I have a small garden with 3, 8 foot raised beds that are in prime locations. 3 other smaller beds in partial shade in the afternoon. I've been rotating crops going on 3 years. Since I companion plant in these beds, its hard to keep up with rotating potatoes, peas, beans, onions, and cucumbers. I also plant in buckets, tomatoes and cucumbers. I'll be figuring things out for next years garden. Thank you for all of your help! I love this channel and always look forward to your posts!
I’m in Central Florida 9b …. Still in the 90’s daily. Root knot nematodes where I plant tomatoes in my small backyard garden. Would planting in containers help with the nematode issues? Planning to move tomatoes to another area.
For individual plants (brassicas, lettuce, peppers etc); I dont bother, mostly because I'll get a scoop of compost and probably a different plant to replace it ie incidental 'rotation'. The only things i grow as a 'patch' (in my raised beds) are tomatoes and potatoes and they do get moved around annually, mostly in case of soil based pests
Trying to think how to rotate when all I want to eat/grow is tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers in two small beds when only one is set up with a tomato trellis. Can I grow bush beans in the fall?
When I first started, I rotated beds religiously - had a dozen 4x20 raised beds, all in full sun. Not sure if it was really necessary. Now I have much smaller beds, not all in full sun, and am much pickier about what I grow. I also do a lot of interplanting/companion planting with a mix of vegetables, flowers and herbs in almost every bed, so figuring out any kind of rotation would make my head hurt. I think healthy soil and a diverse garden area are the keys to plant health. I do usually plant my garlic in the fall down the center of many of the beds, which is my way of initiating some kind of pest control from the get go and then go from there.
I’ve been gardening in my current home for 25 years and have never rotated my crops. Rarely have disease issues, thankfully. But my garden bed is 10x12 feet and I also have one that is 3 feet wide and the length of my house. I’ve found that proper soil amendments and mulching seem to take the need out of rotation.
Charles Dowding has 2 beds he shows that rotating plants isn't necessary. God doesn't rotate plants, they grow where the fruit falls or the seeds are carried. As long as you amend your beds with compost and mineral supplements, rotation is unnecessary! I have successfully grown my peppers in the same beds for 5 years. I don't spend much on supplements either.
Wow !!! That was really some good info !!! Thanks Brian !!!😃 But now I have to remember all that info ...good thing I have your book !!! Just wanted to ask you a question ... what compost do you recommend ?...(I live in an apartment and I grow in containers and a small trug raised bed )🥰 Thanks again Love your videos !!!❤
I'm glad someone says it the way it works in reality and not by the text book. I have a small enclosed garden. To try to rotate a plant away from where it didn't do well last year is like moving it from the kitchen to the dining room. What works best for me is learning what to plant and when. Brassicas have to be fall because cabbage moths decimate a spring planting. I do a lot of bug surveillence and when the Mexican bean beetle overwhelms the string beans, i cut them down and toss the bush towards the chickens who love to peck those bright yellow larvae off the bush. I dont try to plant everything at once, and can get in succession planting if one type gets overwhelmed. Learn to work around what nature throws at you. If you try to be the perfect gardener you will have more failures than successes.
@@donhorak9417 absolutely!!!! Of course nature loves to throw something at you just to keep you on your toes. Fortunately for me, I love the challenges. And I'm not afraid to try to do something people say can't be done. Case in point. I am in Zone 7 and put some citrus trees in the ground that everyone says will die over the winter. My plan is to create little greenhouses over them this year, heavily mulch the roots and base and run a string of low wattage incandescent lights to them. If I fail, so what! Isn't failure the mother of creativity? I can't tell you how many bright ideas I had that were epic fails and how many were epic successes.
Once again Brian, GREAT overview of growing our own food sustainably in healthy soil and having fun and the great satisfaction of watching the processes at the same time. It's all about giving back to the land isn't it? Good to see you enjoying your summer - looks like you all had a great time in Hawaii!! Thanks again for everything on both channels - take care to all 🇨🇦
...I failed my tomatoes this year I planted them in my former garlic beds without adding new soil...yellow and droopy...smallest yield in the last ten years. Thanks for the content always good to see the successes.
