Finally, my obsession with buying clearance priced bags of organic fertilizer no longer makes me a hoarder! Lol I’m just a backyard gardener but I have a good 2 years worth of organic fertilizer in my shed and several compost bins. I haven’t noticed any issues with nutrient uptake during the winter here in California zone 9b but I’m constantly feeding my soil all year-round so I think there’s always something available to the plants. But of course it helps that winter doesn’t get all that cold here.
I think the year round nutrition is the key. If you can keep the nutrient levels high, then you're not scrambling to try and push a row of deficient plants.
Check out JLS Jadam Liquid Fertilizer, its a way to make your own, and my garden thrives without chemical fertilizers...Watch this intro... Watch "JADAM Brief Introduction - Ultra Low-Cost JADAM Organic Farming" on RUclips ruclips.net/video/5EY6lOfICbw/видео.html
@@infiniteadam7352 Yes! I also suggested this. I'm surprised he hasn't heard of it before. Every farmer/gardener needs to know about these cheap, excellent ways feeding soil and plants and incorporate them into their routine.
I've been following the fertilizer/chemical trends for some time, I think I shared some with you a few weeks ago. Cost and availability may be an issue this spring and summer. I've been buying a good amount of the stuff I need while it's still a good price, and available. I'm also buying lots of extra seeds, and getting them early, just in case they are harder to find come spring. All that must make me a garden-prepper. We're heading into uncertain times. If you can afford a years supply of fertilizer now it might be a good thing to have.
A year or three... just saying! Been stocking up for a while, the wife thinks I've lost my mind... or at least she did... but she is now seeing what I've been saying was coming. I 100% believe what you are saying, things are about to get interesting... or worse.
I haven't heard any rumors on seeds yet. But considering a majority of the seeds in this country are imported, there could definitely be some issues considering the transportation problems that are still occurring.
Started making my own compost two years ago, easy to do and has really helped make my soil more fertile. I still use some fertilizer but nothing like I use to.
I have a back yard plot and I can't imagine how I could make enough compost for it. My front yard has chemical stuff so I can't use the grass clippings. So I don't know how I could do that. I am in NE FL so not a lot of straw or hay about.
@@jksatte do you have chickens? If so check out chicken tractor or steroids on YT. As far as getting the products needed for it if you don’t have them around your house, try restaurants and grocery stores for food and neighbors and stores for carbon like cardboard or leaves etc.
I use both granular and liquid fertilizers throughout the year. Although my zone is 8, in the fall/winter months I get direct sun on my patio all day and the 30+ degree temp rise puts my patio in a zone 10 micro-climate. I do purchase fish emulsion, MorBloom and Dr Earth's granular fertilizer on the regular, but if that gets too expensive, it's easy to get the NPK my plants need. I usually supplement the fish emulsion with alfalfa or nettle powder, which adds extra nitrogen, calcium and trace minerals. If those things run out and I can't get more, I made sure to stock up on beans and peas for companion planting (they can fix nitrogen from the air) I get potassium (and more trace minerals) from kelp powder and blackstrap molasses. I stocked up on fish bone meal earlier in the year, so I'm good with the phosphorus. I mix the herb powders with my fish emulsion, molasses and ACV for a super nutritious liquid feed, use them as side-dressing for plants, and for soil prep for new container plantings. Another way to help stretch your fertilizers like compost and worm castings is to make a tea from them. That's also a great way to make them go the distance! 👍🏾👍🏾
I been using chicken fertilizer for years and a little bit of nitrogen but I have a few rabbits for fertilizer for the green house and now I have found some cow manure to use, nothing like being prepared. Another good show I been watching you for a long time and learning a lot and I been gardening for 65 years 😂😂😂
Good info, Travis. Not surprised about shortages and price increases... Guess we'll continue to utilize the cattle, horse and chicken manure around here. Makes some very nice compost.
Hi Travis, I save my carrot tops and readd them to the soil where I'll be growing carrots, beets, radishes, next time. Carrot tops have alot of minerals in them, not just the roots.
I am going to start making my own. A combination of compost, fermented plant and other animal sources. I also think the large amount of printing money is causing everything to go up. Lots of inflation! I’ve been also studying a lot of Charles Dowding‘s no dig work.
I think that the more self-sustaining you become, the less reliant you’ll be on fertilizers. You’ve gotten a great start by building your soil with that cotton gin compost, and adding chickens with their manure. The disadvantage you have is your sandy loam soils and it is a constant battle to keep adding organic matter to maintain soil health. Some people complain about the clay soils in my area, but it is fairly easy to build good soil with organic matter in clay. I think these higher prices on fertilizer may kick off a push towards old school farming/gardening before the advent of commercial fertilizers. Time will tell.
What are those old school techniques? I am a new gardener and I am willing to stock up but have that knowledge would be so good. I have a about a 20x20 plot go make the magic happen and I know it's not enough for total nutrition but I hope I can do a whole lot with it.
@@jksatte Before the advent of chemically synthesized fertilizers, farmers used compost, cow manure, chicken manure, guano, fish, and other organic/natural sources of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. Over the years I’ve come to the conclusion that working with Mother Nature is a lot more productive than working against her. The key is to build great soil health, which in turn feeds your plants. Synthetic fertilizers only feed the plants and does nothing to build the soil health. If you are in a part of the country with hardwood trees, best thing you can do is collect leaves and compost them into leaf mold. Single best way to build soil structure. I have three piles on my property that are the size of a large SUV and come springtime it will be ready for the garden.
@@jksatte Some other things to consider are used coffee grounds, egg shells, and worm castings. I have a small worm farm that produces around 10 lbs of castings a month during the spring/summer/fall time and those are fabulous as a soil amendment. Lots of minerals, micronutrients, fungi, etc that allow plants to more easily uptake the things they need. It’s all about building the soil. Another thing I did this year is had my tree guys take all of the chipped material and pile it in an open area near where my garden will be in the spring. They will decompose and make great soil amendments come spring/summer. Contact any local tree service and they will dump for free. Saves them the disposal fee.
I use very little commercial fertilizer but in the past two years I stacked up several thousand pounds just to have. I did the same thing with lots of garden and farming supplies. I have been a prepper since 2008 and it just in my bones to stockpile while products are plentiful and cheap. Now, I have several huge compost piles and unlimited access to horse and chicken manure so I have some of the richest garden soil you can ask for. I'm switching to raised beds for most of my gardening and it makes fertilizing so much easier.
We are setting up a worm bend. A pretty large one. That’s something that is not tied to any markets. I like what you are doing with the chickens as well. I heard epic say the other day that is how they revitalize spent soil- add worm castings. There was a video I watched several years ago. The guy found a claw foot bathtub and converted it to a worm bed. Well, we did a bathroom remodel and we are sort of shower only people. No oversized tub bigger shower. Now I have my start, coconut core cardboard worms and a lid… VIOLA worm bend. When we do do it, I will video it and show you.
Well, it's between 5 and 6 months... don't know the exact date... but our newest chickens laid their first egg this morning, out in the yard... stuff like that happens when they first start laying, they don't know what's happening, and they don't bother to go back to the coop and use the nesting boxes. But they will figure it out soon enough, and start doing the right thing.
I don't use much fertilizer. Build the soil with compost. I've been looking into the Jadam method and will be making my own this year. Our grandparents didn't have access to all the new products we have and did fine.
That's true. There is a theory out there that the modern-day varieties have been bred for high nutrient inputs. Not sure if that's true or not or how to prove it. But it's a thought-provoking theory for sure.
I use a lot of manure from my own animals-goats,horses,chickens. I have a new hay supplier so I think I should probably test my manure with some peas and beans this spring but I’m just more paranoid than I used to be. I also have used cotton gin trash which I would use a lot more of but I just don’t have the best trailer to get it with. I wish I did because it’s right down the road from me and dirt cheap,plus it really works well. I apply so,e liquid fish,seaweed and this year I bought some agrothrive/flower to try. I always throw some alfalfa meal,lime and a spoon of dry molasses in my tomato and pepper holes and spread it around liberally every spring. Dry kelp,too. Warm climate,sany soil,heavy rains and slight slope to my garden make fertilizing a constant challenge but my soil is looking prettier every year. I’m going to start doing a lot more cover crops than I’ve ever done before now that I have more square footage,too.
It won't change anything for me because my garden is small even though I plan to expand. But I started making Compost tea's and Green Compost tea's. These are things we already have added to a bucket or container to make a liquid fertilizer using everything from dead leaves, egg shells, spent coffee and tea, banana peels, unsulphured molasses, vegetable scraps that break down into a smelly compost tea and veggie water from cooked vegetables. And also chop and drop. A lot of these are fertilizers used by a lot of Asian gardeners on RUclips. It's a great way to use what you have. So, I barely use fertilizers. I do use manure, alfalfa pellets and leaves but so far I only had to use them twice throughout two seasons.
