I have never used " fertilizer " in my garden. Lots of cardboard, grass clippings and shredded leaves are all I use and lots of worms doing their work. Always get a good return on my investment. Thanks for the input.
Raised beds seem to be key too. Last year was rainy and cool. Gardeners more experienced than me, that only grow in ground, lost everything. We didn't and it made people think I am this incredible gardener, but it's really just the raised beds. Those that lost everything have reputations for having beautiful gardens, but they don't understand the need to have good drainage at all times. Hugelkulture provides that drainage while containing enough wood to hold water in times of drought too. I love my beds.
I couldn't agree with you more Scott. Build the soil quality and this increases the soil life. In turn, this will supply all the nutrients your plants require. Without harmful chemicals and unnecessary feeds. Love this episode. So close to my whole gardening philosophy. Great video :)
I am also a master gardener. If soil is nutrient deficient and needs some type of amending, I suggest that people use mulch and organic fertilizer. However, mulch and organic fertilizer take a long time to decompose. I have nothing against synthetic fertilizers but they do nothing to improve the soil.
what approach would you suggest for container gardening ? My common sense says that due to small volume of isolated soil in the container, even if it is as big as 25 gallon, the decomposition process would never be enough to break down organic fertilizer in time for the plants to uptake it. Probably this is the reason why I have gotten average results when followed this approach with my 25-gallon container based vegetable garden. I am now leaning towards using soilless medium , like a mix of pumice stone , peat moss or bark mulch or coco coir and perlite etc, and use liquid fertilizer like master blend available to this medium 24/7 through wicking action from a reservoir at the bottom of the container. I have seen on youtube this approach being followed for hydroponic dutch buckets ( courtesy MHPGardener ) with great results and I hope to replicate it with soilless medium. your opinion will be highly appreciated in this regard. I am , though, convinced 100% that "feed the soil" , as recommended in this video, is the right approach for in-ground gardening and following it for my in-ground flower and fruit trees.
Started gardening for the first time in 30 years and that garden wasn't much of a garden 30 years ago. I bought a house last year that had some broken down weedy raised beds that looked like they hadn't been used in 10 or 15 years. I used cardboard to kill the weeds and added soil on top. I made the mistake of thinking the new soil would have all it needed to grow plants. It was NEW soil. Plants should grow great, right? Wrong! Well I'm learning that not all soil is created equal by watching your videos. (I've watched a lot of them). I'm going to add another raised bed this fall and try to do it the right way from scratch this time. Thanks for all the content you've put out!
Fantasic gardens 😊 Something I've started to do is use card boxes, flattened & tape removed for weed suppression on pathways. Can use also as a mulch, but set slugs & snail beer traps. Old carpet works too. Torn up cardboard in compost works well. Leafs bagged up in fall, tye bags & leave for 6 -9 mths under a hedge. Open & you have soil. 😊 Thank you for your videos From New Zealand
I only fertilize as I plant out and when soil is new. Even then it's worm castings, blood and bone meal, seaweed. All the things that attract life to the soil overall. When folks add compost, they are fertilizing between seasons, even if that's all they add. I compost everything, even meat. I bury dead chickens and other birds when we have them and the plants love it. I keep bones and make my own bonemeal. I tend to garden without digging up my soil all over the garden. I'd rather layer compost in the off season.
i suggest installation of fertirrigation system in the automatic one by desviation of the water into 5 l bottles (DIY, may be less than 1$) filled with liqiud org. fertilizer (guano, or filtered burning nettle infusion) through 6mm hoses such as shown by lander, el guardian de la tierra, yt. the watering intervals we can chosse to pass irrigation by a bypass through the fertilizer mix before entering into the garden beds through the usual 16mm valve hoses.
Thanks Scott, another great video. I got piles of leaves, grass clippings, composted wood chips and regular kitchen scraps (we are whole plant based eaters and have lots of good compost feed from the kitchen). Our first year, we added our compost (included composted cow manure from local farm that grass feeds only for non food cattle) and some azimite, coco noir, humic acid, and vermiculite to purchased garden soil (1/2 compost and top soil). most plants did very well, except for brassicas, which most likely means, need more N!. Your approach is sound and most ecological in impact. Thanks again.
OAK, i do the same Compost and mulch in the fall and i walk away. So much easier than the neighbors braking their backs digging hoeing covering potatoes etc
The soil on my new property is so dead it has taken me 4 years of amendments of compost and putting back in plant material just to grow weeds. I did an experiment and put fertilizer on half a row of corn to see if it might help and that half row has corn that is twice as tall as the others and it is tasseling and the rest isn't. I do not like to use fertilizer unless I can find as natural as I can. I am hoping that the soil will improve before I pass. I do have a wonderful crop of weeds this year.
Compost is great. But for an intensive intervention as you need, go and get some cartloads of horse or cow manure and dig it in or place it on top and let it rot. Cartloads. You'll have your soil amended in just one season. I speak from experience.
One good thing with weeds, at least for me, is that you can throw them in a barrel of water, put a lid on, and then wait a week or two. Then rake out the decomposed weeds and put them on the compost. I use the "water" that's left to water my garden beds. Good luck with your property, with all your work it will get fertile. Cheers
Cover crops? Just yesterday I learned that if you grow buckwheat and then turn it back into the soil it will help with phosphorus. You turn it right back into your soil. You don’t pull them and put them in the compost.Peas and beans can help with nitrogen. Comfrey helps with nutrients but it’s invasive? I think borage also helps but invasive as it reseeds easily . I ordered beautiful buckwheat seeds from Baker Creek to grow in my raised beds. I think red clover is also good for building nitrogen. Cover crops just sound like a really good idea to me. I also have 2 55 gallon tubs of worms. I feed them everything I can get my hands on. Kitchen scraps, coffee grounds from Starbucks, dumpster stuff lol. Worm castings are great soil amendment.
I grew up near the Red River Valley in ND and I remember the soil was black, we never did use fertilizer for our garden and we had good yields with everything we planted over the summer
Gardener Scott I'm in super dry 6a Mid Ohio and we're having a drought. Weeks ago I planted some buckwheat and been cleaning up other rows and have 3 ages of buckwheat and some large cover crop radishes.Its so dry I'm hopeful that they get some rainfall to fill out. Anything that helps worms is building my soil . Almost in this dry summer I've blasted the apfids controlling them good enough. Thanks
I was raised opposite of this and using round up and pesticides but since having a family of my own I don't do any of those. I have been adding manure and cover crop now and like it lots better.
I remember years ago I planted a garden in my backyard. I dug up the yard made rows and I planted the seeds and everything grew, I even planted corn and it grew. Had beautiful tomatoes, green beans, lettuce etc and I didn't do anything except water and pull the green worms off my tomato plants. In the house I am in now I planted a green bean seeds and a tomato plant, just in the ground and I had tons of beans and tomatoes just from those 2 plants I didn't do anything except water. There was no Neem oil, worm casting tea, aspirin, eggs shells, fertilizer and all the other stuff I see on the garden channels. I am going to grow in containers now because my trees have grown and I have limited sunny areas in my yard but I have spent a ton of money just on all the additives, sprays, fertilizer etc. This is 20 years later. It's all overwhelming kinda takes the fun out of it.
