Results from our first-year Back to Eden garden: Corn, Beans, and Squash (Three Sisters Method)
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- Опубліковано 16 вер 2024
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The results (and lessons learned) from our first attempt at companion planting corn, bean, and squash (Three Sisters Method) using a first-year Back to Eden garden.
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Corn and beans should be planted as soon as the soil temperature is 10C at 7am. Look ahead 3 days in the forecast, if there is a big rain or a cold rain coming do not plant. 3 days after seeding is a critical time for corn. Cold snap, especially on non hybrid open pollinated corn is a real issue. I would plant the beans a lot closer to the base of the corn plants too. I've had good luck planting the corn on 1ft spacing with 3 beans around each corn plant. The beans almost immediately find the corn trellis and follow it up as each leaf emerges. Beans have a very poor root system and nodualtion, especially if you don't inoculate will occur primarily only on the tap root. Nitrogen while it does move vertically well doesn't move horizontally much in the soil as once thought so position of the plants are critical. With your no-til system AMF populations will be good and nitrogen transfer will be increased but the closer the better. This past year I had amazing success skipping the squash and instead planting cucumbers under the corn/beans as the third sister. Easily the best cucumbers I've ever tasted. Our pumpkins were close by and the vines found their way into the 3 sisters and while at first I thought I was losing yield the pumpkins actually extended my bean harvest well into November in Eastern Ontario as the large leaves took the brunt of the killing frosts ans spared the beans on the soil surface for one more set of flowers to survive.
Hi FarmerSchneck. This is such a wealth of information! Thank you for posting this!
We grow about 1800ac of corn a year. HAHA, you learn a few things.
Corn has 3 very critical periods. 3 days after planting it takes in its first water. 3-6 leaves is the critical weed free period. Here the growing point comes above ground and the plant is living off the root system, before this the seed is providing most of the nutrition. During the weed free period it is important the plant doesn't see green, primarily other grasses. At 8 leaf the rows around on the cob are determined, stress at this point will cut yield immensely. The next critical period is the 2 weeks after tassel. The plant needs ample moisture and ideally good heat. If your plants are suffering from nitrogen at this point you're in trouble yield wise. Once you're through these periods there isn't much you can screw up. haha.
Looking your cobs you might want to find a source of boron fertilizer. Boron is critical for the production of pollen and it is a highly leachable nutrient like sulphur and nitrogen. I know you want to stay "organic" so you're on your own finding a source or a cover crop that will make Boron available.
@@BackToReality If I may make a suggestion, from what I have learned about N2 fixing plants, they don't share the nitrogen with other plants because they need to invest heavily energy wise in the rhizobia bacteria in the soil that actually fix the N2
because breaking the triple N2 bond is extremely difficult, so I would assume that the plants would not evolve to share the
nitrogen. What I would do instead is grow N2 fixing plants separately, compost them, and add them to the soil where the
corn rhizospheres will be located. Also, the element Molybdenum is not essential for N2 fixation, but it is the most efficient. The alternatives are vanadium and iron. So, you might want to spread a very dilute concentration of Molybdenum over your soil for N2 fixing plants.
(Molybdenum, vanadium, and iron are used in the nitrogenase enzymes.)
I am rewatching all your videos just for fun. My mom just passed away at age 94. She would say every so often, “Let’s see what Derrick and Paula are up to.” She loved all your videos. So thanks for teaching us and entertaining us.
Funny thing, I always envisioned one corn plant, one bean plant and one squash plant - planted together - at the same time - and let them do their own thing... My peas are going up my beets - WELL, NOW I KNOW.... - however - it is always FUN to discover how nature works... :) (unless your food depends on it, in which case....)
Here’s a tip , you can freeze your corn 🌽 all the leaves on your corn will protect your corn in the freezer and will last a long long time and fresh , try it.
Your idea of success is different. Smaller cobs and less time seems like a win to me
to correct you, it was originally the 4 sister however since the 4th sister did not produce a crop the pioneer switch it to the 3 sister, the 4th sister would be something like white cosmo. The 4th sister act to repel bugs that would attack the corn. (the 4th sister is usually certain flower that act as a detonator.) Also you may want to try some scented marigold to help with the racoon. They hate the smell of marigolds. I would say sprinkle some marigold seed along your fence and they do produce allot of seeds for next year.
thank you for spreading this knowledge. the bee balm plant also know as the ''oswego'' was know as the fourth sister, as well as sunflowers.