We filled our greenhouse with leaves and grass clippings this Fall to make the biggest compost pile we ever made . We also made some bio char today to add in with it . I want to try wood ashes and urine and let it sit to make fertilizer . Thank you so much for sharing !
I usually don't buy much fertilizer. Aside from Nitrogen, or a targeted Potassium boost for Potato's. I don't see an impact. I bought some generic blue crystals for 1 gallon dilution and I have been using that 1 pack for 3 years. That helps prove that people can use way too much fertilizer. One thing that might help with prices are if more people stop fertilizing what you can't eat. That being the useless grass patch. I will mention that I have added solarized(sun sterilized) urine to the compost pile and added dilute urine in a sprayer at ground level on occasion. Some may still think it is gross, but if you consider where animal manure comes from and you put that on your food gardens. Just think about how much meds and hormones that commercial animal byproduct fertilizer has. That fish fertilizer could have some bad things too. Especially if it is farm derived.
You are exactly right! My husband works at a chemical plant on the Mississippi here in Louisiana. They had to shut down because of Ida. When it was time to bring the plant back up, they couldn’t get nitrogen. Took over 2 weeks to get what they needed. They still are having difficulty and this is not a small chem plant, this is Shell. I had a feeling this was coming.
My plan going forward....I stocked up on various fertilizers I use regularly. I’ve also talked to a few locals who farm cows and horses to see if they are interested in composting and selling to people like me. Considering rabbits, maybe chickens if the hubby will agree to dealing with the chickens cause I don’t like em😬
I didn't mention this in the video because it doesn't really pertain to home gardeners that much, but I also read that there was a shortage of glyphosate (roundup) due to the Bayer plant down there being closed for so long.
@@LazyDogFarm That little town got leveled by Ida. It will prolly take some time to get back to normal production and getting it where it needs to go. It’s difficult getting things out of that area. It’s even hard to find seafood around here which is not normal but the entire infrastructure was destroyed.
Well good thing I made 55gals of fish emulsion this yr and will be making more compost I've got plenty of room ill also start my worm bin like I should have done this summer.. also like DTG says compost everything meats dairy everything. I also dug my walkways out to about 10inches deep and flipped the dirt on my rows and filled the walkway with wood mulch to hopefully save in water but over time it will be composting in place
I usually use composted horse or cow manure and rotted down hay from the round bales we feed in the winter. Last spring, right after moving to our farm, I planted 3 pumpkin seeds (Jack O’ Lantern) in an old round bale mound…… I did nearly nothing to them all summer, except hand pollinate for a little bit until the bees picked up the job….. I harvested over 50 pumpkins from that one, randomly placed hill. Next spring, hopefully my cow, horse and chicken manure from this summer will be broken down enough to use… I will probably be adding what organic material (hay, etc) I can to the soil, too, to make it lighter… Since it was our first growing season here this year, and we didn’t get here until May, I just hand dug a few 4x4 or 4x 6 plots for what few things I grew this summer.. A tiny plot of sweet corn, same of potatoes, bush beans, purple hull peas, squash, a a single 3-4 foot row of turnips. I had a single cherry tomato in a pot, and a pot of cucumbers that replaced my little pot of sweet peas. Some things I’d tried (spinach and onions) didn’t do at all, but I’d had my seed a while, also…
I have read an article last month on google that the cost of nitrogen fertilizer will increase. The article mentioned the impact it could have on prices for meat and grains 😡. I have been stockpiling some fertilizers and I need to start gathering more bone meal. I plan to continue to compost, collect and make leaf mold, and cover crop mix.
I'm very jealous of your massive growing area, but i think if i had access to such a plot i'd be dedicating a lot more of the space to the annual production of good composting material (comfrey, borage, sunflower etc). it's a bit of extra work, but far more satisfying when you can reduce your reliance on big business. Maybe start one plot at a time and expand gradually.
We grew some borage this past spring, but it didn't care for our heat down here. It was toast when the humid summer arrived. We plant sunflowers as a cover crop in the summer and that works well. Haven't gotten into the comfrey thing yet, but I might soon.
a few weeks back i purchased three large bags of espoma fert that was on clearance at walmart. i do this almost every year. but i'm also exploring that korean natural farming fertilizer techniques.
I have been using own backyard Chicken Manure for 3 years now, however I have increased my flock to increase the poo output. Of course, feed prices are higher, but that is where my cover crop/grazing operation is getting implemented to offset some of the cost hopefully. I have 12 hens and one rooster. I have a local source of bulk organic dairy cow compost so that helps to supplement my own compost production. Hoping to start worm compost/tea production this year as well. If I can get this rolling I can grow strictly organic and increase my production. I try to get better every year. Just wanting to feed my family as cheaply as possible and move away bit by bit from commercial food system.
We've already been gradually etting away from petroleum-based fertilizers, as a factor of trying to be more sustainable in our own gardening. Composting is a big focus. We don't currently have any livestock, but have found a source for chicken and rabbit manure from some friends, so we'll go with that until retirement allows us to maintain our own "producers". A lot of folks don't really consider how many things we're accustomed to these days, which come to us as by-products of the petroleum industry...it's not just going to affect us at the gas/diesel pumps. As certain entities continue to work against the petroleum industry, any related products will also become more expensive and less available.
Am I prepared? Probably not as well as I should be! Thanks for the “heads up” about impending fertilizer shortages and price increases. Gives me time to do something about it before the 2022 growing season. Best wishes from Kate in Olympia, WA - 12/4/2021.
This past year I started vermicompost along with organic fertilizer. I do use diluted 20-20-20 on my seedlings to give them a little boost in the trays. I’m going to stick with that program. If I have to switch from the 20-20-20, probably go get Neptune’s harvest. My local nursery carries it.
@@rhb30001 It's a type of synthetic fertilizer with 20% Nitrogen, 20% Phosphorous, and 20% Potassium -- that's why it's called 20-20-20. It's blue and you'll see it under many different brand names. Same stuff as the blue Miracle-Gro Plant Food that you can find at the big box stores.
I listened to a guy once talk about climate change not being what people say it is exactly. But that farmers who just till the plots twice yearly and don’t plant cover crops are ruining the soil and something about climate change but I do remember him saying that was the problem with commercial farming is they don’t plant cover crops. And just till it. So you just confirmed to me what he said about feeding the soil in that way. We plan to plant the hot mustard in the fall and not sure what else.
The majority of my plots are 30'x35'. I prefer a square plot over a rectangular one. There's many ways to create a garden plot. You can do it with a tiller and the more traditional way. But some folks will lay cardboard on the grass and pile compost on top of it.
We seen big hikes in lawn fert this year too. Miracle-gro has had a great year in the market (10x growth) as they did not eat the cost at all, passed it one, and added to it. I am seeing the same for the organic ones. I personally just bought two 50 pound bags of fert for my lawn and garden when I was down in FL and could get it cheaper than I could here in AL.
Didn't think about the lawn industry, but I've never really understood why folks want to fertilize the grass in their yard. The last thing I want is to have to cut my grass more often. lol
You hit the nail on the head on upcoming fertilizer shortages Travis, and it will become way worse before it gets better. Russia has also banned the export of fertilizer and Yara International (world's largest ammonia producer) has cut production to 40% of capacity because at these natural gas prices ammonia is not economically feasible to produce. Bulk ammonium sulfate price has increased elevenfold in the past two months. Once existing stockpiles are gone, replacements will be prohibitively expensive if available at all. I know you and most of your viewers have pivoted to mainly organics and that is great. My advice is to buy a years worth of your organic fertilizer needs now and throw in a 50# bag or two of a soluble 20-20-20 just in case it gets real bad this summer. If you have plenty, you can always sell the 20-20-20 to someone less prepared later.
The name Yara was mentioned in the phone conversation we had. They're one of the biggest (if not the biggest) producers of calcium nitrate. That's a good recommended plan you have. Although from what I've heard, the plant and animal-based fertilizers aren't expected to inflate that much.
@@LazyDogFarm if you have the means, and the stuff can be stored for a long while, I would buy a lot. Just to be on the safe side. It just feels like something big is about to go down.
Thank you for the heads up on the nutrient market. Your lettuce plants are killing me. I was very satisfied this season with the 5-4-3+9% Ca hen manure from Seven Springs for pre-plant followed up with "spoon feeding" AgroThrive 3-3-5 as is or fortified with either Chilean nitrate or sulfate of potash through the drip system depending on the plant's nutrient needs. Probably have enough of those soluble amendments on hand to last through 2022. The Nature Safe 8-5-5 and 13-0-0 are still a good value as of today so I'll change up my gardening style to incorporate those products instead. Also incorporated a lot of alfalfa pellets to break down over the winter so we shall see if base fertility will have improved.
I like the 5-4-3 as well, but the guy at 7 Springs made a good point that you get a lot more bang for your buck with the 8-5-5 -- and he sells both obviously.
