As a very small market gardener who is over 70 and growing as a retirement income supplement , I love your videos and have gained a lot by watching. Thank you 🙏.
Consider adding a small tractor with a front end loader and a 3pt pitch w PTO! I know, you don't use one, JMF swears he doesn't need one (but has one...) but I can honestly say that after a dozen years of urban farming the SINGLE BEST PURCHASE has been the down $5k up front and $400 a month (for 6 more years at 0%) on a shiny orange Korean employee. There is no better compost building system: no messing around with pipes and blowers; no desperately trying to bury 8 trash bins of spent brewing grain; no waiting 3 years for slow compost full of weed seed; no back breaking DAYS pf wheelbarrow races; we've replaced broadforking with a subsoiler; the flail mower is a joy; giant tarps live on a pallet with their cinder block weights; aisles are wider but more useful; awkward heavy things are no longer heavy; I find new ways to use it everyday. Snow clearing! I wish it was electric; but that only seems to exist in online research, not in real life (for now?). I only use it for 20minutes to 2 hours at a time and not every day. But when I use it to aerated a 20 cubic foot pile of compost it is pretty darn great to have. Still wanting that compost spreader from Broadfork Farm, but even just bucketing into place and raking is miles better than the 10,000 steps and wheelbarrow loading. Obviously this is not for every farm, but again- I am an urban farmer: I can only use this on 2 of my 5 gardens and %80 of that use is compost building and it is so worth it. If I had a compact 2 acre farm this would be a very early purchase.
If the finances work, I can't overstate this. Not a farmer but have a large garden and property that require maintenance that we've been doing by hand and with push tools. Then I got injured. Being able to just move buckets of wood chips or compost or mow through a difficult section without having to use the 350 pound walk-behind brush mower....priceless. Really priceless. At some point, the body just doesn't want to do what it did in your 20s and 30s. Adapt and get tools or move to a townhouse...
Appreciate this comment. Just starting down the journey of hand-making compost (impossible to find good quality compost!!) for my half acre market garden and damn it's a real back breaking chore. I'm on two acres and thinking of how I could use half an acre to just create material to compost...doesn't feel feasible to make all that compost and grow veggies for market without an orange employee....
@@alexpowell9 i get spent brewing grain from a local brewery Wonderful stuff IF YOU CAN MIX IT PROPERLY You need 3x the volume of browns (leaf mulch, straw, wood chips...) to mix it with and cover or IT WILL STINK LIKE DOG VOMIT FOR MANY DAYS But 6 months to a year later it is fantastic black gold. Ibused to do this by hand (shudder), results were mixed. Tractor allows pile to get a better blend and superior product
We only kitchen garden for now and it's saving/making us money. I just bought your book and the intro really sums it up. Your channel really inspires me to have a go, and since I have been focussing on soil health I am seeing huge results with less effort. It's such a rewarding way to grow. Cheers to you, your family and team.
Starting up list of tools: stirrup hoe, wheelbarrow, shovel, rake, trowel, 6 pack of beer, ways to sow & start seeds. One of these things is not like the others! 8:17
An irrigation video would be awesome. We had a three or four month 'flash drought' (still not a thing...) this year until Debby blew in and my irrigation setup was barely up to the task. Getting through that involved manually turning water on and off in the dark before and after work every day, and I'm now researching what kind of timer to invest in. And considering quitting my off-farm job, but that's not new...
I love this channel. I started gardening in 2018 and continue to grow a lot of my food. I don’t know how you market garden. It is so difficult just to grow for one’s self.
My cousin grows a 2 acre garden and, every morning, puts fresh produce out on a roofed farm wagon along a state highway. People take what they want and drop whatever money they decide into a lockbox. She started this around 1975 and is still growing strong.
Great videos! As we say in the automotive field, “The best tool is the one that works”. Also, a tool that serves more than one purpose is a good thing.
I completely forgot the start of the video once you mentioned "your kids might not want to do what you do". This is so important. Parents need to understand this early so that they don't build up resentment and disappointment for something that is just normal.
