If you want more information about the ground cover check out Grower’s Solution. www.growerssolution.com/PROD/ground-cover/groundcover If you use coupon code traditionalist10 you will get 10% off!
Thanks for this. I’ve always wondered where to get this stuff when I’ve seen it in nurseries. It is not weed blocker that gets emeshed when plants grow right through it. What do you use to burn in the holes of different sizes as required by different plants?
Thank you for this valuable information about the great benefits in choosing to use this particular type of ground cover. I'm not back home yet, but as soon as I can, I'm having the whole garden area tilled and fertilized. Preparing it to have healthy soil once again. It hasn't had a large garden since 1995 when grandma lived there. After we bought it, i only had a few herbs growing. But my husband passed away in 2005 and I haven't lived there since! I'm anxious to move back home and will be preparing the ground for a large garden again!
BunnySlippers great ,yes guy you are ,pretty right, let's learn from others mistakes ,and put ours too, to form a right yield .happy farming.from INdia.
Learning from others' mistakes and findings is a requirement to compete for jobs. Nobody lives long enough to learn from _only_ their own experience and keep up.
Really amazed by this couple! When one is talking,the other one is not just waiting for her/ his turn to join the conversation...they both involve in it 100% all the time! Excellent team work!
I am 87 years old and have been gardening since I was a young child. I have used woven cover sheets on a few occasions but would find it to be too labor intensive to use in my large garden. If you are worn out from pulling weeds it is because you wait too long to address the problem. The answer is to cultivate the middles of your rows very soon after each rain before the weed seeds have a chance to germinate. Weed seeds will not germinate in loose fluffy soil in major part because it will dry out very quickly. The loose soil that you create by cultivation will also serve as a mulch as water cannot move through it by capillarity. Weed seeds will germinate in the rows where your plants are growing. These should be covered with loose soil from the middles while they are less than a half inch tall with a hoe. I do not find that to be
I am a 70 year old Italian horticulturist (I live 60 km south of Milan, on the Oltrepo Pavese hills (Zone 8 A according to the USD). Maybe you are both right. But my experience in this climatic zone is identical to yours. In my area, the breathable black fabric allows weeds to grow through it .... Unless you cover it with at least 6 inches of wood chips. So I will continue to grow using corrugated cardboard.
I tried the expensive black landscape fabric one year. The bermudagrass loved it. It grew completely through it. It kept other weeds out, but caused the bermudagrass to thrive. I guess it depends on your location. Will try your method of keeping the weeds down this year.
I live in a very rainy part of West Coast Canada/I'm gonna grow lettuce on a wall(in plastic old shoe caddy you would hang inside of a closet door) it's fun to watch the slugs crawl up and get knocked down before they do any damage/I'm 63 work with serving the public Haha haha I love tons of lettuce on a sandwich fresher the better. My parents had green thumbs, but I knew the hoe. ; D
My great grandfather was a horticulturalist and had a lavish garden that was let go for the past 30 years when he died my grandparents rented out his home and then my mother inherited it but just mowed the grass and weeds now I live in the home and want desperately to have a garden where he once did but getting it tilled up and the grass out has over whelmed Me. I wish I had been older then 6 when he passed away as I only have a few memory's and many storys about him thru family. If I had been older I would have asked him all about gardening so thank you for sharing that knowledge as I value it and feel like I was meant to read it today!
@@paolomaggi8188 I live in west Central MN...I'm planning to use cardboard this yr as well. I've been using landscape fabric under my tomatoes with pretty good results. But it's expensive for me tho.
Thanks guys. This is one of the most comprehensive and well explained videos on farming/gardening I've seen. You folks speak very well to camera too. No 'umms' and everything concise and to the point. Really professional. Stay well guys.
I use the same ground cover and I will never garden without it again! Thanks to you guys. I have shared the ground cover with so many people, especially older folk who don't want to weed! Thanks for all of the awesome content.
I watched a video a few years ago where the guy stages his chicken yard over a future garden spot before claiming it for the garden, then he used this material.... The chickens not only knocked down weeds that were growing there, they fertilized the ground while giving eggs! Win, win, win! He would them prep another plot for the next garden space the same way. Like you he rotated every couple of years. Of course, he had plenty of space to do this... Not all of us do. Great info! Thanks so much!
I just moved onto my acreage and I'm trying to start homesteading. Oh my gosh, the weeds!!! It's overwhelming. Thanks for the tips. I have the professional grade woven fabric that I'll be using between the raised beds. I got cedar wood and I'm filling the raised beds with organic soil. The up front costs are also high for wood and soil with amendments. Thousands and thousands. Plus the cost of equipment. My main reason for doing all of this is for quality food that's sustainable and healthy. I'm very motivated by avoiding frankenfoods. The amount of time to get started is absolutely draining. I have another farmer taking care of half of the acreage. I have just a bit under 20 acres and after coming from the suburbs I have to say this is a culture shock. I drive 3 hours per day back and forth from work. Nothing is close, not even the grocery store. Just a lot for one person. Please read on though. My sunsets are stunning, the daily sounds of birds are relaxing, the wildlife is beautiful, and this is worth every second. It's like a piece of heaven and I feel blessed.
You all are so terrific! I love to watch Sarah's face when you're talking Kevin. Y'all have such passion for what you're doing that it's contagious!. Thank you for sharing this ground cover information!
Watching you and taking your advice has changed my gardening life, all for the good! The woven ground cover was total game changer for me. Now I spend time starting seeds, harvesting and preserving NOT weeding. Thanks you guys!
I bought 3ft. wide ground cover and sewed it together on my sewing machine with heavy duty thread for outdoor use. Granted my boxes are only 10’ wide and 40’ long. It was way cheaper than buying the wider fabric and I don’t have to worry about the loss of width for the overlap.
I love how you both take turns speaking. You balance each other. Thank you for this video, as I was about ready to quit gardening. Now I'm excited once again. Subscribed!
I'm just trying to get rid of weeds and I don't even garden. I knew that this was the wrong video in the first 15 seconds but I watched it all the way through because of your presentation style and the chemistry between you two lol! I literally watched this video because you guys haha!
Yeah, I’m not currently having this problem but this kept coming across my algorithm and I decided to watch because I like them and I like this kind of stuff
Sadly we should have been doing this all along. We have lost so many of those skills and we are now having to relearn this stuff. But we can do it! Please stay safe and healthy 🙏
Leaving the family farms to go trade time in exchange for currency is turning out to have been a huge mistake. It has made us not only dependent on someone else to feed and clothe us, but dependent on someone else now determining what our time is worth. The price of farm land, which was fairly affordable for most of this nation’s history, has skyrocketed just in the last 30 years. Average Americans who less than a century ago would have been “poor farmers” are now being priced out of the ability to be self-sufficient.
@@tannertuner That's one of the unfortunate things about public-school funding via property tax. It's not enough to be self-sufficient. You also have to come up with some cash for the right to remain on the land that is yours.
@@harrymills2770 nope. The increased land prices come from the 80s tax cuts and rock bottom interest rates. For banks to continue to meet obligations at these near zero interest rates, they have to loan more money to make the same money. Since we are out of new land to loan money on, they increase the loan value of existing land, which drives up land prices. And as land prices go up ONLY THEN do tax appraisals increase. So as the banks run the price up, the earnings of common Americans aren’t going up with it because the millionaires and billionaires (and the wannabes who never will be but think they are entitled to be) raise hell if you talk about increasing a tax rate a measly 3%. But their incomes and wealth holdings have quadrupled the past 40 years while people who actually work struggle with 2 incomes and can’t save a nickel. Some states don’t have property taxes and still have the same problem. It’s banks driving up the value, not the tax.
When I watched this video I realized you were telling our story. While we got good yield this year, we did lose some things to the overwhelming weeds. I think we have watched every one of your videos. So much of your life corelates to ours. I love your videos. We feel your pain too when things get rough for y'all.
When I was 18 I bought this while making a garden at my parents. It's been 9 years and it's still in the ground at their house! Not all in tact but still holding strong!
Used this when we landscaped our yard 14 yrs ago! We had a problem with nut grass for a few years but we stayed on top of it and finally got it under control! I just love that it keeps my yard looking nice with pine straw on top of the mat!
I know that a lot of the Amish farmers out here in Ohio use the woven ground cover for their vegetable and flower crops. Thank you for the tips! I've made the same mistakes as you folks when trying it on my own! Love your burning-a-hole method for making the planting holes!
