When I started my garden was 5 raised beds lol i can tell you I kept expanding as I had funds now my garden is 100’x100’ I have 8 above ground beds, 20 mineral tubs, 10 wicking tubs and 50 grow bags I can say grow as much as you can of what you enjoy eating, my first year taught me a lot!, living here in mid texas I am able to grow 10 months a year and thank God for my chickens, I till their run twice a year, remove that soil and pile it onto a tarp and cover it sits in direct sun, then buy cheap top soil and refill their run…. They turn that top soil into composted manure soil within 6 months. I amend my soil and refill my beds, tubs, bags as I harvest.
Love this! That's a really neat idea about your chickens and how you use them to help with soil/compost - well done! What percentage would you say that you grow your own food? At least when it comes to produce.
@@lindahernandez7768 cattle farmers give their cattle mineral tubs filled with minerals like a salt lick it provides vitamins and nutrients that they can’t get over winter on just hay
@@lindahernandez7768 my coworker has a lot of cattle but no garden so he gave me these big strong tubs and when my tomatos and bell peppers and other veggies produce he just wants me to share … bartering is a great way to get what you need without $ changing hands
Glad to have run into you today! We live in NW Arkansas, now but used to live in the Ashland, WI area. Love finding fellow believers gardening as we do. We're in the process of moving our garden to a different area on our 2 acres, so I'm recharging my memory so I build it right. My only problem is getting my strong grandsons to help build it!😅. Thanks for the videos and may God bless you and yours. ❤
Oh nice! Ashland area is beautiful. Hopefully some things you see from my videos will help you when relocating your garden. Sounds like quite the task! Thanks for watching and may God bless you all as well.
I find most towns have recycle their leaves making it into compost and they usually have topsoil also. Its usually very cheap to buy. I pay $ 23. For 1 yd of topsoil and 26 for compost. I hire a small dump truck to haul 6 yds of soil for around 50$. Ratio 2yds of compost to 1 yd of topsoil for garden soil. I gather manure in Garbage cans from farmers to mix w the soil. Its alittle work but im 74 yrs old and i do it. It makes wonderful soil. I use espom land and sea and bi tone to mix in the holes to plant . I have outstanding results. U must start with good soil or u are wasting ur time and money in gardening. This guy is right on w his info.
You’ve got a great setup there. Being creative and mindful of your resources is what it’s all about. Bad soil = bad garden, period. It’s not a popular topic but definitely the most important when it comes to growing food. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
@@togetherweharvest so happy that u are on utube to guide people to raise good food. Everyone needs to do this, someday soon we will only have the food we grow to eat. I persevere everything I can.
When I started in a new area, I learned when a couple of local towns had their ‘yard waste’ pick-up days, when residents would put their bagged grass/leaves, branches, etc, in bags. I would cruise around taking bags of grass and leaves that I needed.
@@mmiller1011 Not really. Composting clears a lot of it. When you have really, really poor soil, everything helps. Also, the grass/dead leaves mix composted quite hot.
@@doloresreynolds8145your right, the Monroe’s act in an amazing bioremediation and the leaves in most probability, say a maple, oak tree are not sprayed and are mining a trove of micronutrients from deep in the soil that may not be available at the surface.
Your videos are sooooooo awesome. I think your channel is so helpful and one of the best that I have seen. I always have problems with how to fertilize and how much and how often to water.
Happy to help! We don't really use fertilizer. On occasion if I notice the crops that should be green, turning a different color, I'll add liquid organic fish fertilizer. Most of the nutrients comes from the chicken compost that they make right next to the garden.
love it ,absolutely love it. I really like that you're showing us how to do a great garden with very little money but lots of variety. excellent video, thanks!
Great ideas here for using natural materials found everywhere! You are right, if one doesn’t have access to these materials on their own property, they definitely can be found if one looks for it. Where there is a will, there’s a way!!!! Love your videos, thank you for sharing your ideas and helping so many people. I am glad to have found you here on TH-cam. 😊
You have that down to a system! My native clay based soil was an okay base for me to begin with, I have really improved my soil over the years with a steady annual application of homemade compost. If your native soil is useable, it’s certainly the cheapest way to go! If your soil isn’t acceptable, you have found the cheapest method!
Well, we have not found where to go get dirt at so we bought it by the bag. Really I just buy the cheap stuff or compost (yes, I started my own compost bin but it isn't anywhere near ready, takes time). With the first one I used cardboard under it, the second one I used magnolia leaves instead of cardboard (worked the same), in the new bed it mostly has maple leaves under it, I don't use branches, it seems counterproductive to me, roots can't go through branches and they don't break down very fast. We have sandy well draining soil here, I think that is why my beds have done so good. There really aren't any branches here in town and nope, I don't know anyone who lives anywhere that I can get some, not anymore. It's not always as easy as you think. I loved your idea of using fence boards! I am using railroad ties because 8 of them were here when we bought the house.
When I mentioned getting free branches and tree limbs, I mean it is possible to find them if you really want them. Walking through a city park after a wind storm, searching marketplace or craigslist for downed trees in people's yards, taking a stroll through public land somewhere. My point is that if someone really wants these materials, they can be found. Not necessary for a garden, but they help. I've heard of people using railroad ties for raised beds. Are they treated with some kind of chemical? Take care!
This is wired ,this is almost the way I do my garden , my garden stays wet almost year round.i live in s.west Ala..I use syrprus that I buy from individuals with portable Saw mills.Happy New year. WEY.
