Market Garden Revival

Overview

From Weeds to Veg Boxes

The lower four acres had sat rough for years — couch grass, thistles, and soil like brick. Rather than ploughing the whole lot, we converted it one strip at a time: silage tarp to kill weeds, compost on top, and permanent beds that never get walked on. The garden now fills most of our weekly veg boxes.

The Challenge

Perennial weeds return from any root fragment, and heavy machinery would have ruined the soil structure we were trying to build. We needed a no-dig method that a small crew could repeat bed after bed without falling behind the planting calendar.

Our Approach

• Smothered weeds with reusable silage tarps instead of digging them up.
• Built permanent 30-inch beds with compost, with fixed paths the crew never treads on.
• Staggered plantings so something new goes in the week something else comes out.

Outcome

The garden now runs nearly year-round under fleece and simple tunnels, and weeding takes a fraction of the old hours. New crew members learn the bed system in a single morning, and the soil under the compost caps grows darker and softer every season.

See how we develop farms