I'm really trying to be better about improving my soil health. I get confused about using compost. Some people mix it in as an amendment, others put it on top as mulch. It doesn't seem to be a very good mulch as it dries out about as quickly as the bare soil. I'll be watching your "putting beds to bed" video next. Thanks for the outstanding content you provide to us.
I have 6 raised beds & then an enclosure for the berries & sweet corn. That does NOT get rotated. i add compost & amend soil & mulch. keep critters out. lol. I have several trellises in several beds. Might switch out which beds has what planted. Moved melons this year since i had vine borers in that bed last year. Getting harvest this year.
Yeah, I agree with everything you said here. Maybe for megafarms, it is a good idea. For most homes with a small area to garden on, it is not a desirable or practical solution. I do even question if it is needed at all. I lived on an orange grove with hundred year old trees that produced bountiful harvests. That alone, seems to suggest that under most circumstances, it is not needed.
I have a small garden, but I always move things around each year. Bed 1 has beets, spinach & peas. Bed 2 has Cherry tomatoes, peppers & I generally experiment with the 3rd option. Each year I switch beds & positions in each bed. I do use grass clippings as mulch, and I always put anything i don't use from the garden (excess beet leaves, peelings, pea plant leaves) back on top as mulch. Plus I do fresh compost in the spring. For next year's project I hope to add a rain barrel & switch to drip irrigation.
I have a couple large areas of my garden I'll have to amend and let rest next year. I will have to consciously rotate things next year though, and next year will probably be a major bean year. Basically a mostly restorative year, it's time.
I have a rectangular garden which lent itself to a four year rotation. I used to have a big problem with blight in my tomatoes so always rotated, just barely keeping ahead of the blight. Covid hit, UA-cam came into my life along with Brian. I sucked in Brian’s shows on raised beds and tomato frames. I built raised beds and tomato frames. My blight problem disappeared. Not wanting to trust growing in the same area, I continued to rotate the tomatoes, yes, rotating my frames. Big job. With the beds, I started experimenting with interplanting. I’ve had good results and not so good result with the interplanting. Every year, I experiment and every year, some plants do well and others not so well. I’m sure weather has a hand in the successes. Next year, I’m going to keep the tomatoes where they are and see how it goes. I haven’t had a good squash season in three years. Scratching my head on that one, Ha, ha. Thank you Brian for your insights to gardening. I have your book, having harvested great information. Great show!! Thank you.
Because you are a Walter Anderson nursery person, I've put my plant or mystery bugs in a zipper plastic bag and took it into their help desk. I had a plant that was struggling and when I pulled it, I saw the "nubs/knots" on the roots. I thought it was root knot nematodes but took it to WA to confirm. Yep...they helped me confirm what I thought. I opted to amend the bed and let it rest for a growing season. I'm in the processing of rotating crops in this bed. Keeping my fingers crossed for future growing in this bed.
Try growing a fall crop of white or mixed mustards, let it flower then chop n drop n mix back into soil. I had RKN in my tomatoes bc i only have 4 - 4x3 ft beds for my veggies n i LOVE tomatoes so i have had up to 3 of those beds full of tomatoes. I only had 2 plant fall mustard crop 1x 2 b able 2 go back 2 planting tomatoes again. Hope this helps!
I dont usually rotate plant growing locations (thinking of the tomato structure!eek!), but this coming spring I will move tomatoes to a different bed after a season of early blight really cost me any successful tomato crop.
Great subject! I dutifully planned and rotated my crops for 2 years. After which I too gave that up and just topped with homegrown compost and mulch. Thank you for this video! I really like your book. I have been using companion planting for years. Have had other books but yours is by far the best because you break it all down, including crop rotation and other good gardening info. Plus I ordered the kindle version which allows me to search! Thanks again Brian, really enjoy your channels.
Great stuff, Brian! Thanks as always. Question: I used grow bags for the first time this year. It's gone really well. I want to empty out the bags and have them dried out and ready for next year. Suggestions on what to do with the soil? I don't want to get rid of all of it. Can I put the soil in some kind of storage container until I follow your instructions to amend it for next year? Open to any thoughts. Thanks again!!
