Soil Amending Simplified

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  • Опубліковано 17 тра 2024
  • What to add to the soil is a big question but it's also perhaps the wrong question. In today's video I attempt to simplify the idea of soil amending and give some important context to it that may demonstrate that you don't need to add much of anything.
    Addressed in this video: Adding nitrogen to the garden, Korean Natural Farming and JADAM, How to add soil amendments, how to address compaction, what makes living soil, how soil works, and more.
    Labs I Use:
    Logan Labs (Albrecht Method Test + water and sap)
    and
    Ward Labs (Haney Test)
    My book 👇
    The Living Soil Handbook:
    www.notillgrowers.com
    🚨 OUTSIDE OF United States: just get the book from local retailer because shipping is outrageous and you can instead, support our work through one of these methods 👇
    Support our work at notillgrowers.com/support
    or
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    Other Books I recommend:
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    The No-Till Organic Vegetable Farm: amzn.to/34YrKhR
    Farming For the Long Haul: amzn.to/31AIQ06
    The New Organic Grower: amzn.to/2YLYOYv
    The Organic No-Till Farming Revolution: amzn.to/2TvQEh1
    One Straw Revolution: amzn.to/31J30VX
    Growing a Revolution: amzn.to/2KvEDVI
    Teaming With Microbes: amzn.to/31AMXct
    Jadam: amzn.to/2YNu0Vz
    Regenerative Growers Guide To Garden Amendments: amzn.to/3ge6Hdf

КОМЕНТАРІ • 878

  • @tomjensen618
    @tomjensen618 21 день тому +6

    Not ill growers is one of the better youtube channels. Keep up the good work.

  • @OnTheCommon
    @OnTheCommon Рік тому +581

    I'm an old gardener who won't live long enough to know if rhizophagy is more than a theory. My vote for a fifth amendment is a farmer's shadow on the soil.

    • @danielgeci4513
      @danielgeci4513 Рік тому +31

      I like that saying, good one

    • @toastiesburned9929
      @toastiesburned9929 Рік тому +60

      They said the best fertilizer is the footsteps of the farmer. I wasn't sure, but I figured I'd try it. I spent all day in the garden weeding and watering, and right before I came in, I gave all my plants a good couple of stomps. 🥾 🥾 Wish me luck! 🤞

    • @MrKen-longrangegrdhogeliminato
      @MrKen-longrangegrdhogeliminato Рік тому +56

      @@toastiesburned9929 Bare footed, go bare foot in the garden.

    • @victorsr6708
      @victorsr6708 Рік тому +99

      Sir I hope you don’t mind if I use that term “a farmers shadow” brilliant! My son and I (29 year olds son) both have gardens and he reads all the books and watches all the videos, he’s at the I’m smarter than dad stage hahaha but I take some blame for that I encourage it. As for myself I learned most of my gardening from watching my father and trial and error. When my son goes on vacation for a week or two I tend his garden, it never fails when he comes home his plants look much better than when he left and he always asks what I added to the soil and plants? My response is always the same ‘just a little attention”. He is on vacation now and his plants are already almost as nice as mine after a few days hahaha. When he gets home and asked what I did I’ll just use your term and say “just a little farmers shadow on the soil” : ). I’ll say I love the fact that he’s a gardener and we get to have a little friendly competition

    • @OnTheCommon
      @OnTheCommon Рік тому +15

      @@victorsr6708 We are both lucky men, are we not?

  • @mrsmcs93
    @mrsmcs93 Рік тому +442

    I came across a study done on mineral content of fall leaves. According to what was found, fall leaves provide a much higher rate of availabe minerals than any rock dust.
    I've been collecting, shredding and using leaves in my garden ever since and have seen impressive results.
    I would really appreciate your opinion on the subject matter.

    • @yoursoulmatters9600
      @yoursoulmatters9600 Рік тому +62

      I'm no expert but I once heard a man lecture on compost and he said we should only compost leaves and give the kitchen scrapes to our worms. Your idea here makes sense to me, what root is more impressive than a tree root for mining minerals.....

    • @beareroflife
      @beareroflife Рік тому +27

      Natives of the Americas can give u great details on that Ancient practise

    • @meledmondson9020
      @meledmondson9020 Рік тому +49

      Please push over the fallen leaves that have yet to break down, then lying beneath those very leaves is the rightous nutrient dense packed compost! You can start your seeds with it or add to garden. Take the "fallen" leaves and add to your walking rows as they will break down and become future amendments

    • @agdayem
      @agdayem Рік тому +26

      100% agree! Leaves saved my soil!

    • @mountainmade4094
      @mountainmade4094 Рік тому +39

      I remember being little and my grandpa would have is get on the barn and clean out the leaves from the gutters, but we'd save it in buckets to put in the garden. I remember it being so black and rich looking. Garden always did well.

  • @ptrain9020
    @ptrain9020 Рік тому +225

    I have just recently been taught that calcium is a huge amendment or nutrient that plants need. My tomato plants had turned yellow on the new growth and I asked my dad about it and he said whenever that happens on my plants I hit it with calcium so I'm like OK so I bought some cal- mag plus and with 2 applications of it via foliar spray about 6 days apart from each other those plants turned green and have been healthy ever since. Thanks dad.

    • @smhollanshead
      @smhollanshead Рік тому +21

      I believe in the big three and little two. The big three are N, P, K. I like alfalfa pellets and blood meal for the nitrogen. The little two are calcium and magnesium. For the calcium and magnesium I add bone meal and epsom salt. The Icing on the cake is green sand and rock dust.

