Haha...I've done that, too. I think, just a little chore, then I do something else..as along as I'm here, might as well get it all done, get it out of the way. Hours later.... :D
Hi epic, I am 74 and starting a garden, my last one was 30 years ago. You are my life saver because I remember nothing being like this. I am doing a raised tote garden. I am very excited and nervous so wish me luck. Sandra Harper, prineville OR .
@@gmonkey12776 peat bogs are created over 1000s of years by dead organic matter accumulating in a wet environment, and if you give them millions of years, they'll eventually form coal. they're not very prevalent since they only thrive in boreal type environments, but they're an important environment for many different types of species and generally have really interesting ecological properties. you've probably heard of tollund man, they can preserve many things almost perfectly including people... and even butter lmao. so when people harvest them for the amazing water holing capabilities of peat moss, it's a very destructive process of using excavators and such and basically gets rids of 1000s of years worth of compressed moss and om, which is obviously not very sustainable since it takes so much time to form in the first place. it also potentially is getting rid of preserved artifacts which sucks. coco coir, on the other hand, is formed using the outer husk of coconut shells which is great considering that they would otherwise likely go to waste once people have gotten the coconut water and meat out of them. peat moss can hold about 20x its dry weight in water, while coco coir holds about 10x as much, but the latter is much much more sustainable!!
I was concerned about this also, Gardener Scott address this in one of his videos. Apparently much of the peet we use here in the United States anyway, comes from Canada & according to them is quite sustainable. Just another perspective to consider 💗 happy gardening!
when you pointed at the beetle and said "oh look we got the devil" without missing a beat omg hahah! I've found as I've started gardening this year that I've developed strong opinions on bugs and pests.. opinions I never thought I'd have LOL so this made my day
Just wondering how you attach the hardware cloth to the planters. We have voles, mice, ground squirrels, and moles. There’s no way the logs alone will stop them!
@@user-ed7et3pb4o why would you want your bed to be exposed to the soil? I can’t think of a single positive for that. You won’t get nutrients or any benifit from that, and the roots will never be growing that low in the first place, I feel like that’s unnecessary
This was soooooooo helpful. I didn't know what I was doing last spring but still managed to grow and harvest a good amount of crop but with this information, I'll probably double what I grew last year. Thank you!!!
I am doing the same thing this fall. A raised bed with wood as the base. I am digging down into my top soil to give more depth and then placing logs, scrap branches and wood chips as a base. The I will place compost (home created ) Then placing the top soil on top with grass side down to help with Nitrogen. After all of that wood chips as mulch on top and let sit over fall and winter for next Spring. Happy to see someone else use wood as the base in a raised garden.
Anyone else super satisfied at that watering tool? Its almost like photoshop the way it doesn't alter the soil at all. Even in other videos, it doesn't cause any crazy pressure movements on plants either. Its so nice to watch!
We moved two beds yesterday adding hardware cloth. The moles found their way around the logs. Once they get in their tunnels reroute the water making portions of the bed hard to water. That’s my experience anyway. Love the beds. Now have my original two and the third that arrived recently filled and planted. Excited for the winter garden in zone 9b.
Great refresher on filling raised beds! I found your first video just as I was needing to fill my very first raised bed this spring! Saved me lots of money by filling lower half with material other than soil. 😊
When I see you do this and I get all excited, I have to remind myself that z7b is not the time to start planting anything that won’t mature in 30-35 days😩. But I love the inspiration! I have the coveted square foot gardening book and I cherish its wealth of information.
Some things do well in the winter in zone 7b any of the brassicas and spinach will keep going all winter unless there's a really hard freeze and a row cover can work wonders.
@@epicgardening I know you probably won't get the reference but the joke is too good to pass up. "How many raised garden beds do you have?" One and 19 more
@@nzaucklander thanks for replying. We had a lot of rain, and the lower layer of mulch turned into the ideal living area for slugs. I'll definitely try coffee grounds :)
Kevin, have you explored the benefits of Biochar? I never learned about it in my Agronomy studies, but I’ve become convinced of its benefits and it’s catching on. It’s a nearly permanent soil amendment that provides exponential surface area for beneficial microbes and nutrients. I just bought your best raised beds and am using Biochar. 👍 P.S. Thank you for your concise, non-fumbling commentary-it doesn’t sound rehearsed, but very articulate. 😇
Great video! Love using the hugelkulter method. Thanks for promoting Aussie products. Birdies are the best, I use them here in Australia and have great success... and definitely saves the back lol 🇦🇺
Perfect timing for this video, my Birdies bed that I ordered from you will be arriving tomorrow (two days earlier then originally stated from fed ex). THANK YOU SO MUCH KEVIN, I have been wanting one of these beds for a few years now, you made it happen 👊
Hey Kevin, I see that you didn't add lime or anything to raise the Ph of the peat moss. I've heard from multiple sources that you need to raise the Ph of peat moss as it's acidic. Is your compost and vermiculite sufficiently balancing the Ph level out?
Man seeing you with the pick with sandles on was stressful! haha garden's looking good though. Gotta love that you're repping some Aussie products too!
