Thanks for watching! If you're fighting bugs in your garden this year, here are my favorite organic DIY bug sprays---> ua-cam.com/video/q_2K8hWMsGo/v-deo.html
I was doing same with my small balcony garden (adding cow manure again and again) i was wondering what is happening with my plants they all are dying one by one and than my mother told me that adding manure directly to your plants create heat in their roots and burn them if you want to add manure just dip it in water for a day or two or add manure directly before planting with a lot of watering , or compost it with a lots of leaves, straws, grass etc. Second way is you can add manure in your beds before 2-3 months of planting, like in cold days to do manure its magic than you'll need less compost.
Good thing you caught the high Nitrogen levels early. It can also cause Nitrogen Lock where your plants can't uptake Nitrogen anymore and they just die. 😫
No jill u are so wrong about not being able to grow in your area , we should be able to grow every seed on Earth everywhere but because of our demonic government keeps weather modifying us spraying us with the chemicals out of the back of the airplanes that you see above our skies ,wind farms in Bunker Fuel. NEXRAD LHC CERN AND SPACE STATION MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX AND MANY OTHER THINGS THE USE TO CREATE OUR WEATHER WAKE UP SLAVES WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO GROW EVERYTHING NOT SAY ONLY A CERTAIN THATS WHATS WRONG TODAY WE CONFORM TO WHAT THEY WANT US TO DO INSTEAD OF IT BEING THE OTHER WAY AROUND, wake up today and tell your f****** Representatives that we aren't going to stand for this s*** no more
We follow Charles Dowding’s channel recommending no dig gardening. His premise is that no dig does not disrupt the soil life that helps feed the plants.
The difference between an experienced gardener and a new gardener is that the experienced garden has made A LOT more mistakes! We call our garden the Experimental Garden...that way, if the experiment fails, we learned something and keep going.
Here in the Texas Hill Country, we finally figured out that most garden plants hate the hard water we have. So, we started collecting rain water in buckets and using only rain water. Our gared looks amazing now! It's really taking off!
Your tips have really helped my husband and I. We are both brown-thumbed. Following your tips and attitude towards errors has allowed us to grow our first successful tomato crops.
You hit the nail right on the head about planting too early. Every year, people here in the northern Piedmont of North Carolina start planting too early and stuff either gets frost bit of stunted. By the time the weather gets really good for planting tomatoes, most of the plants are gone. Wait until the ground gets warm before planting. As my great uncle Albert used to say "nothing will grow until you can sleep in your shirt tail at night."
Gardening in Montana here, and totally fell for planting too early two years in a row. Planning a greenhouse for seed starting next spring so that I can still get started without putting plants into the raised beds too soon.
I spent two years planting almost every kind of tomato in my garden, to figure out which ones really do grow here, ones people swore would grow, did not and a few I thought would never grow did great. Experimenting really does help!
Jill I just got to say a garden is more beautiful because you are learning each and every time what my favorite UA-camr said is you are building your garden into a classroom you learn you make mistakes you're always going to want to learn more and on and on I am a beginner to I did something totally different this year I put in a different tomato that I'm used to growing and I'm totally learning about it don't exactly know the problem but I hope that they both bounce back!!🙏💚🌹
We're on to our fourth year of gardening, and just barely getting our heads around spacing plants appropriately. Hoping we see better results now that our plants have enough room to grow!
I just love your garden beds. Just showed them to hubby, cause I need something like that. I am getting older and am dealing with R.A. so my in the ground gardening is about over. Anyway, this is a quick word of warning to your viewers that have Bermuda grass. DO NOT use it for mulch!!!! We had so many clippings we fed them to our horses, until they wouldn't eat them anymore. So I thought garden mulch. What a huge mistake!!! All these years later and I am still at war with Bermuda grass. Sigh And it sounded like such a good idea. LOL Enjoy your beautiful garden and thanks for sharing it with us!
I have the same problem in the north of the UK, when I was practicing self sufficiancy in SW France I could plant anything really early. It was a shock when we moved here the list of things that wouldn't grow. Sweetcorn, I tried for two years, only for the 'penny to drop' when I noticed driving down to London that there were no fields of maize until we were a third of the way down, everything north of that was rape, wheat etc.
If you want to expand your berry options.. check to see if you can get saskatoon berries. They're somewhere between a currant and a blueberry, but are native to the prairies in Canada, so are hardy for long, cold winters.
