My husband and I live on 7 acres and we tried to expand our gardens out to about 2 of those acres as a permaculture food forest. This did not work because we have to work so much because of the economy. We didn't have the time to maintain all of it. We do not make a lot of money but work hard at several jobs and we do not have debt. I just turned 65 and because we work for ourselves, there is no retirement and Social Security is completely taken by having to pay for Medicare, which is actually far more expensive than the health insurance we had before. The need for the garden (on top of all else) is that we won't have the kind of retirement income that would allow us to just buy what we need and store it. We have to grow food. SO, my husband and I decided to turn our garden area (for flowers) into a multi-purpose garden space. We already had lots of bees and pollinators coming to this garden, so we have done a variety of things to start bringing in vegetable plants (we already had herbs growing there.) Because our funds are limited, we could not afford a lot of pots or containers, so, I am useing feed bags from our chickens, turkeys, and rabbits as grow bags. We now mostly allow all of our birds to free range by day and so far so good (not in the garden space). Rabbits do not yet free range but they feed mostly on hay. The feed bags we have stored up over the years prior to free ranging stacked up really well and so I have been turning the bags inside out to hide the photos and brand names and I plant in those bags. I cut small holes in the bottom of the bags for drainage. I have to tall you, that is working far better than any planting method we have used so far. Here in the deep south, the ground solar radiation is so bad that it dries up the ground and cracks it turning it to dust from June - Sept. sometimes into Oct. Summer planting had to stop here many years ago. Well, the feed bags (that are plastic) are holding some moisture in the plants and I do not have to water as often, which is a huge help to us. We do have rain barrels for watering the gardens, but now, I water far less. The soil is not wet, just cool and more moist than dry. The plants seem to like it. I wanted to share this and explain why we went to this option. One of the benefits of this is that we can watch the sun and move the bags until we find the optimal places for these plants. The soil settles in the bags and they stay weighted down well. I have 3 plants to one bag. This could be a way to plant on a deck or in a small space. If you don't have feed bags, check with your neighbors or friends and you might be surprised how many you come can find. I hope this helps someone.
My son-in-law took the boys trampoline frame and put chicken wire all around it. They are using it for their garden and it's where they had meat birds last year so it's really good soil this year. It's really helping keep the chickens out of their Garden.
HELLO FROM TEXAS - You and your husband really have it goin on - organized and compact is a good thing for many things. Your YT is very informative and helpful, and I want to thank you for all you give us. May the good Lord continue to bless you, your family, and extended family. And may He bless you with more and more abundance coverd with His Love.
Thank you for sharing your gardens with us, you have so many great ideas! We have 5 acres, but we’re so low, most of our yard stays wet, so raised beds work great for us. I pulled the azeleas from around the front porch and planted pineapple sage. It’s pretty, the flowers draw hummingbirds, and it’s useful. I plan on putting echinacea interspersed with them. I also have a few sweet potatoes in large pots so they can vine over my porch railings, and they do get a pretty purple flower. Many Blessings!
I need to start growing my echinacea in pots to prevent Patrick mowing it down or tilling it under! haha! It is really a running joke since that has not happened in a couple of years now, haha
Vertical gardening has at least doubled my growing potential, plus it's so beautiful to me. It creates privacy and a secret garden vibe. The way beans or luffa hang through my arched cattle panels makes my heart happy. I hadn't thought about using chain for beans to climb, that's a great idea. Thanks for sharing
Had no idea you were on a smaller lot in town! It is so encouraging to see how much you are able to accomplish. We are currently in a condo, but are looking to move back to a single family on some acreage, but after seeing this video we could consider a smaller property in a development or town! The prices here are very high and multiple offers are the norm, so not sure how successful we will be. The Greenstalk may work here in our condo until we can manage to find a better place. Thank you for sharing all your wonderful ideas!