Weeding sucks especially when you can't stay ahead of it and it compromises crops. You and your family are such a Grace. Sharing your hardships and successes with the world. A humble and wonderous team, editing very relatable content in a rapidly growing Market of Interest too many. We all would enjoy more of an independence and deeper gratification in working towards self sustainability. I consider you both as essential workers and thank you once again for helping us educate
In my experience (I’m an organic gardener) I believe the quality of the soil is the key to no weeds..I keep amending the soil, as the soil improves, the weeds go away :-). I’m a southern Mo lady as well. Born and raised :-).
@@rlopez18m I use greensand, azomite, kelp, gypsum, wood ash, ground cover in winter that gathers nitrogen, then is turned over about three weeks before spring planting.. A good place to start is have a soil sample you take to the county extension for testing, and see what the soil is lacking in as well.
When i think back on what i have learned about gardening in the last two years....most of it comes from you guys. I truly appreciate it. I knew nothing and now know something.
This channel is absolute gold. Your videos are immensely informative and entertaining. I grow as much food as possible, mostly in containers, but next year I will be looking to greatly expand that. Thank you!
Just watched this, it’s exactly what I have experienced with trying To grow naturally. I used the ground cover last year and topped with straw and was amazed how well it kept weeds out. I’ll always do it this way from no on.
I’m in tropical Australia. The best method I’ve found is 4-6 layers of news paper (wet it down to hold it in place if it’s a windy day) and then a layer of straw or sugar cane mulch over the top. It’s very inexpensive and easy to put holes in it for plants using a hand trowel.
That is what I do here in New England USA. I use newspapers two ways: In late summer I start freezing food scraps. Then in the Fall, I bury the scraps a foot down in my garden, cover it with newspaper which is weighed down by bricks. Come Spring, the worms have done their job and the soil is nice and loose. I have never had a problem with rodents. The other way is what you said...I use it as a weed barrier then put mulch over it but not in my food garden; just around the other parts of the backyard. Works great!
I am doing this - my first garden - I wove cardboard together, wet it, added decomposing leaves, wet those, added newsprint (plain), wet that... straw is down and now I've started to put compost on top. Time is the main issue, however, next year (and every year after) will be a much simpler process with beautiful soil.
Where do you get that much news paper? We don't subscribe - we don't want trees wasted to make paper or vehicles used to deliver it, when we can read the news online. I'm literally trying to remember the last time I saw a physical newspaper. I think I may have seen a stack of them at the convenience store the couple of times in the past several years when I've had to go inside to pay because the gas pump's card reader was broken. So how / where do I go to scavenge 200+ square feet of paper (multiplied by 6 layers' worth)?
did experience all those issues myself with the ground cover. the wind , the spaces in-between sheets / weeds , and yes the drip tape MUST be on top to spot an issue. Thank you for the video! Had same thoughts about giving up at some point but kept on going. Good to feel this warmth about others experiencing same difficulties but still pushing forward until a solution was found. Thumbs up!!!!
This video is exactly what I needed right when I need it! My garden is being taken over by weeds and I have decided to start laying down the weed fabric. A lot of the mistakes you guys covered are a lot of the things I was planning to do, like leaving a space between the fabric sheets to grow certain veggies. Thank you so much for this information, this is a great video!!!
I love the mention of ticks. I’m sure most people are creeped out by them as much as I am. I love that the covering helps with them as well as the weeds. Sounds like an added bonus to me.
my family used newspapers(no magazines/glossy stuff), held down with 2" x 4" 's. a great way to recycle....it does decompose slowly, block all weeds, and essentially free.
Thank you SO much for this!!! This was my third year gardening and between the constant rain we had this Summer and the weeds I have felt so defeated. I was looking at doing the back to Eden method, my husband, who's sick of me complaining about the weeds, wanted me to completely cover the garden in plastic and I just couldn't do that. This is an answer to prayer, thank you!
Thank you so much for sharing this information. Learning from other's "mistakes" makes life so much easier! When growing up I lived on 1,000+ acre farm and we had over 100 rabbits and always used their manure to fertilize our plants, trees, flowers, etc. I will be sharing your video with my sister who loves to garden. Enjoy your channel so much.
After watching several of you videos in the past 3 months, we have completely transformed how we do things at our mini homestead. We had eggers, but now I raise meat birds. We also now have Rabbits for meat and fertilizer, and finally, we have spent the time to put down ground cover in our garden this year. We are very excited to see how it turns out this year. If all goes well, inwill probably put in the irrigation system next year!! Thank you so much for helping us be more efficient!!!
I can hardly believe how jam packed with information and wisdom/experience this video is, and I didn't even have to skip the first 9 minutes like everybody else's videos. Bravo!
Recently moved from las cruces where I built the sand up to be very productive, grapes, figs, olives, apples, pomegranates, persimmons and all veggies. I too, moved to the Ozarks first Bella Vista AR then Carthage MO. Got tired of getting lost down in AR and no internet in the mts. Glad I found you to teach me what to do here!
I just love your videos. My Girlfriend and I are progressing towards living off the land. You guys have so much insight. We work out traditional 9-5 jobs. But we really want to get to what matters most in life. And that's living life how we want at home.
It's so nice to take a break from sewing masks on this gloomy rainy day and watch a sunny gardening video. I hope you enjoy every moment in your garden.
Thank you for sewing masks. We were truly caught off guard with the pandemic. I had a few paper masks I gave to my son at Home Depot. He said people are flocking there and using the store as entertainment! We have people sewing masks here in gloomy Coachella Valley. Everyone is waiting for elastic. Some are using hair ties and rubber bands. We are manditoryly wearing masks. Keep seeing beautiful soul! I think our days of social acceptance of wearing masks is very far from over. 😢
Jaded Optimist check out Dr. Shiva’s channel as well he has a natural protocol containing vitamin A, vitamin C, Vitamin D and lugals iodine iodide to boost the immune system. Staying hydrated and boosting the gut flora is always great to fill our best. Together we will get past this take care.
We just moved to Jefferson City Missouri last year from New Mexico. I planted our garden expecting to have a wonderful garden as the weather has so much more rainfall . But being older and retired I couldn't pull the weeds fast enough and they took over the garden. I even though of not doing a garden this year until I started watching your videos on the garden fabric and drip system . I love watching your videos. And it has given me renewed hope and am excited for the garden prospect for the coming year. Prayers, Doug & Terrie Green PS I am going to try some of your recipes for crackers & bagels etc.
Some tips re: woven ground covering. We've used this in our large garden now for 6 years. We mainly use it for spaces around our low beds and any messy places weeds grow. (A) it doesn't last as long as it says. (B) Everywhere you put in a lawn staple, some weed will find a way to get thru that minuscule hole. (C) I dug out all the weeds last year, placed cardboard over everything and started over with new 4' wide woven ground cloth. The first time it was 6'. I plan to try putting a dab of Flex Seal over all the holes or breaks. (E) Lastly, we learned that growing buckwheat near our plants allows no weeds in it and our plants near it. It's pretty enough and has something that keeps weeds away.
One of the things I learned in the Master Gardener program is rabbit manure is the most complete fertilizer you can use. You two are just so on it! :-)
That stuff is fine and I am glad that you have discovered a method to help you. My wife’s family have used it for years with a fare amount of success. Depending on location is determinate on coast effectiveness. All weeds really are are unwanted plants. The fact you had weeds is a good thing. Yes it is time consuming to pull them and everyone wants easier and quicker. I myself have thought about using is but have chosen not to thus far for a few reasons. 1-it can be time consuming to lay out the amount I want and to make the holes for the plants, 2-I reuse the weeds to feed the plants, 3-I don’t see the cost effectiveness of the weed barrier vs the size of garden I currently have and plan on having, and 4-I am still experimenting on what location is best for my garden for the sun exposure amount. But if it works for you, glad you found it to use.
Aloha. I love the fabric. I’ve been using it for years here in Hawaii. I made a custom pie pan With acut out for 4 inch pot square holes that I burn out of the fabric with a torch I even attach the pie pan to an aluminum bat, for ease. Melting the ends is crucial. I’ve had the same fabric for years. You could grow your tomatoes on the same trellises has the keys once the season passes and the weather warms Compost tea delivered via a sub pump and hose is a very efficient way to fertilize through the fabric. You could also make a manure tea. Once you have worked the soil for enough seasons, the weeds will slowly become less and less. You can also tell the soil let it rain, and let the weeds sprout after the rains and hoe them up, then you’ll have Virgin soil
I first started watching your videos when you had less than 40k subscribers. I am thrilled for you to see your channel grow and I can honestly say it's because you two are excellent teachers and are humble and kind to each other. Love to your family. When I was last able to have a large garden we didn't use the ground fabric but we did use the floating row covers...Both of these are definite gardening game changers. Please stay safe in these wacky times.
I bought this fabric last year, yall convinced me then. I left it down over the winter. It has held up extremely well. Ordered more this morning to expand area. Thanks! Have a good day.