I’ve taken this approach on the recommendation of Gardener Scott and others and it works very well. When I setup a raised bed all but the top 8-12” consists of woody refuse collected for this purpose - logs, branches, wood chips, even the remnants of the last garden bed (I don’t build them with treated lumber). I then layer soil and compost over top. When a plant has come to the end of its productive life, I cut it off at ground level and leave the roots in the soil. In the fall, I heap on leaf mulch that was made using leaves raked up the fall prior. I also make sure that the soil is always covered with something - either a crop, mulch, or cardboard in a pinch. The soil goes south pretty quickly when left exposed to the elements. It’s a lot of work up front but very easy to keep going by just adding organic material to the top.
This video was spot on. I grew my best harvest to date in 2019 without any fertilizer. Last year I finally tried fertilizer what a mistake. Had the worst harvest ever. And it's good to go back and review videos like this one after such a disappointing garden year. Going back to the basics. Thanks, Gardner Scott.
I think alot of people have been led to think fertilizer is only factory made. The truth is, compost and other natural sources are in fact fertilizer. I know seasoned gardeners know that, but there area many people that don't realize it.
Great video. I came across your channel via 'Simplify Gardening', and my philosophy is the same - feed the soil. I'm very fortunate to live near the sea so seaweed is freely available to me. Simply chop it up and spread on the beds in Autumn (fall). By Spring, it's been taken down into the soil by soil organisms (spring tails, worms, woodlice etc) so no need to add fertilizer.
I agree! You explain it so well! The soil is the crown jewel of the garden! I try and explain the forest floor and how it’s all natural. Great video! Most important too. It’s easy to plant a plant or seeds. But it’s the right prep work that counts! 👍. GREAT ADVICE! As always great vid!! I think you are my favorite gardening channel!
I really don't know what I'm doing. What I actually do is to add a lot of aged compost to my beds, and when I plant my vegetables I add a good helping of organic fertilizer, which is dried and pelletized chicken manure. I haven't used inorganic fertilizer in almost 15 years. It seems that the only nutrients leaving the soil is what is in the harvested vegetables. If I chop up the plant after harvest and turn it in into the soil, it seems that most of the nutrients are returned to the soil. Right? And my top dressings add what the harvest removed. At least that's what I figure.
You have the right idea. Adding organic material is important and returns nutrients to soil. With the compost and chicken manure you may find you no longer need the fertilizer.
Outstanding advice! I use mulches no only to feed the soul web below but to conserve water as well. I love Mosanbu Fuyoka's tip on this... "Nature works - if you let it"
This is my new favorite way of thinking about gardening lately, thanks to all the information on you tube from you and others, it makes so much sense, I have been experimenting with making little lunch bag snacks so to speak, by taking kitchen scraps that would usually go on the compost pile, put in a paper lunch bag, roll it up and just burying them around the garden, hoping to attract worms etc. do you think it will work? Thanks for all your videos, Clive.
Thank you Gardner Scott, very informative...Your a good teacher... I am someone that just started gardening and I have a small yard but do container gardening because I have hard clay soil that grows weeds quite well but I won't be digging it up to plant in it. I bought a lot of packaged soil such as miracle grow to get the ball rolling but most of my plants did not do that well or they didn't produce much or the veggies/fruits were smaller than they should be. So I figured there must be something wrong with the bagged soil and I decided to buy some organic fertilizers and start composting to ammend the bagged soil in hopes of makeing it better. I got all caught up in what kinds of fertilizer do I need and what ones are best...I went around in circles....Your advice made me realize I don't have to feel so pressured to use fertilizer but some can be benificial of course. I'm also realizing more and more that compost and mulching is key.
As usual enlightening content. Totally agree. Focus on the soil takes discipline and a change of philosophy--which is easier said than done. My journey and evolution continues. Thank you Scott!
Another great video!! I love how you help debunk and clarify gardening information!! There are so many variables and me personally I am no till except for the buckets and I have two 50 gal composters so I just add that and other things to the top and like you said let the micro biology do it’s part!!!
I never fertilize, only compost and crop rotation with strategic legume plantings/co-plantings. I've got a friend who relies completely on bagged soil and chemical fertilizers. Per plant, I uniformly produce more higher quality produce and the gap increases every year.
I think many in their busy lives saw chemicals as a quick fix if you well. Then they grow the giant pumpkins and the like and they thought they have really accomplished something. The point is we need to honor or appreciate the land as it sustains us. There are no healthy shortcuts.
Thats what I did with my tall raised beds I put wood and logs and bark in the bottom then filled it with a mix of composted horse manure and soil .... I need to top off the tops in the spring as it already sunk down after it rained...
I don’t fertilize or spray for bugs. Seen a few Japanese beetles but my garden is beside the chicken run so they must have taken care of them. Take care of the soil! Have a great evening.
I find the same principles apply to lawns as well. I've been topdressing my lawn with compost once a year rather than fertilizing and it works wonders.
I watched this video again . So thorough! As i spend more time in my garden, i am understanding more about soil. It's so exciting. Thank you for such a great review. I'm going to top off my bed with my finished compost after i sift out the twigs. I hear about "depleted " soil. How can you tell if your soil is depleted? Thank you! Definitely a thumbs up video, TH-cam viewers!
Thanks, Scott. Without a soil test, your plants will tell you when soil is depleted. Increased weed growth and less productive vegetable plants will usually result. It takes as long to get depleted soil as it does to get improved soil, so regular amending is still the best solution.
The weather broke for the week so we spent all morning putting strawberry plants from the window into the ground, then the clouds lifted and we had to scramble to find a good shade to put over them. Luckily we have a trellis panel that goes over them perfectly, and the fence shades them from the afternoon sun, so they should root in nicely. Hopefully there's enough light for strawberries in that spot, it's the most protected spot in the garden so they should overwinter there safely~
I want to start adding stuff directly to my soil. I have thought about this for awhile. Like I do for my compost pile which is small. Veggie scraps. I have no leaves. Cardboard or paper bags. Yes I have had confusion regarding how to fertilize. What you are stating here is exactly how I’ve been thinking lately. There is such big money in gardening. What I mean is you can buy fertilizers, expensive trellis, worm compost. It gets expensive.
I have worms , in my wormery, in my soil , in my pots, and everywhere I garden . I have gotten into worm farming for the castings. I feed them lots of organic materials periodically . So I don't use any fertilizer if I don't have to because I have to be careful what I use and how,. I am allergic to a lot of things so I have to use a lot of personal protection if I do.