Based on yor fertilizer industry intel, looks like I'll be starting new, bigger leaf mould wire cage rings in the shade of hedge rows for back-up fertility. I can mine the floor of the hedge rows for inoculated starter. Also begin assembling junk/marerials/bedding inputs for additional spring start worm bins. Purchased fert is my back-up. Damn. I was counting on taking December "off."
Hey y'all, I bought all my seeds for the next 12 months and all my fertilizer for the next 12 months just to beat the prices. Believe me I will be saving seed all year next year I will not be buying seeds unless it is a new hybrid or a new to me variety. 2022 garden will not be any experiments it is all for growing and storing and eating along the way. Compost y'all take some classes read some books look for online classes. Learn the best techniques WHERE YOU LIVE don't worry what folks 1500 miles away are doing. Food scraps, leaves, grass clippings and anything else you can find. good luck y'all take care bye for now
I started a couple of months ago buying bag fertilizer as i could afford it. I have enough to plant next year already, but i will continue to get a little each month... You keep it cool & dry, it will store a long time! High Nitrogen fertilizer was higher already!
I have been planting a mixed cover crop in my raised beds. I will chop and drop and use for mulch. I am concerned to hear that cover crop seed costs might go up and become harder to buy.
Add sugar source ( jerry Baker) to the soil to feed bacteria and fungi that break down soil minerals It doesn’t take much. Fall application is best followed by spring. Any time is good. Plants normally feed sugars to the soil.
The Nature Safe 7-7-7 we use has a decent amount of sugar in it since it's derived from corn steep liquor. It does a great job of feeding those bacteria.
If your garden is not too large, urine is a good fertilizer. It's basically equivalent to a miracle-gro all purpose plant food (24-8-16 or 3:1:2 ratio) with an extra 2 doses of N (10:1:2 ratio). If I don't use it on my crops, I fertilize weeds or grass and compost that later.
@@LazyDogFarm Basically the latter. I keep a watering can (A) in my bathroom, pee in that one, take it outside with a bottle of tap water, pour it into watering can B, rinse out A with the tap water, dilute B with at least 1 gallon of rain water and then use on whatever. I usually just use the first pee of the day because it's likely the strongest. The rest is mostly water and not really worth the effort. I wouldn't suggest using undiluted urine. I did that this year and after 4 straight days of urinating in a bucket of growing potatoes, 2/7 died. I also did this in another container of potatoes (recycling bin size) and used urine on Wed and Sun. Yield was 8.75 pounds. In another equivalent recycling bin of potatoes, I got 10 pounds using 100g of Miracle Gro Tomato food 10-5-15 and 328.8g of All purpose plant food 24-8-16.
How come you don't put straw down between the rows? Seems like that would help with multiple things, keeps fertilizer from evaporating and breaks down fast which will help improve soil and keeps weeds down.
Mainly because I don't like moving straw each time we replant. Our row spacing is always changing depending on the crop we're planting, and we're always planting. The drip tape helps keep the weeds down pretty well because we're only watering underneath the plants and not the entire plot.
I planted my carrots a few weeks before you. I think I forgot to put the 8-5-5 down but I’ve been using the agrothrive you recommend about once a week. They are still really small. Yours are at least five times the size. What would you recommend? Got butter head lettuce ready to harvest. Cabbage, onions, broccoli and cauliflower all looking amazing. Carrots and the elephant garlic are what I seem to be struggling with.
I dunno. I haven't done anything magical. Maybe it's the 8-5-5. I haven't given the carrots any Agrothrive yet because I haven't felt like they needed it.
I will continue using sardine’s in my planting holes , wood ash on my root crops, weed teas biochars on trees and feeding plants their foliage back to them by burying them also bone meal is easy to make I hear. Lots of natural ways to feed your garden just not the prettiest. I still use the big organic fertilizers and triple 13 but one day we might not have them so might as well try testing them out now
Now is a great time to test and see if you do it without some of those synthetic inputs. Sometimes we don't learn new things until we're forced to do so.
I've horses loose and got me to think, get the lawnmower w/bagger and pick upwas able to get 9 wheelbarrow and spreaded with the tiller and tarp so we r going to save on fertilizer!
As a follow-up, my wife says that she could graze your lettuce row from one end to the other with just a squeeze bottle of salad dressing in hand. Got an order in to Johnny's for Sparx and Tropicana seeds. Soils report due back from the lab any day now. Is there any way that you could get a monetary taste from all the business that you send to Seven Springs in your role as social media influencer?
Yes, I think these days you need to monetize all you can. Every time I order something online I trying to remember if anyone has a link. Obviously I'm not the only one.
@mark ware Those opportunities usually present themselves as a channel grows. We have an affiliate relationship with Agrothrive where we receive a commission if someone uses our coupon code or link. I'm sure we'll develop more partnerships like that as our reach increases.
I have a question for you Travis, where's the radishes at?? You are such an inspiration to all of us to grow different things. I had never done carrots or radishes before but last year I did they are so good home grown. An I just did them in a small raise bed. I did make a bigger carrot bed this year but I've keep the radishes going in a 2x2 raised bed.
I have some daikons that I'll be harvesting from a cover crop plot on a video next week. But I'm the only one in the family that really likes them, so I don't grow that many of them.
Fireplace ash is potash and contains potassium, lime, magnesium, and calcium. It also naturally contains biochar. It is alkaline and should be used sparingly. I mix blood meal, bone meal and fireplace ash as my homemade fertilizer/amendment.
Rabbit & quail 💩 Maybe chicken if they ever live long enough. But i have the chicken coop built to be between the berry bushes to fertilize them...not so much the veggie garden. Ducks in the "orchard" (gotta have trees first lol) but next summer i want to make that area a pumpkin patch so maybe the ducks will go there & kill all the squash bugs??? I think its wise to become as self sufficient as possible as quickly as possible in these crazy times. Including how you fertilize things. The problem comes in with animal feed costs. 1 bag of rabbit feed is $20, chicken food is creeping up there too.
That's the truth on the animal food. I've cut back on giving pellets to my chickens this week and am letting them just eat clover. They seem to be doing just fine.
The good thing about ducks is their flat feet that won’t scratch up the soil like chickens and your plants should be safe especially when they are small.
A byproduct of producing fertilizer from natural gas is compressed CO2 that is used for soda and beer. I recently noticed that some bottles of Coke were not as highly carbonated - they almost seemed flat.
Yes! I noticed the exact same thing with multiple cans of Sprite...almost flat & almost no flavor. Had not had one for a couple of months, so the changes were very noticeable, can after can. A deliberate switch on their part, but a great way to indirectly get people to stop drinking soda.....for me.
Well it looks like I'm going to have to fertilize with my waste. I didn't like the idea of pooing and peeing on my food, but it's coming down to it to do do so.
i have a problem with this organic fertilizers, and my problem is the sources, they all come from synthectic fertilizers you like it or not from the food chain, i think at least for the nitrogen this fertilizers should start being made from nitrogen fixing plants, that way you feed the soil and make fertilizer from the plant.
It's great to have nitrogen-fixing plants in the garden. We plant lots of nitrogen-fixing cover crops. And while they do help, they can't provide all the nitrogen that a heavy-feeding crop like corn or onions need. So we do have to supplement. The organic fertilizers we use are byproducts of the animal food industry, where they're basically taking waste and making it into fertilizer. Most fish fertilizers are made by companies who also have aquaculture businesses. They use the fish carcasses from the harvested fish to make the fish fertilizer. So some organic fertilizers actually remove things from the waste cycle.
Hey Travis, I've been Meaning to ask you do you not plant any different Varieties of Cantaloupes or have i Missed some Videos? I started watching you this summer. I do enjoy Watching your video's.
Looks like more composting will be needed... Prices would go up to the cost of inflation of 5.5% in the USA also fuel prices will force higher increases, which will trickle down to the consumer. I’m sure the adding of the compost on the farm should result in the less need of fertilisers, perhaps you need to trial the amounts that you use. An example of this add full fertilisation to part, half and a quarter even zero to see where you can reduce fertilisers all together, and the effects of growth and pest infections lowering fertilisation.
I think the chicken tractor and the cover crop grazing will definitely help us reduce inputs. However, we still have to get that phosphorous and potassium from somewhere else.
@@LazyDogFarm like the chicken tractor, having a cover crop, chickens eating it down it regrows slowly and the manure helps. Hopefully you’ll get some eggs soon. If in no till bed, mow it low before planting leaving the roots in for microbial action. Reducing the amount of fertilisers is the main objective for most gardener’s but you do grow on a larger scale than the average person, trying to keep it organic is a healthier.
I enjoyed that. One thing for sure is we need to be less reliant on China! I think they are big phosphorus suppliers. I know that we mine lots of potash in The Canadian prairies. I already have enough fertilizer for the next couple of years, hopefully by the time I need to buy more, things will have settled down. We certainly have lots of energy in North America but right now, not the political will to utilize it properly.
