I just bought 5 acres and close next Monday and am dedicating a whole section to a food forest with the wood chip and raised garden bed combo you’ve been a huge inspiration can wait to show the results
@@Sms135ftw well had to restart we placed a septic field in that area as it was the only thing suitable but we got a new area and it’s doing quite well for being on its first year again
I process my eggshells before adding to garden. I collect and put in oven at 170 for 10-20 minutes until all moisture out. Then pop them in a bullet (small smootie) blender and grind until powder form. This makes it quicker for plant to absorb
Good stuff, James. A follow-up if I may: Wood ash (pot ash) was the original source for potassium. In fact, the mineral gets its name from pot-ash-ium. It's great stuff, but it should be added directly to the garden before it gets wet or rained on, as the other beneficial minerals will leach out quickly. If using ashes from the fireplace or woodstove, be sure there is no coal ash in it (no BBQ briquette ash either), or it will poison your garden. It's the same stuff that power plants produce, and it contains a ton of heavy metals you don't want to ingest.
The issue with this video, and I love James, is that the K in potash is 100% water soluble. It's not to be used as a soil amendment or in a compost pile, but as a water soluble feed. Basically the best practice is to top dress existing plants, not amend compost or bare soil. The water soluble nature of the potash means all the K washes into the soil the first rain. If You have plants established they can use this soluble potash as it drains past their roots, but it's gone after that so to apply it not to a plant directly is wasting it. So use it sparingly and in specific and direct feeding applications not as a soil or compost amendment
@@Thee-_-Outlier On its own, yes, but when used in conjunction with biochar, either as an additive to straight char or wood ash mix, it will be absorbed into the char and reused. This is why terra preta works so well and is so important to use in your garden.
@@UrbanGardeningWithD.A.Hanks14 I use biochar aka lump charcoal in my gardens and yes CHUNKS of it are great for holding microbe populations, but he wasn't adding biochar. All I saw in that bucket was grey potash from his fireplace, no black chunks left that i could see. I would also reword what you are trying to say because biochar and potash are just different there is no benefit or need to be "combined". Use biochar in the capacity you stated and the potash in the capacity I stated. That is how both should be used and it has nothing to do with combining them as a soil amendment. I stick to potash is a water soluble feed. Biochar is a soil conditioner that also holds denser microbe populations
@@Thee-_-Outlier We're both saying similar things, but my point is that the biochar will absorb that potassium and store it, even in that water soluble form. That's why forest fires produce such fertile soils. The charcoal will absorb those nutrients, feed them back and then reabsorb them over and over. It's why terra preta still works 800 years later. Charcoal powder will absorb and give off much quicker, whereas the chunks will be the thermal mass, so to speak. Adding bone meal for P will also be absorbed into the char as well as eggshell and drywall powder for calcium.
@@UrbanGardeningWithD.A.Hanks14 I see what you're saying more so now. I'd still say best practice is not tilling into the compost even with biochar. If anything it has to be a more wasteful way to apply the K. That said it wouldn't be a total waste given the water retention, but really that feature applies to vermiculite, perlite and other soil conditioners used to retain moisture. My beds are hugelkukture beds so in the same way as biochar my logs would retain some of the water soluble fertilizers same as biochar. I'm not saying logs are as good in total as biochar but for this one purpose it would be in essence the same
I have been gardening for about 45 years now. And I still am learning. The most important lesson that I have learned over the years is to work smarter not harder. No till gardening is without question the way to go. (for me). I just spread all of my organic waste over the garden and let it just decompose naturally. And just keep a little every year. Very little weeding and the results are amazing.
That's the beauty of gardening; there is always something new to learn. The more we know, there more there is to know! I love gardeners sharing their favorite techniques and their knowledge to make the world and our food supply better, healthier, and easier to grow.
I'm not there yet, much thanks to cooch grass. Hopefully this year I can mulch enough to smother photosynthesis, then plan to sow fall rye and few plants that create good green manure -- enough diversity of plants to nourish the ground well. Looking fwd to ending the need to weed.
I've been using the KNF method with my eggshells. I crush them up and take out the membrane then cook them on low heat for about 45 minutes and get them a little golden. Then I put them in a jar of vinegar (I think it's a 1:10 ratio). The vinegar starts bubbling like crazy and the shells start floating up and down. I leave it for a couple of days to a week until the bubbling stops then strain the shells out. I use the vinegar diluted with water as a foliar spray to make the calcium more accessible to the plants. In Korean Natural Farming it's called WAC or water soluble calcium
I love that you are still making great videos even after the main growing season is over. My food forest is just 2 years old, but I have learned a lot by watching your videos. Thanks for all the inspiration!
Thanks brother! I’m glad you have a Food Forest or your own growing, so cool. Your welcome! I love making the videos so I will continue to be creating them, I’m always doing something in the garden. I bet that’s similar with you 😁
The Gardening Channel With James Prigioni oh yeah, always in the garden. Sometimes I just stare at the food forest forever just imagining what I will do next :)
I too am in the pnw. After years of saving and searching I finally purchased a beautiful 20acre piece of land. Spring water and a creek with tons and tons of wild berries. Been here four months so I have many years of work ahead of me but couldn't be more excited about it. The plan is to make something bigger than just me. Sure I want to feed my family but I also want to feed folks who need it. I want to make the world a better place. Voluntary cooperation, self governance, and ya permaculture. This is how we save the world. Peace
Last year I began saving egg shells, letting them dry out, crush them and then grinding them in an old bladed coffee grinder. Over the winter we got a couple of pounds of eggshell powder. Add to the garden and compost where needed. I store it in ziplocs.
I emptied our ashpan outside on the grass i just swirled around and the ash landed in a kind of circle. I thought nothing more of it. The grass growth started again and this arc of grass is MUCH more vibrant and lush. Incredible. All the grass is coming through now but there is clearly a difference.
Great advice. I learn a way to grow tomatoes for the disabled. I'm in a wheelchair but I enjoy to do gardening. my self and I love tomatoes. I have a gate in front of the entrance. When the tomato is ready to be planted on my balcony when they get long I push it toward the outside where they get plenty of sun. The flowers grow up and the leaves grow down. I cut the bottom so it doesn't get anything crawling up. The best thing is that I pick them from the balcony by putting my hands through the holes..
Thank you always for all of your videos, specially with Tucker in the videos, he makes my day i just love him so much. Look at him walking all around supervising everything and at the end helping his daddy to cover the composed what a great helper.♥️♥️♥️🥰🥰🥰
You can tell Tuck is used to being treated well and loved. He completely trusts you and is completely spoiled in the good way of being treated like pet royalty. It's a pleasure to see a little creature happy, healthy & feeling "large & in charge".
