I'm envious of your free straw, that's because I believe I may have heard you say in a past video that straw where you are in Michigan is regulated to be pesticide free due to run off into the lake, so if I'm correct you local straw has no Roundup or Grazeon etc. on it? If so what a wonderful resource you have!
Thanks for the cute tricks and tips! Please make sure that those bales you are taking are waste/have been purposely thrown away, though! As a farmer, we bale the grass between the road and our fields (as land ownership technically extends to the middle of the roadway), and have had people come along and steal our bales before we get back out there to pick them up. For many farmers, roadside grass is an important part of the cattle operation.
Pumpkin puree added to wet cat food, or dried pumpkin seeds ground into a powder tossed with dry cat food, is good for cats, too. We have been taking care of a colony of feral and semi feral cats, so it's pretty much guaranteed they have worms. We have started to include pumpkin seed powder in their food.
Just an FYI: There are rescue groups that will come collect feral cats, have them spayed/neutered, then return them to their home colonies--all free of charge. Check w/ your local ASPCA or animal shelter to see if any of these groups operate in your area. 😊
@terrivance8750 not where we are, unfortunately. It took years to find a rescue willing to help us. She actually left one of the big rescues to start her own, because they became so awful. The bigger they get, the more they are about fundraising and the less they are about the animals.
While listening I was moving all my front yard leaves to the garden in the back. Last week I filled a 3ft tall garden bed with all my sunflower stalks, leaves, pine tree scraps etc and stuck some old plastic lattice on top. This bed will sit like this until I start using it again for growing. I'm gonna go raid my neighbors front yard for all the leaves from MY tree as well. She doesn't do any out door activities anymore so I'm sure she won't mind 😊 My punkins will be all used up in the next week. Nothing goes to waste... unless you consider a compost pile as waste 😂 but it turns into gold waste! Oh and I just came across a straggling squash bug on my back door! Oh no you dont!
Thank you! One thing I’d share is I put out seed , cracked corn and leftover bread for the critters and they left my garden alone this year. I have raccoons, squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, opossum and lots of birds around. They did zero damage to the property or garden. Living with them instead of fearing them
Fall is a good time to put compost on the garden, even if it isn’t finished. The part that’s broken down works it’s way into the soil with the snow and rain. The part that isn’t broken down provides insulation. Overall, it’s just a good time to finish up with his year’s composting, and make room for next year’s.
I had to go back amd look. Didn't notice it until I was reading the comments. He/she was in one of the last videos. Must be trying to get all the screen time it can. It's pretty neat seeing wildlife in the videos. LOL. 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
i like running a few pumpkins through my compost as i get to grow all year long dont really want to deal with so many volunteers if i add to my soil directly.
Thank you for this video! I added chopped pumpkins and a local source of compost to my raised beds this year! Most plants did great! However, I ended up with a huge grub problem!! I have had these raised beds for 17 years and never had this problem. This was the first time of amending my beds in this manner. What would cause this problem? Pumpkins? Compost? I've spent hours trying to dig out grubs (they were huge and gross!) Some were very deep in soil and some closer to top. What should I do to fix this and prevent again?
at my house, we call that pumpkin bashin...my cousin and i grow some each year for decorations and pie filling...then the leftovers get bashed up and put in the compost. we have fun bashin punkins :P
I use my fallen leaves for the gardenbeds to decompose. I usually mow over them first but I was told recently to not mow, just leave them whole before I put them in the beds because of insect eggs that are on it. I generally don’t see eggs on the leaves so wondered if this was true or not? I get that they hibernate over winter in the leaves but didn’t think this applied to leaves that just fell.
Carving pumpkins will only attract deer since they love to eat them! I whack mine open after the holliday for the squirrels and deer. They are all fat and sassy! I only fertilize bulbs in the fall as they actually use them and increase the beds over time. Whee! Free bulbs!!
My husband and I need some good advice on punkins! We planted them and they started spreading out and leaves got huge and finally we seen one punkin growing and there were alot of yellow flowers! We watered daily and they were beautiful no punkins! Do you have any ideas? We live here in south west Arkansas
Either you didn't have enough pollinators as the person above me said, or your plants didn't have enough nutrients to produce both male and female flowers. If there aren't enough pollinators, you can manually pollinate your squash. If the plant is only producing male flowers, it might mean a lack of nitrogen, or it could just be too early in the season.
