Garden Expert: 35 Years of Gardening Lessons in 12 Minutes
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- Опубликовано: 14 июн 2024
- Ben has been gardening since he was 8 years old and started his own vegetable garden aged 11. In this week's episode, Ben lists 10 things he wishes he'd known when he first started out. Learn from his mistakes instead of making your own!
Ben gets our creative juices flowing with a back-to-basics look at vegetable garden planning, including practical considerations behind positioning a new garden, and how and where to locate crops within it. Get your garden off to a flying start this growing season!
Want to set up raised beds like Ben's. Check out this video:
• New Vegetable Garden: ...
Planning a bigger plot? You might find this video helpful:
• Plan Your 2024 Garden ...
For how to use grass clippings as mulch watch this next:
• My Secret Free Resourc...
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My advice is to do as much as you want to. I think a lot of people get the idea from watching RUclips that you need to constantly be growing and maximising the space to be as productive as possible. This level of intense gardening isn't for everyone. Gardening is a marathon not a sprint. The most important thing is to enjoy what you do.
So true - great advice! :-)
I love your attitude and helpful advice to do as much as you want and to treat gardening as a marathon. I am a relaxed gardener and sometimes feel I should do more but then less is often more. Thank you.🙏😊
Ben, you are sunshine on a rainy day! It's so nice to have you here, encouraging us. I giggled when you said you learn something new every year. Aint that the truth! I have folks stopping by all of the time asking me to teach them how to garden. One family gave me a half hour, they had another appointment. At first I thought- AINT YOU SO CUTE! Then I realized they were serious. I love the idea that people are wanting to start gardening, but, they sort of expect you to fast food, what they need to know, in less than 1 hour. One lady stopped by a few of days ago- same question, and this time, I asked 1- How big do you want you garden to be? 2- What do you want to grow 3- What is your budget to get started? She said, I need to know all of that? I said, for the start, yes. 😆I then told her go home, get this list done, and then come back and we can start. She was going right home to do it....I have seen her since, but, I wonder why she looks away when she drives by? 🤔 🤣
Haha - indeed. Gardening does require a little thought and the lessons never keep coming! :-)
As a disabled gardener I struggle some what... things some do in 5 minutes takes me most of the day. But I must say you're extremely up beat and practical approach just makes me say hell yeh let's get this done lol .... thanks your up beat attitude inspires me to get on with it lol 🙂👍🏴
Glad to have fired you up. Happy gardening! :-)
30 years in and I'm still learning, That's the beauty of gardening. Great video Ben 🙏 🌱
So true! :-)
I have only been growing since last year so in reality this is my first real growing year and looking forward to it and seeing what I can and can't grow
You were born to be a gardener. It's so nice to learn from your experience. Thanks for sharing.
This video is so important. It is so easy to feel like a failure or discouraged early in your gardening career. I wish I could give such similar advice to myself years ago. Now I make sure to keep a solid rule in my head: if only 50% of what I plant is a success, then that is a 100% A+ success rate/grade. And if 0% of what I planted worked out, and I still had fun, then that is 100% successful too. Don't let results get in the way of happiness and the meditative aspects of the craft. Our expectations are self imposed, remember comparison is the thief of joy.
Wise words.🙂
Thank you.
What a superb attitude to have! :-)
Your so right Ben. I start the 60th year of my gardenig apprentiship this year and I think I will need another 60 years learning.
Haha - yes indeed! :-)
It must be the kimchi helping your digestion system keeping you healthy enough to reach such longevity in age 😅😊😂
@@discoverFigureitout🤣🤣🤣
As a gardener for several decades myself I spent the first couple of decades in all out war with weeds and pests ( as was the mindset at the time). At a point 15 years or so ago I just stopped, no pesticides/herbicides and I focused on soil health. Once you have that and trial the vegies and fruit for your area you will find what provides abundance with minimal intervention.
As Ben mentioned it could be as simple as top dressing with some of your own compost once a year, basically mimicking die back and leaf fall.
TIP: In my environment Super dilute 1/10th of what they say of fish emulsion at flowering stage for just about everything just once in raised beds.