Worked with Mel! Very cool... I've had his book for years. Also appreciate the hugelkulture layering with the logs which is exactly what I am going to be doing with my beds but will probably use straw between the wood / leaves / sticks and the growing medium. Due to the size of my beds I am looking at getting a few yards of raised bed mix from a local company for cost. Would you do anything different to prep the soil with something like that or the same slow release fertilizer and such?
Quick question: Won't burying the logs essentially bury carbon, drawing nitrogen out of the soil to break it down? Everyone always talks about the dangers of burying carbon, don't know if it applies here. Thanks for the video as always!
I know this comment is a year old, but maybe you are still wondering... :D In theory, yes. But there are a two main factors why it will most likely be irrelevant. Ben from the Growveg channel explained it in one of his videos. 1) Most vegetables have very shallow roots and won't reach down to the logs. 2) The amount they "draw out" is minuscule in relation to the amount of nitrogen in the soil. This is one of the old wife's tales that is kinda based on science, but has been blown out of proportion :)
Because I had so many beds to fill eight years ago, I mixed Mel's mix in a Harbor Freight cement mixer. It did 17 gallons at a time and it took 10 minutes to mix ea load. I was done in no time. It is just an Idea and it will save your back. My Hugelkultur style beds drop about 4 to 6 inches a year, I just top them off now with homemade compost.
People should think about installing my custom sewerponics system buried into a raised bed it would give you more use of your land FYI. it’s revolutionary
Hi Kevin, I’m completely new to gardening and raise bed planting, having cleared the area of grass and moss and built the raised bed structure, my question is can I use the dug up moss ( it came up in sheets like sod/turf) as deep filler at the bottom of the bed? The raised bed is 2 feet deep and intend to use cardboard and branches as per your suggestion but unsure if the moss will regrow and contaminate the area. Can you advise please and Thanks in advance, love your videos 👍
Hi! Where do you get your straw mulch? (I'm also in San Diego) getting started on my first garden since we just moved into a house and boy am I learning a lot from your videos!!
Thank you for this informative video. For the 30-inch raise bed, how many bags of each ( compost, vermiculite, and peat moss)of the soil did you use. Thanks.
Love your channel!! I've learned so much! Thank you!! What brand is you cleaned straw and where did you purchase it? Also, I mistakenly put saw dust/wood curls as mulch on my raised beds not realizing about the sucking nitrogen aspect of the wood. It is from hardwood from my husband's lathe so not store lumber! Should I scrape off the saw dust (1/2 inch) and the septoria damaged leaf droppings from the surface of the soil? I have always turned my raised beds but have learned from your video with Charles D that I should not be doing that and just adding my amendments to the top!! What say you??
Kevin how much of each (COMPOST/Peat Moss/Vermiculite) did it take you to fill your 6-in-1 Garden Bed? I know how much I need will depend on how I filled the lower half, but knowing what you used will give me an idea to start. Thanks
Hi Kevin.Such great and useful tip that helped me today.Thank you for sharing your knowledge.Can you make a video with Mark from Self Sufficient Me again? :)
you will have a sponge down in the bottom, with all the organic matter. I think that is essential for your climate and high bed situation, since they act a lot like containers.
This was Very helpful!!!! I am planting in my Vego 9ft bed we just bought for extra space I needed. ...I have a nice big pile of chopped wood that has been sitting quite a few yrs...I also have straw...not store bought( going to ck that out online)and also some nice compost...probably a good wheelbarrow Full....I like the mix of your soil....def going to do that. I really like epsoma fertilizers too....the granular fertilizer isn't too strong for young tender starters? I see u used it lightly.....I actually have 3 bags of Plant starter fertilizer Epsoma....could I use it.....and then later on add some worm castings or processed chicken pellets? Any info on fertilizing from summer till fall (if even needed!) Would be appreciated!!!! I'm very excited....hope it all turns out. I was going to put landscaping cloth down first then cardboard before the wood.... does that sound ok?
Replacing shouldn’t be necessary. Just keep adding in nutrients and other organic materials to replace what was lost. Also try rotating crops between beds to help soil health
Hi Kevin, love the new yard and looking forward to seeing your plans for it! I'm glad you brought up the alternative to peat because of sustainability concerns. Is there a more sustainable option for vermiculite since it's surface mined? I've googled and couldn't find a great answer! Thanks so much! :)
I watched a couple of videos recently that warned about using straw as mulch or adding to your compost because of the herbicides that are used by farmers to suppress weeds. Apparently the herbicide can damage your crops and your soil for years. Now I’m super paranoid about having straw come into contact with my soul. Can anyone advise me on this?
Not many farmers, at least in my area, use any herbicides on wheat or oat fields since the plants themselves grow so dense that they smother weeds. So, in this area is safe to use straw for mulching.
Epic Gardening thanks. I’ll keep looking for organic. My daughter cares for rescued rabbits and uses organic hay with them, but it’s pricy. I’ll ask who the vendor is in hopes they sell straw, too.
I just purchased the birdie tall 6 in one yesterday! Is there anything DIFFERENT we should do, if we are gardening in 10a zone in FLORIDA?? Thanks in advance!
I was wondering, why don’t you make a platform/pallets to put your beds on so your not having to use so much soil and it’s easier on your back? Just wondering for my own set up so I don’t do something without realizing! :) love your videos❤️
Great video! Where did you get your straw mulch? We unknowingly contaminated our raised beds this year by using straw that had been treated with a broadleaf herbicide.