My father made us all(5 kids) garden! We wound up hating gardening because it was brutally hard work in the heat and mosquitos! It has taken since I was 7 yrs old until I was 58 to even consider gardening, anything at all! Now, at 61, I cannot imagine a better way to feed myself and my family. But I don't ask for any help at all! And, I don't get any! They do love the vegis and it's my thing now because I love it and def looking to make some money but Lord I have lots to learn about selling it!
year one, about 2k in the hole after expenses. spent alot of money on startup infrastructure(chicken coups, pig pen, electric fences ect) i could probably make a profit if i chose to sell the chickens i have, but that wouldnt work as im intending to sell pullets as well next year. i thank god i own my property outright and dont have a mortgage or this would be a 100% failed venture. one rule im keeping for my small farm is to cashflow it from my 9-5, i do not want debt.
We have ZERO desire and ever getting to the marketing phase of our small garden. However, you do bring up some excellent points as to having a more productive garden. Things are getting better for us and yes we still have a long way to go. We also have two cats that love to help us garden by always being in the way and constantly rubbing against us for "needed" attention. Another great Sunday Morning video Thank You!
Along with the not buying tools discussion, many times the first tool you buy SHOULD be the cheapo tool (e.g. the harbor freight version). If you break it, you know you'll use it again and you know what part of the crappy one you don't like/what to look for in a good one. Not always the truth (e.g. when it comes to hand planes don't bother, but that's woodworking not gardening), but a good thing to consider!
One thing that I am looking into for farm supplement is using it a venue. Will require it to look nicer most of the time but allows an outlet for food, and a nice outdoor and possible indoor space is something that isn’t always available.
We bought our land last year back where we are from in Northern California because it was cheaper than in the Pacific NW (believe it or not). This year I started the ‘test garden’ 30x30 patch of horrid clay and harvesting rocks endlessly as it was in one corner of that area (obviously buried). I did simple soil testing so I could add amendments, bring in good soil, compost, and mulch. Installed drip system (thankfully it has a well w/solar already) I have your book following me around to make sure I don’t screw this up. 🤓📖👩🏼🌾 After putting in stakes, building trellises, hanging shade cloth, spending 2 days mowing brush down with a rented walk behind brush mower for fire prevention, all the while doing it all by myself, I can say I’m utterly exhausted! The good news is I’m building muscle, detoxing in 100+ heat, and rethinking this whole farming thing 😂 Definitely need younger bodies and a small tractor with our 5 acre 300ft tiered incline. I do the financials in our maintenance company but haven’t had time to categorize and see the bottom line so far with unnamed farm biz yet. But I do know that this is going to take a long time to build soil and lots more money for infrastructure for regenerative ag. It’s been such a learning and eye opening experience all the while trying to decide if we’re gonna hook into the ‘grid’ or build completely off grid setup after hearing how horrid PGE is with $1k-3k energy bills per month on customers who are used to paying $300-2k bill (depending on location)😧 Community farming is necessary or burnout is inevitable. I’m already injured and fried after 4 months. Like I said before , it’s rethinking time. How to make this more sustainable? How to work with native soil in the meantime? How to get trees donated ? (To have some canopy to create ecological diversity) Back to the drawing board we go. 🫠
I always assumed that “two birds with one stone” was referring to hunting with a sling, not lobbing rocks at birds. Sort of like David and Goliath but multi-target rather than giant target, and certainly harkening back þe olden times..
Pretty sure the "two birds with one stone" which was in reference to killing them, I'm also pretty sure, had to do with eating them. Ppl used to eat blackbirds and Pidgeon pies, after all. Anyway, love ya and your vids and website/discussion forum site.
Try rootwise brother. It has the right amounts of microbes in the right numbers for a farm. It's good to start with dead "soil." I know indigenous is best but this does help get things started and can overwinter and remain
Do you let your onions cure in the hot sun for a couple days before moving them to a shady spot to finish curing? I had a rot and black mold problem this year when I put them in my shed - which gets very hot at times and does not have great air circulation.