Weeds have become such an insignificant problem in my current temperate climate I tend to leave them if I think they may be insect friendly.
By the by some weeds make really tasty teas.;
About 20% of my sowing / propagating each year is for new/experimental plants of which something usually makes the grade.
I have farmed and gardened on three continents - Tropical / Sub Tropical and Temperate
Save money, time and effort, make good healthy soil.
Yes, a hundred times! Do the foundation work first!!!
Totally agree - soil first! :-)
Just moved into my first house at 36. We have a tiny plot for our area (suburban Western New York) .33 acres, but we really hit some gold
Congratulations! Might I suggest you do 2 or 3 of the 4' X 4' square foot gardening beds for your veggies this year? You can grow an amazing amount of food in one bed. Just one would provide the two of you with enough salad material for a season. Do like he suggested, make a list of what you like, what's expensive local to you and big yield for the space. Hint: cherry tomatoes and radishes are both great. Square foot doesn't take a lot of tools. Also, decide if you want fruit trees, berry vines or bushes, rhubarb, asparagus or artichokes and any thing else that needs to get established. Plan them so you can plant at the right time for your zone. You'll want to get some of those in as soon as possible. Be prepared for sticker shock. You'll need to get to know your property. Top of a hill can get very windy at times depending on where you are. Have fun, take your time. It can take several years to establish any kind of garden. Planning is so important.
"husband and I"
I hope you have a fantastic first year gardening. Enjoy it! :-)
If gardening is easy, it wont be as fun.
At least, that is what I tell my self when I saw a squirrel digging and uprooting my newly planted bare rooted strawberries. Unrelated note, I am now testing out the powers of black pepper.
Learn something new every day!
Your enthusiasm and joy for gardening is infectious. Thanks so much for your videos 🥹
Ben is my Gardening Guru - my Alton Brown of the gardening world!! Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom. We appreciate you!!
Cheers so much! :-)
Alton *GREEN! ;)
Hello from the Northeastern US! I’m always glad to see a new video from you. I think I’ve watched almost everything else!
Thanks so much - great to have your support. :-)
I started gardening when I was 15, now at 62, I am still learning and trying new things. Gardening is a lifelong learning experience. I love it.💚
So true! :-)
Thanks for the reminder of lessons learned. This year for the first time I'm co-gardening an allotment and am desperately trying to keep myself from attempting too much at once. It's going to be great though - full sun, protected from marauding deer, and with a community of other gardeners to swap seeds, plants, and advice
Sounds great
this is great! I am going to move to a new house in a month and have brand new raised bed space, I can't wait to plan things out!
Fruit trees and berries! Congratulations on your new space! Plant trees of fruit you love. Some will be with you for decades. My lemon tree is at least 45 years old and producing like crazy. I wish I had planted more fruit trees when I was younger.
Good advise Ben,grow what you really want to eat,don’t waste time,effort and valuable space on veg you’re not so sure about,I am in my 4th year of gardening and will just concentrate on exactly the veg I know we will eat and enjoy👍
I love Ben!
Really enjoyed this thanks Ben. And very cheerful as usual xx
Hello from central Oregon! As always, I enjoyed your video! I’m looking forward to growing lettuces, peas, and kale!!
Love Oregon! Some great crop choices you've got to look forward to. :-)
so delightful
Happy soil makes happy plants
Another incredibly useful video, thank-you Ben
Good thing to have RUclips channel like yours, This is so helpful. Thanks for sharing your knowledge, tips, and ideas.
Very inspiring!
I love your seed storage box! ❤️
Grand. Thank you Mr Ben : )
Hi Ben, great video with lost of useful tips. Thanks for sharing and take care 😊
You are, indeed sunshine! Thank you, Ben.
Question: What is the word/phrase you used...”Scatter-gone”? I think that is a perfect description of the way I have always approached growing. I get SO excited, and CANNOT wait for a plan, then hopelessly create more work for myself and end up with disgust at the failures and infestations that ensue. But NOT THIS YEAR! 😃
It ENDS HERE! I will stop and plan TODAY, during the umpteenth rain of the year. 😆
Is it scatter-gun?
