The same pepper problem here. Most of the years i have a few peppers in my small polytunnel; in the better years i get a few somewhat eatable peppers 😂 the best it works for me to grow them in good size containers, so basically they will only visit outside for that few chilly months we call here the growing season 🤪
Make sure to keep them in an adequately sized containers about 4-5 gallons of soil per plant. I grow peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, cabbage, kale and herbs all-year round in my grow tent (half the size of Nate's). Providing at home good lighting, soil, minerals, and moisture will allow you to grow your produce any time. Also, when chosing pepper varieties, always look for the lowest number possible to maturity - 65-80 days. Happy growing.
Four plants are not hard to manage when potting up , rather than planting in ground. If you have space and enough light for them you will have no big problem. Most people start more than 4 plants and as they grow they could become unmanageable
Great stuff, Nate. Thanks. The hardest lesson I learned with indoor growing was learning the purpose of indoor growing. It is to establish seedlings that go outside and thrive without fear of frost or cold soil. Flowering and fruiting indoors is ADVANCED stuff. My purpose of staring a vegetable garden from seed is to establish seedlings and get them outside where they need to be.
To scratch my seed starting itch, I've started germination testing on some of my saved seeds. Now I'll have a better idea of what to expect when it's time to start seeds for real.
Thanks Nate, I would love to get my hands on a tent like that. Unfortunately, down here in Colombia can’t get those or the temp gauges. Any ideas.. I am so pumped to start my thriving like a Viking setup.
I made the mistake last year that I started too early and nursed unhealthy plants all summer! I won’t make that mistake again ! Thanks for the advice Nate. Wish I knew this last year.
I had a bunch of honeywort flowers almost die on me, strangely though they faired a lot better than the newer sprouts because I accidentally left the newer ones outside and they got cooked by the sun xD The honeyworts did miraculously! I got so many seeds and the thing also reseeded themselves several times more than the number of seeds I managed to save, so there was a pretty big mess of sprouts that ended uo getting frozen later, came to also find the plants were done with their life cycle pretty early too so I didn't even necessarily need to start them early and the ones I planted straight into the ground did not too bad either. This year I'm going to be going quite a bit bigger.
I did my seed starting mix differently this year- woo hoo!! It’s magic!! Living in Florida too… every one of my seedlings Popped this year!! Adding a tiny bit of nutrients like Nate said, adding boiling water to the starting mix plus a wee bit of vermiculite.. stirring all together- it was great!
Best video - chock full of info- thanks Nate ps in zone 8b eugene Oregon and my komatsuna, chijimisai,all made it thru the freezing rain in Jan ( covered with little tents) and now they are bolting! Crazy I’m eating some of the flowers- delicious!
Great process. I bought the gear and followed the plan last year and it was a seed starting bonanza over here in the 757. Thanks Nate! We were even growing microgreens all winter!
I’m blessed with a big and sunny laundry room, where I start my seeds. I just need to check on moisture. And I reuse the plastic containers from the grocery store that they sell strawberries and salad in. They have lids with holes, works perfect for my environment.
Had great success last year with a 4x4ft tent, lights, heat mat, timers and thermostat. I had very fast germination that saved me 2-3 weeks on some peppers. Need to try your fan placement advice. Tomatoes seem to love a good breeze.
Pacific Northwest here, zone 8b. Just found your channel and I'm loving it. Thank you!❤ I rent so I just have tubs, no in-ground (except a strawberry/garlic patch I made). I barely have enough sun to make gardening work. This year, I'm planning on tomato, peppers, lettuces, cucumber, celery, carrot, and a first for onion and radish. Wish me luck! 🍅🫑🥒🥕
best of luck my friend and all of those things sound resonable for container gardens on a balcony!... try to choose a bush variety of cucumber so it doesn't try to get so massive!
I use an organic potting medium which is pulverized composted wood chips, pasteurized chicken poo, and coir, I mix that with organic jiffy seed start mix which is so fine it goes airborne. I then mix 3 cups of extra fine biochar that is charged up with jadam-seaweed, labs, and urea. The results have been astounding. I have mustard, broccoli, kale, collards, and onions going. My 6b planting is about 1-2 weeks sooner than Nate's...
This is my 3rd year playing around with all home made growing medium, compost, leaf mold and worm castings. I use no manures in my compost, it is all either garden and kitchen waste, comfrey, nettles and saved leaves. The biggest thing about compost it has to be totally broken down, the hot compost I am using now has been aged since last June and early July. The leaf mold I create has no recognizable evidence of leaves what so ever. The leaf mold I am using now was harvested in Oct. This is my 4th year raising red wigglers, I generate approximately 100 to 150 gallons of worm castings a year. My personnel seed starting mix is just leaf mold and as much perlite that looks right to me, perhaps 10%. My potting mix is 40% leaf mold, 40% aged compost and 20% worm castings, when that is mixed up I add some perlite for drainage. This year I have been watering mosquito dunk granules (Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis) into my worm bins, stored compost and leaf mold to get ahead of small flying insect problems, so far so good, fingers crossed. Last year I did an experiment leaf mold vs peat as a seed starter. The leaf mold produced much more robust plants and thicker root masses. I know this is anecdotal, but it is working for me. All I feed my seedlings is worm and compost extracts before they get out in the garden. Great video! wish I had watched it 4 years ago. Stay Well!!!!