All year we save most of our eggshells in a separate designated countertop kitchen compost. We take it out to the garden area in an open 5 gallon container to dry and breakdown. Once they are crispy enough, We pulverize them. Until a dust is formed. (I suppose you could use a blender but Hard work never killed anyone) We scatter this around in the beds. They breakdown happens slowly and helps keep away bottom end rot for out tomatoes. New this year, we used a bit of the bio char chunks and pieces from our wood stove sprinkled in some of the beds 😮 🤞 We have faith that we’re not over doing it with amendments and all will be beneficial. Thanks for your channel. Super easy follow along. Garden On!!
Enjoyed your video . . You’re fortunate to have a ready source of manure. I’ve been making my own compost, and it has really improved the plant growth. Like your little puppy. Stay well!!! 😷
I save up egg shells, crunching them up and when I have my big jar full, I walk around my garden and bless all the land where fruit and tree, veg and flower do reside. Thanks for this video, I feel more confident to make a pile like this; just gotta source some clean animal manure.
Something else I do, is go to the Starbucks down the street from my house. I keep a couple 5 gallon buckets with lids there all the time and they fill them with spent coffee grounds. I usually stop by every other day and swap the buckets out. They are free, and my local store loves that I compost them, vice them having to throw them in the trash. Coffee grounds are full of tons of great minerals and some nitrogen and when combined with woodchips is a thing of beauty!
I love how Tuck was helping put the tarp on. :D I think I will start saving some grass clippings, instead of always mulching into the yard, so I will have more to add to the compost. I'm also processing weeds through the chicken pen first, so the seeds will be mostly eaten up, and the root matter will be good and dead before it hits the compost pile. We have "potato vine" that seems like it can even grow from a piece of root matter laying on top of dirt. haha We're putting up a new shed, so I need to remove most of the compost I have nearby to the garden beds. This is great info for starting compost again for end of the summer beds.
When we lived in central Florida we worked an egg farm. When they took chickens out they took sawdust and manure and spread it throughout the orange grove. They would sift it over my garden spots and i would take the tractor and till it in. Best fertilizer i ever used. Sure miss gardening.
I've gardened for many years from Alaska to Arizona and in between. I thoroughly enjoy watching your videos! Tuck is a great sidekick too. Thank you for making these! I sent links to my daughter who is beginning to garden and she likes them very well too!
I love tuck and how he help you out, I just started my garden I pray my garden look 👀 something like your one day. Love what you do. Keep the knowledge coming🙏😊
I live in an urban development - small backyard; so, sourcing is a little different. Two years in a row, I've successfully hot composted a small pile (less the 3 feet high) of brown leaves and green weeds I'd "harvested" using a weed-wacker. When it was done, I incorporated the compost into a small no-till pumpkin patch -- no weeds cropped up. During this year's "weed harvest", I noticed the spot where I'd done the composting the previous year was robust with the greenest, healthiest weeds I'd ever seen. They made a fine contribution to this season's compost mole hill. :-) Hey, what can I say? Even with a smaller pile (about 2' diameter and 2' high), it still works.
love your videos - camera doesn't make you stay or sit still -it shows how you do the staff. Others just sit on their knees and talk- it cuts value of their post by 90 %. I do not even open them anymore. Show how you do it -that's it. Straight to the point. Thanks
The hard work is worth it. There’s no way to explain how it makes you feel. If you want to change your life, change your lifestyle and this way of gardening is just that. Thank you for sharing! This will change the ball game for me!!! The way you educate and are genuine makes watching this videos so simple, fun, and enlightening! I have learned a lot!!! Thank you so much!
Awesome lesson as usual James and Tuck helped too to put the tarp down properly.. Haha.. I love your video's.. they have inspired me greatly .. thank you ..
I never think about it. I just chuck whatever I have for my compost in the pile. Anything that breaks down goes in, even paper and cardboard. I always get fab compost.
Such a young man but yet sharing a world of knowledge. Excellent videos. Sure wish I could see results of this video's hard work. Being the finished compost. Thanks
i use an old coffee bean grinder to pulverize the egg shells. I mix pulverized egg shells, bone meal, epsom salt, and a liberal amount of year old compost mixed together to my planting holes for my tomatoes. my mix is about 1/2 cup of the egg shells, 1 cup bone meal, 2 ounces of epsom salt and 5 gallons of compost. tomatoes love this starter mix and get established very quickly. I've noticed an increase of about 40-50% more tomatoes over the 4 years that I've been doing this.
You could of dug a pit for which to contain the compost directly in the garden. Put it where you need it. From the beginning. You can actually till that mix directly into your garden soil. Plus you can get Stump Rot to speed up the attraction of bugs and insects to the pile. The dog was Looking for his Scooby Snacks
I've been composting for decades here in Alaska. Took me 20 years of failure until a smart coworker said to cover it with a VBL to keep the heat of vaporization from cooling it off. So now I inherited a 3'x3' Mantis tumbler and I LOVE it! It cooks up to 150 no problem if you get the ratios right. Kills all the weed seeds, fly eggs, potato scab etc. It saves a bunch of time and looks good too. I've used the roller tumbers (on the ground) and will never do that again. Now I get so much compost- 5 loads in our short season- fast composting is important up here.
Hi there James and Tuck :) Dont know if you read the comments on these older posts, but just wanted to let you know that YOU are a God sent gardener. You are truly my favorite to learn from and your advices are spot on. You seems like such a nice guy, the kind you would go have a beer with, lol. Anyways, just wanted to say a huge thank you to take the time to do all these helpfull videos. May you and your family be blessed. Take care James!
Hi James, just wanted to say a massive thank you for all your videos with invaluable tips and advice for creating a beautiful food forest. I have learnt so much and am so inspired that I have started creating a food forest on my acre plot of land in the Yorkshire Dales in the UK, and will do the same at my family’s home in the UAE later next year. Massive thank you to all you are doing. I will continue to watch and learn from your videos. Thank you again
I love Tuck hes so cute and helpful!! This video is very helpful to me I have a pretty big backyard with lots of land behind it I'm going to try and turn it into a giant garden like you, I've been doing it for a few now , You are so inspiring to watch!!
Thanks for letting Tuck help you. I enjoy seeing him wandering around the garden. He's so precious! Thanks for the helpful info on composting. Best to you. Alice in Cherokee Nation, OK.
"First thing you gotta do, source the resources" This is probably one of the smartest first steps ive heard any 'youtuber type' person say in a video. Its something most ambitious newbies do. We take on too much right outta the gate. Starting out definitely takes some initial investment in money, time and willingness to leave your ego at the door and admit you need knowledge and put the time in to find the best source of knowledge for your particular area. James your vids are amazing. You keep getting better, in both content and videography/editing. Keep it up bud! Much love!