Yes indeed, I meant to say 'scatter gun' - as in moving attention here, there and everywhere without too much thought, intention or direction.
Planning's always worth it - even a little thought before beginning can make a big difference! :-)
@@GrowVeg Just received your book yesterday as well as Huw’s, both look fab! 💜
I’m embracing my failures and choosing to learn and grow from them as a beginner! Thanks for another great video!
The best way to learn I reckon! :-)
you're the best, thank you 🙏🏼
Brilliant tips fella, great video
Cheers mate!
Thank you for sharing!
Hello from the great dividing range in Qld australia, your encouragement and advice helps me here too. Very inspiring and encouraging. Summer is our biggest challenge.
Oh yes, it’s still 30 degrees C here and I’m trying to get an autumn garden started - toooo hot for cold loving seeds !
More sensible advice. Thanks Ben.
Awesome teaching Brother 😊 Thank you so much for teaching us all ❤😊
what an adorable 11 yr old!!
hey ben - i just started gardening this year. my grandma passed and now im slowly moving into her house - she always had a huge field in her garden where she grew a lot of crops. im doing the same now, i found some 10-15 year old potatoes that she put aside for planting but never got around to it
well 2 months ago i planted them along with many other veggies and theyre looking great!
thank you for all the videos you make - makes for a great binge watch!
That is absolutely incredible - about the potatoes. It will be such a privilege to work on your grandma's garden - a great way to honour her I'm sure. :-)
Thank you so much! Concise and useful.
Well, I feel fired up and ready to go! Thank you!😊
I started gardening in the summer of 2016 with 1 tomato, pepper and cucumber plant and last year, I grew 22 tomato plants and a bunch of other veggies and am hooked on gardening. I now sow at least 95% of my seedlings. Every once in a while I come across a different variety and have to pick it up and find a space for it. I’ve also become a seed junky. 😂 ❤
That's brilliant. No harm in being a seed junky! :-)
Hello Ben! I love your garden videos. I’ve been gardening for 30 years and I still enjoy learning. I’ve got my brassica seeds already in my greenhouse in Washington state! Happy Gardening!❤
Great to have seeds already in - spring is here! Happy gardening! :-)
Yes, Ben, like many others, I'm so glad I found you. You are my gardening guide and a joy to watch and listen to. You explain things so well which makes for easy understanding. I look forward to your regularly received videos. Thank you!
Thanks for your kind comment. We have a superb growing season to look forward to - the gardening world is ours to cease and make the most of! :-)
I will be happy to grow anything edible & it will be a first. Dwarf peas are underway (my first edible seeds 🎉) with loads more to come, seeds, plugs/starts (& seedlings from my daughter) ❤
Exciting times ahead. Happy gardening! :-)
Hello from Kentucky! Your videos are full of information that I really need! You make it fun and never dull!😊
I am getting a bit ahead of myself I have sowed 340 beetroot around 2000 lettuces! 60 cabbages about 30 tomatoes 20 peppers, 40 aubergines, 20 hot chillies a packet of celeriac, 60 broccoli about 400 onions, peas, 120 leeks, 30 cauliflower, 30 red orach, radishes and spinach. I have loads more to do, I am preparing for failure although so far most things look well, I can always swap or give away some of the small plants. My potatoes are chitting nicely and will be planted soon. I want to sow my kohl rabi but I’ve misplaced the seeds! X
That's a lot of seedlings to be planting - wow! :-)
Do love your content, for a newbie non-gardener your guidance is perfect, straight forward and not over complicated. Thanks Ben 😊
Ben - thank you for another great video.
I'm going to be growing lots of things this year. My most exciting thing that I'm going to try growing is melons - I now have a greenhouse so I am hoping it works out ok.
Today I went to my local recycling centre - they are giving away free fertiliser - I am sure many areas are doing this. At my one you have to take your own container - bag or whatever - to put it in, but it's really great to get it for free. 👍😃
Lovely to get resources like this for free! :-)
Ben is the best!
Great video like the idea of adding grass cuttings throughout the growing season.