I just posted a video on "Brian's garden" how I converted a 55 gal drum into a continuous flow through bin, so far so good. My favorite worm bin so far has been using large grow bags. Right now I have 2, 50 gal, and a 15 down in the basement. for me the grow bags are the easiest, never have to worry about over watering, which is one way worm bins fail. Will be posting a feeding on my channel today or tomorrow. Stay Well!!!@@jSheapullen
Awesome video. We started our seeds this weekend, but last year we made the cardinal mistake of starting way too early. Great grow set up. I love the mushrooms and gives me some new ideas for growing this year. We have large empty fish tanks that we use for growing mushrooms. After lambing season I will be trying out many of your new techniques. Thanks for all the wisdom. Blessings
Thanks Nate, I've been using coco coir and peat moss with my own worm castings it seemed to be working quite well, if you'd seen a few years ago it would've been hard to do any worse.
I definitely value and appreciate all of your input and advice Nate! However...when it comes to air circulation(fans), I prefer and see positive results in using a small(1 foot high) oscillating tower fan set to oscillate on low and directly into the plants direction. I notice in doing this, that my peppers stems become very hardy and rigid and usually do not need staking of any kind, when transplanted to the garden. It may(I don't really know) just also help to keep pest infestations from occurring. Thank you very much...and keep 'em coming!👍✌
yes absolutely my friend that will help to strengthen the stems and plants and actually in this setup that fan moves so much air the plants are definitely swaying nice and strong in the breeze.... its hard to tell from the video how powerful the fan really is... yes circulation is key!!! thank you!
you are so awesome the way u explain your videos I love watching them. We haven't had very many good harvesting years due to bad soil, but hopefully with your methods this year we will have bumper crops 🤞🤞🤞 I would be interested in learning more about the best way to get green grass from dirt to growth & in super dry high heat areas where they turn the water off on ya during the summer so your grass just dies. Also fruit trees planting, how to prune, harvesting etc. Thanks for the info you have shared I have learned so much!
I appreciate your enthusiasm my friend!... join our free discord community using the link in the description of this video.... then go to the section titled "lawn care" and ask your questions there because we have some tribe members that know a lot more about actual lawn care than I do and they can help you out!
I love every video never get bored watching them over again , 1st year of a real seed starting set-up I did ok not having a perfect environment but it was not easy and when I would transfer them outside it would take so much longer to get them growing strong. I do love learning and trail and error isn’t a bad thing, I’m looking forward to seeing the difference in my plants this year giving them the best start possible 👍👍👍❤️❤️❤️
Wow. I’ve been starting my own veg. plants indoors for about 4 years and watched 100’s probably 1000’s of youtube videos on the subject. This is the second one of yours and I was blown away when I saw that grow tent. First time I’ve seen that concept for vegetables. With a cold (uninsulated) basement I can’t start plants downstairs. Looks like one of these grow tents might be just what I need to keep the plants at a warm (70 ?) degrees. Subscribed.
Love the video so excited to start my new set up, I should have all my new set-up delivered in a few days going to start my onions asap. Im using several of the seeds you recommended for us to use from bakers creek . Thanks for all your help my friend, proud to be part of the Viking tribe 👍❤️🌞🙏🏼
I remember on greengregs channel for compost worms when he had fly or gnat issues he recommended adding dolomite or rock dust to adjust the ph I think. Another channel used a fan for a few hours to remove moisture and strengthen seedlings.
Good morning Nate I bought some shop lights with 13,000, lumens and 5000k I've got some tomato seedlings with the first set of true leaves coming out are these lights too much for them or what's a safe distance to keep them at Thanks It's me, Alex forige from California (Bay area) (AKA OG AL)
Love worm castings, similarly, love compost for the OUTDOOR garden. Aren't castings prone to having all other sorts of bug eggs (including fungus gnats)?
Just found a solution to pests on your fruit trees and vegetables. Surround Kaolin Clay. It is sold as a powder that you mix with water and spray all over your garden.
I have started seeds in my cold basement (low to mid 50’s F) with shop lights for the last 15 years. Always started my seeds much earlier because they germinated and grew slowly. This year I acquired a grow tent after seeing in your video last year, hoping to create a warmer growing environment. Fingers crossed…
that's a good point for starting earlier because yes at that temp they will grow much slower!... you'll love the grow tent its a game changer because it keeps the heat from the lights and the heat mat so well contained it'll get into the 70's no problem because mine does and my basement is the same temp as yours... have a great season!!