We use a plastic aquare composter bin w removable lid to empty soil bags n pots into. We can cover over winter from most rain though it is aerated on sifes. The bin has 3 stackable pcs n lid n is open 2 grd at bottom. If we pull mix from this we know to add fertilizer.
Love your book btw. Had to take the bean and tomato trellis out of one bed last year because of blight. Instead planted brassicas. No problems this year. 👍 Reconfigured the northern trellis's to a north/South direction and everything grew a lot better except a showing of disease on only one type of bean, and a slow showing of disease on the tomato leaves. By taking the diseased leaves off as soon as they show up the tomatoes seem to be thriving. Appreciate all your advice. 👍🙏🇨🇦
????? Can I plant another round of potatoes after I harvest potatoes in my container . and I only got 12 medium small potatoes out of a 15 gallon container. Ty
I would add nutrients if I did. I plant in the bags and replant a crop of potatoes but add 1/3 of the bag s in new compost. I have planted without for experimental purposes but they didn't do as well. Of course if you keep the dirt well fertilized during the growing process you should be fine to replant if there were no disease in the plants previously.
Harvest tomatoes at 30-50% ripe. Let them fully ripen in the kitchen. Get an infrared game camera so you can figure out who the culprit is, then you can plan your defense strategy. For me, it was rabbits.
I put up a 3' tall plastic fence, 1' mesh. That kept rabbits out. Also, put out water...bird baths and water bowls. Sometimes, all they want is a drink.
There is no need to rotate crops for a home gardener. Add compost, the appropriate natural fertilizers for what you're growing, do a cover crop if you'd like. I've been growing potatoes in the same in-ground bed for five years now. No issues.
Have been a hose-waterer for years. This is the 1st year it became laborious. Thinking that next year drip needs to be added. Have watched lots of videos but still do not really understand all the connections (and how to do them / what tools to have. My fear is spending $$ and not being able to make it work. I’m one of those people who is so mechanically un-inclined that I have discarded things before just because I gave up on assembly. And instructions these days are usually so poorly written that if you can’t read between the lines they are useless. I wish I could find something plug and play for a particular bed size.
I haven't been diligent in what and where I've been planting. Paying attention now to the different veggie families and reviewing some of your older vlogs, I did run across your canning tomatoes 101 with Alan. What a hoot! Thank you for sharing with us your education and diligence and bloopers! 😂😂😂
We just started raised beds, the kind you buy and put together, the metal type. In the very bottom, we placed firewood to fill up space, then mulch to fill in between the firewood, then an organic soil, about 7 or 8 inches. So I planted a Fall garden of lettuces, kale, carrots, parsnips, bok choi and brussels. Have many seedlings but I'm not seeing a lot of breakout growth. Perhaps it's been a little too hot (We live in Louisville, KY) or maybe I've overwatered? My question is: is all this wood and organic (which was kinda a bit woody also) soil a smart decision? I'm not sure if I planted too early, overwatered or the soil, although organic and you think that's be a good thing, was a big mistake. Any insights you can give would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
Hi Brian, I have a question about summer pruning of Blackberries. I know your video was more than 2 weeks ago, so I am asking here. I went out to prune and my 2 blackberry plants only have 2 canes. I removed the one that produced this year but the second ones are massive, over an inch thick. Nothing is growing on the first 5 feet of the one but it has so much growth from there. It's at least 16 ft long. what do I do?
I live in South Carolina. I love both your channels. I have a question that I hope you can help me with. I have never had trouble with or even seen these bugs. They are leptoglossus phyllopus and have about destroyed my tomatoes. I would like to know have to get rid of them. I have sprayed with seven dust and neem oil, but it didn't help. Do you know what I can put on my tomatoes?
Sorry for going off topic. I save beans every year to plant tbe next. I swear I planted cow peas. They should be a long pod that you take the beans out of the pod. My problem is i have these large flat beans growing and they are getting red streaks. I keep googling cant find ones with red streaks. Is it the italian green bean left on too long? Thank you!!