Thank you
Thanks Ben…….love your positivity, it keeps me going when it’s bleak here in Scotland
I am still playing in the garden at 60 and learning thanks to your videos. Very happy to see poached egg plants germinating on my window sill and in my winter sown jugs outside. Encouraged they can handle the Canadian climate!
Fantastic show... presentation 🎉🎉🎉
His enthusiam is unmatched.
9:19 😅😅 massacre brassica and I totally agree on “no failure but learning opportunities” great inspiration Ben have a great week, Ali 🌧️🇨🇦
Thanks so much - and you Ali. :-)
Never heard of pallet collars before. Had to look up what they were. That's a great little resource. I think I will try to salvage some and do the surface burn technique to help preserve them.
Such wonderful advice! Thanks for sharing it with everyone
Blessings to you!
I really love this channel. It's so inspiring, calming and gives me such a good mood.
This is a joy to hear, thank you!
Thanks Ben! You are always a happy moment when it’s raining outside but I still want to absorb myself in all things veg plants
Definitely couldn’t have said it better myself. I have been gardening most of the last 35 years like you have too. This year makes the 4th year with my current garden. I started with the worst soil ( heavy clay), and I made 100% all of these mistakes in it. It still shocks me how anything is growing in it now 🤣
Compost,compost, compost, mulch,mulch, mulch.
Absolutely - lavish the soil in the good stuff and everything else will follow! :-)
Thank you for all the great advice!!!
Excellent video as always Ben. I love growing beetroot, leeks, peas in the pod and fine beans. I sow broad beans seeds in the autumn for an early start. Rhubarb has to be my favourite plant. Nothing nicer than seeing the fresh growth and leaves emerge in late winter. I also plan to plant more companion flowers this year.
Great to have more companion flowers planned - that will really make a difference. :-)
Hi from Australia. This year, as well as my usual crops like tomato, beans, onions, herbs, I decided to try to grow a cantaloupe (rockmelon). It was a bit hit and miss, but the other day I managed to harvest a beautiful one. I was so excited!
Hopefully I will do better next season. 😊
What a result - nice work! :-)
My wife and I live in south west Missouri we garden and can a lot of produce to help with the groceries .
We enjoy watching your videos thanks for the information you shared 🍅🌶️🥒🥦🫑🧅🥔🫛👍
Thanks for watching. So pleased you're producing so much to help with the groceries - food bills have been climbing a lot recently, so I'm sure you're glad you're growing some of your own good stuff! :-)
Ben is so great, would love to see more “bio/how I got here” vids!
Thanks for the suggestion - that might be a nice topic for a future video. :-)
Good job
Ben you always brighten up my Sunday morning. Your enthusiasm and pure enjoyment of gardening is catching and uplifting. I used to be a flower and shrub gardener but now it’s vegetables. This year I am also going to have a healing garden and grow things like self heal Prunus Vulgaris, calendula and comfrey for making salves, mullein and a host of other medicinal plants. I’m really excited, but no doubt like with everything there will be successes and failures, but as you said that’s how we learn. Thank you for constantly inspiring me.
Yessss!!!! ❤❤❤
This is what gardening does for us all - keeps us motivated and excited. Great stuff! :-)
Thank you Ben for all your videos. We (in NZ) have enjoyed a bountiful summer garden, and I watched many of your videos when preparing and planting, so you contributed to the success. I tried Zucchini Rampicante for the first time this summer and it’s one of my new fav veggies, plus it’s very prolific. Highly recommend.
So pleased the videos have been helpful this summer. Love NZ - I've friends down in Invercargill and loved pretty much everywhere I travelled on the South Island. Thanks for the zuke recommendation! :-)
Howdy, Ben! Cute pics from your younger days.😃
Thanks for the knowledge and encouragement.
This year I plan to grow winter squash, melons, strawberries, kale, potatoes, green beans, tomatoes, peppers, green onion, herbs, lettuce, spinach, popcorn, okra, roselle, figs, mulberries, lemons, and lots of different flowering plants...many are edible landscaping.👩🏾🌾💕
What a fabulous list there Valorie - great job! :-)
Lovely video, thanks
Thank you so much!! I love your videos
Ben, you are always so informative and seasonally encouraging even if it is wall to wall rain at the moment 🙏
Using branches are a amazing idea I’ve been gardening for 4 years and learning every day thanks for the advice
Great advice! Thank you for your experience.