You mentioned comfrey in The perennial that Scott. Those leaves are some of the best nutrient rich organic fertilizer you can use in the garden. Comfrey leaves decomposed pretty quickly. I cut off comfrey leaves at the end of the season, don't even bother cutting them up, and lay them down on top of the soil. Working them and when they turn to brown decomposed matter.
thanks so much for clarifying this confusing topic! my dad mentioned i needed a lot of fertilisers to grow crops and had been wondering if my ‘micro greens’ were due to insufficient fertilisers 😄
Thank you for sharing all your wonderful information on gardening. Like you said, listening to too many opinions can get very confusing. Thank you for simplifying this topic of soil and fertilizing.
The dirt in my beds (flower and veg) looks like DIRT, it does not look like soil. So I keep adding amendments- compost, fertilizer, manure, shredded fall leaves. I’m considering in the spring pulling out the straggly plants I’ve put in so far and mixing in more fresh quality soil and replanting.
Scott - Keep doing what you are doing. I have learned such a lot from your videos. Your explanations are so educational and down to earth! Pun intended...
Once, by accident, I forgot to put fertilizer in a potted tomato plant. I didn't get any tomatoes. Long ago, my dad said that he put fertilizer on potatoes he planted. He and his brother were wondering what they were digging up. Thanks for sharing this. Cheers!
I agree with this approach,, but I am doing 100% container gardening and this creates some challenges. I hope to get back to raised beds when we move to a new house in a couple of years!
I really appreciate your videos and time you take to make them. Questions: 1. How to mulch and mix leaves and grass clippings? Lawn mower? 2. My lawn has a lot of bad weeds. I'm concerned about using these clippings in mulch and my composter. Ideas? Maybe you have videos you could direct me to. Thanks
A lawn mower is a good way to combine leaves and grass. When I have separate bags I just spread them alternately. Weeds aren't an issue unless they have gone to seed. Cut them before they flower and you can use the clippings.
I use fertilizer at the beginning of March. Thats it. That’s it just to boost what the snow wash away that winter. It’s better to under fertilize then to over fertilize.
Feed the soil and the soil feeds the plants!!!! Thanks for affirming this. 7 years ago I took over this home and have had to build up soil that has been impoverished and doused in toxic sprays. So i've added some fertiliser along with compost, aged manure, seaweed. My new raised beds are filled with imported garden mix and mushroom compost, quite different from the rest of the garden. You have motivated me to have the soil tested, but will need to do two lots I would think - the original soil, and the new raised bed soil? Also, I do spray the plants with a seaweed mix I make - would it be better to drench the compost heap with this liquid?
I have my fall garden started, and now I am waiting for the leaves to change color, and drop to the ground. My neighbors will rake them to the street and I will go out and gab up as many compressed bags of leaves as I can, just like last year. Then next year when I mow my grass and cut down the weeds I will make a lot of free organic material (compost) for my garden. Is it work? Well yes. But not to much. Everything in this life has a cost, either money or work.
Hey Gardener Scott, can you please make a video explaining the full life-cycle of the raised beds? I understand you "add organics" while you are setting up the raised beds ... on winter you are suggesting that we retain the raised-beds "as-is" ... next year what? The second, third, fourth year? How would you enrich the soil of a raised-bed in the follow-up years? Do you empty the beds and refill them? Thank you very much for all your videos, they have been very educational, informative and guide me in my garden!
Good suggestion and I am planning those videos. One on amending the soil at the end of season is coming soon. Another on preparing and mulching beds for winter next month. In a few months I'll have one to discuss planning your garden activities for multiple years.
It can get confusing though. I can have lush growth...But, are they producing fruit, bulbs..produce in general vs. Leaves which means too much nitrogen. Temperature swings in my location seems to prevent some plants from getting up to speed and then I wonder, do I no need fertilizer? I did notice this year I didn't put as much compost under some squash plants and tgey seem a bit slower and smaller. Of course the deer are not helping. Up last night at midnight to wrap maple trees with bird netting after auto light came on and caught deer in act. Then i noticed my husband left the garden gate open---ugh! Between the insects wildlife and the man I'm not sure if there will be anything left to fertilize.🤣
So you don't have to turn or mix up the bed at end of season? Just add a layer of compost on top of the old mulch then mulch again? I'm new to this concept so just needed clarification. I just put in new perennial borders using this method on top of grass. Planted right down thru the layers and now I pray 😁 that I understood correctly. I was never so excited to see a worm after just 3 days of my layers sitting there.
Hi. If you havent seen his video on lasagna gardening (sheet composting) may help. I asked Garden Scott about turning the lasagna beds during one of his live chat on Monday and he said it can he done in the early stages. And then add top layers over time. I am doing this in my newly built raised beds to hopefully use next spring and its going well. th-cam.com/video/lWV-XlwEI70/w-d-xo.html
I will turn and mix my beds because the soil is new and I'm still building it. After a few years it doesn't need mixing and compost on top should be enough. Mulch on top of mulch will work after that.
So if I understand correctly from this video and the other soil videos of yours I've watched. I can soil test the native soil I'm using to fill my beds and add the recommended fertilizer based on that report in addition to the large amounts of organic material I'm adding to help ammend the high clay content. With no/minimal risk of having an excess amount of one of the nutrients.
Yes, that's the idea. It is possible at some point, maybe five years, to have too much organic matter and excess nutrients, so I suggest a follow-up soil test at that time.
Thank you for this video and the one on no till versus no dig gardening. I am a bit unclear-if it is still in the first three years of creating the good soil, should we work in the compost each time we add it? It seems that after we reach equilibrium at 3 to 5 years, then we don’t need to add inorganic fertilizer and we only add compost to the TOP, but in the meantime building the soil, do we work it in each time we add it? Thank you so much for this clarification. You are such a gifted teacher helping thousands, including me, to become better gardeners.👩🌾
You have a good understanding. It takes time to increase the organic matter in soil and develop soil life. Amending the soil by working it in is needed for poor soils. After 3-5 years of that, compost and organic mulch on top can often maintain the healthy soil.
Amazing information on each & every video Gardener Scott thank you! I'm just starting a compost pile in preparation for a veg garden but don't know much about no till gardening. Why is this important?
Thanks. No-till gardening is a basic philosophy of reduced labor and letting nature work for you. It is not necessary, but can be an option if you want to focus on organic gardening.
YOU HAVE SUCH A HEALTHY GARDEN. HOW MANY HOURS A DAY DO YOU SPEND IN YOUR GARDEN? DO YOU HAVE AN AUTOMATIC WATERING SYSTEM? WHAT TIME OF THE Day DO YOU WORK IN THE GARDEN? I DO VERY WELL IN THE SPRING AND EARLY SUMMER BUT WHEN IT GETS HOT I HAVE A DIFFICULT TIME .NOT TO MENTION THE BUG BITES.
I only spend about an hour a day unless I have building or extra activities to do, much of it in late morning. I don't have auto watering so I hand water. We've been so hot that I try to avoid being out in the afternoon.
Referring to your perennial bed and your practice of simply adding organic material to the surface of the soil, I notice that you have mulched with wood chips. I'm wondering if you remove the wood chips before you add the organic material.