I'm not sure I understand how often to rotate. Every 4 years if you use the 1st method of 5 groups & every year for the 2nd method using the 4 groups? But I do think your method sounds the best for home gardeners.
I was thinking the same thing. I think with my fall garden I’ll try pine shavings in 1 or 2 beds and see what happens. My soil is a couple inches down from the top of the bed so maybe that should help keep it from blowing away. If I have success after a month, I’ll use it on the others.
Short of extending the enclosure to entire garden, any suggestions on dealing with squirrels doing weird things live eating the stems of potatoe plants? Did all my normal amending the soil, had great looking plants & then the rodents started ganwing in the stems! Never had that happen before
One thing to note. If you rotate crops, you do not want to place them anywhere within 10-20 feet of where they were the previous year... preferably even farther. That way any pests, fungi, etc that was left in the old plot cannot easily reach the new location via traveling, spores carried by wind, insect, bird or animal. Also, any biochemicals emitted by the plants in the previous year do not interact with the newer batch of plants... An example of this would be the trees that spread chemicals that suppress the growth of competing species of plants.
I water daily with irrigation water by overhead watering and haven't had any issues. I'm in a desert area maybe it's too dry for water to stand on my plants. Possibly it evaporates more quickly. Also doesn't rain coming down, means that that is overhead watering?
I do not think you are making good points, so my thought to your question is no. There are different ways to deal with pests, and diseases. The last time I tried growing food my plants got surrounded by pests, but this time my plants are not surrounded by pests. I have not had a chance to experience reusing old soil when I grow my plants. I use new soil each time I decide to grow something. I think depending on how you want to grow then you could either spend a few minutes, or hours, or maybe an entire day outside with whatever you want to grow to make sure they are >>> safe
When dirt is used to grow whatever & rain & your hose wets it nutrients are pulled out of that dirt and diseased. A wise master gardener once advised>> At the end of each season dispose of your used growing soil & replace with fresh next season. Dirt is cheap, it is more work that it is worth to amend the old soil, work it in, break it up, that makes me tired just saying it. REPLACE growing soil each spring. !
That doesn’t make any sense to replace your soil. The soil is just a medium that the plant grows in. It’s the nutrients that feed the plant hence amendments for your soil. Which is a heck of a lot easier to do than replacing the soil. Which is expensive. In addition I would note the plant and tree growth on earth period. We wouldn’t have ages old forests if that were the case. 😊
My garden is too small to do rotation. I just add fresh composted soil every year.
I have a small garden with 3, 8 foot raised beds that are in prime locations. 3 other smaller beds in partial shade in the afternoon. I've been rotating crops going on 3 years. Since I companion plant in these beds, its hard to keep up with rotating potatoes, peas, beans, onions, and cucumbers. I also plant in buckets, tomatoes and cucumbers. I'll be figuring things out for next years garden. Thank you for all of your help! I love this channel and always look forward to your posts!
Hello, that was great information. Didn't know some of the things as i am new to gardening so i really liked this video! Have a wonderful day.
Always great info. Thank you 😊
Great information in an easy to understand format. Thanks so much!
I bought your book. Best one I have bought so far!
Awesome! Thank you!
I’m in Central Florida 9b …. Still in the 90’s daily. Root knot nematodes where I plant tomatoes in my small backyard garden. Would planting in containers help with the nematode issues? Planning to move tomatoes to another area.
Thank you, Brian. 😊
The most difficult is when you use companion planting, then different types are in the same area. Hard to rotate and I gave up.
For individual plants (brassicas, lettuce, peppers etc); I dont bother, mostly because I'll get a scoop of compost and probably a different plant to replace it ie incidental 'rotation'. The only things i grow as a 'patch' (in my raised beds) are tomatoes and potatoes and they do get moved around annually, mostly in case of soil based pests
What if you have a contained raised planter, no open bottom, I’m assuming no worms, at least I haven’t noticed any ? 🌺💚🙃 Or a bed on concrete ? 🌺💚🙃
I threw a couple shovelfulls of garden soil (with worms) in each bed when I set them up
Trying to think how to rotate when all I want to eat/grow is tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers in two small beds when only one is set up with a tomato trellis. Can I grow bush beans in the fall?
