I am originally from GA right up the road from you in Lee County. I gardened there all my life. I moved to Northwest Ohio about 7 years ago. I am trying to get my timing down. I think I would have to plant the cover crop in September in zone 6A. The winters here are long so would have to experiment with when to tarp before planting in early May. Great videos they always make me home sick. Thank you!
I helped my buddie put a new garden in his back yard last season . I talked him into trying something new . his back yard was all grass that had been mowed for years . it is a nice lawn . he ain't big on weeds . what I did was took an edging shovel and striped out a 50 foot section only as wide as the edging tool . 6 or 7 inches . the deck on his mower 48 inches wide . thats where the second row went . stripped the sod on second row the same way . losend the soil a touch then added 2 to 3 inches of compost and mixed it in . planted tomatoes and peppers onions , basil and some carrots . you would be surprised how easy it was to maintain . seems the grass in between rows kept things looking good . first year was really productive . hardly no weeds . also I had him close the grass clipping exit hole so he wasn't blowing the clippings on the rows . try it if you want a easy way to go .
I have been watching your videos for a few months now and just got seeds I ordered from y'all. I also ordered sweet potatoes from Steele as you recommend. I was raised mostly in Alabama around Huntsville but am now in Tulsa, OK. Love all your videos!
thanks to you guys i'm growing more veggies with less effort. i will have to give tarping, cover crops and strict rotations a miss though, as i dont have that much space. got our first super hot day coming up on sunday, 41C / 106F. will be spraying the garden often to keep it from frying. all the kitchen knives were blunt badly and i'm not a sharpening pro, but instead of trying to copy the pros i changed it up and got a good result. instead of laying the diamond stones down and trying to keep angle with the knives, as they do; i used the diamond stones in one hand and knife in the other. kept it wet and it's much easier to sharpen when you can see what you're doing with the edge.
@@BigFamilyRescue : Melbourne, Australia. Been very mixed summer so far. A few years ago got to 46C / 115F. that cooked the garden. It's not unusual to hit 43C / 110F at least a few times in summer. When a cool change arrives it's usually destructive cold wind and maybe rain. i heard last summer there was temps somewhere in US that broke all records. Sometimes not good to be number one ;)
You missed one of my favorite benefits of the tarp: it gets your soil temperature up quicker. We got a 30x40 and a 40x50 from you around December of 2019, and they have held up well through various plots around our property. If anyone is on the fence, just get one. You won't regret it.
Not at all. Till it first to stir up the weed seeds, then tarp for a few weeks, till again, and just keep repeating til you get ready to plant. That should give you a nice, empty weed seed bank.
A good tarp and till rotation will eliminate just about anything. That's what I'd recommend. Till, tarp for a few weeks, pull back the tarp and till again, and just keep repeating until all the rhizomes are gone.
Would it be alright to start peas outside? I’m in zone 8a in Georgia. I planned on also working in the tillage radish in my back beds I got from y’all this week but also wanted to get the peas started before the next set of rains . If I am understanding what I googled my last frost date is mid April There’s always great information in your videos so thanks
When do u start fertilizing onions?. Since they don’t have leaves, I don’t know when to start. They r just starting to sprout. About an inch high right now
@Gail Petchenik Onions will sprout different from other crops. The leaves will be folded down into the soil initially and will "flip out" and stand up as they grow. Once both leaves are standing up straight, that's when we usually start fertilizing them.
Question? Brand new Bed we're planning on hard pan clay type of soil it's not going to be used till the spring of 22 it basically has zero nutrients. What types of cover crops plural (beginning with this spring) is a recommended "rotation" keep in mind I can let it go til winter yes it does snow. So probably3 seasons worth of prep spring summer winter. The other plot is where we are currently growing. Thanks 😊
If we tarp our garden that is covered with mulched leaves from the fall, will it break down the leaves sooner? We are in NW Iowa zone 5a just a few miles from 4b.
Might also be helpful to get it good and wet before tarping as well. That moisture trapped in there with the increased temp from the black tarp would be good.
@Jeanette Norton We use old bricks, just because we have plenty of them. But we do include sandbags (without the sand) with each Silage Tarp and those work great too.
Generally early spring. Up north a lot of times they even "Frost Seed". That is they'll throw the seed down when temps are still pretty cold and they're still getting some frosts. Clover seedlings are pretty hardy and are frost tolerant.
If you have ground that's never been planted and has grass on it how would you get it ready ?? Do you till it or cover it?? Thank you anyone for help with this...
Tarp it first to kill the grass, till it then tarp it again for a few weeks to kill what comes back up. Because you’ll chop up the grass roots and that can stimulate stuff that’s dormant to sprout. You’ll also bring up weed seeds. Tarps make the perfect germination environment but kills the weeds.