Zari A my green bean leaves were deformed and all the tomatoes that were mulched had curling leaves. Everything was fine till we mulched. We got the straw off as soon as we noticed that something wasn’t right. Flooded the beds put on more fertilizer and planted a lot of flowers. After about a month and a half it was better
I live in Florida where we get a lot of heat, rainfall and humidity. I will be using Mels mix to fill my beds using coir rather than peat. My concern is the use of 1/3 vermiculite…would this with the coir hold on to too much moisture in my climate? Would it be better to use perlite for more drainage? Or maybe a 50/50 perlite/vermiculite blend?
I need to mix soil for some raised beds and for my Greenstalk planters. I keep seeing all different recipes for soil and it's overwhelming. Is around $56 for a 4cu ft bag of vermiculite normal? I'm struggling to find it locally. $56 Seems expensive...
Currently preparing my first raised bed. Following advice and starting with a layer of organic matter (tree cuttings, grass clippings, autumn leaves). I also have a lot of moss that I raked from my lawn, can I add this too? I'm worried it could be too moisture retentive, cause drainage problems and/or take too long to break down. Any advice greatly appreciated!
Hi. Very helpful content!! Thank you. Question: Where do you buy your straw mulch? I live in La Mesa and I’m hoping to find a local source. Haven’t found any so far. Thanks!!!!
I was reading other gardening blogs that said not to use ONLY the peat moss, vermiculite and compost mix because it will have too much nitrogen and kill my vegetables. Can Epic Gardening advise? I am planting in raised beds where the bottom is clay soil and our summer temperatures hit 100 + with night time lows in the 60's. Thanks in advance all.
P.S. I'm in the Ohio Valley....temps really up and down right now.....have u ever started plants the winter gardening style? I'd love to try that....just about too late now for my area.....
Why couldn't you just make a box 20 inches deep on 4x4 legs? Seems like a lot easier and that way you could determine how high you want to make it and probably cheaper than buying those big containers. But that's just IMO
I love you video's very helpful,but please stop with the background music it's very distracting when your talking. It's hard because I am hearing I am hearing impaired, not deaf so it makes it difficult to hear. Im sorry for complaining.
I don't understand the differing N-P-K numbers - - some are high and some are very low. Why are some 4-3-3 while some are 20-20-20? Are the smaller numbers just so you have to use more so they're safer? Then the higher ones need to be diluted?
Thank you for your videos! I have studied planting tomatoes even Jon grow your greens did a demo. His was a big fail. He got all the mixes and all the ingredients and mix them all together and it was a big fail!!! Every other video other than one I watched and plant the potato 6 feet deep and have no fertilized. He said his crop was awesome and I saw what he claimed was his yiield. My question to you is how long have you been doing this particular method with these Soil additives and yelled at a harvest year after year? Repeating my question how many years have you done this message? Thank you very much for your reply I do very much appreciate :). 🤗
Great video, but please wear a face mask when handling wood mulch. I know someone that got legionaries from handling woodchips. Also, fun fact, a factoid is an unproven piece of information, compared to a fact. I don't know why people started using the term incorrectly, but I used to use it all the time!
Jus gonna empty out my raised bed and add some wood leaves an assorted garden stuf then refill it as I watched this After😠 I made an filled my raised bed 😠. Yes I will be wearing a back brace 🤦♂️🤦♂️
I have experienced that as you work garden soil through out seasons. What you have put in the lower levels eventually gets mixed in. Pine needles and sawdust are not healthy and will kill plants. Suggest using cardboard between your soil and the lower filler stuff.
Anyone find some good shredded straw or similar mulch varieties? I can't seem to find much available online. I am taking a trip to a local garden center tomorrow, but I need at least 12CF by next Friday to get my beds completed.
Hey brother this is to regards to your video on how to grade LEDs, So would it be better to buy two spider farmer 2000s compared to a spider farmer 4000? The 4000 takes up 50 more watts than 2 sf2000s and the ppfd for the sf4000 is lower than 2 sf2000s combined
I love all your podcast and watch it over and over again as I learn so much. I am new to gardening and love it. I want to become a gardener now. Thanks for all the amazing lessons. Can I buy your book on Amazon. I am in Australia currently.
Any concerns with connecting 16 tall 8-in-1 in a horseshoe shape as one unit; 5 across the back and 6 on each side? I would use the left over curved pieces to make round beds…
Would have been nice to throw a plug for mark from ssme who did te birdie hugelculure method in a BIRDIE bed, jut like you but way before ! Way too many gardening videos put there now so we gotta give credit to those that let us on, otherwise it becomes just some guy redoing another episode of what someone else did..
What is a substitute for log of woods. I am concerned with termites in logs and would like to avoid. Can I add Scott's mulch from home depot instead? Thank you
What if you want to plant in a food grade bucket can I use this steps? What recommendations can you explain? Also would this be same steps for fruit plants?