I chose this video to watch because I’m hoping next year I can ask for a little area in the yard which is gigantic, that I can grow things the way that I want to! Show my in-laws that there’s different ways of gardening. Every time they rototill, it brings up the quack grass that just overtakes the entire garden! I’m gonna show them that the no till Garden is the way for us to go. We are completely surrounded by farmers fields, and tall grass fields. it’s extremely awesome because we have so many medicinal plants that I am still learning.😊
I've found that my rosemary, dill and a few other herbs LOVE my green stalk. Living in a high temp high humidity area 9A , I haven't had any luck with rosemary until I stuck a piece into my green stalk and saw how it just took off!!! I just love your videos, this is an amazing ministry that you are providing ❤❤. 🙏🙏🙏
Thanks for sharing so many good ideas for growing & raising your chickens! I turned about 1/3 of my front lawn into in ground gardens 3 years ago. It took 2 years to get my Seabuckthorn trees, mini cherry plums, elderberry, & goji berry to start growing well because it was compacted lawn, but they’re looking better this year. I placed many layers of cardboard, some sawdust & more soil on top. Now I grow perennial flowers, herbs & potatoes in between the trees. Dandelions grow abundantly here in Alberta, Canada, so I don’t have to plant them😅
We live in OR and built raised bed. We have a HOA so cannot have any wildlife or plant in the front. We put in an apple tree without any complaint. We have not had much luck with our gardening, but this year…maybe..the carrots, radishes, and strawberries seem to be growing. We put potatoes in pots and they are overflowing with green..we don’t know what to do! We just keep watering a bit every day. Love this show - you are so encouraging to me. Thank-you! God bless.
You’re in town?? 😮 I’ve always felt so down on myself because we are in town too and moving now is an impossibility (interest rates/homes listed up to 100k over their value around here). I have 8 large raised beds and different berry bushes that line our entire privacy fence. I also have an area for 7 comfrey plants. I have 3 fig trees, a pear and peach tree. All in the backyard except for the pear and peach. Love all of your tips!
And this right here is one of the reasons I keep doing as much as I can right here to show people it can be done and that every little bit anyone does with their space has value. Even a windowsill full of herbs is something :)
I do the same with my old hanging baskets to protect my young plants from pussy cats bottoms. But the thing with growing beans up the chains is brilliant!
In a similar way to your use of the chains from your hanging pots, I have used water hoses that became unusable for climbing veggies such as peas and beans. Anchoring them with bamboo stakes in a container then zip tying up around the fence on our deck. Also placed a disused porch swing brace and zig-zaged the hose through a pallet under the containers of peas.
I love this so much. We have .25 acre. We have chickens and a 20’x20’ garden. We also added an outdoor kitchen and have some barrels we need to install for rain catchment. But I need to add more plants around the fence line and around our patio.
Some other homesteader recommends using egg shells to keep slugs, etc., away. My space is only a fraction and I like that you're showing us ways to make the most of the space we have. I continue to get dandelions to grow for me but they don't take. I have wild lettuce, you know it looks like the dandelion but has the spikes along the spine of the leaf. It grows and keeps growing which I'm good with. I planted some nettle and am praying it takes, this is the third time I plant some. Thanks.
Yes, I know all about eggshells, coffee grounds, beer and more and have tried them all. Believe me, when you live in Rain Country which as a result has a great amount of tenacious slugs, you learn to try everything. What works for most people does not work here.
I'm really hoping my health will improve so I can do a lot more gardening... Thank You for sharing your ideas and pictures with us Mrs Heidi 🤗🙏🙏 Kendra
I love how you consolidate your gardening. I am trying to do likewise, mostly to conserve resources. I have used the greenstalk once, primarily for flowers, it was absolutely stunning! Vertical gardening is still a challenge d/t my stinginess with watering stuff. I guess our average annual rainfall is 28”, we’re really dry already,:( I’m using straw mulch and will chop and drop comfrey.(Missouri)
Thank you Heidi. You’re ability to grow such varieties is very admirable. I love that pie tree so is there any chance there might be some for sale some day?😊
Ha i need some grape vines for the shade! Love the idea with chains , i cant keep my chickens off my porch plants though. Wow you have a lot going on for 1/3 acre!
I have dogs. Two very young and young dogs can be destructive. My back yard is theirs by must have fenced off sections that they can’t get to. I have 3 greenstalks. One for lettuces n salads. One for herbs n and the other for multiple things. I have strawberries in a hanging pocket thingy but man I have to water it like crazy. I need a PATRICK!!!! It’s just me.
Im in same boat. I have chickens i have to fence off from and dogs, and a wild baby rabbit thats getting in my berry patch. My fiance passed away so im alone too i know the struggle. I live on an acre but its desert very hard to garden
@@AnarchAnjel only time I ever think about being in a relationship (I’m 70) is when I need muscles or something built. Guess that’s why GOD had his plan of marriage. Lol. I can do a lot of things but it gets more n more challenging the older I get. Takes me forever to accomplish something.