I'm in Alberta, Canada. We can get snow in every month of the year. It has even snowed in July. Snow in May is common. It happened this year too. It got much warmer. Thanks for sharing this. Cheers!
We're in the mountains of NE Nevada. We can't put out our warm crops before fathers day and we have a year round risk of frost 😭. On a positive note, I can grow some awesome kale, chards and cold crops lol
New to Wyoming gardening. Waiting to June to plant is such a hard wait but did cheat by planting strawberries mid may and had a hail storm, they survived! I winter sowed some things to fit my growing needs didn't do much maybe 10 water jugs some seeds took some didn't. What information you give us is so appreciated.
LILACS definitely June =) Greetings from Montana! edit - Agreed Currants and Rhubarb lol. 70 days season, we concentrate on peas, greens and cole crops outside- but the neighboring area can grow corn LoL
I started a small raised bed last year. My biggest issue is space, I over plant😉for the water last year I poked holes in old used plastic bottles and buried them next to my plants. It worked great and made roots go deeper in search of the water. This year I put small ditches next to each row of seedlings and I am planning to use old wine bottles turned upside down. The condensation will help keep watered and the ditches will be great because again, I over planted😁now I have somewhere to spread them out. I just keep trying!
That’s why I only have 2 beans that sprouted. 🤦🏼♀️. It’s so easy to get discouraged and stop. Honestly, I gave up trying to grow carrots 10 years ago. They just done grow for me. Anyway, thank you for all the encouragement. You’re such a blessing. 💕
I hear ya ms jill . We went from 50 and rain constantly to almost 90 and dry as the desert. My radishes aren't liking how hot it got so quickly there is no in between here in the northwest
I also live in Wyoming, for 2 years now, and gardening here has been tough for me! My plants are so finicky! Could you please provide a short list of some vegetable varieties that work well here (Tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, etc.). THANK YOU! P.S.Right now I'm begging my raspberries and apples to grow. Guess I should stop doing that! ;)
Gardening in MN! So tricky to learn when to plant... Didn't get any beets or radishes in early this year have have decided I'll wait until fall to plant them!
I moved from Chicago to the southern living I plant good Friday,I am learning every year as I go nothing big because it just me I love it but I don't like snakes GOD BLESS your garden
Very inspiring, thank you! I have the opposite problem in the desert Southwestern U.S. I just might end up installing a drip system, your results are encouraging.
The story of the accidental invention of drip irrigation is kind of funny: a farmer in Israel had a leak in his hose and by the time he found it the tree right next to the leak was flourishing compared to its neighbors.
new subscriber here, only found you because Glenn Woods mentioned a homesteading UA-cam channel near Chugwater and I just had to find you. Looking forward to checking out your channel.
I live in Florida. My problem is always planting too late. It gets in the 90’s by May in North Florida so my tomatoes are having a hard time turning red.
With the straw, can you lay it out and mow over it before putting it as mulch. Eould that help the breakdown or maneuverability of it around your plants. Or maybe it's too much extra work.
With all that good compost, you should try a couple of beds using “no dig” principles. Check out Charles Dowing. If it works in Alberta, it will work in Montana! 🇨🇦
I have the opposite seasons here but same growing season. I do need to water more consistently. I think I have a fear of over fertilising and as a result my plants suffer. Im trying to remedy that. Great vid! Not on a homestead but in town on a standard block. I would love to grow big gardens!😍 but unfortunately my yard is not big enough for my wants.
Ugh I totally understand what you mean about adding too much barn/compost lol my hubby LOADS the garden every year with it and within a few weeks I’m overloaded with lambs quarters and other things I do not want in there 😆 great tips!!
I was told by an old gardener to NOT USE horse manure. Weed seeds apparently dont get digested properly and your forevermore pulling out weeds. . Use cow manure instead.
Hey! Thanks for sharing your video. Different irrigation systems are certainly good if there is a lot to irrigate. I like plants in my yard that survive almost on their own e.g. rhubarb, chives ... Greetings from Finland!
Thanks Jill, I need that encouragement...alone on God's little green acre(just outside of Spartanburg, SC) I'm an old gal but I'm yearning to succeed, it's hard to do it alone. Fam and friends not interested yet. So I'm in need of encouragement! 💜🌟🌏
I am just starting my journey into the garden of mistakes. Here in western South Dakota plains my biggest nemesis is the wind - it never stops. Do have a video regarding your drip system ?
