6th generation farmer in southern Idaho. Straw is specifically harvested when the seeds are ripe. Hay is cut mostly while the pants are still green and growing. The seeds are far from ripe yet. I used straw in my garden against my better judgment. I've spent hours pulling the grain that's sprouted that was still in the straw. Straw will give you 10 times the seeds in your soil as hay will.
This has been my experience too. Straw in my area has tons of wheat seeds in it, makes for an unpleasant mulch. The seeds will sprout even in bales that are used as fall decorations, still in bale form.
Daniel. Is straw routinely sprayed with herbicides in the US like hay can be? I used hay a couple of years back and am still suffering the consequences of it.
@@happybeehoney3461 depends on the farm growing it. A lot of farms spray it with 2 4D. 2 4D kills broad leaf plants but not the grasses or grains. So they use it to kill the weeds in the grain fields without hurting the grain. It has a residue that call last a year I know. But not everyone sprays their crops. You need to find a farm you know doesn't spray. In my area I don't know of anyone that sprays their hay with anything other than fertilizer. But if it has been sprayed with herbicide you'll want to stay away from it.
I planted garlic and bush beans together., and in separate patches...all the bush beans where eaten by the rabbits. But, they didnt eat any of the bush beans planted in the garlic.
About 3 years ago I picked up a well used book by one Ruth Stout, hadn't heard about her prior to that but found it was the most logical gardening approach I had ever heard of. Finally this Spring I decided to put her method into action and have, so far, been very pleased with the results. I can also say, on beds where I direct seeded 'without hay', disaster! I suppose initially I didn't water frequently enough. I'm going to 'hay' them over and start those beds from scratch 🙃. My Ruth Stout, unwatered potato and turnip beds are doing marvellously! I couldn't be more excited! Thank you for this reaffirmation, I totally agree with every single thing you said. I'm in! 😃 ... Brenda, Nova Scotia
Well, I have learned by trial and error that the location that Ruth Stout gardened (Connecticut I believe) and South Carolina where I live have pretty much rendered the "No Weed, No Watering, No Work" garden a myth. Every thing you said in the video is what I have found. The hay cuts down on the weeds but you must be vigilant about weeding every other day - at least in my garden! Keep up the wonderful videos and helpful information. Y'all are appreciated.
When I was sowing potatoes this spring I had some left over seed tubers with no more room in the potato patch. I remembered your video showing how you Ruth Stouted some under hay, and I got inspired. I had no hay, but I threw the tators on the ground in an area near the wood line and covered them with a mound of last year's tree leaves and pine needles. I never even watered them, but sure enough, I have potato plants coming up. Unfortunately I won't be able to report on the final results as we will move before the fall harvest, but I'm guessing it will be a success. Experimentation is great.
Great video...I'm a middle aged farm wife from Alberta and I'd second every statement you've made...I'm only a few years into the no dig method so I'm still learning after planting my garden in tilled soil for decades. My best advice would be to get a personal relationship with the person supplying your hay or straw and ask the right questions before you use it. Those few questions and the trust that the answers are honest is paramount for good results. Even if one of our neighbors offers me old straw or mulch, I ask which field it's off and then ask my guys whether it's had spray on it or not, or if the straw will be weedy.
Your voice is so full of soothing inquisitive energy. Have you thought about a podcast where you talk about methods to practice observing and journaling our environment? So that even folks stuck in a studio apartment right now can start practicing the observation and documentation skills they'll need to thrive on their dream homestead?
I linked my mother (an avid gardner) to your other video about Ruth Stout Method a couple months ago and she decided to try it for her potatoes this year. They are doing absolutely amazing and we will probably be using it going forward. Thanks for teaching us something new!
Thank you Darrick (and Paula). Your videos are always good and very informative, but I suspect, it is not just because you research so much, or what you document. But it is very much because of your honestly and your character - your spirit seeking to a enjoy balanced life and your passion for sharing. - From my heart, "Thanks".
I'm in US Zone 7 (north of Atlanta by about 45 miles). We live in a suburb that was once very rural and has many horse farms. I got a big bale of hay earlier this year from a local farmer, and we spread it on a plot in our garden to try this Ruth Stout method with potatoes. And, so far, we've been really pleased with the results. Out of about 20 plants, I've harvested five or so as they start to turn (these are all early/new potatoes planted March 7), and the results have been great. Eager to get another bale and layer on some additional hay for planting a new crop for fall harvest. (Also, as an experiment, topped hay layer with pulpy cardboard (the kind that comes in a case of wine), and planted tomatoes directly into holes cut in the cardboard (and filled with compost). So far, results are amazing! LOVE your conent.
We cannot use any of the hay or straw from our area because they are all sprayed with persistent herbicides. Lesson we learned the hard way. We use composted wood chips from tree companies and our system is mature enough now that we can rely pretty much solely on chop and drop. The fine Myakka sand that we started with is now rich soil! Thank you for sharing!
When covering freshly seeded garden beds, we like to cover them with a feather-dusting of grass clippings (from my own yard, not sprayed). While purposely not enough to stop anything growing through it, it does help shade the soil, and coupled with overplanting a dozen or so types of food seeds, it ends up working out pretty well.
I'm glad you brought up your last statement in this vlog. Many users of hay,as a mulch or animal fodder have had HUGE problems with a chemical Grazeon. It's being sprayed onto hay fields as a broadleaf weed killer. It's then picked up in the hay. Even when used as a fodder it passes through the stomach coming out as manure where it lives happily for up to 2 yrs+. Unfortunately people are using this "composted"manure on there gardens and greenhouses and wonder why there tomatoes are dead. It kills ALL broadleaf plants. You need to ask the supplier if the field was sprayed before using ANY hay.
When I was a kid, I used to read Mother Earth News and organic gardening so I saw a lot about the Ruth Scott method. It made a lot of sense to me but I didn't have a supply of mulch to try it out. Now I am doing wood chip gardening which is awesome to. You are right about the herbicides in Hay. It also does through the animals and into their manure which can kill your garden even after its composted
When you do these informational Q&A type videos, even if it isn't looking like much yet...We'd sure like to see your garden as is at the time! Good points in your talk.
@@sherry2836 Yup, can only concur, a bit of footage from the garden would be great. Not that I don't trust what you are saying, but footage adds another dimension.
Lovely to see you again Derek. I have been struggling with wind and rain on my plot in Wales, and ready to give up. But seeing your latest video had inspired me to keep growing.