I just love your videos...so grateful for you in sharing your extensive experience/expertise! You also explain things very well and concisely. My DH thinks so too and he's been teaching and consulting online/in person for decades, so there's a huge thumbs up for you from a seasoned pro :) Anyway, Soooo many questions... I've never used a greenhouse before we built our cedar post and beam one in the back of our property. We installed radiant heat under cement under 2x2 pavers and it has solar roof vents that only open when the temperature gets high enough. It does have lower vents that I can control manually and I have 2 fans, one at each end. I also picked up your recommended seed starting setup, but could only find 2 10,000 lumens shop lights. Enough light from these? Will this setup work well enough to prevent "undesireables" from moving in if I'm careful with watering? I am using Fox Farms organic soil plus adding organic worm castings... Thank you and I'll be sending a "raven" contribution to you!
I have onions and ginger going. I have also started Goji berries as an experiment. I’m moving in the next month or so ands that has got me worried about timing with starting seedlings. At least I won’t be starting too early 😂
Much love from Ukraine brother! What do you think about using dilluted kombucha vinegar to acidify water and feed microbes in the soil? I couldnt find much on the internet about it. I'm so lucky I found your channel, you got a new subscriber ❤
Just watching this video i feel like i just spent about $400- $1000. Worm castings, organic potting soil, lights, fan, 2 tray watering systems, sifters for soil, thermostats, environment gauges, timers, humidifiers, 😢.
soil blocks are absolutely still just as amazing as always!!... but in the pursuit of more knowledge and experience with different gear I'm using primarily these new heavy duty trays and inserts from bootstrap farmer... they're in my amazon storefront if you want to check them out....
I’m one of those that make our own mix with compost/ leaf mold etc… and I would argue that it works quite well, but caution that the context is important. First, Instead of using grow lights in the basement I built a small lean to style greenhouse on the deck that encloses an area outside my kitchen windows such that I can use those windows and the warmth of the house to regulate the greenhouse environment thus allowing me to start my seeds in sunlight. Next, I don’t want to discriminate between desirables and undesirables in terms of what species of microbes and insects are tolerated and which are ostracized, but instead define desirables as those individual plants which thrive in my growing context and the undesirables as those which do not. Finally, I save my own seed from the crops I grow and allow them to promiscuously pollinate each other without concern for “variety” this ensures maximum adaptability of the crop to my specific context year over year, and allows for a huge degree of variability from which I can select the most desirable shapes, colors, flavors, and the most vigorous, hands off growers for propagating into the future. All of this is to say that, while your approach of keeping out the undesirables is the right call for your context, it is by no means the right or only way.
I have a question about dirt. My land I bought, the soil is dead. I’ve tried everything. So I’m doing raised garden beds. I’m planning on having black dirt aka top soil delivered. How do I amend the black dirt for plant growth? Blood meal? Kelp? Liquid chicken poop? Egg shells?
that depends on what you have most available... ideally well composted manures of cow or horse or chicken.... you'll want about 10-20% of the final mix to be the manure because the black "dirt" being delivered will undoubtedly be very lacking in nutrients it always is!
Please respond to my seed starting medium technique. In the bottom half of a seed starting tray, I place my favorite homemade compost/soil. The top half is a combo of peat moss, vermiculite and perlite which is obviously the zone the seed is placed in order to germinate. Once germinated, my theory is that the seed will use its own husk nutrients as food until the sprout roots reaches into the compost and finds additional nutrients it requires at its more advanced stage. Your passion and knowledge is priceless. Thank you.
yes this will work great so long as your compost doesn't bring in hundreds of insect eggs including mites and aphids and gnats, etc... if in a greenhouse then yes that'll work just fine!!
I am in South Bend , IN and just checked my last frost date. It says between May 10-27. In the past I have always started my seeds to early and could for the life of me not figure out why I had all the problems you described. So this year I am following your method. Question: according to my last frost date I shouldn’t start my seeds until at least April 1st except onions and ginger. Can this be right??? Thank you tribe
yes you are in the same zone and timing as me so just stay tuned to the Saturday live streams and do exactly as I do at the same times and everything will work out great... I'll discuss this more and more each Saturday as the season approaches
@@gardenlikeaviking sounds great. I am brand new to your methods so I don’t have any compost yet and have to make done of the other things … I will do the best I can with what I got. I ordered the trays, bought a shop light, got the timer and temp regulator plus the heat mats. Money is tight but I will try my very best. 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 Nate
Great if you have your money for all that gear, but I am trying to come up with enough money just to buy the decent potting soil to grow my seeds in. But great information for those who can afford it.
well once you start trying to produce a fruit or a flower or a tuber then now you have to completely change the parameters... you'll need far more intense light than just shop lights if you want to get actual potatoes to produce... you'd need lights like the $500 light I showed in the video... several of them running full power!!... its not worth the energy and cost
@@gardenlikeaviking Thank you for responding. That was my assessment years ago when I was looking at using sodium light's years ago. I appreciate your videos.
Using that light for "different plants" 🤣I was a licensed "other plant" farm. The governments stole mine and most of the thousands of mom and pop business licenses here in oklahoma and they're hard at it to steal the rest from my friends still in it hanging on. They kicked my buddy out his $80k oil worker money greenhouse. Its been wild, cant say was fun at all especially the state dragging us all to court at will over false accusations like not having a sign they required that was blatantly there posted out front plain as day. Or accusing ppl of hundreds of plants they had in the state metrc tracking software as required. They destroyed so many peoples life work over 10k small businesses actually. But that's how we're getting into the market gardening and homesteading venture after a lifetime pursuit to start that business. Our government sucks for those of us who love those "other plants" 🤣😂 Great videos though appreciate the info. Helping a lot to convert this place from an Other plants farm to food for world war 3 and farmers market. Great channel dude.