It depends on the plant. I move aside the mulch around berry plants to add organic material, but I just add grass, chicken manure, and other organic material to the top of the chips around my trees.
I am so new to this, unfortunately i started my garden with bags of soil from the store, should i test every bed separately? I have to watch more of your videos and learn more about feeding the soil. Thank you for the info.
If all of the beds have similar soil you don't need to test each one separately. Most soil tests suggest you take samples from multiple sites and combine the soil for sampling. You could do the same in your beds.
Thank for at yours great videos It is my first time gardening, I'm trying find all I can on TH-cam, so I can make less mistakes and you are one of the best to explain and understand the basics I hope it okay I ask you a question! I plant in pots raspberry, strawberry and pepper and so on How is the best way to make sure that the soil is good with nutrition, now when it doesn't get automatically?
Amending isn't technically fertilizing, it's a method of improving soil tilth. A fertilizer is used to add specific nutrients. To change pH you'll add an amendment, like sulfur for blueberries.
My beds have poor soil in it's first year, and my containers have compost amended mix from last year, so I'm fertilizing once a month. My plan for next year is to dump my containers into my beds for about a 1/3 each mix of sandy clay loam, spent mix, and compost. I don't think I'll need to fertilize much next year.
Update while I'm rewatching this. I used a granular fertilizer in my potting mix this year, and only used additional fertilizer once each crop. My no dig beds made with compost and used potting mix are growing their second crops this year with no fertilizer added. My one dug bed has the mix of compost, potting mix and clay soil I planned, and I find that a spring crop of root veggies and a summer crop of squash and cucumbers grew just fine without fertilizer. The eggplant is growing slowly, though, so I'll try a top dressing of granular fertilizer and see what happens.
Mr Scott, can you please tell me if I can use regular garbage bags to line my cardboard box container? If not what plastics will not leach toxic chemicals into the soil? Thank you.
Anyone can answer, I've just moved to the country and starting new beds, I have cows all around. I'm wanting to ask for the cow waste to put in my compost bin or just start a pile but it's most likely not from a organic fed cow farmer. Can I still use it in my organic garden??? I'm thinking No and hopefully I'm wrong.
As I said in the video, that's the way I prefer to do it. Because I'm starting with very poor soil it may be necessary to add some fertilizer in the first year or two.
Wonderful video. QUESTION: Did you transplant your fall leafy veggies under your cattle panel tunnel with the plastic on the side so you can cover those crops if a fall frost threatens?
You talk about using organic mulch in your garden. I see a lot of straw and maybe some wood mulch. How do you ensure that there are no herbicides in the straw you buy. Also, can bagged mulch from big box stores be used as garden mulch?
It's difficult to ensure there are no herbicides so I usually buy the bales months in advance and let them rest out in the weather to dissipate herbicides if they're present. You can use bagged mulch. It is often dyed.
That bagged stuff is, in my opinion, fine to use for paths or around inedibles if needed in a pinch. I still avoid it as it is expensive and generally low quality stuff. I use straw or wood chips (free from local arborists!) instead. I have a trusted local source for herbicide-free (or nearly so - there’s always the possibility of drift) organic straw that I use as mulch directly in veggie beds and around berries and other edibles, but leaving bales out in the weather for several months is good practice, too. I cut the strings when I weather the bales so they can open up a bit. All of this is, I find, very much worth the minimal extra effort required to avoid the big box store rip off.
So true! They also do not “rob the soil of nitrogen” unless worked deeply into it in significant quantities. Love this channel - thanks for busting another myth!
Hi G.S. Thanks for the videos. I tried looking through your old videos and I couldn't find any about gardening on a hill. Could you link me to one please?
I don't have a specific video about gardening on a hill, but my videos on "How to Plant Garlic", "How to Collect Carrot Seeds", "How to Harvest Garlic", "How to Trellis Tomatoes" and "How to Prune Tomatoes" all show my earlier garden and how set up my beds on a hill. th-cam.com/video/HocNHKhdgls/w-d-xo.html
In todays world fertilizers are a lot more expensive. Soil amendment and testing is more effective and efficient for raised beds. I appreciate the information you put out. Thanks.
My compost is ALMOST ready but not yet. My cucumbers have been more vibrant since i have just added the water i rinse my gloves with after i dig around my compost bin! Any other ideas about what i can amend my soil with until the compost is ready? Is it better to add compost or compost tea to the soil? Worm castings or worm tea? Thank you! You are a teacher.
If you have access to aged manure that can be a good amendment. I think compost and worm castings are far better to use as soil amendments rather than as teas. Put almost-ready compost on the bed as a mulch and every time you water or it rains you will have a natural equivalent of compost tea.
I have never used " fertilizer " in my garden. Lots of cardboard, grass clippings and shredded leaves are all I use and lots of worms doing their work. Always get a good return on my investment. Thanks for the input.
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Listening to you talk about your garden feels almost like a sermon.
And I mean that in a good way.
Raised beds seem to be key too. Last year was rainy and cool. Gardeners more experienced than me, that only grow in ground, lost everything. We didn't and it made people think I am this incredible gardener, but it's really just the raised beds. Those that lost everything have reputations for having beautiful gardens, but they don't understand the need to have good drainage at all times. Hugelkulture provides that drainage while containing enough wood to hold water in times of drought too. I love my beds.
Thanks for sharing your story. I agree that raised beds can make a big difference in achieving success.
I couldn't agree with you more Scott. Build the soil quality and this increases the soil life. In turn, this will supply all the nutrients your plants require. Without harmful chemicals and unnecessary feeds. Love this episode. So close to my whole gardening philosophy. Great video :)
fertilizer chemicals are not harmful they have been used for many years now.
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@@roccoconte2960 Humans created the Dust Bowl. You do you.
I am also a master gardener. If soil is nutrient deficient and needs some type of amending, I suggest that people use mulch and organic fertilizer. However, mulch and organic fertilizer take a long time to decompose. I have nothing against synthetic fertilizers but they do nothing to improve the soil.
what approach would you suggest for container gardening ?
My common sense says that due to small volume of isolated soil in the container, even if it is as big as 25 gallon, the decomposition process would never be enough to break down organic fertilizer in time for the plants to uptake it. Probably this is the reason why I have gotten average results when followed this approach with my 25-gallon container based vegetable garden.
I am now leaning towards using soilless medium , like a mix of pumice stone , peat moss or bark mulch or coco coir and perlite etc, and use liquid fertilizer like master blend available to this medium 24/7 through wicking action from a reservoir at the bottom of the container. I have seen on youtube this approach being followed for hydroponic dutch buckets ( courtesy MHPGardener ) with great results and I hope to replicate it with soilless medium.
your opinion will be highly appreciated in this regard.
I am , though, convinced 100% that "feed the soil" , as recommended in this video, is the right approach for in-ground gardening and following it for my in-ground flower and fruit trees.
