First year Market gardening in Kansas City metro. I had three internships across various farms and decided to take the leap this year focusing on Roots, greens and herbs. Let me tell you Ive had about every problem mentioned then some from deer eating my lettuce to weeds taking over my carrot bed. Too a disease strangling my beets and even the farmer folding mid season. You are absolutely right learning to let go take your lumps enjoy the high points and keep moving forward is truly the only way to go
Yep letting go is the only way forward. God is in charge. 😊 I started a free online community to connect growers all over the world. You want to continue this conversation there? www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
I really appreciate this video. I have the complete opposite problem - Zone 9B but the last 3 years have been terrible. This year we had 14 days over 110 degrees, drought, hurricane. Last year, drought, hurricane and floods. Year before, a random freeze (the one that took the whole Texas grid down - and killed all of my indoor starts.) I'm just going to keep on keeping on, and working to solve each problem as they come up.
👋Hello fellow grower 🌱 First video to witness here. I truly appreciate your unique circumstances & that you are sharing your point of view with all of us out here in the "wilderness." And I seriously can't imagine dealing with your growing zone. Beyond well done! I'm kind of speechless. You got grit boy. New subscriber here.
Thanks mate. Where you grow at? Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
I’m just a backyard gardener, my struggle is how to garden economically. We are in a draught, I refuse to jack up the water bill, so we have set up a rain catchment system, but I need rain! This situation reminds me of a spring baseball coach who is drooling over his team, the pitchers, the hitters, the runners, envisioning the wins only to see them gradually fade away to injuries and obstacles… eventually that season ends. We mope for a while until next year’s dream comes alive again:)
Yea basically me too. Once you get through a few of those years you're battle hardened for the future and figure out ways to win through the toughness. I use a well so I'm fortunate but it was a huge expense.
We had a very very bad drought last year. I had to feed and water the wildlife including the bunnies and frogs or they would have died. But now they`re everywhere. The bunnies don`t bother my garden much because I plant summer vining peas away from the garden for them. A raccoon I helped got real pushy and I had to run him off. Ha! Then again this summer we barely had rain. But as soon as my figs began ripening it poured and ruined them. Each time I plant potatoes we get an actual flood and they rot.
Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
@@baneverything5580 yea it's tough some times. Not always sunshine and unicorns. Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
Hello from North Dakota, I am trying to do the same thing here in 3b. On top of the outside garden, I started a hydroponic garden in my basement. While people do buy my product, I am not yet there in trying to live off this. Keep up the good work sir.
Yea obviously me neither. 3b is intense. What's your avreage frost free days? Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
I appreciate this style of video. Its reality. Last year I lost all of my squash and pumpkins because of squash bugs. I didnt know how to handle them. This year, when I saw the first ones i just started picking them and "squashing" them. I went out 3 or 4 times every day and picked them off and checked for eggs. Best squash harvest ever. Then I had a massive problem with blister beetles this year, there were thousands of them all over my brassicas. I lost quite a bit of those.
That's the dedication right there. Those are stories only you can tell. Every climate will have their own stories totally unique to them. Mine usually revolve around extreme cold events.
The vine borers always get mine and mysteriously one random plant will live. I did manage to get 8 Butternut Squash this year because the vines of one plant rooted in 4 places.
Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
I'm in zone 1a to 2b and trying to do the same thing. Youre outside in December and in just a jacket You have it made brother. Keep your chin up and get it done. I'd kill for your season. U got this and youre doing a great job.
And remember. You have it made to me .....and to someone else,I have it made. I know its hard to be in the moment sometimes but its so true,that it could always be way worse. The fact that its not,is enough reason to be thankful for a lifetime. Thats one poor way to say all that but I think u get my drift.
holy crap that is insane. How many frost free days you have? I'd be fascinated to see what your season is like in Alaska. Do plants grow insanely fast in the summer with the long days? Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
@@manVSgoldNorthToAlaska Yea this video is not really me venting it's about relating to people who've struggled growing and let them know they're not alone. I just haven't seen many people share that part on the internet. Only highlight reels. Every context has it's own difficulties and yours sounds insane. I would honestly be so fascinated to see photos of your farm or garden. This is why I LOVE having this online community. To connect with people like you all over the world means the world to me. I'd love to stay in touch and thanks so much for contributing to the conversation. happy growing.
