I started by digging out the tough Kikuyu grass and putting in cement slab barriers to form a veggie patch in August 2021, in my back yard at the end of our winter in Cape Town, South Africa. Since then I have expanded the veggie garden, now many patches. I am still expanding the different stuff I can grow as I learn. I started a food forest in my front yard as well, now it is a hot summer here, and lot of stuff is going to seed, but I catch them and they grow better than bought seeds. I also plant stuff in places I don't own, eco terrorist at your service.
I have actually found the opposite, I started in containers and did really well, but now I plant things directly in the ground in my allotment and it doesn’t do so well 😩 raised beds I have done and work well so I’m sticking with those this first full year 😊
I like in ground, but they don't call these hills the Rocky Mountains for nothing. My rocks seem to be very nutritious to my plants. Also, I've been improving the soil for over 30 years. No longer looks like a gravel parking lot at the end of the season. I'm breaking new ground this year by heavily seeding buck wheat to lawn to kill the grass and weed. I've done some research on this and it is supposed to work. Wish me luck on my experiment. Hopefully I'll have a good bit of new rich garden space to garden while the old rest
Awesome video Nicole! As a ‘Gardenary Certified’ Garden Consultant/Coach in Oklahoma I can vouch for all of this great advice -especially seeking help from a LOCAL Garden consultant in your area! This alone can save you thousands of dollars and lots of frustration.
My tip for a beginner would be to start with the big seeds, and work down to the smaller. Carrots would be the last thing I'd try, rather than one of the first. Potatoes, beans, peas, onion sets, garlic, things that can easily germinate, and can pretty much look after themselves
Haha Number 1. I _kind of_ had a plan before I started my teeny garden, but basically I needed somewhere to plant my experiment-that-worked-too-well tomato seedlings (I gave away a couple dozen seedlings and STILL have about 20 left, don't underestimate how well tomatoes reproduce from being tossed in a pot of soil!!). I guess I broke that "don't start with tomatoes" rule too!!! 🤣 So, I panicked, marched into Bunnings, spent a LOT more than I budgeted for a half dozen tomato plants, found your video, panicked again and ran BACK to bunnings to grab some leafy vegies and root vegies, panicked again... I'm still panicking because we had a heatwave just after I planted everything and now my poor seedlings are all baking in 38C heat! BUT!! I'm honestly impressed how well they are doing *considering* the heat! I'm definitely losing a few, but I have some backup seedlings to put in once the weather cools down again next week. I've also been in touch with the local 'friendly bug' (beneficial insect) suppliers to get hold of a box of lacewings or ladybirds if needed. Fingers crossed I won't, because the second I planted the beds I noticed ladybirds arriving in the yard, and we have hoverflies in the area already. Re the soil, Wish I'd thought of this earlier. The potting mix I got wasn't the cheapest, but it certainly wasn't "good". If I want to keep the plants in for the rest of summer, I'm going to have to get some compost/worm castings and probably some live worms to make it viable long term. It's got the strangest (and frankly slimiest) texture when wet. A couple dollars a bag more and I probably wouldn't be cringing every time I touch the soil. 😬 Anyway, just wanted to say thank you!! You're right that there is way too much information online, but your videos took some of the panic away, and I love the idea of just... letting plants live the way they would 'in the wild'. Looking forward to the journey, and even if they all die in this heat I've enjoyed ladybirds for the first time in *decades* , I've learned a LOT about how plants grow, and discovered my thumbs aren't as black as I always assumed they are! Looking forward to your next video. 💜
Nice, however mulch only pulls N if mixed into the soil. Don't do that! Mulch also slows evaporation in the early months after planting, conserving water. ;)
At 1:23 - your $550 USD garden arch is rusting and paint lifting... I don't think this is going to last as long as you thought it would, once this starts it is near on impossible to stop... (may want to rethink the high price you are asking?)
The arches in my garden are actually the OGs. They're 10 years old and have been through 2 cross-country moves. We thought a lot about our price, and it reflects the craftsmanship that goes into these products. The employees who make them are paid a fair wage, and that price also covers shipping, which is quite pricey.