Started gardening for the first time in 30 years and that garden wasn't much of a garden 30 years ago. I bought a house last year that had some broken down weedy raised beds that looked like they hadn't been used in 10 or 15 years. I used cardboard to kill the weeds and added soil on top. I made the mistake of thinking the new soil would have all it needed to grow plants. It was NEW soil. Plants should grow great, right? Wrong! Well I'm learning that not all soil is created equal by watching your videos. (I've watched a lot of them). I'm going to add another raised bed this fall and try to do it the right way from scratch this time. Thanks for all the content you've put out!
Fantasic gardens 😊
Something I've started to do is use card boxes, flattened & tape removed for weed suppression on pathways.
Can use also as a mulch, but set slugs & snail beer traps.
Old carpet works too.
Torn up cardboard in compost works well.
Leafs bagged up in fall, tye bags & leave for 6 -9 mths under a hedge. Open & you have soil. 😊
Thank you for your videos
From New Zealand
You are the best Gardener out there... Thank you for sharing
Bob Cooney
Salt Lake City Utah
Thanks, Bob.
I only fertilize as I plant out and when soil is new. Even then it's worm castings, blood and bone meal, seaweed. All the things that attract life to the soil overall. When folks add compost, they are fertilizing between seasons, even if that's all they add. I compost everything, even meat. I bury dead chickens and other birds when we have them and the plants love it. I keep bones and make my own bonemeal. I tend to garden without digging up my soil all over the garden. I'd rather layer compost in the off season.
Your pop-up "its soil!" made me laugh! Good use of humor, Gardener Scott!
Thanks! That's exactly why I did it.
i suggest installation of fertirrigation system in the automatic one by desviation of the water into 5 l bottles (DIY, may be less than 1$) filled with liqiud org. fertilizer (guano, or filtered burning nettle infusion) through 6mm hoses such as shown by lander, el guardian de la tierra, yt. the watering intervals we can chosse to pass irrigation by a bypass through the fertilizer mix before entering into the garden beds through the usual 16mm valve hoses.
Thanks Scott, another great video. I got piles of leaves, grass clippings, composted wood chips and regular kitchen scraps (we are whole plant based eaters and have lots of good compost feed from the kitchen). Our first year, we added our compost (included composted cow manure from local farm that grass feeds only for non food cattle) and some azimite, coco noir, humic acid, and vermiculite to purchased garden soil (1/2 compost and top soil). most plants did very well, except for brassicas, which most likely means, need more N!. Your approach is sound and most ecological in impact. Thanks again.
I try not to fertilize, too. I basically rely on compost and natural mulches, much like you. great tips
OAK, i do the same
Compost and mulch in the fall and i walk away. So much easier than the neighbors braking their backs digging hoeing covering potatoes etc
This has made very clear, some really basic principles, where the difference between understanding/ not understanding is like night and day!
The soil on my new property is so dead it has taken me 4 years of amendments of compost and putting back in plant material just to grow weeds. I did an experiment and put fertilizer on half a row of corn to see if it might help and that half row has corn that is twice as tall as the others and it is tasseling and the rest isn't. I do not like to use fertilizer unless I can find as natural as I can. I am hoping that the soil will improve before I pass. I do have a wonderful crop of weeds this year.
Lynda, give your weeds a cut and cover with compost and mulch
Compost is great. But for an intensive intervention as you need, go and get some cartloads of horse or cow manure and dig it in or place it on top and let it rot. Cartloads. You'll have your soil amended in just one season. I speak from experience.
@@svetlanikolova7673 Already doing that. I keep it up every year and it is getting better every year but my old body is getting tired of the fight.
One good thing with weeds, at least for me, is that you can throw them in a barrel of water, put a lid on, and then wait a week or two. Then rake out the decomposed weeds and put them on the compost. I use the "water" that's left to water my garden beds. Good luck with your property, with all your work it will get fertile. Cheers
Cover crops? Just yesterday I learned that if you grow buckwheat and then turn it back into the soil it will help with phosphorus. You turn it right back into your soil. You don’t pull them and put them in the compost.Peas and beans can help with nitrogen. Comfrey helps with nutrients but it’s invasive? I think borage also helps but invasive as it reseeds easily .
I ordered beautiful buckwheat seeds from Baker Creek to grow in my raised beds. I think red clover is also good for building nitrogen. Cover crops just sound like a really good idea to me.
I also have 2 55 gallon tubs of worms. I feed them everything I can get my hands on. Kitchen scraps, coffee grounds from Starbucks, dumpster stuff lol. Worm castings are great soil amendment.
I grew up near the Red River Valley in ND and I remember the soil was black, we never did use fertilizer for our garden and we had good yields with everything we planted over the summer
Gardener Scott I'm in super dry 6a Mid Ohio and we're having a drought.
Weeks ago I planted some buckwheat and been cleaning up other rows and have 3 ages of buckwheat and some large cover crop radishes.Its so dry I'm hopeful that they get some rainfall to fill out.
Anything that helps worms is building my soil .
Almost in this dry summer I've blasted the apfids controlling them good enough.
Thanks
I was raised opposite of this and using round up and pesticides but since having a family of my own I don't do any of those. I have been adding manure and cover crop now and like it lots better.
cover crops is really the best. Let one part of your soil to rest and sow cover crops to cut and drop
I remember years ago I planted a garden in my backyard. I dug up the yard made rows and I planted the seeds and everything grew, I even planted corn and it grew. Had beautiful tomatoes, green beans, lettuce etc and I didn't do anything except water and pull the green worms off my tomato plants. In the house I am in now I planted a green bean seeds and a tomato plant, just in the ground and I had tons of beans and tomatoes just from those 2 plants I didn't do anything except water. There was no Neem oil, worm casting tea, aspirin, eggs shells, fertilizer and all the other stuff I see on the garden channels. I am going to grow in containers now because my trees have grown and I have limited sunny areas in my yard but I have spent a ton of money just on all the additives, sprays, fertilizer etc. This is 20 years later. It's all overwhelming kinda takes the fun out of it.
I’ve taken this approach on the recommendation of Gardener Scott and others and it works very well.
When I setup a raised bed all but the top 8-12” consists of woody refuse collected for this purpose - logs, branches, wood chips, even the remnants of the last garden bed (I don’t build them with treated lumber). I then layer soil and compost over top. When a plant has come to the end of its productive life, I cut it off at ground level and leave the roots in the soil. In the fall, I heap on leaf mulch that was made using leaves raked up the fall prior.
I also make sure that the soil is always covered with something - either a crop, mulch, or cardboard in a pinch. The soil goes south pretty quickly when left exposed to the elements.
It’s a lot of work up front but very easy to keep going by just adding organic material to the top.
This video was spot on. I grew my best harvest to date in 2019 without any fertilizer. Last year I finally tried fertilizer what a mistake. Had the worst harvest ever. And it's good to go back and review videos like this one after such a disappointing garden year. Going back to the basics. Thanks, Gardner Scott.