    • @GanjaBreadman
      @GanjaBreadman Рік тому +3

      @@smhollanshead I would consider calcium a macro. So more like the big 4 and little 1

    • @smhollanshead
      @smhollanshead Рік тому +11

      @@GanjaBreadman While you say it a bit differently, you say it well. Calcium is an essential nutrient for any garden bed. Thank you for reinforcing my point. My response to your comment is, it all depends. If your soil lacks calcium, then calcium is very important to your garden, so it is the big four little one. If you have healthy soil with plenty of calcium, it’s the big three, little two. If you know your soil you will have a happy garden.

    • @RAM-ft3gk
      @RAM-ft3gk Рік тому +3

      What a weird comment to make. No one in your life to talk to? Lol

    • @clairedgaia3626
      @clairedgaia3626 Рік тому +16

      I like adding crushed egg shells down around roots where microbes can break them down so roots take calcium Up into plant..

  • @barrygysbers5632
    @barrygysbers5632 8 місяців тому +10

    No problem with the length of the video. As long as you keep on with the rational, reasonable sounding tone, and provide additional, possibly accurate and useful information, you can talk all day long, and I'll still watch!
    Thanks for the great effort(s)!

  • @Anthonybrown-no9ll
    @Anthonybrown-no9ll 3 місяці тому +4

    Am loving this video, I have taken so much on from it. We have a 40 acre farm that's gotten way out of hand, so this vid has helped massively.

  • @JannikVonTeck
    @JannikVonTeck Рік тому +24

    "I've read a lot of research papers and consumed a lot of beer too ultimately come to some reasonable conclusions..."
    You sir, have quickly gotten me on your side!
    +1 regular viewer

  • @notlouella
    @notlouella Рік тому +136

    What a fantastic video, thank you! I'm new here but have been gardening for half a century -- and learn new things every day. I'm currently gardening in Detroit, in dirt and debris that filled the basements of the houses that got knocked down to create the empty lots I now tend. Mostly clay and old sinks. Not exactly fertile or good drainage. Forage (daikon) radish are absolute MAGIC. Just sprinkle the seeds like fairy dust all around your garden in late summer/early winter (in among what's already growing). The radish germinates, sends down thick roots, but that's not all. Over winter, when they freeze, they turn into radish mush that is soil critter elixir. The first spring, the soil's much improved, by the second spring, it's amazing, rich and loamy. I'll come back next spring to report what happens the third spring. (Probably by then I'll shift to a more varied cover crop, but desperately needed to address the compaction.) Meanwhile I'll be watching your vids and getting more ideas. Best to all!

    • @naomiroyle9637
      @naomiroyle9637 Рік тому +10

      I broadcast daikon seeds last year. Several came up. Great stuff. Its a half acre but the grass was a little tough to allow anything else. I'm going to plant more but open the soil up because I do like eating daikon. All the best.

    • @notlouella
      @notlouella Рік тому +5

      @@naomiroyle9637 , it sounds like you broadcast into grass. I haven't tried that yet, though it's top on my agenda for this year. Any tips before I try? (I was just planning to mow low and then broadcast fairly thickly.) All the best back at you!

    • @astrosoup
      @astrosoup Рік тому +5

      That's such a cool tip! I am completely fascinated by exactly what you do.. gardening on reclaimed in Detroit. I've subscribed in case you ever put out a video!

    • @notlouella
      @notlouella Рік тому +2

      @@JanineMJoi, good idea! I'll add some buckwheat to the daikon this fall.

    • @TheTrock121
      @TheTrock121 Рік тому +5

      I grew several crops last Winter and most did fine, but I was dissapointed that the Daikons turned into mush. That bed is very fertile this year though.

  • @TheSteve0583
    @TheSteve0583 4 місяці тому +2

    I have never laughed so hard, and then been so amazed by the density of information in a talk. I could watch this 10 times and still be hearing new things in new ways that I hadn't considered before.

  • @caparis79
    @caparis79 Рік тому +7

    Very interesting. I now know that I know next to nothing about gardening or soil amending.

  • @sethl3702
    @sethl3702 Рік тому +39

    Keeping the soil covered is key. Tarps helped a lot in the beginning. Woodchips and cover crops with occulation creates worm castings in my beds. The exciting part of that for me is I don't have to move them there the worms do the work.
    Knox TN area

    • @notillgrowers
      @notillgrowers  Рік тому +8

      Absolutely. Soil coverage FTW

    • @bele28
      @bele28 Рік тому +1

      @@notillgrowers please take a look at "back to eden", speaks on this very subject.. wanna hear your opinion, thanks

  • @kevinwhited984
    @kevinwhited984 Рік тому +6

    Had to go back a second time to make you said it but you had me at “consumed a lot of beer”. 😂😂

  • @glassbackdiy3949
    @glassbackdiy3949 Рік тому +34

    Best soil tip I have is about compaction. When you have soil so compacted you can't get a regular fork in, let alone a broadfork, get a bulb planting auger bit and drill baby drill, every 6" as deep as you can get, fill the holes with compost, build the bed on top of that

  • @mimistrawberry8051
    @mimistrawberry8051 7 місяців тому +3

    Amazing! I am starting my small 5k sq ft garden soon, on my own on a compressed land that hasn't been touched for at least 10 years, and this channel helped me a lot, lot.

  • @Val-ee4hd
    @Val-ee4hd Рік тому +4

    I mow leaves and use them for mulch. Oaks mainly. They go deep into the ground and bring up nutrients and then release them in the fall to feed the soil. Just like was intended all along. If you have ever walked in a forest you will see what loam soil is.