@@LazyDogFarm Well, we got lots & lots of those buried pipelines in Louisiana, but somehow they keep leaking in bayous, in subdivisions, and wherever they are run. Public water works check for oil in the drinking water.
Travis I am going use organic fertilizer this year. I just received my Natures safe 8-5-5 from 7springs. Do you add this directly to you tomato planting holes?
If you don’t have rain barrels consider using buckets and basins. Basins in the bathroom sink when you’re washing your hands or brushing your teeth. Bucket in the shower if your water takes a minute or two to warm up. I hand wash dishes and the rinse water goes into the garden with everything else. Also, try vermicomposting. You don’t have to buy worms (they will make their way into the bins) and all you need to start is one tote. Recycle paper products and leaves, even old clothes or rags. Worms will eat the natural fibers. Put your food scraps in with the leaves and paper and you’ll be amazed how much liquid comes from the food scraps. You can use your native soil or soil from flower pots that need refreshing. All of these methods work for me. Pretty soon one worm bin turned to four and I bought four 30 gallon garbage bins and drilled holes in the sides and bottoms and my fruit trees near the bins are more productive than ever. I don’t need to buy as much fertilizer or garden amendments as I used to. Don’t forget to let some of your plants go to seed if you’re worried about prices going up or lack of availability.
I've heard of folks doing that. I haven't found anything though that tells you how much actual nutrients it is providing. I wonder if it's like the compost tea deal where it's more of a biology addition than a nutrient addition?
Do you have that fresh compost on the lettuce plot too adding all that active biology? I saw so many bales of cotton and large piles of material in the flied from the harvesters on our way down to Tybee. We drove past a gin and cotton was flying every where. I think cotton seed meal is pretty high in N but acidic from what I've read but you got a good resource having that gin trash. If corn and soy prices are high then fertilizers containing corn gluten meal, corn steep liquor, soy bean meal and soy hydrolysate prices will increase too. I have some bags of sodium nitrate that I won't use, every time I use it it seemed to fuel fungal problems. I read a few articles saying that possibly high nitrogen availability can increase a plant's proneness to fungal pathogens because of increased foliar nitrogen concentration.
We put about 1-2 tons of compost on the plot with the lettuce and carrots, and tilled it into the soil. So that could also be a contributing factor -- although we learned last year that the compost alone is not enough by a long shot for our soil. Haven't heard that about the sodium nitrate and the fungal issues. I haven't missed using the sodium nitrate at all. It was effective when I was using it, but now it seems I have more continual fertility in my soil with this other stuff.
Oh, I do hope cottonseed meal is acidic. Our soil runs between 7.5 - 8.5 pH and I'm always looking for ways to bring that pH down a little bit. (We're out West)
Travis, your carrots are looking good. Had really good success with them last year but work got really busy this year and I didn't get a chance to plant. Is it too late to start them in south Louisiana (Gulf coast)?
This is a perfect time to get some seeds in. There is a prolonged warm spell so you should hurry up. If you have the space, why not take a chance? Seems like the weather odds are on your side.
I would love to use the nature safe products, but the size and cost to get that shipped to me is expensive. I have 6 small raised beds. Would love if they made it in small amounts. Is there any other options like nature safe that is available in smaller amounts.
There are plenty of organic fertilizers that are sold in smaller amounts online, but they're not necessarily the same as the Nature Safe stuff. You can get most of the individual components that go into the Nature Safe fertilizers -- blood meal, bone meal, feather meal. If you look at the cost per lb compared to some of the other stuff online, it's really not that bad. And it stores well in a trash can. So although it may take you several years to use an entire 50 lb bag, it might be a better investment than buying a bunch of small bags.
Monetary Inflation (Currency creation on computers ) always precedes your cost of retail Inflation , create $20 Trillion in new currency what could possibly go wrong ! I only commented as this wasn't noted .
I was thinking of getting some free range chickens for eggs and insects but I saw a RUclips program where he was using ducks because they don’t scratch up the soil. Has anyone had experience with ducks in the garden?
you mentioned Seven Springs Farms, you mean SSF in Kentucky? They’re here in my county :) have you tried using homemade fertilizer teas? I’m thinking of making a batch and trying it with my extra grass clippings for my sweet corn.
The Seven Springs we're referring to is in Virginia. I have not tried homemade fertilizer teas, but we have used some compost teas that were pre-bottled.
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I thought about composting politicians, but that just results in hazardous waste.
lol for realz
Yes we don't need more EPA Superfund sites, and likely composted politicians would only benefit weeds, not food crops!
@Mutant Ryeff Any idea of the N-P-K on that particular compost? lol
@@LazyDogFarm Mostly P-U.
While they are full of a lot of s...!, I wouldn't want that toxic trash in my soil or food supply. Buzzards gotta eat.
Finally, my obsession with buying clearance priced bags of organic fertilizer no longer makes me a hoarder! Lol I’m just a backyard gardener but I have a good 2 years worth of organic fertilizer in my shed and several compost bins.
I haven’t noticed any issues with nutrient uptake during the winter here in California zone 9b but I’m constantly feeding my soil all year-round so I think there’s always something available to the plants. But of course it helps that winter doesn’t get all that cold here.
I think the year round nutrition is the key. If you can keep the nutrient levels high, then you're not scrambling to try and push a row of deficient plants.
We’ve always just used our own compost-grass clippings, young weeds, old vegetable trimmings, and chicken manure, etc. Your lettuces look amazing!!
Great to hear you've got the sustainability part down pat!
That's mostly what I do, but add a little help now and then.
Check out JLS Jadam Liquid Fertilizer, its a way to make your own, and my garden thrives without chemical fertilizers...Watch this intro...
Watch "JADAM Brief Introduction - Ultra Low-Cost JADAM Organic Farming" on RUclips
ruclips.net/video/5EY6lOfICbw/видео.html
@@infiniteadam7352 Yes! I also suggested this. I'm surprised he hasn't heard of it before. Every farmer/gardener needs to know about these cheap, excellent ways feeding soil and plants and incorporate them into their routine.
I've been following the fertilizer/chemical trends for some time, I think I shared some with you a few weeks ago. Cost and availability may be an issue this spring and summer. I've been buying a good amount of the stuff I need while it's still a good price, and available. I'm also buying lots of extra seeds, and getting them early, just in case they are harder to find come spring. All that must make me a garden-prepper. We're heading into uncertain times. If you can afford a years supply of fertilizer now it might be a good thing to have.
A year or three... just saying! Been stocking up for a while, the wife thinks I've lost my mind... or at least she did... but she is now seeing what I've been saying was coming. I 100% believe what you are saying, things are about to get interesting... or worse.
I haven't heard any rumors on seeds yet. But considering a majority of the seeds in this country are imported, there could definitely be some issues considering the transportation problems that are still occurring.
Were making compost, leaf mold and adding wood ash with rabbit poo.
Sounds like a solid mix!
The lady that made the fish emulsion how did you do it?
Started making my own compost two years ago, easy to do and has really helped make my soil more fertile. I still use some fertilizer but nothing like I use to.
Good to hear you've become more sustainable and self-sufficient David!
I have a back yard plot and I can't imagine how I could make enough compost for it. My front yard has chemical stuff so I can't use the grass clippings. So I don't know how I could do that. I am in NE FL so not a lot of straw or hay about.
@@jksatte do you have chickens? If so check out chicken tractor or steroids on YT. As far as getting the products needed for it if you don’t have them around your house, try restaurants and grocery stores for food and neighbors and stores for carbon like cardboard or leaves etc.
I love it. Alright,Alright,Alright,Lets get her did!!!
Thanks Richard!
Always made compost tea. And chop and drop. Mexican sunflowers and lemon grass
Never tried Mexican sunflowers, but have heard good things about them.
I use both granular and liquid fertilizers throughout the year. Although my zone is 8, in the fall/winter months I get direct sun on my patio all day and the 30+ degree temp rise puts my patio in a zone 10 micro-climate. I do purchase fish emulsion, MorBloom and Dr Earth's granular fertilizer on the regular, but if that gets too expensive, it's easy to get the NPK my plants need. I usually supplement the fish emulsion with alfalfa or nettle powder, which adds extra nitrogen, calcium and trace minerals. If those things run out and I can't get more, I made sure to stock up on beans and peas for companion planting (they can fix nitrogen from the air) I get potassium (and more trace minerals) from kelp powder and blackstrap molasses. I stocked up on fish bone meal earlier in the year, so I'm good with the phosphorus. I mix the herb powders with my fish emulsion, molasses and ACV for a super nutritious liquid feed, use them as side-dressing for plants, and for soil prep for new container plantings.
Another way to help stretch your fertilizers like compost and worm castings is to make a tea from them. That's also a great way to make them go the distance! 👍🏾👍🏾
Where do you get alfalfa or nettle powder at a reasonable price? Amazon is to much for me.
Sounds like you've got it figured out!
