Edinburgh restaurant garden with Fred Berkmiller

I’ve worked with Fred a lot over the years. His current garden is a culmination of our frequent correspondence, a visit to his garden and restaurant for teaching, and his study of my books and online course about No Dig.https://shop.charlesdowding.co.uk/products/no-dig-gardening-online-course

Fred’s mission is to grow and offer flavoursome, and nutritious food. Best way to achieve that is by growing it himself. In addition, he buys other ingredients from small Scottish farms, such as beef from the Shetland Islands.

The restaurant is open four days a week, and is very full during those days .https://www.lescargotbleu.co.uk
It allows three days to be successful in the garden.
Fred has one now-full time gardener to help him, Gideon @theaveragealchemist

See also my YouTube French channel https://www.youtube.com/@UCIF7NQajk9fHBUv3BWVtZdQ

00:00 Intro
00:30 Fred explains his veg growing journey, and how he uses what he grows in the restaurant
02:12 Conserving water in the garden, and using compost
02:56 Interplanting of cauliflower, cabbage and carrots
04:03 Nantes carrots, carefully sown
04:37 High raised beds
05:33 Chicory, endive and radicchio
06:43 Bed width and layout
07:01 Keeping the beds full, plans for sustainability, seasonal menus
08:24 More carrots, sown among leeks, onions and garlic – not covered, some root fly damage
10:13 Fennel, bolting but can still be used
10:32 French beans, with mizuna and salads
11:26 Harvests from back during the cold spring, and leeks
12:00 At the compost bays – structure and ingredients, including waste from the restaurant
15:27 In the greenhouse, propagation – onions and salad
18:18 Pacific Purple asparagus
19:04 Interplanting of celeriac with leeks, Blue de Solaise
19:18 More celeriac, bolting from early sowing or lack of water – Prague Giant
20:07 White asparagus
21:33 New bed, made by Charles when teaching the previous day, with bought-in green waste compost and homemade compost
23:07 Spring cabbage, just planted
23:16 Compost as investment, and treading on it to firm down after making new bed and before planting
24:32 Size of the new bed – good to work with
25:09 Outro, and my No Dig World Map
https://www.charlesdowding.co.uk/no-dig-worldwide

Filmed 22nd September 2024 by David Baird.
Edited February 2025 by Carly Dutton-Edwards.
Music by Heidi Theaker / Jacqui Vincent https://jacquivincent.bandcamp.com/track/homeacres

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