@@venidamcdaniel1913 girl me too lol. Im going on 56 but 3 heart attacks 1 surgery i stent lifelong diabetic and now hypo thyroid, im slowing down and i know takes forever to get anything done. I cant catch chickens so they running the yard! Heidi has good idea covering i used milk crates to cover stuff or pallets to shade. If we lived close we could help each other 😁
I use the wire hanging pots to protect my newly planted pots in the spring. The squirrels digs in any loose soil they can find. Also, sometimes I have lost transplants because they were either chopped off or eaten, probably by rabbits or birds. I protect everything I plant either with chicken wire or the wire hanging pots. I should add, I use larger pots so I do not need to water so often. The wire baskets fit perfectly. Question: Do the plants in your pots survive the winter? I cannot imagine they would here in northern Iowa where it for sure will dip down to -20F, if not lower on occasion.
That's a big house and shop. That shop's as big as our house and it's already too big for us. But that tells me you sure have made the most of the property that doesn't have a structure on it. I had a 1/3 acre in Alaska so I can picture just how creative you're having to be. Plus a lot of folks don't realize how close most plants can grow together. We're so used to thinking of gardens as long rows well-separated according to seed packet recommendations.
The reason our house is that big is because of the dance and martial arts studio that is a part of our house is as big as the main living section of our house. There was once a two car garage there that had been converted into a rec room before we got the place and a few years after I started my classes in that space, we decided to expand it to give my students more space. Now that room is a great room that gets used as our main dining room when we have dinners for friends and family but is also my sewing room, game room (with pool table, foosball table, and ping pong table). I also use it for shooting many of my videos in such as the one above.
@@RainCountryHomestead I completely forgot your studio was in your home. Sounds like you've turned it to very good use! I thought maybe you had just had a big house to raise your family and hadn't ever moved out. My dad died in his home at 91. He would not move out! It was a big house, but we sure did love to go home and visit because a big ol' family home makes you feel like a kid, safe and sound, even when you're a senior yourself.
We live on 3/4 of an acre. . Our home sits on 33 acre. Shop and water catchment system sits on.33 acre and our garden grows on the other.33 acre. No animals as yet. We are trying to obtain the.33 lot next door so we can have chickens because our city ordinance dictates you must have one acre to have anything and even then your limited to how many or what.
I struggle with keeping the plants healthy especially in pots. Could you do a video on how to keep the plants feed and how to read a plant on what it needs?
Man I wish I had your knowledge. At my age it’s hard to even remember all the things you have told me. Looking for your books. You have to have books! If not you need to make some (in all that free time you have bahahaha). I soooo need a “Patrick”. Can I borrow him for about a month?? He would throw me away after a day. lol
Sorry, no books and no time to write them. If I did decide to go that way, I would have to stop making videos and/or stop watching my grandbabies or give up something else important that I do and I am not willing to do that. Ona side note, I sometimes have to go back and watch my own videos to learn again about an herb or how I did a certain recipe, haha
Really great informative video!! 👏👏😊 What do you use Amaranth for? I picked up a pack of seeds.. but I'm very unfamiliar with the plant. I'm growing in small spaces also and I love your ideas!!
I usually just save the seeds for replanting but t hey can be ground into a flour and the leaves can be used as a green either fresh in salads or cooked into stir fries and more
@@RainCountryHomestead oh thank you! I may try this. I wonder how mulch I would need to make a bread 🍞 😄... probably a lot. I'll definitely try the tea 🍵😋
Yes, they do, and no, I do not pull them out every year, I leave them but I do need to take apart the set up so I can add some mulch that we got this year to each pot
Yes, they do but I really need to amend the soil as I notice they are not as full as they should be. I add coffee grounds to it through the year but I think it simply needs more. I may have to take each layer off and add some of that mulch we got this year
Jean, I can relate I initially got 2 Greenstalk last year (one exclusively for strawberries). I bought 2 different types. Out of everything I purchased (I was told I bought 50 bare root plants) I have approx 5-6 plants left that are now together in top tier only. I had bought June bearing & ever bearing but I've no idea what's survived. I'm not sure I would get these types of root strawberries again - maybe a different type would perform better (I'm in zone 6b/7a) The nasturtium & arugula I had in other tower did fantastic as did the sage seed I planted and then transplanted into smart pots.
