I hope sharing these mistakes helps you avoid them! If you like my raised beds, you can join the email list for upcoming pre-orders here: shop.epicgardening.com/
It's a little different in Florida, where the heat is truly crazy (most years) from May to September. We have our garden on the North side of our yard; most of the plants will get partial shade partial sun; things like okra, sweet potatoes and collards do OK through the summer in full sun, but most things don't.
Im 13 and just got my wood for building my planters this year, thanks for the advice! I found where my great-grandpa had his garden and apparently has good soil and sun, im doing half in ground patch - half raised beds. I really hope I can get all my perennials started like any berry bushes, rhubarb and asparagus so I can have some self-sustainability by the time im 15
That's incredible! I think you'll do great. Teenagers just don't care about things like this anymore and it's really nice seeing someone so young be so interested in gardening and being self sustainable
I'm definitely new at gardening but I don't think it's ever too late. I'm 71 and I want my grandchildren to learn to eat more veggies, so we're going to learn together!
1. And 2. Are Bed Placement for sunshine 3. Plan for irrigation 4. Invest in good raised bed soil mixed with compost Research good mixed soil.. and compost blends 5. Use Mulch (composted) 6. Make space for pathways - minimum 24” 7. Planting space…and placement. Plants that grow taller in a place that won’t shade other plants 8. Take care of your bed soil over time… during fall and winter… make use of a cover crop 9. Label, track and record your plants, date of planting, expected harvest date, etc
A mistake I made early on was relying too heavily on interventions like soap spray and copper fungicide. Eventually, I realized that when shield bugs and cabbage moths and aphids got too numerous, they just naturally attracted their own predators. The key was creating an appealing environment for them to hunt in-one that mimicked a more wild or natural landscape. Every year now I find frogs in my garden. I hatch mantises. Ladybugs descend in huge numbers and breed in my garden. I plant a wide variety of native flowers around the edges of my garden and let some areas get weedy. I don’t spray anything anymore, because what kills the bad bugs always kills the good bugs. This year, juncos are nesting in the tall grass along my fence. They eat bugs when they’re raising chicks, so when I pull weeds I don’t want, they follow along and pick up all kinds of goodies in the exposed soil. It’s important to remember that your raised beds are as much a part of the landscape as a park or a vacant lot. Creating balance in your garden isn’t just good for you, it’s good for everything around you.
Cola Johnson Thank you, we have a large all organic flower garden (25 years plus, no sprays or anything) and have started vegetables this year. Everything is being eaten up! We have tons of butterflies and bees and i dont want to risk hurting them but the veggie plants are getting gobbled up! Plus its so shady all around our garden, so just not much room for error. Ive been reading up to see if there are any organic sprays I should be using but I do like your approach as Im afraid of just what you mentioned !. Any links, books or websites where could learn more?
@@Julia29853 -you might want to go on reddit and make a post asking the gardening subreddit for advice. -If it's earwigs that are eating your plants, I recently heard that you can make traps for them. You can put out old tuna cans filled with oil + a little soy sauce (for an attractive smell), and they'll get stuck. -I've also heard that neem oil is good? -If you're in California the UC Cooperative Extension (ucanr.edu) has a lot of resources/ tips for gardening based on your county. If you live elsewhere I'm sure there's a local university that has something similar
I have been gardening with my dad since I was about 7 or 8, helping with the strawberries, tomatoes, peppers, etc. I started to upgrade and had about 10 plants that I crammed in my room. There is a huge window in my room so they all did pretty well. Now I’m starting to grow my own fruits and vegetables in my own garden! My goal is to study botany in college and to become a botanist ! You videos have helped a lot. Keep doing what you do Kevin
Horticulture is a wide open field right now. May you become the Botanist you want to be. Botany was kind of a first love to me. I wish I’d not got distracted with other paths sometimes but everything I have learned is very valuable. Understanding plants gives you a big advantage in life. Feeding yourself w food you have grown, is such an accomplishment. Best wishes.
One thing in raised gardens is remembering that the soil level is going to drop as it settles. Also how much root space is taken up. e.g. the depth of your root crop (carrots, parsnips, potatoes) compared to the top croppers (peas, beans and brassica) are vital things to look at when planting and sowing. Love the video, very informative
Tips: Regarding watering consider making your raised beds wicking beds. The other idea to consider is using the German Hügel Kultur method and filling the bottom of the beds with logs, branches etc. This saves on soil and as it breaks down, adds nutrients, will retain water and provide a home for many organisms that will improve the quality of your soil.
i call it the *Soil Creating* Hugelkultur method: because that's pretty much what it does. I waited a few months for the organic material to settle lower in the box (as it is chewed up by microorganisms, and gets rained on etc it naturally drops to a certain level). Now it seems stable, i lifted the newspaper lid that i have on it to see what it looks like after all these months - it is halfway to soil already! magic to see....now all i have to do is add the last ten inches of dirt/clay/sand mix and put my plants in. Way to go
if you have young kids or grandchildren, a really fun thing could be to get them in the garden helping you to break up twigs etc to put in the box. A few months later, they can come outside with a magnifying glass and see the astonishing little *worker troops* all shapes and sizes, all doing different tasks. I wish i could make a movie that would magnify all that so its easy to see! a little city of living things doing their thing down there....
(don't forget to put a cardboard lid, or thick newspapers on top if you are leaving sit for a few months) this will protect the little microbes from sunlight (they don't like it)..
would you recommend trying this method for raised beds that have to be unfortunately situated near my neighbor's redwood trees? I'm having the worst time digging out the redwood roots each season, and am not sure what to do about it.
Just wanna say what a grateful fan I am of this channel! I started gardening to give myself a healthier habit than smoking to deal with my anxiety and depression. I knew pretty much nothing but have successfully raised some crops in raised beds and containers, have some plants that have survived into their second year, and improved my health (through diet of increased veggies, and better mental health) All thanks to your videos! Thank you for the videos and tips they have improved my garden and my health.
Dude, me too. I'd be lost without my garden distractions. I just took a break from my computer. I was feeling "down and burnt out" so went outside and did some pruning and breathing. I feel better. I live in the burbs and have a small yard, we can all do something with the space we have to connect with nature and feel better.
Hi! I am a nurse/researcher. Recent studies have shown that gardening for one hour at least 3 days per week works BETTER than our top 2 antidepressants!!! Who knew? Great job!!!!
I am 12 and I started gardening this year! I only did 2 dwarf tomato plants and 2 bell peppers plants. Your videos has helped me a lot and I am going to be doing my first harvest in about 2 weeks (I started late but I know I can move them indoors because I have a room that gets ton of sun) Thank you for all of your help!
I started gardening when I was a kid and making mistakes was how I learned! One of my rules is to just try something and it's always ok if you have to compost the plant. The more you try, the more you learn!
Everything that was covered in this video were great tips for the beginning gardener. A few more tips that I was taught, and have been very successful with, is to select the right seed - lets use sun flower seeds as an example (type doesn't matter in this example) In a packet of seeds, not all seed look the same: some are flat, others are thick, an others are somewhere in between. Select the thickest seed (ovary) because it has a greater probability to start to produce a healthy plant. Then double up the thick seeds (with some separation) - if they both grow, you could either separate/transplant them when they get big enough or cut the weakest one to the ground.
Along with your last tip: take pictures of everything along the way! I have lots of pics w/ the seed packs laid out where I planted my seeds, which helps me remember what is where before they start fruiting, but I also just love the reminder of how much the garden changes! (And I can see “oops. Those peppers aren’t doing so hot there, next year they’ll need to find a new home!”
Absolutely miss having my grandmother to go to for info. She used to keep a 1 acre vegetable garden. Never doing raised beds. Fast forward, I've spent years trying to do a raised bed garden with pretty poor results. So glad I found this channel. Thanks for the tips, please keep them coming.
My grandmother was a citrus farmer in Florida. Grew the best organic oranges, grapefruit, and tangerines I have ever tasted. She also had a vegetable garden that always flourished. Not easy in Florida's sandy soul. I believe she could have planted a broomstick and it would have sprouted into a gorgeous plant. The last time I saw her alive was when we walked through her vibrant garden together. She broke off an ear of sweet corn and I ate it right there. The taste and life of that ear of corn is something I'll never forget. The memory of that day in her garden is golden. How I miss her.
@@epicgardening right... she grew everything... it took all day to work in her garden... my best memories are picking strawberries and corn for supper. she lived in Neptune NJ. She grew in the basement during winter to transplant in spring. She composted and had a hot compost as well.... sure wish I would have spent more time with her when I was a kid. Never to late though. My garden is doing well. I have modulated the watering. I do have a question .. what are your thought on a moisture/ph meter. my husband bought me one. From what that says. it seems like I was definitely. over watering.
Here where I live, when I mention mulch, people only think of polyethylene coverings like they put on mass produced strawberries and such. They think it's just to smother some of the weeds.
Also, if you live in an area where you have lots of leaves falling in the Autumn season DON'T rake them all up!! MULCH them with a mower and use them in your garden. They provide lots of nitrogen for your soil ALSO rotate your crops!! don't always be planting the same things in the same raised bed since different plants use different nutrients from the soil
I’ve been following a 4 bed rotation-#1, peas, beans & potatoes, followed by #2, greens & brassicas, next #3, fruiting plants (tomatoes, squash, peppers, eggplant, & cucumbers), and finally #4, root crops (beets, carrots, onions, turnips, garlic, etc.). This next summer will be year three of this system, and year 2 was even better than year 1.
When I start a new raised bed I put cardboard on the ground build the raised Bed then I gather logs sticks enough to get me a little under half way then add the triple mix and compost. The logs and sticks will retain water as well as break down and give more soil to the raised bed
I would like to say that this channel got me in trouble with my wife. Ever since I found it I have been expanding my garden more and more with the advice here and my wife rolls her eyes every time I go to the store.
My husband is a chef, so I didn't have to do much convincing to put in raised garden beds for herbs. He says it pays off when you taste fresh in your food! So I recommend cooking for the Mrs, what you're growing, and I'm sure she'll become a convert. ;)
Thank GOD that if you DO screw up your garden for a season you aren't going hungry ya just head on down to the local produce stand or grocery store. How BLESSED are we in this country even with EVERYTHING that is going on in the world. Count your blessings daily give to those in need and pray for the ones you can't physically help. If God cares for the sparrow you know he cares for us✌️🤟
I know this video is almost a year old, but it's very timely for me. I've recently moved and I have most of an acre to plant and my property is south-facing. :-) I'm super excited to get dug in this spring.