I've used black plastic, in the past. It will suppress weeds, but will not add organic material to the garden. The sun will break it down, after about 5 years. Now, I use nothing but leaves and grass clippings. I like an organic cover much better than black plastic.
For years i was of similar thoughts to use organic cover. Then started trying diff cheap plastic coverings but most fell apart before season end. Last year i decided enough.. getting older with hard disabilities & not wanting to be pulling weeds under the hot texas sun. Looked around.. this vid hooked me into wanting to try this type of weed cover. Settled on some found online.. its done me well. The backyard here is fairly new.. several feet of blek clay with rocks. When i moved here most of the 1" of topsoil the builders had put over the clay had worn off. Over the years i have added alot of soil to have crab grass which is much better than having a good old fashioned slip and slide. Last year i redid one of the raised beds.. it goes down to 12" or so deeper than soil level.. i fully removed that clay. Its best i can do as i have tried mixing this clay with bagged soil but result is quite heavy soil. Not plant friendly. I hope to hire someone to dig out my other beds.. they were taken over by the crab grass.. irony that lol. The shovel work is bit much for me this year. Heh or just cover them with the newly ordered covering. Have a awesome evening Derek. Be well & stay safe.
Makk is Looking Great that the fabric has done well for you! One thing to consider is that if you leave the fabric on year after year, the weeds will eventually grow through it, or dirt and weed seeds will blow onto it and sprout on top and grow down from the top. It’s best to take the fabric up for the winter and put it down again in the spring.
@@cynthiafisher9907 Its best for you perhaps, idk. Not one piece of the fabric in my back yard is the same length. Not one area back there is square. You are suggesting that i pull up a jigsaw puzzle of many pieces of diff lengths of fabric & relay the next year.. oh my! Onward to the clay that has a grip on those staples. Its hard clay that does not give up staples easily. Twas a chore working with the hard rocky clay putting in those staples. Plus all the holes the first staples will have created.. alot of weed entrances if i did that. Would need to purchase many new staples. As is the fabric is down and firmly in place with more staples than most would use, literally. Best is to leave it as is. If i outlive the fabric that will be awesome. If the weeds bother me too much i will weed eat or pull or spray them with the chemical of my choice. No worries. I wish you good health & to be at peace.
@@dereka8041 good if you have a ready supply of that mulch material. However, if you don't keep adding to it then the mulch will break down after about 2 years and then the weeds return.
I have gotten my weed/ground cover and have started tilling my garden. You answered a few of my questions about watering and putting the cover down. I too have had a garden but I think I grew better weeds than vegetables 🤣 this year fingers crossed 🤞🏻 I will be working smarter than harder by using the weed cover!! I really enjoy y’all’s channel! Thank y’all
LOL - This is a great video IMO, so thanks for this. I used this weedcloth around the entire perimeter of my house to prevent chipmunks, mice, snakes or any other little creature from burrowing under my house and trying to reside in my crawlspace. So far, that has worked great for me as I have no problems now. Next season I plan to use your idea for the weedcloth in my small garden. Your video gave me some good ideas, so thanks again.
I've been following you guys for a while and I "borrowed" this idea when you first posted about the fabric. Took my market farm from 1/3 of an acre up to nearly 3 acres with less work. Lots more time to care for plants. It's working well in south Louisiana. Thanks for sharing your experiences!
I’m watching this for at least the second time. Just wanted to share, I bought the black plastic covering twice, once in the beginning of Covid and reordered months into it. There was no hold up in my order coming. The company is wonderful to order from!
Good information, I'm in Missouri and grew up on a farm in the boot heel. gardening was a lot of work . It would have been nice if there was garden fabric back then. I live in the suburbs now and too old to plant in the ground. But you'd be surprised how much I can grow in containers on my deck.
I've been covering my entire garden with a thick layer of straw. Might seem like there's too much on at first but after walking on it a bit, it really presses down. Creates beautiful walkways too. So I till every year, and every ten - twenty plants I take a moment and grab my straw and cover everywhere around those plants. You'll have to pull the odd weed now and then but that's it. I will never not cover my large garden with straw. It's just the absolute best. I can't be bothered with cloth and making holes etc. This is faster, effective and it breaks down over winter as mulch. Bonus! Also a tip, try and find a worm castings farm. I got 500 lbs in 50 lb bags.. either spread it over your tilled garden before planting, spread it then till.. either way it doesn't matter.. OR if you don't have that much then add a big shovel worth into the hole before you add the plant. Best fertilizer ever! Natural, can't burn your plants, can't ever use too much so there's no worrying. I use it with all my Berry bushes, every melon and vegg. Happy gardening everyone 🌿
This has to be one of the best videos I’ve honestly ever seen up to this day about how to do gardening thank you very much. We’re very excited to start our journey next spring.
The easiest way I found is to let grass grow between rows and hills and mow it. Use grass clippings to heavily mulch in areas where vines grow, then till it all in fall. By spring it all has some grass already, only dig where you will plant and immediately around them where it is too close to mow. A side benefit, after rain you can walk through the garden without getting muddy.
You don't get any weeds? I think my grass is all just weeds anyway. I would rather have this, than any type of plastic, no matter how safe they say it is. Are you saying to use your grass clipping to stop any weeds from growing, by using the grass clipping as mulch? I don't understand what you are saying exactly.
@@MissMolly3377 If you till in fall, new grass and weeds will be growing by spring. You only till the rows where you will be planting in spring and let it grow between the rows and keep it mowed. You have yard between the rows and only need to weed up next to the actual garden plants. Also, yes I do use grass clippings as mulch also, especially around vining plants like cucumbers to keep weeds down so I can easily find the food.
@@seichorn4079 I just grow a few basics. 3-4 tomatoes, 3-4 bell peppers. Couple yellow and couple zucchini squash and cucumbers. Just enough room to mow between then grass clipping mulch up close. I plant by making a hole, filling with homade compost and planting in the middle. With tomatoes, I make the hole deep and put in more compost as it grows so it has deep roots. It's me, on my other channel.
This is what I did in my garden but instead of making holes I made beds on top of the fabric. This way there is no need for tiling.We call the fabric geo textile. Love your channel ! Thank!
I've been using a system nearly identical to this for twenty plus years. It works great. One variation that really helps: Divided my space into three. Use one area for tomatoes, squash, etc. with the holes like you are doing. In the second area I don't use any cover and that is where I grow corn, peas, carrots, beans, potatoes, onions, and similar row crops. The reason I can do this is because of the third area, where I have solid fabric. In that area the weed seed bank germinates and dies because water gets through but weeds cannot grow. It also kills field bind weed, one of our perennial problem weeds in southern Idaho. The first year planting row crop after two years under tomato/melon fabric and then two years "sterile" under the no-hole fabric there is no weeding to mention, during the second year there is some weeding. I drip water on top and fertilize the same way. I only till the two years I row crop. I almost quit gardening as well until I came up with this system.
Oh and because of this I use much wider fabric....less staking and easier to roll out every other year. Also make sure to grow squash, cucumber, and melons in tomato, pepper, eggplant holes and tomatoes etc in squash etc holes the second year.
Oh and because of this I use much wider fabric....less staking and easier to roll out every other year. Also make sure to grow squash, cucumber, and melons in tomato, pepper, eggplant holes and tomatoes etc in squash etc holes the second year.
I have that damn bind weed bad here in southern Colorado. I am hoping this helps to keep it down some. So your third area is where you use the black visqueen? Just kill it all for a season and plant that area next year? I am on the list to get bind weed mites but not sure how well they work until CSU sends me them.
This is exciting I have Canadian thistle so bad. I'm about to give up. So you divide your garden in 3 sections 1 you cover and don't plant anything. 2nd you cover and put holes for large plants. And 3rd you leave open and plant small things in rows lettuce and carrots. Is this correct?
Thanks purchased the ground cover a while back. My garden was plowed yesterday I was to tired to plant before it rained last night. I guess that was a good thing. So when it dries up it will be ready to put down and plant. Planning on using for cabbage, tomatoes, peppers and zucchini. Great information.
We tried this last year, and like you we left a small space between the fabric. Weeds were not as bad as in previous years. I have started using this in all beds. Thanks for your help. Caren in Arkansas
I live in the Seattle area. I have used the woven plastic as a permanent weed block for decades. I have a small vegetable garden that in our very wet winters I keep covered with old used carpet. It also lasts a very long time. I roll it up in the spring and put it back on when the rains start. Up here we have spring weeds and then summer weeds. The carpet protects my beds from both. It also acts as a blanket for the earthworms and keeps varmints out.
Yes I did have trouble with Bermuda grass, it seems to love to grow over/under it. But the only thing that really controls that is repeated herbicide treatments.