Will making our own soil be cheaper than the bulk potting mix our nursery sells? We would have to get bulk compost from them anyways, but no idea how much they charge for peat moss or vermiculite
6:28 "you are getting it from mushrooms" it sounds like you think, that mushroom compost is made of mushrooms. But it's just the growing material, where mushrooms grow on. That's why its called that way ;)
@@epicgardening Are you aware there's FREE Mushroom compost from a local (SD County) mushroom farmer? They are very generous people. It is great stuff.
My raised bed garden is centered on 6 36x24x18 stock tanks resting on cinder blocks to get near to the same height as yours. At 74 bending over is not what i need.
If you love these raised beds like me, grab some for your garden (shipping in November): shop.epicgardening.com/
What kind of corn is that that stays short?
RancisGamer baby corn 🌽
I just sent an email for shipping quotes... ;o)
Or check out adelaide garden beds on Facebook and Instagram and follow their ideas and make your own for less than a third of the cost!
Everytime I head out to the garden in the morning before breakfast for a quick chore, I end up eating at lunch time.
Same here!
Haha...I've done that, too. I think, just a little chore, then I do something else..as along as I'm here, might as well get it all done, get it out of the way. Hours later.... :D
Ditto lol. There's always something to be done.
intermittent fasting
You need more pick-and-eat plants in your garden, and you'll be able to eat your breakfast as you work.
“I do tall raised beds because it’s easier on my back”
*said while lifting a full wheelbarrow to dump like a bucket
Still he's right though:) it's less about heavy lifting and more about the prolonged bending that he avoids :)
😅
I plan on using a Bobcat to transfer.
Hi epic, I am 74 and starting a garden, my last one was 30 years ago. You are my life saver because I remember nothing being like this. I am doing a raised tote garden. I am very excited and nervous so wish me luck. Sandra Harper, prineville OR
.
In the UK we are trying to cut out the use of peat because of the destruction of peat bogs which are important ecologically.
Can u please elaborate?
@@gmonkey12776 peat bogs are created over 1000s of years by dead organic matter accumulating in a wet environment, and if you give them millions of years, they'll eventually form coal. they're not very prevalent since they only thrive in boreal type environments, but they're an important environment for many different types of species and generally have really interesting ecological properties. you've probably heard of tollund man, they can preserve many things almost perfectly including people... and even butter lmao. so when people harvest them for the amazing water holing capabilities of peat moss, it's a very destructive process of using excavators and such and basically gets rids of 1000s of years worth of compressed moss and om, which is obviously not very sustainable since it takes so much time to form in the first place. it also potentially is getting rid of preserved artifacts which sucks. coco coir, on the other hand, is formed using the outer husk of coconut shells which is great considering that they would otherwise likely go to waste once people have gotten the coconut water and meat out of them. peat moss can hold about 20x its dry weight in water, while coco coir holds about 10x as much, but the latter is much much more sustainable!!
I was concerned about this also, Gardener Scott address this in one of his videos. Apparently much of the peet we use here in the United States anyway, comes from Canada & according to them is quite sustainable. Just another perspective to consider 💗 happy gardening!
@@gmonkey12776 Peat bogs are huge carbon sinks, so they hold a lot of carbon that would otherwise be in the air contributing to global warming.
Hence using coir instead. It's a renewable byproduct, and it helps support farmers in developing countries too.
when you pointed at the beetle and said "oh look we got the devil" without missing a beat omg hahah! I've found as I've started gardening this year that I've developed strong opinions on bugs and pests.. opinions I never thought I'd have LOL so this made my day
LOL same
I hate them... they killed an entire bed.
Yeah my big issue is thrips. Especially once they get into an indoor tent, pretty brutal
LMFAO when he said that i cracked up, needed that laugh because i call a ton of insects that in the garden!!
I'm sorry - but I just discovered this channel today, if this is San Diego, CA - the JB needs to be addressed (It still can be eliminated)
We've found that 1/2 inch wire mesh secured to the sides below the logs makes a great floor to keep moles and burrowing critters out.
Just wondering how you attach the hardware cloth to the planters. We have voles, mice, ground squirrels, and moles. There’s no way the logs alone will stop them!
@@brandysvenson8649 you don’t want to do that, you want your beds to be somewhat open to the soil. Maybe try a finer net?
@@user-ed7et3pb4o why would you want your bed to be exposed to the soil? I can’t think of a single positive for that.
You won’t get nutrients or any benifit from that, and the roots will never be growing that low in the first place, I feel like that’s unnecessary
This was soooooooo helpful. I didn't know what I was doing last spring but still managed to grow and harvest a good amount of crop but with this information, I'll probably double what I grew last year. Thank you!!!
"I like tall raised beds because its easier on my back"
*Lifts entire wheel barrow & dumps load into tall raised bed*
Oh man! JUST WHAT I NEEDED!!!! Now I can start my garden with confidence ☆ Thx you handsome gardener Guru!
Got you covered!
Yes, he's handsome indeed. And he sings well, too! Lol.
I am doing the same thing this fall. A raised bed with wood as the base. I am digging down into my top soil to give more depth and then placing logs, scrap branches and wood chips as a base. The I will place compost (home created ) Then placing the top soil on top with grass side down to help with Nitrogen. After all of that wood chips as mulch on top and let sit over fall and winter for next Spring. Happy to see someone else use wood as the base in a raised garden.