@@hibiscus-dreams I am growing June bearing in mine. The main issue I see is the ones on top take longer now to start growing because of how cold our spring weather has been the past couple of years. The top ones are more exposed to the elements than the ones on the bottom that stay someone protected by the surrounding pots and deck. I need to think to throw some kind of cover over it in early spring for those cold days and nights, pull it off on warm days
@@RainCountryHomestead Heidi, what's crazy is I had this tower protected under my back patio cover AND I draped a king size linen bedsheet over it. (Sigh) I've read on a number of gardening websites that s-berries can be hit or miss to grow but that the "mother" plant may have a growing span of up to 3yrs (hence need for the "runners") My cool weather veggies did great and are in the process of going to seed. Watching those pods develop is fascinating
Some will keep out rabbits but not racoons and rats as they can get into just about anything, especially rats. Only a super strong fully enclosed area (meaning the top too) will keep out racoons and rats are something you help keep at bay with things like mints and gopher spurge, traps and other types of rat control
Some are not invasive as others, I found that spearmint is not but I grow most of my mints in the ground. The only reason I grow a couple in pots is for easy access on the deck but for harvesting and putting up, one is not going to get much going that route. If your soil is loose enough, it is easy enough to keep maintained to one area, just pull it up and back every spring
I found parts for my All American canners here when I had found a couple at a garage sale that needed updating: www.pressurecooker-outlet.com/index.htm
Does anyone here have a Berkey? I want to buy the Berkey, regular and flouride filters from one place but I cant figure out a good trusted site to buy them from! 😳 Any advice?
@@sandyrekau5779 We get three times the amount of rain as Seattle. It does not actually rain in either place every day but when it rains, it rains a LOT. The Hoh Rain Forest is just down the road from us
Heidi, I`m in awe of the amount of "crammed in" plants you have. I know you have plenty of rain for watering, but how do you maintain optimum fertility in the soil? We put masses of compost, manure, liquid feeds (nettle. comfrey, soaked weeds) and do chop and drop but have a thin soil, which gets washed away as we are on a sloping hillside, or blown away aswe are on the coast. What is your trick?
I believe I covered that later on in the video above and also covered some of it in this older video here: th-cam.com/video/e3h7RBeVMjw/w-d-xo.html and also at the end of the video that published on Monday (about 19 minutes in): th-cam.com/video/SgwYl3NEYEo/w-d-xo.html
My husband and I live on 7 acres and we tried to expand our gardens out to about 2 of those acres as a permaculture food forest. This did not work because we have to work so much because of the economy. We didn't have the time to maintain all of it. We do not make a lot of money but work hard at several jobs and we do not have debt. I just turned 65 and because we work for ourselves, there is no retirement and Social Security is completely taken by having to pay for Medicare, which is actually far more expensive than the health insurance we had before. The need for the garden (on top of all else) is that we won't have the kind of retirement income that would allow us to just buy what we need and store it. We have to grow food. SO, my husband and I decided to turn our garden area (for flowers) into a multi-purpose garden space. We already had lots of bees and pollinators coming to this garden, so we have done a variety of things to start bringing in vegetable plants (we already had herbs growing there.) Because our funds are limited, we could not afford a lot of pots or containers, so, I am useing feed bags from our chickens, turkeys, and rabbits as grow bags. We now mostly allow all of our birds to free range by day and so far so good (not in the garden space). Rabbits do not yet free range but they feed mostly on hay. The feed bags we have stored up over the years prior to free ranging stacked up really well and so I have been turning the bags inside out to hide the photos and brand names and I plant in those bags. I cut small holes in the bottom of the bags for drainage. I have to tall you, that is working far better than any planting method we have used so far. Here in the deep south, the ground solar radiation is so bad that it dries up the ground and cracks it turning it to dust from June - Sept. sometimes into Oct. Summer planting had to stop here many years ago. Well, the feed bags (that are plastic) are holding some moisture in the plants and I do not have to water as often, which is a huge help to us. We do have rain barrels for watering the gardens, but now, I water far less. The soil is not wet, just cool and more moist than dry. The plants seem to like it. I wanted to share this and explain why we went to this option. One of the benefits of this is that we can watch the sun and move the bags until we find the optimal places for these plants. The soil settles in the bags and they stay weighted down well. I have 3 plants to one bag. This could be a way to plant on a deck or in a small space. If you don't have feed bags, check with your neighbors or friends and you might be surprised how many you come can find. I hope this helps someone.
My son-in-law took the boys trampoline frame and put chicken wire all around it. They are using it for their garden and it's where they had meat birds last year so it's really good soil this year. It's really helping keep the chickens out of their Garden.
I'd love to see how they did it! Cool idea!
HELLO FROM TEXAS - You and your husband really have it goin on - organized and compact is a good thing for many things. Your YT is very informative and helpful, and I want to thank you for all you give us. May the good Lord continue to bless you, your family, and extended family. And may He bless you with more and more abundance coverd with His Love.
I grow strawberries and many smaller plants in gutters attached to walls of buildings and privacy fence
Heidi, it is great that your helping people understand that you can do things on a small-scale gardening. What another great video that you put out.