I planted some broad beans in soil this year and when it grow to ~15cm I bedded a part with hay - this part came way better than not bedded one and require way less weed removal. Got inspired by Your video! Thank You
I live in East Central Mississippi. Our growing season is almost year round. We planted red potatoes starting in February and then added white and purple potatoes in hay. We've harvested a good number or red potatoes, some purples and a few whites. Also planted sweet potatoes and butternut squash in hay. Just harvested our first butter squash. Dewberry vines, millipedes and ants are out biggest enemies. A little permethrin spray solves the bug problem. This is the first time I've tried the Ruth Stout Method and I will continue in years to come!
Love, love, love your videos!! I love how you explain everything, show your successes and "mistakes" aka experiences. And I especially like your graphics, demonstrating what happens under ground and over time. More videos please!
Absolutely some of the best, most researched videos on YT! Production quality is wonderful, such a pleasure to watch! I use card board between the rows & use different mediums for different crops. I use leaves, hay, woodchips & cardboard. Commercial mulch is a no-no as 90% of it has been treated. I do compost the leaves & woodchips for awhile as well. It has been such a pleasure learning about the Ruth Stout method!
When I hear a face mask advisory not related to COVID, leads me to conclude you guys have reached a success point in disconnecting from "reality". Kudos.
My main garden area isn't very big, about 10x20 feet, so I have bought chicken wire fencing to help keep out the bunnies and other smaller critters, then wrapped that with a four foot fence to deter deer. I use straw as a base during planting for paths, then more for mulch, heavy with the potatoes. For me Straw is more available in my area of Pennsylvania. All other mulch is cut grass over the straw, and in the fall, oak leaves with the grass to keep down the weeds next spring. When planting, clear and repeat. There is a horse stable near me, so free manure every now and then for the compost pile. I rarely need to water. Little trick I learned, but have not yet used, is use a blacklight flashlight to spot for Tomato Hornworms and similar critters. Last year I found 2 young Garter Snakes in my broccoli, bugger trying to catch them in the kitchen! It seems they were doing a number on bug and slug pests that year as there was very little plant damage to anything.
Very nice and informative video! I am an arborist and young TH-camr north of Ottawa, in Cantley. I get literal tons of wood chips every year. I have been using it in my own veggie and fruit garden as well as for fixing soil problems around trees. But even though I shovel plenty of the stuff, I had never heard about farmer's lungs before. I will surely be more careful from now on. I really enjoy your video style. It's clear, concise and humble. We surely need more videos like yours on youtube. Let me know if you ever have tree questions or want to do a collab. ;-) Cheers from Quebec!
@@BackToReality We're just West of Algonquin Parl so know exactly what you're talking about with short seasons and the difficulty in this hardiness zone.
Great video as usual. Enjoyed the comparative, experience based question responses. Also appreciate that you guys don't pump your videos full of filler and the crash course type animated examples are extremely good. Much appreciated. It's really helpful to have people share their hard won experiences, especially when your in the same latitude (ish) and zone. Many thanks and well wished from northern BC!
I appreciate this video. We are using the Back to Eden method but are trying to use more hay because it is more readily available. I've been concerned about the weed seeds but have been keeping the hay under black plastic to help kill the seeds before using.
Oh my gosh look at you!!!!! This just popped up on my phone and when I heard the accent I immediately remembered following you when you were living in the Van. FARM OUT!!!
I love a heavily mulched garden. I pick up wood chips for free at my local dump. This is my first year with my current garden and it's doing well! Next year will be even better.
Being in a small town, my best mulching option is leaves, leaves and more leaves. I can't believe how many leaves people actually want the city to pick up and take away. I just tell everyone that they are raking them up for me.
Yup, i got a load of "killer compost" from the city landfill composting facility. Only after did i realize that they use lawn clippings in the mix and most of those would have some kind of "weed and feed" residue.
Thank you for making this video. I have been growing potatoes in spoiled hay and straw for a while (thanks to you guys) with great success. I got about 10 free bales of straw last year and let the weather have then all winter long. They were rotten by spring and I used the for my potatoes and everything looks good so far. I also do wood chips. (like the beard)
Hello from Baltimore Ontario! So excited I discovered your channel today! I now know what to do with last seasons left over hay. Thanks for the great content.
ALWAYS PLANT WITH 10% EXTRA IN CASE YOU LOOSE ANY!!!! WE JUST PULLED OUR FIRST POTATOES FROM ONE PLANT IN OUR RUTH STOUTH METHOD AND THEY WERE AMAZING 😍!!!!!
yeah slugs seem to be the problem for me when I tried this method. I do however put a very light covering of grass clippings over my broad (Favor) beans when they are about 3 to 4 inches high to help surpress weeds until the plants are big enough to do the job themselves.
Using either straw or hay will yield an absolutely incredible amount of weed seeds. I found this out the hard way. Now I put down cardboard first and put homemade compost on top of that, about 6 in before planting. I am sure Ruth Stout method has worked for others, but I just don't see how unless you can find a source free of seeds.
This is an excellent video, thank you! I'd love to see more of these. I am experimenting with wood mulch, leaf mulch and straw bales (which I cut apart and spread out for my second year-with MUCH more success). So far all of them have been great. The only issue I've run into with straw, especially in the bale form, is it provided excellent space for yellow jackets to build nests. Thanks to videos like yours I keep experimenting with better ways to grow food. Right now we're in a city but we hope to be moving soon to a more open area. Your videos will help me develop my garden there as well. Thanks again!
Thanks so much for sharing, Libby! I'm really glad that your experiments have worked out so far! Please keep let us know how they continue to progress! :)
I'm straight south of you along the St Lawrence. Have done a straw bed garden for 3 years now and have had far more successes than failures. This spring slugs invaded our garden as the drought became severe. We were forced to remove the mulch to save the vegetables and are now winning the battle. Each year is different and you must adapt.
Just putting this out there 🤷🏻♂️ had a dream that Derrick was my horticulture teacher and we both though it was super cool that I’d watched his videos and he’s responded to my comments before
Definitely seen the increase of slugs in my garden after using R-S method this year, but one benefit he didn't mention is that this method makes your garden soil a WORM SANCTUARY. I live in an area of Canada (same zone as BTR actually) with very clay heavy soil and the increased worm population is now making the soil much easier to dig through (especially since we didn't till). we simply laid the cardboard and hay before the winter came in 2019 and come growing season 2020, the earth was so easy to dig through to plant our crops into the ground. We have definitely seen more pros with this method than cons and will continue to use it when we can!!! Thanks to BTR for all their videos as that's how I learned about this method in the first place :)
great video I may have missed this years opportunity to start a garden this way but it for sure is on the list for next year. Thanks and keep up the great content
Great informative video. I am going to try this method starting this year starting with my first hay spread in the area I am going to use. Going to use several of your methods and veggies. All in my suburban "mini-homestead".