I think alot of people have been led to think fertilizer is only factory made. The truth is, compost and other natural sources are in fact fertilizer. I know seasoned gardeners know that, but there area many people that don't realize it.
Great video. I came across your channel via 'Simplify Gardening', and my philosophy is the same - feed the soil. I'm very fortunate to live near the sea so seaweed is freely available to me. Simply chop it up and spread on the beds in Autumn (fall). By Spring, it's been taken down into the soil by soil organisms (spring tails, worms, woodlice etc) so no need to add fertilizer.
I agree! You explain it so well! The soil is the crown jewel of the garden! I try and explain the forest floor and how it’s all natural. Great video! Most important too. It’s easy to plant a plant or seeds. But it’s the right prep work that counts! 👍. GREAT ADVICE! As always great vid!! I think you are my favorite gardening channel!
I always add manure in the fall and compost in the spring...it works well for me.
I really don't know what I'm doing. What I actually do is to add a lot of aged compost to my beds, and when I plant my vegetables I add a good helping of organic fertilizer, which is dried and pelletized chicken manure. I haven't used inorganic fertilizer in almost 15 years. It seems that the only nutrients leaving the soil is what is in the harvested vegetables. If I chop up the plant after harvest and turn it in into the soil, it seems that most of the nutrients are returned to the soil. Right? And my top dressings add what the harvest removed. At least that's what I figure.
You have the right idea. Adding organic material is important and returns nutrients to soil. With the compost and chicken manure you may find you no longer need the fertilizer.
Outstanding advice! I use mulches no only to feed the soul web below but to conserve water as well. I love Mosanbu Fuyoka's tip on this... "Nature works - if you let it"
This is my new favorite way of thinking about gardening lately, thanks to all the information on you tube from you and others, it makes so much sense, I have been experimenting with making little lunch bag snacks so to speak, by taking kitchen scraps that would usually go on the compost pile, put in a paper lunch bag, roll it up and just burying them around the garden, hoping to attract worms etc. do you think it will work? Thanks for all your videos, Clive.
Thank you Gardner Scott, very informative...Your a good teacher... I am someone that just started gardening and I have a small yard but do container gardening because I have hard clay soil that grows weeds quite well but I won't be digging it up to plant in it. I bought a lot of packaged soil such as miracle grow to get the ball rolling but most of my plants did not do that well or they didn't produce much or the veggies/fruits were smaller than they should be. So I figured there must be something wrong with the bagged soil and I decided to buy some organic fertilizers and start composting to ammend the bagged soil in hopes of makeing it better. I got all caught up in what kinds of fertilizer do I need and what ones are best...I went around in circles....Your advice made me realize I don't have to feel so pressured to use fertilizer but some can be benificial of course. I'm also realizing more and more that compost and mulching is key.
As usual enlightening content. Totally agree. Focus on the soil takes discipline and a change of philosophy--which is easier said than done. My journey and evolution continues. Thank you Scott!
Another great video!! I love how you help debunk and clarify gardening information!! There are so many variables and me personally I am no till except for the buckets and I have two 50 gal composters so I just add that and other things to the top and like you said let the micro biology do it’s part!!!
I never fertilize, only compost and crop rotation with strategic legume plantings/co-plantings. I've got a friend who relies completely on bagged soil and chemical fertilizers. Per plant, I uniformly produce more higher quality produce and the gap increases every year.
Thank you 🙏🏾. Soil is the foundation ❤
I think many in their busy lives saw chemicals as a quick fix if you well. Then they grow the giant pumpkins and the like and they thought they have really accomplished something. The point is we need to honor or appreciate the land as it sustains us. There are no healthy shortcuts.
Thats what I did with my tall raised beds I put wood and logs and bark in the bottom then filled it with a mix of composted horse manure and soil .... I need to top off the tops in the spring as it already sunk down after it rained...
I got really lucky. My soil is dark, rich, and absolutely wonderful. Glad to know I just need to encourage what is already there. Thanks.
I don’t fertilize or spray for bugs. Seen a few Japanese beetles but my garden is beside the chicken run so they must have taken care of them. Take care of the soil! Have a great evening.
I find the same principles apply to lawns as well. I've been topdressing my lawn with compost once a year rather than fertilizing and it works wonders.
Thank you I kinda jumped onto gardening and forgot about fertilizer but every video I’ve seen never really mentioned it .
I watched this video again . So thorough! As i spend more time in my garden, i am understanding more about soil. It's so exciting. Thank you for such a great review. I'm going to top off my bed with my finished compost after i sift out the twigs. I hear about "depleted " soil. How can you tell if your soil is depleted? Thank you! Definitely a thumbs up video, TH-cam viewers!
Thanks, Scott. Without a soil test, your plants will tell you when soil is depleted. Increased weed growth and less productive vegetable plants will usually result. It takes as long to get depleted soil as it does to get improved soil, so regular amending is still the best solution.
The weather broke for the week so we spent all morning putting strawberry plants from the window into the ground, then the clouds lifted and we had to scramble to find a good shade to put over them. Luckily we have a trellis panel that goes over them perfectly, and the fence shades them from the afternoon sun, so they should root in nicely. Hopefully there's enough light for strawberries in that spot, it's the most protected spot in the garden so they should overwinter there safely~
Best, most sensible video I have seen regarding building the soil and lessening the need for fertiliser. Your saved me some work, thanks Scott.
June, he saves you a lot of money as well!
Svetla Nikolova yes. I think fertilising is a scam once you have your soil conditioned properly. Best wishes.
I like simple answers. Thank you!
I want to start adding stuff directly to my soil. I have thought about this for awhile. Like I do for my compost pile which is small. Veggie scraps. I have no leaves. Cardboard or paper bags. Yes I have had confusion regarding how to fertilize. What you are stating here is exactly how I’ve been thinking lately. There is such big money in gardening. What I mean is you can buy fertilizers, expensive trellis, worm compost. It gets expensive.
I have worms , in my wormery, in my soil , in my pots, and everywhere I garden . I have gotten into worm farming for the castings. I feed them lots of organic materials periodically . So I don't use any fertilizer if I don't have to because I have to be careful what I use and how,. I am allergic to a lot of things so I have to use a lot of personal protection if I do.
I just got into the worm growing. What kind of worms do you have?
You mentioned comfrey in The perennial that Scott. Those leaves are some of the best nutrient rich organic fertilizer you can use in the garden. Comfrey leaves decomposed pretty quickly. I cut off comfrey leaves at the end of the season, don't even bother cutting them up, and lay them down on top of the soil. Working them and when they turn to brown decomposed matter.
I pile comfrey and nettles in my compost. all the time .thanks Harvey Ussery
thanks so much for clarifying this confusing topic! my dad mentioned i needed a lot of fertilisers to grow crops and had been wondering if my ‘micro greens’ were due to insufficient fertilisers 😄
Mulch is another form of fertiliser. Father was farmer he didn't even do that. All he said to let soil rest.