What Matt suggested is ideal. But I will say that last year we tilled up a large area that was covered in thick grass. We didn't have a tarp big enough at the time. We tilled, watered and let it sit for a week and tilled again. It did well considering. But definitely if you have the time tarp, then till, then tarp again.
We're surrounded by hundreds of acres of commercial farmland, so no real prime deer habitat near the gardens. That pine tree patch behind my property isn't very big, although it may look like it on camera.
His area is full of farm land. No deer in sight around his plots. Lol. They have plenty to eat elsewhere around there. There were fields and fields of cabbage in that general area.
Hey guys, new to your channel. I have a couple questions. I'm in Coastal North Carolina, about 20 miles from the water by way of the crow flying. What crops can I grow over a septic leach field or do I have to do raised beds? Also, we have fire ants something terrible. Any idea how can I deter them from moving into my garden?
Probably want to do raised beds in that situation. As far as the ants go ... Ants don't like disturbance. They'll tend to establish beds in undisturbed areas. So as long as your spending time in your garden, they usually won't occupy those high traffic areas.
The hotter it is outside, the faster it will work. You're probably still going to have to till it a couple times during the tarping process to get rid of the grass rhizomes. But 6-8 weeks is a realistic time frame.
@GuitarrZombie Between myself and Greg, we have an old Troy-Bilt Horse, the Grillo and a BCS. The BCS is a beast, but too big for the size plots we have. The Grillo is my favorite. Nothing wrong with the old Troy-Bilt, but the Grillo will work circles around that thing.
@Jennifer McKee You'll want to make sure it is UV resistant and thick enough to not allow light to penetrate. Some of the blue tarps at the big box stores do let some light in, and you'll find that they don't last very long after sitting in the sun.
@@gardeningwithhoss Travis you just let us know when you have some more work lined up and we'll be there to help. We are only a few hours away from yall. Maybe some of that garden expertise will rub off on us lol!
To test if your legumes are fixing nitrogen, dig a shovel full, shake or wash the dirt off, look for nodules on the roots, cut nodules in half and it should look like a rare steak on the inside...if it’s not pinkish red it’s not fixing nitrogen
I thought about putting down some black plastic to kill the weeds before planting this year and decided against it. Now I see that other people are doing it to lol.
I see that the tarps are out of stock. Is there a certain kind of material to use for this? Like I imagine those blue fiberglass tarps to be a BAD THING. What kind of tarp do I need? Ps, thanks for this video. I’ve wanted to do this years. Also, what do you think about laying wood scraps, pine needles, leaves on top of the garden to burn first, then tarp it a few days later?
We should have more in stock soon. Just need to cut them and get them boxed. You want to make sure the tarp is UV resistant, otherwise it won't last long sitting in the sun.
Georgia will never be the same again. LoL Wess is a great guy. Love his family and a great channel. Great to see y'all working together.
Thanks y'all!
Fun intro. The excitement is building for seed starting. Thank you for your efforts in "helping us grow our own food". Well done.
Thanks!
I love the collaboration ... do it with others in more zones please.
Luv seeing weds n Travis here
I am originally from GA right up the road from you in Lee County. I gardened there all my life. I moved to Northwest Ohio about 7 years ago. I am trying to get my timing down. I think I would have to plant the cover crop in September in zone 6A. The winters here are long so would have to experiment with when to tarp before planting in early May. Great videos they always make me home sick. Thank you!
Have a good day
I helped my buddie put a new garden in his back yard last season . I talked him into trying something new . his back yard was all grass that had been mowed for years . it is a nice lawn . he ain't big on weeds . what I did was took an edging shovel and striped out a 50 foot section only as wide as the edging tool . 6 or 7 inches . the deck on his mower 48 inches wide . thats where the second row went . stripped the sod on second row the same way . losend the soil a touch then added 2 to 3 inches of compost and mixed it in . planted tomatoes and peppers onions , basil and some carrots . you would be surprised how easy it was to maintain . seems the grass in between rows kept things looking good . first year was really productive . hardly no weeds . also I had him close the grass clipping exit hole so he wasn't blowing the clippings on the rows . try it if you want a easy way to go .
Thanks for sharing!
Sounds like a good idea!
I have been watching your videos for a few months now and just got seeds I ordered from y'all. I also ordered sweet potatoes from Steele as you recommend. I was raised mostly in Alabama around Huntsville but am now in Tulsa, OK. Love all your videos!
Thanks for your order! Glad you enjoy the videos.
I would like to see a video on having bees. Thanks for the all the info you and Greg bring to us.
Great video, glad to see you get some help.
It was a good time going out there and helping get those plots covered!
I have raised beds so I used some cardboard I will later put in my compost.