Now I have a medical card instead of the commercial license. Its time to pot up 6 of my 12 "other plants" in the big 57x12 hoop house into 100 gallons from 30s. And time to make some permaculture pots for the peppers in the forest at sun up in a few here. So glad I did not clear cut all the forest for greenhouses like i first planned clueless the government would declare war on our businesses. Amish life it is🤣😂🤣🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳
To me, the problem with "SEEDS/SEEDLINGS SHOULDN'T GET NUTRIENTS" is because Synthetic nutrients are so strong/toxic, and the plants aren't strong enough yet to deal with it, so they will just perish. I think just like our bodies have an immune system to fight off toxins, so do plants. I don't see how a plant wouldn't want nutrients right away and how they would want to be planted in a proper medium. I was reading recently that older seeds and harder to germinate seeds should be planted in Earthworm Castings as they are rich in nutrients. Sure, too much chemical-free/organic/natural/etc nutrients can overload the seedling most likely too, but I would think it's more difficult.
yes that makes a lot of sense!!... that line of thinking probably did come from the chemical fertilizer crowd when they burned their seedlings with too much Miracle Grow! lol ... could easily happen using chems
@@gardenlikeaviking😆! Yes, exactly... Too many miracles ending their plants... It's just an overload of the system. IT's similar to the processed sugars/etc we deal with in human foods. Human factory "food" is exactly the same as synthetic nutrients. Made to be directly absorbed by the body and pass the gut microbiome, thus all the sickness and disease we see in "first world countries." You might be able to do it with natural items, but the Plant would/should regulate it's intake itself with the microbiome, instead of with synthetics where it would essentially be FORCED to uptake all those nutrients.
Great setup Nate! I have a similar thing going for super hot chilli seedlings but it's in a closet. For my seed mix I use ⅓ coco coir that is pre-soaked in liquid seaweed fertilizer and I mix that with ⅓ sifted store compost and ⅓ perlite. Works great. You gotta get you a heatpad though guys, they get those seeds poppin'.
This information is so necessary. Get one of these wrong and your whole setup suffers. I lost all of my onions to fungus gnats because I used store bought potting mix and I didn't inoculate it with scalding water first. Disappointing but it will never happen again.
I love seeing your setups. You explain things clearly but 1 picture is worth 1000 words. Thank you for all you do.
thank you my friend and yes "showing" is so much more impactful than just "telling"!!
8:01 Lol "different plants"
You are doing great my brother. Keep up the wonderful job. You are imparting a wealth of knowledge to the world.
I did start 4 pepper plants earlier than recommended. My grow season isn’t very long so I’d like to try a head start so they turn red before frost.
The same pepper problem here. Most of the years i have a few peppers in my small polytunnel; in the better years i get a few somewhat eatable peppers 😂 the best it works for me to grow them in good size containers, so basically they will only visit outside for that few chilly months we call here the growing season 🤪
Make sure to keep them in an adequately sized containers about 4-5 gallons of soil per plant. I grow peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, cabbage, kale and herbs all-year round in my grow tent (half the size of Nate's). Providing at home good lighting, soil, minerals, and moisture will allow you to grow your produce any time. Also, when chosing pepper varieties, always look for the lowest number possible to maturity - 65-80 days. Happy growing.
Peppers are slow growers you will be fine.
Four plants are not hard to manage when potting up , rather than planting in ground.
If you have space and enough light for them you will have no big problem.
Most people start more than 4 plants and as they grow they could become unmanageable
Can you do some videos on seed saving ( carrots ,onions etc.) Thanks
Shout out to the European Farmers!
Great setup and valuable information. Thank you for sharing Nate. Best wishes Jason from Melbourne Australia.
Great stuff, Nate. Thanks. The hardest lesson I learned with indoor growing was learning the purpose of indoor growing. It is to establish seedlings that go outside and thrive without fear of frost or cold soil. Flowering and fruiting indoors is ADVANCED stuff. My purpose of staring a vegetable garden from seed is to establish seedlings and get them outside where they need to be.
perfectly said my friend!!!
To scratch my seed starting itch, I've started germination testing on some of my saved seeds. Now I'll have a better idea of what to expect when it's time to start seeds for real.
great idea!!
Adding nutrients in the shedding mix is such great advice for new gardeners.
Thanks Nate, I would love to get my hands on a tent like that. Unfortunately, down here in Colombia can’t get those or the temp gauges. Any ideas.. I am so pumped to start my thriving like a Viking setup.
I made the mistake last year that I started too early and nursed unhealthy plants all summer! I won’t make that mistake again ! Thanks for the advice Nate. Wish I knew this last year.
I had a bunch of honeywort flowers almost die on me, strangely though they faired a lot better than the newer sprouts because I accidentally left the newer ones outside and they got cooked by the sun xD
The honeyworts did miraculously!