I’ve start to add wood ashes to my nicrogreens n my body reacts like crazy to it and also I’ve added a spoon of ash to my water culture orchid and it’s also growing roots and looks damn healthy
I love watching your videos! I have been gardening for the past 40 years but you have taught me a lot! I especially love watching Tuck also! He is such a big helper and I dont think you could do it without him. Lol... He is so dang cute!!!
Wow! I had no idea you could make compost in 18 days. I’ve never heard of that. So love when people use natural things that God has given us and also our brains He blessed us with. Thank you for sharing your talents!! 🌷
I have been flying by the seat of my pants with this and am amazed at my own instincts. Lol I’ve made some mistakes, put too much wood bark in there but now I know and will not layer it as I had planned. Thank you for all of your hard work! I am working on my property looking similar to yours. 👊🏼😁♥️ It’s hilarious a video on making weed piles is so fascinating. And this is me going to get the wood ash I was about to forget. 👋
James, you are my absolute favorite resource. I always feel empowered and full of zip when I watch you! You explain things very clearly and make things sound so easy a doable. I am looking forward to starting my first food forest next year. Thank you so much for everything you do and show us!
How are you going, a year later? I'm a first year gardener, building a greenhouse in a few weeks! Would love to hear about your success and any advice ❤🐝🐝
I LOVE YOUR SHOW! It’s one of my favorite gardening channels! I’ve learned a lot from you!!! Keep it up….you’re awesome! & I love Tuck! He’s probly my favorite part😆
My pile is about 5 by 6, and sometimes 5 tall. Shrub trimmings pre processed by mulching mower. Changed from all clay garden to black in 3 years, still more to learn and get dirty
I hear you David. Bought our current home 11 years ago which was a rental property. Previous renters poured calinche in the backyard for added parking. Finally raked it all out to find red clay! Years of amendments is paying off though
Hi James, Doug here, gardening for a half century in Maine. Love your videos and I’m still learning new things because of them. Wishing you the best and a great new gardening year.
These videos and the comments are so helpful and inspiring it makes my heart soar like a hawk. Problem is tho nothing grows in my soil. It's clay like cement. I've gardened probly 20 years, spent beauceau money on seeds and stuff, reaped about $3 worth of food. You talk about your balance well there's your balance.
Many people garden successfully on clay. The trick is to ALWAYS keep the soil covered with a permanent mulch. i.e. no til / no dig gardening. Check out Charles Dowding's work on RUclips. He's a commercial gardener and has pure clay to work with. Best of luck.
Crushed eggshells spri kled around a snail's favorite crop will deter the snails. It's like broken glass to them. Love your enthusiasm, James! Thank You!
I'm trying to get serious about composting and doing it the right way here on our homestead. I've watched a couple videos this morning, but you were the first person to break out the chemistry talk. That's how I know you are serious. Lots of good info, James. Thanks.
Yes. I love how he explains...this gives you carbon, this gives nitrogen, calcium. Super informative. Even though I do not have that amazing energy anymore, you never lose your love for being out in the garden
Great timing, I just pulverized a months worth of egg shells after baking them to kill any bad germs and mixing the egg shell powder with some wood ash and azomite rock dust before spreading it around our fruit trees and vegetable plants.
Morning Light I've been doing it for years and it works great. I just spread the mixture into our soil lightly with my fingers and top dress with homemade compost.
Thank you!! Your quotes from other gardeners are very useful and help me to better understand what you're doing and why you're doing it my garden at home although new is looking so good compared to my first three decades of attempting to try to have plants which usually ended up in failure. Thank you for helping to keep us motivated and moving forward and continuing to try regardless of setbacks we love your channel we love what you do and how you do it!! ❤❤❤
I’m gona give it a try, I’ve had vegetable matter in the spinning compost bin for years & I have a few 65lt bags of leaf matter & loads of coffee grinds & ground egg shells, I only have a small purchased bag of pot ash, but I’ll give it a go & see what happens ☺️
I keep my eggshells in a bowl on top of my kitchen cupboard, and blend them once a month and keep in a jar. I feed some to my worms and add some to compost heap. Grinding it up helps release minerals.
Recently found my passion for gardening again, and I have to say, I love your videos! So much information, and you stick to the topic! Your inclusion of the coolest dog, Tuck. AND the way you present it all. Many greetings from Norway! Hope you are all good in these times btw :)
Your channel is fantastic, been a subscriber for about 10 days now, and unfortunately I have no garden...I'm a gardener wannabee. But I have learned SO much from you in a very short time. I'm taking notes for when we move and can have a garden. It's very relaxing to watch your channel. My husband is now also watching it, and he is enjoying it too.
I do it similar. But none of the big stuff that you added at the bottom, takes forever to break down. -Grass, leaves , ash, old beer from the bottom of the cans people leave behind, coffee grounds, egg shells, veggie scraps, old paper towels chicken poop from the coop.. I water it so it doesn’t cook too much and just turn to ash itself. Flip it with a pitch fork and the repeat... after winter passes I top my garden beds. When spring hits I add steer manure and dolomite lime and depending, peat moss.
Beautiful compost pile! At one time I saved rain water in plastic buckets to water my compost pile -- to avoid the chlorine in the treated water. Also I made a bacteria starter in a bucket using dirt, water, kitchen scraps and a sprinkle of compost builder. After that brewed a while, I'd pour that on a freshly assembled pile. There is no greater joy than seeing happy worms in a compost pile! Cheers to you and Tuck!
Love love love your video!!! The best I've ever watched on gardening !!! You are not only educational but fun 🤣😂. I should have done agricultural science in school instead of my useless degree ! Anyway I love gardening but such a novice at it . I'll keep watching . God bless 🙋♀️
I don’t have any source for ash. Is there a substitute for it or leave it out? I’m going to start my compost pile soon so it’ll be ready for spring next year. I have an unlimited amount of manure from my chickens. I’m glad you said don’t put cooked food of any kind. Thanks for that tip. Does my compost pile need to be in direct sun all the time? I love your channel!
I love how Tuck helps with everything. Do you know if it’s safe to use the ash from Traeger pellets in my compost? Also, do you wash the eggshells before adding them to your compost pile?
Love your channel, man! I'm 36 and have just started my first garden this year. The info and way of explaining you give or excellent. The thing that made me definitely know i needed to subscribe to your channel was when i heard The Avett Brothers playing on your videos. Great choice in music along with the wealth of knowledge when it comes to gardening.