Same. Ditto for her talking about beneficial insects. I had no idea (perhaps a no-brainer, but it never occurred to me!) that 'pesticides' ALSO kill 'good' insects. Broke my heart when I realised I've probably murdered colonies of ladybirds and bees with the "eco-friendly pesticides' I've been using 😔
Dang mistake #5 and #6 lol tomatoes, lettuce, watermelon and cucumbers were my first plants, in 5 gallon buckets on the deck and what helped me decide I wanted to do this, so added raised beds and in ground with no till method 😅
LOL same!! I started this journey because I watched a youtube short where some guy stuck sliced tomatoes in a pot of soil and grew dozens of seedlings... I thought "that can't be real! Tomatoes are so expensive!" and decided to replicate the experiment. To my delight and horror I now have a couple of hundred seedlings that are growing like crazy! I've given away dozens via the local community garden page, but now have four raised beds full of tomatoes, zucchini, squash, peas and lettuce as well as some herbs and flowers. Not sure what Nicole's done to me, but my notorious black thumb has turned to a bit of a green thumb. I'm a little overwhelmed because most of them are happy enough in my inadequately sized raised bed and crappy potting mix, that they're surviving the current 38C heat wave in southern Australia. I've never gardened before! I don't know what I'm doing! 🤦 🤣🤣🤣
Oh my gosh, all of the iron works and the round trellis are so beautiful! I am zone 5a in the western mountains of Maine where my growing season is so short so making a plan makes sense, thank you.
apparently you've never used or understood how neem works. It's definitely a pesticide for my uses because it's an anti-feedant. When bugs eat leaves sprayed with neem or azadirachtin they can no longer feed. So it doesn't kill bugs that aren't pests, only the ones that eat the vegetation. besides that neem is safe to ingest for us humans and it's actually healthy for us. It's even found in some high end supplements...
Thanks for these tips...we have a school garden and we started with tomatoes and they didnt last unfortunately. What do you recommend for the plants to start with especially which young children can take care of.... thanks!
Try radishes, beets, bush/pole beans, peas, herbs, and leafy greens! It's hard to mess those up, and they produce veggies fairly quickly. It's also helpful to ensure the varieties you select will work well in your growing zone and time of year when planted. For example, some greens grow best in cooler spring or fall weather, while others are adapted to summer temps.
I’m from Oklahoma… and with my Head Start kiddos we grew tomatoes, carrots, kale, lettuce, spinach, peppers , radishes, cantaloupe and not to forget the beautiful sunflowers! Love growing veggies with the children ❤️
Hi am a new subscriber from the Bahamas. Love your channel. I subscribe because I like your simple teaching and your warm personality. I Have been a gardener for more than ten years. I really do love nature and the reward of harvesting my own food. Keep up the good work!💚🌺
The big arch trellis is the Nicole Arch from shop.gardenary.com. There's more info on soil here: www.gardenary.com/blog/what-type-of-garden-soil-is-best-for-raised-beds
It's considered "aesthetic/cinematic" by the young people these days, I'm sure she found some free camera working course that highly recommended that shot
Does that mean I will have to design a mesh roof over my garden to keep out rabbits and swamp hens that dig up everything. Swamp hens fly up and over highest wall
Any sized pot or planter can be planted like this! Tomato or large plant in the middle, flowers herbs around edge. If have room around tomato put other plants. Trim when needed. Harvest and enjoy beautiful balcony! Like Nicole says you may need water more often.maybe keep on slightly shadier side of balcony. Large water dish underneath plant to help.
Planting veggies in grow bags would work great for a balcony garden. I used to live in a condominium with a little balcony and loved it. I put fake grass on the floor and added some small containers and pots. You can still do it! 👍❤️😁
So your solution for beginner people who live in an apartmenthat and want to start the garden using pots is to not start a garden at all and take up knitting? 😅😅 title should say for land owners only😂😂
Sorry I should’ve gone deeper into this-you can definitely do this on a balcony but get the biggest pot you can find-just don’t do it in small containers
2 дні тому+2
She's only interested in people for her garden consulting so apartment dwellers do not qualify. You can def do container gardening. Lots of online advice. Just not here.
My courtyard is miniscule. My biggest raised bed is about a 1M x 35cm x about 40cm deep. They're definitely growing enough to supplement our shopping, if not feed us fully for the season.