Another thing my husband and I are doing this year, we are deer hunting on our property and deer love punkins so we went to a church who had a punkin patch and they had some by the parking lot and they said they were free and we gathered about six of them to take to the food plot and the deer are coming and eating them at night! Saves a ton of money on store bought deer feed!
Be careful about placing straw bales you find on the side of the road in your garden. Most wheat is harvested by spraying glyphosphate (Round Up) on the crop and then harvesting it after the herbicide has killed it. There is a bunch of glyphosphate residue left on the straw. It can taint your compost with glyphosphate. Jess from Roots and Refuge ran into this with compost she bought for her high tunnels. You can look her youtube channel up to see how she handled it.
That’s very true. I thought that way also. Then I realized by growing my own food I know how it is grown, what is in it, and that there are no chemicals/preservatives in it. Such an amazing feeling preparing a meal that I grew and now am feeding my family. It’s so worth all the hard work!
@@Kelly.A. The lack of chemicals is the only advantage I see. I don't even see how it can be used in a prepping situation. I was looking at it from a self sufficiency point of view and I don't see how it's possible or affordable. It seems like gardening/growing your own food is more of a luxury.
When you get to a certain point it doesn’t cost much except for maybe a few seed packs. After the initial investment it’s not so bad. You can make your own compost and seeds and fertilizer but it takes a little bit. I understand your point however
It shouldn't be overly expensive, and this channel and others have videos on how to save money gardening. However, gardening can often take up more time, effort, and space than people can afford. It can take some experimenting to find a scale that's suitable for your conditions. A smaller container garden works better for some than a large scale homestead garden.
John Doe...I pressure can my food I grow. I do save money that way. Carrots, beans and tomatoes production is rather cheap to grow. Im also a beekeeper... easy money. They also pollinate my plant flowers and fruit trees.
Many retail places use straw bales for Halloween decorations and would be happy to have you haul them away after the holiday.
I'm envious of your free straw, that's because I believe I may have heard you say in a past video that straw where you are in Michigan is regulated to be pesticide free due to run off into the lake, so if I'm correct you local straw has no Roundup or Grazeon etc. on it? If so what a wonderful resource you have!
Thanks for the cute tricks and tips! Please make sure that those bales you are taking are waste/have been purposely thrown away, though! As a farmer, we bale the grass between the road and our fields (as land ownership technically extends to the middle of the roadway), and have had people come along and steal our bales before we get back out there to pick them up. For many farmers, roadside grass is an important part of the cattle operation.
Pumpkin puree added to wet cat food, or dried pumpkin seeds ground into a powder tossed with dry cat food, is good for cats, too. We have been taking care of a colony of feral and semi feral cats, so it's pretty much guaranteed they have worms. We have started to include pumpkin seed powder in their food.
Just found this out as 1 of our cats got sick after getting a tooth pulled. She got constipated so I added pumpkin.
Good for dogs too. We do pumpkin puree, rice and chicken for them. Not only do they love it but it's good for them too
Just an FYI:
There are rescue groups that will come collect feral cats, have them spayed/neutered, then return them to their home colonies--all free of charge. Check w/ your local ASPCA or animal shelter to see if any of these groups operate in your area. 😊
@terrivance8750 not where we are, unfortunately. It took years to find a rescue willing to help us. She actually left one of the big rescues to start her own, because they became so awful. The bigger they get, the more they are about fundraising and the less they are about the animals.
I love your videos, Luke. Good luck with your new farm.
My chickens adore pumpkins!
Straw is fine as long as it's not sprayed with Grayzon.
Thought it was 'hay' that could have Grayzon. Straw, too?
@@susanhenley8240 Yes
Did this last year with ours. ❤
Yes - we take any leftover pumpkins that are in our community and we feed them to our pig, goats, ducks & chickens
While listening I was moving all my front yard leaves to the garden in the back. Last week I filled a 3ft tall garden bed with all my sunflower stalks, leaves, pine tree scraps etc and stuck some old plastic lattice on top. This bed will sit like this until I start using it again for growing.
I'm gonna go raid my neighbors front yard for all the leaves from MY tree as well. She doesn't do any out door activities anymore so I'm sure she won't mind 😊
My punkins will be all used up in the next week.
Nothing goes to waste... unless you consider a compost pile as waste 😂 but it turns into gold waste!
Oh and I just came across a straggling squash bug on my back door! Oh no you dont!
I just dumped our pumpkin guys into my Grocery Row Garden a week and a half ago. Hoping to have volunteers when the right time comes.