@@mountainlaurel5264 Oswego Tea was used by colonists in place of English Tea after the Boston Tea Party. The colonist would go into the forest and dig it up. Like most mint plant bee balm is invasive.
@@fazer9 that just means eswego is plentiful my friend
I have also heard from Iroquois friends that the fourth sister
was, (is) a ceremonial variety of tobbacco.
@@thomassmestead6424 tobacco is just one of other 4 sister... tobacco (Nicotiana alata) may repel flea beetles and carrot flies. Additionally, it attracts whiteflies that get stuck on the fuzzy leaves
excellent content. I love that these videos are narrated after the fact so we never have to wait for the results! It must take incredible patience to sit on this footage for an entire growing season.
At Cherokee nation we plant in mounds and plant everything on each mound. Plus that looked like sweet corn, maybe try growing flint corn. As far as timing goes after 1week of corn growth, you plant the beans and 1-2weeks after that, you plant the squash.
Hey Blake, thanks for the tips!
Another video I watched on the "three sisters method" suggested that the squash acts as a defense against critters like raccoons, because of the "spines" on the squash vines. So maybe encircling your corn and beans with the squash on the perimeter. The video also suggested sunflowers, amaranth and bee balm as "additional sisters" that would attract pollinators and keep birds interested in something other than your corn.
I've read about three sisters in my indigenous studies class and I think it was traditionally done with winter squash, pole beans that you eat dried (like black beans) and the cattle or flour corn. I have heard it doesn't work as well when you substitute summer squash and sweet corn.
Your animations are great! Simple but effective. I like the style and the clearly organized information throughout your videos. New sub!
Hear, hear!
1:02
** The Eden Method does NOT mean you never water. After many years he now never waters his "Orchard", which is all trees, and the roots of trees go much deeper than a regular garden. Plus he lives in Washington where it rains a decent amount.
He would still water his "Vegetable Garden" sometimes. Although each year you should be able to water less and less as the soil becomes more fertile and layered.
** Also he DOES fertilize. He has chickens and uses their composted fertilizer all the time to improve his soil. That is also mentioned.
I feel pointing this out is important because someone starting an Eden garden might try to garden without compost, or water - fail - then quit trying the Eden method. Take small steps. The first step is spreading out tons of mulch. Call tree trimming services near you see if you can get some delivered. I use the Eden method and water all the time, here in San Diego with very little rain. But my watering might go months before I need to water again. Depends on the weather and my plants.
Thumbs up on the rest of the video though
he lives in an area of washington that gets like 10 inchs of rain
If I remember correctly it is the Ruth Stout method that requires no watering, though I imagine it is after a year or two of building up the mulch layers. I'm sure with some regions this may not be the case though.
@@Canceriantigershark lot of nuance to it as well in terms of what your planting as well
I just watched a "tour" video of one of these UA-cam families at Paul's place and the guy says "I planted directly into the wood chips and everything came up yellow." LMAO
@@thesilence6543 total? not doubting - just asking
(seattle gets ridiculously little rain in the summer, compared to, say, wisconsin)
Love that you are doing all the experimenting and I get to reap the rewards! Thank you!
Lol, our pleasure! :)
Back To Reality Have you ever had a problem with ants in the garden? This is going to be our first year with the back to eden garden. We have fire ants and I'm not sure what to do? Helpppp! Lol!
Hi Jan, now that you mention it, we did notice A LOT of ants congregating among the wood chips. However, none of them ever seemed to cause an issue for us, so we did our best to simply ignore them. I can imagine that fire ants would be a lot harder to ignore though... Hopefully someone else her may dealt with this issue and can suggest a solution?
@@jkhenderson1- Chickens are good for insects, but not sure about fire ants specifically. Might be worth investigating.
@@seanregehr4921 My free-range chickens won't go near fire ants. Fire ants in my garden is a real disaster here in South Georgia.
The 3 sisters method from the southwest involves planting isolated hills of corn, so that all 3 plants receive enough sun to mature. Planting corn in rows prevents this sun penetration.