So many tall gardeners. Luke is like 6' 5", James Prigioni is like 6' 4", I am 6' 2". How tall are you?
6'4"!
And I'm out here 5'3" 😂
Anyone else super satisfied at that watering tool? Its almost like photoshop the way it doesn't alter the soil at all. Even in other videos, it doesn't cause any crazy pressure movements on plants either. Its so nice to watch!
Yes!!! I came to the comments looking for what it’s called/ a brand because I want one 😍
@@_KayGee_ Did you find out what is? I want one too!
Yeah that was magical lol
They are $10 at Costco, and there's a bonus nozzle.
“Oh look we’ve got the devil” 😂
Perfect timing as usual!
Just watching you lift logs, shovel filler material and mix soil made me tired. I'll feel that until next week.
Lol I got wrecked
@@epicgardening lol, you need to hire a kid to do the grunt work, save your body lol
@@epicgardening I bet! That's why you need a hot tub with a built in mini bar. You know, cause "self care" and all. 😆
We moved two beds yesterday adding hardware cloth. The moles found their way around the logs. Once they get in their tunnels reroute the water making portions of the bed hard to water. That’s my experience anyway. Love the beds. Now have my original two and the third that arrived recently filled and planted. Excited for the winter garden in zone 9b.
Great refresher on filling raised beds! I found your first video just as I was needing to fill my very first raised bed this spring! Saved me lots of money by filling lower half with material other than soil. 😊
Loved the intro! but very Self Sufficient Me vibes haha
;)
He even wore the short shorts
When I see you do this and I get all excited, I have to remind myself that z7b is not the time to start planting anything that won’t mature in 30-35 days😩. But I love the inspiration! I have the coveted square foot gardening book and I cherish its wealth of information.
More winter-y stuff coming soon!
Some things do well in the winter in zone 7b any of the brassicas and spinach will keep going all winter unless there's a really hard freeze and a row cover can work wonders.
If it isn't filled completely could a sheet of glass or thick poly be hinged on top to make a large cold frame???
@@trishdavi7049 I'd probably do a one like a short row cover I saw in a video last year the guy used PVC pipe to make it
I love what a Californian you are--shoveling wood chips in flip flops! :)
Wow, you could bury a whole person in one of those.
(Not actually psycho. It's meant to be spooky for the spooktober.)
Compost your enemies
@@epicgardening I know you probably won't get the reference but the joke is too good to pass up.
"How many raised garden beds do you have?"
One and 19 more
I have 4 6'x2' garden beds, my husband says they look like graves with plants on top... I haven't put tombstones on them yet :)
@@trudysfun perfect time of year for it
@@epicgardening I have that T-Shirt! LOL
We just use wood chips and then pure compost on top. it works great and its cheap!
Perfect!
How do you keep the slugs from thriving in your mulch?
@@disenchanted8470 In the winter its usually a bit of a problem, but in summer not much. We use coffee grounds if we have them.
@@nzaucklander thanks for replying. We had a lot of rain, and the lower layer of mulch turned into the ideal living area for slugs. I'll definitely try coffee grounds :)
Kevin, have you explored the benefits of Biochar? I never learned about it in my Agronomy studies, but I’ve become convinced of its benefits and it’s catching on. It’s a nearly permanent soil amendment that provides exponential surface area for beneficial microbes and nutrients. I just bought your best raised beds and am using Biochar. 👍 P.S. Thank you for your concise, non-fumbling commentary-it doesn’t sound rehearsed, but very articulate. 😇
I dont have logs . Can I just fill the bottom layer with woody branches from shrubs
Question: would you recommend adding worms to your raised garden beds? Since worms will not be coming up through the hard clay floor.
Yes, it can be ag reat idea to 'seed' your beds with worms!
That soil in the bed looks so rich and fertile! I'm sure the plants will love it and you'll get epic harvests 👍
I could see it may be handy to have a spare rotary compst bin to mix all those things together, save that back of yours.
Good call
I have two Jora compost tumblers, and they are great for producing a lot of good quality compost. Highly recommend them!
@OhioGardener I have 2 tumblers but one for all those pre bagged mixes to combine together would work a treat... either that or a cement mixer 🤣🤣
I cannot get over the way he keeps popping up from the oddest places with a straight face...like it's normal
I ordered 2 of those 6 in 1 beds. Should be here in a few days according to fedex. Perfect timing on this tutorial :)
Use the packaging as sheet mulch on the bottom :)
Great video! Love using the hugelkulter method. Thanks for promoting Aussie products. Birdies are the best, I use them here in Australia and have great success... and definitely saves the back lol 🇦🇺
Self Sufficient Me From Australia uses them lot too
@@nzaucklander he sure does. Mark's videos are a lot of fun to watch 😊
Hands down the best metal product!
Perfect timing for this video, my Birdies bed that I ordered from you will be arriving tomorrow (two days earlier then originally stated from fed ex). THANK YOU SO MUCH KEVIN, I have been wanting one of these beds for a few years now, you made it happen 👊
YES! I'm so excited for you...thank you so much for the order.
Hey Kevin, I see that you didn't add lime or anything to raise the Ph of the peat moss. I've heard from multiple sources that you need to raise the Ph of peat moss as it's acidic. Is your compost and vermiculite sufficiently balancing the Ph level out?