Would it make sense to change out the crop that you have now and start with a new crop next year with out hurting the garden
When I first started, I rotated beds religiously - had a dozen 4x20 raised beds, all in full sun. Not sure if it was really necessary. Now I have much smaller beds, not all in full sun, and am much pickier about what I grow. I also do a lot of interplanting/companion planting with a mix of vegetables, flowers and herbs in almost every bed, so figuring out any kind of rotation would make my head hurt. I think healthy soil and a diverse garden area are the keys to plant health. I do usually plant my garlic in the fall down the center of many of the beds, which is my way of initiating some kind of pest control from the get go and then go from there.
I’ve been gardening in my current home for 25 years and have never rotated my crops. Rarely have disease issues, thankfully. But my garden bed is 10x12 feet and I also have one that is 3 feet wide and the length of my house. I’ve found that proper soil amendments and mulching seem to take the need out of rotation.
Charles Dowding has 2 beds he shows that rotating plants isn't necessary. God doesn't rotate plants, they grow where the fruit falls or the seeds are carried. As long as you amend your beds with compost and mineral supplements, rotation is unnecessary! I have successfully grown my peppers in the same beds for 5 years. I don't spend much on supplements either.
Wow !!! That was really some good info !!! Thanks Brian !!!😃 But now I have to remember all that info ...good thing I have your book !!! Just wanted to ask you a question ... what compost do you recommend ?...(I live in an apartment and I grow in containers and a small trug raised bed )🥰 Thanks again Love your videos !!!❤
I'm glad someone says it the way it works in reality and not by the text book. I have a small enclosed garden. To try to rotate a plant away from where it didn't do well last year is like moving it from the kitchen to the dining room.
What works best for me is learning what to plant and when. Brassicas have to be fall because cabbage moths decimate a spring planting. I do a lot of bug surveillence and when the Mexican bean beetle overwhelms the string beans, i cut them down and toss the bush towards the chickens who love to peck those bright yellow larvae off the bush. I dont try to plant everything at once, and can get in succession planting if one type gets overwhelmed. Learn to work around what nature throws at you. If you try to be the perfect gardener you will have more failures than successes.
Learn the cycles and work with nature!
@@donhorak9417 absolutely!!!! Of course nature loves to throw something at you just to keep you on your toes. Fortunately for me, I love the challenges. And I'm not afraid to try to do something people say can't be done. Case in point. I am in Zone 7 and put some citrus trees in the ground that everyone says will die over the winter. My plan is to create little greenhouses over them this year, heavily mulch the roots and base and run a string of low wattage incandescent lights to them. If I fail, so what! Isn't failure the mother of creativity? I can't tell you how many bright ideas I had that were epic fails and how many were epic successes.
I hope it works. The saying is: necessity is the mother of invention @@reibersue4845
What about fortifying the soil every year. I'm always adding nutrients.
Once again Brian, GREAT overview of growing our own food sustainably in healthy soil and having fun and the great satisfaction of watching the processes at the same time. It's all about giving back to the land isn't it? Good to see you enjoying your summer - looks like you all had a great time in Hawaii!! Thanks again for everything on both channels - take care to all 🇨🇦
...I failed my tomatoes this year I planted them in my former garlic beds without adding new soil...yellow and droopy...smallest yield in the last ten years. Thanks for the content always good to see the successes.
I ordered your book, and I will get it Wednesday. Can't wait to study it. God bless.
I'm really trying to be better about improving my soil health. I get confused about using compost. Some people mix it in as an amendment, others put it on top as mulch. It doesn't seem to be a very good mulch as it dries out about as quickly as the bare soil. I'll be watching your "putting beds to bed" video next. Thanks for the outstanding content you provide to us.
My tomato beds got REALLY BAD root know nematodes when I grew them in the same spot for several years. I learned my lesson the hard way.
Chinese Proverb: "The best fertiliser is the gardener's shadow."