I been using chicken fertilizer for years and a little bit of nitrogen but I have a few rabbits for fertilizer for the green house and now I have found some cow manure to use, nothing like being prepared. Another good show I been watching you for a long time and learning a lot and I been gardening for 65 years 😂😂😂
Thanks Joe! Glad you're enjoying the videos!
Good info, Travis. Not surprised about shortages and price increases... Guess we'll continue to utilize the cattle, horse and chicken manure around here. Makes some very nice compost.
Sure does!
Hi Travis, I save my carrot tops and readd them to the soil where I'll be growing carrots, beets, radishes, next time. Carrot tops have alot of minerals in them, not just the roots.
We always chop and drop our carrot tops as we're harvesting the carrots. Definitely seems to condition the soil well over time.
Next time, save some tops for a batch of carrot top chimichurri.
I am going to start making my own. A combination of compost, fermented plant and other animal sources. I also think the large amount of printing money is causing everything to go up. Lots of inflation! I’ve been also studying a lot of Charles Dowding‘s no dig work.
Good for you! If you can feed your plants with the stuff you make yourself, that's a great way to go!
I think that the more self-sustaining you become, the less reliant you’ll be on fertilizers. You’ve gotten a great start by building your soil with that cotton gin compost, and adding chickens with their manure. The disadvantage you have is your sandy loam soils and it is a constant battle to keep adding organic matter to maintain soil health. Some people complain about the clay soils in my area, but it is fairly easy to build good soil with organic matter in clay. I think these higher prices on fertilizer may kick off a push towards old school farming/gardening before the advent of commercial fertilizers. Time will tell.
I think you may be right!
What are those old school techniques? I am a new gardener and I am willing to stock up but have that knowledge would be so good. I have a about a 20x20 plot go make the magic happen and I know it's not enough for total nutrition but I hope I can do a whole lot with it.
@@jksatte Before the advent of chemically synthesized fertilizers, farmers used compost, cow manure, chicken manure, guano, fish, and other organic/natural sources of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. Over the years I’ve come to the conclusion that working with Mother Nature is a lot more productive than working against her. The key is to build great soil health, which in turn feeds your plants. Synthetic fertilizers only feed the plants and does nothing to build the soil health. If you are in a part of the country with hardwood trees, best thing you can do is collect leaves and compost them into leaf mold. Single best way to build soil structure. I have three piles on my property that are the size of a large SUV and come springtime it will be ready for the garden.
@@timfetner8029 Yeah, I have heard the leaves are great and I have sandy soil. I have to really try to collect some leaves. Great idea.
@@jksatte Some other things to consider are used coffee grounds, egg shells, and worm castings. I have a small worm farm that produces around 10 lbs of castings a month during the spring/summer/fall time and those are fabulous as a soil amendment. Lots of minerals, micronutrients, fungi, etc that allow plants to more easily uptake the things they need. It’s all about building the soil. Another thing I did this year is had my tree guys take all of the chipped material and pile it in an open area near where my garden will be in the spring. They will decompose and make great soil amendments come spring/summer. Contact any local tree service and they will dump for free. Saves them the disposal fee.
I use very little commercial fertilizer but in the past two years I stacked up several thousand pounds just to have. I did the same thing with lots of garden and farming supplies. I have been a prepper since 2008 and it just in my bones to stockpile while products are plentiful and cheap. Now, I have several huge compost piles and unlimited access to horse and chicken manure so I have some of the richest garden soil you can ask for. I'm switching to raised beds for most of my gardening and it makes fertilizing so much easier.
Nothing wrong with being prepared!
Bless my hay burners and their golden manure pile.
We are setting up a worm bend. A pretty large one. That’s something that is not tied to any markets. I like what you are doing with the chickens as well. I heard epic say the other day that is how they revitalize spent soil- add worm castings.
There was a video I watched several years ago. The guy found a claw foot bathtub and converted it to a worm bed. Well, we did a bathroom remodel and we are sort of shower only people. No oversized tub bigger shower. Now I have my start, coconut core cardboard worms and a lid… VIOLA worm bend. When we do do it, I will video it and show you.
Definitely share that video with us! I want to start a worm bed as well.
Well, it's between 5 and 6 months... don't know the exact date... but our newest chickens laid their first egg this morning, out in the yard... stuff like that happens when they first start laying, they don't know what's happening, and they don't bother to go back to the coop and use the nesting boxes. But they will figure it out soon enough, and start doing the right thing.
If that's the case, we probably have got another month or two on ours.
Once you have healthy soil it's just a matter of adding amendments to your soil to keep it up to par.
In denser soils that hold nutrients well, yes. In sandy soils like ours, not quite.
Travis???!! Is that you? I haven't watched the other channel since I don't see you there anymore. How did I miss this. I'm so happy to have found you.
It sure is! Glad you found us!
Plan on making my own tomato/pepper booster (calmag)... egg shells & banana peels.
Make sure you crush the egg shells well, otherwise they take a while to break down in the soil.
I don't use much fertilizer. Build the soil with compost. I've been looking into the Jadam method and will be making my own this year. Our grandparents didn't have access to all the new products we have and did fine.
That's true. There is a theory out there that the modern-day varieties have been bred for high nutrient inputs. Not sure if that's true or not or how to prove it. But it's a thought-provoking theory for sure.
@@LazyDogFarm interesting theory. I love the heirloom varieties that shouldn't take much in the way of inputs.
I use a lot of manure from my own animals-goats,horses,chickens. I have a new hay supplier so I think I should probably test my manure with some peas and beans this spring but I’m just more paranoid than I used to be. I also have used cotton gin trash which I would use a lot more of but I just don’t have the best trailer to get it with. I wish I did because it’s right down the road from me and dirt cheap,plus it really works well.
I apply so,e liquid fish,seaweed and this year I bought some agrothrive/flower to try.
I always throw some alfalfa meal,lime and a spoon of dry molasses in my tomato and pepper holes and spread it around liberally every spring. Dry kelp,too.
Warm climate,sany soil,heavy rains and slight slope to my garden make fertilizing a constant challenge but my soil is looking prettier every year. I’m going to start doing a lot more cover crops than I’ve ever done before now that I have more square footage,too.
It won't change anything for me because my garden is small even though I plan to expand. But I started making Compost tea's and Green Compost tea's. These are things we already have added to a bucket or container to make a liquid fertilizer using everything from dead leaves, egg shells, spent coffee and tea, banana peels, unsulphured molasses, vegetable scraps that break down into a smelly compost tea and veggie water from cooked vegetables. And also chop and drop. A lot of these are fertilizers used by a lot of Asian gardeners on RUclips. It's a great way to use what you have. So, I barely use fertilizers. I do use manure, alfalfa pellets and leaves but so far I only had to use them twice throughout two seasons.
Good tips!
We filled our greenhouse with leaves and grass clippings this Fall to make the biggest compost pile we ever made . We also made some bio char today to add in with it . I want to try wood ashes and urine and let it sit to make fertilizer . Thank you so much for sharing !
Thanks for joining us! Sounds like you've got some great sources for making your own compost.
@@LazyDogFarm Thank you ! We got 7 acres that we got most of the leaves and grass from and then we bagging the neighbors leaves .
I usually don't buy much fertilizer. Aside from Nitrogen, or a targeted Potassium boost for Potato's. I don't see an impact. I bought some generic blue crystals for 1 gallon dilution and I have been using that 1 pack for 3 years. That helps prove that people can use way too much fertilizer. One thing that might help with prices are if more people stop fertilizing what you can't eat. That being the useless grass patch. I will mention that I have added solarized(sun sterilized) urine to the compost pile and added dilute urine in a sprayer at ground level on occasion. Some may still think it is gross, but if you consider where animal manure comes from and you put that on your food gardens. Just think about how much meds and hormones that commercial animal byproduct fertilizer has. That fish fertilizer could have some bad things too. Especially if it is farm derived.
Good point on the urine. That's an easy thing to recycle.
You are exactly right! My husband works at a chemical plant on the Mississippi here in Louisiana. They had to shut down because of Ida. When it was time to bring the plant back up, they couldn’t get nitrogen. Took over 2 weeks to get what they needed. They still are having difficulty and this is not a small chem plant, this is Shell. I had a feeling this was coming.
My plan going forward....I stocked up on various fertilizers I use regularly. I’ve also talked to a few locals who farm cows and horses to see if they are interested in composting and selling to people like me. Considering rabbits, maybe chickens if the hubby will agree to dealing with the chickens cause I don’t like em😬
I didn't mention this in the video because it doesn't really pertain to home gardeners that much, but I also read that there was a shortage of glyphosate (roundup) due to the Bayer plant down there being closed for so long.
@@LazyDogFarm That little town got leveled by Ida. It will prolly take some time to get back to normal production and getting it where it needs to go. It’s difficult getting things out of that area. It’s even hard to find seafood around here which is not normal but the entire infrastructure was destroyed.