Great intro!!! You the best.
thanks to you guys i'm growing more veggies with less effort.
i will have to give tarping, cover crops and strict rotations a miss though, as i dont have that much space.
got our first super hot day coming up on sunday, 41C / 106F. will be spraying the garden often to keep it from frying.
all the kitchen knives were blunt badly and i'm not a sharpening pro, but instead of trying to copy the pros i changed it up and got a good result. instead of laying the diamond stones down and trying to keep angle with the knives, as they do; i used the diamond stones in one hand and knife in the other. kept it wet and it's much easier to sharpen when you can see what you're doing with the edge.
👍
Dang! Where are you located?
@@BigFamilyRescue : Melbourne, Australia. Been very mixed summer so far. A few years ago got to 46C / 115F. that cooked the garden. It's not unusual to hit 43C / 110F at least a few times in summer. When a cool change arrives it's usually destructive cold wind and maybe rain.
i heard last summer there was temps somewhere in US that broke all records. Sometimes not good to be number one ;)
curious to know what your plan is for your garden once those pine trees get mature
Our plan is to move by the time I'm 40, so 5 years from now. If those were my pine trees, they would be long gone. But they're not.
Excellent video.
Thanks Gene!
4 15x20 tarps.. lol great job guys!! Love it! 👍👍
Can Wes be ‘just a little excited’ 😂
You missed one of my favorite benefits of the tarp: it gets your soil temperature up quicker. We got a 30x40 and a 40x50 from you around December of 2019, and they have held up well through various plots around our property. If anyone is on the fence, just get one. You won't regret it.
Good point!
YES!
I JUST got some tarps. Is it too late to get rid of weeds before this coming garden season? Planning to plant on Good Friday.
Not at all. Till it first to stir up the weed seeds, then tarp for a few weeks, till again, and just keep repeating til you get ready to plant. That should give you a nice, empty weed seed bank.
Any helpful hints to eradicate colon grass???? It has taken over part of my property.
A good tarp and till rotation will eliminate just about anything. That's what I'd recommend. Till, tarp for a few weeks, pull back the tarp and till again, and just keep repeating until all the rhizomes are gone.
@@gardeningwithhoss thanks for the info. I've tried smothering it out but the roots travel past the cover.
You guys gonna get more stock of your 48-Cell Seed Starting Kit?
We are. Waiting on more seed starting mix in the next few days.
Would it be alright to start peas outside? I’m in zone 8a in Georgia. I planned on also working in the tillage radish in my back beds I got from y’all this week but also wanted to get the peas started before the next set of rains . If I am understanding what I googled my last frost date is mid April
There’s always great information in your videos so thanks
If you're talking about English Peas ... yes, you should be fine.
@@gardeningwithhoss okay great I have the mr. big pea
When do u start fertilizing onions?. Since they don’t have leaves, I don’t know when to start. They r just starting to sprout. About an inch high right now
I’ve heard them say hit them with nitrogen rich fertilizer fairly regularly right up until they start to bulb.
@Gail Petchenik Onions will sprout different from other crops. The leaves will be folded down into the soil initially and will "flip out" and stand up as they grow. Once both leaves are standing up straight, that's when we usually start fertilizing them.
How many weeks do you typically leave your tarp on a plot? I live in Zone 7b...I plan on leaving my tarp on for 6 weeks or so.
6 weeks is good. We usually leave it until we're ready to plant, with maybe pulling it back and cultivating one more time in between.
When you put the plastic down then plant how long does it keeps the grass down
Just depends on your weed seed bank. If you do this and cover crop regularly, you won't have hardly any issues.
Question? Brand new Bed we're planning on hard pan clay type of soil it's not going to be used till the spring of 22 it basically has zero nutrients. What types of cover crops plural (beginning with this spring) is a recommended "rotation" keep in mind I can let it go til winter yes it does snow. So probably3 seasons worth of prep spring summer winter. The other plot is where we are currently growing. Thanks 😊
I would recommend sorghum sudangrass for the warmer months, then some of the Frosty Berseem Clover in the cooler month.
@@gardeningwithhoss thank you I just put it in my basket on ya'lls website!
👍
If we tarp our garden that is covered with mulched leaves from the fall, will it break down the leaves sooner? We are in NW Iowa zone 5a just a few miles from 4b.
Yes it will.
@Pam Mickelson It should. The increased temperatures underneath the tarp should speed the breakdown.
Might also be helpful to get it good and wet before tarping as well. That moisture trapped in there with the increased temp from the black tarp would be good.
Thank you all for your response!
Travis what do you stake those tarps down with?? We live in a very windy area
Don’t steal it down. It’ll tear the silage tarp over time. Use sand bags about every 5-7 feet. I live in a windy area and it’s fine.
@Jeanette Norton We use old bricks, just because we have plenty of them. But we do include sandbags (without the sand) with each Silage Tarp and those work great too.
I use wheat for my cover crop on the garden . Thanks for up date. What time in spring for red cover in zone 7?