I have 6 raised beds & then an enclosure for the berries & sweet corn. That does NOT get rotated. i add compost & amend soil & mulch. keep critters out. lol. I have several trellises in several beds. Might switch out which beds has what planted. Moved melons this year since i had vine borers in that bed last year. Getting harvest this year.
Yeah, I agree with everything you said here. Maybe for megafarms, it is a good idea. For most homes with a small area to garden on, it is not a desirable or practical solution. I do even question if it is needed at all. I lived on an orange grove with hundred year old trees that produced bountiful harvests. That alone, seems to suggest that under most circumstances, it is not needed.
WOW Thank you Brian for excellent information. I always wondered what are Brasica. Love the way you teach.❤😊
I have a small garden, but I always move things around each year. Bed 1 has beets, spinach & peas. Bed 2 has Cherry tomatoes, peppers & I generally experiment with the 3rd option. Each year I switch beds & positions in each bed.
I do use grass clippings as mulch, and I always put anything i don't use from the garden (excess beet leaves, peelings, pea plant leaves) back on top as mulch. Plus I do fresh compost in the spring.
For next year's project I hope to add a rain barrel & switch to drip irrigation.
Maybe if you have acres. If your one foot away i don't know. Then you have to do good things for your soil.
I have a couple large areas of my garden I'll have to amend and let rest next year. I will have to consciously rotate things next year though, and next year will probably be a major bean year. Basically a mostly restorative year, it's time.
I have a rectangular garden which lent itself to a four year rotation. I used to have a big problem with blight in my tomatoes so always rotated, just barely keeping ahead of the blight. Covid hit, UA-cam came into my life along with Brian. I sucked in Brian’s shows on raised beds and tomato frames. I built raised beds and tomato frames. My blight problem disappeared. Not wanting to trust growing in the same area, I continued to rotate the tomatoes, yes, rotating my frames. Big job. With the beds, I started experimenting with interplanting. I’ve had good results and not so good result with the interplanting. Every year, I experiment and every year, some plants do well and others not so well. I’m sure weather has a hand in the successes. Next year, I’m going to keep the tomatoes where they are and see how it goes. I haven’t had a good squash season in three years. Scratching my head on that one, Ha, ha. Thank you Brian for your insights to gardening. I have your book, having harvested great information. Great show!! Thank you.
Because you are a Walter Anderson nursery person, I've put my plant or mystery bugs in a zipper plastic bag and took it into their help desk. I had a plant that was struggling and when I pulled it, I saw the "nubs/knots" on the roots. I thought it was root knot nematodes but took it to WA to confirm. Yep...they helped me confirm what I thought. I opted to amend the bed and let it rest for a growing season. I'm in the processing of rotating crops in this bed. Keeping my fingers crossed for future growing in this bed.
Try growing a fall crop of white or mixed mustards, let it flower then chop n drop n mix back into soil. I had RKN in my tomatoes bc i only have 4 - 4x3 ft beds for my veggies n i LOVE tomatoes so i have had up to 3 of those beds full of tomatoes. I only had 2 plant fall mustard crop 1x 2 b able 2 go back 2 planting tomatoes again. Hope this helps!
I dont usually rotate plant growing locations (thinking of the tomato structure!eek!), but this coming spring I will move tomatoes to a different bed after a season of early blight really cost me any successful tomato crop.
Great subject! I dutifully planned and rotated my crops for 2 years. After which I too gave that up and just topped with homegrown compost and mulch. Thank you for this video! I really like your book. I have been using companion planting for years. Have had other books but yours is by far the best because you break it all down, including crop rotation and other good gardening info. Plus I ordered the kindle version which allows me to search! Thanks again Brian, really enjoy your channels.
That's a great idea!!!🎉
Great stuff, Brian! Thanks as always. Question: I used grow bags for the first time this year. It's gone really well. I want to empty out the bags and have them dried out and ready for next year. Suggestions on what to do with the soil? I don't want to get rid of all of it. Can I put the soil in some kind of storage container until I follow your instructions to amend it for next year? Open to any thoughts. Thanks again!!