Biophile, I hate having to think about using chemical concoctions to control pests, weeds, or any types of UNWANTED items, in/around anyplace I want to live, or plant things to eat, or just be around, ... there are simply TOO MANY things on earth that are trying to kill us, as it is, let alone making more stuff to do so even more so, ... so please, try to find out what are the natural enemies/deterrents of the pests, or items that plague your area, ... surely, some kind of info is out there to help assist with your project, but please, do not opt to trade one bad item for another, ...
I am new to your channel and I am anxious to start gardening. I have recently retired and I am in the process of building our retirement home just south of Tallahassee Florida. We have two acres of land so we have plenty of space for a nice garden. The two of you have a very inspiring presentation to you videos. Thank you for being who you are and being willing to share your knowledge. God bless you.
"She walks barefoot in the garden" she left out the fact that she walks across hot coals during her morning routine😂😂😂.. Stumbled across your channel.. can't wait to watch more of your videos. Thank you.
Great content! I used the weed fabric and drip system from your recommendation and it is a game changer for controlling weeds. I did like you leave 1 row open about an inch to plant carrots, beets, turnips, onions and kohlrabi. I did have some troubles keeping the weeds down at first. Once the plants were established it wasn’t quite as bad but still had to weed. I suppose now you guys are using the black tubs most of the types of plans are in them and not in the main garden. Thank you for all your knowledge. Take care and stay safe!
I find that what weedmat is best at is stopping new seeds entering the soil, from wind, birds and critters. Once seeds are in the soil though, they'll come up through the road/ cement... Then when you pull the weeds out, the roots snap and stay under the weedmat... "Jute matt ", which is about 1cm thick is made of plant fibre is excellent stuff, and ends up adding to the soil composition, and needs replacing about every 2 years. More expensive though... Good on you guys :)
Excellent explanation. I started using weed barrier last year, and ran into some of the same problems you did. I really appreciate the specific advice on planting plants versus seeds. You guys are great!
I'm in NW Indiana and just use my grass clippings around my beans and other things , seems to keep the weeds under control. I will keep your method in mind.
I use that in my garen when I had a garden. I had 3 weeds thru the whole season. I also use mulch in the walkways. Now I've found that white clover in the walkway is better bcuz it adds nutrients back to your garden.
@@firehorsewoman414 Yes you can. No question is stupid if you don't know the answer. Always ask. And if anyone tries to make you feel dumb, just ignore them bcuz they are the dumb one. We are not born with answers. We all have to learn by reading, asking questions, trial & error.
Based on a couple of your precious videos, we ordered a 4' x 300' roll and a 6'x300' roll. We are really looking forward to having way fewer weeds this summer. We live near Abilene Texas, so our weed problem, while a true problem, doesn't seem as bad as yours.
I have had my fabric on mine for 6 years and love it. I will say make sure you get the 10 or 20 year fabric or it will not last very long. In the spring I pull all the weeds from the top. I also remove my tomato cages, and pull the weeds that was in each cage. I then replant and put the cage back, it works great. I will never go back. That being said, I was surprised how dead the soil was under the tarp after 6 years. The only sign of life was where the plants were planted in the holes. This year, I removed the soil from each hole with an auger and then put new amended pro mix in each hole. So now it is like an outdoor container garden. At my age and with my back problems, this is the only way I can garden. Most years I have more than we can use. Planted 55 tomato plants and 95 pepper plants and various other veggies. Can't wait until harvest : )
Im glad that you are actually amending and tilling your soils before you cover your soils. If I could give you a trick…… use the same fabric to make wind walls around your gardens. The weed pressure will drop drastically. Weed pressure is very location specific. Wind is the worse enemy! Create windbreaks !
LOVE this video and your down to earth style of sharing. I thought I’d heard it all and have tried everything you all mentioned at the beginning of this video, but SO GLAD I stayed tuned! Can’t wait to try this fabric!
Thank you for that info. I have retired and plan to have a garden this year so your tips will definitely help. I have almost an acre but due to the wind here I have a 20' x 20' fenced garden space. My town is located in the middle of a weed field (Hollister, Idaho) I love this idea. I plan to grow tomatoes, bell peppers, carrot's, strawberries. With pea's, green beans (up against the fence) and mellons and other low lying plants on the outside of the fence. I have a shady spot inside the fence I thought I would try lettuce and spinach. Did I mention how much I love being retired? LOL
The first time you did a video in the woven ground cover, was sceptical but desperate. I bought a roll anyway since nothing else worked and by the beginning of August our weeds were taller than me, and so thick there were critters in there. I couldn't harvest anything. This woven ground cover, WGC) works so well! There is nothing I can say to describe how easy it is use. The lines painted on it make the garden look so nice and .. professional. It completely changed how we garden. We were able to grow things I've never grown before!! Out temp ais hot, hotter and snow, lol! Not much rainfall, so the weeds are very hardy and overwhelming. Thank you so much for that first video on the woven ground cover! I, too was ready to give up untill we tried it.
If you want more information about the ground cover check out Grower’s Solution.
www.growerssolution.com/PROD/ground-cover/groundcover
If you use coupon code traditionalist10 you will get 10% off!
...no tilling it kills the worms that airrate the soil . I heard use a Pitchfork for adding air, what do you think?
Thanks for this. I’ve always wondered where to get this stuff when I’ve seen it in nurseries. It is not weed blocker that gets emeshed when plants grow right through it. What do you use to burn in the holes of different sizes as required by different plants?
Thank you for this valuable information about the great benefits in choosing to use this particular type of ground cover. I'm not back home yet, but as soon as I can, I'm having the whole garden area tilled and fertilized. Preparing it to have healthy soil once again.
It hasn't had a large garden since 1995 when grandma lived there. After we bought it, i only had a few herbs growing. But my husband passed away in 2005 and I haven't lived there since!
I'm anxious to move back home and will be preparing the ground for a large garden again!
Rose Boudreaux You go girlfriend!
Do you plant Carrots using theground cover?
Not going to lie I came here thinking I was going to skip to 15 minutes to get to the point but you guys are so thorough and engaging good job!
Right. Here's my kids tie his shoes for the first 15min
Same
Learning from other people's mistakes is a great way to go. Thank you for being so willing to admit your mistakes and share them!
I
BunnySlippers great ,yes guy you are ,pretty right, let's learn from others mistakes ,and put ours too, to form a right yield .happy farming.from INdia.
my mistake was listening to these clowns
Never made one
Learning from others' mistakes and findings is a requirement to compete for jobs. Nobody lives long enough to learn from _only_ their own experience and keep up.
Really amazed by this couple!
When one is talking,the other one is not just waiting for her/ his turn to join the conversation...they both involve in it 100% all the time!
Excellent team work!
Hi folks, I really appreciated that you showed the failures as well as your successes. Brilliant job.
I am 87 years old and have been gardening since I was a young child. I have used woven cover sheets on a few occasions but would find it to be too labor intensive to use in my large garden. If you are worn out from pulling weeds it is because you wait too long to address the problem. The answer is to cultivate the middles of your rows very soon after each rain before the weed seeds have a chance to germinate. Weed seeds will not germinate in loose fluffy soil in major part because it will dry out very quickly. The loose soil that you create by cultivation will also serve as a mulch as water cannot move through it by capillarity. Weed seeds will germinate in the rows where your plants are growing. These should be covered with loose soil from the middles while they are less than a half inch tall with a hoe. I do not find that to be
I am a 70 year old Italian horticulturist (I live 60 km south of Milan, on the Oltrepo Pavese hills (Zone 8 A according to the USD).
Maybe you are both right. But my experience in this climatic zone is identical to yours. In my area, the breathable black fabric allows weeds to grow through it .... Unless you cover it with at least 6 inches of wood chips. So I will continue to grow using corrugated cardboard.
I tried the expensive black landscape fabric one year. The bermudagrass loved it. It grew completely through it. It kept other weeds out, but caused the bermudagrass to thrive. I guess it depends on your location. Will try your method of keeping the weeds down this year.
I live in a very rainy part of West Coast Canada/I'm gonna grow lettuce on a wall(in plastic old shoe caddy you would hang inside of a closet door) it's fun to watch the slugs crawl up and get knocked down before they do any damage/I'm 63 work with serving the public Haha haha I love tons of lettuce on a sandwich fresher the better. My parents had green thumbs, but I knew the hoe. ; D
My great grandfather was a horticulturalist and had a lavish garden that was let go for the past 30 years when he died my grandparents rented out his home and then my mother inherited it but just mowed the grass and weeds now I live in the home and want desperately to have a garden where he once did but getting it tilled up and the grass out has over whelmed Me. I wish I had been older then 6 when he passed away as I only have a few memory's and many storys about him thru family. If I had been older I would have asked him all about gardening so thank you for sharing that knowledge as I value it and feel like I was meant to read it today!