I'm as excited to begin gardening as you are. I have a small yard adjacent to a large city park - I like to think that it's ALL my yard and I am only responsible for the area right outside my patio doors! It's a fabulous southern exposure in Southern California and I want to create an environment that's good for bees and butterflies. Going with the Epic Gardening raised beds using planter wall blocks, the perfect doofus-proof DIY project.
I’m 57 I’ve had a garden every year since I was 27. Over the last for five years I’ve made the transition to a raised bed style it’s so much nicer. Much easier to manage. I very much enjoy your videos you’re very informative I’ve learned from you. Salute from zone 6B in the middle of Kansas.
Yes! I am 50 now and am starting to raise some beds 'cause my knees and back are starting to protest way too much the next 3 days! :-) Wave from Ontario Canada!
Didn't you mean 18, 28, or even 80???? If you meant you are 8, then your poor mom's tummy must have been a wreck!!!! I'm sure you made a typo. More power to you regardless of your age. Keep on gardening. Good for you!
Amazingly enough I’ve done every one of those things this my first year. I have been reading and watching videos for two years before I built my raised beds this year. Additionally I bought red wiggler worms to put in the beds. I only have space for 3 3’x8’ beds and a 150 gal tank that I’ve used for tomatoes the past 15 years. So I purchased 4000 worms to split between the beds. Last year I did put a few in the tank and when I took the soil out this year to move the tank there were still worms in that soil. I put the fresh scraps from salads and such in the soil to give worms food to break down into worm castings. It really doesn’t take long for the worms to break down the kitchen scraps either.
I am on the near side of 80 and my poor old knees feel the years, so I have been strongly thinking of putting in some raised beds so that I can still enjoy the growing season. Thank you for your tips and sharing your experience. Much appreciated. Wish me luck
Must Do List: #1 Need PH tester to test the soil. Check PH around certain plants due to needs are different. One size does not fit all. #2 Amend your soil during the growing season. #3 Don't forget flowers to deter pests like marigolds stuck in between plants. #4 Compost Thermometer to check activity and finishing. If you are composting. #5 Prune plants during the season as needed when they grow in for air flow and proper care. #6 Don't water too late in the evening - plant does not get a chance to dry - encourage plant fungus problems, mildew and mold.
something lots of people don't realise, your side and back fences if they are tall and solid, will block out sunlight during winter in quite a bit of your yard. So before you plant, look at your yard and picture the where the lower arc of the winter sun will be. Best of all, watch the sun edge on the ground during winter, then you know for sure to plant outside the suns edge (not inside, where its in shadow every day in winter!) simple stuff, but newbies often dont think of it. A gardeners life involves becoming aware of things like seasonal angles of the sun and prevailing winds.
Something where planting large plants in front of small ones actually can work is with some herbs and leafy greens if you live far to the north. We're a high enough latitude that it's very difficult to grow lettuces, arugula, and herbs like basil for a lot of the summer, because the daylight is so extended that they bolt. I built squash trellises for butternuts a few years ago that were just two wire panels framed with stakes and leaned against each other like a tent. I don't remember why, but I put several lettuce and herb plants between the trellises. Lo and behold, the lettuce and herbs continued to grow all summer, in spite of the heat, because they were under shade a significant part of the day. When the plants out in the sun were bolting, the ones under the trellises were not. There are definitely situations where it can be beneficial to plant short plants behind or under taller ones.
Great idea. Where I live in Australia, the sun is too strong in summer to grow plants without some kind of shade, especially from the hot afternoon sun. I've been thinking about putting in screens to protect from the west, but trellises might work well with the right kind of plants (and give bonus productivity!)
As you are talking about directionality, I just realized that my porch faces directly south. We have a terrible yard filled with rocks, and old concrete so I was thinking about starting some planters this spring and this is so great to know that I’m already in a good spot.
Thanks for all the helpful tips. I live in Oregon and have been gardening for over a decade. One mistake I learned is that you need to know what wildlife you have around and what they can potentially do to your garden. We live next to a creek with tall trees and have tons of squirrels in our yard. While they don't eat my veggies, they do mess with everything and love to dig holes to bury their seeds in fresh soil. So now when I plant my spring garden I have to cover each bed with chicken wire which works great to keep the critters out. Just takes a little extra time and planning. Gardening is my happy place and I'm glad I found this channel.
Cut banana skins n add to the soil they have potassium Natural human hair have nitrogen - plants love it. The WATER you use to rinse rice- save it to water plants
A couple weeks ago when the news showed farmers bulldozing entire tomato crops, we dusted off the planters and got as much as possible into trays in the window right away. We spent the past two weeks getting all the planters ready, and lots of things are sprouting in all the places. There can only be two gardening mistakes as far as I'm concerned, not starting a garden, and the above mentioned plowing under of perfectly good food!
When the supply chain breaks, it is better to remove plants, than it is to abandon them. Neglected and dying plants become infected and inoculate the soil with disease that will ruin crops for many years to come.
Putting plants back into the soil for their mineral content is important, if nothing else can be done with them. Of course the efficiencies of different food systems, and their resilience, both are broken to start with in the "standard" model.
I have ducks and geese that free-range and get into everything. Last year I had a lot of success using recycled wood palates flat on ground then kiddie pools placed on top! The kids stabbed a hundred or more holes in them before we filled all of them with dirt, duck compost, shredded straw, worms, and tiny bits of decayed wood. Excellent way if your on a tight budget. We had everything laying around. And we used dollar store seeds. Didnt want to waste my good seeds yet just in case it didn't work well... It works great to keep my birds and animals out. Also great for bug control. Creatures have a hard time getting up the sides of the slick plastic pool. Next season I want to upgrade to the kind of raised beds you have. The pools still work great for the kids garden! Thank you for all the wounderful tips. Love from a fellow Cali Skatergirl. 💕 ( Now transplanted in Washington state. So glad we moved here for the better climate & water 💧 supply).
All very good tips. I would also add to the last tip how important it is to rotate your crops from one to the next, and marking what you planted in each bed facilitates that. Plants have nutritional needs specific to that species, along with diseases that can persist through the year, especially in warmer climates. A couple of examples: corn or potatoes use a lot of nitrogen compared to other crops, while legumes put nitrogen back into the ground, so rotating these into the same bed will help balance the nutritional quality of the soil. As for diseases, tomatoes can contract viruses from a variety of external sources, and those viruses may persist in the soil for more than one season, which could infect your newly planted tomatoes as soon as you put them into the ground. Rotation will greatly decrease this potential threat to a new crop.
I've built a couple of different types of raised beds which I still use, but just ordered my first Birdies 6-in-1's from you and am looking forward to setting them up! One thing I do a bit differently from you is allowing more space between beds as I always want to be able to get a garden cart or wheelbarrow (or even a camp chair) between the beds and on my garden paths :)
I am SO grateful I stumbled upon this video this morning. I recently completely misunderstood what I read about orientation and I swore to my husband ten ways from Sunday that the garden needed to face North. I now understand what I heard and how I misunderstood, but if nothing else, this was a godsend. And also, we dug up some dirt from some hunting land we have and intended to use it as topsoil. We didn't get a whole lot, fortunately, but you also helped us decide to just put it in the bottom of the beds and use our purchased top soil in our mix without the home-dug mixed in. So thank you!
Another great video Kevin. My tip would be to plan your bed layout for the mature plant size. Good plant spacing improves the air flow around your plants. That minimizes diseases, allows you to find pests and gives the plant the space and nutrients for optimal growth. A good resource for figuring out that spacing plan is Mel Bartholomew’s Square Foot Gardening books. Ps: can’t wait to try out my two new Birdies beds this spring.
I have never planted a thing in my life and started with a Vegepod and raised beds (positioned on a concrete slab roof). Needless to say I have made every possible error I could. I have had caterpillars, aphids, fungal gnats and curly grubs (bush turkeys, possums and bandicoots). I have spent more than $2000 and have just learnt that my soil is all wrong, among other things. It is extremely discouraging. Your tutorials, however, have given me hope. You explain things so simply and I have to tell myself I will learn from all these mistakes so I must continue. Thank you for your very helpful tutorials. Ellipop.
These are great tips, thanks for sharing. One of my biggest problems, early on was special awareness...not knowing how far a plant will travel on it's growth to maturity. Butternut squash for example should never be planted by the gate to enter your fenced in garden. In the same respect knowing cukes like to climb and giving them the room and support to do so will give you amazing yields!
6:04 I am a newbie gardener. I started last fall. This is my first spring garden. I was having to water the garden like 3 or 4 times per day on a hot spring day here in Tulsa, OK (zone 7a). Now I only have to water once per day with the leaf mulch, if that (sometimes a get a little rain).
I've found a 10th mistake is trying too hard to stick to a predetermined plan. I'm just starting raised gardening (in berms, not planters) and I spent an inordinate amount of time over this past winter deciding what crops to plant in which order and which location. Fast forward to "it's time to build these garden berms", and I've come to the realization that I was overcomplicating things. I adjusted my build plan to take on a simpler, but what I believe to be more-effective, construction. Had I insisted on "I don't want my plans to be for naught!" then I'd probably end up doing much more work than is necessary, and the results would likely have been less successful. It's a bit like what Eisenhower said: "Plans are useless, but planning is indispensable." I still had a good basis of research under my belt thanks to my original plan, and with some recent new information I was able to adapt my original plan and (hopefully) make it even more successful.
Okay, thanks. I wasn't going to go work in my garden ... now I am. Had no motivation ... now I do. Doesn't matter what happens with it, I'll have good success when I just get going! Here's a plan / tip for people who have a larger growing space, and less control over the type of weeds and volume of weeds that come our way during the year. Obviously, the first and most important way to control weeds is "mulch, mulch, mulch!" makes a huge difference. This tip is one I've never seen anyone share before, though: CHOOSE YOUR WEEDS. Over the past four years in my garden plot, in a Midwestern climate where a weed will pop up every single hour on a warm July day, I've come to favor Oxalis, a low-growing weed that is easy to remove and can occupy a lot of sun-space that other weeds would like to get their hands on. Grass weeds? Out they come. Milkweed? Leave three, pull the rest. Dandelions? Out with their cores! Oxalis? Hang out a while, go to seed, pardon my trimming of your edges. Smartweed is also no big deal, but it's taller, so when it comes up in a corner, "Hello!" I won't get too aggressive until it gets on top of something else. The idea of cultivating least-harm weeds is not too different from cultivating a cover crop, except that weeds have one excellent quality that not all cover crops have; they're WEEDY. They fight to be there and they thrive under all local conditions. So while I have to nip them out of my crops' way, they're also covering the soil and leaving their roots to dissolve in the ground every year, without my having to worry about caring for them. So I get sick in July, and don't go see my garden for three weeks. What happens? I come back to a sea of oxalis, and my crops. It's a very short sea of oxalis, and within an hour, three weeks worth of weeds are out of my well-mulched way, and I'm back to checking trellising and adjusting mulch levels.