Feed the soil and the plant’s needs will be fulfilled. Thank you Scott!
I didn't fertilize my summer crops. But I've been amending the soil as I pull up the old and plant the new.
Thank you for sharing all your wonderful information on gardening. Like you said, listening to too many opinions can get very confusing. Thank you for simplifying this topic of soil and fertilizing.
The dirt in my beds (flower and veg) looks like DIRT, it does not look like soil. So I keep adding amendments- compost, fertilizer, manure, shredded fall leaves. I’m considering in the spring pulling out the straggly plants I’ve put in so far and mixing in more fresh quality soil and replanting.
You have the right idea. I amend until it all looks like soil.
Scott - Keep doing what you are doing. I have learned such a lot from your videos. Your explanations are so educational and down to earth! Pun intended...
Once, by accident, I forgot to put fertilizer in a potted tomato plant. I didn't get any tomatoes. Long ago, my dad said that he put fertilizer on potatoes he planted. He and his brother were wondering what they were digging up. Thanks for sharing this. Cheers!
I agree with this approach,, but I am doing 100% container gardening and this creates some challenges. I hope to get back to raised beds when we move to a new house in a couple of years!
I just borrow compost from people who have got compost heaps and use that for my container gardens. It is great!
You can also add green manure. As the plant grows it will fix nitrogen and then you just turn it over into the soil
Thank you so much. I have been using your excellent info. You explain very well, youre a great teacher. 😍
I really appreciate your videos and time you take to make them.
Questions:
1. How to mulch and mix leaves and grass clippings? Lawn mower?
2. My lawn has a lot of bad weeds. I'm concerned about using these clippings in mulch and my composter. Ideas?
Maybe you have videos you could direct me to.
Thanks
A lawn mower is a good way to combine leaves and grass. When I have separate bags I just spread them alternately. Weeds aren't an issue unless they have gone to seed. Cut them before they flower and you can use the clippings.
I use fertilizer at the beginning of March. Thats it. That’s it just to boost what the snow wash away that winter. It’s better to under fertilize then to over fertilize.
Feed the soil and the soil feeds the plants!!!! Thanks for affirming this. 7 years ago I took over this home and have had to build up soil that has been impoverished and doused in toxic sprays. So i've added some fertiliser along with compost, aged manure, seaweed. My new raised beds are filled with imported garden mix and mushroom compost, quite different from the rest of the garden. You have motivated me to have the soil tested, but will need to do two lots I would think - the original soil, and the new raised bed soil? Also, I do spray the plants with a seaweed mix I make - would it be better to drench the compost heap with this liquid?
I didn't this season and now believe it was a problem.
I have my fall garden started, and now I am waiting for the leaves to change color, and drop to the ground. My neighbors will rake them to the street and I will go out and gab up as many compressed bags of leaves as I can, just like last year. Then next year when I mow my grass and cut down the weeds I will make a lot of free organic material (compost) for my garden. Is it work? Well yes. But not to much. Everything in this life has a cost, either money or work.
Hey Gardener Scott, can you please make a video explaining the full life-cycle of the raised beds? I understand you "add organics" while you are setting up the raised beds ... on winter you are suggesting that we retain the raised-beds "as-is" ... next year what? The second, third, fourth year? How would you enrich the soil of a raised-bed in the follow-up years? Do you empty the beds and refill them?
Thank you very much for all your videos, they have been very educational, informative and guide me in my garden!
Good suggestion and I am planning those videos. One on amending the soil at the end of season is coming soon. Another on preparing and mulching beds for winter next month. In a few months I'll have one to discuss planning your garden activities for multiple years.
Thank you for all your videos.
It can get confusing though. I can have lush growth...But, are they producing fruit, bulbs..produce in general vs. Leaves which means too much nitrogen. Temperature swings in my location seems to prevent some plants from getting up to speed and then I wonder, do I no need fertilizer? I did notice this year I didn't put as much compost under some squash plants and tgey seem a bit slower and smaller. Of course the deer are not helping. Up last night at midnight to wrap maple trees with bird netting after auto light came on and caught deer in act. Then i noticed my husband left the garden gate open---ugh! Between the insects wildlife and the man I'm not sure if there will be anything left to fertilize.🤣
So you don't have to turn or mix up the bed at end of season? Just add a layer of compost on top of the old mulch then mulch again? I'm new to this concept so just needed clarification. I just put in new perennial borders using this method on top of grass. Planted right down thru the layers and now I pray 😁 that I understood correctly. I was never so excited to see a worm after just 3 days of my layers sitting there.
Hi. If you havent seen his video on lasagna gardening (sheet composting) may help. I asked Garden Scott about turning the lasagna beds during one of his live chat on Monday and he said it can he done in the early stages. And then add top layers over time. I am doing this in my newly built raised beds to hopefully use next spring and its going well. th-cam.com/video/lWV-XlwEI70/w-d-xo.html
I will turn and mix my beds because the soil is new and I'm still building it. After a few years it doesn't need mixing and compost on top should be enough. Mulch on top of mulch will work after that.
@@GardenerScott ok thank you. 🌼🌻
Best tip ever
So if I understand correctly from this video and the other soil videos of yours I've watched. I can soil test the native soil I'm using to fill my beds and add the recommended fertilizer based on that report in addition to the large amounts of organic material I'm adding to help ammend the high clay content. With no/minimal risk of having an excess amount of one of the nutrients.
Yes, that's the idea. It is possible at some point, maybe five years, to have too much organic matter and excess nutrients, so I suggest a follow-up soil test at that time.
It's 2020. I fertilize with brawndo
it's got what plants crave
It’s got electrolytes.
What an amazing garden you have. !!
Thank you for this video and the one on no till versus no dig gardening. I am a bit unclear-if it is still in the first three years of creating the good soil, should we work in the compost each time we add it? It seems that after we reach equilibrium at 3 to 5 years, then we don’t need to add inorganic fertilizer and we only add compost to the TOP, but in the meantime building the soil, do we work it in each time we add it? Thank you so much for this clarification. You are such a gifted teacher helping thousands, including me, to become better gardeners.👩🌾
You have a good understanding. It takes time to increase the organic matter in soil and develop soil life. Amending the soil by working it in is needed for poor soils. After 3-5 years of that, compost and organic mulch on top can often maintain the healthy soil.
What soil should you use?
I use my native soil and amend it with organic matter.
Amazing information on each & every video Gardener Scott thank you! I'm just starting a compost pile in preparation for a veg garden but don't know much about no till gardening. Why is this important?
Thanks. No-till gardening is a basic philosophy of reduced labor and letting nature work for you. It is not necessary, but can be an option if you want to focus on organic gardening.
YOU HAVE SUCH A HEALTHY GARDEN. HOW MANY HOURS A DAY DO YOU SPEND IN YOUR GARDEN? DO YOU HAVE AN AUTOMATIC WATERING SYSTEM? WHAT TIME OF THE Day DO YOU WORK IN THE GARDEN? I DO VERY WELL IN THE SPRING AND EARLY SUMMER BUT WHEN IT GETS HOT I HAVE A DIFFICULT TIME .NOT TO MENTION THE BUG BITES.