Traditionally, at least in some cultures, the three sisters garden were planted in a circular form, rather than rows: a large circular path of corn in the center, beans interplanted with the corn side by side, and with the winter squash planted in a ring around the outside, and allowed to grow into the center wherever a gap might develop where weeds could grow. Additionally, sunflowers or sunroots (the badly named Jerusalem artichoke) were planted in several rows on the windward side of the garden to shield the crops from harsh winds - sometimes on multiple sides of the garden.
Greetings from Nova Scotia Canada! One of the best posts on mulch gardening presented by a layman to layman!
One way to get better results with less corn plants is to shake the stalks on days with little to no wind
As the comments mentioned you will need to take multiple steps to stop raccoons. My grand parents had two dogs which just slowed the raccoons down. Then they put up reflective pie tins to confuse raccoons. Which worked. Then they hunted them with 22 rifles which worked.
As others commented you could plant hot peppers on the edges. Also place a solar powered electric fence system. They work. Also use chicken wire fence.
Good point. I like the idea of incorporating multiple defensive options. That way, even if they figure out one method, they'll still need to contend with the rest.
My grandparents completely enclosed their garden including roofing it in wire to stop the raccoons.
@@BackToReality Yeah keeping the raccoons away from corn is the main challenge and source of discouragement we experienced in growing corn. This video makes me want to try again, even though I live nearly half an hour away from my parents' land where I garden and would be helpless in stopping them. Anyways, if it can bring comfort, I once saw a raccoon pie recipe that sounded good... assuming the buggers didn't grow fat on garbage.
@@BackToReality At the heirloom garden at the historic site I used to help manage, we had massive racoon problems, until we discovered gunpowder. And no, not in a firearm. A teaspoon of black powder wrapped loosely in a paper towel, set on a damp piece of wood (we had wooden rail fences around our garden) and set alight would create a big puff of smoke, which impregnated the smell of the gunpowder in the damp wood, and that acted as a deterrent to our raccoons. That and chunks of Irish Spring soap in knotted panty hose at regular intervals along the fence. Go figure. Although personally, my grandaddy's 12 gauge would have been a more satisfying solution, they wouldn't let me use it.
Plus cat fur over & around the fencing?
My Mother told me that when she was a child, the local farmers used to invite the neighbors children to come over and "play" in the corn. Each child was given a corn top with the pollen and they would run through the corn chasing each other. They helped with the pollination process! Course those were larger fields of corn! Love you guys!
I just saw this today and do not know what you decided but you never mix your wood chips with the soil or you will have a nitrogen problem. When I saw this I realized that you never watered each layer from the beginning. I'm glad you did better in the second year. The planting as you did was the real problem with regards to your yield. BTW Fix that fence!😉 I live in a short growing season, Zone 4 Northwood Maine. I start as many things as I can very simply indoors under simple grow lights. They can be transplanted asap and finish up nicely. Corn, like garlic and onions, need to be planted en masse. Be careful to read the instructions and growing recommendations. We like you, practice different types of methods. The one I will always stand by, even though I always have my soil covered is french intensive gardening which is a 3 to 1 yield. 40 years and this has not failed me yet. We are starting again in our new state. I see no reason we should not get the same results here. Bean plants I start inside depending on the beans. Have you thought of vertical gardening along with everything else you are doing? Saves space and can create a pretty arch. Great airflow and helps to eliminate the problems climbing plants tend to suffer from. There are a very few UA-camr's out there that know how to do this well and inexpensively. I can get their info. Have fun while you are learning.
Can you share the references for inexpensive methods of vertical gardening? We grow climbing french beans (and sweet peas and sunflowers) up our west facing garage walll. We rigged up a wire support framework help in place with rawl plugs and eye hooks, then I put bean string on it every year - it works great! But it's not scalable as we only have one west facing garage wall....
I loved the production value of your video and how you got right to the point, with no filler. You just earned another subscriber!
Great videos! My husband and I also tried out the BTE method last year with corn and beans, and we too had similar results of small under-developed cobs. It;s good to know that multiple rows is the fix! Otherwise we were very happy with the method, as we had peas, carrots, tomatoes, dill and sunflowers come up and grow with little watering throughout the season. This year we mulched our garden and addressing the fence issues as well (I posted 2 videos on that). Although I don't think our fence will prevent squirrels and chipmunks from stealing. Raccoons are a toughie.