Love love love your channel!
You are an absolute gem!! Love your work and expertise :)
I love your positivity Ben! always gives me a little lift when its pouring with rain outside and Ive just got drenched doing a bit of weeding 😆 Thank you, I just love the realism balanced with optimism, the kindness to nature and your energy.
Wow - that's incredibly kind of you to say. Nature is so important to gardening - without the wildlife we can't do much! :-)
This is invaluable advice as we set off on our gardening journey - thanks! :)
Absolutely love your enthusiasm! I get a nice dose of positivity with every video I watch. Thank-you so much for all you share with us!
May our Lord bless you and yours Ben. I love learning from you and your experiences I am 69 years old and learn new things all of the time.
I was telling my sister-in-law about you yesterday and I said “I wish that he was my grandson.”. So,I have adopted you from across the pond….lol.
Thanks for all you do Ben, it means a lot to many people.
Oh wow - that is an incredible honour, thank you so much! :-)
Thank you for the encouraging advice, I’ve been using egg boxes to start seeds in, but it was becoming a soggy problem to move them, so I put each one in a ready meal container, fits perfectly, don’t know why I didn’t think of it sooner 😂
I’d love to see a video on revamping a little old greenhouse, our little 8x6 aluminium one is old and patched, but still my favourite place. It’s had a rough winter, I’m going to have to get creative. We’ve bought second hand before, and even sold one, helping the new owners carry it down the road 😂 From experience getting the base right is key, so the glass fits. I’d rather not go through that hassle, revamping our old one is best option. Any ideas, tips and thoughts much appreciated!
That's a great idea for a video. I hope you manage to get your greenhouse into shape soon. :-)
Love your videos! ❤❤❤
Ben you are an excellent teacher. There are so many things to keep learning and new ways of doing things. Thankyou so very very much. My soil in my tiny garden is very shallow; I think I will try and make a hazel or willow woven fence to try and put more growing medium in. Do you have lots of ideas on this please, or should I just collect my long spindly twigs and interweave them and hope it turns out okay? I want my garden to look natural, its way too small to have long pieces of thick wood as in raised beds to support the soil, I would like something natural. my potential growing beds are 18" x 6', 2 beds in total this size. (these are either side of a very small lawn area).
I've only ever tried willow weaving before - in this rather old video. But it's a great idea! ruclips.net/video/hjsNg83QAn0/видео.htmlsi=Elb2NCkLVCp6_D-I
Thanks Ben. I have just watched it. Its a great help and I now have ideas for my small garden.@@GrowVeg
I have my first ever garden this year - and I'm hoping to grow herbs and veggies for my bunnies! I'd like to plan a backyard that will be both pretty and 100% bunny-safe so they can play among the plants when the weather is nice! 🥰
Perfect timing for me as I’ve built my raised beds and have been moving them around to determine best placement before I fill them. And yesterday we put the wood chip on the paths. And I’m going to take your tip of putting branches and leaves in the beds to take up some of the volume to save on compost. Genius! Thanks for your videos they are as someone else has said a ray of sunshine and full of useful information for a home gardener. ❤
So pleased your raised beds are underway. Great stuff! Happy gardening! 😀
I'm so happy you shared these tips! I'm a rather experienced gardener, but I'm always learning something new! Every year since 2021, we have planted at least one variety we have never tried to grow before (or had no success with more than a decade ago) and have not been disappointed with the results. For example, I learned I rather enjoy the "Cucamelon", but it takes ages to really get growing! We had a couple of plants that stayed very small for the entire Spring and half of Summer. Then, just when we were about ready to call it quits, the vines began to grow fast and set blooms! Before we knew it, we had a productive and tasty addition to salads, a quick garden snack, and a yummy fermented something with those delightful tiny tart cucumbers. We also began to journal for the garden last year, so we can either try the same methods or tweak methods to see if we can get a better result rather than trying to remember what we did the year before.