Cattle panels are 85 to 90 dollars in Canada. Because of the 16 ft length, you need truck or trailer to pick up. I take kitchen scraps ,put in large cat litter bucket with shovel of soil and water,, this starts breaking down and then incorporate in your composter,,
PS we do a lot of the things you do but I really enjoyed seeing your layout. Given me some other ideas. We are in the mountains of swva and the land is all sloping, it can often no look as nice as yours. but it does produce a lot. and in reading your page below, we love God too, He is so great and so faithful. thanks for sharing. oh, I also subscribed
Glad I can be helpful - that's what it's all about. Why do you think it can't look that nice? Have you seen terraced gardens? Idk what your place looks like, but if it slopes a lot, terraced gardens can look amazing. Glad to hear you are a follower of the God of the Bible! Take care!
Very thorough video and very helpful on the cheap (in the good way)!!! Im in NJ so a different zone but all things garden can be helpful. Keep the videos coming!!
i get my chips from tree services in the area. i have mountains of it decomposing and have changed the crappy soil of my orchard to an excellent moisture and nutrient holding soil.
That's a great resource. Tree services in this area don't bring them to me. I've had my address registered online for years and nothing yet. Chip drop didn't work either. Glad it works for you.
@@togetherweharvest i am right on the edge of town so they do a lot of work in my area. you must be farther out from town. that just means it takes longer to get chips. registering online, i have not tried. i just call their number and chat with them. i have 3 large piles larger than 20'x30'x12' equaling hundreds of truck loads. it takes a lot to cover a 1 acre orchard 🙂
Do you find birds get caught up in the netting over the bed frame? I tried covering a tree with bird netting and no matter how I enclosed it I would find birds caught inside! Most of the time I was able to free them. Other times it was too late. We also look for free items. I picked up a huge amount of PVC irrigation tubing out for trash. The lady was so happy to let me have it so it could be reused. There are so many uses even if it had already been used. Your garden look wonderful using old free items. I try to tell one of my son's that you have to make things look good to pick up property value and improve curb appeal! We are working on rehabbing an old portable aluminum car port where the cover rotted out. I need a shade room and bird protection here in the AZ low desert! So far we have chicken wire sides and top,(new) and one screen door up (used). Working on planting more trees with leaves to use as mulch. I use free wood chips often. Thank you there is so much great info here! Job well done!!
No, not at all. The netting get placed over broccoli and cabbage - not something birds care much about. It's also much lower to the ground than a tree. I'm sure in a random accident it's possible but has yet to happen. I'm happy to hear you're using many free and reused items. You'll end up appreciating the saved money in the long run.
sounds bad BUT.... where I live the sewage treatment plant dries out the sludge after processing and it is free compost. most of the process is done by bacteria, then ammonia (nitrogen) is used to sterilize what is left. what you eat just returns to being dirt.
How about using the dirt o your land? Sterilize it by putting plastic on it, when its very hot during peak summer heat. Add compost and fertilizer and heebs to protect the plants while they grow!
I could have done that, yes, with more time and effort. I know that the soil from where I purchased it was excellent right from the start and it’s affordable for us so we went with that instead. Definitely more than one way to go about the process.
I’m in the uk and since 2020 everything has shot up in price. Can’t get anything for cheap/free unless you are prepared to travel 3-4 hours to get it for the garden I have found with market place. And alot of stuff that people drop off like woodchips etc want you to have a drive way- which we don’t- a huge garden and I mean it’s on 3 sides of the house. The land it sits on you could get 2 more houses without garden-but shoes ya the foot space. Think it’s like 40f at the side and probably the same at the back and then the front is 40x20f I would guess at. But as we don’t have a drive way they won’t deliver as they wanna dump it in that space and won’t/can’t onto the main road. We keep looking but it’s not easy.
Good tips. I have a 20x40 garden. Just the welded wire perimeter fence and posts cost about $150. Too many deer around me to not fence. I try and plant leftover seeds in different unfenced gardens and the plants never make it past a few inches.
@@togetherweharvestyou're lucky you can avoid that expense. Only 2nd vid I've watched of yours, but it looks like you are pretty rural. You must have some weird deer, haha. I even have to fence my rhododendron in winter or they'll eat every piece of green on it.
Yes, we re rural but surprisingly only 6 miles from a city. I think the deer become an even bigger issue for gardens in yards that are close to town. Less natural food around and less farm fields.
That's really interesting, I've just seen your other video from 5 months ago where you gave a tour when everything was green. I really cannot believe you are a 100 % self-sufficient on potatoes just from a small bed, some bags and a few "voluntary"😂 potatoes in between 😮, that's amazing. Allow me a few questions: 1. How many pounds of potatoes do you harvest from this garden? 2. Why did you install such a mini-garden, when you have a few acres at your disposition? I wonder because normally 800 sqf are said to be needed for potatoes only if you want to be self-sufficient on it. Obviously it depends on how much your family eats. I am currently installing an ediblve garden of around the same size (40 m2 beds, 20 m2 greenhouse and 12m2 of raised beds, that equals around 800 sqf). I am putting a lot of mental energy in how to organize the plants with going mostly vertical, planting in several shifts and so on, so we can get the most of our garden size. Pumpkins, beans and so on are obviously ideal for trellises but it's a puzzle to put them in a way that they don't overshadow each other. I have experimented with potatoe towers in the past (without great success) and find potatoe pyramids quite promising at the moment. What do you think about pyramids? I am also thinking about integrating some hydroponic towers (diy, cause the ones you can buy are sooo expensive) for cabbage and salad to get them in the vertical as well. Strawberries might also work well in towers, but filled with soil. I am just concerned if they make it over winter if they don't grow on tge ground, because the soil in the tower might freeze to a block. Well, I am probably gonna try and see. Much joy for you and your family with your homestead! Greetings from Germany
1. I have no idea how many pounds of potatoes we harvested last season. I did pick out a lot though. It was our best year so far. 2. We don't have a mini garden. It's not small or big - just a normal size. We use that size because we have the best sun in that area. We also intercrop and densely plant our crops close to one another to maximize yields. If the soil, seeds and other main growing conditions are good enough, you can grow more and more crops in small spaces. The other acres on our property are used for other purposes such as harvesting maple syrup and firewood. We also have hilly and mostly shady wooded acres. The 'open' acres with enough sun is maybe 2-3 acres in total. Don't over think growing food. Just remember... 1. Good soil 2. Good seeds 3. Proper sun exposure 4. Proper watering and the rest will usually take care of itself There are uncontrollable circumstances such as pests, unusually harsh weather and disease but those vary greatly from place to place. Thanks for watching!