We just love you’re incredibly informative and well designed videos! Growing potatoes via Ruth Stout method this year, thanks to you guys! Keep up all this glorious content! We appreciate you!
Absolute love this channel, wish I'd have found it sooner. One good thing, I got plenty of videos to watch over the next couple of days 👍🏻💯 liked shared and Subscribed.
Yes! Please do the follow-up video on the rhizomal grass! I have found the exact same thing here in NZ. Other mulching I've tried: 1. bamboo leafy tops as mulch: Didn't provide good enough coverage for weed suppression. The woody stems make it difficult to plant or weed and take ages to decompose. 2. leaf mulch in the greenhouse: Way too wet. Caused an explosion in slugs and some issues with stem rot when the mulch was pulled in too close. I also suspect it slowed down growth as it kept the soil cooler than it would be if it was exposed to sunlight. However, I do have several greenhouse frogs now, which is a cool. 3. cardboard + leaves to suppress convulvulus/morning glory: surprisingly successful after the second year of mulching. Down to two stems pulled this year for the entire bed (edit: down from hundreds). Cheers!
To get to no dig before having enough compost. I use mulch . The mulch I have comes from Rhodes grass..mainly. I cut it when it had died back. So it was a mix of green near the ground and dry straw coloured at the top. I'm in zone 10 Qld Australia. As for weeds..I didn't care too much. It's a lot easier to pull weeds from mulch rather than soil. For some reason the Rhodes grass ( some rats tail weeds) doesn't grow back. I cut my long grass by slashing. Then I use the ride on mower to break it down to small pieces. This makes it easier to use and it doubles as compost. I enjoy the vids. Like you I'm no expert. I like experimenting also. My garden has many beds. Some for of lasagne layering. Bare soil lightly mulched. Deeply mulched, and now I have my own compost an actual no dig bed. It's amazing to see the difference. Some areas despite watering is dry 6 inches down. Others are moist some wet in lower lying areas..dips.
I garden in a hot, dry, windy climate where wheat straw is readily available and cheap. I use it to mulch heavily and have found that it packs down just fine and will stay in place on my beds all summer and even through the winter. And, FYI, damp bales of hay and straw can spontaneously combust, so it's best to break up any damp ones.
As another data point and mulching option, I've been using a combination of fresh hay mulch from a meadow on my property for field planting, and shredded brown cardboard for the raised beds. I find the cardboard is much easier to work with around smaller, more delicate plants and is completely weed seed free. I have more than enough fresh hay from the meadow, so the excess gets composted and spread on the raised beds, before being topped with the shredded cardboard. The field crops are standard deep mulch friendly and deer resistant potatoes, garlic, onions, squash, melons, while the raised bed crops, like sweet peas, tomatoes, carrots, beans, herbs, are inside an electric fence. This has been working well for me in Zone 7 in the mid-Atlantic region.
I’ve added egg shells that I’ve baked to kill bacteria. Surround the tatter with some shells then add the hay. I’ve done layers which has eliminated my problem
Love your videos, thanks! I am trying to keep out the voles and moles by lining my raised beds with a stainless mesh - the critters come from above! Since I started mulching the vegetables, they are growing much better. I use arborists wood chips, because that’s the cheapest available. Keep up with the informative and nice video, love to follow your story!
YES, more videos please. I love your videos & I wish you would do more of them. But I understand if you don't. They are time consuming. Chris from Missouri
Inspired by your videos and permaculture principles we threw bean, radish, beets, pea, and kohlrabi SEEDS directly into new Ruth Stout beds. Very little composting has occurred yet, but everything has begun to grow! We're curious to see how they hold up root wise with no real soil yet developed. Thanks for the videos and inspiration to try new things!
Love the info you present and how you show us diagrams and explain things. Have you had anyone give info on what to do to prep garden for winter after having squash bugs invade winter squash with cardboard covering ground?We have straw covering beds next to the sqush. My plan was to cover the squash bed with straw once I clean up the dead vines. Concerned I will give the bugs a nice place to overwinter.
@Jonathan Perry I'm a big fan of interplanting alliums with my other edibles as well. Yesterday evening I scattered some fresh onion greens on the topsoil around my tomato plants. Kind of a chop and drop to ward off pests! Hoping that it's effective!
Really like Your videos, as I do love your humble and curious approach. Thanks for sharing! I found woodchip mulching simply wonderful for strawberries, just be sure that chips come from small and nutrient branches (I shred them by myself). In my area I have slug issues, straw and hay are not a good choice, but I harvest them for composting.
In Southern Ontario: In regard to your strawberries, I would also suspect they were either not viable or too weak. Last fall I decided to attempt to smother the strawberries that were growing around my blueberry bushes by burying them under 8 inches of wood chip. The berries were old and riddled with bind weed and smothering seemed like the best option for starting over. I did not lay down cardboard because the mulch was very thick. This spring much to my surprise, both the strawberries and the bindweed had no trouble finding their way through all that wood chip. And if old strawberries can do that, then hay should not have been a problem. This year is my first time using hay on some of my no dig raised beds. I am amazed that the beds have needed so little water in spite of several early heat waves of 30 degrees C. There have been some slugs and I also have lots of toads! I am using it for tomatoes, peppers and melons, so we'll see how it goes. Love your videos!
I got some spoiled hay that apparently had herbicide in it. It made my garden have so many issues. Atrophied nightshade plants and keeping other plants from coming up. I haven't had that issue with straw....yet
Can confirm. Aminopyralids were accidentally distributed through a two part mix to a bunch of gardens where i live this year, including mine. But on the bright side, we got to learn about bioremediation and how fast a garden can be fixed when accidentally poisoned. It's something we're not going to be able to avoid anymore.
I got inspired by your video. I am in the south of Québec. Up until the weather got hot and dry, the garden was being severely attacked my slugs and snails. The damaged all my beans, peas, most of cabbages and peppers. Now I come out every morning and evening on a slug hunt and it seems that the slug population has gone down. I have planted more in the greenhouse to transfer the plants later when they already have a few leaves. So far planting the seeds(carrots, beets, turnips, beans, peas, flowers) in a mulch garden did not turn out succesfully. I am not sure if they did not come out or the slugs ate them.
Thank you for your videos. You must clear the mulch and fully expose the soil to the sun for seed planting. update from mid michigan . 1st year stouter. the straw is too deep for corn to come up through. I used straw for less seed.... it really worked to keep it moist. I turned it and found sprouts that had given up in the thick wet mass .... so Im planting the beans and squash that were to be between corn . but after I clear the mulch away and expose bare soil. Ill mulch around them as they grow but see they dont want to grow through.