Thumbs up... Subscribed. This is great advice. Mostly I vermicompost all year in the basement from store bought veggies plus my own and add coconut fiber bought at wallmart as a compressed block. Theres also a vid that shows how to generate lactobacillus using 2 cups of raw rice mixed into everything. When all is ready and set, fill a 5 gal pail of water with a half cup of molasses mixed in. Fill the watering can and pour over. It branches from each rice grain and goes after everything eating it like dark energy. This is great when the pile goes cold ot theres too much brown stuff. We dont alwzys have lots of green and i reserve mine for the children... lol, the worms. I have outdoors a closed black conical ground based composter i got from the State of NJ 20 years ago. It's still going its job. Wood charcoal is ok but don't use burnt charcoal. Its It's got too many additives and too much alkaline potash. I hope my little tips are ok to add from lessons learned the gard way. Wishing i had the space like James but mine is small in Edison.
The purpose of the 3×3 pole is to insulate the core . At mimumn throw a tarp over the pile . To help retain the heat . I use fiberglass insulation when its available or carpet . Cardboard.
Hi James, I use the same method as you. I use 24” compost thermometer to assess when to turn my pile. When I cover my pile I put an old milk crate on top to trap air in there. Awesome video!
I pulverize my eggshells into powder, as well as dehydrated banana peels. I just put scoops in the planting holes. Right now I have a bunch of ash that I could use... but I started burying my stuff (limbs, partially broken down compost pile, coffee grounds & filters, pulverized veggies, leaf material, etc) in the ground, then replaced the dirt, and added some compost on top. First time trying, all I know is the worms have been partying over there. 😄
Love watching your videos! I'm going to try a hot compost pile wth leaves, ash, greens from weeds and some eggshells. I also have an anaerobic compost pile that takes forever to decompose! Thanks for your videos, Tuck, and for sharing your philosophy that really touches me.
We just throw the hardwood ash, along with small chunks of charcoal from the woodstove right on the garden beds in winter, right on the snow. By spring planting time, the ash and carbon has been incorporated by freezing and thaw action. Eggshell meal is made with a corn grinder. That is just used like pulverized lime. The same with cooked out and roasted ground chicken bones.
I’m a new gardener James I love your character and your little dog I have a 1/4 acre section and I’ve put in 4 gardens I just bought 7 fruit tress but I don’t know where to put them...haha but I’m learning heaps from you Thankyou for the time and effort you are putting into doing this I have 3 compost piles going was a lot of effort but should be ready for spring here in New Zealand
Great work James. I built 4 compost bins using wood pallets from the paint store. about 3.5 cubic yards. NOW I have your formula for HOT COMPOSTING. I have to decide about my seeds and planting orders for the spring. Later on today I vacuum up my leaves with a shreeder vacuum electric tool. Handy tool. Hugs to Tuck.
I just found your channel! I learned so much from this one video. Subscribed! I sent it to my nephew, hoping to encourage him to start gardening! Love the song!
I read that book while in the Ohio State's Ag Ed program. I loved it. You are the ONLY person I have listened to who has made mention of him. One Straw Revolution. Use it all. Honor the Earth.
I occasionally eat mussels, I save the shells, and bake them at 500 degrees for about 30 minutes. (I will put any egg shells I have along with them). When they cool off, they can easily be crushed or put in a blender and powdered to either add to the compost are apply directly to the garden.
James, I tried that very same method, but after several years of messing with collecting the stuff, and trying to keep it wet, I just throw everything onto the garden. I let it break down naturally, similar to what Paul Gautschi does. I know he has chickens, but I've heard him say to let the decomposition process take place in the area you want. Just my experience. I even bought a composting bin. I wasn't happy with the results. Right now, I've got my garden area and asparagus covered in about 10 inches of leaves and a little bit of grass clippings. I may add more, this next week. I really don't have access to wood chips, but this time of year, I have plenty of access to leaves. Talking about the brown to green ratio, I heard 7 to 1. Just what I heard. 50-50 should work too.
derek a I’ve been gardening for over two decades. The best part is there isn’t much you can do wrong. Granted, sometimes your harvest is better than others, but plants wants to grow.
@@songbirdforjesus2381 Hot composting should break down e-coli and other bacteria so that they don't pose a threat by putting the compost on your garden.
SusanBailey AmazingEstate Probably the ONE thing you could do wrong that will destroy your garden for several years is to mix wood chips into the soil. They will lock up the nitrogen untill they're finished decaying... and then give it back to you. In the meantime, you won't harvest a thing. Wood chips work... if they're used as permanent mulch.
That was very satisfying to watch. I love to see your enthusiasm and expertise. You have inspired me to have another go at composting now that I see what I've been doing wrong. I love your dear and helpful little dog. I bet she helps to dig up your potatoes!
I just bought 5 acres and close next Monday and am dedicating a whole section to a food forest with the wood chip and raised garden bed combo you’ve been a huge inspiration can wait to show the results
Don't forget the cannabis this year it's medicine to you .🍀🌿🌱🌴
Sounds great! Best of luck with it!
Congratulations. Enjoy
how is your food forrest coming along?
@@Sms135ftw well had to restart we placed a septic field in that area as it was the only thing suitable but we got a new area and it’s doing quite well for being on its first year again
I process my eggshells before adding to garden. I collect and put in oven at 170 for 10-20 minutes until all moisture out. Then pop them in a bullet (small smootie) blender and grind until powder form. This makes it quicker for plant to absorb
The instant boost is from the ash. The calcium from the eggs is not available for quite a while. Your garden is an inspiration
Good stuff, James. A follow-up if I may: Wood ash (pot ash) was the original source for potassium. In fact, the mineral gets its name from pot-ash-ium. It's great stuff, but it should be added directly to the garden before it gets wet or rained on, as the other beneficial minerals will leach out quickly. If using ashes from the fireplace or woodstove, be sure there is no coal ash in it (no BBQ briquette ash either), or it will poison your garden. It's the same stuff that power plants produce, and it contains a ton of heavy metals you don't want to ingest.
The issue with this video, and I love James, is that the K in potash is 100% water soluble. It's not to be used as a soil amendment or in a compost pile, but as a water soluble feed. Basically the best practice is to top dress existing plants, not amend compost or bare soil. The water soluble nature of the potash means all the K washes into the soil the first rain. If You have plants established they can use this soluble potash as it drains past their roots, but it's gone after that so to apply it not to a plant directly is wasting it. So use it sparingly and in specific and direct feeding applications not as a soil or compost amendment
@@Thee-_-Outlier On its own, yes, but when used in conjunction with biochar, either as an additive to straight char or wood ash mix, it will be absorbed into the char and reused. This is why terra preta works so well and is so important to use in your garden.
@@UrbanGardeningWithD.A.Hanks14 I use biochar aka lump charcoal in my gardens and yes CHUNKS of it are great for holding microbe populations, but he wasn't adding biochar. All I saw in that bucket was grey potash from his fireplace, no black chunks left that i could see.