Dandelion bed!😆😅 You are, actually, on to something here!!! For a few years now, they sell organic dandelion bunches in our supermarkets. First, it was 99c/ bunch, lately it's $1.99/ bunch. I thought, someone had a genius idea to grow dandelions, organically! Don't spray them with anything and let the rain water them! They also, work really hard to grow them.. And people are buying.
That is strange as I can grow watermelon and raspberries. I'm in the same zone as you. The melons don't get big as you would find in the stores but they do get a good size. They need lots of water and compost. Same with raspberries.
I don't at this time-- but we did do an in-depth tutorial with videos and details in Project Homestead last month and doors are open for new members until tomorrow. :) projecthomesteadclub.com
So I accidentally planted my cabbage too close to my carrots 🥕 Can I cut cabbage leaves back ( first year doing cabbage in co)? Or like put a barrier between them? Just don't one over powering the other.
You mentioned that you use grass clippings that you collect throughout the summer. Does it matter if those clippings get wet? Because I tried using some that my husband saved and the grass smelled like wet dog. 😲
I live in the Pacific NW and currants and gooseberries grow very well…but always get attacked by some worm . Do you have this issue and away to prevent it? Thanks.
while watching this video I remembered I haven't gone down to my sisters where I am growing some plants to water them while we have had boiling weather since Saturday. Oops
Making mistakes every year is a good thing, it means you are trying new things and learning. For me, gardening is all about experimentation, trial and error. Sounds like you need to focus on making decent home made compost as a new hobby, you shouldn’t need to water your soil everyday. Once your soil has a huge water holding capacity, you only need to heavily water a handful of times a year even in drought conditions, as long as your soil is covered with living or dead vegetation. You are right about not leaving the soil bare, but I prefer to have living plants in the soil. It means you are growing biomass for composting, the plants are sending roots into the soil feeding soil life, the roots are creating drainage channels and the roots if you leave them in the soil after harvest, will rot providing more food for soil life as well as more organic matter. I will grow anything just to make sure I have living plants in the soil even if I don’t intend on eating the harvest. I’m looking after the soil life and growing more biomass for my compost. You could do with dedicating some of your beds/land for growing as much biomass as possible specifically for the purpose of making compost e.g. sweetcorn, sunflowers, broad beans, comfrey, whatever mix of carbon and greens you feel you need to create. I look at all your empty beds and cry. You are missing a huge opportunity to grow biomass and keep your soil healthy at the same time. Don’t forget to leave the roots of your plants in the soil after harvest.
Thanks for watching! If you're fighting bugs in your garden this year, here are my favorite organic DIY bug sprays---> ua-cam.com/video/q_2K8hWMsGo/v-deo.html
already watched that one, but going to have to re-watch it to get the exact spray stuff, my tomato plants are covered with aphids =/
I was doing same with my small balcony garden (adding cow manure again and again) i was wondering what is happening with my plants they all are dying one by one and than my mother told me that adding manure directly to your plants create heat in their roots and burn them if you want to add manure just dip it in water for a day or two or add manure directly before planting with a lot of watering , or compost it with a lots of leaves, straws, grass etc. Second way is you can add manure in your beds before 2-3 months of planting, like in cold days to do manure its magic than you'll need less compost.
Good thing you caught the high Nitrogen levels early. It can also cause Nitrogen Lock where your plants can't uptake Nitrogen anymore and they just die. 😫
No jill u are so wrong about not being able to grow in your area , we should be able to grow every seed on Earth everywhere but because of our demonic government keeps weather modifying us spraying us with the chemicals out of the back of the airplanes that you see above our skies ,wind farms in Bunker Fuel. NEXRAD LHC CERN AND SPACE STATION MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX AND MANY OTHER THINGS THE USE TO CREATE OUR WEATHER WAKE UP SLAVES WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO GROW EVERYTHING NOT SAY ONLY A CERTAIN THATS WHATS WRONG TODAY WE CONFORM TO WHAT THEY WANT US TO DO INSTEAD OF IT BEING THE OTHER WAY AROUND, wake up today and tell your f****** Representatives that we aren't going to stand for this s*** no more
No matter how beautiful the weather " it's lying" 😂
True!!