Can’t take oxalis, it’s too invasive, I find it in my flower pots as well as beds and have to really dig to get the roots. If you don’ t get to it it takes over, no thanks.
There’s one thing I can say that has helped me immensely with my garden. Remember to fertilize weekly during the growing season. I did my first fertilization this season with a handful of steer manure in a bucket filled with about a gallon of water. I watered my crops once a week with tea to help them grow better. The next week I used a handful of my organic compost made from green and brown waste as well as earth worms in a compost pile... so a handful of black gold in a one gallon tub with a gallon of water, mixed in, to fertilize my garden once a week. The week after I used water from my tubs that I’ve been catching rain water in. The low ph is good for some crops like blueberries, strawberries, and spinach. After that it was waste water from my organic aquariums, high in nitrates, that I used to fertilize the garden. But every week during the growing season you should fertilize with a diluted fertilizer solution. I even cut up weeds from my garden, steep them overnight, and then use the tea to water my garden as a form of fertilizer before adding the solids to the compost bin. It’s been really good for my raised beds and container garden. I mulch with leaves and twigs from the trees in my garden, and I highly recommend you guys start doing that as well.
Is there nothing u don’t use? LOL. Starbucks gives out big bags of coffee grinds to gardeners. i scoop out the grinds from my keurig cups and recycle the tiny cups. Live in the desert Rocky mtns. Fertilizer is not easy to fine....except cow poop...will try that out.
@@13klecan ha! You have a point there, it’s probably extremely difficult to find things to use as fertilizer in your area. However, if you eat fruits & vegetables you can compost those to make fertilizer. If you have an old blender you can throw your scraps in there & blend them up with a cup or two of water. Run it through a mesh filter or an old stalking to separate the liquid from the solids. Water your plants with the liquid, bury the solids or compost them. You can do a quick search to find a list of green waste items for compost & use any of those in the blender mix. Cow poop works great too though.
I am so happy to have watched this video! Thank you. I live in a very large property in Canada and have purchased the steel raised beds and am shaking in my boots in fear of failing. This was so helpful. You don’t know what you just don’t know until you learn. Now I won’t make these errors. Wish I had someone like you for set up though, lol. ❤️🇨🇦👍
Hate u british gardeners. LOL. U guys just look at the backyard and stuff grows. Live in the US Southwest for a while! Had several problems with my fruit trees, with the bark etc. Expert gardener at my local nursery told me that about 95% of my problems were water related. Soak , soak, soak!
I love this video! You personally even overcame my SoCal bias (I'm from the PNW and California is a curse word here). This is great info. I've had a few gardens over the years with mixed success. Your tips are all spot-on. I'm planning on finally building a raised bed garden to raise "Taco crops" (white onion, radish, cilantro, red cabbage, etc) and pickle crops (pickling cukes, dill, maybe some garlic, etc). I'm pushing 60 y/o and after 15 years in the Army and 20 years in construction my back and knees are shot so I need to do raised bed. Because I live out in the country we have lots of deer, rabbits, skunk, raccoons, possum and many species of birds, that love to raid gardens. I'm planning on building a horseshoe shaped garden with 8' high fencing around it this winter. And while I knew about south facing, your video actually made me realize that that I need to build the garden 180 deg orientation from how I had planned on building it so that I can put the tall plants in back and work down to the shorter plants on the south side. That tip alone probably saved me years of aggravation. So a sincere thank you! I'm now a subscriber. Keep up the great work!
Love this video. I have made some of these mistakes and I hope I have learned from them. There are couple of things I would add here. First make sure that your boxes are deep enough to hold an adequate amount of soil for your plant's root balls. It has been my experience that boxes that are 14 to 18 inches deep work best (my 8 inch deep boxes were not a big success). Second, rotate your crops. Don't plant the same thing in the same boxes time after time as the soil will become depleted of the nutrients necessary to maintain that particular crop. I like to let the soil in my boxes rest by putting a thick layer of grass clippings on top and then watering once a week or so to aid in the composting process. Before planting again I like to turn the soil and add amendments appropriate to the planned crop. But be careful what you add to the soil. I added some wonderful stuff that we raked out from under our juniper bushes. Unfortunately it was full of palm seeds from the nearby trees. We had a huge crop of glorious tomatoes in amongst the hundreds of little palm trees that sprouted up around the tomato plants. I learned the hard way to screen out the palm seeds before using the compost collected under the juniper plants.
@@anitapendleton1209 I put grass on top of the beds as needed to keep a good 2 inch layer on top of the soil to help keep the soil moist and the the plant roots protected. When the season is done and I pull the plants out I turn the soil over to mix in whats left of the grass, add other stuff like compost and then put more grass on top of the soil to protect it from the sun and the elements.
We just planted our first raised bed last weekend and although I didn’t watch your video I feel pretty confident that we’ll have a decent season after hearing of these mistakes! Random note: This was a recommenced video for me and I didn’t notice when this video was posted but I found it interesting to see a passerby walk by wearing their mask 😷 Goes to show you that’s how we’ll be able to recognize content that was posted during this crazy time in history!
What a fun, practical overview! I also appreciate your speaking quality no fillers, no unnecessary chatter, no opinions.... Just very helpful information...thank you!
My mistake was in year two: not adding a soil amendment. Things grew, but not as well. Adding an amendment helped so much. I'll never forget that lesson.
Awesome video! Kevin's List of 9 Mistakes in Order of Severity/Permanence 1:21 #1 Not putting your garden in the right place 3:03 #2 Not planning for irrigation 3:44 #3 Not investing in good soil 5:03 #4 Not choosing the proper soil mix 6:04 #5 Not mulching 7:42 #6 Not initially making enough space for pathways 8:44 #7 Not thinking about what the plants will look like when fully grown 9:55 #8 Not preparing your beds throughout the seasons 11:25 #9 Not labeling/tracking what you planted & when you planted it
This is amazing @epic gardening!! I am from Melbourne trying to stay at home to help with CoVID 19. But what inspires me is the environmental sustainability of gardening and the mediation side of the act of planting and watching them grow. Love to hear what other Melbourians on here and what are on your JULY planting list.
Taking pictures on my phone is a life-saver! Every time I plant anything I take a picture I can go back and see exactly what I did and when. I also keep a garden journal but it definitely takes a back seat to the pictures.
I'm glad the sun is up almost all night in the summer here, since my growing space is a west-facing balcony with a permanent wall at the south side of it. It's far from ideal, but it will have to do for now. Also: last frost date here is usually around beginning of june, and first frost date around the beginning of september, so... I'm pretty glad if I manage to get anything at all, and mostly grow things for the sake of having an outdoor green space to poke at and learn from. I already have some swiss chard outside under cover, mostly to see what happens. They've been out for a couple of weeks now, and seem to be doing well, even with quite a few frost nights.
I don't have a raised bed, I used the soil my house came with. My mistake starting out was not testing that soil. Last year I did test it and find that it was low on phosphorus and had too high of pH. I was able to correct that with a little sulphur and some bone meal. I had better yields for doing so. I would advise that if you use plain ol' dirt, test it, or send it to your local university if possible
@@Luxxo-Deluxo Soi test kits available online or [better] hardware store, you don't need to visit ag. extension agency. If you could handle a pool water test, you'll do fine w soil testing. happy gardening!
Thank you for this! Very refreshing to hear from someone that isn't overly pushing a particular product, just helpful, and the products are available. Much more likely to follow
C G oh I wish! No I was sitting in with my daughter in class. Now with my son & I’ve been out of school for many years & have no idea what they’re doing!
Totally made the soil mistake. I put too much faith in the quality of my local gardener's store "raised bed mix." My plants were all super nitrogen deficient!!! They were very yellow and stunted, but I noticed in time so I was able to amend it by adding dilute urine a few times. This fall I plan to add some high quality compost and mulch to help improve the soil quality for next year. A disappointing mistake, to be sure, but glad it was something I could correct in time to still have a productive garden this year!
What a great video I think I probably made everyone of those mistakes and one point or another and maybe still making some but thanks for your honesty and wisdom. Your experience helps us all not to possibly make them and I or we appreciate that. Not sure how your plants look so good after that crazy week long storm we just recently had but thanks again. Nice to see someone from my hometown giving out props. Peace bud.
One thing in raised gardens is remembering that the soil level is going to drop as it settles. Also how much root space is taken up. e.g. the depth of your root crop (carrots, parsnips, potatoes) compared to the top croppers (peas, beans and brassica) are vital things to look at when planting and sowing. Love the video, very informative
Can you do a video on raised bed covers? Different types for bugs, animals, low temperatures, extending the growing season? I know you’re in a place that doesn’t snow often, but for those that do we’d like to know.
I am in north eastern Massachusetts. I bought an inexpensive snow blanket at our local garden store and covered my garden bed just before our first snow in October. I removed it in the early part of March. My swiss chard, kale and beets survived into December and my kale survived the winter and now has tiny leaves on April 3rd.
Very great! Thank you for sharing your experiences to us youngster gardeners like me. Although I am in my very first season, I avoided a lot of mistakes (I made a lot else) listening to pro‘s like you. Thank you!
i am 24 and i just started gardening in my studio apartment with a couple indoor raised beds and stackable planters! i do not have a balcony but i do have a south-ish facing window which allows much sunlight, however it’s mostly cloudy where i live for the most part and my crops & plants get very little sunlight for the most part :( however my radish, carrots & buttercup squash seem to be growing pretty nicely! thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and i can’t wait to see what i learn to grow next!
Two other mistakes to avoid. First, don't plant food that someone in your household doesn't eat, especiallyif they do more cooking than you. An exception would be a trial quantity so they get the chance to try it fresh. Second don't grow plants in the same bed if they have radically different needs for fertilizer or water.