@@togetherweharvest Hi, thanks for your answer and tipps. And sorry, if the expression "mini-garden" came across the wrong way, it wasn't meant as an offense or critical at all (who am I to criticize how you use your own land?). It's the total opposite, I am very impressed and seriously interested in why you did it that way. I've been doing some research for the last years on how much land you actually need to be self-sufficient and the estimations and experiences center around 70 m2 per person for vegetables only (not including grain/corn, fruits or space for animals), depending on your nutrition, so for vegans or vegetarians it's even more. That's where I came from. I would love to have some more squaremetres, but it's really difficult to buy a little more land round here at the moment... Your example is very inspiring. I'll see how far I can get with what we have. Cheers!
No worries. It was interesting to hear mini garden because some people say my garden is big (even though it's not). Those people probably have small yards or a balcony garden. The 70m2 per person - interesting. That's probably a generalization that would be accurate for most people. I choose not to use numbers like that because it depends on the growing conditions. Like I said earlier, I grow more food in a small space than some grow in large space. It all depends on soil, seeds, disease, weather, etc. Best of luck with your growing food adventure! Sounds like a fun journey you're currently on.
Hi man . Thanks for sharing t your great videos of gardening. Where do you buy those kennel panel trelises .? Again thanks for share your knowledge. I love gardening . Have a great day.
You are welcome! Cattle panel trellises - I get those at Fleet Farm or Tractor Supply - whichever store has them cheaper at the time. I only buy them on sale.
Great looking garden! Cattle panel for $25. I'm jealous! Even converting to Cdn $ would stll be less than $50, they are $90 Cdn where I live, but they hold up so well it's worth it. I have one, has been my tomato trellis for years. Need to get a couple more, at least :)
cattle panel is super expensive here in australia too! we were lucky that previous owners left a couple of them here, and we've taken down a lot of fencing they'd made with just random wire panels we use for other trellis's in the garden - but yeah, wish we had those usa prices! even timber just by itself is so expensive here now!
Another helpful video, thank you! How do you think the butternut squash would fair on the trellis in a windy area? We are in Cape Breton so we see some extreme weather.
I don't think that should matter too much - just a quick response. It would definitely help reduce any mold issues. It's hard to say, never having experience with that type of climate.
We have a local area that sells soil but i want organic and they dont have that. their prices are also higher than i get for bagged organic soil so i buy it bagged at the box stores. Its expensiveeee but its not bad once the bed is filled because topping off takes so little. I spent probably $600 in soil and amendments last year and this year im adding 10+ 6x3 beds which will be roughly $800 more. And thats with using a layering system to save on soil costs. Im starting a composting system this year though and next year ill be able to top everything off with just the compost i accumulate. I also have a large in ground area that i only add a little compost to each year.
That is awesome. I like it. I like it. I’ve been thinking about doing that with tree limbs then I just overlooked it now looking at yours. Oh yeah it’s a great idea. I didn’t know if it worked good as good but yeah, I like it. Awesome. awesome I just found your channel.
They're great! Free resource and sturdy. I use maple and oak to get a year or 2 more out of them. Tie up the crops using jute twine is best IMO because we can throw it all in the compost at the end of the season.
If you see a tree trimming truck in your area, they will gladly give you a load. Then they don’t have to pay a disposal fee. Feed stores have lots of cardboard they will give you.
I've always wondered how the trellising affects other nearby beds re: shading and also how you do water when you need to. Obviously overhead sprinklers don't work when things are that tall. Do you have a cheap solution for drip irrigation? Thanks!
Are you referring to the crops grown in the raised beds underneath the arched trellis's? As far as the climbing crops shading other crops, we place the trellis's on the north side and west sides of the garden so the morning and afternoon sun reaches everything. I have a video about how we rarely weed and water the garden here: th-cam.com/video/DoKmhaFtw8w/w-d-xo.html Hopefully that helps to explain more. I just use a regular hose with a shower head nozzle. The height of the crops don't change how we water. We place the nozzle close to the soil and make sure the water can reach the roots of the crops.
You don’t need a truck. They’re nice, but overrated. Any car with a tow package and a 5x8 trailer works just fine. Don’t have a trailer, rent one. Buying a used one is cheaper than years and years of truck payments.
No. That's not what we use cardboard for at all. We use cardboard way underneath the raised beds - the roots don't come close to it. We also use cardboard under the wood chips in the walking paths to suppress weeds.
@togetherweharvest ok im creating new raised beds on grass n layed my cardboard then added twigs n pine n leaves n then dirt n top will be compost it'll be 10 inches
Thanks for the sub! We don't have issues with pests - so no real video content can be made concerning them. We have the occasional beetle eating our green bean leaves but that's about it. I knock them off and that's it.
I get this question a lot. Good question that I still cannot figure out. Short answer is no. For some reason the deer don’t touch our garden, even though they easily could.