I love the dandelion bed 😂
We follow Charles Dowding’s channel recommending no dig gardening. His premise is that no dig does not disrupt the soil life that helps feed the plants.
The difference between an experienced gardener and a new gardener is that the experienced garden has made A LOT more mistakes! We call our garden the Experimental Garden...that way, if the experiment fails, we learned something and keep going.
Here in the Texas Hill Country, we finally figured out that most garden plants hate the hard water we have. So, we started collecting rain water in buckets and using only rain water. Our gared looks amazing now! It's really taking off!
Your tips have really helped my husband and I. We are both brown-thumbed. Following your tips and attitude towards errors has allowed us to grow our first successful tomato crops.
You hit the nail right on the head about planting too early. Every year, people here in the northern Piedmont of North Carolina start planting too early and stuff either gets frost bit of stunted. By the time the weather gets really good for planting tomatoes, most of the plants are gone. Wait until the ground gets warm before planting. As my great uncle Albert used to say "nothing will grow until you can sleep in your shirt tail at night."
Gardening in Montana here, and totally fell for planting too early two years in a row. Planning a greenhouse for seed starting next spring so that I can still get started without putting plants into the raised beds too soon.
I spent two years planting almost every kind of tomato in my garden, to figure out which ones really do grow here, ones people swore would grow, did not and a few I thought would never grow did great. Experimenting really does help!
Saving the seeds from your tomato plants helps to make them location-based and do well year after year.
Jill I just got to say a garden is more beautiful because you are learning each and every time what my favorite UA-camr said is you are building your garden into a classroom you learn you make mistakes you're always going to want to learn more and on and on I am a beginner to I did something totally different this year I put in a different tomato that I'm used to growing and I'm totally learning about it don't exactly know the problem but I hope that they both bounce back!!🙏💚🌹
We're on to our fourth year of gardening, and just barely getting our heads around spacing plants appropriately. Hoping we see better results now that our plants have enough room to grow!
I just love your garden beds. Just showed them to hubby, cause I need something like that. I am getting older and am dealing with R.A. so my in the ground gardening is about over. Anyway, this is a quick word of warning to your viewers that have Bermuda grass. DO NOT use it for mulch!!!! We had so many clippings we fed them to our horses, until they wouldn't eat them anymore. So I thought garden mulch. What a huge mistake!!! All these years later and I am still at war with Bermuda grass. Sigh And it sounded like such a good idea. LOL Enjoy your beautiful garden and thanks for sharing it with us!
I have the same problem in the north of the UK, when I was practicing self sufficiancy in SW France I could plant anything really early. It was a shock when we moved here the list of things that wouldn't grow. Sweetcorn, I tried for two years, only for the 'penny to drop' when I noticed driving down to London that there were no fields of maize until we were a third of the way down, everything north of that was rape, wheat etc.
If you want to expand your berry options.. check to see if you can get saskatoon berries. They're somewhere between a currant and a blueberry, but are native to the prairies in Canada, so are hardy for long, cold winters.
Onions can take the early planting; they go slow until it's warmer but they don't die. Mine got snowed on and frozen, still did ok!
I'm in Alberta, Canada. We can get snow in every month of the year. It has even snowed in July. Snow in May is common. It happened this year too. It got much warmer. Thanks for sharing this. Cheers!
I’m in Alberta also, and Dwayne is correct.
We're in the mountains of NE Nevada. We can't put out our warm crops before fathers day and we have a year round risk of frost 😭.
On a positive note, I can grow some awesome kale, chards and cold crops lol
I feel your pain! But yes, at least the cold weather crops like climates like ours! :)
New to Wyoming gardening. Waiting to June to plant is such a hard wait but did cheat by planting strawberries mid may and had a hail storm, they survived! I winter sowed some things to fit my growing needs didn't do much maybe 10 water jugs some seeds took some didn't. What information you give us is so appreciated.
I love your old school ways of doing things!!!
Hey Jill! Fellow cold climate homesteader. Have you ever tried growing honey berries? They're super cold hardy, like down to zone3. And delicious!!
LILACS definitely June =) Greetings from Montana! edit - Agreed Currants and Rhubarb lol. 70 days season, we concentrate on peas, greens and cole crops outside- but the neighboring area can grow corn LoL
I started a small raised bed last year. My biggest issue is space, I over plant😉for the water last year I poked holes in old used plastic bottles and buried them next to my plants. It worked great and made roots go deeper in search of the water. This year I put small ditches next to each row of seedlings and I am planning to use old wine bottles turned upside down. The condensation will help keep watered and the ditches will be great because again, I over planted😁now I have somewhere to spread them out. I just keep trying!