I’ve seen a couple of your videos reacting to plant hacks, but after browsing your channel I realize I’ve found exactly what I’ve been looking for regarding gardening info 👌
That thing about sunlight depends on your local climate. Here in Victoria, Australia, plants like lettuce prefer 50% shade through summer - and we're not even the sunnier part of Australia. Enough sunlight is essential. Too much is not better.
Just a quick comment on using wood chips as mulch. They're a great thing to use, they let air & water through, and keep the soil nice and moist. One thing they DON'T do is take away nitrogen from your plants, unless you dig them into the soil where plant roots are growing. Lying on the soil surface, woos chips only use nitrogen in a thin layer where they touch the soil. So there's no worry about them taking nitrogen away from your established plants. For young transplants or direct sowing seeds, on the other hand, pull the wood chips back a few inches from the transplants and seedlings. Young plants and seedlings have really shallow roots, so in that case, the wood chips might be using nitrogen in the soil surface where those young roots are growing. Once the plants have grown in a bit, you can replace the wood chips aroung them. Happy gardening!
Greetings from Copenhagen, Denmark :) enjoying your videos a lot and getting inspiration for my balcony. Waiting for the weather to get warm enough for moving my plants outside. Stay safe. Karina
Hey Kevin! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us newbie gardeners! I just recently saw your micro green video and I planted my garden on April 14th! I look forward to seeing what other videos you will have for us! Stay safe and stay healthy. 💖☺️ -Ashley.
I wish I could just grow stuff outside but it seems like our wind is so intense here in Texas and the rain is too much so I am building a small greenhouse for all my plants. We will see how this goes. 🌿🌻🙏🌄🦋
@@robinholbrook6576Hello! Houston area. I started growing and If I leave my plants out lately they get burned in the sun or wind is so strong its breaking the stems. So no more of that. I am in a house. When I was in an apt. (3 years ago) I was able to grow some peppers and tomato plants on my balcony I guess it blocked the wind and sun just enough. The only thing I had to do was keep the bugs off of them and they did well. These strange storm type winds are scary so I need to protect my babies (my veggie plants) 😉🤗🌱🌿
There are so many UA-cam gardeners now it makes my head spin! Even though I’m in zone 4b in Quebec, Canada, I have learned more from you in every aspect of gardening then all the others I’ve watched. That’s not to say they aren’t great…I just like the way you you explain it. So thank you for all the amazing content 😀
Thanks so much for the info. I live in Southwest part of Virginia and since I work full time, and have had trouble tending to weeds and dry hot summers, I decided to try growing in pots this year so I can move them when necessary. Wish me luck. And thank you again for your time and videos 😌
I don’t have advise for anyone since this will be my first year planting outside as I usually grow my food inside (half of my dinning room is dedicated to food plants and underwater plants lol). I am just excited to get started outside as it took a few years after we bought out house to control the complete over growth (the house was abandoned before) so now I’m ready and no one in my family gardens or has a knack for it. So I’m just hear to tell anyone who will read this that I am planting corn, Tomatoes, jalapeños, Pablanos, pumpkins, watermelons, cucumber, zucchini, kale, grapes, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, elderberries, and lettuce. I know some of these will take years to start producing. I also have chickens this year so this will be great to let them fertilize the souls before I start planting outdoors. One thing I have a lot of is raccoons, bunnies and squirrels. Any advise on how to protect the plants from these animals would be great.
Thank you for this video. I like your approach to grow wherever you can, because we don't always have the choices we want, but we still have choices. These tips have super payback potential. I do get lazy, or absent minded about mulching and it really takes a toll mid season. I also like the tip is planning based on sunlight path.
Great video Kevin! All your tips are well grounded! (Pun intended) One other tip I think may be important for some people is getting the right sized bed. Some folks build their beds way too big and they can't reach all their plants without stepping into the bed. 🥴🥬🥒 Thanks again for all these wonderful videos..... and many blessings for an amazing gardening season!
I'm doing urban farming, I've run out of space to put anything and my dad is letting me start using his 3 acres, I'm so excited but worried about trying to do both
I am an indoor plant girly, but I am determined to have a garden this year! A raised bed is what I am starting with, and I plan on doing everyday veggies. I appreciate all of the knowledge & tips in this video. Thank you for sharing!
Gee, year #2 here and I've made lots of these. For me, keeping track of labeling was becoming a real issue. Specifically what kind of tomato for example. I started using different colored or patterned duct tape corresponding to each. So on popsicle stick or like, I just make a bunch with each of the six different colors and then I don't have smeared, squiggles of writing that have to be looked at closely to be able to tell.
Go out and physically look at your garden daily even in the rain. That's how you catch that stinky little caterpillar that will eat all of your leaves while you're at work on the very day that you didn't check on your garden. Painful. Just painful.
When people ask me how I've managed to grow plants so well, they don't believe that this is the key. Just... taking a look at your plants. If you do it every day, or even multiple times a day, you start noticing things. Like bugs, like yellowing leaves, or whatever and are able to correct it early. 5 minutes, while sipping on your morning coffee, is all it really takes.
I made the equivalent of mistake #1 over 20 years ago when I created my square foot garden. I live on 6 acres of wooded land. At the time I had the area for the garden and pond cleared, put down a wood frame and actually my best year was my first. Each year following my results got worse.. After about 10 years I realized thel problem, the forest was encroaching on my garden. There is now nearly no sunlight on it. I had to make a decision to either cut down several 100 year old oak trees or give up my garden. I gave up the garden. And considering I have 6 acres of land, there is not one spot that gets a full 8 hours of sun a day. I was a novice gardener at the time, on my own, I could not foresee this happening, and to correct it now would be a very tough choice and cost several hundred dollars. I decided I rather put that money toward my future grocery store bills. The trees were here before me, they deserve to be here after me. So if you have a lot of trees, remember they grow in all directions.
Thank you so much I searched all day yesterday for a video like this!! Your tips are simple, easy to follow and so so helpful 🌱 I have a bunch of leaky livestock tanks around my place and they are what I’m going to use as raised beds so again your video was perfect. Thank you!
This video is two years old and maybe a few things have changed with the way you do gardening but I would say the only thing your beds are missing is the cover to protect the produce from birds and wild animals. Very informative video. 🤗
I hope sharing these mistakes helps you avoid them! If you like my raised beds, you can join the email list for upcoming pre-orders here: shop.epicgardening.com/
Do the beds just go right down on grass, with no bottom?? Nice video, thanks for the tips.
epic, legend, lots and lots of words.
Z qi+up 76pp
It's a little different in Florida, where the heat is truly crazy (most years) from May to September. We have our garden on the North side of our yard; most of the plants will get partial shade partial sun; things like okra, sweet potatoes and collards do OK through the summer in full sun, but most things don't.
@@MartinLegris o
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Im 13 and just got my wood for building my planters this year, thanks for the advice! I found where my great-grandpa had his garden and apparently has good soil and sun, im doing half in ground patch - half raised beds. I really hope I can get all my perennials started like any berry bushes, rhubarb and asparagus so I can have some self-sustainability by the time im 15
Oh my gosh thats amazing! Best of luck!🥹🫶🏼
wow amazing!
The wisdom of young people today is amazing!
That's incredible! I think you'll do great. Teenagers just don't care about things like this anymore and it's really nice seeing someone so young be so interested in gardening and being self sustainable
That's awesome! Go show them how it's done!
I'm definitely new at gardening but I don't think it's ever too late. I'm 71 and I want my grandchildren to learn to eat more veggies, so we're going to learn together!
Thanks! I am almost 66 and just bought 12 2x2x6 galvanized steel stock tanks!!
1. And 2. Are Bed Placement for sunshine
3. Plan for irrigation
4. Invest in good raised bed soil mixed with compost
Research good mixed soil.. and compost blends
5. Use Mulch (composted)
6. Make space for pathways - minimum 24”
7. Planting space…and placement. Plants that grow taller in a place that won’t shade other plants
8. Take care of your bed soil over time… during fall and winter… make use of a cover crop
9. Label, track and record your plants, date of planting, expected harvest date, etc
Thank you!!! My ADD is like just get to it 😅
Ty!
The real mvp
He starts straight away. No waffle. A lovely chap!
A mistake I made early on was relying too heavily on interventions like soap spray and copper fungicide. Eventually, I realized that when shield bugs and cabbage moths and aphids got too numerous, they just naturally attracted their own predators. The key was creating an appealing environment for them to hunt in-one that mimicked a more wild or natural landscape.
Every year now I find frogs in my garden. I hatch mantises. Ladybugs descend in huge numbers and breed in my garden. I plant a wide variety of native flowers around the edges of my garden and let some areas get weedy. I don’t spray anything anymore, because what kills the bad bugs always kills the good bugs.
This year, juncos are nesting in the tall grass along my fence. They eat bugs when they’re raising chicks, so when I pull weeds I don’t want, they follow along and pick up all kinds of goodies in the exposed soil.
It’s important to remember that your raised beds are as much a part of the landscape as a park or a vacant lot. Creating balance in your garden isn’t just good for you, it’s good for everything around you.
Very well said! Taking a holistic approach is always going to be the best route! This is the veganic approach.
Totally agree 😊👍🏽.
Cola Johnson Thank you, we have a large all organic flower garden (25 years plus, no sprays or anything) and have started vegetables this year. Everything is being eaten up! We have tons of butterflies and bees and i dont want to risk hurting them but the veggie plants are getting gobbled up! Plus its so shady all around our garden, so just not much room for error. Ive been reading up to see if there are any organic sprays I should be using but I do like your approach as Im afraid of just what you mentioned !. Any links, books or websites where could learn more?
@@Julia29853
-you might want to go on reddit and make a post asking the gardening subreddit for advice.
-If it's earwigs that are eating your plants, I recently heard that you can make traps for them. You can put out old tuna cans filled with oil + a little soy sauce (for an attractive smell), and they'll get stuck.
-I've also heard that neem oil is good?