@@paolomaggi8188 I live in west Central MN...I'm planning to use cardboard this yr as well. I've been using landscape fabric under my tomatoes with pretty good results. But it's expensive for me tho.
People that say putting that stuff down is so much work, haven’t weeded a garden. That is so much work and it is never ending
@@PreferredMethods this is crazy , its not easy
@@stormylyn217
Why please?
Very true statement!!
@Fun Fact indeed
Saw my neighbor put it down seems to work great next door !!
I remember helping my dad make a plastic garden back in the 60's. Grow through a hole and had soaker hose underneath. Best garden ever.
Thanks guys. This is one of the most comprehensive and well explained videos on farming/gardening I've seen. You folks speak very well to camera too. No 'umms' and everything concise and to the point. Really professional. Stay well guys.
Amen!
Even as pandemic is wrecking the economy, it's comforting to know weeds and dust balls are still free!
And plentiful.
agree with that💯👍
LOL, agreed!
If you don’t use weed spray, you just mulch the weeds and eat some too in salad.
I use the same ground cover and I will never garden without it again! Thanks to you guys. I have shared the ground cover with so many people, especially older folk who don't want to weed! Thanks for all of the awesome content.
I watched a video a few years ago where the guy stages his chicken yard over a future garden spot before claiming it for the garden, then he used this material.... The chickens not only knocked down weeds that were growing there, they fertilized the ground while giving eggs! Win, win, win! He would them prep another plot for the next garden space the same way. Like you he rotated every couple of years. Of course, he had plenty of space to do this... Not all of us do. Great info! Thanks so much!
Yes, chicken scratching. Bye-bye bugs, bye-bye weeds!
WHAT A BLESSED COUPLE YOU ARE , MAKES ME WANT TO CRY OUT FOR JOY ,BECAUSE I AM SINGLE AND 72 🤣
You're very kind, bless you, I wish you happiness in life
-- ME TWO ...!!!!
- ME, TWO ... !!!!!
As a fellow Missourian I love that you have such great and relatable tips especially for the horrible weeds and ticks.
Here Here!
I just moved onto my acreage and I'm trying to start homesteading. Oh my gosh, the weeds!!! It's overwhelming. Thanks for the tips. I have the professional grade woven fabric that I'll be using between the raised beds. I got cedar wood and I'm filling the raised beds with organic soil. The up front costs are also high for wood and soil with amendments. Thousands and thousands. Plus the cost of equipment. My main reason for doing all of this is for quality food that's sustainable and healthy. I'm very motivated by avoiding frankenfoods. The amount of time to get started is absolutely draining. I have another farmer taking care of half of the acreage. I have just a bit under 20 acres and after coming from the suburbs I have to say this is a culture shock. I drive 3 hours per day back and forth from work. Nothing is close, not even the grocery store. Just a lot for one person. Please read on though. My sunsets are stunning, the daily sounds of birds are relaxing, the wildlife is beautiful, and this is worth every second. It's like a piece of heaven and I feel blessed.
You rock keep it up!
You all are so terrific! I love to watch Sarah's face when you're talking Kevin. Y'all have such passion for what you're doing that it's contagious!. Thank you for sharing this ground cover information!
Watching you and taking your advice has changed my gardening life, all for the good! The woven ground cover was total game changer for me. Now I spend time starting seeds,
harvesting and preserving NOT weeding. Thanks you guys!
This is so awesome to know. I plan on raised gardens this spring, but can still use your suggestions! I'm excited!
I bought 3ft. wide ground cover and sewed it together on my sewing machine with heavy duty thread for outdoor use. Granted my boxes are only 10’ wide and 40’ long. It was way cheaper than buying the wider fabric and I don’t have to worry about the loss of width for the overlap.
That's really good thinking Jamie because if you have a large garden, losing six inches ten times, that's a lot of loss of area
I love how you both take turns speaking. You balance each other.
Thank you for this video, as I was about ready to quit gardening. Now I'm excited once again. Subscribed!
Lots of camera cuts and editing of course 😁 that's life
Me too, almost to hard last summer, 115's all summer.
Going to try again.
Most people from the South are taught not to interrupt each other.
@@christinedavis-lunn8153 So right. I also find that when I am interrupted I stop talking which some people notice and take advantage of.
Thank you! We can't wait to try this on our very 1st veggie garden. So lucky to have found this info. Who wants to deal with weeds, ever?!
I'm just trying to get rid of weeds and I don't even garden. I knew that this was the wrong video in the first 15 seconds but I watched it all the way through because of your presentation style and the chemistry between you two lol! I literally watched this video because you guys haha!
Yeah, I’m not currently having this problem but this kept coming across my algorithm and I decided to watch because I like them and I like this kind of stuff
I am hearing more and more messages that our country should learn very quickly to become less and less dependent on other countries for our food
Sadly we should have been doing this all along. We have lost so many of those skills and we are now having to relearn this stuff. But we can do it! Please stay safe and healthy 🙏
Leaving the family farms to go trade time in exchange for currency is turning out to have been a huge mistake. It has made us not only dependent on someone else to feed and clothe us, but dependent on someone else now determining what our time is worth.
The price of farm land, which was fairly affordable for most of this nation’s history, has skyrocketed just in the last 30 years.
Average Americans who less than a century ago would have been “poor farmers” are now being priced out of the ability to be self-sufficient.
We never should have become dependant on other countries for ANYTHING that is vital .
@@tannertuner That's one of the unfortunate things about public-school funding via property tax. It's not enough to be self-sufficient. You also have to come up with some cash for the right to remain on the land that is yours.
@@harrymills2770 nope. The increased land prices come from the 80s tax cuts and rock bottom interest rates. For banks to continue to meet obligations at these near zero interest rates, they have to loan more money to make the same money. Since we are out of new land to loan money on, they increase the loan value of existing land, which drives up land prices. And as land prices go up ONLY THEN do tax appraisals increase.
So as the banks run the price up, the earnings of common Americans aren’t going up with it because the millionaires and billionaires (and the wannabes who never will be but think they are entitled to be) raise hell if you talk about increasing a tax rate a measly 3%. But their incomes and wealth holdings have quadrupled the past 40 years while people who actually work struggle with 2 incomes and can’t save a nickel.
Some states don’t have property taxes and still have the same problem.
It’s banks driving up the value, not the tax.
When I watched this video I realized you were telling our story. While we got good yield this year, we did lose some things to the overwhelming weeds. I think we have watched every one of your videos. So much of your life corelates to ours. I love your videos. We feel your pain too when things get rough for y'all.
I think you just saved my sanity! I just spent 7 hours gutting my garden and starting over. Thank you!
Don't throw the baby out with the bath water...you had to have salvaged something.
Vandelay Industries, I love it! Your tee made me laugh out loud. This video is awesome, thank you.
Absolutely the single most time saving addition to our homestead.
When I was 18 I bought this while making a garden at my parents. It's been 9 years and it's still in the ground at their house! Not all in tact but still holding strong!
Used this when we landscaped our yard 14 yrs ago! We had a problem with nut grass for a few years but we stayed on top of it and finally got it under control! I just love that it keeps my yard looking nice with pine straw on top of the mat!
I know that a lot of the Amish farmers out here in Ohio use the woven ground cover for their vegetable and flower crops. Thank you for the tips! I've made the same mistakes as you folks when trying it on my own! Love your burning-a-hole method for making the planting holes!
Excellent video! Both of you made me feel like I was listening to friend. Don't stop make many !
Weeding sucks especially when you can't stay ahead of it and it compromises crops. You and your family are such a Grace. Sharing your hardships and successes with the world. A humble and wonderous team, editing very relatable content in a rapidly growing Market of Interest too many. We all would enjoy more of an independence and deeper gratification in working towards self sustainability. I consider you both as essential workers and thank you once again for helping us educate
In my experience (I’m an organic gardener) I believe the quality of the soil is the key to no weeds..I keep amending the soil, as the soil improves, the weeds go away :-). I’m a southern Mo lady as well. Born and raised :-).
What ways do you amend your soil?? Any info will be helpful.
@@rlopez18m I use greensand, azomite, kelp, gypsum, wood ash, ground cover in winter that gathers nitrogen, then is turned over about three weeks before spring planting.. A good place to start is have a soil sample you take to the county extension for testing, and see what the soil is lacking in as well.
I watch a fair amount of u-tube.
This particular video......a home run !!!!
Thank you.
When i think back on what i have learned about gardening in the last two years....most of it comes from you guys. I truly appreciate it. I knew nothing and now know something.