I would also reword what you are trying to say because biochar and potash are just different there is no benefit or need to be "combined". Use biochar in the capacity you stated and the potash in the capacity I stated. That is how both should be used and it has nothing to do with combining them as a soil amendment. I stick to potash is a water soluble feed. Biochar is a soil conditioner that also holds denser microbe populations
@@Thee-_-Outlier We're both saying similar things, but my point is that the biochar will absorb that potassium and store it, even in that water soluble form. That's why forest fires produce such fertile soils. The charcoal will absorb those nutrients, feed them back and then reabsorb them over and over. It's why terra preta still works 800 years later. Charcoal powder will absorb and give off much quicker, whereas the chunks will be the thermal mass, so to speak. Adding bone meal for P will also be absorbed into the char as well as eggshell and drywall powder for calcium.
@@UrbanGardeningWithD.A.Hanks14 I see what you're saying more so now. I'd still say best practice is not tilling into the compost even with biochar. If anything it has to be a more wasteful way to apply the K. That said it wouldn't be a total waste given the water retention, but really that feature applies to vermiculite, perlite and other soil conditioners used to retain moisture. My beds are hugelkukture beds so in the same way as biochar my logs would retain some of the water soluble fertilizers same as biochar. I'm not saying logs are as good in total as biochar but for this one purpose it would be in essence the same
I have been gardening for about 45 years now. And I still am learning. The most important lesson that I have learned over the years is to work smarter not harder. No till gardening is without question the way to go. (for me). I just spread all of my organic waste over the garden and let it just decompose naturally. And just keep a little every year. Very little weeding and the results are amazing.
That's the beauty of gardening; there is always something new to learn. The more we know, there more there is to know! I love gardeners sharing their favorite techniques and their knowledge to make the world and our food supply better, healthier, and easier to grow.
I'm not there yet, much thanks to cooch grass. Hopefully this year I can mulch enough to smother photosynthesis, then plan to sow fall rye and few plants that create good green manure -- enough diversity of plants to nourish the ground well. Looking fwd to ending the need to weed.
@@reforest4fertility ,
@@georgeredhead5154 'nuf said?
Is your water organic?
Tuck is so cute helping with the tarp at the end. Tuck makes my heart happy, so cute!
I would have loved to see when and how you tend the pile in a follow up video and the end results.
I've been using the KNF method with my eggshells. I crush them up and take out the membrane then cook them on low heat for about 45 minutes and get them a little golden. Then I put them in a jar of vinegar (I think it's a 1:10 ratio). The vinegar starts bubbling like crazy and the shells start floating up and down. I leave it for a couple of days to a week until the bubbling stops then strain the shells out. I use the vinegar diluted with water as a foliar spray to make the calcium more accessible to the plants. In Korean Natural Farming it's called WAC or water soluble calcium
Never hear of egg shells in vinegar but I sure will research it. Always willing to learn something new. Thanks
@@susanmyer1 It's just making calcium acetate at home.
I love that you are still making great videos even after the main growing season is over. My food forest is just 2 years old, but I have learned a lot by watching your videos. Thanks for all the inspiration!
Thanks brother! I’m glad you have a Food Forest or your own growing, so cool.
Your welcome! I love making the videos so I will continue to be creating them, I’m always doing something in the garden. I bet that’s similar with you 😁
I know I would enjoy a food forest. Right now, I've got an 11' x 25' garden area though. I guess that's what I'll keep on using.
The Gardening Channel With James Prigioni oh yeah, always in the garden. Sometimes I just stare at the food forest forever just imagining what I will do next :)
I too am in the pnw. After years of saving and searching I finally purchased a beautiful 20acre piece of land. Spring water and a creek with tons and tons of wild berries. Been here four months so I have many years of work ahead of me but couldn't be more excited about it. The plan is to make something bigger than just me. Sure I want to feed my family but I also want to feed folks who need it. I want to make the world a better place. Voluntary cooperation, self governance, and ya permaculture. This is how we save the world. Peace
Carry The Torch that’s awesome, I can only imagine what I would do with 20 acres! Good luck, it sounds like an amazing journey you have ahead.
Last year I began saving egg shells, letting them dry out, crush them and then grinding them in an old bladed coffee grinder. Over the winter we got a couple of pounds of eggshell powder. Add to the garden and compost where needed. I store it in ziplocs.
James I like how tuck trying to help and he have to supervise everything going on he so cute
I was watching the dog the entire time
My dog would do the same thing, always helping. And like when the tarp comes out he had to be on top of it, rooting around
If tuck could only talk!??
Actually it's Tuck instructing James and it's James who's helping or assisting Tuck!
This video by far was the easiest info on how to do composting! Love your channel!
I emptied our ashpan outside on the grass i just swirled around and the ash landed in a kind of circle. I thought nothing more of it. The grass growth started again and this arc of grass is MUCH more vibrant and lush. Incredible. All the grass is coming through now but there is clearly a difference.
Great advice. I learn a way to grow tomatoes for the disabled. I'm in a wheelchair but I enjoy to do gardening.
my self and I love tomatoes. I have a gate in front of the entrance. When the tomato is ready to be planted on my balcony when they get long I push it toward the outside where they get plenty of sun. The flowers grow up and the leaves grow down. I cut the bottom so it doesn't get anything crawling up. The best thing is that I pick them from the balcony by putting my hands through the holes..
I love working in my garden. The reward for my labor is fresh veggies
for my table.
Thank you always for all of your videos, specially with Tucker in the videos, he makes my day i just love him so much.
Look at him walking all around supervising everything and at the end helping his daddy to cover the composed what a great helper.♥️♥️♥️🥰🥰🥰
You can tell Tuck is used to being treated well and loved. He completely trusts you and is completely spoiled in the good way of being treated like pet royalty. It's a pleasure to see a little creature happy, healthy & feeling "large & in charge".
All year we save most of our eggshells in a separate designated countertop kitchen compost. We take it out to the garden area in an open 5 gallon container to dry and breakdown. Once they are crispy enough, We pulverize them. Until a dust is formed. (I suppose you could use a blender but Hard work never killed anyone) We scatter this around in the beds. They breakdown happens slowly and helps keep away bottom end rot for out tomatoes. New this year, we used a bit of the bio char chunks and pieces from our wood stove sprinkled in some of the beds 😮 🤞 We have faith that we’re not over doing it with amendments and all will be beneficial.
Thanks for your channel. Super easy follow along. Garden On!!
Tuck is the best garden helper anyone could ask for. Look at him putting that tarp on!
Enjoyed your video . . You’re fortunate to have a ready source of manure. I’ve been making my own compost, and it has really improved the plant growth. Like your little puppy. Stay well!!! 😷
I save up egg shells, crunching them up and when I have my big jar full, I walk around my garden and bless all the land where fruit and tree, veg and flower do reside. Thanks for this video, I feel more confident to make a pile like this; just gotta source some clean animal manure.