Little watering very curious about that. what do you think made that successful...and hiw often is "little watering" or how iften woukd you say you watered?
Although the Back to Eden method highly recommends wood chips, they say you can also for instance use hay, leafs, or even rocks. And you can also add chicken or horse manure on the very top. And then the rain will bring it down into the soil. (Which is a great thing to do when you don't have time to wait for the wood chips to break down. So many have chickens on the side, which are fed left overs from the garden.
Excellent video. In the rest of the continent this method of planting corn, beans and squash is known as "milpa". Thank you very much.
I'm from a nation that uses this traditionally--Eastern Band Cherokee. None of my settler friends had ever seen it (I live in Connecticut now, where it's mostly Italian-Americans) and quite a few gardeners adopted it because it just works so well.
I just found your channel and really like it. Very good editing clear and direct information. Very good job guys.
The graphics are very clear, great work
Fantastic video, love it. So glad for the update! Just a suggestion might want to plant really hot pepper plants along fence. ..might help. We do 1 every 8-10ft with sweet peppers, mint, cilantro in between. Keep us informed!
Thanks Bob! That's a great suggestion! Even if it doesn't work, you still end up with a bunch of peppers to eat. So, it's a win-win! :)
Back To Reality sure
Of all the farming videos on UA-cam, you have the best format. Great videos!!
I love your videos, so detailed, informative, and honest! Thank you!
I think your only problem was that you live in Canada. Most instructions for planting the 3 sisters method say to plant exactly as you did with each sister being started from seed approximately 3 weeks apart. That would work in a warmer climate with a longer growing season. Here in northern Utah I don't think it will work because I have to plant my corn and beans at the same time as soon as the ground warms, and the squash only has enough time for a good harvest if I start seed 4 or 5 weeks beforehand.
I. subscribed your Chanel because you let the hungry family of Raccoon eat your vegetables. You are so kind. I like it. From Thailand.
I had groundhogs mowing my garden weekly. I installed a solar powered electric fence, cost @$150. The next day I caught one on security camera attempting to get under the wire. Not only was the reaction to the shock hilarious, they never went in again. I think our racoons could read the warning signs and stuck with our bird feeder.
Compost is incredibly rich in nitrogen so you could never have had nitrogen issues. In fact, I learned recently that putting compost in autumn is not a good idea. Compost has unstable nitrogen, it leaks in the water, the rivers... It's not stored like in humus. It's immediate nitrogen available for your plants. It also does not improve your soil, because it's already been digested in the composting bin. It's just a fertilizer. It's useful, but it doesn't build soil, unlike what a lot of people claim (like Charles Dowding who has 20 cm of compost over his whole garden, which is just wrong...). Like you I thought over winter it would build soil and feed the organisms. It didn't. Only the areas with mulch added did. So now I only use compost on parts of my garden where the mulch is young and I know my plants will struggle without the added nitrogen.
Another myth : beans do not give nitrogen to the other plants, unless you grow them in a nitrogen depleted soil. And even that isn't proven. It's important to understand a couple of things :
1) The symbiosis between legumes and nitrogen fixing bacteria ONLY happens if your soil is poor. If there's already nitrogen in it (like yours, which has loads), they don't bother activating the symbiosis, nature is lazy.
2) Even is they activate the symbiosis, they will only give nitrogen to other plants through mycorrhiza. And the amount is still not proven. People thought they measured it, but it was actually nitrogen from decaying roots and nodules. The most nitrogen legumes give is when they die, and all their roots and foliage decomposes.
Regarding your second point: that's how I plan to use my legume green manures: cutting them down before they set flowers and allowing the roots to decompose in situ. It's likely to give results only much later, but I expect those results to be better than just having my food legumes in the ground.
Thank you! Very professional and focused presentation!
I guess this video has been a lot of work, but I think the result is really worth it!
In the southern US my parents, grandparents, and many before them planted corn and beans together in the same hole at the same time. They would grow and sprout at a pace that worked perfectly to allow the beans to climb fully up the corn stalk.
I've used the Back To Eden method, going on two years now. I dump leaves onto the garden, every fall. Now, it's the only way that I'll garden, going forward. Weeds are minimal, I don't have to water, and my soil is filled with dark brown, organic matter.