Whoa! Who is this guy? Been watching your videos for a while now, then all of a sudden there is this slimmed down buffed up lumberjack looking dude with the same voice on your channel. Well done man, good on ya.
I don't have a garden, but do find your gardening videos interesting and informative. My question is, when are you going to pack up the van and take a road-trip? That's how I came across your channel years ago, and enjoyed the van videos as well. It would be nice to see you on the road again, even if only for a short trip occasionally.
Another high quality piece. A few questions if I may: 1) Would you consider doing more progress videos as you did for May as well? Great to see the process. 2) Have you looked into vermicomposing? Worm castings are incredible for the garden, as well as the liquid gold it produces. (Haven’t gotten the ok for that yet, but would be great to see one of your presentations on the matter.) 3) Any animals in the future for you guys? Rabbits produce cold manure, ducks are fantastic at pest removal with great cold resistance, and marketable eggs. (Not to mention they have unique personalities each and are endearing!), etc. 4) building off the 3rd question, have you looked at sylviopasture and using animals to prepare fields set between orchards or timber sets? Thanks again for the insight and sharing of your family’s experiences!
Thanks!! :) 1. We are definitely hoping to include more progress videos throughout the season. Or at least, include progress updates within other videos. 2. We have read quite a bit about vermicomposting, but haven't attempted any yet. So far, we've just relied on the vast population of worms in the soil under our mulch. But in general, I'd like to start experimenting more with composting of various types. 3. We don't have any plans to adopt animals right away, but have been considering trying to "rescue" some in the future. We would absolutely LOVE to get to know their individual personalities, and think they would add an enjoyable dimension to our life. :) 4. I've not yet heard of sylviopasture, but will absolutely check it out! Thanks!
I ended up getting an ad for rubber mulch right after this 😂 one of the benefits being that it doesn't decompose like wood mulch so you only have to apply once a decade
Grew garlic in the way you and the misses did and it turned out great! In your zone, please look into a small greenhouse with the weather the way it has been and going to be its going to be hard raising crops outside. I'm in zone 6 and experiencing issues now.
In regards to the seeds of weeds within the hay, if you ask the farmer for purchasing the 2nd or 3rd "cutting" of the year, you should have less weed growth within the hay. It is what the animals (cows & horses), which I had been familiar with when growing up on a mid-west farm in Northern Indiana. The animals preferred the later cutting over the first cuttings bales of hay.
Technically, I would be using the same as hay. I mow a wild meadow with a rear bag mower. I would consider the main benefit of mulch to be moisture retention. Especially for shallow rooted crops. Even though we get a fair amount of precipitation, I found that bare soil, on a hot sunny day, dries out in a flash! WTR Slugs, I found meadow clippings mulch to have no effect on amount of slug damage Voles have tunneled but not damaged the crops. This last winter, the voles were extra active though. so we will see
Thank you for your very well-researched and informative videos. I just found your channel when searching for information about the Ruth Stout method. Her method and Paul Gautschi's method sound like they would work very well for me. I just need to find a good source of straw and/or wood chips near me. (I will check out your linked videos.) I will continue to watch your videos to learn more. I really appreciate what you are both doing and for sharing such great information. (I am in Indiana, by the way.)
I built three Ruth Stout beds last fall based on these videos: - One was for onions and garlic - just harvested them, and I learned a bit about what to do and not to do for next year. - One is under a old swing frame, currently supporting some tomatoes, gourds, and cucumbers. All are doing remarkably well so far. - The last is supporting the Three Sisters (corn, pole beans, and squash), plus the Fourth Sister of sunflowers. Corn and beans are outstanding, and the different squashes (acorn, zucchini, and two types of pumpkin) are loving it. The beds all started with hay from a local cattle farmer, and were augmented with fallen leaves and grass clippings. Thanks for the videos, and for the admonition to always keep experimenting. I've got plans for next year's garden, and they all start with more hay from my local supplier!
I had a mouse problem last year and I think I'm going to have another mouse problem this year with the potatoes. I've taken to soaking the potatoes every night with water and coffee grounds to help drive them out. I also have a mix of tea chili powder garlic powder onion powder and cinnamon that I sprinkle around the edges of my garden and sometimes through it. I'm currently having a problem with slugs in my green beans chewing them down to the stems. I'm at the point where I'm attempting to put salt on my plants to kill them. I took about 50 slugs mostly babies off my plants last night after watering them. I'm going to try again tonight to get a few more
You make nice videos, thank you. But recreate the drawing of the potato plant. Almost all roots are on the stems that emerge from the mother tuber. A single thin root is attached to the stolon. But no roots on the tubers.
![ละลาย (LALALYE) - DAOU PITTAYA ต้าห์อู๋ พิทยา [OFFICIAL MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/wo6r9TgausI/mqdefault.jpg)
6th generation farmer in southern Idaho. Straw is specifically harvested when the seeds are ripe. Hay is cut mostly while the pants are still green and growing. The seeds are far from ripe yet. I used straw in my garden against my better judgment. I've spent hours pulling the grain that's sprouted that was still in the straw. Straw will give you 10 times the seeds in your soil as hay will.
I found the same thing, thanks for sharing your experience with us all.
This has been my experience too. Straw in my area has tons of wheat seeds in it, makes for an unpleasant mulch. The seeds will sprout even in bales that are used as fall decorations, still in bale form.
Daniel. Is straw routinely sprayed with herbicides in the US like hay can be? I used hay a couple of years back and am still suffering the consequences of it.
@@happybeehoney3461 depends on the farm growing it. A lot of farms spray it with 2 4D. 2 4D kills broad leaf plants but not the grasses or grains. So they use it to kill the weeds in the grain fields without hurting the grain. It has a residue that call last a year I know. But not everyone sprays their crops. You need to find a farm you know doesn't spray. In my area I don't know of anyone that sprays their hay with anything other than fertilizer. But if it has been sprayed with herbicide you'll want to stay away from it.
Idk. All they sell in Ohio at stores and Craigslist is "straw". I haven't had any problems with sprouting straw.
I planted garlic and bush beans together., and in separate patches...all the bush beans where eaten by the rabbits. But, they didnt eat any of the bush beans planted in the garlic.
@Tales of the Red Pill That is E X C I T I N G news! Thank you.