-If you're in California the UC Cooperative Extension (ucanr.edu) has a lot of resources/ tips for gardening based on your county. If you live elsewhere I'm sure there's a local university that has something similar
yo, that’s beautiful
I have been gardening with my dad since I was about 7 or 8, helping with the strawberries, tomatoes, peppers, etc. I started to upgrade and had about 10 plants that I crammed in my room. There is a huge window in my room so they all did pretty well. Now I’m starting to grow my own fruits and vegetables in my own garden! My goal is to study botany in college and to become a botanist ! You videos have helped a lot. Keep doing what you do Kevin
Horticulture is a wide open field right now. May you become the Botanist you want to be. Botany was kind of a first love to me. I wish I’d not got distracted with other paths sometimes but everything I have learned is very valuable. Understanding plants gives you a big advantage in life. Feeding yourself w food you have grown, is such an accomplishment. Best wishes.
I am reading Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Kimmerer. It has given me a new point of view about growing and foraging .
One thing in raised gardens is remembering that the soil level is going to drop as it settles. Also how much root space is taken up. e.g. the depth of your root crop (carrots, parsnips, potatoes) compared to the top croppers (peas, beans and brassica) are vital things to look at when planting and sowing. Love the video, very informative
In spring I use a short shovel and fluff the soil.
Plus pulling up old plants. You just fill with compost at the beginning of the season.
so true
Tips: Regarding watering consider making your raised beds wicking beds. The other idea to consider is using the German Hügel Kultur method and filling the bottom of the beds with logs, branches etc. This saves on soil and as it breaks down, adds nutrients, will retain water and provide a home for many organisms that will improve the quality of your soil.
i call it the *Soil Creating* Hugelkultur method: because that's pretty much what it does. I waited a few months for the organic material to settle lower in the box (as it is chewed up by microorganisms, and gets rained on etc it naturally drops to a certain level). Now it seems stable, i lifted the newspaper lid that i have on it to see what it looks like after all these months - it is halfway to soil already! magic to see....now all i have to do is add the last ten inches of dirt/clay/sand mix and put my plants in. Way to go
if you have young kids or grandchildren, a really fun thing could be to get them in the garden helping you to break up twigs etc to put in the box. A few months later, they can come outside with a magnifying glass and see the astonishing little *worker troops* all shapes and sizes, all doing different tasks. I wish i could make a movie that would magnify all that so its easy to see! a little city of living things doing their thing down there....
(don't forget to put a cardboard lid, or thick newspapers on top if you are leaving sit for a few months) this will protect the little microbes from sunlight (they don't like it)..
would you recommend trying this method for raised beds that have to be unfortunately situated near my neighbor's redwood trees? I'm having the worst time digging out the redwood roots each season, and am not sure what to do about it.
@@gardengrrlWendy Absolutely, A raise bed would defiantly help in this situation.
Just wanna say what a grateful fan I am of this channel!
I started gardening to give myself a healthier habit than smoking to deal with my anxiety and depression.
I knew pretty much nothing but have successfully raised some crops in raised beds and containers, have some plants that have survived into their second year, and improved my health (through diet of increased veggies, and better mental health)
All thanks to your videos!
Thank you for the videos and tips they have improved my garden and my health.
Well done!! I’m still struggling quite a lot!
Dude, me too. I'd be lost without my garden distractions. I just took a break from my computer. I was feeling "down and burnt out" so went outside and did some pruning and breathing. I feel better. I live in the burbs and have a small yard, we can all do something with the space we have to connect with nature and feel better.
Hi! I am a nurse/researcher. Recent studies have shown that gardening for one hour at least 3 days per week works BETTER than our top 2 antidepressants!!! Who knew? Great job!!!!
I am 12 and I started gardening this year! I only did 2 dwarf tomato plants and 2 bell peppers plants. Your videos has helped me a lot and I am going to be doing my first harvest in about 2 weeks (I started late but I know I can move them indoors because I have a room that gets ton of sun) Thank you for all of your help!
That’s amazing ahha I’m 16 and I started a few months ago, keep it up
I'm 22. Simple life skills like cooking, gardening, etc will be more beneficial than whatever you'll learn in school.
Hope this year goes well for you. Great hobby to get into at your age. Good luck!
Way to go!
Congratulations Brennan. Be diligent and keep up the good work. You will become a master gardener.
I started gardening when I was a kid and making mistakes was how I learned! One of my rules is to just try something and it's always ok if you have to compost the plant. The more you try, the more you learn!
Everything that was covered in this video were great tips for the beginning gardener. A few more tips that I was taught, and have been very successful with, is to select the right seed - lets use sun flower seeds as an example (type doesn't matter in this example) In a packet of seeds, not all seed look the same: some are flat, others are thick, an others are somewhere in between. Select the thickest seed (ovary) because it has a greater probability to start to produce a healthy plant. Then double up the thick seeds (with some separation) - if they both grow, you could either separate/transplant them when they get big enough or cut the weakest one to the ground.
Along with your last tip: take pictures of everything along the way! I have lots of pics w/ the seed packs laid out where I planted my seeds, which helps me remember what is where before they start fruiting, but I also just love the reminder of how much the garden changes! (And I can see “oops. Those peppers aren’t doing so hot there, next year they’ll need to find a new home!”
Cool ideA about pics with seed PKG./plant stakes. I left mine but the all disappeared very shortly from wind or disintegrated
people were masters of gardening long before cameras. don't take photo's, teach your brain to function.
@@phillipoliverholtz9226 Do both, and tack on being less overbearing lol
You can also get your phone out and make a quick video of you showing where things are and what type, and then it also has the date on it!
Excellent tip! Thank you.
Absolutely miss having my grandmother to go to for info. She used to keep a 1 acre vegetable garden. Never doing raised beds.
Fast forward, I've spent years trying to do a raised bed garden with pretty poor results. So glad I found this channel.
Thanks for the tips, please keep them coming.
Grandmothers ALWAYS know best.
Jishy Kitty
My grandma tended about a half acre garden in her 80s. Huge!
My grandmother was a citrus farmer in Florida. Grew the best organic oranges, grapefruit, and tangerines I have ever tasted. She also had a vegetable garden that always flourished. Not easy in Florida's sandy soul. I believe she could have planted a broomstick and it would have sprouted into a gorgeous plant. The last time I saw her alive was when we walked through her vibrant garden together. She broke off an ear of sweet corn and I ate it right there. The taste and life of that ear of corn is something I'll never forget. The memory of that day in her garden is golden. How I miss her.
I miss my grandmother as well. She grew everything. Like yours on an acre or more.
@@epicgardening right... she grew everything... it took all day to work in her garden... my best memories are picking strawberries and corn for supper. she lived in Neptune NJ. She grew in the basement during winter to transplant in spring. She composted and had a hot compost as well.... sure wish I would have spent more time with her when I was a kid. Never to late though. My garden is doing well. I have modulated the watering. I do have a question .. what are your thought on a moisture/ph meter. my husband bought me one. From what that says. it seems like I was definitely. over watering.
Two years into a massive garden and I can 100% confirm that this is all good advice, whether you're planting in raised beds or not!
Mulch is like a blanket for your " bed ". 😊
Love that
Here where I live, when I mention mulch, people only think of polyethylene coverings like they put on mass produced strawberries and such. They think it's just to smother some of the weeds.
"What we measure we manage" my new gardening motto! 💜🌱💜🌿
What is measured improves 👍
Also, if you live in an area where you have lots of leaves falling in the Autumn season DON'T rake them all up!! MULCH them with a mower and use them in your garden. They provide lots of nitrogen for your soil ALSO rotate your crops!! don't always be planting the same things in the same raised bed since different plants use different nutrients from the soil
Unless they are from walnut trees
Don't use magnolia tree leaves- they kill some garden plants.check which tree leaves will fertilize and not kill plants.
I’ve been following a 4 bed rotation-#1, peas, beans & potatoes, followed by #2, greens & brassicas, next #3, fruiting plants (tomatoes, squash, peppers, eggplant, & cucumbers), and finally #4, root crops (beets, carrots, onions, turnips, garlic, etc.). This next summer will be year three of this system, and year 2 was even better than year 1.
Great idea!! I bought a mulcher to do just that but haven't learn to use it yet
Compost oak leaves first, and add limestone powder to it to raise the ph to 7.
When I start a new raised bed I put cardboard on the ground build the raised
Bed then I gather logs sticks enough to get me a little under half way then add the triple mix and compost. The logs and sticks will retain water as well as break down and give more soil to the raised bed
Hugalculture love it works great. You use less water.
Earth worms LOVE to eat cardboard too! I feed them generously and they in turn feed my soil!
what is a triple mix for you?
@@Goindownaroad it comes from the garden Center it has manure n all the other wonderful things plants need to survive
This is a favorite method I have heard about called hugelkultur
I would like to say that this channel got me in trouble with my wife. Ever since I found it I have been expanding my garden more and more with the advice here and my wife rolls her eyes every time I go to the store.
LOL I love this
She will thank you when she tastes all the garden fresh produce you grow! Lol
Nathan Radke she will love you if these food shortage predictions come about.
@@sunnyskies4628 Amen!
My husband is a chef, so I didn't have to do much convincing to put in raised garden beds for herbs. He says it pays off when you taste fresh in your food! So I recommend cooking for the Mrs, what you're growing, and I'm sure she'll become a convert. ;)
Thank GOD that if you DO screw up your garden for a season you aren't going hungry ya just head on down to the local produce stand or grocery store. How BLESSED are we in this country even with EVERYTHING that is going on in the world. Count your blessings daily give to those in need and pray for the ones you can't physically help. If God cares for the sparrow you know he cares for us✌️🤟
I know this video is almost a year old, but it's very timely for me. I've recently moved and I have most of an acre to plant and my property is south-facing. :-) I'm super excited to get dug in this spring.
I'm as excited to begin gardening as you are. I have a small yard adjacent to a large city park - I like to think that it's ALL my yard and I am only responsible for the area right outside my patio doors! It's a fabulous southern exposure in Southern California and I want to create an environment that's good for bees and butterflies. Going with the Epic Gardening raised beds using planter wall blocks, the perfect doofus-proof DIY project.
@@meggarstang6761 that’s awesome! I’m in SoCal as well- Huntington beach. Sounds like you’ve got an awesome yard space!
I’m 57 I’ve had a garden every year since I was 27. Over the last for five years I’ve made the transition to a raised bed style it’s so much nicer. Much easier to manage. I very much enjoy your videos you’re very informative I’ve learned from you. Salute from zone 6B in the middle of Kansas.
Salute!
Yes! I am 50 now and am starting to raise some beds 'cause my knees and back are starting to protest way too much the next 3 days! :-) Wave from Ontario Canada!