This channel is absolute gold. Your videos are immensely informative and entertaining. I grow as much food as possible, mostly in containers, but next year I will be looking to greatly expand that. Thank you!
Just watched this, it’s exactly what I have experienced with trying To grow naturally. I used the ground cover last year and topped with straw and was amazed how well it kept weeds out. I’ll always do it this way from no on.
I’m in tropical Australia. The best method I’ve found is 4-6 layers of news paper (wet it down to hold it in place if it’s a windy day) and then a layer of straw or sugar cane mulch over the top. It’s very inexpensive and easy to put holes in it for plants using a hand trowel.
That is what I do here in New England USA. I use newspapers two ways: In late summer I start freezing food scraps. Then in the Fall, I bury the scraps a foot down in my garden, cover it with newspaper which is weighed down by bricks. Come Spring, the worms have done their job and the soil is nice and loose. I have never had a problem with rodents. The other way is what you said...I use it as a weed barrier then put mulch over it but not in my food garden; just around the other parts of the backyard. Works great!
I am doing this - my first garden - I wove cardboard together, wet it, added decomposing leaves, wet those, added newsprint (plain), wet that... straw is down and now I've started to put compost on top. Time is the main issue, however, next year (and every year after) will be a much simpler process with beautiful soil.
Where do you get that much news paper? We don't subscribe - we don't want trees wasted to make paper or vehicles used to deliver it, when we can read the news online. I'm literally trying to remember the last time I saw a physical newspaper. I think I may have seen a stack of them at the convenience store the couple of times in the past several years when I've had to go inside to pay because the gas pump's card reader was broken. So how / where do I go to scavenge 200+ square feet of paper (multiplied by 6 layers' worth)?
did experience all those issues myself with the ground cover. the wind , the spaces in-between sheets / weeds , and yes the drip tape MUST be on top to spot an issue. Thank you for the video! Had same thoughts about giving up at some point but kept on going. Good to feel this warmth about others experiencing same difficulties but still pushing forward until a solution was found. Thumbs up!!!!
This video is exactly what I needed right when I need it! My garden is being taken over by weeds and I have decided to start laying down the weed fabric. A lot of the mistakes you guys covered are a lot of the things I was planning to do, like leaving a space between the fabric sheets to grow certain veggies. Thank you so much for this information, this is a great video!!!
4
I love the mention of ticks. I’m sure most people are creeped out by them as much as I am. I love that the covering helps with them as well as the weeds. Sounds like an added bonus to me.
my family used newspapers(no magazines/glossy stuff), held down with 2" x 4" 's. a great way to recycle....it does decompose slowly, block all weeds, and essentially free.
I can't afford the magazine's lol
@@joyfulpreterist7532 they said No Magazines or shiney paper. Only newspaper type paper. :)
Yes. That would be a good idea, if the print (ink) isn't toxic.
@@MissMolly3377 yes but think of the toxic food we ingest 3 x daily, read ur tooth past warning make you think.
@@MissMolly3377 - newspaper ink is soybean based these days.
Thank you SO much for this!!! This was my third year gardening and between the constant rain we had this Summer and the weeds I have felt so defeated. I was looking at doing the back to Eden method, my husband, who's sick of me complaining about the weeds, wanted me to completely cover the garden in plastic and I just couldn't do that. This is an answer to prayer, thank you!
I've been using this product for the last few years and its totally a game changer! Its amazing!
Thanks for sharing your knowledge of the ups and downs. No one else does this. Lot more work pulling weeds than putting down fabric...
Thank you so much for sharing this information. Learning from other's "mistakes" makes life so much easier! When growing up I lived on 1,000+ acre farm and we had over 100 rabbits and always used their manure to fertilize our plants, trees, flowers, etc. I will be sharing your video with my sister who loves to garden. Enjoy your channel so much.
After watching several of you videos in the past 3 months, we have completely transformed how we do things at our mini homestead. We had eggers, but now I raise meat birds. We also now have Rabbits for meat and fertilizer, and finally, we have spent the time to put down ground cover in our garden this year. We are very excited to see how it turns out this year. If all goes well, inwill probably put in the irrigation system next year!! Thank you so much for helping us be more efficient!!!
We agree, my wife and I feel the same . The weed cloth is sooooo easy that we are planning on increasing the size of our garden X2.
I can hardly believe how jam packed with information and wisdom/experience this video is, and I didn't even have to skip the first 9 minutes like everybody else's videos. Bravo!
Recently moved from las cruces where I built the sand up to be very productive, grapes, figs, olives, apples, pomegranates, persimmons and all veggies. I too, moved to the Ozarks first Bella Vista AR then Carthage MO. Got tired of getting lost down in AR and no internet in the mts. Glad I found you to teach me what to do here!
Just moved into my house a year and a half ago and finally got started on some gardening! You’re so motivating and educational. Thank you!!
I just love your videos. My Girlfriend and I are progressing towards living off the land. You guys have so much insight. We work out traditional 9-5 jobs. But we really want to get to what matters most in life. And that's living life how we want at home.
It's so nice to take a break from sewing masks on this gloomy rainy day and watch a sunny gardening video. I hope you enjoy every moment in your garden.
Thank you Natalie!
Thank you for sewing masks. We were truly caught off guard with the pandemic. I had a few paper masks I gave to my son at Home Depot. He said people are flocking there and using the store as entertainment! We have people sewing masks here in gloomy Coachella Valley. Everyone is waiting for elastic. Some are using hair ties and rubber bands. We are manditoryly wearing masks. Keep seeing beautiful soul! I think our days of social acceptance of wearing masks is very far from over. 😢
Thank you for making masks!
Please check out today's (4/9/20) video on Dana Ashley channel. It's is a must watch if you want to know important information on the virus situation.
Jaded Optimist check out Dr. Shiva’s channel as well he has a natural protocol containing vitamin A, vitamin C, Vitamin D and lugals iodine iodide to boost the immune system. Staying hydrated and boosting the gut flora is always great to fill our best. Together we will get past this take care.
We just moved to Jefferson City Missouri last year from New Mexico. I planted our garden expecting to have a wonderful garden as the weather has so much more rainfall . But being older and retired I couldn't pull the weeds fast enough and they took over the garden. I even though of not doing a garden this year until I started watching your videos on the garden fabric and drip system . I love watching your videos. And it has given me renewed hope and am excited for the garden prospect for the coming year. Prayers, Doug & Terrie Green PS I am going to try some of your recipes for crackers & bagels etc.
Some tips re: woven ground covering. We've used this in our large garden now for 6 years. We mainly use it for spaces around our low beds and any messy places weeds grow. (A) it doesn't last as long as it says. (B) Everywhere you put in a lawn staple, some weed will find a way to get thru that minuscule hole. (C) I dug out all the weeds last year, placed cardboard over everything and started over with new 4' wide woven ground cloth. The first time it was 6'. I plan to try putting a dab of Flex Seal over all the holes or breaks.
(E) Lastly, we learned that growing buckwheat near our plants allows no weeds in it and our plants near it. It's pretty enough and has something that keeps weeds away.
Omg omg I have been on the hunt for months to find someone who can explain how to do this fabric!! You’re life savers!!
In Florida weeds grow right through these mats. I use 8" of straw and weed regularly to keep volunteers in check.
Angelina 32310 not only in Florida 😁 here too ..
Minnesota as well. I've given up using them. They rip and weeds grow underneath as well
Must be using the cheap stuff. Can you rake across your fabric with gusto like this?
@@gilmourishgilmourish6205 "Here too" is where ?
@@edmartin875 Belgium 🇧🇪
One of the things I learned in the Master Gardener program is rabbit manure is the most complete fertilizer you can use. You two are just so on it! :-)
My mother used rabbit manure too. I had rabbits as pets and she used the exhaust. She had the best garden every year.
Rabbit manure can be used immediately too, as it won't burn plants
That stuff is fine and I am glad that you have discovered a method to help you. My wife’s family have used it for years with a fare amount of success. Depending on location is determinate on coast effectiveness. All weeds really are are unwanted plants. The fact you had weeds is a good thing. Yes it is time consuming to pull them and everyone wants easier and quicker. I myself have thought about using is but have chosen not to thus far for a few reasons. 1-it can be time consuming to lay out the amount I want and to make the holes for the plants, 2-I reuse the weeds to feed the plants, 3-I don’t see the cost effectiveness of the weed barrier vs the size of garden I currently have and plan on having, and 4-I am still experimenting on what location is best for my garden for the sun exposure amount. But if it works for you, glad you found it to use.
Aloha. I love the fabric. I’ve been using it for years here in Hawaii. I made a custom pie pan With acut out for 4 inch pot square holes that I burn out of the fabric with a torch I even attach the pie pan to an aluminum bat, for ease. Melting the ends is crucial. I’ve had the same fabric for years.