@@gardenboots7464 your welcome
About 3 years ago I picked up a well used book by one Ruth Stout, hadn't heard about her prior to that but found it was the most logical gardening approach I had ever heard of. Finally this Spring I decided to put her method into action and have, so far, been very pleased with the results. I can also say, on beds where I direct seeded 'without hay', disaster! I suppose initially I didn't water frequently enough. I'm going to 'hay' them over and start those beds from scratch 🙃. My Ruth Stout, unwatered potato and turnip beds are doing marvellously! I couldn't be more excited! Thank you for this reaffirmation, I totally agree with every single thing you said. I'm in! 😃 ... Brenda, Nova Scotia
Well, I have learned by trial and error that the location that Ruth Stout gardened (Connecticut I believe) and South Carolina where I live have pretty much rendered the "No Weed, No Watering, No Work" garden a myth. Every thing you said in the video is what I have found. The hay cuts down on the weeds but you must be vigilant about weeding every other day - at least in my garden! Keep up the wonderful videos and helpful information. Y'all are appreciated.
I’ve found with wood chips as mulch I only have to weed every other week or so.
When I was sowing potatoes this spring I had some left over seed tubers with no more room in the potato patch. I remembered your video showing how you Ruth Stouted some under hay, and I got inspired. I had no hay, but I threw the tators on the ground in an area near the wood line and covered them with a mound of last year's tree leaves and pine needles. I never even watered them, but sure enough, I have potato plants coming up. Unfortunately I won't be able to report on the final results as we will move before the fall harvest, but I'm guessing it will be a success. Experimentation is great.
I appreciate your disclosures at start of video. You set a good example.
You are aboot my most fav. canadian. Love your channel
Great video...I'm a middle aged farm wife from Alberta and I'd second every statement you've made...I'm only a few years into the no dig method so I'm still learning after planting my garden in tilled soil for decades. My best advice would be to get a personal relationship with the person supplying your hay or straw and ask the right questions before you use it. Those few questions and the trust that the answers are honest is paramount for good results. Even if one of our neighbors offers me old straw or mulch, I ask which field it's off and then ask my guys whether it's had spray on it or not, or if the straw will be weedy.
We are all learning as we go, my friend.
Your voice is so full of soothing inquisitive energy.
Have you thought about a podcast where you talk about methods to practice observing and journaling our environment? So that even folks stuck in a studio apartment right now can start practicing the observation and documentation skills they'll need to thrive on their dream homestead?
I love his voice.
I linked my mother (an avid gardner) to your other video about Ruth Stout Method a couple months ago and she decided to try it for her potatoes this year. They are doing absolutely amazing and we will probably be using it going forward. Thanks for teaching us something new!
Thank you Darrick (and Paula). Your videos are always good and very informative, but I suspect, it is not just because you research so much, or what you document. But it is very much because of your honestly and your character - your spirit seeking to a enjoy balanced life and your passion for sharing. - From my heart, "Thanks".
I'm in US Zone 7 (north of Atlanta by about 45 miles). We live in a suburb that was once very rural and has many horse farms. I got a big bale of hay earlier this year from a local farmer, and we spread it on a plot in our garden to try this Ruth Stout method with potatoes. And, so far, we've been really pleased with the results. Out of about 20 plants, I've harvested five or so as they start to turn (these are all early/new potatoes planted March 7), and the results have been great. Eager to get another bale and layer on some additional hay for planting a new crop for fall harvest. (Also, as an experiment, topped hay layer with pulpy cardboard (the kind that comes in a case of wine), and planted tomatoes directly into holes cut in the cardboard (and filled with compost). So far, results are amazing! LOVE your conent.
We cannot use any of the hay or straw from our area because they are all sprayed with persistent herbicides. Lesson we learned the hard way. We use composted wood chips from tree companies and our system is mature enough now that we can rely pretty much solely on chop and drop. The fine Myakka sand that we started with is now rich soil! Thank you for sharing!
You always explain everything so clearly, and the visuals really help! Thanks for doing the FAQ, it was very informative :-)
When covering freshly seeded garden beds, we like to cover them with a feather-dusting of grass clippings (from my own yard, not sprayed). While purposely not enough to stop anything growing through it, it does help shade the soil, and coupled with overplanting a dozen or so types of food seeds, it ends up working out pretty well.
I'm glad you brought up your last statement in this vlog.
Many users of hay,as a mulch or animal fodder have had HUGE problems with a chemical Grazeon.
It's being sprayed onto hay fields as a broadleaf weed killer. It's then picked up in the hay. Even when used as a fodder it passes through the stomach coming out as manure where it lives happily for up to 2 yrs+. Unfortunately people are using this "composted"manure on there gardens and greenhouses and wonder why there tomatoes are dead. It kills ALL broadleaf plants.
You need to ask the supplier if the field was sprayed before using ANY hay.
When I was a kid, I used to read Mother Earth News and organic gardening so I saw a lot about the Ruth Scott method. It made a lot of sense to me but I didn't have a supply of mulch to try it out. Now I am doing wood chip gardening which is awesome to. You are right about the herbicides in Hay. It also does through the animals and into their manure which can kill your garden even after its composted
When you do these informational Q&A type videos, even if it isn't looking like much yet...We'd sure like to see your garden as is at the time! Good points in your talk.
Yes, I was thinking the same thing. Good info but would be nice to see the garden as the season progresses.
@@sherry2836 they do have lots of videos of that in this channel... they have the start and the follow ups
they do have lots of videos of that in this channel... they have the start and the follow ups
👍
@@sherry2836 Yup, can only concur, a bit of footage from the garden would be great. Not that I don't trust what you are saying, but footage adds another dimension.
Lovely to see you again Derek.
I have been struggling with wind and rain on my plot in Wales, and ready to give up. But seeing your latest video had inspired me to keep growing.
My favorite person is back! I really missed you guys. Thank you for making videos! Can't wait for your next one. In the meantime happy farming🙂
I planted some broad beans in soil this year and when it grow to ~15cm I bedded a part with hay - this part came way better than not bedded one and require way less weed removal. Got inspired by Your video! Thank You
I live in East Central Mississippi. Our growing season is almost year round. We planted red potatoes starting in February and then added white and purple potatoes in hay. We've harvested a good number or red potatoes, some purples and a few whites. Also planted sweet potatoes and butternut squash in hay. Just harvested our first butter squash. Dewberry vines, millipedes and ants are out biggest enemies. A little permethrin spray solves the bug problem. This is the first time I've tried the Ruth Stout Method and I will continue in years to come!
I am so glad you explained the difference between straw and hay. Thank you
Love, love, love your videos!! I love how you explain everything, show your successes and "mistakes" aka experiences. And I especially like your graphics, demonstrating what happens under ground and over time. More videos please!
Absolutely some of the best, most researched videos on YT! Production quality is wonderful, such a pleasure to watch! I use card board between the rows & use different mediums for different crops. I use leaves, hay, woodchips & cardboard. Commercial mulch is a no-no as 90% of it has been treated.