I tell people I am 'Practically Organic -not certified, but as organic as is practical: no sprays, compost for fertility and living soils, but not every seed was was certified, most of my mulch comes from my neighbours lawns and trees, and I can't do paperwork to save my life'.
My thoughts, I'm not a farmer but the idea of becoming one interests me , however the uncertified organic will definitely be something I'll have on a sign with a qr code to explain why .
Probably second to more land as a bad investment is a first employee. Managing a payroll for you and him is like a part time job itself. Further, there is a strong tendency for you to start working just to keep the hire busy. Training, scheduling, buying his tools etc etc all eat into your time. Better to wait and hire three at same time. Two workers one office manager. If the office manager needs more work to keep busy, push into the sales/marketing side of your business you've been neglecting. Shoot, they could be the one to do the paperwork for that "free" NRCS tunnel.
I garden and use the three sisters way, pole beans, corn, pumpkins. Great growth and no weeds. I cook and dehydrate the produce and eat it all winter. I use pumpkin pulp in my sourdough bread for a multivitamin boost.
Chat gpt is good for these types of questions, i used it to help organize my land for maximizing profits, comically, lavender is the biggest cash crop i could grow. 1 acre would net met several thousand.
Perfect again for where we are. $54,000 estimate for leveling and screenings 3 acre area of our hay field. Nope. On to plan B. Also having trouble finding “organic bulk compost”. Trying to collect large volume of wood chips since I have the space.
@@notillgrowers 40k rough for a new tractor, bucket and backhoe, didn’t get the price for the well yet, Rimol green house for minimally heated - one bed to start (that grant would be huge!!!) …retiring after the winter I do really enjoy this.
NRCS grant for GH covers about 80% cost, in my experience. Ditto on good CPA. Outdoor cats that help control rodent population are a writeoff - food, vet bills, ...
Damnit where's the KITTY?!??? 🐈 LOL, so I tend to not comment much on videos because I mostly watch them on my bigger TV and there's no way I'm going to try to type on that so..... Here we go. I wish you would do some kind of video on what to do when you don't have access to a will or city water when you're on straight rain catchment and you don't have money for drip irrigation and you're trying to do it on your own with really big odds against you. I'm 57 and disabled I'm by myself, I live in Washington County Missouri to your West which is mostly Rock. Had to buy a dump truck load of what they said was Phil dirt and I didn't realize that it was going to be bright orange clay 🧱. So now I have a giant red brick in my front yard that my white Pyrenees uses to dye himself with regularly. Since covid the cost of a well has drastically jumped. They say it's roughly 240 ft around here to get to water and it would be about $17,000. Me being on disability and getting $900 a month that is absolutely not possible. I do have rain catchment, and a fairly decent amount of surface area but you can't catch what won't fall and this area tends to have a drought every year. I've been here three and a half years and the first year I couldn't do anything I was moving in and cutting down broomsedge and cleaning up a lot. The second year everything didn't even make it into the ground because there's nothing but Rock. I had no soil and couldn't afford potting soil or raised beds or any of that fancy stuff. Next year I had a huge garden, and got a pretty good amount out of it at first. Just enough to of course get hooked. But then the bugs descended. Again with the money to fight them. And drought. And heat. So this year has just been a nightmare. Once again I planted a beautiful garden and everything was growing and healthy and wonderful and then not just the squash bugs descended like the year before, but this year I have squash bugs, no aphids yet thank God, but Japanese beetles, Colorado potato beetles, moles, copperheads (in my kale), flea beetles and SNAILS. cabbage loopers and blight. Annette may not even be the full list there's so many I can't even keep track anymore. I jumped $1,000 on my credit that I couldn't afford just to buy fish emulsion, bt, spinosad, neem oil, diatomaceous earth, all the things. About killed myself drowning in animals that I was trying to feed just so I can make my own compost. I've done all I can do and without this garden I don't get to eat. I'm disabled and I get 185 a month in food stamps. That's it. Every time they give me a cost of living increase they cut my food stamps and equal amount. I'm frustrated and depressed and given up on gardening which is sad because it was my favorite thing in life. Sorry for the obvious typos like will instead of well. I have arthritis and have to use talk to text
As a very small market gardener who is over 70 and growing as a retirement income supplement , I love your videos and have gained a lot by watching. Thank you 🙏.