Something else I do, is go to the Starbucks down the street from my house. I keep a couple 5 gallon buckets with lids there all the time and they fill them with spent coffee grounds. I usually stop by every other day and swap the buckets out. They are free, and my local store loves that I compost them, vice them having to throw them in the trash. Coffee grounds are full of tons of great minerals and some nitrogen and when combined with woodchips is a thing of beauty!
I enjoy your channel so much! Thanks for all you do.
You're welcome, and thank you for the kind words ❤️
Thank you so much. I never new how to start a compost pile, and you made it so simple. I appreciate you .....
I love how Tuck was helping put the tarp on. :D
I think I will start saving some grass clippings, instead of always mulching into the yard, so I will have more to add to the compost. I'm also processing weeds through the chicken pen first, so the seeds will be mostly eaten up, and the root matter will be good and dead before it hits the compost pile. We have "potato vine" that seems like it can even grow from a piece of root matter laying on top of dirt. haha
We're putting up a new shed, so I need to remove most of the compost I have nearby to the garden beds. This is great info for starting compost again for end of the summer beds.
When we lived in central Florida we worked an egg farm. When they took chickens out they took sawdust and manure and spread it throughout the orange grove. They would sift it over my garden spots and i would take the tractor and till it in. Best fertilizer i ever used. Sure miss gardening.
I put my eggshells through a coffee grinder before adding. But excellent job! Nice music!
I've gardened for many years from Alaska to Arizona and in between. I thoroughly enjoy watching your videos! Tuck is a great sidekick too. Thank you for making these! I sent links to my daughter who is beginning to garden and she likes them very well too!
I love tuck and how he help you out, I just started my garden I pray my garden look 👀 something like your one day. Love what you do. Keep the knowledge coming🙏😊
I live in an urban development - small backyard; so, sourcing is a little different. Two years in a row, I've successfully hot composted a small pile (less the 3 feet high) of brown leaves and green weeds I'd "harvested" using a weed-wacker. When it was done, I incorporated the compost into a small no-till pumpkin patch -- no weeds cropped up. During this year's "weed harvest", I noticed the spot where I'd done the composting the previous year was robust with the greenest, healthiest weeds I'd ever seen. They made a fine contribution to this season's compost mole hill. :-) Hey, what can I say? Even with a smaller pile (about 2' diameter and 2' high), it still works.
Thanks for explaining the difference between hot and cold composting. Now I can rethink what I'm doing in my compost bins.
love your videos - camera doesn't make you stay or sit still -it shows how you do the staff. Others just sit on their knees and talk- it cuts value of their post by 90 %. I do not even open them anymore. Show how you do it -that's it. Straight to the point. Thanks
The hard work is worth it. There’s no way to explain how it makes you feel. If you want to change your life, change your lifestyle and this way of gardening is just that. Thank you for sharing! This will change the ball game for me!!! The way you educate and are genuine makes watching this videos so simple, fun, and enlightening! I have learned a lot!!! Thank you so much!
Awesome lesson as usual James and Tuck helped too to put the tarp down properly.. Haha.. I love your video's.. they have inspired me greatly .. thank you ..
I never think about it. I just chuck whatever I have for my compost in the pile. Anything that breaks down goes in, even paper and cardboard. I always get fab compost.
You might want to think about it in the future because cardboard usually has some kind of bleach and glue that might not be good for your compost
Same here.
Such a young man but yet sharing a world of knowledge. Excellent videos. Sure wish I could see results of this video's hard work. Being the finished compost. Thanks
i use an old coffee bean grinder to pulverize the egg shells. I mix pulverized egg shells, bone meal, epsom salt, and a liberal amount of year old compost mixed together to my planting holes for my tomatoes. my mix is about 1/2 cup of the egg shells, 1 cup bone meal, 2 ounces of epsom salt and 5 gallons of compost. tomatoes love this starter mix and get established very quickly. I've noticed an increase of about 40-50% more tomatoes over the 4 years that I've been doing this.
I'm going to try this
Watching Tuck help with the tarp was priceless.
Song is The Avett Brothers - Ten Thousand Words for all those who wondered
Thanks I was just going to ask that question.
Thank you!
thanks
I thought it was the guy in the video singing 🤣😂🤣
Thank you :)
Bravo James! You make it look so easy!
Great presentation, advice, tone of voice, pace and very helpful info! Wishing you, your garden, animals and chickens all the very best!
You could of dug a pit for which to contain the compost directly in the garden. Put it where you need it. From the beginning. You can actually till that mix directly into your garden soil. Plus you can get Stump Rot to speed up the attraction of bugs and insects to the pile.
The dog was Looking for his Scooby Snacks
I've been composting for decades here in Alaska. Took me 20 years of failure until a smart coworker said to cover it with a VBL to keep the heat of vaporization from cooling it off. So now I inherited a 3'x3' Mantis tumbler and I LOVE it! It cooks up to 150 no problem if you get the ratios right. Kills all the weed seeds, fly eggs, potato scab etc. It saves a bunch of time and looks good too. I've used the roller tumbers (on the ground) and will never do that again. Now I get so much compost- 5 loads in our short season- fast composting is important up here.
Hi there James and Tuck :) Dont know if you read the comments on these older posts, but just wanted to let you know that YOU are a God sent gardener. You are truly my favorite to learn from and your advices are spot on. You seems like such a nice guy, the kind you would go have a beer with, lol. Anyways, just wanted to say a huge thank you to take the time to do all these helpfull videos. May you and your family be blessed. Take care James!
Hi James, just wanted to say a massive thank you for all your videos with invaluable tips and advice for creating a beautiful food forest. I have learnt so much and am so inspired that I have started creating a food forest on my acre plot of land in the Yorkshire Dales in the UK, and will do the same at my family’s home in the UAE later next year. Massive thank you to all you are doing. I will continue to watch and learn from your videos. Thank you again
Thank James! Thank you Tuck!
Wow,I had no idea you can use yourself for the garden! Thank you for sharing your ideas awesome!!!!
Love that your yorkie just hangs around. Mine are going to be tied up next to me as I garden this summer.
I love Tuck hes so cute and helpful!! This video is very helpful to me I have a pretty big backyard with lots of land behind it I'm going to try and turn it into a giant garden like you, I've been doing it for a few now , You are so inspiring to watch!!
Thanks for letting Tuck help you. I enjoy seeing him wandering around the garden. He's so precious! Thanks for the helpful info on composting. Best to you. Alice in Cherokee Nation, OK.
Thanks for educating us on the hot compost pile, appreciate it.