Thank you for sharing your gardens with us, you have so many great ideas! We have 5 acres, but we’re so low, most of our yard stays wet, so raised beds work great for us. I pulled the azeleas from around the front porch and planted pineapple sage. It’s pretty, the flowers draw hummingbirds, and it’s useful. I plan on putting echinacea interspersed with them. I also have a few sweet potatoes in large pots so they can vine over my porch railings, and they do get a pretty purple flower. Many Blessings!
I need to start growing my echinacea in pots to prevent Patrick mowing it down or tilling it under! haha! It is really a running joke since that has not happened in a couple of years now, haha
😂
Vertical gardening has at least doubled my growing potential, plus it's so beautiful to me. It creates privacy and a secret garden vibe. The way beans or luffa hang through my arched cattle panels makes my heart happy. I hadn't thought about using chain for beans to climb, that's a great idea. Thanks for sharing
This is a awesome video. I love your yard and all your plants. You are blessed.
That is impressive. We have 1 acre, and I don't know how to set up things to use my space in an efficient way. Something to work on.
Had no idea you were on a smaller lot in town! It is so encouraging to see how much you are able to accomplish. We are currently in a condo, but are looking to move back to a single family on some acreage, but after seeing this video we could consider a smaller property in a development or town! The prices here are very high and multiple offers are the norm, so not sure how successful we will be. The Greenstalk may work here in our condo until we can manage to find a better place. Thank you for sharing all your wonderful ideas!
@BecomingAFarmGirl lives in a condo and has a few videos on her herb and vegetable gardens on a patio
@@adriennec863 Great. I will check it out. We do have a large patio that faces south. Thank you for the recommendation.
I chose this video to watch because I’m hoping next year I can ask for a little area in the yard which is gigantic, that I can grow things the way that I want to! Show my in-laws that there’s different ways of gardening. Every time they rototill, it brings up the quack grass that just overtakes the entire garden! I’m gonna show them that the no till Garden is the way for us to go. We are completely surrounded by farmers fields, and tall grass fields. it’s extremely awesome because we have so many medicinal plants that I am still learning.😊
Oh, and by the way, the next time I see one of those dog fences at a rummage sale or the seven Mile fair I am so getting it!!😂
Thank you Heidi!
That's a great food forest! 🤩👍
Blessings! 💜
I've found that my rosemary, dill and a few other herbs LOVE my green stalk. Living in a high temp high humidity area 9A , I haven't had any luck with rosemary until I stuck a piece into my green stalk and saw how it just took off!!! I just love your videos, this is an amazing ministry that you are providing ❤❤. 🙏🙏🙏
Thanks for sharing so many good ideas for growing & raising your chickens! I turned about 1/3 of my front lawn into in ground gardens 3 years ago. It took 2 years to get my Seabuckthorn trees, mini cherry plums, elderberry, & goji berry to start growing well because it was compacted lawn, but they’re looking better this year. I placed many layers of cardboard, some sawdust & more soil on top. Now I grow perennial flowers, herbs & potatoes in between the trees. Dandelions grow abundantly here in Alberta, Canada, so I don’t have to plant them😅
Dollar tree had stacking pots. They're shallow but great for strawberries, herbs and flowers!
We live in OR and built raised bed. We have a HOA so cannot have any wildlife or plant in the front. We put in an apple tree without any complaint. We have not had much luck with our gardening, but this year…maybe..the carrots, radishes, and strawberries seem to be growing. We put potatoes in pots and they are overflowing with green..we don’t know what to do! We just keep watering a bit every day. Love this show - you are so encouraging to me. Thank-you! God bless.
I always learn so much from you!! Thank you dear lady for sharing your gift and all the things you have learned a d experienced. I so appreciate you
You’re in town?? 😮
I’ve always felt so down on myself because we are in town too and moving now is an impossibility (interest rates/homes listed up to 100k over their value around here).
I have 8 large raised beds and different berry bushes that line our entire privacy fence. I also have an area for 7 comfrey plants. I have 3 fig trees, a pear and peach tree. All in the backyard except for the pear and peach.
Love all of your tips!
And this right here is one of the reasons I keep doing as much as I can right here to show people it can be done and that every little bit anyone does with their space has value. Even a windowsill full of herbs is something :)
@@RainCountryHomestead Love it! May we strive to see the positive in all things.
Love how full your gardens are! No water space! My goal is to make mine so efficient
We get wild turkeys in the yard. The dog fence would be perfect! They tend to disturb our mulch. Wow yiur grapes are so full!!
Hi there! I'm new to your channel. Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom! 💚
I do the same with my old hanging baskets to protect my young plants from pussy cats bottoms. But the thing with growing beans up the chains is brilliant!