I did UR super easy bed and its looking really good its the one with the 4 bricks and the wood
Man seeing you with the pick with sandles on was stressful! haha garden's looking good though. Gotta love that you're repping some Aussie products too!
Not ideal footwear I agree :P
Another great video, do you know any Australian youtubers with the same sort of content? I'm looking for better Australian brands
Check Self Sufficient Me!
Yes! Self Sufficient Me...I think his name is Mark, experiments a lot and is helpful to watch.
Worked with Mel! Very cool... I've had his book for years. Also appreciate the hugelkulture layering with the logs which is exactly what I am going to be doing with my beds but will probably use straw between the wood / leaves / sticks and the growing medium. Due to the size of my beds I am looking at getting a few yards of raised bed mix from a local company for cost. Would you do anything different to prep the soil with something like that or the same slow release fertilizer and such?
I would probably mix IN some rock dust, beneficial inoculants, etc and let it 'cook' a couple weeks if you have that much to work with
Who came first, epic gardening or self sufficient me? 🐓 🥚 🍳
Japanese Beetles have been the bane of my existence. They ARE the Devil. Thanks for the video!
6 months ago I was looking for a good video JUST LIKE THIS showing a raised bed mix because I wasn't sure I did mine right. this is incredibly useful
Man, I'm so envious of the weather back in your place. I gotta lots of ideas for the garden but I have to wait for the spring.
Great video, just planning out my next season of vegetables for my raised beds I built last week in California.
Good luck!
I really learn a lot from you! Thank you for this amazing video! :)
I'm so glad!
Great video - would this mix be good for most veggies? Cucumber / Zucchini ? Will it work for Berries? How about flowers? Thank you!!!!
Berries and flowers maybe slightly different.
Quick question: Won't burying the logs essentially bury carbon, drawing nitrogen out of the soil to break it down? Everyone always talks about the dangers of burying carbon, don't know if it applies here. Thanks for the video as always!
I know this comment is a year old, but maybe you are still wondering... :D
In theory, yes.
But there are a two main factors why it will most likely be irrelevant. Ben from the Growveg channel explained it in one of his videos.
1) Most vegetables have very shallow roots and won't reach down to the logs.
2) The amount they "draw out" is minuscule in relation to the amount of nitrogen in the soil.
This is one of the old wife's tales that is kinda based on science, but has been blown out of proportion :)
Because I had so many beds to fill eight years ago, I mixed Mel's mix in a Harbor Freight cement mixer. It did 17 gallons at a time and it took 10 minutes to mix ea load. I was done in no time. It is just an Idea and it will save your back. My Hugelkultur style beds drop about 4 to 6 inches a year, I just top them off now with homemade compost.
People should think about installing my custom sewerponics system buried into a raised bed it would give you more use of your land FYI. it’s revolutionary
Here, in South East Asia, we use coconut waste.
Coco husk, coco shells, the bark, leaves. We have plenty of them.
Hi Kevin, I’m completely new to gardening and raise bed planting, having cleared the area of grass and moss and built the raised bed structure, my question is can I use the dug up moss ( it came up in sheets like sod/turf) as deep filler at the bottom of the bed?
The raised bed is 2 feet deep and intend to use cardboard and branches as per your suggestion but unsure if the moss will regrow and contaminate the area. Can you advise please and Thanks in advance, love your videos 👍
Hi! Where do you get your straw mulch? (I'm also in San Diego) getting started on my first garden since we just moved into a house and boy am I learning a lot from your videos!!
He sells it on his website.
Also using cow poop its really good
Thank you for this informative video. For the 30-inch raise bed, how many bags of each ( compost, vermiculite, and peat moss)of the soil did you use. Thanks.
Are you going to add a drip watering system to that bed?
Another question: mulching over seeds? Would you wait until they've started to sprout?
Light mulch like this straw I could direct sow...really depends on the seed
Love your channel!! I've learned so much! Thank you!!
What brand is you cleaned straw and where did you purchase it?
Also, I mistakenly put saw dust/wood curls as mulch on my raised beds not realizing about the sucking nitrogen aspect of the wood. It is from hardwood from my husband's lathe so not store lumber! Should I scrape off the saw dust (1/2 inch) and the septoria damaged leaf droppings from the surface of the soil? I have always turned my raised beds but have learned from your video with Charles D that I should not be doing that and just adding my amendments to the top!! What say you??
The intro... LOL, scared me just a little. Thanks for this video, can't wait for the birdies to arrive. :)
Kevin how much of each (COMPOST/Peat Moss/Vermiculite) did it take you to fill your 6-in-1 Garden Bed? I know how much I need will depend on how I filled the lower half, but knowing what you used will give me an idea to start. Thanks
Hi Kevin.Such great and useful tip that helped me today.Thank you for sharing your knowledge.Can you make a video with Mark from Self Sufficient Me again? :)
I'll email him!
you will have a sponge down in the bottom, with all the organic matter. I think that is essential for your climate and high bed situation, since they act a lot like containers.
Yes for sure - P.S. Haven't forgotten Siloe I am just WAYYYYYYY overwhelmed rn
Take your time my friend! Enjoy the new garden and don’t overstress yourself.