Fan of GR Gardens too.
Thank you for alleviating some of my “tidy” garden guilt. 😊
I love your videos and advice, thank you 💕 Good luck with your new project of farm 🍀
Congratulations!!! We are really looking forward to learning along with you!!!
Thank you, Luke. 😊
I love that squirrel in your videos. I have seen it many times. Thanks for the garden tips too.
first year in several that I didn't grow pumpkins, missed it, will do big time next season!!
Can't wait for Seed Sales to Begin!
I KNOW! I will be at work, but usually things are kinda slow around 2am :)
Very helpful content. Thank you!
My son loves to smash his pumpkin in the garden every year after Halloween, saves me the work😂
❤ Thanks, Luke!
I'm hoping to gather used pumpkins after Halloween to add to my compost.
You can eat those pumpkins, too. I'll admit that the jack-o-lantern versions are probably better for making soil.
I just feed my leftover pumpkins to the chickens. They love them.
Great video! I kind of miss grow big or go home lol
I for one am glad it is gone
Counting down to the 2025 seed launch 🎉🎉
Feels like the Olympics.. I’m waiting for that pistol to go off 😅
Me to!
Thanks for another great fun video!
Great info. Your enthusiasm for gardening is infectious. The squirrel running behind you was a cute feature. Happy Halloween to you and family
That's exactly what I do and we get volunteer pumpkins next year.
I chopped up the sunflower stalks snd buried them in the garden. Worms galore later on.
3:49 was a missed opportunity to say "smash pumpkins" in honor of the great Smashing Pumpkins band!
couple of my dead sunflowers fell over and the milkweed vine climbed all over it making a little home for the the monarch caterpillars.
Would the straw bales be sprayed with pesticides?
So fun !! Thank you !
Thank you! One thing I’d share is I put out seed , cracked corn and leftover bread for the critters and they left my garden alone this year. I have raccoons, squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, opossum and lots of birds around. They did zero damage to the property or garden. Living with them instead of fearing them
When would you apply alfalfa pellets?
Fall is a good time to put compost on the garden, even if it isn’t finished. The part that’s broken down works it’s way into the soil with the snow and rain. The part that isn’t broken down provides insulation. Overall, it’s just a good time to finish up with his year’s composting, and make room for next year’s.
Love the info!❤
Thats a pretty pumpkin
Love these videos! Great tips. ♥
Squirrel! 11:31
I had to go back amd look. Didn't notice it until I was reading the comments. He/she was in one of the last videos. Must be trying to get all the screen time it can. It's pretty neat seeing wildlife in the videos. LOL. 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
i like running a few pumpkins through my compost as i get to grow all year long dont really want to deal with so many volunteers if i add to my soil directly.
Can I use leaves instead of straw for core gardening?
We need to name the squirrel that is always popping up on the fence
I call the ones over here "hey jerk quit digging around in my garden beds"...
SquirreLuke? I’m still working on it 😂
@ProlerSkyphet I was thinking, MI-Squirler 😂
@@robertmarsh8334 dad-joke-5 *claps*
Thank you for this video! I added chopped pumpkins and a local source of compost to my raised beds this year! Most plants did great! However, I ended up with a huge grub problem!! I have had these raised beds for 17 years and never had this problem. This was the first time of amending my beds in this manner. What would cause this problem? Pumpkins? Compost? I've spent hours trying to dig out grubs (they were huge and gross!) Some were very deep in soil and some closer to top. What should I do to fix this and prevent again?
The straw bails along side the road, do I have to worry that they are not organic or gmo??
Thanks for the valuable information. Can you do a video on how to grow pumkins?
at my house, we call that pumpkin bashin...my cousin and i grow some each year for decorations and pie filling...then the leftovers get bashed up and put in the compost. we have fun bashin punkins :P
Once again another squirrel bombing...lol. Love the content, thanks for the treats and tricks ;)
Hey Luke, if you cut off the plant and leave the roots. Could you fertilize over winter since there are roots in the soil? Just wondering.
I will definitely Do ..YUP
THANKS LUKE 🎃
I wonder how long it will take to break down? Would it be ready in the spring??
Would the old sunflower plants have the same benefit if cut and laid down on the garden bed?
I use my fallen leaves for the gardenbeds to decompose. I usually mow over them first but I was told recently to not mow, just leave them whole before I put them in the beds because of insect eggs that are on it. I generally don’t see eggs on the leaves so wondered if this was true or not? I get that they hibernate over winter in the leaves but didn’t think this applied to leaves that just fell.