(NATIVE AMERICANS ANCIENT METHOD) of farming,what a legacy for the world to follow.
You guys should plant some bamboo someplace so you have a small forest of it for building material. You can split the bamboo canes in half and weave them in between the cedar posts to make a fence.
Napster2002 . aspx Bamboo takes a while to be established and the seedlings are best done in a greenhouse for them to survive. Their climate might also be too cold for it to grow effectively. I know that in the NE US it usually hits a couple of feet at best.
"more corn that we could consume"
*laughs in mexican*
Ikr, they must not have a corn mill :P
ya its Masa time :)
Lmfao 😂
.22 rifle is the only way to stop raccoons. I use a motion detector wired to a door bell to warn me. Then it's shooting time.
nooo let them fatten up a little i heard they are tasty 😔
You can avoid the raccoons by planting the squash around the corn, they hate stepping over its leaves and branches
I find u guys so amazing...man i learn so much...easy garde ing gives me also courage to grow even more...great ideals...simple n fun...n ur videos dont make me feel like a total dummy...u give me confidence to understand n i can do this...thx u so much
Herd “bone sauce “ works great for keeping critters away. We are going to make some this winter for next season as we will be starting a BTE garden. I have spent many hours listeria Paul Gautchi regarding his gardening. Enjoyed your videos.
If you add raw fish scraps or bait fish to your first planting when you put seed in, it will help boost the plants until the first flowers show. My husband used this method in Texas with the "Three Sisters" system with great results.
I think that's pretty cool that the raccoons got to eat the excess. Friends and family that live in the woods, hehe.
This was my first video of yours. I’m new to BTE and the Ruth Stout method. I’m converting my garden this year and really liked what you had to say. (I’m even going to try videoing my transition and results) Thank you. Off to watch more videos.
The squash has barbed hairs which repel the racoons. The reason the squash gets planted around the outer perimeter is to deter them and is apparently quite successful.
Always love your videos! So well executed with graphics and so easy to understand. 👍
Thanks so much guys! We really appreciate the feedback! :)
I’ve never been able to skip out on watering. I end up with funny looking results. I usually have to dedicate a half hour of every other morning to watering until the plants mature, then it’s factoring in the rain we get and supplementing with watering for about a schedule of every three days.
I took a huge leap and ended up covering half our lot in woodchips. Covered in fall hope for some positive usability our first year just from breaking the soil to dig since I have pretty hard clay that dries out and makes planting and surviving storms and heat difficult.
the beans were planted too late since the corn stole their sunlight. Maybe plant them earlier than the corn so they get a head start or start seeds indoors and set the bean plants when you plant corn. I think the 3 sisters method uses different beans than pole beans but might be wrong.
Plants some flowers around ya garden. Things with flowers need to be pollinated. I’m gearing up for the the 3 sisters this year. Good luck!!
the combo of corn, beans and squash is a garden teaching that come from the FIRST NATIONS PEOPLE
It also originality with mesoamerica civilization
Here on our farm when my garden is beginning to grow, let’s say 4 inches in height, I will keep my hair after brushing it and sprinkle it around the garden and it keeps the deer, skunks and fishers away! I do it a couple times a week at first and then that’s it... trust me when I say I have critters here at any given time I have 30-40 deer out in our fields... good luck and looking forward to seeing more videos and all the best to the Mrs
Interesting. I've heard of using hair to deter household pests, but never thought to use it in the garden. Great tip, thanks!
New sub here, just liked and subbed, keep up the great work, very helpful!
I have a question, but first, as your pinned comment says, plant closer ...the planting is slightly off kilter, it should be at the same time for the corn and bean and squash....When I have planted beans with corn, I alternate down the rows, plant at the same time..for example, corn seed, 3 inches over, beans seed, 3 inches over corn seed etc..down the rows...the corn catches up with the pole beans just as the beans are ready for some support and they do well. I have 16 inches between rows, just enough to Squish in there and harvest lol! The squash I plant in the middle as you did, but my “section” is only 36 inches across, after a lot years.now I’ve been doing this it provides the best fertilization for the corn and beans and the squash is forced to cover the ground in the field to find more light. Now a question! lol .. I’d like to know how the chips did for weed suppression? Was it better than the old hay? I’ve been using old hay, which is okay but if chips are better?