My recommendation to apartment dwellers, I would recommend speaking to management to see if they have small plots for tenants. This is available at many apartments and condos in my state. My 1st garden came from sprouted seeds from inside cheap grocery store tomatoes. I lived in a trailer and did nothing more than stuck the seeds in the ground along my patio. The seeds grew into ugly 8ft sprawling vines. The trailer park manager told me I needed to clean up my lot until I showed him what my mess was. He left with an arm full of tomatoes and I was allowed to keep my mess. I had some beautiful weeds coming up in my tomatoes. I forgot I had some potatoes sprout that I planted. The rest of the pretty "weeds" stayed in the ground untill fully matured. I was 17, working at Burger King and finishing high school. That 1st weed I putted made good garlic new potatoes. I figured if gardening was that easy I was in. A life time later I now teach gardening classes at the Senior center, churches and any individual who needs some help( all volunteer). I am now retired, building a food forest, still learning from utube channels(I've been doing this long enough, in drastically different zones, I know what advice will work, what won't and things I really want to work but shouldn't, I alter my environment, with a high tunnel,with low tunnels inside with 55 gallon barrels for passive solar). That 1st garden was in North Florida. I now garden in a North Utah Rocky Mountain valley and loving it, and still growing 100's of tomatoes with 100's of other things in my 1/4 Acers of row gardens.
It definitely works well IF you plant the way she suggests. If you plant fully spaced and only one type of plant, yeah you'll need mulch in hotter climates.
2 дні тому
I've bought and read both her books and can honestly say it's mostly fluff. Not really useful info because details are woefully lacking. Lots of pretty pictures of Nicole (always well dressed and perfectly styled) and perfect gardens. Check out the books from your library first, is my recommendation.
🥳 Join us for a free LIVE gardening event on Jan. 11: www.gardenary.com/garden-in-5-live
I started by digging out the tough Kikuyu grass and putting in cement slab barriers to form a veggie patch in August 2021, in my back yard at the end of our winter in Cape Town, South Africa. Since then I have expanded the veggie garden, now many patches. I am still expanding the different stuff I can grow as I learn. I started a food forest in my front yard as well, now it is a hot summer here, and lot of stuff is going to seed, but I catch them and they grow better than bought seeds. I also plant stuff in places I don't own, eco terrorist at your service.
I have actually found the opposite, I started in containers and did really well, but now I plant things directly in the ground in my allotment and it doesn’t do so well 😩 raised beds I have done and work well so I’m sticking with those this first full year 😊
I like in ground, but they don't call these hills the Rocky Mountains for nothing. My rocks seem to be very nutritious to my plants. Also, I've been improving the soil for over 30 years. No longer looks like a gravel parking lot at the end of the season. I'm breaking new ground this year by heavily seeding buck wheat to lawn to kill the grass and weed. I've done some research on this and it is supposed to work. Wish me luck on my experiment. Hopefully I'll have a good bit of new rich garden space to garden while the old rest
I love your book, “Leaves,Roots, & Fruits” 😊
Awesome video Nicole! As a ‘Gardenary Certified’ Garden Consultant/Coach in Oklahoma I can vouch for all of this great advice -especially seeking help from a LOCAL Garden consultant in your area! This alone can save you thousands of dollars and lots of frustration.
My tip for a beginner would be to start with the big seeds, and work down to the smaller. Carrots would be the last thing I'd try, rather than one of the first. Potatoes, beans, peas, onion sets, garlic, things that can easily germinate, and can pretty much look after themselves
This is so helpful!!
Haha Number 1. I _kind of_ had a plan before I started my teeny garden, but basically I needed somewhere to plant my experiment-that-worked-too-well tomato seedlings (I gave away a couple dozen seedlings and STILL have about 20 left, don't underestimate how well tomatoes reproduce from being tossed in a pot of soil!!). I guess I broke that "don't start with tomatoes" rule too!!! 🤣
So, I panicked, marched into Bunnings, spent a LOT more than I budgeted for a half dozen tomato plants, found your video, panicked again and ran BACK to bunnings to grab some leafy vegies and root vegies, panicked again...
I'm still panicking because we had a heatwave just after I planted everything and now my poor seedlings are all baking in 38C heat! BUT!! I'm honestly impressed how well they are doing *considering* the heat! I'm definitely losing a few, but I have some backup seedlings to put in once the weather cools down again next week. I've also been in touch with the local 'friendly bug' (beneficial insect) suppliers to get hold of a box of lacewings or ladybirds if needed. Fingers crossed I won't, because the second I planted the beds I noticed ladybirds arriving in the yard, and we have hoverflies in the area already.