In a similar way to your use of the chains from your hanging pots, I have used water hoses that became unusable for climbing veggies such as peas and beans. Anchoring them with bamboo stakes in a container then zip tying up around the fence on our deck. Also placed a disused porch swing brace and zig-zaged the hose through a pallet under the containers of peas.
That pie tree is so cool
Great info & ideas. Love the chains with beans!
I love this so much. We have .25 acre. We have chickens and a 20’x20’ garden. We also added an outdoor kitchen and have some barrels we need to install for rain catchment. But I need to add more plants around the fence line and around our patio.
Would love to come to Washington just to see your yard. Looks so lovely
Great video! I’m harvesting potatoes now and I will be planting Amaranth seeds in their place.
Some other homesteader recommends using egg shells to keep slugs, etc., away. My space is only a fraction and I like that you're showing us ways to make the most of the space we have.
I continue to get dandelions to grow for me but they don't take. I have wild lettuce, you know it looks like the dandelion but has the spikes along the spine of the leaf. It grows and keeps growing which I'm good with.
I planted some nettle and am praying it takes, this is the third time I plant some.
Thanks.
Yes, I know all about eggshells, coffee grounds, beer and more and have tried them all. Believe me, when you live in Rain Country which as a result has a great amount of tenacious slugs, you learn to try everything. What works for most people does not work here.
HEIDI thank you for all this great information on small space homesteading 🥰
I saw someone plant different flowers in the Greenstalk & it looked beautiful!
However can they be useful in the KITCHEN?
I'm really hoping my health will improve so I can do a lot more gardening... Thank You for sharing your ideas and pictures with us Mrs Heidi 🤗🙏🙏 Kendra
I use dollar tree mesh trash cans to cover small plant starts.
Great insight into growing there, maximising space and repurposing. All the best, Hugh
I've used an old bookcase outside for potted plants.
Great idea!
I love how you consolidate your gardening. I am trying to do likewise, mostly to conserve resources. I have used the greenstalk once, primarily for flowers, it was absolutely stunning! Vertical gardening is still a challenge d/t my stinginess with watering stuff. I guess our average annual rainfall is 28”, we’re really dry already,:( I’m using straw mulch and will chop and drop comfrey.(Missouri)
Thank you Heidi. You’re ability to grow such varieties is very admirable. I love that pie tree so is there any chance there might be some for sale some day?😊
Thanks for sharing 💜 I am homesteading in a house, trying to make the most of it. I alwats learn from your videos!
Ha i need some grape vines for the shade! Love the idea with chains , i cant keep my chickens off my porch plants though. Wow you have a lot going on for 1/3 acre!
Thank you!
Thank you Heidi. This gave me some great ideas for my small space. I live where I have to grow everything in containers
Thank you Heidi. Valuable information especially in this day and time. Appreciate you and the information you share!
Loved this video...lots of great ideas!
Just watched and the rooster on a horizontal run looks the best .😂
He is the easiest one to take care of too, no food, no water, he is also very quiet.
The dogs in your pictures looked totally innocent!
Great information, Heidi!!! Thank you.
Thank you.
God bless
Could you show your outside canning set up, that's how I am planning to do it this year.
I show it here: th-cam.com/video/8Xepz7UEB7Q/w-d-xo.html
Good video , thanks for sharing , God bless !
Awesome idea ! Awesome garden ! Thank you so much
Thanks Heidi 😊 ❤
Thank you that is helpful. I have a small 3,500 sq. ft. urban lot so there's not much space.
I just ordered a GreenStalk. Thanks Heidi.
Never commented..but i totally enjoyed this video
Chop n drop. I love it!
Thanks, Heidi.
Great ideas. You always inspire me. Thank you❤️
Inspirational thank you!
I have dogs. Two very young and young dogs can be destructive. My back yard is theirs by must have fenced off sections that they can’t get to. I have 3 greenstalks. One for lettuces n salads. One for herbs n and the other for multiple things. I have strawberries in a hanging pocket thingy but man I have to water it like crazy. I need a PATRICK!!!! It’s just me.
Im in same boat. I have chickens i have to fence off from and dogs, and a wild baby rabbit thats getting in my berry patch. My fiance passed away so im alone too i know the struggle. I live on an acre but its desert very hard to garden
@@AnarchAnjel only time I ever think about being in a relationship (I’m 70) is when I need muscles or something built. Guess that’s why GOD had his plan of marriage. Lol. I can do a lot of things but it gets more n more challenging the older I get. Takes me forever to accomplish something.