I do compost the leaves & woodchips for awhile as well. It has been such a pleasure learning about the Ruth Stout method!
I vote for more Q & A videos. They are informative, well done, and I like them. Thanks for sharing.
When I hear a face mask advisory not related to COVID, leads me to conclude you guys have reached a success point in disconnecting from "reality". Kudos.
My main garden area isn't very big, about 10x20 feet, so I have bought chicken wire fencing to help keep out the bunnies and other smaller critters, then wrapped that with a four foot fence to deter deer. I use straw as a base during planting for paths, then more for mulch, heavy with the potatoes. For me Straw is more available in my area of Pennsylvania. All other mulch is cut grass over the straw, and in the fall, oak leaves with the grass to keep down the weeds next spring. When planting, clear and repeat. There is a horse stable near me, so free manure every now and then for the compost pile. I rarely need to water. Little trick I learned, but have not yet used, is use a blacklight flashlight to spot for Tomato Hornworms and similar critters. Last year I found 2 young Garter Snakes in my broccoli, bugger trying to catch them in the kitchen! It seems they were doing a number on bug and slug pests that year as there was very little plant damage to anything.
Very nice and informative video! I am an arborist and young TH-camr north of Ottawa, in Cantley.
I get literal tons of wood chips every year. I have been using it in my own veggie and fruit garden as well as for fixing soil problems around trees. But even though I shovel plenty of the stuff, I had never heard about farmer's lungs before. I will surely be more careful from now on.
I really enjoy your video style. It's clear, concise and humble. We surely need more videos like yours on youtube. Let me know if you ever have tree questions or want to do a collab. ;-)
Cheers from Quebec!
Love your videos guys! Keep up the good work! Haircut looks great btw.
Thanks so much! :)
@@BackToReality We're just West of Algonquin Parl so know exactly what you're talking about with short seasons and the difficulty in this hardiness zone.
Yes, I love the haircut, too.
@@BackToReality llklllllljhu
Great video as usual. Enjoyed the comparative, experience based question responses. Also appreciate that you guys don't pump your videos full of filler and the crash course type animated examples are extremely good. Much appreciated. It's really helpful to have people share their hard won experiences, especially when your in the same latitude (ish) and zone. Many thanks and well wished from northern BC!
I appreciate this video. We are using the Back to Eden method but are trying to use more hay because it is more readily available. I've been concerned about the weed seeds but have been keeping the hay under black plastic to help kill the seeds before using.
Really appreciate the clarity and care you put into your videos!
Oh my gosh look at you!!!!! This just popped up on my phone and when I heard the accent I immediately remembered following you when you were living in the Van. FARM OUT!!!
We’re using a mix of straw, grass, and leaves for our Ruth Stout bed. It’s going well so far!
goign to start this year with lawn clippings first, then leaves/hay in the fall.
I love a heavily mulched garden. I pick up wood chips for free at my local dump. This is my first year with my current garden and it's doing well! Next year will be even better.
Being in a small town, my best mulching option is leaves, leaves and more leaves. I can't believe how many leaves people actually want the city to pick up and take away. I just tell everyone that they are raking them up for me.
Chicago suburbs, my uncle runs a private business for municipal composting, so many leaves, bush and tree branches, and mulch
Love you guys! 👩🏼🌾💕👨🌾 good vibes your way!
Yup, i got a load of "killer compost" from the city landfill composting facility. Only after did i realize that they use lawn clippings in the mix and most of those would have some kind of "weed and feed" residue.
Sorry to hear this. How did you recover your garden after realizing you had used killer compost?
Overall, I'm sure any food you grow in that soil will still be 10x better than commercially grown food with regard to pesticides and defoliants.
Thank you for making this video. I have been growing potatoes in spoiled hay and straw for a while (thanks to you guys) with great success. I got about 10 free bales of straw last year and let the weather have then all winter long. They were rotten by spring and I used the for my potatoes and everything looks good so far. I also do wood chips. (like the beard)
Hello from Baltimore Ontario! So excited I discovered your channel today! I now know what to do with last seasons left over hay. Thanks for the great content.
ALWAYS PLANT WITH 10% EXTRA IN CASE YOU LOOSE ANY!!!! WE JUST PULLED OUR FIRST POTATOES FROM ONE PLANT IN OUR RUTH STOUTH METHOD AND THEY WERE AMAZING 😍!!!!!
Your videos have the best animations!!
yeah slugs seem to be the problem for me when I tried this method. I do however put a very light covering of grass clippings over my broad (Favor) beans when they are about 3 to 4 inches high to help surpress weeds until the plants are big enough to do the job themselves.
Good to see a new video. 🙂🖖
Using either straw or hay will yield an absolutely incredible amount of weed seeds. I found this out the hard way. Now I put down cardboard first and put homemade compost on top of that, about 6 in before planting. I am sure Ruth Stout method has worked for others, but I just don't see how unless you can find a source free of seeds.
This is an excellent video, thank you! I'd love to see more of these. I am experimenting with wood mulch, leaf mulch and straw bales (which I cut apart and spread out for my second year-with MUCH more success). So far all of them have been great. The only issue I've run into with straw, especially in the bale form, is it provided excellent space for yellow jackets to build nests. Thanks to videos like yours I keep experimenting with better ways to grow food. Right now we're in a city but we hope to be moving soon to a more open area. Your videos will help me develop my garden there as well. Thanks again!
Thanks so much for sharing, Libby! I'm really glad that your experiments have worked out so far! Please keep let us know how they continue to progress! :)
I'm straight south of you along the St Lawrence. Have done a straw bed garden for 3 years now and have had far more successes than failures. This spring slugs invaded our garden as the drought became severe. We were forced to remove the mulch to save the vegetables and are now winning the battle. Each year is different and you must adapt.
I cut a plastic bottle in half and put it in the garden bed cut end up then fill it with cheap beer. Has significantly reduced my slug problems.
Half way through the year already. Thank you for another great video. Hope you are both keeping well
Just putting this out there 🤷🏻♂️ had a dream that Derrick was my horticulture teacher and we both though it was super cool that I’d watched his videos and he’s responded to my comments before
Lol! Well, I'm sure you were a wonderful student! ;)
Back To Reality HAHA. What can I say, I’ve learned from the best
Definitely seen the increase of slugs in my garden after using R-S method this year, but one benefit he didn't mention is that this method makes your garden soil a WORM SANCTUARY.
I live in an area of Canada (same zone as BTR actually) with very clay heavy soil and the increased worm population is now making the soil much easier to dig through (especially since we didn't till). we simply laid the cardboard and hay before the winter came in 2019 and come growing season 2020, the earth was so easy to dig through to plant our crops into the ground.