Consider adding a small tractor with a front end loader and a 3pt pitch w PTO!
I know, you don't use one, JMF swears he doesn't need one (but has one...) but I can honestly say that after a dozen years of urban farming the SINGLE BEST PURCHASE has been the down $5k up front and $400 a month (for 6 more years at 0%) on a shiny orange Korean employee.
There is no better compost building system: no messing around with pipes and blowers; no desperately trying to bury 8 trash bins of spent brewing grain; no waiting 3 years for slow compost full of weed seed; no back breaking DAYS pf wheelbarrow races; we've replaced broadforking with a subsoiler; the flail mower is a joy; giant tarps live on a pallet with their cinder block weights; aisles are wider but more useful; awkward heavy things are no longer heavy; I find new ways to use it everyday. Snow clearing!
I wish it was electric; but that only seems to exist in online research, not in real life (for now?). I only use it for 20minutes to 2 hours at a time and not every day. But when I use it to aerated a 20 cubic foot pile of compost it is pretty darn great to have. Still wanting that compost spreader from Broadfork Farm, but even just bucketing into place and raking is miles better than the 10,000 steps and wheelbarrow loading.
Obviously this is not for every farm, but again- I am an urban farmer: I can only use this on 2 of my 5 gardens and %80 of that use is compost building and it is so worth it. If I had a compact 2 acre farm this would be a very early purchase.
If the finances work, I can't overstate this. Not a farmer but have a large garden and property that require maintenance that we've been doing by hand and with push tools. Then I got injured. Being able to just move buckets of wood chips or compost or mow through a difficult section without having to use the 350 pound walk-behind brush mower....priceless. Really priceless. At some point, the body just doesn't want to do what it did in your 20s and 30s. Adapt and get tools or move to a townhouse...
My kubuto fills wheelbarrows and my back thanks it
@@LittleKi1 yup, I bought mine when I turned 50... wished I'd got it when I was 40!
Appreciate this comment. Just starting down the journey of hand-making compost (impossible to find good quality compost!!) for my half acre market garden and damn it's a real back breaking chore. I'm on two acres and thinking of how I could use half an acre to just create material to compost...doesn't feel feasible to make all that compost and grow veggies for market without an orange employee....
@@alexpowell9 i get spent brewing grain from a local brewery
Wonderful stuff IF YOU CAN MIX IT PROPERLY
You need 3x the volume of browns (leaf mulch, straw, wood chips...) to mix it with and cover or IT WILL STINK LIKE DOG VOMIT FOR MANY DAYS
But 6 months to a year later it is fantastic black gold.
Ibused to do this by hand (shudder), results were mixed.
Tractor allows pile to get a better blend and superior product
We only kitchen garden for now and it's saving/making us money. I just bought your book and the intro really sums it up. Your channel really inspires me to have a go, and since I have been focussing on soil health I am seeing huge results with less effort. It's such a rewarding way to grow. Cheers to you, your family and team.
That thumbnail speaks to me.
Built a farm, had my first few sales these past days, now what.
Starting up list of tools: stirrup hoe, wheelbarrow, shovel, rake, trowel, 6 pack of beer, ways to sow & start seeds. One of these things is not like the others! 8:17
An irrigation video would be awesome. We had a three or four month 'flash drought' (still not a thing...) this year until Debby blew in and my irrigation setup was barely up to the task. Getting through that involved manually turning water on and off in the dark before and after work every day, and I'm now researching what kind of timer to invest in. And considering quitting my off-farm job, but that's not new...
I love this channel. I started gardening in 2018 and continue to grow a lot of my food. I don’t know how you market garden. It is so difficult just to grow for one’s self.
