Herrick, thank you for sharing your work on youtube. I am a beginning urban gardner and am learning much from you. Also, I purchased your book and am looking forward to gaining the information in it.
Nice garden! I like seeing a well-weeded onion bed! When I cut my cabbage, I leave the stalk. Early harvests here in Oregon's Willamette Valley will usually put on a few softball-sized cabbages later in the season. I let the stalks overwinter, too, but they pretty much always go to flower instead of making another cabbage. That's OK because I harvest the early-season leaves to cook and then I harvest the seed for growing sprouts for salad.
Great comment. Here is a pertinent excerpt from the Maine Farmer's Almanac of 1826 (I have included it on page 4 of my Garden Idea Book): "Take from the stumps of old cabbages, which are generally set out in early spring, the most prominent shoots, after they have sufficiently expanded themselves, and set them out in the same mode you do your plants. They will immediately take root and afford you a very early and luxuriant cabbage. Those who have tried this method affirm that they are much earlier and far superior to any that can be raised from the plants. They must be broken from the stumps, and not cut off, as their small fibers greatly facilitate their taking root." That's advice from 190 years ago!
farmbeet That's suggesting to take heel cuttings from the cabbage stumps. That is so interesting! I see folks talk about their perennial kale and charging people a lot for cuttings. But I find the stumps of all the brassicas to be so ready to keep putting on more vegetation. Taking cuttings may be a natural for a lot of them. I will try this on my kale, collards, Portuguese kale, and cabbages, for sure. Thanks!
Great looking gardens Herrick. I hope you keep video updates during your season. If you need some weeds for demo I can share some! :) I bet I know where the clothes pins come from. "Ah, just one more thing..." -Columbo
Thanks, Karl. I hope to film an update in a month or so. Thanks for the weed offer, but I actually do have a lot of them. If I don't keep stirring the soil, they would soon get a foothold. That may happen yet. Come late July there is a burst of weed growth that has often gotten ahead of me in the past. Very discouraging. Lieutenant Columbo. Peter Falk. He was great. :-)
The plastic mulch does not keep moisture out as much as it keeps moisture in. This is especially the case during dry spells. The plastic retains valuable subsoil moisture. Rain falling onto the plastic simply runs off to the edges and soaks into the soil there. There is NEVER any lack of moisture for plants under the plastic.
Very good to know thank you. I plan to emulate your system this year, I just wish I had more room to grow as you do. I am very curious though do you not have problems with deer and other vermin?
There are lots of deer around me but I've never had them in my garden. I assumed it was because the garden is right next to my house and we had a good dog for years. But the dog is gone and still no deer. Now I think it has to do with the lay of the land. There is a deep gully directly behind my garden that is too steep for deer to climb, and a fence-like trellis along one side of the garden, and my house on the other. So it's not appealing to the deer. Woodchucks are occasional pests, but I shoot them. Chipmunks and mice will eat my strawberries. That's a big disappointment. :-(
I live smack dab in the middle of Cincinnati and have to deal with urban deer they are afraid of nothing! I thank you for your replies your insight will be very helpful. Of course I subscribed to your channel and will be purchasing your book shortly as I love creative gardening ideas.
Just planted my second crop of potatoes here in SC. Be glad you don't have wild Bermuda grass, it will take over your garden in no time and the only way to keep it away is concrete.....
I have used wood chips in my garden walkways in past years. There's nothing wrong with wood chips, except that they need to be obtained from somewhere, and in large quantity for a large garden. They also harbor slugs and slugs will devastate a garden. That has been my experience. Plastic mulch retains moisture. Thanks for the comment.
Wow, That's way too much. My Idea Book for Gardeners is also available as an inexpensive ($12.95) PDF download: whizbanggardening.blogspot.com/2013/04/whizbang-gardening-5.html
I got a few Everest grapes on your whizbang grape trellis. So far so good, cant wait to taste these buggers!
nice tour. Your plants look great. i just ordered some beet seeds in the mail.
Herrick, thank you for sharing your work on youtube. I am a beginning urban gardner and am learning much from you. Also, I purchased your book and am looking forward to gaining the information in it.
Nice garden! I like seeing a well-weeded onion bed! When I cut my cabbage, I leave the stalk. Early harvests here in Oregon's Willamette Valley will usually put on a few softball-sized cabbages later in the season. I let the stalks overwinter, too, but they pretty much always go to flower instead of making another cabbage. That's OK because I harvest the early-season leaves to cook and then I harvest the seed for growing sprouts for salad.