Wonderful information on your three sisters gardening experience. Have plans to implement this method into our gardens here in Missouri. Wishing you an amazing growing season ♡
Excellent video
Glad I found you guys!!
There is no requirement that corn plants brush up against each other. Even if they do, that won't assure that pollen transfers from the tassels down to the silk. You need a fairly large block of plants just to assure that wind does the transfer. If you put all your stalks in a long line, most of the pollen will just blow off into the distance and never come near another plant.
Nice to see you! Love your video's.
Thanks Joan :)
Electric fence with a remote switch at the house to turn on at night
Putting down compost was a good move .. lots of folks neglect to do so, counting on the chips alone to provide the nutrients. I've got 22 cubic feet of screened chips that are, as of right now, 4 months old .. still cooking away at 130 degrees F. When finished, they will be great compost .. but not good for plants before then!
5:11 I remember there is talk about using the squash (they tend to have barbed like haires) to try to keep racoons away from the corn.
Experience tells me, it is better/safer to start seeds indoors.
A couple of suggestions: First, the three sisters method was developed long before sweet corn was developed. Use flint or dent corn for strong enough stalks. Second, beans only give up the nitrogen in there rhizobia nodules after they die. Plant only beans the first year and leave in place. In addition, this method does not accommodate modern squash. Use Cherokee or similar pumpkings to get this to work right.
I tried the 3 sister method last year. It was great...everything growing beautiful! But, then the Japanese beetles started eating the bean leaves. And, just days before the corn was ready to pick, raccoons destroyed all the corn. I was sick about it. I am going to try again. But this time....tin pie pans and lots of chili powder. Wish me luck!
The last two years I’ve tried this, the squash and beans did not get enough sunlight. I like your spacing ideas- maybe I just need fewer tall things? The first year I did corn & I think I just waited too long to plant beans. This year I did sunflowers & I planted beans sooner, but the sunflowers grew so much faster! 🤷♀️ I like your layout suggestion. I might try that next year!
I love your gardening videos. Please keep them coming!
I know the old books all say squash but in modern terms they mean long term storage pumpkins or something more along the lines of winter squash.
Wonderful explanations. Very lucid.
You have to use pole beans and next time plant in mounds. Not rows. Also consider leaf mulch instead of wood chips.
I have a 8 foot wire fence and did not keep out the raccoons. Look forwards to what techniques you find useful for keeping the raccoons off the corn. I put a send 6 foot fence with deer netting around the corn and that seemed to help. Good luck and keep up the good work on your UA-cam channel!
Love your videos - few sug tho. You can pollinate corn yourself- pollen on hands or gloves and gently brush on all the strings they need to pollinate, maybe use medical disposable gloves. You can help pollinate everything else using a small paintbrush or pulling off the male flower to brush on the females . Also, have you ever heard of a chicken moat and using AM talk radio at night to keep out deer and predators? Deer wont jump a double fence if its four feet wide and keeps weeds at a minimum :)
Well delivered information. Thank you.
Note on the three sisters method, I believe this works best when using storage varieties of these crops. So think popcorn, dry pole beans, and winter squash.
Hotwire!!! Electric fence wire is pretty cheap and really effective 😎👍
Thanks for sharing back to eden farming experience!
IIRC, the squash is supposed to be planted as your defense against raccoons because its vines are naturally barbed and inedible, creating a barrier raccoons can't cross but people can. Also the bean roots don't release the nitrogen into the soil as they grow but as they decay afterwards.
Your planting in rows also might not have placed the sisters close enough to one another for mutual benefit. I think the corn acts as a trellis for the beans while at the same time they strengthen its stems against wind. And the corn leaves attract squash borers away from the squash ... but I only know this from reading so don't take my word for it.
I'm a new subscriber. Excellent videos. Very instructional. Thank you. My wife and I play with gardening but I have felt we need to step it up several notches. Thanks again.
Hi. Love your video. I had a suggestion for you 3 sister planting. Did you plant bush beans or pole beans? There is no stopping pole beans if the get into the ground in good time. They grow 6 to 8 feet tall even in our zone 3 climate. Bush beans will never grow more than 24 inches in height. Thanks again for your well made videos.