  • @ericelmore4189
    @ericelmore4189 Рік тому +14

    I am a novice trying to turn my sand into a garden. You said so many words that I've never even heard of that I watched this twice. #Florida

    • @nancyfahey7518
      @nancyfahey7518 Рік тому +3

      I'm an hour north of Tampa. Fighting a drought right now where it's starting to rain but the heat is just drying up everything too fast. Still, I'm hearing reports from Missouri to Alabama that their weather is worse. Keep your soil, when you establish it, covered. David the Good (youtube) uses small fruit trees and chop n drop. And he wrote some great little books on growing in Florida. Good luck.

    • @magsterz123
      @magsterz123 Рік тому +1

      @ericelmore Look for the “soil food web” video on the Canadian Permaculture Legacy channel. Excellent tutorial on some of those terms!

    • @ericelmore4189
      @ericelmore4189 Рік тому

      @@magsterz123 cool, thanks!

  • @Picci25021973
    @Picci25021973 Рік тому +7

    After 31 years of practice I definitely affirm that... yes, beer is essential!

  • @nagasvoice8895
    @nagasvoice8895 Рік тому +38

    In 30 years of managing very heavy clay soils (like, wow, down the street from a pottery clay pit) I discovered that it works better to fork/build wide shallow beds for everything, including trees, not deep. Lets the roots spread out and forage. Deep holes make little clay pot bath tubs that will kill roots in our rainy winter months. I also learned I had to add organic material in huge proportions relentlessly, constantly, adding 6 - 8 inches or more at a time to keep up with the subtropical munching of our microbes taking it back down to nothing in a year or less. I also add whatever mulch I can on top in a wider shallow area, which helps the soil pores give the water somewhere to soak into during droughts, and also somewhere else lower to drain in times of torrential rains. Coffee grounds from restaurants, shredded cardboard and junk mail paper, kitchen compost, spent potting soil, *anything* I can. I used to scavenge big trash bags of kelp off the beach (different house now) but I don't think that's legal now. I have sometimes brought in big loads of commercial compost, but now I'm hearing about gardeners having issues with persistent herbicides like Grazon. Some UA-camrs suggest getting a compost sample and testing it with bean sprouts, very quick reactions. Scoffing a few cups at the local suppliers might be unpopular round here. I know this would be a different video subject, but do you have any other suggestions on how to prescreen this stuff safely?

    • @hyacinthABC
      @hyacinthABC Рік тому

      I had the same question.

    • @lilolgreyhairdlady4093
      @lilolgreyhairdlady4093 Рік тому +7

      I'm starting a new garden from scratch in heavy clay (moved after 35+ years with a great organic garden). Not able to get samples of compost to test, either. I'm planning to order a load of compost, test it, and if there's issues I'll use it where I want to grow corn or grass... Hopefully, I'll have no problem - but if I do, I am making my own compost & (fingers crossed) should eventually have enough.

    • @tonydoggett7627
      @tonydoggett7627 Рік тому +5

      In Australia, some agricultural areas have deep cracking clay soils and the soils are not tilled. The only machine work is to plant a seed, stubble and straw is left alone.
      The cracks are kept because when it rains the water goes down the deep cracks and secondly the wheat roots go down the smaller cracks to access the moisture. Annual rainfall in some of these the areas is 450mm.
      🦘🇦🇺

    • @rnupnorthbrrrsm6123
      @rnupnorthbrrrsm6123 Рік тому +4

      I’ll trade you some of my sand for your clay 😅
      I live on the edge of a pine forest….sand and pine needles 😘

    • @nagasvoice8895
      @nagasvoice8895 Рік тому +3

      @@rnupnorthbrrrsm6123That would be a great deal for me! We're alkaline and need all the pine needles we can get!

  • @kengrow3992
    @kengrow3992 Рік тому +7

    Your video could definitely be 10 hours longer, you’re easy to listen to cause besides writing down a couple of names. I was able to follow you all the way through. I’m just trying to get started in this, so your insight is very valuable to me. Thank you very much.

  • @Blaculo
    @Blaculo Рік тому +3

    We’re seven cycles into our living soil, using Hemp to put root mass into the Florida sand. Great video!

  • @etiennelouw9244
    @etiennelouw9244 Рік тому +11

    Over here in Cape Town, South Africa I have this tough Kikuya grass so I have to dig it out and put in a barrier (cement slabs) to keep it out. This and sifting the soil to get rid of junk that previous people buried in my garden really knocks the soil. After this I dig in compost and cover with cardboard, I cut holes in the cardboard and grow my plants inside the "grow tubes" (soda bottles cut into short tubes) that I put in the holes. I always leave a cleaned out patch fallow from time to time to get the soil to regenerate, My soil is improving as I found earth worms coming back over time.

    • @franzinauen8443
      @franzinauen8443 Рік тому +1

      You can feed the worms with a bit hey from time to time. Cut some grass, let it dry and then put it on top of the fiels. The worms pull the hey then into the ground, and you are getting more worms.

  • @benvoliothefirst
    @benvoliothefirst Рік тому +2

    Watching this video at the beginning of spring here in NH has become an annual tradition for me. Always helps to go back to basics and remind myself what's most important. Thanks so much!