Re the soil, Wish I'd thought of this earlier. The potting mix I got wasn't the cheapest, but it certainly wasn't "good". If I want to keep the plants in for the rest of summer, I'm going to have to get some compost/worm castings and probably some live worms to make it viable long term. It's got the strangest (and frankly slimiest) texture when wet. A couple dollars a bag more and I probably wouldn't be cringing every time I touch the soil. 😬
Anyway, just wanted to say thank you!! You're right that there is way too much information online, but your videos took some of the panic away, and I love the idea of just... letting plants live the way they would 'in the wild'. Looking forward to the journey, and even if they all die in this heat I've enjoyed ladybirds for the first time in *decades* , I've learned a LOT about how plants grow, and discovered my thumbs aren't as black as I always assumed they are!
Looking forward to your next video. 💜
I’m glad I’ve seen this. I feel like I’m a murdered for my plants. Never too late. Thanks
Thanks for sharing this wonderful inspirational video. Really enjoyed it. Lots of great tips for a beginner gardeners.
Very informative! Thank you. It’s so inspiring to see your beautiful garden. I’d love to see more of the garden in your video. Thx
Nice, however mulch only pulls N if mixed into the soil. Don't do that! Mulch also slows evaporation in the early months after planting, conserving water. ;)
Thank you thank you thank youuuuu 🙏🏽 first season gardener & I am so excited ☺️☀️🌿
Happy new year, my sweet friend
Happy New Year to you too!
At 1:23 - your $550 USD garden arch is rusting and paint lifting... I don't think this is going to last as long as you thought it would, once this starts it is near on impossible to stop... (may want to rethink the high price you are asking?)
The arches in my garden are actually the OGs. They're 10 years old and have been through 2 cross-country moves. We thought a lot about our price, and it reflects the craftsmanship that goes into these products. The employees who make them are paid a fair wage, and that price also covers shipping, which is quite pricey.
As soon as you mentioned the negative effects of using synthetic fertilizer I subscribed!!! I wish more gardeners would mention this. 💙💚💛🧡💜 Liz
Same. Ditto for her talking about beneficial insects. I had no idea (perhaps a no-brainer, but it never occurred to me!) that 'pesticides' ALSO kill 'good' insects. Broke my heart when I realised I've probably murdered colonies of ladybirds and bees with the "eco-friendly pesticides' I've been using 😔
Dang mistake #5 and #6 lol tomatoes, lettuce, watermelon and cucumbers were my first plants, in 5 gallon buckets on the deck and what helped me decide I wanted to do this, so added raised beds and in ground with no till method 😅
LOL same!! I started this journey because I watched a youtube short where some guy stuck sliced tomatoes in a pot of soil and grew dozens of seedlings... I thought "that can't be real! Tomatoes are so expensive!" and decided to replicate the experiment.
To my delight and horror I now have a couple of hundred seedlings that are growing like crazy! I've given away dozens via the local community garden page, but now have four raised beds full of tomatoes, zucchini, squash, peas and lettuce as well as some herbs and flowers.
Not sure what Nicole's done to me, but my notorious black thumb has turned to a bit of a green thumb. I'm a little overwhelmed because most of them are happy enough in my inadequately sized raised bed and crappy potting mix, that they're surviving the current 38C heat wave in southern Australia. I've never gardened before! I don't know what I'm doing! 🤦 🤣🤣🤣
Oh my goodness I guess I am doing it all wrong. I started my garden with no plans at all and with one plant only. Hahaha 💙💚💛🧡💜 Liz
Great )
Oh my gosh, all of the iron works and the round trellis are so beautiful! I am zone 5a in the western mountains of Maine where my growing season is so short so making a plan makes sense, thank you.
Thanks for sharing❤
apparently you've never used or understood how neem works. It's definitely a pesticide for my uses because it's an anti-feedant. When bugs eat leaves sprayed with neem or azadirachtin they can no longer feed. So it doesn't kill bugs that aren't pests, only the ones that eat the vegetation. besides that neem is safe to ingest for us humans and it's actually healthy for us. It's even found in some high end supplements...
Thanks for these tips...we have a school garden and we started with tomatoes and they didnt last unfortunately. What do you recommend for the plants to start with especially which young children can take care of.... thanks!
Try radishes, beets, bush/pole beans, peas, herbs, and leafy greens! It's hard to mess those up, and they produce veggies fairly quickly. It's also helpful to ensure the varieties you select will work well in your growing zone and time of year when planted. For example, some greens grow best in cooler spring or fall weather, while others are adapted to summer temps.
@@jenniferwaller45 Thank you! We are in Houston - so we are warm climate - will look into what we can grow this month!