You could grow your tomatoes on the same trellises has the keys once the season passes and the weather warms
Compost tea delivered via a sub pump and hose is a very efficient way to fertilize through the fabric. You could also make a manure tea.
Once you have worked the soil for enough seasons, the weeds will slowly become less and less. You can also tell the soil let it rain, and let the weeds sprout after the rains and hoe them up, then you’ll have Virgin soil
I first started watching your videos when you had less than 40k subscribers. I am thrilled for you to see your channel grow and I can honestly say it's because you two are excellent teachers and are humble and kind to each other. Love to your family. When I was last able to have a large garden we didn't use the ground fabric but we did use the floating row covers...Both of these are definite gardening game changers. Please stay safe in these wacky times.
I bought this fabric last year, yall convinced me then. I left it down over the winter. It has held up extremely well. Ordered more this morning to expand area.
Thanks! Have a good day.
I've used black plastic, in the past. It will suppress weeds, but will not add organic material to the garden. The sun will break it down, after about 5 years. Now, I use nothing but leaves and grass clippings. I like an organic cover much better than black plastic.
For years i was of similar thoughts to use organic cover. Then started trying diff cheap plastic coverings but most fell apart before season end.
Last year i decided enough.. getting older with hard disabilities & not wanting to be pulling weeds under the hot texas sun. Looked around.. this vid hooked me into wanting to try this type of weed cover. Settled on some found online.. its done me well.
The backyard here is fairly new.. several feet of blek clay with rocks. When i moved here most of the 1" of topsoil the builders had put over the clay had worn off. Over the years i have added alot of soil to have crab grass which is much better than having a good old fashioned slip and slide. Last year i redid one of the raised beds.. it goes down to 12" or so deeper than soil level.. i fully removed that clay. Its best i can do as i have tried mixing this clay with bagged soil but result is quite heavy soil. Not plant friendly.
I hope to hire someone to dig out my other beds.. they were taken over by the crab grass.. irony that lol. The shovel work is bit much for me this year. Heh or just cover them with the newly ordered covering.
Have a awesome evening Derek. Be well & stay safe.
Makk is Looking Great that the fabric has done well for you! One thing to consider is that if you leave the fabric on year after year, the weeds will eventually grow through it, or dirt and weed seeds will blow onto it and sprout on top and grow down from the top. It’s best to take the fabric up for the winter and put it down again in the spring.
@@cynthiafisher9907
Its best for you perhaps, idk. Not one piece of the fabric in my back yard is the same length. Not one area back there is square. You are suggesting that i pull up a jigsaw puzzle of many pieces of diff lengths of fabric & relay the next year.. oh my! Onward to the clay that has a grip on those staples. Its hard clay that does not give up staples easily. Twas a chore working with the hard rocky clay putting in those staples. Plus all the holes the first staples will have created.. alot of weed entrances if i did that. Would need to purchase many new staples. As is the fabric is down and firmly in place with more staples than most would use, literally. Best is to leave it as is.
If i outlive the fabric that will be awesome. If the weeds bother me too much i will weed eat or pull or spray them with the chemical of my choice. No worries.
I wish you good health & to be at peace.
@@dereka8041 good if you have a ready supply of that mulch material. However, if you don't keep adding to it then the mulch will break down after about 2 years and then the weeds return.
I have gotten my weed/ground cover and have started tilling my garden. You answered a few of my questions about watering and putting the cover down. I too have had a garden but I think I grew better weeds than vegetables 🤣 this year fingers crossed 🤞🏻 I will be working smarter than harder by using the weed cover!! I really enjoy y’all’s channel! Thank y’all
Wish I had your UA-cam channel in the 80's and 90's!! Very informative and ambitious gardeners.
LOL - This is a great video IMO, so thanks for this. I used this weedcloth around the entire perimeter of my house to prevent chipmunks, mice, snakes or any other little creature from burrowing under my house and trying to reside in my crawlspace. So far, that has worked great for me as I have no problems now. Next season I plan to use your idea for the weedcloth in my small garden. Your video gave me some good ideas, so thanks again.
I've been following you guys for a while and I "borrowed" this idea when you first posted about the fabric. Took my market farm from 1/3 of an acre up to nearly 3 acres with less work. Lots more time to care for plants. It's working well in south Louisiana. Thanks for sharing your experiences!
I’m watching this for at least the second time. Just wanted to share, I bought the black plastic covering twice, once in the beginning of Covid and reordered months into it. There was no hold up in my order coming. The company is wonderful to order from!
Great TOP OF The LINE ADVICE by two successful gardeners , great team work .
You two are so wise, you’re saving me so much time, money and mental anguish with this valuable knowledge.
Good information, I'm in Missouri and grew up on a farm in the boot heel. gardening was a lot of work . It would have been nice if there was garden fabric back then. I live in the suburbs now and too old to plant in the ground. But you'd be surprised how much I can grow in containers on my deck.
Thanks for that tip about not leaving a 1 inch strip for peas, beans, lettuce... I would have done it that way, too..
I've been covering my entire garden with a thick layer of straw. Might seem like there's too much on at first but after walking on it a bit, it really presses down. Creates beautiful walkways too. So I till every year, and every ten - twenty plants I take a moment and grab my straw and cover everywhere around those plants. You'll have to pull the odd weed now and then but that's it. I will never not cover my large garden with straw. It's just the absolute best. I can't be bothered with cloth and making holes etc. This is faster, effective and it breaks down over winter as mulch. Bonus! Also a tip, try and find a worm castings farm. I got 500 lbs in 50 lb bags.. either spread it over your tilled garden before planting, spread it then till.. either way it doesn't matter.. OR if you don't have that much then add a big shovel worth into the hole before you add the plant. Best fertilizer ever! Natural, can't burn your plants, can't ever use too much so there's no worrying. I use it with all my Berry bushes, every melon and vegg. Happy gardening everyone 🌿
plus that stuff is expensive i find, 3 ft x 300 almost 100 bucks, ouch
Yes , either way its expensive. I think that I'm gonna do a combination with the canvas, straw and gonna try and grow po
Grow potatoes in tires 😊💪🌿💚🤠🌅🌷🌅🌷🌅💛🌅💛👍, We shall see. Fun fun!
Find old straw in old barns
Im told if any old chemicals they dissipate? My stash is from before 2006
It would be interesting if you could post a video of your straw garden ? Nice to actually see those pathways, sounds like a good , cheap solution.
This has to be one of the best videos I’ve honestly ever seen up to this day about how to do gardening thank you very much. We’re very excited to start our journey next spring.
The easiest way I found is to let grass grow between rows and hills and mow it. Use grass clippings to heavily mulch in areas where vines grow, then till it all in fall. By spring it all has some grass already, only dig where you will plant and immediately around them where it is too close to mow. A side benefit, after rain you can walk through the garden without getting muddy.
My Granpa Joe did this and so did I, the dirt was so rich after years of doing it the worms were so plentiful and we never had to buy soil.
You don't get any weeds? I think my grass is all just weeds anyway. I would rather have this, than any type of plastic, no matter how safe they say it is. Are you saying to use your grass clipping to stop any weeds from growing, by using the grass clipping as mulch? I don't understand what you are saying exactly.
@@MissMolly3377 If you till in fall, new grass and weeds will be growing by spring. You only till the rows where you will be planting in spring and let it grow between the rows and keep it mowed. You have yard between the rows and only need to weed up next to the actual garden plants. Also, yes I do use grass clippings as mulch also, especially around vining plants like cucumbers to keep weeds down so I can easily find the food.
@@sputnut your garden must be huge lol! seems like a great idea though if you have enough space.
@@seichorn4079 I just grow a few basics. 3-4 tomatoes, 3-4 bell peppers. Couple yellow and couple zucchini squash and cucumbers. Just enough room to mow between then grass clipping mulch up close. I plant by making a hole, filling with homade compost and planting in the middle. With tomatoes, I make the hole deep and put in more compost as it grows so it has deep roots. It's me, on my other channel.
The perfect marriage they take turns talking and she is sooo cute
Her being sooooo cute is 50% of the reason they have a perfect marriage ???
I might be a Yankee, but I love the accent of a Southern Belle ! 😍
@@robertevans8024 absolutely
@@robertevans8024 she does not have a southern accent
Yes. He obviously values and appreciates her input.
I get defeated by weeds every year☹ Excited to try this fabric!
Thanks so much guys! This is the perfect solution to my insanely fertile soil in a river valley. The weeds have been so bad the last couple of years.
I have never had a food garden because of the weeds. I am now so excited to try your new method of gardening. thank you for sharing !!!!!!!!