"First thing you gotta do, source the resources"
This is probably one of the smartest first steps ive heard any 'youtuber type' person say in a video. Its something most ambitious newbies do. We take on too much right outta the gate. Starting out definitely takes some initial investment in money, time and willingness to leave your ego at the door and admit you need knowledge and put the time in to find the best source of knowledge for your particular area. James your vids are amazing. You keep getting better, in both content and videography/editing. Keep it up bud! Much love!
By resources he meant organic material for the compost, “that’s what a resource is, stored energy that we can use at another time”
I’ve start to add wood ashes to my nicrogreens n my body reacts like crazy to it and also I’ve added a spoon of ash to my water culture orchid and it’s also growing roots and looks damn healthy
I love watching your videos! I have been gardening for the past 40 years but you have taught me a lot! I especially love watching Tuck also! He is such a big helper and I dont think you could do it without him. Lol... He is so dang cute!!!
Wow! I had no idea you could make compost in 18 days. I’ve never heard of that. So love when people use natural things that God has given us and also our brains He blessed us with. Thank you for sharing your talents!! 🌷
that's so cute when your puppy is helping
I have been flying by the seat of my pants with this and am amazed at my own instincts. Lol I’ve made some mistakes, put too much wood bark in there but now I know and will not layer it as I had planned. Thank you for all of your hard work! I am working on my property looking similar to yours. 👊🏼😁♥️
It’s hilarious a video on making weed piles is so fascinating.
And this is me going to get the wood ash I was about to forget. 👋
James, you are my absolute favorite resource. I always feel empowered and full of zip when I watch you! You explain things very clearly and make things sound so easy a doable. I am looking forward to starting my first food forest next year. Thank you so much for everything you do and show us!
And I have gardened for over 40 years!
How are you going, a year later? I'm a first year gardener, building a greenhouse in a few weeks! Would love to hear about your success and any advice ❤🐝🐝
I LOVE YOUR SHOW! It’s one of my favorite gardening channels! I’ve learned a lot from you!!! Keep it up….you’re awesome! & I love Tuck! He’s probly my favorite part😆
My pile is about 5 by 6, and sometimes 5 tall. Shrub trimmings pre processed by mulching mower. Changed from all clay garden to black in 3 years, still more to learn and get dirty
I hear you David. Bought our current home 11 years ago which was a rental property. Previous renters poured calinche in the backyard for added parking. Finally raked it all out to find red clay! Years of amendments is paying off though
Hi James, Doug here, gardening for a half century in Maine. Love your videos and I’m still learning new things because of them. Wishing you the best and a great new gardening year.
These videos and the comments are so helpful and inspiring it makes my heart soar like a hawk. Problem is tho nothing grows in my soil. It's clay like cement. I've gardened probly 20 years, spent beauceau money on seeds and stuff, reaped about $3 worth of food. You talk about your balance well there's your balance.
Many people garden successfully on clay. The trick is to ALWAYS keep the soil covered with a permanent mulch. i.e. no til / no dig gardening. Check out Charles Dowding's work on RUclips. He's a commercial gardener and has pure clay to work with. Best of luck.
Crushed eggshells spri kled around a snail's favorite crop will deter the snails. It's like broken glass to them. Love your enthusiasm, James! Thank You!
Great info!! Thanks for adding that. Kinda like diatomaceous earth, hit the eggshells also help the soil. Brilliant!
no it is not like broken glass to them. Snails will happily cross knife edges.
I'm trying to get serious about composting and doing it the right way here on our homestead. I've watched a couple videos this morning, but you were the first person to break out the chemistry talk. That's how I know you are serious. Lots of good info, James. Thanks.
Yes. I love how he explains...this gives you carbon, this gives nitrogen, calcium. Super informative. Even though I do not have that amazing energy anymore, you never lose your love for being out in the garden
Great timing, I just pulverized a months worth of egg shells after baking them to kill any bad germs and mixing the egg shell powder with some wood ash and azomite rock dust before spreading it around our fruit trees and vegetable plants.
Daniel Fisch....have you done this before? Did you need to do anything else to it? Thanks for any help.
Morning Light I've been doing it for years and it works great. I just spread the mixture into our soil lightly with my fingers and top dress with homemade compost.
The fresh smell of recently baked egg shells
HI Daniel, SO, is that burnt wood he uses as ash? thanks
no need to bake them UNLESS you feed them back to the chickens
If you already have a base soil, doesn't wood ash increase the alkaline (ph)?
Thank you!!
Your quotes from other gardeners are very useful and help me to better understand what you're doing and why you're doing it my garden at home although new is looking so good compared to my first three decades of attempting to try to have plants which usually ended up in failure.
Thank you for helping to keep us motivated and moving forward and continuing to try regardless of setbacks we love your channel we love what you do and how you do it!! ❤❤❤
I’m gona give it a try, I’ve had vegetable matter in the spinning compost bin for years & I have a few 65lt bags of leaf matter & loads of coffee grinds & ground egg shells, I only have a small purchased bag of pot ash, but I’ll give it a go & see what happens ☺️
I keep my eggshells in a bowl on top of my kitchen cupboard, and blend them once a month and keep in a jar. I feed some to my worms and add some to compost heap. Grinding it up helps release minerals.
i use a mortar and pestle. It makes a most satisfying crunching noise.
I love watching Tuck exploring and helping out!
Recently found my passion for gardening again, and I have to say, I love your videos! So much information, and you stick to the topic! Your inclusion of the coolest dog, Tuck. AND the way you present it all. Many greetings from Norway! Hope you are all good in these times btw :)
Your channel is fantastic, been a subscriber for about 10 days now, and unfortunately I have no garden...I'm a gardener wannabee. But I have learned SO much from you in a very short time. I'm taking notes for when we move and can have a garden. It's very relaxing to watch your channel. My husband is now also watching it, and he is enjoying it too.
I do it similar. But none of the big stuff that you added at the bottom, takes forever to break down. -Grass, leaves , ash, old beer from the bottom of the cans people leave behind, coffee grounds, egg shells, veggie scraps, old paper towels chicken poop from the coop.. I water it so it doesn’t cook too much and just turn to ash itself. Flip it with a pitch fork and the repeat... after winter passes I top my garden beds. When spring hits I add steer manure and dolomite lime and depending, peat moss.
Beautiful compost pile! At one time I saved rain water in plastic buckets to water my compost pile -- to avoid the chlorine in the treated water. Also I made a bacteria starter in a bucket using dirt, water, kitchen scraps and a sprinkle of compost builder. After that brewed a while, I'd pour that on a freshly assembled pile. There is no greater joy than seeing happy worms in a compost pile! Cheers to you and Tuck!