Well presented, generally impressed, I picked up a couple new ideas, yet your math is all wet. At $10 per cedar fence plank its over $200 for one 4 X 24 ft raised bed .because of posts, corners and screws/nails, and sales tax. You need to redo your calculations for that entire garden.
False. Currently, cedar fence pickets are $2.74 per plank for 6 foot boards. I'm not sure where your '$10 fence plank' price came from. The raised beds are 4x18, not 4x24 like you stated. Also, the 'posts' were free. I used scrap lumber for that - drops from other projects. The screws were also free. You can find galvanized nails for low cost when purchased in bulk, that would not add much to these builds. Each raised bed uses 16 cedar planks, each one is 6 feet in length. $2.74 multiplied by 16 = 43.84 (not inlcuded sales tax, which is 5.5%). Also, $2.74 are the current prices that I literally just looked up. When I built these beds, I'm confident the prices were even lower. Please explain to me, clearly, why I need to redo my calculations for this entire garden - I would love to know why. Thanks for watching, Elaine.
Better yet go get some wood pallets. Bunches of places give them away. Many are cedar, it will take more of them but you can use the whole pallet for planks and splicing joints. All it takes is your time to take them apart. For soil, like you, made a big compost pile of the fall leaves and mulch will be mowed grass. What isn’t used for mulch will go into the compost pile along with kitchen scraps. Spring time the chicken coop is getting new straw bedding. Will side dress raised beds and into the compost pile for the rest of it. But I’m in no big rush and can wait. Plan on growing the size of my garden over the next few years as compost comes available and the trees drop their leaves.
We don't all have all the resources that you have n strength so if we need to buy bags of soil well do it I just spent $100 n it was curbside it's important we grow food but I'd love to have all your resources to get free everything
I totally call BS on what you say about costs. It’s just being deceptive. When you say, oh I got my cold frame for free, the t-posts were already here, I just had scrap lumber laying around! Just a 50’ roll of welded wire costs $75.
You can have great garden infrastructure without those items you mentioned. I don’t need a cold frame, I could have used tree limbs instead of t posts and scrap lumber is really easy to get for free. The main point of this video, which you clearly missed, is that you can find, build or create most of your resources for your garden for little to no money. You don’t need to do what I did. Search for free items online and after a while, you’ll have resources to build a garden. What ‘costs’ are deceptive to you? Be creative. Have ambition.
Losing money, scale is too small. - Been farming for 15 years. Stop listening to morons. Growing flowers is futile in such a small scale setup. God I swear...
Farming for 15 years doesn't mean you're good at it. You probably are, but experience does not equate to success. I know people who have been teachers, doctors, lawyers, contractors, etc for 30+ years but are not good at what they do. With our butternut squash, just last season, we grew $130 of it. That's using cheap, Walmart pricing per pound. Not organic, locally grown prices. So $130 was saved with growing just one crop. Tell me again how we're 'losing money'? The entire garden, with soil, cost less than $500. If you were to add up the dollar value from our harvest just from last season, I guarantee you we easily grew more than $500 - not to mention we'll be using this garden for many many more years, not needing to invest much money in it. Please explain to me, clearly, how we are losing money.
@@togetherweharvest I think I commented in the wrong video there my man. I was a little tipsy last night. I don't even remember typing this. MY BAD. I don't know what I was talking about growing flowers for. Do your thing bro, nice setup.
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Great use of fallen trees. I’ll be searching our woods for wood after the winter winds to make some teepees. Thanks for the idea.
Thank you!
It make growing food more enjoyable too!
So many free resources out there. Excellent content 💯.
Thank you!
Yes, with a little creativity and patience, find free resources is possible.
When I started my garden was 5 raised beds lol i can tell you I kept expanding as I had funds now my garden is 100’x100’ I have 8 above ground beds, 20 mineral tubs, 10 wicking tubs and 50 grow bags I can say grow as much as you can of what you enjoy eating, my first year taught me a lot!, living here in mid texas I am able to grow 10 months a year and thank God for my chickens, I till their run twice a year, remove that soil and pile it onto a tarp and cover it sits in direct sun, then buy cheap top soil and refill their run…. They turn that top soil into composted manure soil within 6 months. I amend my soil and refill my beds, tubs, bags as I harvest.
Love this!
That's a really neat idea about your chickens and how you use them to help with soil/compost - well done!
What percentage would you say that you grow your own food? At least when it comes to produce.
What is a mineral tub? I wish to learn as much as possible before I get a small homestead.
@@lindahernandez7768 cattle farmers give their cattle mineral tubs filled with minerals like a salt lick it provides vitamins and nutrients that they can’t get over winter on just hay
@@lindahernandez7768 my coworker has a lot of cattle but no garden so he gave me these big strong tubs and when my tomatos and bell peppers and other veggies produce he just wants me to share … bartering is a great way to get what you need without $ changing hands
Glad to have run into you today! We live in NW Arkansas, now but used to live in the Ashland, WI area. Love finding fellow believers gardening as we do. We're in the process of moving our garden to a different area on our 2 acres, so I'm recharging my memory so I build it right. My only problem is getting my strong grandsons to help build it!😅. Thanks for the videos and may God bless you and yours. ❤
Oh nice! Ashland area is beautiful.
Hopefully some things you see from my videos will help you when relocating your garden. Sounds like quite the task!
Thanks for watching and may God bless you all as well.
I'm also in NWAR! ❤In Eureka!