I got so many seeds and the thing also reseeded themselves several times more than the number of seeds I managed to save, so there was a pretty big mess of sprouts that ended uo getting frozen later, came to also find the plants were done with their life cycle pretty early too so I didn't even necessarily need to start them early and the ones I planted straight into the ground did not too bad either.
This year I'm going to be going quite a bit bigger.
I have my own worm farm. Will soon be selling worms and castings.
Yay!!!! Happy Frog, I love that company, use it 100%.
Thank goodness, I'm in Florida! 🌞
I miss Florida
I did my seed starting mix differently this year- woo hoo!! It’s magic!! Living in Florida too… every one of my seedlings Popped this year!! Adding a tiny bit of nutrients like Nate said, adding boiling water to the starting mix plus a wee bit of vermiculite.. stirring all together- it was great!
Best video - chock full of info- thanks Nate ps in zone 8b eugene Oregon and my komatsuna, chijimisai,all made it thru the freezing rain in Jan ( covered with little tents) and now they are bolting! Crazy I’m eating some of the flowers- delicious!
Great process. I bought the gear and followed the plan last year and it was a seed starting bonanza over here in the 757. Thanks Nate! We were even growing microgreens all winter!
Looking forward to getting started!
I’m blessed with a big and sunny laundry room, where I start my seeds. I just need to check on moisture. And I reuse the plastic containers from the grocery store that they sell strawberries and salad in. They have lids with holes, works perfect for my environment.
The main man is back with a bang!!!
such a nice set up! Eva
Had great success last year with a 4x4ft tent, lights, heat mat, timers and thermostat. I had very fast germination that saved me 2-3 weeks on some peppers. Need to try your fan placement advice. Tomatoes seem to love a good breeze.
Thank you for the knowledge! Can't wait but I will :)
Pacific Northwest here, zone 8b. Just found your channel and I'm loving it. Thank you!❤
I rent so I just have tubs, no in-ground (except a strawberry/garlic patch I made). I barely have enough sun to make gardening work. This year, I'm planning on tomato, peppers, lettuces, cucumber, celery, carrot, and a first for onion and radish. Wish me luck! 🍅🫑🥒🥕
best of luck my friend and all of those things sound resonable for container gardens on a balcony!... try to choose a bush variety of cucumber so it doesn't try to get so massive!
Good luck on carrots. I struggled raising carrots but I found raising beets are way easier haha.
I’m so grateful! Thank you so very very much!
Thanks bro,good video.
I use an organic potting medium which is pulverized composted wood chips, pasteurized chicken poo, and coir, I mix that with organic jiffy seed start mix which is so fine it goes airborne. I then mix 3 cups of extra fine biochar that is charged up with jadam-seaweed, labs, and urea. The results have been astounding. I have mustard, broccoli, kale, collards, and onions going. My 6b planting is about 1-2 weeks sooner than Nate's...
Incredible production Nate! Thank you my friend for all the great pointers and teachings.
This is my 3rd year playing around with all home made growing medium, compost, leaf mold and worm castings.
I use no manures in my compost, it is all either garden and kitchen waste, comfrey, nettles and saved leaves. The biggest thing about compost it has to be totally broken down, the hot compost I am using now has been aged since last June and early July.
The leaf mold I create has no recognizable evidence of leaves what so ever. The leaf mold I am using now was harvested in Oct.
This is my 4th year raising red wigglers, I generate approximately 100 to 150 gallons of worm castings a year.
My personnel seed starting mix is just leaf mold and as much perlite that looks right to me, perhaps 10%. My potting mix is 40% leaf mold, 40% aged compost and 20% worm castings, when that is mixed up I add some perlite for drainage.
This year I have been watering mosquito dunk granules (Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis) into my worm bins, stored compost and leaf mold to get ahead of small flying insect problems, so far so good, fingers crossed.
Last year I did an experiment leaf mold vs peat as a seed starter. The leaf mold produced much more robust plants and thicker root masses. I know this is anecdotal, but it is working for me.
All I feed my seedlings is worm and compost extracts before they get out in the garden.
Great video! wish I had watched it 4 years ago.
Stay Well!!!!
Love what you're doing!
What's your best worm 🪱 casting system?
Thank You!@@jSheapullen
I just posted a video on "Brian's garden" how I converted a 55 gal drum into a continuous flow through bin, so far so good. My favorite worm bin so far has been using large grow bags. Right now I have 2, 50 gal, and a 15 down in the basement. for me the grow bags are the easiest, never have to worry about over watering, which is one way worm bins fail. Will be posting a feeding on my channel today or tomorrow.
Stay Well!!!@@jSheapullen
Awesome video. We started our seeds this weekend, but last year we made the cardinal mistake of starting way too early. Great grow set up. I love the mushrooms and gives me some new ideas for growing this year. We have large empty fish tanks that we use for growing mushrooms. After lambing season I will be trying out many of your new techniques. Thanks for all the wisdom. Blessings
I'd love to see a few pictures of your fishtanks mushroom grow!... maybe post some on IG or in the viking community discord chat!?