We have definitely seen more pros with this method than cons and will continue to use it when we can!!! Thanks to BTR for all their videos as that's how I learned about this method in the first place :)
great video I may have missed this years opportunity to start a garden this way but it for sure is on the list for next year. Thanks and keep up the great content
Great informative video. I am going to try this method starting this year starting with my first hay spread in the area I am going to use. Going to use several of your methods and veggies. All in my suburban "mini-homestead".
as always... the info and style of presentation are top notch! keep 'em comin'!
We just love you’re incredibly informative and well designed videos! Growing potatoes via Ruth Stout method this year, thanks to you guys! Keep up all this glorious content! We appreciate you!
Absolute love this channel, wish I'd have found it sooner. One good thing, I got plenty of videos to watch over the next couple of days 👍🏻💯 liked shared and Subscribed.
Leaves have worked great for me this year. We never water our potatoes and the soil retains moisture from rains perfectly.
Location? City, state
Yes! Please do the follow-up video on the rhizomal grass! I have found the exact same thing here in NZ.
Other mulching I've tried:
1. bamboo leafy tops as mulch: Didn't provide good enough coverage for weed suppression. The woody stems make it difficult to plant or weed and take ages to decompose.
2. leaf mulch in the greenhouse: Way too wet. Caused an explosion in slugs and some issues with stem rot when the mulch was pulled in too close. I also suspect it slowed down growth as it kept the soil cooler than it would be if it was exposed to sunlight. However, I do have several greenhouse frogs now, which is a cool.
3. cardboard + leaves to suppress convulvulus/morning glory: surprisingly successful after the second year of mulching. Down to two stems pulled this year for the entire bed (edit: down from hundreds).
Cheers!
best canadian youtuber
Love this kind of video.always learn a lot. Thank you.
I enjoy catching up with you guys. Be well. Stay safe.
To get to no dig before having enough compost. I use mulch .
The mulch I have comes from Rhodes grass..mainly.
I cut it when it had died back. So it was a mix of green near the ground and dry straw coloured at the top.
I'm in zone 10 Qld Australia.
As for weeds..I didn't care too much. It's a lot easier to pull weeds from mulch rather than soil. For some reason the Rhodes grass ( some rats tail weeds) doesn't grow back.
I cut my long grass by slashing. Then I use the ride on mower to break it down to small pieces. This makes it easier to use and it doubles as compost.
I enjoy the vids. Like you I'm no expert. I like experimenting also. My garden has many beds. Some for of lasagne layering. Bare soil lightly mulched. Deeply mulched, and now I have my own compost an actual no dig bed.
It's amazing to see the difference. Some areas despite watering is dry 6 inches down. Others are moist some wet in lower lying areas..dips.
Nice vid again! I'd love to see how you handle those grasses.... I have a similar problem
I garden in a hot, dry, windy climate where wheat straw is readily available and cheap. I use it to mulch heavily and have found that it packs down just fine and will stay in place on my beds all summer and even through the winter. And, FYI, damp bales of hay and straw can spontaneously combust, so it's best to break up any damp ones.
As another data point and mulching option, I've been using a combination of fresh hay mulch from a meadow on my property for field planting, and shredded brown cardboard for the raised beds. I find the cardboard is much easier to work with around smaller, more delicate plants and is completely weed seed free. I have more than enough fresh hay from the meadow, so the excess gets composted and spread on the raised beds, before being topped with the shredded cardboard. The field crops are standard deep mulch friendly and deer resistant potatoes, garlic, onions, squash, melons, while the raised bed crops, like sweet peas, tomatoes, carrots, beans, herbs, are inside an electric fence. This has been working well for me in Zone 7 in the mid-Atlantic region.
Awesome. This takes a lot of patience trial and error!
Love your videos. Your a great teacher and speaker. Than you!
I’ve added egg shells that I’ve baked to kill bacteria. Surround the tatter with some shells then add the hay. I’ve done layers which has eliminated my problem
Thank you for sharing ! I really love the animation visual. Learned a lot as well.
Please keep it going.
You guys are doing some great work. It’s also nice to see videos from my area (5b Eastern Ontario). Keep up the good work.
Thank you so much for your honesty and simplicity...I really enjoyed your video!
Love your videos, thanks! I am trying to keep out the voles and moles by lining my raised beds with a stainless mesh - the critters come from above! Since I started mulching the vegetables, they are growing much better. I use arborists wood chips, because that’s the cheapest available. Keep up with the informative and nice video, love to follow your story!
YES, more videos please. I love your videos & I wish you would do more of them. But I understand if you don't. They are time consuming.
Chris from Missouri
Inspired by your videos and permaculture principles we threw bean, radish, beets, pea, and kohlrabi SEEDS directly into new Ruth Stout beds. Very little composting has occurred yet, but everything has begun to grow! We're curious to see how they hold up root wise with no real soil yet developed. Thanks for the videos and inspiration to try new things!
Love the info you present and how you show us diagrams and explain things. Have you had anyone give info on what to do to prep garden for winter after having squash bugs invade winter squash with cardboard covering ground?We have straw covering beds next to the sqush. My plan was to cover the squash bed with straw once I clean up the dead vines. Concerned I will give the bugs a nice place to overwinter.
I find that planting 1 garlic plant in between my herbs and tomatoes has kept them from being another creatures lunch
@Jonathan Perry I'm a big fan of interplanting alliums with my other edibles as well. Yesterday evening I scattered some fresh onion greens on the topsoil around my tomato plants. Kind of a chop and drop to ward off pests! Hoping that it's effective!
Really like Your videos, as I do love your humble and curious approach. Thanks for sharing! I found woodchip mulching simply wonderful for strawberries, just be sure that chips come from small and nutrient branches (I shred them by myself). In my area I have slug issues, straw and hay are not a good choice, but I harvest them for composting.
In Southern Ontario: In regard to your strawberries, I would also suspect they were either not viable or too weak. Last fall I decided to attempt to smother the strawberries that were growing around my blueberry bushes by burying them under 8 inches of wood chip. The berries were old and riddled with bind weed and smothering seemed like the best option for starting over. I did not lay down cardboard because the mulch was very thick. This spring much to my surprise, both the strawberries and the bindweed had no trouble finding their way through all that wood chip. And if old strawberries can do that, then hay should not have been a problem. This year is my first time using hay on some of my no dig raised beds. I am amazed that the beds have needed so little water in spite of several early heat waves of 30 degrees C. There have been some slugs and I also have lots of toads! I am using it for tomatoes, peppers and melons, so we'll see how it goes. Love your videos!