@@venidamcdaniel1913 girl me too lol. Im going on 56 but 3 heart attacks 1 surgery i stent lifelong diabetic and now hypo thyroid, im slowing down and i know takes forever to get anything done. I cant catch chickens so they running the yard! Heidi has good idea covering i used milk crates to cover stuff or pallets to shade. If we lived close we could help each other 😁
@@AnarchAnjel wouldn’t that be nice❤️💕❣️. Be blessed!!!
I use the wire hanging pots to protect my newly planted pots in the spring. The squirrels digs in any loose soil they can find. Also, sometimes I have lost transplants because they were either chopped off or eaten, probably by rabbits or birds. I protect everything I plant either with chicken wire or the wire hanging pots. I should add, I use larger pots so I do not need to water so often. The wire baskets fit perfectly.
Question: Do the plants in your pots survive the winter? I cannot imagine they would here in northern Iowa where it for sure will dip down to -20F, if not lower on occasion.
All mine do, yes, but I have had some in the past that did not, such as lemon verbena, but it simply does not do well here anyway
I have a whole field of violets under the Ash tree north of my RV. The sun only reaches in there late in the afternoon.
Yes, they like early morning or late afternoon sun but not midday sun
Great ideas!😊
Thank you for the great advice. I have a third acre too and its hard to figure out where to put everything
That's a big house and shop. That shop's as big as our house and it's already too big for us. But that tells me you sure have made the most of the property that doesn't have a structure on it. I had a 1/3 acre in Alaska so I can picture just how creative you're having to be. Plus a lot of folks don't realize how close most plants can grow together. We're so used to thinking of gardens as long rows well-separated according to seed packet recommendations.
The reason our house is that big is because of the dance and martial arts studio that is a part of our house is as big as the main living section of our house. There was once a two car garage there that had been converted into a rec room before we got the place and a few years after I started my classes in that space, we decided to expand it to give my students more space. Now that room is a great room that gets used as our main dining room when we have dinners for friends and family but is also my sewing room, game room (with pool table, foosball table, and ping pong table). I also use it for shooting many of my videos in such as the one above.
@@RainCountryHomestead I completely forgot your studio was in your home. Sounds like you've turned it to very good use! I thought maybe you had just had a big house to raise your family and hadn't ever moved out. My dad died in his home at 91. He would not move out! It was a big house, but we sure did love to go home and visit because a big ol' family home makes you feel like a kid, safe and sound, even when you're a senior yourself.
We live on 3/4 of an acre. . Our home sits on 33 acre. Shop and water catchment system sits on.33 acre and our garden grows on the other.33 acre. No animals as yet. We are trying to obtain the.33 lot next door so we can have chickens because our city ordinance dictates you must have one acre to have anything and even then your limited to how many or what.
I am guessing you mean the house, garden, and water catchment each sit on .25 acre?
Great video 👏👏👏👏
I struggle with keeping the plants healthy especially in pots. Could you do a video on how to keep the plants feed and how to read a plant on what it needs?
I do have a container gardening video coming out next week I believe
Awesome!!! I really appreciate you and your willingness to be truly helpful. You are a great teacher. Thank you.
Man I wish I had your knowledge. At my age it’s hard to even remember all the things you have told me. Looking for your books. You have to have books! If not you need to make some (in all that free time you have bahahaha). I soooo need a “Patrick”. Can I borrow him for about a month?? He would throw me away after a day. lol
Sorry, no books and no time to write them. If I did decide to go that way, I would have to stop making videos and/or stop watching my grandbabies or give up something else important that I do and I am not willing to do that. Ona side note, I sometimes have to go back and watch my own videos to learn again about an herb or how I did a certain recipe, haha
@@RainCountryHomestead oh my goodness. Hahaha. Glad your videos are labeled so well and that you always direct us to the help we need. Thank you
We're all Sandys. Too funny. I am still called Sandy by my relatives.
Really great informative video!! 👏👏😊 What do you use Amaranth for? I picked up a pack of seeds.. but I'm very unfamiliar with the plant. I'm growing in small spaces also and I love your ideas!!
I usually just save the seeds for replanting but t hey can be ground into a flour and the leaves can be used as a green either fresh in salads or cooked into stir fries and more
@@RainCountryHomestead oh thank you! I may try this. I wonder how mulch I would need to make a bread 🍞 😄... probably a lot. I'll definitely try the tea 🍵😋
I have a messed up back, no power tools & no man to do anything. It’s hard AF to get anything done.
Do your strawberries come back in the green stalk each year, or do you have to pull out roots and save ?