Can't stop watching Tuck running around in the garden behind you😆 I think he's the happiest dog in the world😄💞🐶
You really make good and informative videos.. this was really helpful..!
Love love love your video!!!
The best I've ever watched on gardening !!! You are not only educational but fun 🤣😂. I should have done agricultural science in school instead of my useless degree ! Anyway I love gardening but such a novice at it . I'll keep watching . God bless 🙋♀️
I don’t have any source for ash. Is there a substitute for it or leave it out? I’m going to start my compost pile soon so it’ll be ready for spring next year. I have an unlimited amount of manure from my chickens. I’m glad you said don’t put cooked food of any kind. Thanks for that tip. Does my compost pile need to be in direct sun all the time? I love your channel!
I love how Tuck helps with everything.
Do you know if it’s safe to use the ash from Traeger pellets in my compost? Also, do you wash the eggshells before adding them to your compost pile?
Love your channel, man! I'm 36 and have just started my first garden this year. The info and way of explaining you give or excellent. The thing that made me definitely know i needed to subscribe to your channel was when i heard The Avett Brothers playing on your videos. Great choice in music along with the wealth of knowledge when it comes to gardening.
Thumbs up... Subscribed.
This is great advice. Mostly I vermicompost all year in the basement from store bought veggies plus my own and add coconut fiber bought at wallmart as a compressed block.
Theres also a vid that shows how to generate lactobacillus using 2 cups of raw rice mixed into everything. When all is ready and set, fill a 5 gal pail of water with a half cup of molasses mixed in. Fill the watering can and pour over. It branches from each rice grain and goes after everything eating it like dark energy. This is great when the pile goes cold ot theres too much brown stuff. We dont alwzys have lots of green and i reserve mine for the children... lol, the worms.
I have outdoors a closed black conical ground based composter i got from the State of NJ 20 years ago. It's still going its job.
Wood charcoal is ok but don't use burnt charcoal. Its It's got too many additives and too much alkaline potash.
I hope my little tips are ok to add from lessons learned the gard way. Wishing i had the space like James but mine is small in Edison.
The briquettes often contain coal.
The purpose of the 3×3 pole is to insulate the core . At mimumn throw a tarp over the pile . To help retain the heat . I use fiberglass insulation when its available or carpet . Cardboard.
Hi James, I use the same method as you. I use 24” compost thermometer to assess when to turn my pile. When I cover my pile I put an old milk crate on top to trap air in there. Awesome video!
I pulverize my eggshells into powder, as well as dehydrated banana peels. I just put scoops in the planting holes. Right now I have a bunch of ash that I could use... but I started burying my stuff (limbs, partially broken down compost pile, coffee grounds & filters, pulverized veggies, leaf material, etc) in the ground, then replaced the dirt, and added some compost on top. First time trying, all I know is the worms have been partying over there. 😄
Love watching your videos! I'm going to try a hot compost pile wth leaves, ash, greens from weeds and some eggshells. I also have an anaerobic compost pile that takes forever to decompose! Thanks for your videos, Tuck, and for sharing your philosophy that really touches me.
We just throw the hardwood ash, along with small chunks of charcoal from the woodstove right on the garden beds in winter, right on the snow. By spring planting time, the ash and carbon has been incorporated by freezing and thaw action. Eggshell meal is made with a corn grinder. That is just used like pulverized lime. The same with cooked out and roasted ground chicken bones.
I like to use a burlap cover on my compost pile. It is more natural and breathes better.
I’m a new gardener James I love your character and your little dog I have a 1/4 acre section and I’ve put in 4 gardens I just bought 7 fruit tress but I don’t know where to put them...haha but I’m learning heaps from you Thankyou for the time and effort you are putting into doing this I have 3 compost piles going was a lot of effort but should be ready for spring here in New Zealand
I saw a bunny in my woodpile that was bigger than Tuck! He sure is cute, though.
You do a great job & are a joyful soul.
Great work James. I built 4 compost bins using wood pallets from the paint store. about 3.5 cubic yards. NOW I have your formula for HOT COMPOSTING. I have to decide about my seeds and planting orders for the spring. Later on today I vacuum up my leaves with a shreeder vacuum electric tool. Handy tool. Hugs to Tuck.
♥️Love Tuck! Great videos James. Love your enthusiasm...and Tucker is just so adorable. ♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
A Philadelphia here, thanks for saying Wooder (as opposed to Water) made me smile.
I just found your channel! I learned so much from this one video. Subscribed! I sent it to my nephew, hoping to encourage him to start gardening! Love the song!
I add both to my compost pile and also to the garden during the winter.
his videos are excellent! so much info, quickly and clearly relayed!
I read that book while in the Ohio State's Ag Ed program. I loved it. You are the ONLY person I have listened to who has made mention of him. One Straw Revolution. Use it all. Honor the Earth.
we have the same tastes in music. i love your vids james. i start my food forest in kansas city, mo soon thanks to you.
I occasionally eat mussels, I save the shells, and bake them at 500 degrees for about 30 minutes. (I will put any egg shells I have along with them). When they cool off, they can easily be crushed or put in a blender and powdered to either add to the compost are apply directly to the garden.
James, I tried that very same method, but after several years of messing with collecting the stuff, and trying to keep it wet, I just throw everything onto the garden. I let it break down naturally, similar to what Paul Gautschi does. I know he has chickens, but I've heard him say to let the decomposition process take place in the area you want. Just my experience. I even bought a composting bin. I wasn't happy with the results. Right now, I've got my garden area and asparagus covered in about 10 inches of leaves and a little bit of grass clippings. I may add more, this next week. I really don't have access to wood chips, but this time of year, I have plenty of access to leaves. Talking about the brown to green ratio, I heard 7 to 1. Just what I heard. 50-50 should work too.
Don't add wood chips to a hot/bacterial pile, they break down very slowly and take up a lot of N.
derek a
I’ve been gardening for over two decades. The best part is there isn’t much you can do wrong. Granted, sometimes your harvest is better than others, but plants wants to grow.
What about e-coli from chicken poop fresh from a chicken near your plants?
@@songbirdforjesus2381 Hot composting should break down e-coli and other bacteria so that they don't pose a threat by putting the compost on your garden.
SusanBailey AmazingEstate Probably the ONE thing you could do wrong that will destroy your garden for several years is to mix wood chips into the soil. They will lock up the nitrogen untill they're finished decaying... and then give it back to you. In the meantime, you won't harvest a thing. Wood chips work... if they're used as permanent mulch.
That was very satisfying to watch. I love to see your enthusiasm and expertise. You have inspired me to have another go at composting now that I see what I've been doing wrong. I love your dear and helpful little dog. I bet she helps to dig up your potatoes!
very interested in what are you planting/growing this late fall into the winter? possibly a good topic for a new video.