Well good thing I made 55gals of fish emulsion this yr and will be making more compost I've got plenty of room ill also start my worm bin like I should have done this summer.. also like DTG says compost everything meats dairy everything. I also dug my walkways out to about 10inches deep and flipped the dirt on my rows and filled the walkway with wood mulch to hopefully save in water but over time it will be composting in place
All great ideas! Thanks for sharing.
I usually use composted horse or cow manure and rotted down hay from the round bales we feed in the winter. Last spring, right after moving to our farm, I planted 3 pumpkin seeds (Jack O’ Lantern) in an old round bale mound…… I did nearly nothing to them all summer, except hand pollinate for a little bit until the bees picked up the job….. I harvested over 50 pumpkins from that one, randomly placed hill. Next spring, hopefully my cow, horse and chicken manure from this summer will be broken down enough to use… I will probably be adding what organic material (hay, etc) I can to the soil, too, to make it lighter… Since it was our first growing season here this year, and we didn’t get here until May, I just hand dug a few 4x4 or 4x 6 plots for what few things I grew this summer.. A tiny plot of sweet corn, same of potatoes, bush beans, purple hull peas, squash, a a single 3-4 foot row of turnips. I had a single cherry tomato in a pot, and a pot of cucumbers that replaced my little pot of sweet peas. Some things I’d tried (spinach and onions) didn’t do at all, but I’d had my seed a while, also…
Congrats on the great pumpkin harvest! It's so fun picking pumpkins when you have that many of them.
I'm planning on planting right into the back of our manure mountain
I have read an article last month on google that the cost of nitrogen fertilizer will increase. The article mentioned the impact it could have on prices for meat and grains 😡. I have been stockpiling some fertilizers and I need to start gathering more bone meal. I plan to continue to compost, collect and make leaf mold, and cover crop mix.
All solid plans! I sure hope meat prices don't increase much more than they have. They're already ridiculous!
I'm very jealous of your massive growing area, but i think if i had access to such a plot i'd be dedicating a lot more of the space to the annual production of good composting material (comfrey, borage, sunflower etc). it's a bit of extra work, but far more satisfying when you can reduce your reliance on big business. Maybe start one plot at a time and expand gradually.
We grew some borage this past spring, but it didn't care for our heat down here. It was toast when the humid summer arrived. We plant sunflowers as a cover crop in the summer and that works well. Haven't gotten into the comfrey thing yet, but I might soon.
The financial advisor I listen to on the radio was talking about the increase of fertilizer affecting food prices.
I could see that.
a few weeks back i purchased three large bags of espoma fert that was on clearance at walmart. i do this almost every year. but i'm also exploring that korean natural farming fertilizer techniques.
Good call to catch it on sale!
I have been using own backyard Chicken Manure for 3 years now, however I have increased my flock to increase the poo output. Of course, feed prices are higher, but that is where my cover crop/grazing operation is getting implemented to offset some of the cost hopefully. I have 12 hens and one rooster. I have a local source of bulk organic dairy cow compost so that helps to supplement my own compost production. Hoping to start worm compost/tea production this year as well. If I can get this rolling I can grow strictly organic and increase my production. I try to get better every year. Just wanting to feed my family as cheaply as possible and move away bit by bit from commercial food system.
The cover crop grazing has definitely cut our chicken feed costs. Looking forward to some really fertile soils in those areas next spring.
We've already been gradually etting away from petroleum-based fertilizers, as a factor of trying to be more sustainable in our own gardening. Composting is a big focus. We don't currently have any livestock, but have found a source for chicken and rabbit manure from some friends, so we'll go with that until retirement allows us to maintain our own "producers". A lot of folks don't really consider how many things we're accustomed to these days, which come to us as by-products of the petroleum industry...it's not just going to affect us at the gas/diesel pumps. As certain entities continue to work against the petroleum industry, any related products will also become more expensive and less available.
Always good to start making steps to be more sustainable!
Thank you for doing all that research and sharing it with us. Really good to know...
Our pleasure!
Wood Ashes from the fire pit has lots of minerals, cal-mag, potassium and biochar.
I've got plenty of those!
Am I prepared? Probably not as well as I should be! Thanks for the “heads up” about impending fertilizer shortages and price increases. Gives me time to do something about it before the 2022 growing season. Best wishes from Kate in Olympia, WA - 12/4/2021.
Thanks for joining us Kate!
This past year I started vermicompost along with organic fertilizer. I do use diluted 20-20-20 on my seedlings to give them a little boost in the trays. I’m going to stick with that program. If I have to switch from the 20-20-20, probably go get Neptune’s harvest. My local nursery carries it.
I still use a little 20-20-20 on seedlings too. Definitely helps to get them going.
What does 20 20 20 mean?
@@rhb30001 It's a type of synthetic fertilizer with 20% Nitrogen, 20% Phosphorous, and 20% Potassium -- that's why it's called 20-20-20. It's blue and you'll see it under many different brand names. Same stuff as the blue Miracle-Gro Plant Food that you can find at the big box stores.
Just had a huge fertilizer plant in NC burn up about 10 days ago.
Uh oh. That's not going to help the current situation. Hope everyone is okay.
I hit the Home Depot sales this fall. I'm set for the next couple years.
Good planning!
Thank you for the heads up on the fertilizer as always great gardening video!
You're welcome Lynne!
I listened to a guy once talk about climate change not being what people say it is exactly. But that farmers who just till the plots twice yearly and don’t plant cover crops are ruining the soil and something about climate change but I do remember him saying that was the problem with commercial farming is they don’t plant cover crops. And just till it. So you just confirmed to me what he said about feeding the soil in that way. We plan to plant the hot mustard in the fall and not sure what else.
There's a good documentary on that subject, but can't remember the name of it.
Beautiful...can you share how you set up a plot? How long, wide, spacing, etc.?
The majority of my plots are 30'x35'. I prefer a square plot over a rectangular one. There's many ways to create a garden plot. You can do it with a tiller and the more traditional way. But some folks will lay cardboard on the grass and pile compost on top of it.
We seen big hikes in lawn fert this year too. Miracle-gro has had a great year in the market (10x growth) as they did not eat the cost at all, passed it one, and added to it. I am seeing the same for the organic ones. I personally just bought two 50 pound bags of fert for my lawn and garden when I was down in FL and could get it cheaper than I could here in AL.
Didn't think about the lawn industry, but I've never really understood why folks want to fertilize the grass in their yard. The last thing I want is to have to cut my grass more often. lol
You hit the nail on the head on upcoming fertilizer shortages Travis, and it will become way worse before it gets better. Russia has also banned the export of fertilizer and Yara International (world's largest ammonia producer) has cut production to 40% of capacity because at these natural gas prices ammonia is not economically feasible to produce. Bulk ammonium sulfate price has increased elevenfold in the past two months. Once existing stockpiles are gone, replacements will be prohibitively expensive if available at all. I know you and most of your viewers have pivoted to mainly organics and that is great. My advice is to buy a years worth of your organic fertilizer needs now and throw in a 50# bag or two of a soluble 20-20-20 just in case it gets real bad this summer. If you have plenty, you can always sell the 20-20-20 to someone less prepared later.
The name Yara was mentioned in the phone conversation we had. They're one of the biggest (if not the biggest) producers of calcium nitrate. That's a good recommended plan you have. Although from what I've heard, the plant and animal-based fertilizers aren't expected to inflate that much.
@@LazyDogFarm if you have the means, and the stuff can be stored for a long while, I would buy a lot. Just to be on the safe side. It just feels like something big is about to go down.
Thank you for the heads up on the nutrient market. Your lettuce plants are killing me. I was very satisfied this season with the 5-4-3+9% Ca hen manure from Seven Springs for pre-plant followed up with "spoon feeding" AgroThrive 3-3-5 as is or fortified with either Chilean nitrate or sulfate of potash through the drip system depending on the plant's nutrient needs. Probably have enough of those soluble amendments on hand to last through 2022. The Nature Safe 8-5-5 and 13-0-0 are still a good value as of today so I'll change up my gardening style to incorporate those products instead. Also incorporated a lot of alfalfa pellets to break down over the winter so we shall see if base fertility will have improved.
I like the 5-4-3 as well, but the guy at 7 Springs made a good point that you get a lot more bang for your buck with the 8-5-5 -- and he sells both obviously.
I've got horses,grass clippings,dead fish,ash...need to get some comfrey plants.
Comfrey seems to be all the rage. Maybe I need to hop on the comfrey bus as well.
@@LazyDogFarm Please, what is comfrey supposed to supply?
Based on yor fertilizer industry intel, looks like I'll be starting new, bigger leaf mould wire cage rings in the shade of hedge rows for back-up fertility. I can mine the floor of the hedge rows for inoculated starter. Also begin assembling junk/marerials/bedding inputs for additional spring start worm bins. Purchased fert is my back-up.
Damn. I was counting on taking December "off."