  • @urbanlumberjack
    @urbanlumberjack Рік тому +4

    I don’t mean to sound negative at all, but here is my frustration with the “No till” movement.
    I grew up in the Missouri River Valley where the soil is better than anywhere else in the world. You could stick a shovel anywhere in the ground and find topsoil a foot deep.
    I have since moved to the south and I’m amazed that anything grows here at all. My land used to be a pasture for grazing, but nothing much has happened with it in the last 50 or 60 years before we bought it.
    I have gone to “school” trying to fix this soil over the last several years. I have tried everything from throwing organic matter on top, filling in compost, throwing down taproot seed, sod, grass seed, everything.
    If you don’t establish a baseline, and till in some thing, all of your time, effort, and money will wash right off your lawn at the first rain. Or, as soon as your roots exceed the topsoil you put on they will become root bound and everything dies.
    So here is my complaint. All of the no till farmers I have seen are in glacial plains. That means, at some point in the past, you had glaciers to tell the soil and turn it over, to mix in organic matter and I’ll kinds of good stuff.
    So if you are in those areas, you’re no till method isn’t really no till. You aren’t taking bad soil and making it good soil, you are taking already good soil and making it better.
    In my opinion, and for the money and time I have spent, telling in organic matter to establish a baseline is absolutely critical. If you don’t do that, you will never fix the soil

    • @reneethompson8533
      @reneethompson8533 Рік тому +1

      Do you regret moving from that area of Missouri? The soil sounds great there. We are considering moving from Southern California to Tennessee, or a place with more conservative values.

  • @ainabearfarm8075
    @ainabearfarm8075 Рік тому +52

    Great content! When I taught urban farming in DC, people would always ask for the simple version and I’d say: “add organic material, wait and watch. After a long enough timeline, your plants will be as healthy as anyone else’s.” Now I’m in Hawai’i and biochar has been the magic ingredient. 🤙

    • @selecttravelvacations7472
      @selecttravelvacations7472 Рік тому +1

      Are you creating your own biochar or purchasing it? Just curious.

    • @ainabearfarm8075
      @ainabearfarm8075 Рік тому +1

      @@selecttravelvacations7472 we make our own. We had a bunch of problem trees that were tangled in power lines and had to come down so we’ve had an abundance of material to burn. 🤙

    • @selecttravelvacations7472
      @selecttravelvacations7472 Рік тому +3

      @@ainabearfarm8075 just recently started using a bagged biochar, curious to see how well it does adding to the addition of amendments to a new no dig, cardboard lined bedding. Im thinking it would help decompose it and amend with the compost well. We have new property in the mountains we will be moving to part time before my husband retires. The tree worker that cleared the trees chose to burn a bunch. I look forward to using all the charcoal or biochar created from it.. where he left a big burn pile is where garden 1 will go. Thank you for the info.

    • @ainabearfarm8075
      @ainabearfarm8075 Рік тому

      @@selecttravelvacations7472 that sounds like you will be in good shape with some very healthy soil. Happy gardening! 🤙

  • @selecttravelvacations7472
    @selecttravelvacations7472 Рік тому +16

    In one video you covered an enormous amount of info that the beginner gardener really needs to know. Great Job. Just ordered your book. Can’t wait to devour it.

  • @tesha199
    @tesha199 11 місяців тому +1

    Not only am I strengthening my knowledge a lot from you, but also taking many notes about video production! Would love to see you get to 100 million subscribers, from the fact that many more folks are growing food.
    Keep up the amazing work

  • @captainwalter
    @captainwalter Рік тому +6

    incredibly informative, thanks for breaking all this down. i really like these videos where you basically put a whole bunch of these different topics together to suss them out and get perspective on them. would love to see more, including irrigation, greenhouses, and whatever else.

  • @gail3073
    @gail3073 8 місяців тому +2

    I've grown tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers every year for a lot of years (30+). I've grown other things from herb gardens to potatoes to turnips, but I am no expert. I have found a formula that works for me: compost most important - next leaf mold, therefore I have both compost piles and dry leaf only piles. After these two, 3rd, never walk in rows (compact soil once fluffed) 3ft minimum of no compaction. Raised beds solve this issue and I both ground grow and have raised beds. Once you got these down, feed soil with organic plant food and 10-10-10 fertilizer, a micro nutrient supplement, and humic acid, and gypsum. I also add bio-char and wood ash and homemade liquid fertilizers and microbe solutions. I seldom spray for bugs because marigolds rock. If I must spray, I use habanero pepper spray. The seldom times that's not enough, garden season is over for me. Don't want harsh pesticides in the food or soil. Mulch once plant break ground. That'll save on watering. That's about all I do. It's a lot but it's not that much and totally worth it.

  • @barronriverblues4462
    @barronriverblues4462 Рік тому +31

    Great video! For us an essential amendment is a Protozoa infusion especially on any new beds to really get nutrient cycling going. We use a 55 gal drum filled with water and 10 cups of alfalfa meal. Brew that for 40-50hrs depending on weather and check under the microscope before applying.

    • @bluejay3945
      @bluejay3945 Рік тому +4

      Curious why you brew for longer than 24 hrs .Also is this straight alfalfa or do you add other ingredients? How often do you apply? Thank you

  • @robertling9872
    @robertling9872 Рік тому +50

    Thanks for this video on a very interesting topic. They give you new insights. I myself make compost according to the 'Charles Dowding method'. And I mixed vegetables and herbs in the vegetable garden. This helps for the necessary insects and the plant roots feed each other. The plants are growing well and are healthy. Until then, the harvests are satisfactory.

  • @justinman222
    @justinman222 Рік тому +5

    I very much appreciate your b roll “demos”. Makes it very easy to keep up.
    Subscribed.
    I’m trying to work with a food forest, a pasture, and market garden. I have goats, poultry, and pigs for compost, I try to be organic when possible (zero fruit in 4 years so far)
    I found this video helpful. Thanks

  • @jksatte
    @jksatte Рік тому +8

    This was really interesting and just what I need to keep off the garden while I figure out my sandy soil has nothing and I am basically starting from scratch lol. It's really good info. There is so much going on in the soil. I don't know how you guys figure all this stuff out, but I thank you for doing so and sharing.

  • @Felco6
    @Felco6 Рік тому

    Even though I listened carefully throughout, I’ll watch this again. Very well done. Thank you for your time in making this presentation.