This was Very helpful!!!! I am planting in my Vego 9ft bed we just bought for extra space I needed. ...I have a nice big pile of chopped wood that has been sitting quite a few yrs...I also have straw...not store bought( going to ck that out online)and also some nice compost...probably a good wheelbarrow Full....I like the mix of your soil....def going to do that. I really like epsoma fertilizers too....the granular fertilizer isn't too strong for young tender starters? I see u used it lightly.....I actually have 3 bags of Plant starter fertilizer Epsoma....could I use it.....and then later on add some worm castings or processed chicken pellets? Any info on fertilizing from summer till fall (if even needed!) Would be appreciated!!!! I'm very excited....hope it all turns out. I was going to put landscaping cloth down first then cardboard before the wood.... does that sound ok?
Thank you. Do you ever completely replace the soil after so many growing seasons or just add to it each season?
Replacing shouldn’t be necessary. Just keep adding in nutrients and other organic materials to replace what was lost. Also try rotating crops between beds to help soil health
Hi Kevin, love the new yard and looking forward to seeing your plans for it! I'm glad you brought up the alternative to peat because of sustainability concerns. Is there a more sustainable option for vermiculite since it's surface mined? I've googled and couldn't find a great answer! Thanks so much! :)
I’ve heard that regular pumice is the better option for perlite and vermiculite.
I watched a couple of videos recently that warned about using straw as mulch or adding to your compost because of the herbicides that are used by farmers to suppress weeds. Apparently the herbicide can damage your crops and your soil for years. Now I’m super paranoid about having straw come into contact with my soul. Can anyone advise me on this?
I use a cleaned, pre-shredded and organic straw product, no herbicides!
Not many farmers, at least in my area, use any herbicides on wheat or oat fields since the plants themselves grow so dense that they smother weeds. So, in this area is safe to use straw for mulching.
Epic Gardening thanks. I’ll keep looking for organic. My daughter cares for rescued rabbits and uses organic hay with them, but it’s pricy. I’ll ask who the vendor is in hopes they sell straw, too.
I just purchased the birdie tall 6 in one yesterday! Is there anything DIFFERENT we should do, if we are gardening in 10a zone in FLORIDA?? Thanks in advance!
Sup Kev, where did you get the shredded straw?
Also, if you haven’t checked out City Farmers Nursery (City Heights), you should. Amazing spot.
I’m gobsmacked as to why these soil mixing guys haven’t discovered $165 (Amazon, 4/23) Cement mixers. I’m assuming it’s to make longer videos?
My squash stopped producing but lots green leaves. I’m in SD and think it’s because I over fertilized. Anything I can do?
Tell me you didn’t say ‘wheel barrel’!
Try Blue Emu Extra Strength for your sore back!!
You’re welcome. 👍🏽🙏🏼🇦🇺🇺🇸
I was wondering, why don’t you make a platform/pallets to put your beds on so your not having to use so much soil and it’s easier on your back? Just wondering for my own set up so I don’t do something without realizing! :) love your videos❤️
Great video! Where did you get your straw mulch? We unknowingly contaminated our raised beds this year by using straw that had been treated with a broadleaf herbicide.
Oh no! I got mine from a company called Garden straw. I'm actually going to start offering it here in the US pretty soon
I just posted a question about herbicide contaminated straw. I’ll check back for more comments on this topic.
How do you know the straw is contaminated? I’ve bought mine from 2 sources: a feed store and a local farm. Should I be concerned?
Zari A my green bean leaves were deformed and all the tomatoes that were mulched had curling leaves. Everything was fine till we mulched. We got the straw off as soon as we noticed that something wasn’t right. Flooded the beds put on more fertilizer and planted a lot of flowers. After about a month and a half it was better
Andrea Nash oh wow. Thanks for the heads up. I’ll make sure to look out for any of those signs. Glad things are better with your plants.
Thanks Kevin. Question you may have answered somewhere... What to you do during the upcoming rainy season? Will the bed get flooded? Thanks!
I live in Florida where we get a lot of heat, rainfall and humidity. I will be using Mels mix to fill my beds using coir rather than peat. My concern is the use of 1/3 vermiculite…would this with the coir hold on to too much moisture in my climate? Would it be better to use perlite for more drainage? Or maybe a 50/50 perlite/vermiculite blend?
I need to mix soil for some raised beds and for my Greenstalk planters. I keep seeing all different recipes for soil and it's overwhelming. Is around $56 for a 4cu ft bag of vermiculite normal? I'm struggling to find it locally. $56 Seems expensive...
Currently preparing my first raised bed. Following advice and starting with a layer of organic matter (tree cuttings, grass clippings, autumn leaves). I also have a lot of moss that I raked from my lawn, can I add this too? I'm worried it could be too moisture retentive, cause drainage problems and/or take too long to break down. Any advice greatly appreciated!
I know your back pain. A little bit of yoga helps mine get right back into shape to get back into the garden
Hi. Very helpful content!! Thank you.
Question: Where do you buy your straw mulch? I live in La Mesa and I’m hoping to find a local source. Haven’t found any so far.
Thanks!!!!
I source from Canada, I'm actually going to carry this mulch in my store soon
Me too.
Roy Jones City Farmers
Susan Kirby thanks. That was gonna be be my next try. Do they sell bags?