P.S. thank you for sharing and encouraging others🤩
Sounds like our planting dates are the same (MI) good tips, watering is where I fall short.
We’re growing awesome raspberries in abundance up north in Alberta Canada. Just need the right types. Try “Boyne”.
That’s why I only have 2 beans that sprouted. 🤦🏼♀️. It’s so easy to get discouraged and stop. Honestly, I gave up trying to grow carrots 10 years ago. They just done grow for me. Anyway, thank you for all the encouragement. You’re such a blessing. 💕
I hear ya ms jill . We went from 50 and rain constantly to almost 90 and dry as the desert. My radishes aren't liking how hot it got so quickly there is no in between here in the northwest
I also live in Wyoming, for 2 years now, and gardening here has been tough for me! My plants are so finicky! Could you please provide a short list of some vegetable varieties that work well here (Tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, etc.). THANK YOU!
P.S.Right now I'm begging my raspberries and apples to grow. Guess I should stop doing that! ;)
Gardening in MN! So tricky to learn when to plant... Didn't get any beets or radishes in early this year have have decided I'll wait until fall to plant them!
I moved from Chicago to the southern living I plant good Friday,I am learning every year as I go nothing big because it just me I love it but I don't like snakes GOD BLESS your garden
We had a frost advisory here in North Missouri last week my garden survived though.
Very inspiring, thank you! I have the opposite problem in the desert Southwestern U.S. I just might end up installing a drip system, your results are encouraging.
It has been a total game changer!
The story of the accidental invention of drip irrigation is kind of funny: a farmer in Israel had a leak in his hose and by the time he found it the tree right next to the leak was flourishing compared to its neighbors.
Thanks for the inspirational chat ... setting up my fourth garden bed ... cheers from Australia!
Hey we are mentioning your channel our our Media Monday's tonight at 10PM EST
new subscriber here, only found you because Glenn Woods mentioned a homesteading UA-cam channel near Chugwater and I just had to find you. Looking forward to checking out your channel.
I live in Florida. My problem is always planting too late. It gets in the 90’s by May in North Florida so my tomatoes are having a hard time turning red.
You’re so encouraging!
With the straw, can you lay it out and mow over it before putting it as mulch. Eould that help the breakdown or maneuverability of it around your plants. Or maybe it's too much extra work.
Your dandelion patch is probably the most healthful thing your growing. lol Dandelions are so misunderstood. Look them up as a healthy wild herb.
Always such good content Jill. Keep going you are a great contribution to Our World with your educational videos
With all that good compost, you should try a couple of beds using “no dig” principles. Check out Charles Dowing. If it works in Alberta, it will work in Montana! 🇨🇦
I have the opposite seasons here but same growing season. I do need to water more consistently. I think I have a fear of over fertilising and as a result my plants suffer. Im trying to remedy that. Great vid! Not on a homestead but in town on a standard block. I would love to grow big gardens!😍 but unfortunately my yard is not big enough for my wants.
Ugh I totally understand what you mean about adding too much barn/compost lol my hubby LOADS the garden every year with it and within a few weeks I’m overloaded with lambs quarters and other things I do not want in there 😆 great tips!!
Thanks for the information and encouragement because I"m new at this and have made many of those mistakes.
I was told by an old gardener to NOT USE horse manure. Weed seeds apparently dont get digested properly and your forevermore pulling out weeds. . Use cow manure instead.
Jill you need a little 2 cycle tiller.
Hey! Thanks for sharing your video.
Different irrigation systems are certainly good if there is a lot to irrigate.
I like plants in my yard that survive almost on their own e.g. rhubarb, chives
... Greetings from Finland!
Thanks Jill, we finally are out of the woods here in VT. The Garden is all in 🙌💥🐦.
JO JO IN VT 💕😄
Thanks for all of this great information.
The science is coming for those zone hardie plants.
Awesome video Jill keep them coming thank you
Thanks Jill, I need that encouragement...alone on God's little green acre(just outside of Spartanburg, SC)
I'm an old gal but I'm yearning to succeed, it's hard to do it alone. Fam and friends not interested yet. So I'm in need of encouragement! 💜🌟🌏
I am just starting my journey into the garden of mistakes. Here in western South Dakota plains my biggest nemesis is the wind - it never stops.