I'm 8 years old and been gardening now for over a decade. All these tips have helped so much.
So you were gardening before you were conceived? Interesting! 😂
@@MsOscara Interesting garden activity for his parents! LOL
Didn't you mean 18, 28, or even 80???? If you meant you are 8, then your poor mom's tummy must have been a wreck!!!! I'm sure you made a typo. More power to you regardless of your age. Keep on gardening. Good for you!
Amazingly enough I’ve done every one of those things this my first year. I have been reading and watching videos for two years before I built my raised beds this year. Additionally I bought red wiggler worms to put in the beds. I only have space for 3 3’x8’ beds and a 150 gal tank that I’ve used for tomatoes the past 15 years. So I purchased 4000 worms to split between the beds. Last year I did put a few in the tank and when I took the soil out this year to move the tank there were still worms in that soil. I put the fresh scraps from salads and such in the soil to give worms food to break down into worm castings. It really doesn’t take long for the worms to break down the kitchen scraps either.
I'm an experienced gardner and still found this helpful. Great project while we're staying at home.
I am on the near side of 80 and my poor old knees feel the years, so I have been strongly thinking of putting in some raised beds so that I can still enjoy the growing season. Thank you for your tips and sharing your experience. Much appreciated. Wish me luck
Must Do List:
#1 Need PH tester to test the soil. Check PH around certain plants due to needs are different. One size does not fit all.
#2 Amend your soil during the growing season.
#3 Don't forget flowers to deter pests like marigolds stuck in between plants.
#4 Compost Thermometer to check activity and finishing. If you are composting.
#5 Prune plants during the season as needed when they grow in for air flow and proper care.
#6 Don't water too late in the evening - plant does not get a chance to dry - encourage plant fungus problems, mildew and mold.
buy a timer and set it for early morning so the water can permeate the soil and not evaporate in the heat of the day. #3, #5 great tips!
And research companion vegetables...
Don’t follow if u live in the SW. I don’t think I’ve ever overwater. In fact, in June , I might do a second evening mist.
something lots of people don't realise, your side and back fences if they are tall and solid, will block out sunlight during winter in quite a bit of your yard. So before you plant, look at your yard and picture the where the lower arc of the winter sun will be. Best of all, watch the sun edge on the ground during winter, then you know for sure to plant outside the suns edge (not inside, where its in shadow every day in winter!) simple stuff, but newbies often dont think of it. A gardeners life involves becoming aware of things like seasonal angles of the sun and prevailing winds.
mmm i see what i wrote is a bit confusing. What i meant was, plant where there will be year round sunshine.
Something where planting large plants in front of small ones actually can work is with some herbs and leafy greens if you live far to the north. We're a high enough latitude that it's very difficult to grow lettuces, arugula, and herbs like basil for a lot of the summer, because the daylight is so extended that they bolt. I built squash trellises for butternuts a few years ago that were just two wire panels framed with stakes and leaned against each other like a tent. I don't remember why, but I put several lettuce and herb plants between the trellises. Lo and behold, the lettuce and herbs continued to grow all summer, in spite of the heat, because they were under shade a significant part of the day. When the plants out in the sun were bolting, the ones under the trellises were not. There are definitely situations where it can be beneficial to plant short plants behind or under taller ones.
Great idea. Where I live in Australia, the sun is too strong in summer to grow plants without some kind of shade, especially from the hot afternoon sun. I've been thinking about putting in screens to protect from the west, but trellises might work well with the right kind of plants (and give bonus productivity!)
I didnt wanna buy a metal raised bed and break my bank bc those are so expensive, i just used an old dryer drum 😂 worked just as well.
I use our compost, potting soil, coffeeground, ashes, fresh green material, wood and sand for pots and raised beds
Good mix!
As you are talking about directionality, I just realized that my porch faces directly south. We have a terrible yard filled with rocks, and old concrete so I was thinking about starting some planters this spring and this is so great to know that I’m already in a good spot.
Thanks for all the helpful tips. I live in Oregon and have been gardening for over a decade. One mistake I learned is that you need to know what wildlife you have around and what they can potentially do to your garden. We live next to a creek with tall trees and have tons of squirrels in our yard. While they don't eat my veggies, they do mess with everything and love to dig holes to bury their seeds in fresh soil. So now when I plant my spring garden I have to cover each bed with chicken wire which works great to keep the critters out. Just takes a little extra time and planning. Gardening is my happy place and I'm glad I found this channel.
I'm gonna quote you "you dont feed the plants you feed the soil." Epic Gardening July 2020
Cut banana skins n add to the soil they have potassium
Natural human hair have nitrogen - plants love it.
The WATER you use to rinse rice- save it to water plants
A couple weeks ago when the news showed farmers bulldozing entire tomato crops, we dusted off the planters and got as much as possible into trays in the window right away. We spent the past two weeks getting all the planters ready, and lots of things are sprouting in all the places. There can only be two gardening mistakes as far as I'm concerned, not starting a garden, and the above mentioned plowing under of perfectly good food!
Soo true!!
Truly moving.
When the supply chain breaks, it is better to remove plants, than it is to abandon them. Neglected and dying plants become infected and inoculate the soil with disease that will ruin crops for many years to come.
Putting plants back into the soil for their mineral content is important, if nothing else can be done with them. Of course the efficiencies of different food systems, and their resilience, both are broken to start with in the "standard" model.
I’m guilty of not starting a garden
I have ducks and geese that free-range and get into everything. Last year I had a lot of success using recycled wood palates flat on ground then kiddie pools placed on top! The kids stabbed a hundred or more holes in them before we filled all of them with dirt, duck compost, shredded straw, worms, and tiny bits of decayed wood. Excellent way if your on a tight budget. We had everything laying around. And we used dollar store seeds. Didnt want to waste my good seeds yet just in case it didn't work well... It works great to keep my birds and animals out. Also great for bug control. Creatures have a hard time getting up the sides of the slick plastic pool. Next season I want to upgrade to the kind of raised beds you have. The pools still work great for the kids garden! Thank you for all the wounderful tips. Love from a fellow Cali Skatergirl. 💕 ( Now transplanted in Washington state. So glad we moved here for the better climate & water 💧 supply).
All very good tips. I would also add to the last tip how important it is to rotate your crops from one to the next, and marking what you planted in each bed facilitates that. Plants have nutritional needs specific to that species, along with diseases that can persist through the year, especially in warmer climates.
A couple of examples: corn or potatoes use a lot of nitrogen compared to other crops, while legumes put nitrogen back into the ground, so rotating these into the same bed will help balance the nutritional quality of the soil.
As for diseases, tomatoes can contract viruses from a variety of external sources, and those viruses may persist in the soil for more than one season, which could infect your newly planted tomatoes as soon as you put them into the ground. Rotation will greatly decrease this potential threat to a new crop.
I've built a couple of different types of raised beds which I still use, but just ordered my first Birdies 6-in-1's from you and am looking forward to setting them up! One thing I do a bit differently from you is allowing more space between beds as I always want to be able to get a garden cart or wheelbarrow (or even a camp chair) between the beds and on my garden paths :)
I am SO grateful I stumbled upon this video this morning. I recently completely misunderstood what I read about orientation and I swore to my husband ten ways from Sunday that the garden needed to face North. I now understand what I heard and how I misunderstood, but if nothing else, this was a godsend. And also, we dug up some dirt from some hunting land we have and intended to use it as topsoil. We didn't get a whole lot, fortunately, but you also helped us decide to just put it in the bottom of the beds and use our purchased top soil in our mix without the home-dug mixed in. So thank you!
Another great video Kevin. My tip would be to plan your bed layout for the mature plant size. Good plant spacing improves the air flow around your plants. That minimizes diseases, allows you to find pests and gives the plant the space and nutrients for optimal growth. A good resource for figuring out that spacing plan is Mel Bartholomew’s Square Foot Gardening books. Ps: can’t wait to try out my two new Birdies beds this spring.
I agree SFG is awesome and so productive!
I have never planted a thing in my life and started with a Vegepod and raised beds (positioned on a concrete slab roof). Needless to say I have made every possible error I could. I have had caterpillars, aphids, fungal gnats and curly grubs (bush turkeys, possums and bandicoots). I have spent more than $2000 and have just learnt that my soil is all wrong, among other things. It is extremely discouraging. Your tutorials, however, have given me hope. You explain things so simply and I have to tell myself I will learn from all these mistakes so I must continue. Thank you for your very helpful tutorials. Ellipop.
These are great tips, thanks for sharing. One of my biggest problems, early on was special awareness...not knowing how far a plant will travel on it's growth to maturity. Butternut squash for example should never be planted by the gate to enter your fenced in garden. In the same respect knowing cukes like to climb and giving them the room and support to do so will give you amazing yields!
I plan to plant my tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, egg plants, and squash in buckets this year to give them room to grow.
6:04 I am a newbie gardener. I started last fall. This is my first spring garden. I was having to water the garden like 3 or 4 times per day on a hot spring day here in Tulsa, OK (zone 7a). Now I only have to water once per day with the leaf mulch, if that (sometimes a get a little rain).
Perfect!
I've found a 10th mistake is trying too hard to stick to a predetermined plan. I'm just starting raised gardening (in berms, not planters) and I spent an inordinate amount of time over this past winter deciding what crops to plant in which order and which location. Fast forward to "it's time to build these garden berms", and I've come to the realization that I was overcomplicating things. I adjusted my build plan to take on a simpler, but what I believe to be more-effective, construction. Had I insisted on "I don't want my plans to be for naught!" then I'd probably end up doing much more work than is necessary, and the results would likely have been less successful.
It's a bit like what Eisenhower said: "Plans are useless, but planning is indispensable." I still had a good basis of research under my belt thanks to my original plan, and with some recent new information I was able to adapt my original plan and (hopefully) make it even more successful.
Okay, thanks. I wasn't going to go work in my garden ... now I am. Had no motivation ... now I do. Doesn't matter what happens with it, I'll have good success when I just get going!