Beautiful video.. very useful. Thankyou for greate informations. This is my first year trying mulch and no dig. And so far..looks promising. :)
I got some spoiled hay that apparently had herbicide in it. It made my garden have so many issues. Atrophied nightshade plants and keeping other plants from coming up. I haven't had that issue with straw....yet
David the Good talks abt this problem. Google Aminopyrralids. Those pesticides sapparently retard the growth of many plants
Can confirm. Aminopyralids were accidentally distributed through a two part mix to a bunch of gardens where i live this year, including mine. But on the bright side, we got to learn about bioremediation and how fast a garden can be fixed when accidentally poisoned. It's something we're not going to be able to avoid anymore.
I got inspired by your video. I am in the south of Québec. Up until the weather got hot and dry, the garden was being severely attacked my slugs and snails. The damaged all my beans, peas, most of cabbages and peppers. Now I come out every morning and evening on a slug hunt and it seems that the slug population has gone down. I have planted more in the greenhouse to transfer the plants later when they already have a few leaves. So far planting the seeds(carrots, beets, turnips, beans, peas, flowers) in a mulch garden did not turn out succesfully. I am not sure if they did not come out or the slugs ate them.
Thank you for your videos.
You must clear the mulch and fully expose the soil to the sun for seed planting. update from mid michigan . 1st year stouter. the straw is too deep for corn to come up through. I used straw for less seed.... it really worked to keep it moist. I turned it and found sprouts that had given up in the thick wet mass .... so Im planting the beans and squash that were to be between corn . but after I clear the mulch away and expose bare soil. Ill mulch around them as they grow but see they dont want to grow through.
Whoa! Who is this guy? Been watching your videos for a while now, then all of a sudden there is this slimmed down buffed up lumberjack looking dude with the same voice on your channel. Well done man, good on ya.
I don't have a garden, but do find your gardening videos interesting and informative. My question is, when are you going to pack up the van and take a road-trip? That's how I came across your channel years ago, and enjoyed the van videos as well. It would be nice to see you on the road again, even if only for a short trip occasionally.
Another high quality piece. A few questions if I may: 1) Would you consider doing more progress videos as you did for May as well? Great to see the process. 2) Have you looked into vermicomposing? Worm castings are incredible for the garden, as well as the liquid gold it produces. (Haven’t gotten the ok for that yet, but would be great to see one of your presentations on the matter.) 3) Any animals in the future for you guys? Rabbits produce cold manure, ducks are fantastic at pest removal with great cold resistance, and marketable eggs. (Not to mention they have unique personalities each and are endearing!), etc. 4) building off the 3rd question, have you looked at sylviopasture and using animals to prepare fields set between orchards or timber sets? Thanks again for the insight and sharing of your family’s experiences!
Thanks!! :)
1. We are definitely hoping to include more progress videos throughout the season. Or at least, include progress updates within other videos. 2. We have read quite a bit about vermicomposting, but haven't attempted any yet. So far, we've just relied on the vast population of worms in the soil under our mulch. But in general, I'd like to start experimenting more with composting of various types. 3. We don't have any plans to adopt animals right away, but have been considering trying to "rescue" some in the future. We would absolutely LOVE to get to know their individual personalities, and think they would add an enjoyable dimension to our life. :) 4. I've not yet heard of sylviopasture, but will absolutely check it out! Thanks!
I ended up getting an ad for rubber mulch right after this 😂 one of the benefits being that it doesn't decompose like wood mulch so you only have to apply once a decade
Grew garlic in the way you and the misses did and it turned out great! In your zone, please look into a small greenhouse with the weather the way it has been and going to be its going to be hard raising crops outside. I'm in zone 6 and experiencing issues now.
Very straight forward answers! 👍👍
In regards to the seeds of weeds within the hay, if you ask the farmer for purchasing the 2nd or 3rd "cutting" of the year, you should have less weed growth within the hay. It is what the animals (cows & horses), which I had been familiar with when growing up on a mid-west farm in Northern Indiana. The animals preferred the later cutting over the first cuttings bales of hay.
Thanks. Love all your vids. I live on Long Island in New York state.
Technically, I would be using the same as hay. I mow a wild meadow with a rear bag mower.
I would consider the main benefit of mulch to be moisture retention. Especially for shallow rooted crops.
Even though we get a fair amount of precipitation, I found that bare soil, on a hot sunny day, dries out in a flash!
WTR Slugs, I found meadow clippings mulch to have no effect on amount of slug damage
Voles have tunneled but not damaged the crops. This last winter, the voles were extra active though. so we will see
Thank you for your very well-researched and informative videos. I just found your channel when searching for information about the Ruth Stout method. Her method and Paul Gautschi's method sound like they would work very well for me. I just need to find a good source of straw and/or wood chips near me. (I will check out your linked videos.) I will continue to watch your videos to learn more. I really appreciate what you are both doing and for sharing such great information. (I am in Indiana, by the way.)
As usual wonderfully informative. Any chance of a garden tour video?
I built three Ruth Stout beds last fall based on these videos:
- One was for onions and garlic - just harvested them, and I learned a bit about what to do and not to do for next year.
- One is under a old swing frame, currently supporting some tomatoes, gourds, and cucumbers. All are doing remarkably well so far.
- The last is supporting the Three Sisters (corn, pole beans, and squash), plus the Fourth Sister of sunflowers. Corn and beans are outstanding, and the different squashes (acorn, zucchini, and two types of pumpkin) are loving it.
The beds all started with hay from a local cattle farmer, and were augmented with fallen leaves and grass clippings.
Thanks for the videos, and for the admonition to always keep experimenting. I've got plans for next year's garden, and they all start with more hay from my local supplier!
I'm SO happy to hear that your experiments have been working out so far Jon! Thanks for sharing! :)
I had a mouse problem last year and I think I'm going to have another mouse problem this year with the potatoes. I've taken to soaking the potatoes every night with water and coffee grounds to help drive them out. I also have a mix of tea chili powder garlic powder onion powder and cinnamon that I sprinkle around the edges of my garden and sometimes through it. I'm currently having a problem with slugs in my green beans chewing them down to the stems. I'm at the point where I'm attempting to put salt on my plants to kill them. I took about 50 slugs mostly babies off my plants last night after watering them. I'm going to try again tonight to get a few more
Look'n well Derrick! Another great video also, thanks you!
You make nice videos, thank you. But recreate the drawing of the potato plant. Almost all roots are on the stems that emerge from the mother tuber. A single thin root is attached to the stolon. But no roots on the tubers.
Please make video showing how to grow Beets and Squash and other veggies using Ruth Stout method. Thank you.
Straw is usually sprayed more than hay. Best is to get hay from fields you know arnt sprayed