We use a plastic aquare composter bin w removable lid to empty soil bags n pots into. We can cover over winter from most rain though it is aerated on sifes. The bin has 3 stackable pcs n lid n is open 2 grd at bottom. If we pull mix from this we know to add fertilizer.
I have to grow in my garden based on where the best sun is. So not a lot of crop rotation. I do amend the soil every year!!
Thank you Brian for the great information. I really appreciate it.
I just purchased your book. I can't wait to start reading it.
Great info! Thank you!!
Love your book btw. Had to take the bean and tomato trellis out of one bed last year because of blight. Instead planted brassicas. No problems this year. 👍 Reconfigured the northern trellis's to a north/South direction and everything grew a lot better except a showing of disease on only one type of bean, and a slow showing of disease on the tomato leaves. By taking the diseased leaves off as soon as they show up the tomatoes seem to be thriving. Appreciate all your advice. 👍🙏🇨🇦
Thanks Brian. 🌺💚🙃
Phosphorus for root development (root veg) and flower set. Potassium for flowering and fruit quality. Not the other way around
????? Can I plant another round of potatoes after I harvest potatoes in my container . and I only got 12 medium small potatoes out of a 15 gallon container. Ty
I would add nutrients if I did. I plant in the bags and replant a crop of potatoes but add 1/3 of the bag s in new compost. I have planted without for experimental purposes but they didn't do as well. Of course if you keep the dirt well fertilized during the growing process you should be fine to replant if there were no disease in the plants previously.
Half the tomatoes I'm harvesting are getting eaten by something. I have know idea what is doing this. Any tips?
Harvest tomatoes at 30-50% ripe. Let them fully ripen in the kitchen. Get an infrared game camera so you can figure out who the culprit is, then you can plan your defense strategy. For me, it was rabbits.
I put up a 3' tall plastic fence, 1' mesh. That kept rabbits out. Also, put out water...bird baths and water bowls. Sometimes, all they want is a drink.
Old school solution:: get a big dog and a smart cat.
Which family includes Carrots?
Root
There is no need to rotate crops for a home gardener. Add compost, the appropriate natural fertilizers for what you're growing, do a cover crop if you'd like. I've been growing potatoes in the same in-ground bed for five years now. No issues.
Every year seems to bring new problems or pests. It's always a learning process!
Have been a hose-waterer for years. This is the 1st year it became laborious. Thinking that next year drip needs to be added.
Have watched lots of videos but still do not really understand all the connections (and how to do them / what tools to have.
My fear is spending $$ and not being able to make it work. I’m one of those people who is so mechanically un-inclined that I have discarded things before just because I gave up on assembly. And instructions these days are usually so poorly written that if you can’t read between the lines they are useless.
I wish I could find something plug and play for a particular bed size.
If u dont have hard water u could try a soaker hose snaked thru ur beds. They clog up after 1 yr or so in hard water areas.
I haven't been diligent in what and where I've been planting. Paying attention now to the different veggie families and reviewing some of your older vlogs, I did run across your canning tomatoes 101 with Alan. What a hoot! Thank you for sharing with us your education and diligence and bloopers! 😂😂😂
We just started raised beds, the kind you buy and put together, the metal type. In the very bottom, we placed firewood to fill up space, then mulch to fill in between the firewood, then an organic soil, about 7 or 8 inches. So I planted a Fall garden of lettuces, kale, carrots, parsnips, bok choi and brussels. Have many seedlings but I'm not seeing a lot of breakout growth. Perhaps it's been a little too hot (We live in Louisville, KY) or maybe I've overwatered? My question is: is all this wood and organic (which was kinda a bit woody also) soil a smart decision? I'm not sure if I planted too early, overwatered or the soil, although organic and you think that's be a good thing, was a big mistake. Any insights you can give would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
Hi Brian, I have a question about summer pruning of Blackberries. I know your video was more than 2 weeks ago, so I am asking here. I went out to prune and my 2 blackberry plants only have 2 canes. I removed the one that produced this year but the second ones are massive, over an inch thick. Nothing is growing on the first 5 feet of the one but it has so much growth from there. It's at least 16 ft long. what do I do?