My cousin grows a 2 acre garden and, every morning, puts fresh produce out on a roofed farm wagon along a state highway. People take what they want and drop whatever money they decide into a lockbox. She started this around 1975 and is still growing strong.
@@ursamajor1936 that’s awesome. I don’t have the energy nor time to do anything like that but a do share my excess produce with neighbors.
Great videos!
As we say in the automotive field, “The best tool is the one that works”.
Also, a tool that serves more than one purpose is a good thing.
I agree with most of that, but sometimes it's much better to have two decent tools rather than one tool that does two jobs badly.
I completely forgot the start of the video once you mentioned "your kids might not want to do what you do". This is so important. Parents need to understand this early so that they don't build up resentment and disappointment for something that is just normal.
My uncle was barely cold in the ground before his son sold his beautiful, beloved farm in Iowa. It will not be farmed, probably zoned industrial.
My father made us all(5 kids) garden!
We wound up hating gardening because it was brutally hard work in the heat and mosquitos!
It has taken since I was 7 yrs old until I was 58 to even consider gardening, anything at all!
Now, at 61, I cannot imagine a better way to feed myself and my family.
But I don't ask for any help at all! And, I don't get any! They do love the vegis and it's my thing now because I love it and def looking to make some money but Lord I have lots to learn about selling it!
bearded up jesse. i think this winters gonna b cold and ice.. im enjoying your channel..
year one, about 2k in the hole after expenses. spent alot of money on startup infrastructure(chicken coups, pig pen, electric fences ect) i could probably make a profit if i chose to sell the chickens i have, but that wouldnt work as im intending to sell pullets as well next year.
i thank god i own my property outright and dont have a mortgage or this would be a 100% failed venture. one rule im keeping for my small farm is to cashflow it from my 9-5, i do not want debt.
We have ZERO desire and ever getting to the marketing phase of our small garden. However, you do bring up some excellent points as to having a more productive garden. Things are getting better for us and yes we still have a long way to go. We also have two cats that love to help us garden by always being in the way and constantly rubbing against us for "needed" attention. Another great Sunday Morning video Thank You!
Along with the not buying tools discussion, many times the first tool you buy SHOULD be the cheapo tool (e.g. the harbor freight version). If you break it, you know you'll use it again and you know what part of the crappy one you don't like/what to look for in a good one.
Not always the truth (e.g. when it comes to hand planes don't bother, but that's woodworking not gardening), but a good thing to consider!
The first tool should be a shovel....a very used but well cared for vintage or antique one is best as it carries the luck of the last farmer.
One thing that I am looking into for farm supplement is using it a venue. Will require it to look nicer most of the time but allows an outlet for food, and a nice outdoor and possible indoor space is something that isn’t always available.
It’s just another use of land rather than it all go to farming
Thank you for kitty
The end about family was powerful
Dude you always post the perfect content right when I need it🥰
Thank you!🙌
Thanks for the bridge to the family
We bought our land last year back where we are from in Northern California because it was cheaper than in the Pacific NW (believe it or not).
This year I started the ‘test garden’ 30x30 patch of horrid clay and harvesting rocks endlessly as it was in one corner of that area (obviously buried). I did simple soil testing so I could add amendments, bring in good soil, compost, and mulch.
Installed drip system (thankfully it has a well w/solar already)
I have your book following me around to make sure I don’t screw this up. 🤓📖👩🏼🌾
After putting in stakes, building trellises, hanging shade cloth, spending 2 days mowing brush down with a rented walk behind brush mower for fire prevention, all the while doing it all by myself, I can say I’m utterly exhausted!
The good news is I’m building muscle, detoxing in 100+ heat, and rethinking this whole farming thing 😂
Definitely need younger bodies and a small tractor with our 5 acre 300ft tiered incline.
I do the financials in our maintenance company but haven’t had time to categorize and see the bottom line so far with unnamed farm biz yet. But I do know that this is going to take a long time to build soil and lots more money for infrastructure for regenerative ag.