Got some at City Farmers. Pretty sure the just rip apart a bail of hay, bag and sell. It’ll work for now I suppose.
I was reading other gardening blogs that said not to use ONLY the peat moss, vermiculite and compost mix because it will have too much nitrogen and kill my vegetables. Can Epic Gardening advise? I am planting in raised beds where the bottom is clay soil and our summer temperatures hit 100 + with night time lows in the 60's. Thanks in advance all.
P.S. I'm in the Ohio Valley....temps really up and down right now.....have u ever started plants the winter gardening style? I'd love to try that....just about too late now for my area.....
Why couldn't you just make a box 20 inches deep on 4x4 legs? Seems like a lot easier and that way you could determine how high you want to make it and probably cheaper than buying those big containers. But that's just IMO
I love you video's very helpful,but please stop with the background music it's very distracting when your talking. It's hard because I am hearing I am hearing impaired, not deaf so it makes it difficult to hear. Im sorry for complaining.
I don't understand the differing N-P-K numbers - - some are high and some are very low. Why are some 4-3-3 while some are 20-20-20? Are the smaller numbers just so you have to use more so they're safer? Then the higher ones need to be diluted?
Thank you for your videos! I have studied planting tomatoes even Jon grow your greens did a demo. His was a big fail. He got all the mixes and all the ingredients and mix them all together and it was a big fail!!! Every other video other than one I watched and plant the potato 6 feet deep and have no fertilized. He said his crop was awesome and I saw what he claimed was his yiield.
My question to you is how long have you been doing this particular method with these Soil additives and yelled at a harvest year after year?
Repeating my question how many years have you done this message? Thank you very much for your reply I do very much appreciate :). 🤗
Great video, but please wear a face mask when handling wood mulch. I know someone that got legionaries from handling woodchips. Also, fun fact, a factoid is an unproven piece of information, compared to a fact. I don't know why people started using the term incorrectly, but I used to use it all the time!
Neither OSHA nor my Mom would not approve of you working in flip-flops and shorts. But overall it was a good video. Thanks!
Jus gonna empty out my raised bed and add some wood leaves an assorted garden stuf then refill it as I watched this After😠 I made an filled my raised bed 😠. Yes I will be wearing a back brace 🤦♂️🤦♂️
I have experienced that as you work garden soil through out seasons. What you have put in the lower levels eventually gets mixed in. Pine needles and sawdust are not healthy and will kill plants. Suggest using cardboard between your soil and the lower filler stuff.
Anyone find some good shredded straw or similar mulch varieties? I can't seem to find much available online. I am taking a trip to a local garden center tomorrow, but I need at least 12CF by next Friday to get my beds completed.
Hey brother this is to regards to your video on how to grade LEDs, So would it be better to buy two spider farmer 2000s compared to a spider farmer 4000? The 4000 takes up 50 more watts than 2 sf2000s and the ppfd for the sf4000 is lower than 2 sf2000s combined
I love all your podcast and watch it over and over again as I learn so much. I am new to gardening and love it. I want to become a gardener now. Thanks for all the amazing lessons. Can I buy your book on Amazon. I am in Australia currently.
Does this mean we need to fill the 15" beds with all Mels Mix except top 2"? I am just dying on the cost but want to add Mels Mix.
Any concerns with connecting 16 tall 8-in-1 in a horseshoe shape as one unit; 5 across the back and 6 on each side? I would use the left over curved pieces to make round beds…
We are in Martha’s Vineyard, a Sandy island off the coast of Massachusetts. Would the proportions of peat, vermiculite and compost be the same?
Would have been nice to throw a plug for mark from ssme who did te birdie hugelculure method in a BIRDIE bed, jut like you but way before ! Way too many gardening videos put there now so we gotta give credit to those that let us on, otherwise it becomes just some guy redoing another episode of what someone else did..
Mel’s mix!! I have done 5 beds with this for this year.
Question- can I amend some of this mix into my in ground bed?
What is a substitute for log of woods. I am concerned with termites in logs and would like to avoid. Can I add Scott's mulch from home depot instead? Thank you
What if you want to plant in a food grade bucket can I use this steps? What recommendations can you explain? Also would this be same steps for fruit plants?
Will making our own soil be cheaper than the bulk potting mix our nursery sells? We would have to get bulk compost from them anyways, but no idea how much they charge for peat moss or vermiculite
I know this is very old but plant kale 6 inches from each other is a density of 1 plant per square foot not 4 plants per square foot.
6:28 "you are getting it from mushrooms" it sounds like you think, that mushroom compost is made of mushrooms. But it's just the growing material, where mushrooms grow on. That's why its called that way ;)
Right, I wasn't clear in the video but it's the composted substrate :)
@@epicgardening
Are you aware there's FREE Mushroom compost from a local (SD County) mushroom farmer? They are very generous people. It is great stuff.
Nice video. I have a lot of dried pine needles. Would that be fine to use on top of the logs them my mix on top?
every baker who's used equilateral spacing on cookie trays for years without knowing the term: 🤯
My raised bed garden is centered on 6 36x24x18 stock tanks resting on cinder blocks to get near to the same height as yours. At 74 bending over is not what i need.