Do have a video regarding your drip system ?
I’m in Western SD, too! I hear ya about the wind!
@@MFV77 how do you protect against the wind
Dandelion bed!😆😅
You are, actually, on to something here!!!
For a few years now, they sell organic dandelion bunches in our supermarkets. First, it was 99c/ bunch, lately it's $1.99/ bunch.
I thought, someone had a genius idea to grow dandelions, organically!
Don't spray them with anything and let the rain water them! They also, work really hard to grow them..
And people are buying.
Great video! Thank you! May I ask where you found your garden beds, please? Blessings from Canada.❤
Good tips, you have a good looking crop of dandy lions in those first shots ;)
I'm especially talented at growing those 😂
@@theprairiehomestead they are edible =)
@@HallHomestead You also can make wine from them.
@@davidshaddick3822 will have to look that one up =)
That is strange as I can grow watermelon and raspberries. I'm in the same zone as you. The melons don't get big as you would find in the stores but they do get a good size. They need lots of water and compost. Same with raspberries.
This was wonderful! Thank you!
We had 80's for a week in northern Indiana. Monday morning's temp was 42. Ugh.
Ha, this would have been good before my raised garden bed video. Live & learn 😂
Great advice!! I’m trying to grow that black tail watermelon that is doing well for you here in Tucson Az......not so successful. Haha
Do you have a video on the drip system?
I don't at this time-- but we did do an in-depth tutorial with videos and details in Project Homestead last month and doors are open for new members until tomorrow. :) projecthomesteadclub.com
So I accidentally planted my cabbage too close to my carrots 🥕
Can I cut cabbage leaves back ( first year doing cabbage in co)?
Or like put a barrier between them?
Just don't one over powering the other.
Good sounds advise!!
Awesome info. Thanks
Great advice! I just checked the soil temp & it's still not warm enough for beans. Don't know if they will get planted this year...
What model Greenhouse do you have?
How is it holding up to cold, wind and snow loads?
THX
You mentioned that you use grass clippings that you collect throughout the summer. Does it matter if those clippings get wet? Because I tried using some that my husband saved and the grass smelled like wet dog. 😲
So next year do you till the mulch into the soil before planting? At least the grass clippings?
Yes-- it breaks down enough and I just till it in. I would never till in any sort of bark/wood chips tho
Thank you !!!
I live in the Pacific NW and currants and gooseberries grow very well…but always get attacked by some worm . Do you have this issue and away to prevent it? Thanks.
while watching this video I remembered I haven't gone down to my sisters where I am growing some plants to water them while we have had boiling weather since Saturday. Oops
Cute tee shirt!
Have you tried hatching more chicks again since the last attempt? xXx
Oooooh, I have a dandelion bed too...
...where did you steal those guard rails?.....LOL....
Another mistake I have made is believing everything the seed catalogs say...;)
How did you rectify the high nitrogen in the soil?
You can add mulch which will use up some nitrogen.
If you have dandelions, your soil is searching for calcium.
Grass clippings equals weeds
Making mistakes every year is a good thing, it means you are trying new things and learning. For me, gardening is all about experimentation, trial and error.
Sounds like you need to focus on making decent home made compost as a new hobby, you shouldn’t need to water your soil everyday. Once your soil has a huge water holding capacity, you only need to heavily water a handful of times a year even in drought conditions, as long as your soil is covered with living or dead vegetation. You are right about not leaving the soil bare, but I prefer to have living plants in the soil. It means you are growing biomass for composting, the plants are sending roots into the soil feeding soil life, the roots are creating drainage channels and the roots if you leave them in the soil after harvest, will rot providing more food for soil life as well as more organic matter. I will grow anything just to make sure I have living plants in the soil even if I don’t intend on eating the harvest. I’m looking after the soil life and growing more biomass for my compost.
You could do with dedicating some of your beds/land for growing as much biomass as possible specifically for the purpose of making compost e.g. sweetcorn, sunflowers, broad beans, comfrey, whatever mix of carbon and greens you feel you need to create. I look at all your empty beds and cry. You are missing a huge opportunity to grow biomass and keep your soil healthy at the same time. Don’t forget to leave the roots of your plants in the soil after harvest.