How do you know the straw wasn't treated with Grayzon or other pesticides? Is it worth ruining your garden for several years?
We don't get to use the pumpkins as fertilizer since the deer love them .
Luke why does the beds soil ..like disappears ..it that a good thing and how do you suggest to refill it ??? 🌱
Carving pumpkins will only attract deer since they love to eat them! I whack mine open after the holliday for the squirrels and deer. They are all fat and sassy! I only fertilize bulbs in the fall as they actually use them and increase the beds over time. Whee! Free bulbs!!
How do I tell "straw" (which is good for the garden) vs. "hay" (which can contain bad stuff)?
Are you not worried about those seeds growing in that area?
Please Do take out the seeds!!! Tried this. I think every seed sprouted 😂
Leaves go on garden but keep them away from yard because the ticks live in them.
Are those straw bales have bad chemicals on them? If they do would cause growing problem.
Lol'd at the spongebob reference.
Can you use Halloween straw?
🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰
My husband and I need some good advice on punkins! We planted them and they started spreading out and leaves got huge and finally we seen one punkin growing and there were alot of yellow flowers! We watered daily and they were beautiful no punkins! Do you have any ideas? We live here in south west Arkansas
Did you have enough bees around to pollinate?
Either you didn't have enough pollinators as the person above me said, or your plants didn't have enough nutrients to produce both male and female flowers. If there aren't enough pollinators, you can manually pollinate your squash. If the plant is only producing male flowers, it might mean a lack of nitrogen, or it could just be too early in the season.
*pumpkins*
i've heard that straw strips available nitrogen from your soil when it breaks down, is this true?
Another thing my husband and I are doing this year, we are deer hunting on our property and deer love punkins so we went to a church who had a punkin patch and they had some by the parking lot and they said they were free and we gathered about six of them to take to the food plot and the deer are coming and eating them at night! Saves a ton of money on store bought deer feed!
*pumpkins*
I was on your website this morning to stock up on some seeds but it is showing all your seeds are out of stock.
There is a note on the main page that says 2024 seeds are gone, and 2025 seeds will be available soon.
Yes he sells out his seeds every year and then restocks the next years seeds. The 2025 seeds launch on Halloween 😊
Oh. I missed that. Thank you so much for the information. 😊
Be careful about placing straw bales you find on the side of the road in your garden. Most wheat is harvested by spraying glyphosphate (Round Up) on the crop and then harvesting it after the herbicide has killed it. There is a bunch of glyphosphate residue left on the straw. It can taint your compost with glyphosphate. Jess from Roots and Refuge ran into this with compost she bought for her high tunnels. You can look her youtube channel up to see how she handled it.
2025 seed launching soon.:-)
What a waste of a lovely fresh pumpkin! Not to mention time.
It's sad but if you are using free produce like pumpkins from other people, you are not farming organically - most people spray
Let's go dumpster diving
Why are you smashing a perfectly good, beautiful pumpkin? We don't need a demo..
OMG I cant watch your channel anymore your using the new editing software that reframes the shot going closer in OUCH !!!!! Gives people seizures
As expensive as everything is to garden, I don't see how it's cheaper to grow your own than it is to buy it.
That’s very true. I thought that way also. Then I realized by growing my own food I know how it is grown, what is in it, and that there are no chemicals/preservatives in it. Such an amazing feeling preparing a meal that I grew and now am feeding my family. It’s so worth all the hard work!
@@Kelly.A. The lack of chemicals is the only advantage I see. I don't even see how it can be used in a prepping situation.
I was looking at it from a self sufficiency point of view and I don't see how it's possible or affordable.
It seems like gardening/growing your own food is more of a luxury.
When you get to a certain point it doesn’t cost much except for maybe a few seed packs. After the initial investment it’s not so bad. You can make your own compost and seeds and fertilizer but it takes a little bit. I understand your point however
It shouldn't be overly expensive, and this channel and others have videos on how to save money gardening. However, gardening can often take up more time, effort, and space than people can afford. It can take some experimenting to find a scale that's suitable for your conditions. A smaller container garden works better for some than a large scale homestead garden.
John Doe...I pressure can my food I grow. I do save money that way. Carrots, beans and tomatoes production is rather cheap to grow. Im also a beekeeper... easy money. They also pollinate my plant flowers and fruit trees.