I can't wait to start my own worm farm!! I dont have a tent but i think i will try to make my own!
Thanks Nate, I've been using coco coir and peat moss with my own worm castings it seemed to be working quite well, if you'd seen a few years ago it would've been hard to do any worse.
I definitely value and appreciate all of your input and advice Nate! However...when it comes to air circulation(fans), I prefer and see positive results in using a small(1 foot high) oscillating tower fan set to oscillate on low and directly into the plants direction. I notice in doing this, that my peppers stems become very hardy and rigid and usually do not need staking of any kind, when transplanted to the garden. It may(I don't really know) just also help to keep pest infestations from occurring. Thank you very much...and keep 'em coming!👍✌
yes absolutely my friend that will help to strengthen the stems and plants and actually in this setup that fan moves so much air the plants are definitely swaying nice and strong in the breeze.... its hard to tell from the video how powerful the fan really is... yes circulation is key!!! thank you!
you are so awesome the way u explain your videos I love watching them. We haven't had very many good harvesting years due to bad soil, but hopefully with your methods this year we will have bumper crops 🤞🤞🤞
I would be interested in learning more about the best way to get green grass from dirt to growth & in super dry high heat areas where they turn the water off on ya during the summer so your grass just dies.
Also fruit trees planting, how to prune, harvesting etc.
Thanks for the info you have shared I have learned so much!
I appreciate your enthusiasm my friend!... join our free discord community using the link in the description of this video.... then go to the section titled "lawn care" and ask your questions there because we have some tribe members that know a lot more about actual lawn care than I do and they can help you out!
I love every video never get bored watching them over again , 1st year of a real seed starting set-up I did ok not having a perfect environment but it was not easy and when I would transfer them outside it would take so much longer to get them growing strong. I do love learning and trail and error isn’t a bad thing, I’m looking forward to seeing the difference in my plants this year giving them the best start possible 👍👍👍❤️❤️❤️
Wow. I’ve been starting my own veg. plants indoors for about 4 years and watched 100’s probably 1000’s of youtube videos on the subject. This is the second one of yours and I was blown away when I saw that grow tent. First time I’ve seen that concept for vegetables. With a cold (uninsulated) basement I can’t start plants downstairs. Looks like one of these grow tents might be just what I need to keep the plants at a warm (70 ?) degrees. Subscribed.
Great chat, as always, thank you
Such a helpful video. Thank you!!
thank you kindly my friend!!!
Great instruction thanks!
Love the video so excited to start my new set up, I should have all my new set-up delivered in a few days going to start my onions asap. Im using several of the seeds you recommended for us to use from bakers creek . Thanks for all your help my friend, proud to be part of the Viking tribe 👍❤️🌞🙏🏼
I'm happy you are here my friend its going to be a great season!!
very impressive set-up!
Thank you for all your work Nate!
I remember on greengregs channel for compost worms when he had fly or gnat issues he recommended adding dolomite or rock dust to adjust the ph I think. Another channel used a fan for a few hours to remove moisture and strengthen seedlings.
thank you Nate
Thanks!
thank you for everything my friend!!!... we need to see when those seeds are going to arrive!!
Good morning Nate I bought some shop lights with 13,000, lumens and 5000k
I've got some tomato seedlings with the first set of true leaves coming out are these lights too much for them or what's a safe distance to keep them at Thanks
It's me, Alex forige from California (Bay area)
(AKA OG AL)
I don’t think Vikings had grow lights. 😂 Glad I am in Texas and have big windows. This was so scientific and informative. Love me some worm castings!
everything's bigger in Texas!!
Love worm castings, similarly, love compost for the OUTDOOR garden. Aren't castings prone to having all other sorts of bug eggs (including fungus gnats)?
homemade castings almost certainly can be yes but the high quality commercial ones generally do not
Just found a solution to pests on your fruit trees and vegetables. Surround Kaolin Clay. It is sold as a powder that you mix with water and spray all over your garden.
I have started seeds in my cold basement (low to mid 50’s F) with shop lights for the last 15 years. Always started my seeds much earlier because they germinated and grew slowly.
This year I acquired a grow tent after seeing in your video last year, hoping to create a warmer growing environment. Fingers crossed…
that's a good point for starting earlier because yes at that temp they will grow much slower!... you'll love the grow tent its a game changer because it keeps the heat from the lights and the heat mat so well contained it'll get into the 70's no problem because mine does and my basement is the same temp as yours... have a great season!!
I just love your videos...so grateful for you in sharing your extensive experience/expertise! You also explain things very well and concisely. My DH thinks so too and he's been teaching and consulting online/in person for decades, so there's a huge thumbs up for you from a seasoned pro :)
Anyway, Soooo many questions... I've never used a greenhouse before we built our cedar post and beam one in the back of our property. We installed radiant heat under cement under 2x2 pavers and it has solar roof vents that only open when the temperature gets high enough. It does have lower vents that I can control manually and I have 2 fans, one at each end. I also picked up your recommended seed starting setup, but could only find 2 10,000 lumens shop lights. Enough light from these? Will this setup work well enough to prevent "undesireables" from moving in if I'm careful with watering? I am using Fox Farms organic soil plus adding organic worm castings... Thank you and I'll be sending a "raven" contribution to you!