  • @parkerbender09
    @parkerbender09 Рік тому +85

    Awesome video. I am also a soil nerd so yes this video was long but I wouldn’t mind if it was 3 times longer honestly 😂

  • @harrykersey3181
    @harrykersey3181 Рік тому +9

    The more diverse your organic materials for making your compost the better you can usually find out if sprays have been used on the smaller grassés and shrubs for your green matter or grow your compost materials if you have the room use them along with the leaves of preferably hardwood trees and the mold under pines as well as oaks are great for your soil I use pine mulch ( needles) for my walkways . It is a wives tale that they cause acidity to the soil .

  • @DiAshTray
    @DiAshTray Рік тому +5

    Funny how the title has "Simplified", but I have so many more questions now. In the good way of course. I really appreciate your informed approach and willingness to accept that the views of others may be beneficial to the bigger conversation. Excellent talk.

  • @kj_H65f
    @kj_H65f Рік тому +5

    Thank you for the science based analysis. It really helps to cut through a lot of untested or ineffective methods.

  • @OwlMoovement
    @OwlMoovement Рік тому +3

    I've been binging hard on Kempf and AEA's podcast recordings on UA-cam and cannot echo the recommendation hard enough. It's amazing how accessible Kempf, his colleagues, and guests make the pioneering science of Ingham and so many other researchers to growers and other non-agronomists. Although AEA sells products to help people build good soil and crop health, I love that their apparent mission is to work themselves into obsolesence by empowering growers out of needing external inputs, be they material or informational.

  • @Anon-xd3cf
    @Anon-xd3cf Рік тому

    THIS...
    All day this.
    This is the level of detail and of "why" that is missing from my life.
    Thank you.

  • @CC-lv1ox
    @CC-lv1ox Рік тому +3

    Incredible video for me, a novice gardener as of May. Thank you.

  • @peter.knupffer
    @peter.knupffer Рік тому +2

    I liked AND subscribed before the intro even finished (which i've never done before) and didn't regret it by the end of the vid. Very informative, and very entertaining, a rare combo. Thanks, Jesse!

  • @MsCissyBlue
    @MsCissyBlue Рік тому +2

    Solo homesteader on two acres central Texas and I really appreciate all your expert explanations. For once, in 67 years, I finally understand soil. Thank you for that. Awesome.

    • @annalawler6970
      @annalawler6970 Рік тому

      👋 hi, I'm a solo homestead on 1/3 acre of clay on south Texas bay. Tip ...I lay down strips of old carpet between my actual growing spaces. It not only keeps weeds away but helps retain moisture and nutrients from escaping. Others know to only walk on the carpet so there is no compaction of soil for plant beds. I get the old carpet free when the store does a job, they don't have to dispose of the old...they call me lol. Carpet also helps slow down erosion in bare spots until grass cover can get established.
      Happy independence day to you ❤️

  • @marynunn1708
    @marynunn1708 Рік тому +18

    Just starting my regen ag/organic journey for my personal veggie garden here in Western NC zone7B. Early results look very promising. Using some of AEA’s products. John Kempf knows his stuff. You and he have opened my eyes to what the real soil and plant health needs are. Thanks so much for sharing your hard earned info with us all.

  • @tomh4591
    @tomh4591 Рік тому +6

    nice alternative to a penetrometer for DIY soil compaction, study the native plants in said soil. Fluffy roots, loose soil, long tap roots, nature is already working on loosening it. There are certain species to look for in any given grow zone that will tell you exactly the state of your soil compaction

    • @endurance8910
      @endurance8910 Рік тому

      Dandelions.... compacted soil .. thats about all i know so far 😅

  • @jonrev5630
    @jonrev5630 Рік тому +2

    Going to need to watch this a few times. Seems like you are condensing a lot of research and practical experience. Thanks for this.

  • @saukhaven
    @saukhaven Рік тому

    I really enjoyed this. You are easy to listen to and are obviously very knowledgable. Thanks!

  • @tompowell6723
    @tompowell6723 Рік тому +47

    I truly appreciate your fellow thinking man delivery. I am also on the same page with local microbes, earthworms castings, adding aged manures. So glad that I subscribed always looking forward to more of your clearly and well expressed point of view. So similar to my own. Kindly keep them coming. Be well, Tom.

  • @jessmills5737
    @jessmills5737 Рік тому +2

    Just found this channel and happened to be looking specifically for how to fix my terrible Kentucky soil lol. (I’ve only been here a few years and I know nothing about Kentucky soil). So glad I found your channel; I love your energy!

  • @dionvh
    @dionvh Рік тому +5

    I would like the 10-hour long version please.

  • @kearstinnekenerson6676
    @kearstinnekenerson6676 Рік тому +2

    One of my friends got me your book for my birthday and I love it and I always look at how dense the soil is and then brake out my microscope. I like using my worm castings with a watering from the water change water from my turtle tank, everything seems to love the tank water

  • @jontaylor1365
    @jontaylor1365 Рік тому +45

    I would love a video on what amendments/foliar feeds/whatever you use on specific crops and at what stage of growth or symptoms. That would be fantastic, even if it is specific to your soil and climate. Great work. Greetings from Northern Germany.

    • @Fibers-Art-Food-Fundamentals
      @Fibers-Art-Food-Fundamentals 8 місяців тому +1

      I read about a study where they discovered that the plants grew so much better when exposed to the sounds birds make in the morning. Even plants in greenhouses will open the stomas on the under leaf and absorb nutrients far better when they hear bird song in the mornings. Just FYI, because I found that so fascinating-nature is incredible.

  • @kimeckart1691
    @kimeckart1691 Рік тому

    I thoroughly enjoyed your knowledgeable approach to the topic and candid presentation. Happy growing!