I find most towns have recycle their leaves making it into compost and they usually have topsoil also. Its usually very cheap to buy. I pay $ 23. For 1 yd of topsoil and 26 for compost. I hire a small dump truck to haul 6 yds of soil for around 50$. Ratio 2yds of compost to 1 yd of topsoil for garden soil. I gather manure in Garbage cans from farmers to mix w the soil. Its alittle work but im 74 yrs old and i do it. It makes wonderful soil. I use espom land and sea and bi tone to mix in the holes to plant . I have outstanding results. U must start with good
soil or u are wasting ur time and money in gardening.
This guy is right on w his info.
You’ve got a great setup there. Being creative and mindful of your resources is what it’s all about.
Bad soil = bad garden, period. It’s not a popular topic but definitely the most important when it comes to growing food.
Thanks for sharing your experiences.
@@togetherweharvest so happy that u are on utube to guide people to raise good food. Everyone needs to do this, someday soon we will only have the food we grow to eat.
I persevere everything I can.
It’s a possible situation that could occur.
When I started in a new area, I learned when a couple of local towns had their ‘yard waste’ pick-up days, when residents would put their bagged grass/leaves, branches, etc, in bags. I would cruise around taking bags of grass and leaves that I needed.
That’s a great idea.
Free natural resource are all over the place.
that sounds awesome!
No concern about their pesticide and herbicide use?
@@mmiller1011 Not really. Composting clears a lot of it. When you have really, really poor soil, everything helps. Also, the grass/dead leaves mix composted quite hot.
@@doloresreynolds8145your right, the Monroe’s act in an amazing bioremediation and the leaves in most probability, say a maple, oak tree are not sprayed and are mining a trove of micronutrients from deep in the soil that may not be available at the surface.
Thank you for the nice advice. Greeting from Sweden
Absolutely! My pleasure
That butternut squash going up the cattle panel looks so delicious.
It's our favorite crop to grow and eat.
Thanks for noticing!
Thanks for the post office lead. I've looking to doing the cardboard thing with three or four layers to help combat Japanese knot weed in my yard.
Yes cardboard is excellent for all of that
Your videos are sooooooo awesome. I think your channel is so helpful and one of the best that I have seen. I always have problems with how to fertilize and how much and how often to water.
Happy to help!
We don't really use fertilizer. On occasion if I notice the crops that should be green, turning a different color, I'll add liquid organic fish fertilizer. Most of the nutrients comes from the chicken compost that they make right next to the garden.
love it ,absolutely love it. I really like that you're showing us how to do a great garden with very little money but lots of variety. excellent video, thanks!
Glad you enjoyed it
Great ideas here for using natural materials found everywhere! You are right, if one doesn’t have access to these materials on their own property, they definitely can be found if one looks for it. Where there is a will, there’s a way!!!! Love your videos, thank you for sharing your ideas and helping so many people. I am glad to have found you here on TH-cam. 😊
Absolutely! Helping others to be less reliant on ‘the system’ and food chain is what it’s all about.
Thanks for supporting the channel.
Love your garden thanks for sharing such great info.
You're welcome!
Thanks for watching.
You have that down to a system! My native clay based soil was an okay base for me to begin with, I have really improved my soil over the years with a steady annual application of homemade compost. If your native soil is useable, it’s certainly the cheapest way to go! If your soil isn’t acceptable, you have found the cheapest method!
Exactly. Either wait and make the soil better like you've done or buy local soil in bulk (if possible).
Thanks for watching!
Fence post cedar pickets is a great idea!
Yes, as long a they’re supported well.
Well, we have not found where to go get dirt at so we bought it by the bag. Really I just buy the cheap stuff or compost (yes, I started my own compost bin but it isn't anywhere near ready, takes time). With the first one I used cardboard under it, the second one I used magnolia leaves instead of cardboard (worked the same), in the new bed it mostly has maple leaves under it, I don't use branches, it seems counterproductive to me, roots can't go through branches and they don't break down very fast. We have sandy well draining soil here, I think that is why my beds have done so good. There really aren't any branches here in town and nope, I don't know anyone who lives anywhere that I can get some, not anymore. It's not always as easy as you think. I loved your idea of using fence boards! I am using railroad ties because 8 of them were here when we bought the house.
When I mentioned getting free branches and tree limbs, I mean it is possible to find them if you really want them. Walking through a city park after a wind storm, searching marketplace or craigslist for downed trees in people's yards, taking a stroll through public land somewhere. My point is that if someone really wants these materials, they can be found. Not necessary for a garden, but they help.
I've heard of people using railroad ties for raised beds. Are they treated with some kind of chemical?
Take care!
This is wired ,this is almost the way I do my garden , my garden stays wet almost year round.i live in s.west Ala..I use syrprus that I buy from individuals with portable Saw mills.Happy New year. WEY.
Excellent video. Great job of improvising, it's the key to survival.
Couldn’t agree more!
Cattle panels are 85 to 90 dollars in Canada. Because of the 16 ft length, you need truck or trailer to pick up.
I take kitchen scraps ,put in large cat litter bucket with shovel of soil and water,, this starts breaking down and then incorporate in your composter,,
I heard about that. That's unfortunate because they're really just welded steel. Way over priced up there.
PS we do a lot of the things you do but I really enjoyed seeing your layout. Given me some other ideas. We are in the mountains of swva and the land is all sloping, it can often no look as nice as yours. but it does produce a lot. and in reading your page below, we love God too, He is so great and so faithful. thanks for sharing. oh, I also subscribed
Glad I can be helpful - that's what it's all about. Why do you think it can't look that nice? Have you seen terraced gardens? Idk what your place looks like, but if it slopes a lot, terraced gardens can look amazing.
Glad to hear you are a follower of the God of the Bible!
Take care!
Cant wait to create this!! ❤
Have fun!!
In PA we had 30 acres with road side vege stand.
Great advice all the way around!!
Thank you !
Appreciate you watching.