We usually don't plant clover in spring because it will tend to go to seed pretty quickly once temps warm.
Generally early spring. Up north a lot of times they even "Frost Seed". That is they'll throw the seed down when temps are still pretty cold and they're still getting some frosts. Clover seedlings are pretty hardy and are frost tolerant.
Do you sell these cover crop combos online?
No, just mix them your self.
@Gator Pixel Doctor Repair We don't currently sell mixes, but you can easily mix them in a bucket like we do.
If you have ground that's never been planted and has grass on it how would you get it ready ?? Do you till it or cover it?? Thank you anyone for help with this...
Tarp it first to kill the grass, till it then tarp it again for a few weeks to kill what comes back up. Because you’ll chop up the grass roots and that can stimulate stuff that’s dormant to sprout. You’ll also bring up weed seeds. Tarps make the perfect germination environment but kills the weeds.
@Gloria Kipfer You'll want to do a tarp and till rotation like Matt suggested.
What Matt suggested is ideal. But I will say that last year we tilled up a large area that was covered in thick grass. We didn't have a tarp big enough at the time. We tilled, watered and let it sit for a week and tilled again. It did well considering. But definitely if you have the time tarp, then till, then tarp again.
Thank you good folks !!
How do you keep the deer from cleaning you out?
We're surrounded by hundreds of acres of commercial farmland, so no real prime deer habitat near the gardens. That pine tree patch behind my property isn't very big, although it may look like it on camera.
His area is full of farm land. No deer in sight around his plots. Lol. They have plenty to eat elsewhere around there. There were fields and fields of cabbage in that general area.
Will the tarping kill out dollar weed
Sure will!
I love the intro! LOL
Hey guys, new to your channel. I have a couple questions. I'm in Coastal North Carolina, about 20 miles from the water by way of the crow flying. What crops can I grow over a septic leach field or do I have to do raised beds?
Also, we have fire ants something terrible. Any idea how can I deter them from moving into my garden?
Probably want to do raised beds in that situation. As far as the ants go ... Ants don't like disturbance. They'll tend to establish beds in undisturbed areas. So as long as your spending time in your garden, they usually won't occupy those high traffic areas.
@@gardeningwithhoss thank you for your response. I kind of figured that would be your answer. 🙁
How long does it take to kill perennial grass sod if you cover it with one of these tarps. And what time of year is best to kill grass?
The hotter it is outside, the faster it will work. You're probably still going to have to till it a couple times during the tarping process to get rid of the grass rhizomes. But 6-8 weeks is a realistic time frame.
what is your favorite tiller?
Probably that grillo tractor. Fancy
@GuitarrZombie Between myself and Greg, we have an old Troy-Bilt Horse, the Grillo and a BCS. The BCS is a beast, but too big for the size plots we have. The Grillo is my favorite. Nothing wrong with the old Troy-Bilt, but the Grillo will work circles around that thing.
Will any kind of tarp work? I was thinking of those blue tarps.
@Jennifer McKee You'll want to make sure it is UV resistant and thick enough to not allow light to penetrate. Some of the blue tarps at the big box stores do let some light in, and you'll find that they don't last very long after sitting in the sun.
Funny intro😆love the video
my goats want to get in there a mow that down for ya
I bet they'd love it!
@@gardeningwithhoss Travis you just let us know when you have some more work lined up and we'll be there to help. We are only a few hours away from yall. Maybe some of that garden expertise will rub off on us lol!
👍
I like woodchips
So do fire ants and termites around here. 😉
To test if your legumes are fixing nitrogen, dig a shovel full, shake or wash the dirt off, look for nodules on the roots, cut nodules in half and it should look like a rare steak on the inside...if it’s not pinkish red it’s not fixing nitrogen
Good tip!
Was that a black bear around 6:15 ?
😂🤣
😂. That's our Boykin spaniel Bella
I thought about putting down some black plastic to kill the weeds before planting this year and decided against it. Now I see that other people are doing it to lol.
It works well.
He must be from Ala bama.
Man our cows be trying break the fense for that
😂
I'm thinking about planting some of those forage collards for our cows! That clover would all be gone in quick minute!
The first minute or so of this....LMAO
I see that the tarps are out of stock. Is there a certain kind of material to use for this? Like I imagine those blue fiberglass tarps to be a BAD THING. What kind of tarp do I need?
Ps, thanks for this video. I’ve wanted to do this years.
Also, what do you think about laying wood scraps, pine needles, leaves on top of the garden to burn first, then tarp it a few days later?
We should have more in stock soon. Just need to cut them and get them boxed. You want to make sure the tarp is UV resistant, otherwise it won't last long sitting in the sun.
Those look like deer food plots instead of gardens.
They did for sure! But it won't be long before they're transformed into productive garden space.
Hehehehehe