  • @nerissaBee615
    @nerissaBee615 Рік тому +2

    Learning farming skills at Sugar Camp Farm in Cheatham county, Tennessee. Thank you for your video and all you do to help educate and share your no till growing experience.

  • @Ben.McNeilly
    @Ben.McNeilly Рік тому +14

    I would give just about anything for a chance to have a beer with you, nerd out about plants and soil and pick your brain for a few hours. 😅 I've never come across anyone else who can nerd out about this stuff as me until you!!! You have so much knowledge! And I love your open approach to improving your list of tools and strategies with regards to farming

    • @notillgrowers
      @notillgrowers  Рік тому +9

      I've threatened for years to do a nerdy farming brewery tour. Will have to make that happen one of these days.

    • @Ben.McNeilly
      @Ben.McNeilly Рік тому +3

      @@notillgrowers I'm in Ireland, the land of lovely beer and stout 😜 hit me up if you ever come over and need a tour guide! There are some cool farms here too

    • @notillgrowers
      @notillgrowers  Рік тому +5

      Well we may be in the UK later this year so 🤷

    • @Ben.McNeilly
      @Ben.McNeilly Рік тому +2

      @@notillgrowers Ireland is not in the UK, but it's only a very short flight over if you feel like visiting the emerald Isle!

    • @tokyotipster
      @tokyotipster Рік тому +2

      @@notillgrowers Please do a world tour. We have a craft beer brewery here in Kochi, Japan. And sake.

  • @erichkruger
    @erichkruger Рік тому +3

    I'm learning about no till. I have a lot of clay. Used a fork for my 1st bed. Finally got an old Tory Built Horse working which I love. I'm geeking out on the compost also. Can't wait to try one of your aeration tubes! Thank you!

  • @esfromec1
    @esfromec1 9 місяців тому +1

    Tremendous explanation, thank you man. These are the folks I want to buy all my produce from.

  • @urbancaping
    @urbancaping Рік тому +1

    Just starting my small organic garden at home and got a ton insight from your awesome video. Greetings from Indonesia.

  • @markmurillo3570
    @markmurillo3570 Рік тому

    My new favorite garden dude! Really looking forward to watching more of these.

  • @chupu85
    @chupu85 Рік тому

    Wanted to shout out to your book. Half ways through it and glad I still have a couple months till my spring garden 👍🏽

  • @nickatchley9231
    @nickatchley9231 Рік тому +5

    My man jess great video! Been following you on UA-cam for a couple years now. Especially since I live in central Indiana running my small market farm that I started last year. I been waiting for you to do a more in depth video such as this. Btw I prefer the longer videos more information I collect and get ideas for. Thanks keep up the good fight.

  • @trumpetingangel
    @trumpetingangel 9 місяців тому

    This video was SO HELPFUL! Thank you, so much.

  • @ssstults999
    @ssstults999 3 дні тому

    I love how you sneak in unexpected humor.

  • @mikeduque3744
    @mikeduque3744 Рік тому +1

    this was fantastic and would love to hear more on topics mentioned throughout, thank you for sharing

  • @johnwymer1525
    @johnwymer1525 Рік тому

    It is amazing how complicated the soil is !!!

  • @albertorodriguez6287
    @albertorodriguez6287 Рік тому

    You are very eloquent my friend. Keep it up. Watching from New York.

  • @breadseedaggie3001
    @breadseedaggie3001 Рік тому +3

    you are the man jesse. thanks for all you do!

  • @tcotroneo
    @tcotroneo Рік тому +43

    Here’s a personal tip.. I had great soil in an area.. It looked like rich cottage cheese full of soil aggregates.. It was nearby a paver patio and was prone to Japanese stiltweed seedlings. So last fall I decided I was tired of pulling weeds out of my pavers and pulling up Japanese stiltweed in my garden area. I heavily mulched with woodchips and I sealed the paver gaps.. A week later I saw pooling from a heavy storm on my pavers.. This occurred all season.. When spring came along and I transplanted my flower starters and veggies, I noticed my soil was very slick, like a wet paste.. That garden area had been soaking up all the paver water and the heavy woodchips mulch wasn’t helping evaporation. The soil didn’t have an anaerobic smell, but it was on its way… Always be mindful of major changes in your landscape..

    • @TheEmbrio
      @TheEmbrio Рік тому +1

      Yikes. Nothing quite like living roots and drainage, huh ?!?

    • @kimkerley4218
      @kimkerley4218 Рік тому +4

      My dear, wood chips doesn’t help drainage, they hold the moisture in the soil. 🌞🌞🌞

    • @yuppers1
      @yuppers1 Рік тому

      @@kimkerley4218 It sounds like the OP was trying to stop the weed growth, not improve drainage

    • @bele28
      @bele28 Рік тому

      @@kimkerley4218 it actually helps but after some time, because with time it helps brakes compaction in soil underneath.

  • @phillaflamme9952
    @phillaflamme9952 Рік тому +24

    I'm a fan of propagating microherds in compost teas, but have different methods for different goals. For high phosphorus and calcium eating plants like tomato's I have my own technique adapted from other techs. Take cooked brown rice and mix with a handful of bone meal and place in a Tupperware uncovered outside. Leave it outside until a visible fungi or bacteria presence is there, it may be necessary to wet the mixture so it doesn't dry out. Them bring inside, cover loosely and allow whatever inoculate that has taken hold to propagate. By taking indigenous micro organisms that can tolerate or grow on high calcium/phosphorous environments and making teas with them you can more fully utilize the phosphates and calcium that are naturally present in your soils and compost.