Very thorough video and very helpful on the cheap (in the good way)!!! Im in NJ so a different zone but all things garden can be helpful. Keep the videos coming!!
Glad it was helpful!
Alot of great information. Thanks.
Glad it was helpful!
I built 2 small starter bed with used pickets, pretty much the same way. Great minds… 😁
Very cool! I hope they last you a while
@@togetherweharvest thanks, me too 😁
Enjoyed the video
Glad you enjoyed it!
i get my chips from tree services in the area. i have mountains of it decomposing and have changed the crappy soil of my orchard to an excellent moisture and nutrient holding soil.
That's a great resource.
Tree services in this area don't bring them to me. I've had my address registered online for years and nothing yet. Chip drop didn't work either.
Glad it works for you.
@@togetherweharvest i am right on the edge of town so they do a lot of work in my area. you must be farther out from town. that just means it takes longer to get chips. registering online, i have not tried. i just call their number and chat with them. i have 3 large piles larger than 20'x30'x12' equaling hundreds of truck loads. it takes a lot to cover a 1 acre orchard 🙂
Oh yea! that's a massive space to cover. Good thing you can easily get more chips when needed.
Do you find birds get caught up in the netting over the bed frame? I tried covering a tree with bird netting and no matter how I enclosed it I would find birds caught inside! Most of the time I was able to free them. Other times it was too late. We also look for free items. I picked up a huge amount of PVC irrigation tubing out for trash. The lady was so happy to let me have it so it could be reused. There are so many uses even if it had already been used. Your garden look wonderful using old free items. I try to tell one of my son's that you have to make things look good to pick up property value and improve curb appeal! We are working on rehabbing an old portable aluminum car port where the cover rotted out. I need a shade room and bird protection here in the AZ low desert! So far we have chicken wire sides and top,(new) and one screen door up (used). Working on planting more trees with leaves to use as mulch. I use free wood chips often. Thank you there is so much great info here! Job well done!!
No, not at all. The netting get placed over broccoli and cabbage - not something birds care much about. It's also much lower to the ground than a tree. I'm sure in a random accident it's possible but has yet to happen.
I'm happy to hear you're using many free and reused items. You'll end up appreciating the saved money in the long run.
Hello beautiful place there …
Thank you
sounds bad BUT.... where I live the sewage treatment plant dries out the sludge after processing and it is free compost. most of the process is done by bacteria, then ammonia (nitrogen) is used to sterilize what is left. what you eat just returns to being dirt.
Interesting...that's I first I hear a story like this one.
How about using the dirt o your land? Sterilize it by putting plastic on it, when its very hot during peak summer heat. Add compost and fertilizer and heebs to protect the plants while they grow!
I could have done that, yes, with more time and effort.
I know that the soil from where I purchased it was excellent right from the start and it’s affordable for us so we went with that instead.
Definitely more than one way to go about the process.
Ty ❤
Absolutely.
I’m in the uk and since 2020 everything has shot up in price. Can’t get anything for cheap/free unless you are prepared to travel 3-4 hours to get it for the garden I have found with market place. And alot of stuff that people drop off like woodchips etc want you to have a drive way- which we don’t- a huge garden and I mean it’s on 3 sides of the house. The land it sits on you could get 2 more houses without garden-but shoes ya the foot space. Think it’s like 40f at the side and probably the same at the back and then the front is 40x20f I would guess at.
But as we don’t have a drive way they won’t deliver as they wanna dump it in that space and won’t/can’t onto the main road.
We keep looking but it’s not easy.
Everything has shot up in price over in the states too. Another reason for people to grow their own food. Better off living in the country.
Good tips. I have a 20x40 garden. Just the welded wire perimeter fence and posts cost about $150. Too many deer around me to not fence. I try and plant leftover seeds in different unfenced gardens and the plants never make it past a few inches.
Yes fencing is a big one. For the life of me, I cannot figure out why deer do not eat from my garden. There are deer all around the property.
@@togetherweharvestyou're lucky you can avoid that expense. Only 2nd vid I've watched of yours, but it looks like you are pretty rural. You must have some weird deer, haha. I even have to fence my rhododendron in winter or they'll eat every piece of green on it.
Yes, we re rural but surprisingly only 6 miles from a city.
I think the deer become an even bigger issue for gardens in yards that are close to town. Less natural food around and less farm fields.
That's really interesting, I've just seen your other video from 5 months ago where you gave a tour when everything was green. I really cannot believe you are a 100 % self-sufficient on potatoes just from a small bed, some bags and a few "voluntary"😂 potatoes in between 😮, that's amazing. Allow me a few questions: 1. How many pounds of potatoes do you harvest from this garden? 2. Why did you install such a mini-garden, when you have a few acres at your disposition? I wonder because normally 800 sqf are said to be needed for potatoes only if you want to be self-sufficient on it. Obviously it depends on how much your family eats. I am currently installing an ediblve garden of around the same size (40 m2 beds, 20 m2 greenhouse and 12m2 of raised beds, that equals around 800 sqf). I am putting a lot of mental energy in how to organize the plants with going mostly vertical, planting in several shifts and so on, so we can get the most of our garden size. Pumpkins, beans and so on are obviously ideal for trellises but it's a puzzle to put them in a way that they don't overshadow each other. I have experimented with potatoe towers in the past (without great success) and find potatoe pyramids quite promising at the moment. What do you think about pyramids? I am also thinking about integrating some hydroponic towers (diy, cause the ones you can buy are sooo expensive) for cabbage and salad to get them in the vertical as well. Strawberries might also work well in towers, but filled with soil. I am just concerned if they make it over winter if they don't grow on tge ground, because the soil in the tower might freeze to a block. Well, I am probably gonna try and see. Much joy for you and your family with your homestead! Greetings from Germany
1. I have no idea how many pounds of potatoes we harvested last season. I did pick out a lot though. It was our best year so far.