Always something to do ...
Hey y'all, I bought all my seeds for the next 12 months and all my fertilizer for the next 12 months just to beat the prices. Believe me I will be saving seed all year next year I will not be buying seeds unless it is a new hybrid or a new to me variety. 2022 garden will not be any experiments it is all for growing and storing and eating along the way.
Compost y'all take some classes read some books look for online classes. Learn the best techniques WHERE YOU LIVE don't worry what folks 1500 miles away are doing. Food scraps, leaves, grass clippings and anything else you can find. good luck y'all take care bye for now
Excellent point about learning what works for WHERE YOU LIVE. What I do on my place may not work on as well on your place.
I started a couple of months ago buying bag fertilizer as i could afford it. I have enough to plant next year already, but i will continue to get a little each month... You keep it cool & dry, it will store a long time! High Nitrogen fertilizer was higher already!
If you've got a good way to store it, it's not a bad idea to stockpile some for sure!
I have been planting a mixed cover crop in my raised beds. I will chop and drop and use for mulch. I am concerned to hear that cover crop seed costs might go up and become harder to buy.
You might see the prices increase a little, but I doubt they'll become scarce like some vegetable seeds have.
Good video ! If the predicted price of gas comes about I won't be able tpo grow a garden. My garden plot is 80 miles from home. Hoping for the best.
Yeah I bet that does hit the wallet hard. These gas prices are certainly ridiculous!
I had the compost I use tested and bought enough amendments to last more than a few years.
Sounds like you're well-prepared!
Add sugar source ( jerry Baker) to the soil to feed bacteria and fungi that break down soil minerals It doesn’t take much. Fall application is best followed by spring. Any time is good. Plants normally feed sugars to the soil.
The Nature Safe 7-7-7 we use has a decent amount of sugar in it since it's derived from corn steep liquor. It does a great job of feeding those bacteria.
Going to start trying Korean natural farming. Bought the jadam book.
I need to look into that ...
If your garden is not too large, urine is a good fertilizer. It's basically equivalent to a miracle-gro all purpose plant food (24-8-16 or 3:1:2 ratio) with an extra 2 doses of N (10:1:2 ratio). If I don't use it on my crops, I fertilize weeds or grass and compost that later.
Serious question ... Do you just pee in the garden or pee in a bucket then apply it alongside the plants?
@@LazyDogFarm Basically the latter. I keep a watering can (A) in my bathroom, pee in that one, take it outside with a bottle of tap water, pour it into watering can B, rinse out A with the tap water, dilute B with at least 1 gallon of rain water and then use on whatever. I usually just use the first pee of the day because it's likely the strongest. The rest is mostly water and not really worth the effort.
I wouldn't suggest using undiluted urine. I did that this year and after 4 straight days of urinating in a bucket of growing potatoes, 2/7 died.
I also did this in another container of potatoes (recycling bin size) and used urine on Wed and Sun. Yield was 8.75 pounds. In another equivalent recycling bin of potatoes, I got 10 pounds using 100g of Miracle Gro Tomato food 10-5-15 and 328.8g of All purpose plant food 24-8-16.
How come you don't put straw down between the rows? Seems like that would help with multiple things, keeps fertilizer from evaporating and breaks down fast which will help improve soil and keeps weeds down.
Mainly because I don't like moving straw each time we replant. Our row spacing is always changing depending on the crop we're planting, and we're always planting. The drip tape helps keep the weeds down pretty well because we're only watering underneath the plants and not the entire plot.
I started making my own liquid fertilizer I live a couple of miles from the beach seaweed and a lot of fish carcass
I bet that is some good stuff!
@@LazyDogFarm I have it fermenting in a 5 gallon bucket with grass and comfrey.
I planted my carrots a few weeks before you. I think I forgot to put the 8-5-5 down but I’ve been using the agrothrive you recommend about once a week. They are still really small. Yours are at least five times the size. What would you recommend? Got butter head lettuce ready to harvest. Cabbage, onions, broccoli and cauliflower all looking amazing. Carrots and the elephant garlic are what I seem to be struggling with.
I dunno. I haven't done anything magical. Maybe it's the 8-5-5. I haven't given the carrots any Agrothrive yet because I haven't felt like they needed it.
I will continue using sardine’s in my planting holes , wood ash on my root crops, weed teas biochars on trees and feeding plants their foliage back to them by burying them also bone meal is easy to make I hear. Lots of natural ways to feed your garden just not the prettiest. I still use the big organic fertilizers and triple 13 but one day we might not have them so might as well try testing them out now
Now is a great time to test and see if you do it without some of those synthetic inputs. Sometimes we don't learn new things until we're forced to do so.
Fantastic information 👌 👏 👍 thank you, Travis.
My pleasure!
I've horses loose and got me to think, get the lawnmower w/bagger and pick upwas able to get 9 wheelbarrow and spreaded with the tiller and tarp so we r going to save on fertilizer!
Great idea Joe!
As a follow-up, my wife says that she could graze your lettuce row from one end to the other with just a squeeze bottle of salad dressing in hand. Got an order in to Johnny's for Sparx and Tropicana seeds. Soils report due back from the lab any day now. Is there any way that you could get a monetary taste from all the business that you send to Seven Springs in your role as social media influencer?
Yes, I think these days you need to monetize all you can. Every time I order something online I trying to remember if anyone has a link. Obviously I'm not the only one.
@mark ware Those opportunities usually present themselves as a channel grows. We have an affiliate relationship with Agrothrive where we receive a commission if someone uses our coupon code or link. I'm sure we'll develop more partnerships like that as our reach increases.
I have a question for you Travis, where's the radishes at?? You are such an inspiration to all of us to grow different things. I had never done carrots or radishes before but last year I did they are so good home grown. An I just did them in a small raise bed. I did make a bigger carrot bed this year but I've keep the radishes going in a 2x2 raised bed.
I have some daikons that I'll be harvesting from a cover crop plot on a video next week. But I'm the only one in the family that really likes them, so I don't grow that many of them.
French breakfast radishes are mild & delicious!
I save all food scrap in the freezer and catch fish to fertilize with. I learned that from David The Good.
So do you "emulsify" or "hydrolyse" the fish? I hear the hydrolysate is much better.
@@LazyDogFarm The really lazy way, Just bury it under what you plant. The plant will find it.
Didn’t think about the fertilizer but I’m trying for a few yrs have been canning to feed our family which is a big family
Canning is very important in today's changing world!
Might be time to use JADAM Ultra Cheap Korean natural farming to create your own natural fertilizers and pesticides.
I definitely need to investigate that technique further.
Fireplace ash is potash and contains potassium, lime, magnesium, and calcium. It also naturally contains biochar. It is alkaline and should be used sparingly. I mix blood meal, bone meal and fireplace ash as my homemade fertilizer/amendment.
If I had a fireplace, I'd definitely be using some of it in the garden!
@@LazyDogFarm you dont need a fireplace to make it. Just get yourself burn pile and burn some hardwood and use the ash from it..
@@LazyDogFarm now everybody will send you their ash’s.
@@maddigger0074 No hardwoods nearby. Piney woods all around me. Sigh! I’ll need to get creative.
Rabbit & quail 💩
Maybe chicken if they ever live long enough. But i have the chicken coop built to be between the berry bushes to fertilize them...not so much the veggie garden.
Ducks in the "orchard" (gotta have trees first lol) but next summer i want to make that area a pumpkin patch so maybe the ducks will go there & kill all the squash bugs???
I think its wise to become as self sufficient as possible as quickly as possible in these crazy times. Including how you fertilize things. The problem comes in with animal feed costs. 1 bag of rabbit feed is $20, chicken food is creeping up there too.
That's the truth on the animal food. I've cut back on giving pellets to my chickens this week and am letting them just eat clover. They seem to be doing just fine.
The good thing about ducks is their flat feet that won’t scratch up the soil like chickens and your plants should be safe especially when they are small.
A byproduct of producing fertilizer from natural gas is compressed CO2 that is used for soda and beer. I recently noticed that some bottles of Coke were not as highly carbonated - they almost seemed flat.
Interesting.
Yes! I noticed the exact same thing with multiple cans of Sprite...almost flat & almost no flavor. Had not had one for a couple of months, so the changes were very noticeable, can after can. A deliberate switch on their part, but a great way to indirectly get people to stop drinking soda.....for me.
Love your music choices and videos of course. Is there a local dealer for the Natures fertilizer? Or closest to South Ga
Graco Fertilizer in Cairo usually carries the Nature Safe 8-5-5.
Well it looks like I'm going to have to fertilize with my waste. I didn't like the idea of pooing and peeing on my food, but it's coming down to it to do do so.
Haha. Just don't poo or pee directly on it. It might burn the leaves. lol
You'll save on your water consumption.
The Only way i use store bought nitrogen is to start the break down a bale of hay to plant into. Otherwise i use only my rabbit poo and mulch i make.