Here's a plan / tip for people who have a larger growing space, and less control over the type of weeds and volume of weeds that come our way during the year. Obviously, the first and most important way to control weeds is "mulch, mulch, mulch!" makes a huge difference. This tip is one I've never seen anyone share before, though:
CHOOSE YOUR WEEDS. Over the past four years in my garden plot, in a Midwestern climate where a weed will pop up every single hour on a warm July day, I've come to favor Oxalis, a low-growing weed that is easy to remove and can occupy a lot of sun-space that other weeds would like to get their hands on. Grass weeds? Out they come. Milkweed? Leave three, pull the rest. Dandelions? Out with their cores! Oxalis? Hang out a while, go to seed, pardon my trimming of your edges. Smartweed is also no big deal, but it's taller, so when it comes up in a corner, "Hello!" I won't get too aggressive until it gets on top of something else.
The idea of cultivating least-harm weeds is not too different from cultivating a cover crop, except that weeds have one excellent quality that not all cover crops have; they're WEEDY. They fight to be there and they thrive under all local conditions. So while I have to nip them out of my crops' way, they're also covering the soil and leaving their roots to dissolve in the ground every year, without my having to worry about caring for them.
So I get sick in July, and don't go see my garden for three weeks. What happens? I come back to a sea of oxalis, and my crops. It's a very short sea of oxalis, and within an hour, three weeks worth of weeds are out of my well-mulched way, and I'm back to checking trellising and adjusting mulch levels.
Thanks for the info!
Can’t take oxalis, it’s too invasive, I find it in my flower pots as well as beds and have to really dig to get the roots. If you don’ t get to it it takes over, no thanks.
There’s one thing I can say that has helped me immensely with my garden. Remember to fertilize weekly during the growing season. I did my first fertilization this season with a handful of steer manure in a bucket filled with about a gallon of water. I watered my crops once a week with tea to help them grow better. The next week I used a handful of my organic compost made from green and brown waste as well as earth worms in a compost pile... so a handful of black gold in a one gallon tub with a gallon of water, mixed in, to fertilize my garden once a week. The week after I used water from my tubs that I’ve been catching rain water in. The low ph is good for some crops like blueberries, strawberries, and spinach. After that it was waste water from my organic aquariums, high in nitrates, that I used to fertilize the garden. But every week during the growing season you should fertilize with a diluted fertilizer solution. I even cut up weeds from my garden, steep them overnight, and then use the tea to water my garden as a form of fertilizer before adding the solids to the compost bin. It’s been really good for my raised beds and container garden. I mulch with leaves and twigs from the trees in my garden, and I highly recommend you guys start doing that as well.
Is there nothing u don’t use? LOL. Starbucks gives out big bags of coffee grinds to gardeners. i scoop out the grinds from my keurig cups and recycle the tiny cups. Live in the desert Rocky mtns. Fertilizer is not easy to fine....except cow poop...will try that out.
@@13klecan ha! You have a point there, it’s probably extremely difficult to find things to use as fertilizer in your area. However, if you eat fruits & vegetables you can compost those to make fertilizer. If you have an old blender you can throw your scraps in there & blend them up with a cup or two of water. Run it through a mesh filter or an old stalking to separate the liquid from the solids. Water your plants with the liquid, bury the solids or compost them. You can do a quick search to find a list of green waste items for compost & use any of those in the blender mix. Cow poop works great too though.
I am so happy to have watched this video! Thank you. I live in a very large property in Canada and have purchased the steel raised beds and am shaking in my boots in fear of failing. This was so helpful. You don’t know what you just don’t know until you learn. Now I won’t make these errors. Wish I had someone like you for set up though, lol. ❤️🇨🇦👍
This is the first year we planted winter rye as a cover crop. I turned it in today. I'm looking forward to seeing how the garden does this year!
Love that you mentioned Charles Dowding. He's a gardening guru over here in the UK
I follow charles Dowding from NZ
Hate u british gardeners. LOL. U guys just look at the backyard and stuff grows. Live in the US Southwest for a while! Had several problems with my fruit trees, with the bark etc. Expert gardener at my local nursery told me that about 95% of my problems were water related. Soak , soak, soak!
I love this video! You personally even overcame my SoCal bias (I'm from the PNW and California is a curse word here). This is great info. I've had a few gardens over the years with mixed success. Your tips are all spot-on. I'm planning on finally building a raised bed garden to raise "Taco crops" (white onion, radish, cilantro, red cabbage, etc) and pickle crops (pickling cukes, dill, maybe some garlic, etc). I'm pushing 60 y/o and after 15 years in the Army and 20 years in construction my back and knees are shot so I need to do raised bed. Because I live out in the country we have lots of deer, rabbits, skunk, raccoons, possum and many species of birds, that love to raid gardens. I'm planning on building a horseshoe shaped garden with 8' high fencing around it this winter. And while I knew about south facing, your video actually made me realize that that I need to build the garden 180 deg orientation from how I had planned on building it so that I can put the tall plants in back and work down to the shorter plants on the south side. That tip alone probably saved me years of aggravation. So a sincere thank you! I'm now a subscriber. Keep up the great work!
Love this video. I have made some of these mistakes and I hope I have learned from them. There are couple of things I would add here. First make sure that your boxes are deep enough to hold an adequate amount of soil for your plant's root balls. It has been my experience that boxes that are 14 to 18 inches deep work best (my 8 inch deep boxes were not a big success). Second, rotate your crops. Don't plant the same thing in the same boxes time after time as the soil will become depleted of the nutrients necessary to maintain that particular crop. I like to let the soil in my boxes rest by putting a thick layer of grass clippings on top and then watering once a week or so to aid in the composting process. Before planting again I like to turn the soil and add amendments appropriate to the planned crop. But be careful what you add to the soil. I added some wonderful stuff that we raked out from under our juniper bushes. Unfortunately it was full of palm seeds from the nearby trees. We had a huge crop of glorious tomatoes in amongst the hundreds of little palm trees that sprouted up around the tomato plants. I learned the hard way to screen out the palm seeds before using the compost collected under the juniper plants.
Are you putting the grass in your boxes every time you mow or in the fall?
@@anitapendleton1209 I put grass on top of the beds as needed to keep a good 2 inch layer on top of the soil to help keep the soil moist and the the plant roots protected. When the season is done and I pull the plants out I turn the soil over to mix in whats left of the grass, add other stuff like compost and then put more grass on top of the soil to protect it from the sun and the elements.
We just planted our first raised bed last weekend and although I didn’t watch your video I feel pretty confident that we’ll have a decent season after hearing of these mistakes! Random note: This was a recommenced video for me and I didn’t notice when this video was posted but I found it interesting to see a passerby walk by wearing their mask 😷 Goes to show you that’s how we’ll be able to recognize content that was posted during this crazy time in history!
What a fun, practical overview! I also appreciate your speaking quality no fillers, no unnecessary chatter, no opinions.... Just very helpful information...thank you!
I learn so much from your videos and was inspired to lease a raised bed plat at my local community garden! Thanks for sharing such helpful tips!!
Welcome!
My mistake was in year two: not adding a soil amendment. Things grew, but not as well. Adding an amendment helped so much. I'll never forget that lesson.
Awesome video!
Kevin's List of 9 Mistakes in Order of Severity/Permanence
1:21 #1 Not putting your garden in the right place
3:03 #2 Not planning for irrigation
3:44 #3 Not investing in good soil
5:03 #4 Not choosing the proper soil mix
6:04 #5 Not mulching
7:42 #6 Not initially making enough space for pathways
8:44 #7 Not thinking about what the plants will look like when fully grown
9:55 #8 Not preparing your beds throughout the seasons
11:25 #9 Not labeling/tracking what you planted & when you planted it
This is amazing @epic gardening!! I am from Melbourne trying to stay at home to help with CoVID 19. But what inspires me is the environmental sustainability of gardening and the mediation side of the act of planting and watching them grow. Love to hear what other Melbourians on here and what are on your JULY planting list.
Quit believing in the corona-con.
Thanks for the great tips! It reminds me that gardening is like any relationship you want to nurture it in every season!
0
It is really nice to see you have African Blue Basil in your garden. I was introduced to it in 2018 and I’ve been growing it ever since!
I just take a picture on my phone...when i plant, germination, transplant, harvest etc. Then i can look back. What worked last year, what didn't.
Taking pictures on my phone is a life-saver! Every time I plant anything I take a picture I can go back and see exactly what I did and when. I also keep a garden journal but it definitely takes a back seat to the pictures.
I do this too. It helps a lot
Perfect! Tx!
I'm glad the sun is up almost all night in the summer here, since my growing space is a west-facing balcony with a permanent wall at the south side of it. It's far from ideal, but it will have to do for now. Also: last frost date here is usually around beginning of june, and first frost date around the beginning of september, so... I'm pretty glad if I manage to get anything at all, and mostly grow things for the sake of having an outdoor green space to poke at and learn from. I already have some swiss chard outside under cover, mostly to see what happens. They've been out for a couple of weeks now, and seem to be doing well, even with quite a few frost nights.
Love your approach and attitude
Thanks, you too! Hope you have a good growing season
I am going to do 2 medium sized raised garden beds this year. Never tried but I’m very interested in finding new hobbies and I love plants anyway..
I don't have a raised bed, I used the soil my house came with. My mistake starting out was not testing that soil. Last year I did test it and find that it was low on phosphorus and had too high of pH. I was able to correct that with a little sulphur and some bone meal. I had better yields for doing so.
I would advise that if you use plain ol' dirt, test it, or send it to your local university if possible
Yeah, SO true it's a hassle but saves so much time
Im very new to gardening, how do you test your soil.
Tested my soil but the results were all greek to me.
Under quarantine how do I test soil
@@Luxxo-Deluxo Soi test kits available online or [better] hardware store, you don't need to visit ag. extension agency. If you could handle a pool water test, you'll do fine w soil testing. happy gardening!
Thank you for this! Very refreshing to hear from someone that isn't overly pushing a particular product, just helpful, and the products are available. Much more likely to follow
I needed a break from home schooling thank you!!!!
I got you!
wahey!
at least you're not sitting around playing computer games :-)
C G oh I wish! No I was sitting in with my daughter in class. Now with my son & I’ve been out of school for many years & have no idea what they’re doing!
@@iddybiddyladybugleeza262
like i said, at least you're not sitting around playing computer games!
:-)
lol
C G ok
One of my mistakes was planting so early in the spring that a nearby tree hadn't filled in. Once it did, it shaded out my bed. Lesson learned!
I did that, too! I made my tomato bed right under the big deciduous tree that then leafed out. I felt like such a dumb-dumb!
I had good luck burying kitchen scraps in my raised beds for in-bed composting. For mulch, lawn clippings work great (non chemical lawn!).