I’m from Oklahoma… and with my Head Start kiddos we grew tomatoes, carrots, kale, lettuce, spinach, peppers , radishes, cantaloupe and not to forget the beautiful sunflowers! Love growing veggies with the children ❤️
Hi
Thank you so much for your great advice. How can I fix my Clay soil?
Thanks
Garden in raised beds!
Hi am a new subscriber from the Bahamas. Love your channel. I subscribe because I like your simple teaching and your warm personality. I Have been a gardener for more than ten years. I really do love nature and the reward of harvesting my own food. Keep up the good work!💚🌺
Thanks so much for subscribing!
where did you get your trellis? and what all is in the soil you use?
The big arch trellis is the Nicole Arch from shop.gardenary.com. There's more info on soil here: www.gardenary.com/blog/what-type-of-garden-soil-is-best-for-raised-beds
Why does the camera angle keep changing to where it looks like you are talking in a different direction?
It's considered "aesthetic/cinematic" by the young people these days, I'm sure she found some free camera working course that highly recommended that shot
Does that mean I will have to design a mesh roof over my garden to keep out rabbits and swamp hens that dig up everything. Swamp hens fly up and over highest wall
You could dry using garden mesh and hoops first. Even though it's a flimsy fabric, I've found it keeps larger pests out
I wish there was a mini version of this garden for balconies or for people that do not have space for a garden.
Any sized pot or planter can be planted like this! Tomato or large plant in the middle, flowers herbs around edge. If have room around tomato put other plants. Trim when needed. Harvest and enjoy beautiful balcony! Like Nicole says you may need water more often.maybe keep on slightly shadier side of balcony. Large water dish underneath plant to help.
@kellynbtln8234 Thank You for the tips.
I have two raised beds on wheels on my patio! Like Kelly says, you'd just do smaller-scale versions of how you'd plant in a larger bed.
Planting veggies in grow bags would work great for a balcony garden. I used to live in a condominium with a little balcony and loved it. I put fake grass on the floor and added some small containers and pots. You can still do it! 👍❤️😁
Great advice! 👍❤️😀
this person has absolutely no humility, most of their videos are praising their videos as being the best.
So your solution for beginner people who live in an apartmenthat and want to start the garden using pots is to not start a garden at all and take up knitting? 😅😅 title should say for land owners only😂😂
Sorry I should’ve gone deeper into this-you can definitely do this on a balcony but get the biggest pot you can find-just don’t do it in small containers
She's only interested in people for her garden consulting so apartment dwellers do not qualify. You can def do container gardening. Lots of online advice. Just not here.
My courtyard is miniscule. My biggest raised bed is about a 1M x 35cm x about 40cm deep. They're definitely growing enough to supplement our shopping, if not feed us fully for the season.
My recommendation to apartment dwellers, I would recommend speaking to management to see if they have small plots for tenants. This is available at many apartments and condos in my state. My 1st garden came from sprouted seeds from inside cheap grocery store tomatoes. I lived in a trailer and did nothing more than stuck the seeds in the ground along my patio. The seeds grew into ugly 8ft sprawling vines. The trailer park manager told me I needed to clean up my lot until I showed him what my mess was. He left with an arm full of tomatoes and I was allowed to keep my mess. I had some beautiful weeds coming up in my tomatoes. I forgot I had some potatoes sprout that I planted. The rest of the pretty "weeds" stayed in the ground untill fully matured. I was 17, working at Burger King and finishing high school. That 1st weed I putted made good garlic new potatoes. I figured if gardening was that easy I was in. A life time later I now teach gardening classes at the Senior center, churches and any individual who needs some help( all volunteer). I am now retired, building a food forest, still learning from utube channels(I've been doing this long enough, in drastically different zones, I know what advice will work, what won't and things I really want to work but shouldn't, I alter my environment, with a high tunnel,with low tunnels inside with 55 gallon barrels for passive solar). That 1st garden was in North Florida. I now garden in a North Utah Rocky Mountain valley and loving it, and still growing 100's of tomatoes with 100's of other things in my 1/4 Acers of row gardens.
@@noctoiAmen!
I can't think of worse advice than don't mulch,.....
It definitely works well IF you plant the way she suggests. If you plant fully spaced and only one type of plant, yeah you'll need mulch in hotter climates.
I've bought and read both her books and can honestly say it's mostly fluff. Not really useful info because details are woefully lacking. Lots of pretty pictures of Nicole (always well dressed and perfectly styled) and perfect gardens. Check out the books from your library first, is my recommendation.