2. We don't have a mini garden. It's not small or big - just a normal size. We use that size because we have the best sun in that area. We also intercrop and densely plant our crops close to one another to maximize yields. If the soil, seeds and other main growing conditions are good enough, you can grow more and more crops in small spaces. The other acres on our property are used for other purposes such as harvesting maple syrup and firewood. We also have hilly and mostly shady wooded acres. The 'open' acres with enough sun is maybe 2-3 acres in total.
Don't over think growing food. Just remember...
1. Good soil
2. Good seeds
3. Proper sun exposure
4. Proper watering and the rest will usually take care of itself
There are uncontrollable circumstances such as pests, unusually harsh weather and disease but those vary greatly from place to place.
Thanks for watching!
@@togetherweharvest Hi, thanks for your answer and tipps. And sorry, if the expression "mini-garden" came across the wrong way, it wasn't meant as an offense or critical at all (who am I to criticize how you use your own land?). It's the total opposite, I am very impressed and seriously interested in why you did it that way. I've been doing some research for the last years on how much land you actually need to be self-sufficient and the estimations and experiences center around 70 m2 per person for vegetables only (not including grain/corn, fruits or space for animals), depending on your nutrition, so for vegans or vegetarians it's even more. That's where I came from. I would love to have some more squaremetres, but it's really difficult to buy a little more land round here at the moment... Your example is very inspiring. I'll see how far I can get with what we have. Cheers!
No worries. It was interesting to hear mini garden because some people say my garden is big (even though it's not). Those people probably have small yards or a balcony garden.
The 70m2 per person - interesting. That's probably a generalization that would be accurate for most people.
I choose not to use numbers like that because it depends on the growing conditions.
Like I said earlier, I grow more food in a small space than some grow in large space. It all depends on soil, seeds, disease, weather, etc.
Best of luck with your growing food adventure! Sounds like a fun journey you're currently on.
Check with your city/county they might have a green waste program that gives away free compost to residents.
Good idea.
The more the comments come in, the more ideas are shared that I didn't think of in the video.
Thank you!
Hi man . Thanks for sharing t your great videos of gardening. Where do you buy those kennel panel trelises .? Again thanks for share your knowledge. I love gardening . Have a great day.
You are welcome!
Cattle panel trellises - I get those at Fleet Farm or Tractor Supply - whichever store has them cheaper at the time. I only buy them on sale.
We live in Western NC, those tree branch posts would be gone 1 or 2 yrs, termites.
That's unfortunate.
Great looking garden! Cattle panel for $25. I'm jealous! Even converting to Cdn $ would stll be less than $50, they are $90 Cdn where I live, but they hold up so well it's worth it. I have one, has been my tomato trellis for years. Need to get a couple more, at least :)
Oh wow!
I still can't believe that pricing. Sorry things are to pricy for you. Hard to get ahead.
cattle panel is super expensive here in australia too! we were lucky that previous owners left a couple of them here, and we've taken down a lot of fencing they'd made with just random wire panels we use for other trellis's in the garden - but yeah, wish we had those usa prices! even timber just by itself is so expensive here now!
Sorry to her about that. Basic items to help folks be more self sufficient should not be that expensive
@@togetherweharvest so true! It goes way beyond exchange rates and smaller populations!
Another helpful video, thank you! How do you think the butternut squash would fair on the trellis in a windy area? We are in Cape Breton so we see some extreme weather.
I don't think that should matter too much - just a quick response. It would definitely help reduce any mold issues. It's hard to say, never having experience with that type of climate.
We have a local area that sells soil but i want organic and they dont have that. their prices are also higher than i get for bagged organic soil so i buy it bagged at the box stores. Its expensiveeee but its not bad once the bed is filled because topping off takes so little. I spent probably $600 in soil and amendments last year and this year im adding 10+ 6x3 beds which will be roughly $800 more. And thats with using a layering system to save on soil costs. Im starting a composting system this year though and next year ill be able to top everything off with just the compost i accumulate. I also have a large in ground area that i only add a little compost to each year.
I hope those beds last a long time and that you get bountiful harvests to at least break even financially after awhile.
Thanks for watching!
That is awesome. I like it. I like it. I’ve been thinking about doing that with tree limbs then I just overlooked it now looking at yours. Oh yeah it’s a great idea. I didn’t know if it worked good as good but yeah, I like it. Awesome. awesome I just found your channel.
They're great! Free resource and sturdy. I use maple and oak to get a year or 2 more out of them.
Tie up the crops using jute twine is best IMO because we can throw it all in the compost at the end of the season.
good video!
Glad you enjoyed it
If you see a tree trimming truck in your area, they will gladly give you a load. Then they don’t have to pay a disposal fee.
Feed stores have lots of cardboard they will give you.
Absolutely. The options for free materials are endless.
Thanks for watching!
I need to do raised beds, we have 3 acres GA red clay soil.
I've always wondered how the trellising affects other nearby beds re: shading and also how you do water when you need to. Obviously overhead sprinklers don't work when things are that tall. Do you have a cheap solution for drip irrigation? Thanks!
Are you referring to the crops grown in the raised beds underneath the arched trellis's?
As far as the climbing crops shading other crops, we place the trellis's on the north side and west sides of the garden so the morning and afternoon sun reaches everything.
I have a video about how we rarely weed and water the garden here: th-cam.com/video/DoKmhaFtw8w/w-d-xo.html
Hopefully that helps to explain more.