Cattle has become a golden goose. Manure for making compost and meat prices.
Cow prices around here are at the rock bottom, but that manure is useful!
i have a problem with this organic fertilizers, and my problem is the sources, they all come from synthectic fertilizers you like it or not from the food chain, i think at least for the nitrogen this fertilizers should start being made from nitrogen fixing plants, that way you feed the soil and make fertilizer from the plant.
It's great to have nitrogen-fixing plants in the garden. We plant lots of nitrogen-fixing cover crops. And while they do help, they can't provide all the nitrogen that a heavy-feeding crop like corn or onions need. So we do have to supplement. The organic fertilizers we use are byproducts of the animal food industry, where they're basically taking waste and making it into fertilizer. Most fish fertilizers are made by companies who also have aquaculture businesses. They use the fish carcasses from the harvested fish to make the fish fertilizer. So some organic fertilizers actually remove things from the waste cycle.
Hey Travis, I've been
Meaning to ask you do
you not plant any different Varieties of
Cantaloupes or have i
Missed some Videos? I started watching you
this summer. I do enjoy
Watching your video's.
We're not big fans of cantaloupe. Titus will eat it some, but the rest of us don't care for it. That's why I don't grow them.
Another reason prices are going up is the price of gas, and transporting. It’s making everything is going up!
Very true! A trip to the pump will hurt your feelings nowadays.
I use goat, cow and chicken manure and am making compost.
All good stuff!
Looks like more composting will be needed...
Prices would go up to the cost of inflation of 5.5% in the USA also fuel prices will force higher increases, which will trickle down to the consumer.
I’m sure the adding of the compost on the farm should result in the less need of fertilisers, perhaps you need to trial the amounts that you use.
An example of this add full fertilisation to part, half and a quarter even zero to see where you can reduce fertilisers all together, and the effects of growth and pest infections lowering fertilisation.
I think the chicken tractor and the cover crop grazing will definitely help us reduce inputs. However, we still have to get that phosphorous and potassium from somewhere else.
@@LazyDogFarm like the chicken tractor, having a cover crop, chickens eating it down it regrows slowly and the manure helps.
Hopefully you’ll get some eggs soon.
If in no till bed, mow it low before planting leaving the roots in for microbial action.
Reducing the amount of fertilisers is the main objective for most gardener’s but you do grow on a larger scale than the average person, trying to keep it organic is a healthier.
I enjoyed that. One thing for sure is we need to be less reliant on China! I think they are big phosphorus suppliers. I know that we mine lots of potash in The Canadian prairies. I already have enough fertilizer for the next couple of years, hopefully by the time I need to buy more, things will have settled down. We certainly have lots of energy in North America but right now, not the political will to utilize it properly.
There's a whole pipeline down here that's already been built and buried ...
@@LazyDogFarm Well, we got lots & lots of those buried pipelines in Louisiana, but somehow they keep leaking in bayous, in subdivisions, and wherever they are run. Public water works check for oil in the drinking water.
Travis I am going use organic fertilizer this year. I just received my Natures safe 8-5-5 from 7springs. Do you add this directly to you tomato planting holes?
I sprinkle it in the planting furrow, but you can put it in each individual hole too.
If we don't get any big rains this winter, it is likely there will be no gardening next year. Water will cost more than the fertilizer.
Bidens new America. I'd take mean tweets over this
@Mutant Ryeff That's rough, but you're right. If you don't have water, there won't be anything to fertilize.
If you don’t have rain barrels consider using buckets and basins. Basins in the bathroom sink when you’re washing your hands or brushing your teeth. Bucket in the shower if your water takes a minute or two to warm up. I hand wash dishes and the rinse water goes into the garden with everything else.
Also, try vermicomposting. You don’t have to buy worms (they will make their way into the bins) and all you need to start is one tote. Recycle paper products and leaves, even old clothes or rags. Worms will eat the natural fibers. Put your food scraps in with the leaves and paper and you’ll be amazed how much liquid comes from the food scraps. You can use your native soil or soil from flower pots that need refreshing. All of these methods work for me. Pretty soon one worm bin turned to four and I bought four 30 gallon garbage bins and drilled holes in the sides and bottoms and my fruit trees near the bins are more productive than ever. I don’t need to buy as much fertilizer or garden amendments as I used to. Don’t forget to let some of your plants go to seed if you’re worried about prices going up or lack of availability.
Going to plant up some Comphrey & make tea for my plants. I think it's toxic, so all be careful with it.
I've heard of folks doing that. I haven't found anything though that tells you how much actual nutrients it is providing. I wonder if it's like the compost tea deal where it's more of a biology addition than a nutrient addition?
Like your plants!!
Thanks Izzy!
Have a good day gardening.
How has the Agrothrive fertilizer worked for you...I noticed a visible enhancement to my plants....Really hoping its cost stays stable..
Working well so far. I don't use it exclusively, but it's an integral part of our feeding program nowadays.
nature safe went up $4 at 7spring since july
Interesting. I didn't notice. Seems like it's been a while since I've purchased any. I try to buy a years worth at the time when I can.
That Tropicana looks like it would make a great 'wilted lettuce' meal
It does. We made some taco salad last night and the hot taco meat basically wilted it when it was added on top. So good!
@@LazyDogFarm Wilted lettuce is lettuce and scallions with hot vinegar, sugar, water and touch of bacon fat poured over the top
@@mutantryeff Gotcha. That's a whole other level right there!
I use my chicken manure and all the bedding when I clean my coop out.
That's good stuff!
Lucky I bought what I needed for 2 years, 4 months ago. Yikes!
Good call!
Do you have that fresh compost on the lettuce plot too adding all that active biology? I saw so many bales of cotton and large piles of material in the flied from the harvesters on our way down to Tybee. We drove past a gin and cotton was flying every where. I think cotton seed meal is pretty high in N but acidic from what I've read but you got a good resource having that gin trash.
If corn and soy prices are high then fertilizers containing corn gluten meal, corn steep liquor, soy bean meal and soy hydrolysate prices will increase too. I have some bags of sodium nitrate that I won't use, every time I use it it seemed to fuel fungal problems. I read a few articles saying that possibly high nitrogen availability can increase a plant's proneness to fungal pathogens because of increased foliar nitrogen concentration.
We put about 1-2 tons of compost on the plot with the lettuce and carrots, and tilled it into the soil. So that could also be a contributing factor -- although we learned last year that the compost alone is not enough by a long shot for our soil.
Haven't heard that about the sodium nitrate and the fungal issues. I haven't missed using the sodium nitrate at all. It was effective when I was using it, but now it seems I have more continual fertility in my soil with this other stuff.
Oh, I do hope cottonseed meal is acidic. Our soil runs between 7.5 - 8.5 pH and I'm always looking for ways to bring that pH down a little bit. (We're out West)
Travis, your carrots are looking good. Had really good success with them last year but work got really busy this year and I didn't get a chance to plant. Is it too late to start them in south Louisiana (Gulf coast)?
Down there you can probably still get some going. Might want to pick a week when there's not going to be a cool spell.
This is a perfect time to get some seeds in. There is a prolonged warm spell so you should hurry up. If you have the space, why not take a chance? Seems like the weather odds are on your side.
Mono potassium phosphate $62 to $102 this week from supplier
Ouch!
I would love to use the nature safe products, but the size and cost to get that shipped to me is expensive. I have 6 small raised beds. Would love if they made it in small amounts. Is there any other options like nature safe that is available in smaller amounts.
There are plenty of organic fertilizers that are sold in smaller amounts online, but they're not necessarily the same as the Nature Safe stuff. You can get most of the individual components that go into the Nature Safe fertilizers -- blood meal, bone meal, feather meal. If you look at the cost per lb compared to some of the other stuff online, it's really not that bad. And it stores well in a trash can. So although it may take you several years to use an entire 50 lb bag, it might be a better investment than buying a bunch of small bags.
Monetary Inflation (Currency creation on computers ) always precedes your cost of retail Inflation , create $20 Trillion in new currency what could possibly go wrong ! I only commented as this wasn't noted .
Good point!
I was thinking of getting some free range chickens for eggs and insects but I saw a RUclips program where he was using ducks because they don’t scratch up the soil. Has anyone had experience with ducks in the garden?
Never had ducks, so not sure.
you mentioned Seven Springs Farms, you mean SSF in Kentucky? They’re here in my county :)
have you tried using homemade fertilizer teas? I’m thinking of making a batch and trying it with my extra grass clippings for my sweet corn.
The Seven Springs we're referring to is in Virginia. I have not tried homemade fertilizer teas, but we have used some compost teas that were pre-bottled.
Worms. They get of trash and debris. They the have the microbes and they have a little npk.
We haven’t bought feet in years, we make our own
Nothing wrong with being sustainable!
Splendid video, Travis highly informative!
Much appreciated!
Grain prices go up, so does fertilizer
Makes sense!