It’s been such a learning and eye opening experience all the while trying to decide if we’re gonna hook into the ‘grid’ or build completely off grid setup after hearing how horrid PGE is with $1k-3k energy bills per month on customers who are used to paying $300-2k bill (depending on location)😧
Community farming is necessary or burnout is inevitable. I’m already injured and fried after 4 months. Like I said before , it’s rethinking time.
How to make this more sustainable?
How to work with native soil in the meantime?
How to get trees donated ? (To have some canopy to create ecological diversity)
Back to the drawing board we go. 🫠
I always assumed that “two birds with one stone” was referring to hunting with a sling, not lobbing rocks at birds. Sort of like David and Goliath but multi-target rather than giant target, and certainly harkening back þe olden times..
Great Video and Information. I will bring the beer when I come tour your farm.
Dont take a vacation first week of August, drastic changes happen quickly!
We do ours in June but we do understand!
Pretty sure the "two birds with one stone" which was in reference to killing them, I'm also pretty sure, had to do with eating them. Ppl used to eat blackbirds and Pidgeon pies, after all. Anyway, love ya and your vids and website/discussion forum site.
Try rootwise brother. It has the right amounts of microbes in the right numbers for a farm. It's good to start with dead "soil." I know indigenous is best but this does help get things started and can overwinter and remain
I've just finished reading the living soil handbook
Cateo at the end - always love it!
Love your channel. GREAT and free advice. Thank you so much ! 🇨🇦
Brother, you forgot to mention Jadam! Start your JLFs a year before you will need them for best results.
Cat Love! Many Blessings!
Hi Jessee😊
As you post this, I'm writing a funding application and finalising a contract with the landowner. My brain hurts.
Also, algorithm clearly casually browsing my word documents 🤷♂
I love ALL No-Till Growers videos!
Would love to hear more about the mods to the cat tunnels. Thanks, Jesse!
Your videos are excellent Jesse, thank you. And only LOTR fans will get this, but has anyone ever said you look a bit like Aragorn? 🙂
More of these please. I failed my first year :(
Do you let your onions cure in the hot sun for a couple days before moving them to a shady spot to finish curing? I had a rot and black mold problem this year when I put them in my shed - which gets very hot at times and does not have great air circulation.
Also rockin an 07 honda odyssey. Made it from Wi to Fl last 2 spring breaks
My Mitsubishi Delica is a WEAPON!
"Uncertified Organic" should be a sign.
I tell people I am 'Practically Organic -not certified, but as organic as is practical: no sprays, compost for fertility and living soils, but not every seed was was certified, most of my mulch comes from my neighbours lawns and trees, and I can't do paperwork to save my life'.
My thoughts, I'm not a farmer but the idea of becoming one interests me , however the uncertified organic will definitely be something I'll have on a sign with a qr code to explain why .
“Sustainably Grown”.
It is ! Plenty of market farms ive been to use "organic practises, ask us about it!" As a sign on their non-certified organic producde at markets
Also beware of falling in the doughnut hole of being too big for local sales and too small to support wholesaling.
Probably second to more land as a bad investment is a first employee. Managing a payroll for you and him is like a part time job itself. Further, there is a strong tendency for you to start working just to keep the hire busy. Training, scheduling, buying his tools etc etc all eat into your time. Better to wait and hire three at same time. Two workers one office manager. If the office manager needs more work to keep busy, push into the sales/marketing side of your business you've been neglecting. Shoot, they could be the one to do the paperwork for that "free" NRCS tunnel.
Started my farm. Don’t know what next.
I would love to discuss nrcs in deeper detail with you. Pros vs cons.
What do you do for fertilizing and cover crops with corn? As far as keeping the soil covered.
I garden and use the three sisters way, pole beans, corn, pumpkins. Great growth and no weeds. I cook and dehydrate the produce and eat it all winter. I use pumpkin pulp in my sourdough bread for a multivitamin boost.
If you start a farm how many acres do you recommend starting with
Good job
Don't tell me to buy a minivan, I need an old 1940s-60s pickup truck. ;P
Great video! FYI your ncrs cover crop and soil health link is 404 not available
No one on [their] death bed ever said, "I wish I'd spent more time [working]." Arnold Zack
How do you sell your produce now without a farmers market?