I just use a regular hose with a shower head nozzle. The height of the crops don't change how we water. We place the nozzle close to the soil and make sure the water can reach the roots of the crops.
i have to ask a question, where did/do you find cattle panels for $25.00? i sure would like to know. thanks
Fleet Farm. They were $30 but on sale for $25 at the time. Tractor supply had them for $35 last summer.
Tuyệt vời
If only I had a truck n strong man Mines gone working but very great tips❤🎉 n I have a small car
You don’t need a truck. They’re nice, but overrated.
Any car with a tow package and a 5x8 trailer works just fine. Don’t have a trailer, rent one. Buying a used one is cheaper than years and years of truck payments.
@togetherweharvest you're a do it kinda person n seen right through my excuses I need friends like you to push me passed my limitations. Than you!
Can you plant on top of freshly layed down cardboard? Wouldn't that impede your roots?
No. That's not what we use cardboard for at all.
We use cardboard way underneath the raised beds - the roots don't come close to it. We also use cardboard under the wood chips in the walking paths to suppress weeds.
@togetherweharvest ok im creating new raised beds on grass n layed my cardboard then added twigs n pine n leaves n then dirt n top will be compost it'll be 10 inches
That's a great way to do it
Love it. Hope you talk some pests in your videos..new SUB!
Thanks for the sub!
We don't have issues with pests - so no real video content can be made concerning them.
We have the occasional beetle eating our green bean leaves but that's about it. I knock them off and that's it.
Hi! Don t the deer just walk right up to your crops???
I get this question a lot. Good question that I still cannot figure out. Short answer is no. For some reason the deer don’t touch our garden, even though they easily could.
Do you have an aerial picture of your garden?
No...unfortunately not. I should have had one taken last year.
Are you looking for the design?
Yes, I watched your video over and over and I think I have a good grasp on your layout......😊
Do you have your layout on paper?
email me
What length cattle panels do yo use?
I want to say 12 feet, but I can't remember for sure.
Cattle panels are over $80 in Canada, wish I could find them for $30.
That’s a ridiculous price.
Sorry to hear that.
Well presented, generally impressed, I picked up a couple new ideas, yet your math is all wet. At $10 per cedar fence plank its over $200 for one 4 X 24 ft raised bed .because of posts, corners and screws/nails, and sales tax. You need to redo your calculations for that entire garden.
False.
Currently, cedar fence pickets are $2.74 per plank for 6 foot boards. I'm not sure where your '$10 fence plank' price came from.
The raised beds are 4x18, not 4x24 like you stated. Also, the 'posts' were free. I used scrap lumber for that - drops from other projects.
The screws were also free. You can find galvanized nails for low cost when purchased in bulk, that would not add much to these builds.
Each raised bed uses 16 cedar planks, each one is 6 feet in length. $2.74 multiplied by 16 = 43.84 (not inlcuded sales tax, which is 5.5%).
Also, $2.74 are the current prices that I literally just looked up. When I built these beds, I'm confident the prices were even lower.
Please explain to me, clearly, why I need to redo my calculations for this entire garden - I would love to know why.
Thanks for watching, Elaine.
Better yet go get some wood pallets. Bunches of places give them away. Many are cedar, it will take more of them but you can use the whole pallet for planks and splicing joints. All it takes is your time to take them apart. For soil, like you, made a big compost pile of the fall leaves and mulch will be mowed grass. What isn’t used for mulch will go into the compost pile along with kitchen scraps. Spring time the chicken coop is getting new straw bedding. Will side dress raised beds and into the compost pile for the rest of it.
But I’m in no big rush and can wait. Plan on growing the size of my garden over the next few years as compost comes available and the trees drop their leaves.
That's a good idea, as long as they are cedar and no chemicals have been applied. It's hard to know if they are chemical free or not.
@@togetherweharvest usually they are stenciled with a code you can find online. Many now are painted red/blue. Red is dangerous and blue is safe.
We don't all have all the resources that you have n strength so if we need to buy bags of soil well do it I just spent $100 n it was curbside it's important we grow food but I'd love to have all your resources to get free everything
I totally call BS on what you say about costs. It’s just being deceptive. When you say, oh I got my cold frame for free, the t-posts were already here, I just had scrap lumber laying around! Just a 50’ roll of welded wire costs $75.
You can have great garden infrastructure without those items you mentioned. I don’t need a cold frame, I could have used tree limbs instead of t posts and scrap lumber is really easy to get for free.
The main point of this video, which you clearly missed, is that you can find, build or create most of your resources for your garden for little to no money. You don’t need to do what I did. Search for free items online and after a while, you’ll have resources to build a garden.
What ‘costs’ are deceptive to you?
Be creative. Have ambition.
Losing money, scale is too small. - Been farming for 15 years. Stop listening to morons. Growing flowers is futile in such a small scale setup. God I swear...
Farming for 15 years doesn't mean you're good at it. You probably are, but experience does not equate to success.
I know people who have been teachers, doctors, lawyers, contractors, etc for 30+ years but are not good at what they do.
With our butternut squash, just last season, we grew $130 of it. That's using cheap, Walmart pricing per pound. Not organic, locally grown prices.
So $130 was saved with growing just one crop. Tell me again how we're 'losing money'?
The entire garden, with soil, cost less than $500. If you were to add up the dollar value from our harvest just from last season, I guarantee you we easily grew more than $500 - not to mention we'll be using this garden for many many more years, not needing to invest much money in it.
Please explain to me, clearly, how we are losing money.
@@togetherweharvest I think I commented in the wrong video there my man. I was a little tipsy last night. I don't even remember typing this. MY BAD. I don't know what I was talking about growing flowers for. Do your thing bro, nice setup.