One minute in and I'm subbed. Great stuff, guys--super useful info and very inspiring
I looking forward to your 3 sister video as I'm hoping to apply this method to my garden soon. My big problem is my raised beds are 4x8 So I would have to dedicate 1 maybe 2 whole bed to this system which leaves only 5 beds for everything else. Great video by the way.
another good ground-fertilising plant are lupines, they´re really hardy and you can use their seeds like soy beans, make vegan milk and even ice cream - but make sure you get the right sort, the normal garden variety is only suitable as animal feed. i plant them between my tomatoes, now i don´t need fertilizer anymore!
I plan on have a chicken wire type cage to have all my crops in that are preyed on by bigger pests or birds that way bees can get through it still provides a physical barrier and on hot harsh days or the height of summer here in outback qld i can cover the top with a tarp. Id do finer mesh at the bottom as a general deterrent to say snakes rats etc even though chicken wire is quite small already it would also be beneficial to deter larger bugs like snails if they had to go up a metre high then down again to get anywhere lol. As an added side benefit keeping it contained prevents any children or larger pets from squashing or disrupting the area or any naughty neighbours who want to knick things without asking. Possums and fruit bats are a main pest for stuff here in australia... birds are mostly carnivores or nectar feeding some like cockatoos will be a pest because they chew on branches and things and break them just sharpening their beak so thats another reason... it also pevents any large hail and any delicate things could have a tarp on a side to block out say morning or afternoon which is the hottest here sun as well as strong winds. It also acts as a trellis on the outside for bee attracting plants and herbs/medicine like lavender etc that dont have any pests nasturtiums etc. We dont have a classic northern 4 seasons here we have like always sunny always dry very rare light frost in winter nights and big storms in summer we dont get the leaves falling in autumn or mulch of them on the ground in winter wither unless its specifically a northern hemisphere tree. We pretty much have an eternal summer with 3 months of spring weather during our winter.
Our biggest problems are heat and lack of rain. Our climate suits desert things natives south africa type stuff mediterranian plants that general vibe. We dont have deer we have kangaroos well we do have deer they are just way less common and less of a pest than kangaroos. Lol. We have possums not racoons. Possum eat flowers as well and frui bats are the only real danger as far as disease goes given they carry the lyssa virus which while australia is rabies among other things free lyssa is of a similar sort of genre/family as rabies so just gotta be careful about that. Fruit fly is another thing here which idk if you have it there but basically y I u have to cover individual fruit with paper bags and hang attracters to really any soft skinned fruit or veg unless its a pumpkin or watermelon a fruit fly can probably ruin it. So that is one thing that if you put mosquito net inside said enclosure to attempt to keep them oit youd keep out pollinators so youd either have to have your own bee colony inside the thing (native stingless and european) or youd have to net individual trees or fruits once they begin to fruit and set up traps and have beneficial predators. Its too dangerous here to have a nice wild free open rustic type garden because of snakes so it would be worth more than the fence is worth just for that piece of mind and using it as a trellis would provide a nicer look thay metal ugly fencing type cage.... its far too hot for any sort of greenhouse or polytunnel heat trapping anything and i figure itd be great to set up a drip style automated system and youd be able to if you wanted dig it into the ground so it was a lower level and keep it more stabilised temp and closer to ground water but ghen youd have to consider flooding style stuff during big storms... so yeah. I also just like the idea of added security in general being able to lock your valuable food source up means extra safety if your away but it also means any quail or chicks whatever could be kept in there full time eating bugs but also safe from anything that could hurt them while still adding to the garden. Theres quite a few old red dirt tennis courts out in the bush on properties that are grown over and whatnot that could easily be made into the type of structure imtalking about with ease be tall enough for fruit trees and easy enough to expand on at a later date... you could even make one more like a storage shed for your produce. Once im able thats what im looking at of course ill be still using alot of permaculture type methods but itll just be more protected from pests and extreme weather... since our growing season is all year and we can grow pretty much anything well yeah its great. Your info has really helped me especially seeing your trial and error... with and enclosed garden thT im talking about id also be looking into hanging garden/vertical growing methods aswell to utilise the air space where i wouldnt have trees i could build a sort of platform level system where i could grow mushrooms on the bottom to more shade loving plants in the middle and either have some sort of open deck type tree canopy thing so you could eat up there or oversee the garden or even put a bunch of sun loving flowers or whatever. Id want it to be a liveable space tou know something that can grow anything and everything. Without all the blood sweat and tears. And with the enjoyment of the pinnacle of nature... hehehe dont mind me dreaming over here im still in the planning researching phase. And of course saving and figuring out the beauracratic and law side of things... id be tempted to put clear plastic type corrugated roof on it to catch rain but still let in sun but who knows what the bumps along the way will be...