I have onions and ginger going. I have also started Goji berries as an experiment. I’m moving in the next month or so ands that has got me worried about timing with starting seedlings. At least I won’t be starting too early 😂
so did you find the land!!???
@@gardenlikeaviking the offer was accepted contingent on our house selling. We are working furiously to get it on the market. 3.4 acres!!!
Another great segment. Where can I get the pulley system for the lights. Thanks
Amazon
Thats really good castings!! Dang i wanntttt
worm farm tour coming soon and if you want you can order them for pretty cheap at that time!
Much love from Ukraine brother!
What do you think about using dilluted kombucha vinegar to acidify water and feed microbes in the soil? I couldnt find much on the internet about it. I'm so lucky I found your channel, you got a new subscriber ❤
Nate link for that brand of worm castings
coming soon!... I'll be taking a tour of their facility at noon tomorrow and I'll make the video probably next week... thank you!
Hey blessings
Just watching this video i feel like i just spent about $400- $1000. Worm castings, organic potting soil, lights, fan, 2 tray watering systems, sifters for soil, thermostats, environment gauges, timers, humidifiers, 😢.
Nate where are the soil blocks you were loving last year? Any reason to avoid them?
soil blocks are absolutely still just as amazing as always!!... but in the pursuit of more knowledge and experience with different gear I'm using primarily these new heavy duty trays and inserts from bootstrap farmer... they're in my amazon storefront if you want to check them out....
As always, thank you for sharing the knowledge, my friend. I grew 100+ pounds of food last year using your methods.
I’m one of those that make our own mix with compost/ leaf mold etc… and I would argue that it works quite well, but caution that the context is important. First, Instead of using grow lights in the basement I built a small lean to style greenhouse on the deck that encloses an area outside my kitchen windows such that I can use those windows and the warmth of the house to regulate the greenhouse environment thus allowing me to start my seeds in sunlight. Next, I don’t want to discriminate between desirables and undesirables in terms of what species of microbes and insects are tolerated and which are ostracized, but instead define desirables as those individual plants which thrive in my growing context and the undesirables as those which do not. Finally, I save my own seed from the crops I grow and allow them to promiscuously pollinate each other without concern for “variety” this ensures maximum adaptability of the crop to my specific context year over year, and allows for a huge degree of variability from which I can select the most desirable shapes, colors, flavors, and the most vigorous, hands off growers for propagating into the future. All of this is to say that, while your approach of keeping out the undesirables is the right call for your context, it is by no means the right or only way.
How do you use cinnamon on your seedlings ?
When using heat mat with the six pack trays, what do I do with the thermostat?
still just make sure its placed in one of the six compartments and press it all the way into the soil
@@gardenlikeaviking ok will do!
the sound is good
“Different plants” 😂❤️
I have a question about dirt. My land I bought, the soil is dead. I’ve tried everything. So I’m doing raised garden beds. I’m planning on having black dirt aka top soil delivered. How do I amend the black dirt for plant growth? Blood meal? Kelp? Liquid chicken poop? Egg shells?
that depends on what you have most available... ideally well composted manures of cow or horse or chicken.... you'll want about 10-20% of the final mix to be the manure because the black "dirt" being delivered will undoubtedly be very lacking in nutrients it always is!
Please respond to my seed starting medium technique.
In the bottom half of a seed starting tray, I place my favorite homemade compost/soil.
The top half is a combo of peat moss, vermiculite and perlite which is obviously the zone the seed
is placed in order to germinate.
Once germinated, my theory is that the seed will use its own husk nutrients as food until the sprout roots reaches into the compost and finds additional nutrients it requires at its more advanced stage.
Your passion and knowledge is priceless.
Thank you.
yes this will work great so long as your compost doesn't bring in hundreds of insect eggs including mites and aphids and gnats, etc... if in a greenhouse then yes that'll work just fine!!
I am in South Bend , IN and just checked my last frost date. It says between May 10-27. In the past I have always started my seeds to early and could for the life of me not figure out why I had all the problems you described. So this year I am following your method. Question: according to my last frost date I shouldn’t start my seeds until at least April 1st except onions and ginger. Can this be right??? Thank you tribe
yes you are in the same zone and timing as me so just stay tuned to the Saturday live streams and do exactly as I do at the same times and everything will work out great... I'll discuss this more and more each Saturday as the season approaches
@@gardenlikeaviking sounds great. I am brand new to your methods so I don’t have any compost yet and have to make done of the other things … I will do the best I can with what I got. I ordered the trays, bought a shop light, got the timer and temp regulator plus the heat mats. Money is tight but I will try my very best. 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 Nate
Que Viking mais Nutela esse aí, cheio dos paranauê 😂
Great if you have your money for all that gear, but I am trying to come up with enough money just to buy the decent potting soil to grow my seeds in. But great information for those who can afford it.
please watch the video I link to at the end of this one titled "seed starting on a budget".... that will help you out
Liebig's Barrel is the concept you're describing at the start.
fantastic!!!... thank you now I know and I will use that!