    • @patrickglaser1560
      @patrickglaser1560 10 місяців тому

      Not bad, I just buy mycorrizae

    • @phillaflamme9952
      @phillaflamme9952 10 місяців тому +1

      @@patrickglaser1560 I also buy mycorrhizae as you can't really propagate it from air spores and only grows on root structures, but for the other thousands of beneficial out there it's a pretty decent tek

  • @tbluemel
    @tbluemel Рік тому +1

    I really love your videos! Always informative and entertaining. Thank you!

  • @J3mdA
    @J3mdA Рік тому +1

    Just found your channel and I'm in love with the nerdiness 🤸 going to binge on more videos! Subscribed!

  • @beverlyrolon2186
    @beverlyrolon2186 Рік тому

    I love your sense of humor… and consumed a lot of beers. Thanks for sharing this knowledge. I don’t think I’ll be a grower to the extent some of you are just trying not to grow weeds intentionally if I can help it. Mother Earth sure loves you!!

  • @alfonnantumanggur702
    @alfonnantumanggur702 11 місяців тому +1

    What a wonderful garden..
    Proud of you man and very love the way you explain about soil..👏👏

  • @pinkmonk999
    @pinkmonk999 Рік тому +2

    So nice to have someone who doesn´t promote expensive, useless practices. Top grade on this one! I´m still not convinced that compost tea and foliage sprays will give my plants any benefits, but i have to test it more I think.

  • @wanderingwade8877
    @wanderingwade8877 Рік тому

    I'm a clueless newbie and this is a great video! Subscribed.

  • @annrenee3265
    @annrenee3265 Рік тому +1

    Excellent video. I grow no dig in SW Britain in a small productive garden. I find yields from different veg vary considerably every year. This year has been so dry, only potatoes broad beans & strawberries have done well so far. Thx for all the info

  • @johnwymer1525
    @johnwymer1525 Рік тому

    Well done! You are a natural educator. Good information

  • @madelinerivera7445
    @madelinerivera7445 3 місяці тому

    Holy moly, this is DEEP! So much information; he's on a whole different level. But I understood some of the information. Thank you.

  • @kentuckygreg4725
    @kentuckygreg4725 Рік тому +8

    First I want to compliment you on your knowledge of soil health and all the schools of thought on it. I live in Oldham county was curious how you market your produce. Your intelligent approach to growing does a lot to dispel the stereotype of the ignorant Kentucky hillbilly.

    • @notillgrowers
      @notillgrowers  Рік тому +1

      We sell almost exclusively at the farmers' market, though we are also slowly developing a farm store. We spent several years developing our social media presence so that helps. And at market being certified organic is a huge marketing tool. Selling something like a CSA (which we did for years) is a much harder thing, and takes a lot more hand selling at first.

    • @InnerSunshine
      @InnerSunshine Рік тому

      @@notillgrowers 🙂I think you are correct. CSAs seem to work well if you have a "captive audience." A good example of this is the CSAs which spring out of and serve a Waldorf school parent community. The other good example is agrihoods, new home developments built around an active farm CSA. Light to you for your service, sharing what you have learned. I recommend John Kempf also.

  • @bjblitz5448
    @bjblitz5448 Рік тому +1

    I like it when nerds spew info 👍

  • @jamestyrer6067
    @jamestyrer6067 Рік тому

    VERY GOOD INFORMATION AS IM LEARNING HOW TO SUPPLEMENT THE SOIL IN MY GARDENS NATURALLY. THANKS

  • @nailbendert4569
    @nailbendert4569 Рік тому +280

    If you want to see beautiful, healthy soil just go into the woods and brush away the leaves and grab a handful. You know the spot its where we haven't been "helping" it.

    • @bretsaksa631
      @bretsaksa631 Рік тому +14

      Literally what I did yesterday while transplanting a peice of bamboo i found growing wild 🤣 you aren't wrong!

    • @Still-Learning
      @Still-Learning Рік тому +34

      It's literally the definition of composting...It falls to the ground, it's then broken down, it's then taken up by the roots, and then becomes our food.
      The gardening "industry" has complicated creating and maintaining soil health by catering to undereducated gardeners seeking the "magic" grow pill.
      In this case, nature outperforms nurture.

    • @candygarfield1479
      @candygarfield1479 Рік тому +19

      Create a food forest!! Mine is going to POP this year..
      I picked up fallen branches in 8 acres , dragged downed trees to make raised beds along winding paths leading to "Hollars" that get full sun 8 hours a day and low spots that won't require daily watering. I have piles of dead tree matter, branches in hard wood piles and pine piles I'm tossing in a chipper this year with biochar I'm doing in winter. Fish meal mixed into what I'm transplanting with.
      Fruits berries beans corn squash.
      Cut offs I let have a freeze for seeds, or just put in the ground last few years coming up as food now. I have established garden spots, and random growing all over. The soil is amazing. If I don't feel good, I go dig in it, barefoot, next day I'm right as rain.
      I've cleared maybe forty bags of poison ivy.. gets bagged and labelled for dump. And NOT IN LEAF PILE!!! PEOPLE! otherwise, find a back 40 spot to let it wilt and die. Don't burn it!! And don't use the tools for this project for anything else.. get old tools at yard sales and use them only for poison Ivy.
      I use old tube socks n cut fingers n thumb, gloves over them , pull up to armpits,over a long sleeve T, too big old jeans I'll throw away after, a piece of tool around my face head and neck,
      The better you're covered, the faster the job is..
      Then just peel it all off and discard with your poison ivy. So use cotton or other natural fabrics that will break down.

    • @johnm.515
      @johnm.515 Рік тому +9

      My family owns 600 acres of forest and this how my soil gets regenerated. Just pick a spot out of 600 acres.