I only spend about an hour a day unless I have building or extra activities to do, much of it in late morning. I don't have auto watering so I hand water. We've been so hot that I try to avoid being out in the afternoon.
Amen. Nature knows the best 👍
Amen Scott!🙏
You are godsent. Thank you, sir.
Referring to your perennial bed and your practice of simply adding organic material to the surface of the soil, I notice that you have mulched with wood chips. I'm wondering if you remove the wood chips before you add the organic material.
It depends on the plant. I move aside the mulch around berry plants to add organic material, but I just add grass, chicken manure, and other organic material to the top of the chips around my trees.
Can I put worm manure in grow bags to help with amendments
Definitely. That's a good source of nutrients.
What is that branching variety of sunflower behind you in this video? It's gorgeous. 🙂
Thanks. I really don't know. It just appeared in my garden and I left it to see what grew. I kept it once I saw the result.
I am so new to this, unfortunately i started my garden with bags of soil from the store, should i test every bed separately? I have to watch more of your videos and learn more about feeding the soil. Thank you for the info.
If all of the beds have similar soil you don't need to test each one separately. Most soil tests suggest you take samples from multiple sites and combine the soil for sampling. You could do the same in your beds.
Thank for at yours great videos
It is my first time gardening, I'm trying find all I can on TH-cam, so I can make less mistakes and you are one of the best to explain and understand the basics
I hope it okay I ask you a question!
I plant in pots raspberry, strawberry and pepper and so on
How is the best way to make sure that the soil is good with nutrition, now when it doesn't get automatically?
You can add compost and other organic material to you pots each year as a mulch on top of the soil.
Is it important to rotate crops? If so which ones should you not replant in the same area? Thank you for your knowledge and expertise!
With regular soil amending, I don't typically rotate crops. Here's a video where I discuss it: th-cam.com/video/fjCCGen5NF0/w-d-xo.html
@@GardenerScott Thank you so much!
Is amending used soil technically fertilizing too? For example, changing the acidity to grow blueberries.
Amending isn't technically fertilizing, it's a method of improving soil tilth. A fertilizer is used to add specific nutrients. To change pH you'll add an amendment, like sulfur for blueberries.
@@GardenerScott yaay. Then I don't fertilize either. ❤
My beds have poor soil in it's first year, and my containers have compost amended mix from last year, so I'm fertilizing once a month. My plan for next year is to dump my containers into my beds for about a 1/3 each mix of sandy clay loam, spent mix, and compost. I don't think I'll need to fertilize much next year.
Update while I'm rewatching this. I used a granular fertilizer in my potting mix this year, and only used additional fertilizer once each crop. My no dig beds made with compost and used potting mix are growing their second crops this year with no fertilizer added. My one dug bed has the mix of compost, potting mix and clay soil I planned, and I find that a spring crop of root veggies and a summer crop of squash and cucumbers grew just fine without fertilizer. The eggplant is growing slowly, though, so I'll try a top dressing of granular fertilizer and see what happens.
Mr Scott, can you please tell me if I can use regular garbage bags to line my cardboard box container? If not what plastics will not leach toxic chemicals into the soil? Thank you.
You should be able to use the bags without worry about toxic chemicals.
Anyone can answer, I've just moved to the country and starting new beds, I have cows all around. I'm wanting to ask for the cow waste to put in my compost bin or just start a pile but it's most likely not from a organic fed cow farmer. Can I still use it in my organic garden??? I'm thinking No and hopefully I'm wrong.
Hi Scott, isnt it better to use compost and mulch in the fall and skip the inorganic fertilizer all together?
As I said in the video, that's the way I prefer to do it. Because I'm starting with very poor soil it may be necessary to add some fertilizer in the first year or two.
Wonderful video.
QUESTION: Did you transplant your fall leafy veggies under your cattle panel tunnel with the plastic on the side so you can cover those crops if a fall frost threatens?
Thanks. I direct sow most of my fall veggies outside. I do put them under the cattle panel so I can easily cover them with plastic.
What about root crops. You need to amend soil during griow season?
Amending before the season and then using a light mulch is usually all that's needed.
Thank you for your videos. I'm learning much.
This man should run for President.
You talk about using organic mulch in your garden. I see a lot of straw and maybe some wood mulch. How do you ensure that there are no herbicides in the straw you buy. Also, can bagged mulch from big box stores be used as garden mulch?
It's difficult to ensure there are no herbicides so I usually buy the bales months in advance and let them rest out in the weather to dissipate herbicides if they're present. You can use bagged mulch. It is often dyed.
That bagged stuff is, in my opinion, fine to use for paths or around inedibles if needed in a pinch. I still avoid it as it is expensive and generally low quality stuff. I use straw or wood chips (free from local arborists!) instead. I have a trusted local source for herbicide-free (or nearly so - there’s always the possibility of drift) organic straw that I use as mulch directly in veggie beds and around berries and other edibles, but leaving bales out in the weather for several months is good practice, too. I cut the strings when I weather the bales so they can open up a bit. All of this is, I find, very much worth the minimal extra effort required to avoid the big box store rip off.
Hi of course plants need food, compost and aged manure are great but please don't use mulch from fir trees, it makes the soil acidic.
Wood chips, needles, and bark from fir trees really don't lower soil pH.
So true! They also do not “rob the soil of nitrogen” unless worked deeply into it in significant quantities. Love this channel - thanks for busting another myth!
You are really the best👍🏻👍🏻
Hi G.S. Thanks for the videos. I tried looking through your old videos and I couldn't find any about gardening on a hill. Could you link me to one please?
I don't have a specific video about gardening on a hill, but my videos on "How to Plant Garlic", "How to Collect Carrot Seeds", "How to Harvest Garlic", "How to Trellis Tomatoes" and "How to Prune Tomatoes" all show my earlier garden and how set up my beds on a hill. th-cam.com/video/HocNHKhdgls/w-d-xo.html
In todays world fertilizers are a lot more expensive. Soil amendment and testing is more effective and efficient for raised beds. I appreciate the information you put out. Thanks.
My compost is ALMOST ready but not yet. My cucumbers have been more vibrant since i have just added the water i rinse my gloves with after i dig around my compost bin! Any other ideas about what i can amend my soil with until the compost is ready? Is it better to add compost or compost tea to the soil? Worm castings or worm tea? Thank you! You are a teacher.
If you have access to aged manure that can be a good amendment. I think compost and worm castings are far better to use as soil amendments rather than as teas. Put almost-ready compost on the bed as a mulch and every time you water or it rains you will have a natural equivalent of compost tea.
Gardener Scott. Canwe startwith fertilizer. Whatis it? I apply compost, various meals. Am I fertilizing?
Compost does fertilize the soil, but many gardeners refer to fertilizer as a separate liquid or chemical additive.
True, very good and so important point.