Yes, they do, and no, I do not pull them out every year, I leave them but I do need to take apart the set up so I can add some mulch that we got this year to each pot
Do your strawberries come back in your pots every year? Mine in my greenstone strawberries did not come back this spring!😢
Yes, they do but I really need to amend the soil as I notice they are not as full as they should be. I add coffee grounds to it through the year but I think it simply needs more. I may have to take each layer off and add some of that mulch we got this year
Jean, I can relate
I initially got 2 Greenstalk last year (one exclusively for strawberries). I bought 2 different types. Out of everything I purchased (I was told I bought 50 bare root plants) I have approx 5-6 plants left that are now together in top tier only. I had bought June bearing & ever bearing but I've no idea what's survived. I'm not sure I would get these types of root strawberries again - maybe a different type would perform better (I'm in zone 6b/7a)
The nasturtium & arugula I had in other tower did fantastic as did the sage seed I planted and then transplanted into smart pots.
@@hibiscus-dreams I am growing June bearing in mine. The main issue I see is the ones on top take longer now to start growing because of how cold our spring weather has been the past couple of years. The top ones are more exposed to the elements than the ones on the bottom that stay someone protected by the surrounding pots and deck. I need to think to throw some kind of cover over it in early spring for those cold days and nights, pull it off on warm days
@@hibiscus-dreams Im in 6b too..and did the exact thing you did on bare roots. But im new to it also.
@@RainCountryHomestead
Heidi, what's crazy is I had this tower protected under my back patio cover AND I draped a king size linen bedsheet over it. (Sigh) I've read on a number of gardening websites that s-berries can be hit or miss to grow but that the "mother" plant may have a growing span of up to 3yrs (hence need for the "runners")
My cool weather veggies did great and are in the process of going to seed. Watching those pods develop is fascinating
Does anyone of this help with keeping critters out? Where we live we have raccoons, rabbits and palm rats. How would I keep the animals away?
Some will keep out rabbits but not racoons and rats as they can get into just about anything, especially rats. Only a super strong fully enclosed area (meaning the top too) will keep out racoons and rats are something you help keep at bay with things like mints and gopher spurge, traps and other types of rat control
I have potatoes coming up where I had them last year without having planted them this year.
Yes, that is potatoes for you. There are always baby ones that get missed and those ones make new plants in the spring
What mint do you plant that won’t just take over everything.
I was always told to plant mint in containers to “contain” it. 😊
Some are not invasive as others, I found that spearmint is not but I grow most of my mints in the ground. The only reason I grow a couple in pots is for easy access on the deck but for harvesting and putting up, one is not going to get much going that route. If your soil is loose enough, it is easy enough to keep maintained to one area, just pull it up and back every spring
@@RainCountryHomestead thank you for always answering our question. You are a blessing to so many of us.
I have a big question. I need gaskets for two “old “ pressure cookers. Where can I find replacement gaskets.
I found parts for my All American canners here when I had found a couple at a garage sale that needed updating: www.pressurecooker-outlet.com/index.htm
@@RainCountryHomestead thank you so much. God blessed me when I found your channel.
@@RainCountryHomestead got everything I needed. Thank you so much.
Which Rocket Stove do you use?
Ours is a Stovetec: stovetecstore.net/ though you can build your own from patio blocks
@@RainCountryHomestead okay thank you so much
Does anyone here have a Berkey? I want to buy the Berkey, regular and flouride filters from one place but I cant figure out a good trusted site to buy them from! 😳 Any advice?
Can you sale seeds.
I do sell seeds. If you are interested, email me at raincountryhomestead@gmail.com and I will send you the product list
Please pray for me.
I can’t even grow hibiscus, my dog eats it.
What state do you live in?
In the very wettest part of Washington state on the Peninsula
@@RainCountryHomestead Oh yes, a friend of mine moved I think to Seattle and said it rained almost everyday. I live in Florida.
@@sandyrekau5779 We get three times the amount of rain as Seattle. It does not actually rain in either place every day but when it rains, it rains a LOT. The Hoh Rain Forest is just down the road from us
@@RainCountryHomestead oh that must be beautiful..!
Heidi, I`m in awe of the amount of "crammed in" plants you have. I know you have plenty of rain for watering, but how do you maintain optimum fertility in the soil? We put masses of compost, manure, liquid feeds (nettle. comfrey, soaked weeds) and do chop and drop but have a thin soil, which gets washed away as we are on a sloping hillside, or blown away aswe are on the coast. What is your trick?
I believe I covered that later on in the video above and also covered some of it in this older video here: th-cam.com/video/e3h7RBeVMjw/w-d-xo.html
and also at the end of the video that published on Monday (about 19 minutes in): th-cam.com/video/SgwYl3NEYEo/w-d-xo.html