Would have loved to have seen some harvesting in action as opposed to just you talking about it. Nevertheless, well done growing food in a first year bed! I look forward to seeing some more content now that it’s spring over there, I can live vicariously through you guys as here in Australia it is Autumn.
Thanks for the feedback Marika! Unfortunately, we failed to capture any usable footage prior to the raccoons pillaging our crop. So I had to do my best with words and a couple photos. We'll try to be a bit more prepared next time around, just in case :)
That is such a shame and no doubt very frustrating!
Looking forward to seeing how you keep the raccoons away from your crops! No doubt it’ll be very creative :)
Recently found you and am really liking your graphic explanations. Very cute and helpful! I love seeing you try various permaculture styles, I know thats how I am too, I always want to try it all! haha
Maybe next time try building small hills of your compost for the squash seed then after they get a few inches tall cover your squash compost hill with more wood chips. Well that's the way my mom did it. She was born in 1914. Of course back then they didn't use wood chips, because they didn't have wood chippers just sore backs.
according to her book, Ruth Stout ended up having to cover her corn with chicken wire on sides and above because of the raccoons. Love your videos.
Thanks Donnalda!
That's interesting... We may end up resorting to that in the future as well.
And some bars or metallic pipes to bring strength so no raccoons or any animal that could climb over the garden chicken wire walls and ceiling
adding urine tea to your space for extra nitrogen to break down the mulch plus give extra for the plants some use manure tea for the same purpose but pee is free and can be collected pretty easy. Oh the first year is your learning curve. lol
the nutrients we lose in our urine also feeds your plants. If your lady has her cycle still, one can use them to grow bigger plants and trees. The human growth cells in this is amazing with plants just use a sanitary napkin with no added chemicals to it. you will find this out pretty fast if you try. It is better than using fish remains under a tomato plant. you need some trees in that open space though. If you are worried about fire, keep an out perimeter space then plant the trees.
You can use 2 liter plastic bottles for little green houses on plants that need help hardening.
I really like your experiments. However, if you want to make the results significantly more useful you really need to build in some comparisons. For instance, plant the same crop in the same way in a hugelmound and a Ruth Stout bed and compare the results. Did all the extra effort you put into the hugelmound result in improved results? Or make part of your bed for corn with wood chips and part with hay. Is there any difference in performance? Try and control any other variables. So, for instance, don't use larger garlic cloves for one condition. And make sure that the two beds get the same amount of light. Then you would have something to compare against, for instance, when your squash and beans don't grow well.
This^ Also, because weather is not climate, the results would be more accurate collated over several years (minimum 4?)
I think your videos are amazing. I wish you could upload more often!!!!! Thanks!! Looking forward to seeing more!!!
Thanks so much ChezGra! We REALLY appreciate that! :)
The traditional method of stopping raccoons eating the corn was to eat the raccoons first. It's been a while since the 'coon skin cap was fashionable, but the farmer vs varmit exceptions to hunting licensing are still in place most places. While the yield in meat for human consumption is low, the yield in chopped chicken feed is pretty good.
Lovely! I hope you try again next year!
what ive done to keep raccoons and wooodchucks out is to put a layer of snow fence at the top of the fence and let it dangle down and outward, they will climb, but once they reach that snowfence theyre stubby arms arent strong enough to hold them up as the snowfence sags back under their body weight. if you catch it real time its quite amusing
Thanks Pete! We've been thinking about something similar, so I'm glad to hear it works! Also, thanks for the tip about catching them in the act. Sounds like a good spot for a motion-activated camera ;)
Awesome tyfs you're very thorough Great Video!😁❤👍🏾
I read somewhere that the squash are suppose to be planted around the outside of the corn and are a deterrent to the raccoons.
Great video! Thanks for sharing, looking forward to the fence build...