    • @joshuamedina7292
      @joshuamedina7292 Рік тому +10

      I just make my own compost and i add pot ash and charcoal to my compost. I also buy bait worms and add that to my compost. When it's all said and done my compost is a living echo system that i add to my soil

  • @chrisperkins1585
    @chrisperkins1585 Місяць тому

    loved the 'cookies' comparison - Great video

  • @ardenthebibliophile
    @ardenthebibliophile Рік тому +3

    No sassy end of video quip?! I feel so abandoned.
    Excellent content as always!

  • @GoGreenYes
    @GoGreenYes Рік тому

    Easy methode, good working.
    Nice and happy gardening

  • @DeadStreamOrganics
    @DeadStreamOrganics 6 місяців тому

    9:26 “if the soil isn’t being fed, it’s eating itself” love this, simple yet effective.

  • @johac7637
    @johac7637 Рік тому +6

    Great presentation, balanced, I have gardened all my 64 years, as a 2 year old crawled down a hill, crawled back up, was in a doghouse with our dog and a cob of corn, they after panicking I was lost, we were surrounded by forest, they relaxed, dog gone too, found me following the corn husk trail, used the dog as a nap pillow. So I grew up in a garden too.
    Have had many garden locations, my most difficult right now is Arizona, .71 organics, very high sodium, high Boron, high calcium, 8.3 PH on amended soils, now with alfalfa, wood chips I now can grow trees, gardens, at first a big fat nothing.
    My levels are coming up or down to balance the macros, micros, PH, organics, deep tilled 6 " chips to get drainage , and organics for worm, lots now BUT. SALTS grrr
    Now I'm going to try Humics, liquid, solids, as the salts are killing me. Cover crops, 2 seasons worth, I'm going to kick it's butt, I hope, any suggestions ? Anyone.

  • @twiggshomestead6497
    @twiggshomestead6497 Рік тому +6

    Amazing video... I have been reading books on this topic for years and absorbing as much information as possible. Learning from Dr. Elaine Ingham has been a ton of help. You wrapped up a good sum of the information in this short video very well. I am working on my information delivery in my videos and you are a great example for me! Thanks!!

  • @robertlavrakas7442
    @robertlavrakas7442 Рік тому

    Great info and you have a great sense of humor!

  • @TwoOnesTanks
    @TwoOnesTanks Рік тому +2

    we need a longer one for this subject

  • @stonehold42
    @stonehold42 Рік тому

    Well, that was informative. Someone does a bunch of homework, talks to folks and learns a bunch. I don't actually garden though I suppose I should learn things first. Good stuff, thanks.

  • @alanhart6197
    @alanhart6197 Рік тому +4

    beer is essentual, and other great content. Thanks, love your delivery style.

  • @vnrkain1169
    @vnrkain1169 Рік тому

    Just discovered this channel. Most helpful and interesting.

  • @mahtay2000
    @mahtay2000 Рік тому +9

    You speak so well. You obviously have a deep interest and experiential understanding of the subject. Imagine if you lived for 400 years and could do all the Phd's you want to do!
    Keep up the awesomeness

  • @approofarm
    @approofarm Рік тому

    I love the way you live your life. Thanks for a wonderful video!

  • @feirmebeardonn4597
    @feirmebeardonn4597 Рік тому +3

    I live in Kodiak, AK and our soils here are very shallow with a very thin organic top layer that sits on top of really rocky clay mix. To boot where my house is, the river used to run through and when you dig you hit big ol rocks that were deposited. The soils here suck. The access to compost is limited to either buying it by the bag at the hardware store, or from the waste treatment (biosolids). We have been making our compost with the largest free resource we have...Kelp. We collect throughout the winter and spring let it rinse off then in the fall we layer all the beds with it, and within days earthworms are thick. We blend the kelp to feed our chickens and use the "goo" to feed the plants. We mix in some horse manure with the composting kelp and make tea with that. We have been experimenting with biosolids and have had great success, but we still employ all the other things as well. In the two years we have been building the soils here the yields have been higher, and the plants just seem healthier. Your vids have helped us so much to implement a lasting soil regime that it will last long after we are gone and for that I thank you.

    • @InnerSunshine
      @InnerSunshine Рік тому +1

      Amazing work. I recall the original Findhorn in Scotland had no compost. They used seaweed similarly to how you describe.

    • @feirmebeardonn4597
      @feirmebeardonn4597 Рік тому +1

      @@InnerSunshine yeah, I actually got the idea from walking around on Inis Mor and talking to some of the older gardeners about what they use to fix their soils. Also, they feed it to their sheep too since grass is hard to come by there. Where there is a will there is a way.

    • @trethehunter
      @trethehunter Рік тому

      Soil?? If I was you I would be panning that dirt for gold.

  • @holisticheritagehomestead
    @holisticheritagehomestead 3 місяці тому

    Great video! Lots of useful information. Improving soil is an exciting process that I enjoy. Be well.

  • @bmotroll2768
    @bmotroll2768 Рік тому +2

    Play music around plants. The vibrations through the air stimulate the plant cells on a molecular level making them grow more. I also go around making sure the in ground plants are not in compacted sand by sticking a metal rod in the ground. I love the fork tool that covers loads of space. A lot of people don’t understand that plants breathe through their roots and need aerated soil

  • @John-cc4rk
    @John-cc4rk Рік тому +6

    Is there anything Matthew McConaughey can't do? Alright Alright Alright!

  • @DhinCardoso
    @DhinCardoso 6 місяців тому

    Tremendous explanation, watching it twice (or more). Once more *from Brazil* ty ♥

  • @lindaswedenlifestyle
    @lindaswedenlifestyle Рік тому +1

    Awesome tips. Thank you for sharing all this method and all this information .. inspire me to learn more about the garden👌🌱👍🍓🍅