"Feed two birds with one scone."
7:08 Equally handsome.
Great video
I started in the wrong place doesn’t go well
oof so sorry to hear that
I'm curious about different most advantageous crops by zone.
Chat gpt is good for these types of questions, i used it to help organize my land for maximizing profits, comically, lavender is the biggest cash crop i could grow. 1 acre would net met several thousand.
The Mrs says I'm no good at "filling voids"... Not quite sure what she means , 🤔
Regenerative > organic
Perfect again for where we are. $54,000 estimate for leveling and screenings 3 acre area of our hay field. Nope. On to plan B. Also having trouble finding “organic bulk compost”. Trying to collect large volume of wood chips since I have the space.
Good compost is genuinely one of the more challenging elements to ecological farming.
@@notillgrowers 40k rough for a new tractor, bucket and backhoe, didn’t get the price for the well yet, Rimol green house for minimally heated - one bed to start (that grant would be huge!!!) …retiring after the winter I do really enjoy this.
And is yet a good accountant also
Important? Especially for just starting? Coming from a high tax income to this new life?
NRCS grant for GH covers about 80% cost, in my experience. Ditto on good CPA. Outdoor cats that help control rodent population are a writeoff - food, vet bills, ...
Are you in near NC or VA. I found bulk source compost after looking 2 years. $25/yd plus hauling $3/mile. Tractor trailer 60yds.
2 pennies
Is it depressing to describe yourself as good at filling a void? Seems I remember all the guys boasting about that back in school.
My husband snickered when he said that 😂
Damnit where's the KITTY?!??? 🐈
LOL, so I tend to not comment much on videos because I mostly watch them on my bigger TV and there's no way I'm going to try to type on that so..... Here we go. I wish you would do some kind of video on what to do when you don't have access to a will or city water when you're on straight rain catchment and you don't have money for drip irrigation and you're trying to do it on your own with really big odds against you. I'm 57 and disabled I'm by myself, I live in Washington County Missouri to your West which is mostly Rock. Had to buy a dump truck load of what they said was Phil dirt and I didn't realize that it was going to be bright orange clay 🧱. So now I have a giant red brick in my front yard that my white Pyrenees uses to dye himself with regularly.
Since covid the cost of a well has drastically jumped. They say it's roughly 240 ft around here to get to water and it would be about $17,000. Me being on disability and getting $900 a month that is absolutely not possible. I do have rain catchment, and a fairly decent amount of surface area but you can't catch what won't fall and this area tends to have a drought every year.
I've been here three and a half years and the first year I couldn't do anything I was moving in and cutting down broomsedge and cleaning up a lot. The second year everything didn't even make it into the ground because there's nothing but Rock. I had no soil and couldn't afford potting soil or raised beds or any of that fancy stuff.
Next year I had a huge garden, and got a pretty good amount out of it at first. Just enough to of course get hooked. But then the bugs descended. Again with the money to fight them. And drought. And heat. So this year has just been a nightmare. Once again I planted a beautiful garden and everything was growing and healthy and wonderful and then not just the squash bugs descended like the year before, but this year I have squash bugs, no aphids yet thank God, but Japanese beetles, Colorado potato beetles, moles, copperheads (in my kale), flea beetles and SNAILS. cabbage loopers and blight. Annette may not even be the full list there's so many I can't even keep track anymore. I jumped $1,000 on my credit that I couldn't afford just to buy fish emulsion, bt, spinosad, neem oil, diatomaceous earth, all the things. About killed myself drowning in animals that I was trying to feed just so I can make my own compost. I've done all I can do and without this garden I don't get to eat. I'm disabled and I get 185 a month in food stamps. That's it. Every time they give me a cost of living increase they cut my food stamps and equal amount. I'm frustrated and depressed and given up on gardening which is sad because it was my favorite thing in life.
Sorry for the obvious typos like will instead of well. I have arthritis and have to use talk to text