This is what I did in my garden but instead of making holes I made beds on top of the fabric. This way there is no need for tiling.We call the fabric geo textile. Love your channel ! Thank!
I've been using a system nearly identical to this for twenty plus years. It works great. One variation that really helps: Divided my space into three. Use one area for tomatoes, squash, etc. with the holes like you are doing. In the second area I don't use any cover and that is where I grow corn, peas, carrots, beans, potatoes, onions, and similar row crops. The reason I can do this is because of the third area, where I have solid fabric. In that area the weed seed bank germinates and dies because water gets through but weeds cannot grow. It also kills field bind weed, one of our perennial problem weeds in southern Idaho. The first year planting row crop after two years under tomato/melon fabric and then two years "sterile" under the no-hole fabric there is no weeding to mention, during the second year there is some weeding. I drip water on top and fertilize the same way. I only till the two years I row crop. I almost quit gardening as well until I came up with this system.
Oh and because of this I use much wider fabric....less staking and easier to roll out every other year. Also make sure to grow squash, cucumber, and melons in tomato, pepper, eggplant holes and tomatoes etc in squash etc holes the second year.
Oh and because of this I use much wider fabric....less staking and easier to roll out every other year. Also make sure to grow squash, cucumber, and melons in tomato, pepper, eggplant holes and tomatoes etc in squash etc holes the second year.
I have that damn bind weed bad here in southern Colorado. I am hoping this helps to keep it down some. So your third area is where you use the black visqueen? Just kill it all for a season and plant that area next year? I am on the list to get bind weed mites but not sure how well they work until CSU sends me them.
This is exciting I have Canadian thistle so bad. I'm about to give up. So you divide your garden in 3 sections 1 you cover and don't plant anything. 2nd you cover and put holes for large plants. And 3rd you leave open and plant small things in rows lettuce and carrots. Is this correct?
Thanks purchased the ground cover a while back. My garden was plowed yesterday I was to tired to plant before it rained last night. I guess that was a good thing. So when it dries up it will be ready to put down and plant. Planning on using for cabbage, tomatoes, peppers and zucchini. Great information.
We tried this last year, and like you we left a small space between the fabric. Weeds were not as bad as in previous years. I have started using this in all beds. Thanks for your help. Caren in Arkansas
OMG! I had to do a double take at your Vandelay Industries shirt! I had no idea there was a Seinfeld market for Vandelay! Sooo funny!
I live in the Seattle area. I have used the woven plastic as a permanent weed block for decades. I have a small vegetable garden that in our very wet winters I keep covered with old used carpet. It also lasts a very long time. I roll it up in the spring and put it back on when the rains start. Up here we have spring weeds and then summer weeds. The carpet protects my beds from both. It also acts as a blanket for the earthworms and keeps varmints out.
I love your energy and sense of togetherness; it is infectious! Such great info !! Thank you for your hard work and especially for sharing.
❤️ how you share your life and your- you can do this spirit 💪🥬🥚🐐🐄
I’ve never had good luck with the woven fiber. Grass grows through it and roots penetrate it; especially crab grass and bermuda grass!
yes, I needed to keep layering it, and will try straw next.
Yes I did have trouble with Bermuda grass, it seems to love to grow over/under it. But the only thing that really controls that is repeated herbicide treatments.
Biophile, I hate having to think about using chemical concoctions to control pests, weeds, or any types of UNWANTED items, in/around anyplace I want to live, or plant things to eat, or just be around, ... there are simply TOO MANY things on earth that are trying to kill us, as it is, let alone making more stuff to do so even more so, ... so please, try to find out what are the natural enemies/deterrents of the pests, or items that plague your area, ... surely, some kind of info is out there to help assist with your project, but please, do not opt to trade one bad item for another, ...
Add 3" mulch on top of your fabric to control weeds.
I can see the benefits of this for such a large scale property. I’m working on finding ways to use my weeds as beneficial parts of my garden 🪴
Thank you for going public........saved my back and desire to garden.
I am new to your channel and I am anxious to start gardening. I have recently retired and I am in the process of building our retirement home just south of Tallahassee Florida. We have two acres of land so we have plenty of space for a nice garden. The two of you have a very inspiring presentation to you videos. Thank you for being who you are and being willing to share your knowledge. God bless you.
"She walks barefoot in the garden" she left out the fact that she walks across hot coals during her morning routine😂😂😂..
Stumbled across your channel.. can't wait to watch more of your videos. Thank you.
Great content! I used the weed fabric and drip system from your recommendation and it is a game changer for controlling weeds. I did like you leave 1 row open about an inch to plant carrots, beets, turnips, onions and kohlrabi. I did have some troubles keeping the weeds down at first. Once the plants were established it wasn’t quite as bad but still had to weed. I suppose now you guys are using the black tubs most of the types of plans are in them and not in the main garden. Thank you for all your knowledge. Take care and stay safe!
I find that what weedmat is best at is stopping new seeds entering the soil, from wind, birds and critters. Once seeds are in the soil though, they'll come up through the road/ cement... Then when you pull the weeds out, the roots snap and stay under the weedmat... "Jute matt ", which is about 1cm thick is made of plant fibre is excellent stuff, and ends up adding to the soil composition, and needs replacing about every 2 years. More expensive though... Good on you guys :)
Excellent explanation. I started using weed barrier last year, and ran into some of the same problems you did. I really appreciate the specific advice on planting plants versus seeds. You guys are great!
I'm in NW Indiana and just use my grass clippings around my beans and other things , seems to keep the weeds under control.
I will keep your method in mind.
I use that in my garen when I had a garden. I had 3 weeds thru the whole season. I also use mulch in the walkways. Now I've found that white clover in the walkway is better bcuz it adds nutrients back to your garden.
Dumb question, but you can plant and walk on the white clover?
@@firehorsewoman414 Yes you can. No question is stupid if you don't know the answer. Always ask. And if anyone tries to make you feel dumb, just ignore them bcuz they are the dumb one. We are not born with answers. We all have to learn by reading, asking questions, trial & error.
Denise Wilson thanks. Absolutely correct. Always ask. Appreciate the share
Based on a couple of your precious videos, we ordered a 4' x 300' roll and a 6'x300' roll. We are really looking forward to having way fewer weeds this summer. We live near Abilene Texas, so our weed problem, while a true problem, doesn't seem as bad as yours.
I have had my fabric on mine for 6 years and love it. I will say make sure you get the 10 or 20 year fabric or it will not last very long.
In the spring I pull all the weeds from the top. I also remove my tomato cages, and pull the weeds that was in each cage. I then replant and put the cage back, it works great. I will never go back. That being said, I was surprised how dead the soil was under the tarp after 6 years. The only sign of life was where the plants were planted in the holes. This year, I removed the soil from each hole with an auger and then put new amended pro mix in each hole. So now it is like an outdoor container garden. At my age and with my back problems, this is the only way I can garden. Most years I have more than we can use. Planted 55 tomato plants and 95 pepper plants and various other veggies. Can't wait until harvest
: )
Im glad that you are actually amending and tilling your soils before you cover your soils. If I could give you a trick…… use the same fabric to make wind walls around your gardens. The weed pressure will drop drastically. Weed pressure is very location specific. Wind is the worse enemy! Create windbreaks !
LOVE this video and your down to earth style of sharing. I thought I’d heard it all and have tried everything you all mentioned at the beginning of this video, but SO GLAD I stayed tuned! Can’t wait to try this fabric!
My mom started using this in the late 80 s to control weeds.
Thank you for that info. I have retired and plan to have a garden this year so your tips will definitely help. I have almost an acre but due to the wind here I have a 20' x 20' fenced garden space. My town is located in the middle of a weed field (Hollister, Idaho) I love this idea. I plan to grow tomatoes, bell peppers, carrot's, strawberries. With pea's, green beans (up against the fence) and mellons and other low lying plants on the outside of the fence. I have a shady spot inside the fence I thought I would try lettuce and spinach. Did I mention how much I love being retired? LOL
I HATE WEEDING so you have shown me a great way to enjoy my gardens much more! Thanks!
The first time you did a video in the woven ground cover, was sceptical but desperate. I bought a roll anyway since nothing else worked and by the beginning of August our weeds were taller than me, and so thick there were critters in there. I couldn't harvest anything.
This woven ground cover, WGC) works so well! There is nothing I can say to describe how easy it is use. The lines painted on it make the garden look so nice and .. professional. It completely changed how we garden. We were able to grow things I've never grown before!! Out temp ais hot, hotter and snow, lol! Not much rainfall, so the weeds are very hardy and overwhelming.
Thank you so much for that first video on the woven ground cover! I, too was ready to give up untill we tried it.