Totally made the soil mistake. I put too much faith in the quality of my local gardener's store "raised bed mix." My plants were all super nitrogen deficient!!! They were very yellow and stunted, but I noticed in time so I was able to amend it by adding dilute urine a few times. This fall I plan to add some high quality compost and mulch to help improve the soil quality for next year. A disappointing mistake, to be sure, but glad it was something I could correct in time to still have a productive garden this year!
What a great video I think I probably made everyone of those mistakes and one point or another and maybe still making some but thanks for your honesty and wisdom. Your experience helps us all not to possibly make them and I or we appreciate that. Not sure how your plants look so good after that crazy week long storm we just recently had but thanks again. Nice to see someone from my hometown giving out props. Peace bud.
Yeah crazy storms huh? Appreciate the comment
One thing in raised gardens is remembering that the soil level is going to drop as it settles. Also how much root space is taken up. e.g. the depth of your root crop (carrots, parsnips, potatoes) compared to the top croppers (peas, beans and brassica) are vital things to look at when planting and sowing. Love the video, very informative
Can you do a video on raised bed covers? Different types for bugs, animals, low temperatures, extending the growing season? I know you’re in a place that doesn’t snow often, but for those that do we’d like to know.
I am in north eastern Massachusetts. I bought an inexpensive snow blanket at our local garden store and covered my garden bed just before our first snow in October. I removed it in the early part of March. My swiss chard, kale and beets survived into December and my kale survived the winter and now has tiny leaves on April 3rd.
Very great! Thank you for sharing your experiences to us youngster gardeners like me. Although I am in my very first season, I avoided a lot of mistakes (I made a lot else) listening to pro‘s like you. Thank you!
i am 24 and i just started gardening in my studio apartment with a couple indoor raised beds and stackable planters! i do not have a balcony but i do have a south-ish facing window which allows much sunlight, however it’s mostly cloudy where i live for the most part and my crops & plants get very little sunlight for the most part
:( however my radish, carrots & buttercup squash seem to be growing pretty nicely! thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and i can’t wait to see what i learn to grow next!
Also, don't forget to have drainage holes in the bottoms of container beds!
His are all “raised” beds.
the whole bottom is open to the native soil beneath it
Two other mistakes to avoid. First, don't plant food that someone in your household doesn't eat, especiallyif they do more cooking than you. An exception would be a trial quantity so they get the chance to try it fresh. Second don't grow plants in the same bed if they have radically different needs for fertilizer or water.
I’ve seen a couple of your videos reacting to plant hacks, but after browsing your channel I realize I’ve found exactly what I’ve been looking for regarding gardening info 👌
Killer tips!! Love raised garden beds so much 🌿
Same bro!
That thing about sunlight depends on your local climate. Here in Victoria, Australia, plants like lettuce prefer 50% shade through summer - and we're not even the sunnier part of Australia.
Enough sunlight is essential. Too much is not better.
Just a quick comment on using wood chips as mulch. They're a great thing to use, they let air & water through, and keep the soil nice and moist. One thing they DON'T do is take away nitrogen from your plants, unless you dig them into the soil where plant roots are growing. Lying on the soil surface, woos chips only use nitrogen in a thin layer where they touch the soil. So there's no worry about them taking nitrogen away from your established plants. For young transplants or direct sowing seeds, on the other hand, pull the wood chips back a few inches from the transplants and seedlings. Young plants and seedlings have really shallow roots, so in that case, the wood chips might be using nitrogen in the soil surface where those young roots are growing. Once the plants have grown in a bit, you can replace the wood chips aroung them. Happy gardening!
Greetings from Copenhagen, Denmark :) enjoying your videos a lot and getting inspiration for my balcony. Waiting for the weather to get warm enough for moving my plants outside. Stay safe. Karina
That’s exactly what I do. Get my coffee in the morning, then water my plants with the hose.
That sounds so lovely! Worth waking up earlier to take time to enjoy the morning!
T@@daphne201239 n
So enjoyable! Same cheers ☕️
SicilianShorty it so is! To sit outside in quiet listening to the birds with the nice weather coming is the highlight to my day! ☀️
@@jenm4137 Me too
Thank you. Great reminders even for experienced gardeners. We can fall into routines & sometimes slip away from the essentials. Take care. Be safe.
Hey Kevin!
Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us newbie gardeners! I just recently saw your micro green video and I planted my garden on April 14th! I look forward to seeing what other videos you will have for us! Stay safe and stay healthy. 💖☺️
-Ashley.
Nice job Ashley!
I wish I could just grow stuff outside but it seems like our wind is so intense here in Texas and the rain is too much so I am building a small greenhouse for all my plants. We will see how this goes. 🌿🌻🙏🌄🦋
I'll try to do a vid on that!
@@epicgardening Awesome! Can't wait.
D Collins I’m in Texas, too. Where are you. You should be able to grow outside! I’ m curios!
@@robinholbrook6576Hello! Houston area. I started growing and If I leave my plants out lately they get burned in the sun or wind is so strong its breaking the stems. So no more of that. I am in a house. When I was in an apt. (3 years ago) I was able to grow some peppers and tomato plants on my balcony I guess it blocked the wind and sun just enough. The only thing I had to do was keep the bugs off of them and they did well. These strange storm type winds are scary so I need to protect my babies (my veggie plants) 😉🤗🌱🌿
There are so many UA-cam gardeners now it makes my head spin! Even though I’m in zone 4b in Quebec, Canada, I have learned more from you in every aspect of gardening then all the others I’ve watched. That’s not to say they aren’t great…I just like the way you you explain it.
So thank you for all the amazing content 😀
Thanks so much for the info.
I live in Southwest part of Virginia and since I work full time, and have had trouble tending to weeds and dry hot summers, I decided to try growing in pots this year so I can move them when necessary. Wish me luck. And thank you again for your time and videos 😌
8:30 we made ours with like 3 foot isles so we could easily mow and weed whack. Eventually we are going to cover the aisles with wood chips I imagine.
Jennifer G I kept mine wide enough apart for my wheelbarrow to go through. I’m 74 and need to carry things that way! 😉
Straw works well too. It mats down nicely.
I don’t have advise for anyone since this will be my first year planting outside as I usually grow my food inside (half of my dinning room is dedicated to food plants and underwater plants lol). I am just excited to get started outside as it took a few years after we bought out house to control the complete over growth (the house was abandoned before) so now I’m ready and no one in my family gardens or has a knack for it. So I’m just hear to tell anyone who will read this that I am planting corn, Tomatoes, jalapeños, Pablanos, pumpkins, watermelons, cucumber, zucchini, kale, grapes, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, elderberries, and lettuce. I know some of these will take years to start producing. I also have chickens this year so this will be great to let them fertilize the souls before I start planting outdoors. One thing I have a lot of is raccoons, bunnies and squirrels. Any advise on how to protect the plants from these animals would be great.
This really is an epic gardening channel 🙌
Thank you for this video. I like your approach to grow wherever you can, because we don't always have the choices we want, but we still have choices. These tips have super payback potential. I do get lazy, or absent minded about mulching and it really takes a toll mid season. I also like the tip is planning based on sunlight path.
I put AC pipe insulation that is split on one side over the edges of my raised beds. We zip tie them on every 18" or so. Works so good!
Great video Kevin! All your tips are well grounded! (Pun intended)
One other tip I think may be important for some people is getting the right sized bed. Some folks build their beds way too big and they can't reach all their plants without stepping into the bed. 🥴🥬🥒
Thanks again for all these wonderful videos..... and many blessings for an amazing gardening season!
Totally, I actually had that one and I lost the video file and forgot to include it!
I wouldn’t go more than 3’ wide. I did that on my 1st set of beds and that was one of a number of things I did differently on my 2nd set of beds.
I'm doing urban farming, I've run out of space to put anything and my dad is letting me start using his 3 acres, I'm so excited but worried about trying to do both
Ey hows it going with those 3 acres?
I am an indoor plant girly, but I am determined to have a garden this year! A raised bed is what I am starting with, and I plan on doing everyday veggies. I appreciate all of the knowledge & tips in this video. Thank you for sharing!
Gee, year #2 here and I've made lots of these. For me, keeping track of labeling was becoming a real issue. Specifically what kind of tomato for example. I started using different colored or patterned duct tape corresponding to each. So on popsicle stick or like, I just make a bunch with each of the six different colors and then I don't have smeared, squiggles of writing that have to be looked at closely to be able to tell.
Go out and physically look at your garden daily even in the rain. That's how you catch that stinky little caterpillar that will eat all of your leaves while you're at work on the very day that you didn't check on your garden. Painful. Just painful.
Yup!
Use a trimmer to clear cut the base of raised bed. That area hides all sorts of slug/bug/whatever.
If you see hornets or wasp around your brassica, leave them alone. They are hunting caterpillars.
When people ask me how I've managed to grow plants so well, they don't believe that this is the key. Just... taking a look at your plants. If you do it every day, or even multiple times a day, you start noticing things. Like bugs, like yellowing leaves, or whatever and are able to correct it early. 5 minutes, while sipping on your morning coffee, is all it really takes.
@@mikekeller61 Lol. It's funny that you said that. That's exactly what i do every morning with my coffee.
I made the equivalent of mistake #1 over 20 years ago when I created my square foot garden. I live on 6 acres of wooded land. At the time I had the area for the garden and pond cleared, put down a wood frame and actually my best year was my first. Each year following my results got worse.. After about 10 years I realized thel problem, the forest was encroaching on my garden. There is now nearly no sunlight on it. I had to make a decision to either cut down several 100 year old oak trees or give up my garden. I gave up the garden. And considering I have 6 acres of land, there is not one spot that gets a full 8 hours of sun a day. I was a novice gardener at the time, on my own, I could not foresee this happening, and to correct it now would be a very tough choice and cost several hundred dollars. I decided I rather put that money toward my future grocery store bills. The trees were here before me, they deserve to be here after me. So if you have a lot of trees, remember they grow in all directions.
Thank you so much I searched all day yesterday for a video like this!! Your tips are simple, easy to follow and so so helpful 🌱
I have a bunch of leaky livestock tanks around my place and they are what I’m going to use as raised beds so again your video was perfect. Thank you!
This video is two years old and maybe a few things have changed with the way you do gardening but I would say the only thing your beds are missing is the cover to protect the produce from birds and wild animals. Very informative video. 🤗