnet 15:14 Trialling new support for tomatoes #nodig #charlesdowding #smallgarden #gardentour #vegetablegarden #growyourown #nodiggardening #vegetablegrowing #growyourownfood