@@gardenlikeaviking
It's funny my Menards 20k lumen shop lights put out a ton of heat compared to my Spyder farmer led light thats brighter
With the 2 shop lights and 4×8 grow tent could I grow buckets of potatoes or would it require 4 shop lights ? Thank you in advance.
well once you start trying to produce a fruit or a flower or a tuber then now you have to completely change the parameters... you'll need far more intense light than just shop lights if you want to get actual potatoes to produce... you'd need lights like the $500 light I showed in the video... several of them running full power!!... its not worth the energy and cost
@@gardenlikeaviking Thank you for responding. That was my assessment years ago when I was looking at using sodium light's years ago. I appreciate your videos.
“… for other plants.”
Huhuhuhuhuhuh!
This mars hydro lights i used for otherrr plants 😂😂 if you knoe you know lol
Mars Hydro, Fox Farm, coco coir... I might be able to guess at what those "other plants" you were growing were....
Cann-i- guess 😂 or just ask if he uses a scrog net 🤔
@@williamgerry5722 I prefer to lollipop myself, but I hear you; it's all about that canopy.
Good stuff Doug, AKA (Kyle Kushman) jokin pal 👍
I'm all about that SOG fellas!!... get em in get em out pack em tight!!
@@gardenlikeaviking You are master gardener, that's for sure. Have you written a book yet?
Bwsrbushcraft says...it's a great day in zone 8a! Spinach, Lettuce and carrots coming up!
did you change your screen name??!!
I no longer have internet I just have a phone and the phone screen name is this one...
@@BWSRbushcraftok got it... I was wondering where you've been!!
Using that light for "different plants" 🤣I was a licensed "other plant" farm. The governments stole mine and most of the thousands of mom and pop business licenses here in oklahoma and they're hard at it to steal the rest from my friends still in it hanging on. They kicked my buddy out his $80k oil worker money greenhouse. Its been wild, cant say was fun at all especially the state dragging us all to court at will over false accusations like not having a sign they required that was blatantly there posted out front plain as day. Or accusing ppl of hundreds of plants they had in the state metrc tracking software as required. They destroyed so many peoples life work over 10k small businesses actually. But that's how we're getting into the market gardening and homesteading venture after a lifetime pursuit to start that business. Our government sucks for those of us who love those "other plants" 🤣😂 Great videos though appreciate the info. Helping a lot to convert this place from an Other plants farm to food for world war 3 and farmers market. Great channel dude.
Bro what's your non frost time?
may 15th to October 9th
Plants need 5 things these are the 5 things
Now I have a medical card instead of the commercial license. Its time to pot up 6 of my 12 "other plants" in the big 57x12 hoop house into 100 gallons from 30s. And time to make some permaculture pots for the peppers in the forest at sun up in a few here. So glad I did not clear cut all the forest for greenhouses like i first planned clueless the government would declare war on our businesses. Amish life it is🤣😂🤣🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳
To me, the problem with "SEEDS/SEEDLINGS SHOULDN'T GET NUTRIENTS" is because Synthetic nutrients are so strong/toxic, and the plants aren't strong enough yet to deal with it, so they will just perish.
I think just like our bodies have an immune system to fight off toxins, so do plants. I don't see how a plant wouldn't want nutrients right away and how they would want to be planted in a proper medium.
I was reading recently that older seeds and harder to germinate seeds should be planted in Earthworm Castings as they are rich in nutrients.
Sure, too much chemical-free/organic/natural/etc nutrients can overload the seedling most likely too, but I would think it's more difficult.
yes that makes a lot of sense!!... that line of thinking probably did come from the chemical fertilizer crowd when they burned their seedlings with too much Miracle Grow! lol ... could easily happen using chems
@@gardenlikeaviking😆! Yes, exactly... Too many miracles ending their plants...
It's just an overload of the system. IT's similar to the processed sugars/etc we deal with in human foods. Human factory "food" is exactly the same as synthetic nutrients. Made to be directly absorbed by the body and pass the gut microbiome, thus all the sickness and disease we see in "first world countries."
You might be able to do it with natural items, but the Plant would/should regulate it's intake itself with the microbiome, instead of with synthetics where it would essentially be FORCED to uptake all those nutrients.
Other plants 😂
Emily that guy came over here then I am about Carlson can you tell me another lie won't believe
Great setup Nate! I have a similar thing going for super hot chilli seedlings but it's in a closet. For my seed mix I use ⅓ coco coir that is pre-soaked in liquid seaweed fertilizer and I mix that with ⅓ sifted store compost and ⅓ perlite. Works great. You gotta get you a heatpad though guys, they get those seeds poppin'.
sounds like a pretty good mix especially with the Liquid kelp!!
Far out
P r o m o s m
This information is so necessary. Get one of these wrong and your whole setup suffers. I lost all of my onions to fungus gnats because I used store bought potting mix and I didn't inoculate it with scalding water first. Disappointing but it will never happen again.
CHEERS BUDDY
What Nute's U use for that left pinky Nail ? lol JK JK
lol LABS all day!
Haha