Always good to try new things - great job! :-)
Off to sow my tomatoes, peas, Broad beans and sweet peas today. Looking forward to my garden plans this yr including putting in a pond
I love your videos!
Nice video!
My rule is to replace 125% of the organics removed with organics to feed the soil.
As for weeds, use them for mulch. For weeds outside the garden bed, just cut at ground level and then lay it down for mulch in the garden bed. Be sure it doesn't have a seed head. For garden weeds. Pull them out with the roots, shake the dirt off, and then lay them between the rows, layered end to end so the roots are always on top of another weed top. Do this in bright sun so the sun kills the roots. Remember; weeds are organics taken out if you throw them away.
Grass mulch is a requirement in my gardens.
I enjoy your enthusiasm!
Onion starts don't need cells that big. I start 3 to 4 onion plants in very small cells. It uses less soil and space.
Happy growing!😀
Really superb advice there, thank you! :-)
You had me at the kimchi! Eating that and homemade sauerkraut with almost every meal. I so appreciate you sharing your many years of knowledge with us!
Homemade sauerkraut is next on my brewing/fermenting list! :-)
@@GrowVeg Wonderful! If you throw some peeled cloves of garlic in, and you’ll be in heaven.
I'm beginning my third Spring In Indiana (Zone 6) , with my last two in FL (zone 9b/10a). It's quite a change. I am going to grow lettuces, cucumbers, tomatoes, a bunch of spices, and lots of flowers. It's going to be wonderful! Thanks for all your shared experience. It has helped me!
It will be wonderful. I hope you enjoy experimenting in your new zone. Happy gardening! :-)
Another banger from the big dog!
Oh I think soil is pretty sexy Ben! I make water kefir - used to salt pickle but it's cheaper and nicer to make a drink for the stomach! Been working hard sowing have bought Moringa seeds and are trying to grow those the leaves etc have a great deal of vitamins! Decided not to grow corn as not enough space and too much work chasing ants - so understand what you mean about not suitable crops. I have bought sticky collars for the young trees. Because I am permaculture i just need to change the year on the garden planner. Love your hazel stems! I am using metal crid shades to plant pumpkins and melons to shade the berries hoping this works. I always sow into pots now as too dicy to do otherwise even my roots! Just planted cabbage out and now beets and onions (all brought on). Hot crops doing well and lots of other stuff - chickens jumped on my outdoor shelf and tucked into cabbage but had another lots anyway!
Yes, I think, on reflection, soil probably is pretty sexy! :-)
I've become addicted to watching your videos in the morning. I started our garden about 2 years ago and it's grown to include a small greenhouse inspired by your seed sowing video. It was all I wanted for my birthday/Christmas gift from my husband and kids lol. I was highly insistant on going to get mulch from the city they have a sandbag and mulch pile for free. The second trip was a huge pile of black soil looks just like what you add to your box in this video! We filled out pickup truck and brought home the lottery winnings!! I've never been more excited over dirt and wood chips lol! As a kid I Gardened with my mom now I'm teaching my teens and toddler the best parts of it all. Thank you Ben for all the amazing information and tools you make available like the online planner. I'm excited to see the growing process this year, is there anywhere to share photos like Instagram?
You're a true gardener if you get excited over wood chips and dirt - great stuff! Our Instagram is instagram.com/growveg/ - it would be great to see your photos. :-)
I experimented with luffa and quinoa last year and plan on planting more this year. I also built three beds with wire trellises to grow more beans and peas. Lastly I put up two cattle panel arches to grow some climbing squashes on.
Great to experiment with new things. :-)
Beans, beans and more beans! Last year the runners and borlottis crossed, so I have some weird hybrid seeds to experiment with!
Wow - that sounds like a fun one to grow out. Should be interesting. :-)
Lovely Ben! Here's my main mistake after four years gardening... More plants does not equal more yield. Space those babies!
So true - it takes discipline though! :-)
🎉🎉🎉
I have an allotment plot now so I am doing a lot of prep work and got my son involved too.
Great to get your son involved too. :-)