Thanks so much for another great garden tour of your beautiful garden
I live in South Carolina. I love both your channels. I have a question that I hope you can help me with. I have never had trouble with or even seen these bugs. They are leptoglossus phyllopus and have about destroyed my tomatoes. I would like to know have to get rid of them. I have sprayed with seven dust and neem oil, but it didn't help. Do you know what I can put on my tomatoes?
Make sure your pine shavings or sawdust isn’t made from treated lumber
Sorry for going off topic. I save beans every year to plant tbe next. I swear I planted cow peas. They should be a long pod that you take the beans out of the pod. My problem is i have these large flat beans growing and they are getting red streaks. I keep googling cant find ones with red streaks. Is it the italian green bean left on too long? Thank you!!
I'm not sure I understand how often to rotate. Every 4 years if you use the 1st method of 5 groups & every year for the 2nd method using the 4 groups? But I do think your method sounds the best for home gardeners.
Would you accept a volunteer to work on your farm without pay?
Dont the pine shavings blow away? I used some straw that blew all over the back yard last spring.
I was thinking the same thing. I think with my fall garden I’ll try pine shavings in 1 or 2 beds and see what happens. My soil is a couple inches down from the top of the bed so maybe that should help keep it from blowing away. If I have success after a month, I’ll use it on the others.
@@bobalman good to know! Thanks!
Short of extending the enclosure to entire garden, any suggestions on dealing with squirrels doing weird things live eating the stems of potatoe plants? Did all my normal amending the soil, had great looking plants & then the rodents started ganwing in the stems! Never had that happen before
I had to resort to a live trap. Once they find something, they will be relentless
Scents like cinnamon, cayenne, peppermint and urine. A big dog and a smart cat.
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God said to let the earth rest every 7 years. So I rotate.
9:17
I’d love to see what your compost pile/bin looks like.
One thing to note. If you rotate crops, you do not want to place them anywhere within 10-20 feet of where they were the previous year... preferably even farther. That way any pests, fungi, etc that was left in the old plot cannot easily reach the new location via traveling, spores carried by wind, insect, bird or animal. Also, any biochemicals emitted by the plants in the previous year do not interact with the newer batch of plants... An example of this would be the trees that spread chemicals that suppress the growth of competing species of plants.
Oh and I find digging up crops just to rotate their orientation in the ground several times a growing season appears to be conterproductive.
Smaller gardens can be rotating 20 feet away. Change soil or add soil. I do my tomatoes in pots so rotation not a problem
If a pest surfaces in spring in ome one raised bed, they'll just head over to my next bed where I rotated so makes no difference 🤷🏼♀️
I water daily with irrigation water by overhead watering and haven't had any issues. I'm in a desert area maybe it's too dry for water to stand on my plants. Possibly it evaporates more quickly. Also doesn't rain coming down, means that that is overhead watering?
Companion plants for Beginners 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻🌺💚🙃
So nice of you
I do not think you are making good points, so my thought to your question is no. There are different ways to deal with pests, and diseases. The last time I tried growing food my plants got surrounded by pests, but this time my plants are not surrounded by pests. I have not had a chance to experience reusing old soil when I grow my plants. I use new soil each time I decide to grow something.
I think depending on how you want to grow then you could either spend a few minutes, or hours, or maybe an entire day outside with whatever you want to grow to make sure they are >>> safe
When dirt is used to grow whatever & rain & your hose wets it nutrients are pulled out of that dirt and diseased. A wise master gardener once advised>>
At the end of each season dispose of your used growing soil & replace with fresh next season. Dirt is cheap, it is more work that it is
worth to amend the old soil, work it in, break it up, that makes me tired just saying it. REPLACE growing soil each spring.
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That doesn’t make any sense to replace your soil. The soil is just a medium that the plant grows in. It’s the nutrients that feed the plant hence amendments for your soil. Which is a heck of a lot easier to do than replacing the soil. Which is expensive. In addition I would note the plant and tree growth on earth period. We wouldn’t have ages old forests if that were the case. 😊