Great comment. Here is a pertinent excerpt from the Maine Farmer's Almanac of 1826 (I have included it on page 4 of my Garden Idea Book): "Take from the stumps of old cabbages, which are generally set out in early spring, the most prominent shoots, after they have sufficiently expanded themselves, and set them out in the same mode you do your plants. They will immediately take root and afford you a very early and luxuriant cabbage. Those who have tried this method affirm that they are much earlier and far superior to any that can be raised from the plants. They must be broken from the stumps, and not cut off, as their small fibers greatly facilitate their taking root." That's advice from 190 years ago!
farmbeet That's suggesting to take heel cuttings from the cabbage stumps. That is so interesting! I see folks talk about their perennial kale and charging people a lot for cuttings. But I find the stumps of all the brassicas to be so ready to keep putting on more vegetation. Taking cuttings may be a natural for a lot of them. I will try this on my kale, collards, Portuguese kale, and cabbages, for sure. Thanks!
Great video. The folk idea was awesome. Loved and Subbed
Do you have a video on how you installed your weed block in your walk ways???
Thanks
Great looking gardens Herrick. I hope you keep video updates during your season. If you need some weeds for demo I can share some! :)
I bet I know where the clothes pins come from.
"Ah, just one more thing..." -Columbo
Thanks, Karl. I hope to film an update in a month or so. Thanks for the weed offer, but I actually do have a lot of them. If I don't keep stirring the soil, they would soon get a foothold. That may happen yet. Come late July there is a burst of weed growth that has often gotten ahead of me in the past. Very discouraging. Lieutenant Columbo. Peter Falk. He was great. :-)
How do you water and fertilizes your plants under the plastic???
I didn't get the name of the plant at 06:55 mark, the one that you have composted. Please spell it for me :)
Comfrey. We have also fed it to chickens and turkeys in the past. The turkeys really loved it. High in protein.
I saw your Whizbang trellis idea and am wondering what type of wire do you use to make the "Y" ?
9-gauge galvanized clothesline wire. It's available from most home centers.
9-gauge galvanized clothesline wire. It's available from most home centers.
How you keep deer off your garden?
I'm very interested in that as well I battle deer every year.
See answer above.
I am curious how would a soaking rain benefit when you have so much of your garden covered in plastic?
The plastic mulch does not keep moisture out as much as it keeps moisture in. This is especially the case during dry spells. The plastic retains valuable subsoil moisture. Rain falling onto the plastic simply runs off to the edges and soaks into the soil there. There is NEVER any lack of moisture for plants under the plastic.
Very good to know thank you. I plan to emulate your system this year, I just wish I had more room to grow as you do. I am very curious though do you not have problems with deer and other vermin?
There are lots of deer around me but I've never had them in my garden. I assumed it was because the garden is right next to my house and we had a good dog for years. But the dog is gone and still no deer. Now I think it has to do with the lay of the land. There is a deep gully directly behind my garden that is too steep for deer to climb, and a fence-like trellis along one side of the garden, and my house on the other. So it's not appealing to the deer. Woodchucks are occasional pests, but I shoot them. Chipmunks and mice will eat my strawberries. That's a big disappointment. :-(
I live smack dab in the middle of Cincinnati and have to deal with urban deer they are afraid of nothing! I thank you for your replies your insight will be very helpful. Of course I subscribed to your channel and will be purchasing your book shortly as I love creative gardening ideas.
big thumbs up for the whizbang garden shed, haha
Just planted my second crop of potatoes here in SC. Be glad you don't have wild Bermuda grass, it will take over your garden in no time and the only way to keep it away is concrete.....
why not cover that bare earth with woodchips? you could be improving the soil with earthworm castings and retaining moisture
I have used wood chips in my garden walkways in past years. There's nothing wrong with wood chips, except that they need to be obtained from somewhere, and in large quantity for a large garden. They also harbor slugs and slugs will devastate a garden. That has been my experience. Plastic mulch retains moisture. Thanks for the comment.
Your book is $80 in Amazon Canada, cant afford that
Wow, That's way too much. My Idea Book for Gardeners is also available as an inexpensive ($12.95) PDF download: whizbanggardening.blogspot.com/2013/04/whizbang-gardening-5.html