@@farmtablewest5991 I know it brother. I was just talking. Not because of anything you said in particular. I heard you said it was December and u were outside with green growth around and i was in awe lol. I remember those days and they were fantastic!
I hear your frustrations, as I am also learning to acquiesce and go with the flow. It is so important when you're an optimist. Wise words my friend. We lost 90% of our tree fruit crops on our one acre property this year. We're talking 30 trees of blossom drop because of late frosts. It happened two years ago too. Seems like every other year we get more than we can handle and then near zero. Que sera sera. Wishing you peace and happiness in your endeavors for you and yours.
Yea that happens around here all the time. May Frosts are rough. This is what pushing the envelope is all about. Not always sunshine and unicorns. Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
I appreciate your video. I've been gardening going on 14 years and just are getting a clue. I have accepted that there are no such thing as control. My goal is to get to 75% vegetables grown that I eat. The biggest challenge for me was focus and finding a simple way to do things for myself. At 68 I have a simple concept now of working as smart as I can, which is simply focusing on the vegetables my family eats as opposed to wanting to grow many things that I've found that we don't really eat. That has allowed me get better at growing a smaller list of vegetables.
Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
Ima contractor, in home repair. Been growing food 20yr. I had been wanting to dedicate my life to Christ, again. So i was led to join a local church and manage its community garden. So let me share a soul crusher. Let's jus use one of the most recent ones, im finally starting to not be as bitter about! So i grew from seed about 90 heads of cabbage (3 varieties with different harvest times) i babied these through the depths of summer. Im in zone 8a coastal Va by the way. I plant them out mid - late September. Through drought, aphids, catapillars, and finally they are Cadillacin'. Big dark green , some with the starting of a head. Kool! 😎 Well a large flock of geese had set up residence at our church. Its 4 acres so i figured they had plenty of grass, but i netted my cabbage anyways to be safe. Well, those horrible creatures of death jumped on the nets, flattened them down ,pooped everywhere and ate my cabbage through the netting and destroyed the entire crop in about 2ish days 😢. And i had already decided to donate half of those to the food bank. The others were for our food pantry patrons. But my collards, beets, carrots, spinach, celery, broccoli, turnip greens, and lettuce all did well and is still producing. U win some an u lose some
Amen. Thanks so much for sharing. I find I appreciate the successes and deeply thank God for every harvest so much more because of experiencing these soul crushers. Your story resonates so much. Thank you for sharing and keep growing!
@@izaacdreddpimp I pray so too. We actually have a bunch on the property but they don't go in greenhouses and that's where the voles are. Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
In my area in Minnesota I dont see anyone growing a fall garden! Its such a missed opportunity for a 2nd and 3rd harvest in our small window of frost free growing time.
Amen. That's the biggest concept I'm trying to get across on this channel. Fall garden is the key to huge yields in a small space. Bummer about deer and rabbits. Deerbusters.com has great fence kits.
Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
Great talk mate. I'm in the uk we get 4- 5 months frost free I'm 3 yrs in on a few acres cultivating about a quarter and constantly expanding. I got a few sheets of builders plastic I lay down for a spell then I mulch and plant out. I'm trying veggies, flowers,fruit, trees, lots of cuttings, lots of plug trays otherwise the wily critters get the lions share (except for parsnip & carrot) I got moles voles mice rats rabbits all getting in on my smorgasbord, I'm making maybe 5 ton bags of compost a year it's never enough so I do cover crops . No chemicals no machinery, I got a wheelbarrow pitchfork rake and machete Doing alright loving the lifestyle but no clue as to the where how and why of making a buck from it all. I thought that if i just keep on keeping on some financial reward will come eventually somehow from somewhere. Even if it don't i just love the feeling of giving out plump juicy produce Had so many disasters but I sow massive amounts and make seed from winning cultivars. This year I stood by like a muppet while spider mites invaded my polytunnel, the sun hardly came out , all my melons failed , my shallots rotted cos I planted them in a soggy depression and it rained for 3 months ,taters got wireworm, my onions got downy mildew and my outside garlic rusted away.... But hey I still got a ton of food in the ground so big ups for that. It certainly is a black art getting grub from seed to belly Happy days
Gday mate. So happy to connect with somebody across the pond. I'm dying to get over there and see some plants. I'm a massive Charles Dowding fan. The business is tough but it is character building. Cheers to growing! I'd love to try growing in England. It looks like a tough but fascinating climate. We have basically 0 rain so I'm sure that'd be a learning curve.
Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
I can relate to that brother. I watch you from Honduras I’m getting hit with a lot of rain now to much for our plants and it’s out of ours hands like you said. Just keep your head up and keep pushing.
Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
I was given a chance to grow food in a new location this year. Zone 4b/5a. My vision for what I could grow to feed my family wasnt reality. Huge learning experience. Next year will improve.
Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
Great video! I'm new to your channel. Perhaps a mean cat or mink would help with your mice and voles? Or maybe set up a spot to encourage owls to nest? I'm a gardener near Boulder CO and haven't had particularly bad pests this year, some blight on a few tomatoes and potatoes, a few cabbage caterpillars and some squirrel and raccoon damage is all. Japanese beetles have come to my yard this year but haven't become a problem yet. Also, i keep my brassicas in a 4' tall catapiller tunnel covered with netting to keep the critters out and have it covered with two layers of plastic now for the cold. I still have a dozen or so broccoli and several cabbage to harvest through the winter. It's amazing how cold hardy they can be with a decent covering! I've harvested cabbage through March in past years.
@farmtablewest5991 I wouldn't say it's warm but certainly more so than Cody. We've gotten plenty of nights below 20 so far this year but the plastic coverings have kept everything alive. I've had lots of aphids in the past and slugs have been a big issue too. Flea beetles and other critters have been a pain as well. In my experience when you plant is the best strategy, giving the plants enough time to get big and healthy before the pests come out, and protecting them with netting etc. The slug problem I had last year made me focus on garden hygiene and trapping which paid off. Slugs will eat tough healthy plants and can't be kept out with netting if they're born in the garden bed. I'm always taking notes and learning out here just like yourself.
@@joefization happy growing. Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
I struggle with the emotional side of things taking the smallest losses far to hard. I'm in zone 3b in Northern Mn and like you I only have so much time to try to make some money. Next year will be my 4th season and in my short career as a market farmer I've be driven to near insanity by; thrips, aphids, leaf hoppers, deer, rabbits, weeds, weather and blight....... still I enjoy it. Your content was very relatable and appreciated.
I've been there man. 3b is tough I admire you for getting at it. I've been near insanity many times. Very few people to share it with so I appreciate you sharing it here.
Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
turned my backyard garden into a permaculture garden - removed the lawn to grow more food. More fruit trees and berries to shade the beds from sunlight and more low maintence perma veggies - tree Kale, walking onions, shallots, leeks, garlic, asparagus, rhubarb. My harvest philosophy: if possible not removing the whole plants with the roots but cut and let them regrow. From garlic I often only harvest the green stuff - wet garlic - and it regrows in a few weeks. The bulbs stay in the ground and in Autumn they come back. I let most of my veggies overwinter like kale and offer flowers to the insects in spring. Harvest the flowers like brokkoli sprouts, cut it back and I have still the same plants in the ground from last year and they are yielding. My leeks bloomed and died back in the summer. I harvested seeds. In Autumn they returned, obviously from the bulbs and now they are back, still small but - no work for sowing them again. Adding trellises helps growing peas, beans, kiwi, grapes, chayote, cucumber and pumpkins. Yesterday I added sunchokes, jersusalem artichokes because they are a winter veggie and high yielding and can grow in neglected areas near a shaded wall/fence. The perfect plant. People want to get rid of them because they are so invasive and grow like a feed. The perfect plant as a back-up if you need fresh food in winter in hard times or because they taste good and are easy to grow. The less work I have with gardening the better. The best plants are those which are easy to grow with no work at all. Potatoes didn't grow well in spring. I had planned to grow very many of them because I've calculated and wanted enough potatoes for the whole family for nearly a year - this plan was dumped. We had a lot of rain and tons of slugs. Good thing - they don't like to eat perma veggies but summer crops are at risk. Summer crops (Tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, eggplants,..) are hard to grow compared to easier veggies like root veggies and alliums. But I had a ton of volunteer tomatoes coming from the added compost to the beds. A gift from God if you will. Sometimes radishes and beets grow from seeds that are fallen to the ground too. The 2nd potatoe run from July to October was better but also not as much as I hoped for. But you are very dependent on weather and climate change. Early flowering fruit trees are regularly hit by late frost, so there are no to very few apricots. I added figs to compensate this a bit and more fruit trees for late season like medlar, kiwi, persimmon and quince and early season berries like haskap and put strawberries everywhere as a cover crop. In a small garden you can micro manage some things better, use small trees, so you can expand the harvest with different varieties and don't need too much yield from a single tree. When a tree dies back, it shouldn't be too much of a problem. And we use the wood for winter too. My goal was to harvest year round and that you can find something to eat each day of the year fresh from the garden. Carrots did well in raised beds, even after frost in January. Last year I harvested very big parsnips in March. A delight because it was not the typical gardening season. It's another approach as market gardening or a small farm because I don't need to store the veggies before I use or sell them. I only need to go outside, cut some fresh veggies and put them on a plate or in a pot. This works well with tree kale or the green garlic. At least once a week we can cook with kale, year round - soup, casserole, pasta or salad. This is a success. These things have no long shelf-life when harvested. Some things need to be optimized because serious gardening should be focused on calories, proteins and fats - which means nut trees like almonds, hazelnuts and walnuts and corn. Planted a lot of broad beans for protein but they also didn't yield as much as I hoped for. Same with chickpeas which I tried some years ago as an experiment. Will focus more on runner beans and peas, peas worked well in some areas in others the snails were faster. So the goal will be around 70% perma veggies - allium family, tree kale and sunchokes. Tree Kale is easy to propagete by rooting some cuttings. This takes out a lot of pressure. Root veggies are also fairly easy to grow - carrots, beets, radish and parsnip. They don't need much attention. This year I will focus on Chayote for different reasons. They can have high yields and they store well over winter too - but can be tricky to grow or easy, seems to be dependent on the season or variety. They are not well known nor easy to become here except from Asian Supermarkets. We had a dry summer and a wet Spring with late frost and in Autumn continuous rain for 4 days and flooding in many areas in Austria. Our house was spared. We will see how cold the winter will become. Last year my Persimmon died back but the rootstock is a lotus plum and this variety survived. The kiwis didn't like the late frost and the dry, hot summer and all the grapes were early ripening in late July till early August. I can usually harvest grapes 6 weeks long from different varieties from mid August till mid October but this was not possible this year. In the future we will have to adapt to these weather conditions and learn to grow something that can withstand all these conditions in one season, this is the main challenge.
Well thought out response. It sounds like you are a very experienced grower. Much more than me. What would be your top piece of advice for growing food to everyone in these comments?
Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
Problems I had: crab grass everywhere constantly digging out roots. Strange weed in the entire garden. Discovered the space was shaded less then 6 hours of sun in a day. Deer, rabbits, and idk what else eating peas, beets, chewed on a few fruit trees. Extremely wet spring. Dry summer. Popcorn didnt produce at all.
Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
Mice are my freaking BANE. They really gave a big hit to my sweet potatoes this year. I just plan to grow way more than I need. Plan for a 50% loss and the vast majority of situations are better than the plan.
Hey that's awesome when things go better than the plan. I always LOVE that. It id such a blessing. Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
A master nurseryman confessed he put portland and salt mixture in the middle of a four foot run of 4" pvc and ran it under his fence as a critter entrance and last meal.
really? for voles? please explain I am VERY interested. Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
terrible. Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
What’s with the mole explosion across the nation ?? They hate garlic. I do a smaller scale organic garden . I have a clientele that I grow for . I admire your operation . You’ve achieved awesome success in a few short years. Beautiful production. ! Never give up ! 2 more weeks to the shortest day then it brightens up. I’m prepping my seedling room with lower energy consumption lights. The first thing I make sure I plant is flowers for the pollinators . Good luck for 25 . 💚🌞💦
@@riverunner9978 Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
Pocket gophers! I could see something was going on but didn't realize what was happening underground. Tried some control methods that didn't work. Finally learned how to use the scary and hard to set and dangerous traps. After watching many videos about how to place them I eventually started catching gophers but then I had to deal with emptying the traps. By that time a couple of years had gone by and my fruit trees started dying. A couple of them had no roots left, just chisel marks from the gophers eating them from below! So discouraging! I caught over 10 and I think the gopher snakes took care of any that might have been left. Haven't seen any more signs of them so far this year. That was a lesson l never really wanted to need to learn.
Wow that's so harsh man. It is soul crushing to deal with the problems out of your control. The traps do work but they are dangerous as he'll and a ton of work to keep up on. Might have to try Bill Murray's caddyshack method lol.
Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
Speaking of deer, I just planted 1500+ garlic cloves for next year, and there's FIVE deer *inside* the deer fencing. I'm not one to typically eliminate animals, but if I can't flush them out, and figure out where they came from before my cloves sprout... that might be my only option. Hopefully some of the neighbors like venison 🤷♂️
@farmtablewest5991 thanks for your comment; that's encouraging to hear. I've already seen their hoof prints on the landscaping fabric, so I'm still a little nervous about it. With any luck, they'll be gone before it becomes an issue to really worry about
@@KorvidRavenscraft unfortunately I doubt they'll leave. They ar the number one pest in my opinion. Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
I'm a market gardener in Michigan, Zone 5/6. Also battling rodents, neverending. I'm on 2 acres, but probably only growing on about 1/2 of one acre. We are going to install an owl box in our trees and see if that will help. I'm learning drip irrigation for the first time. I have hose kits (not drip tape), and would love any advice.
I use orchard style drip tape from Berry Hill drip irrigation. High quality drip is worth the money so you don't have to replace as much. Need to learn gpm outpout to make sure it works in your system. Big rabbit hole ask that company for help.
Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
You say you are an optimist and then go on to concede that you shouldn't expect 100% crop harvest "this soon". No matter how good you are, expecting 100% ever is not being optimistic it is being delusional especially in as harsh an area as Wyoming. If you ever get 100% it is a time to thank the Lord for his blessing. After 4 years I would shoot for 80-90% harvest of what I planted and then start reducing my expectations by 5-10% for every predator I was battling at the time. Rodents? Deduct 5-10% from expectations. Massive insect infestation? Same thing. Grass/weeds taking over your garden? Shame on you and same thing. Optimism is hoping for the best, not expecting it. If you haven't had a rodent problem still plan for it perhaps by planting herbs or whatever that rodents don't care for around the crop to discourage them. Or reducing food supplies by making sure you only feed animals what they need and store food supplies in rodent proof containers.
Thanks. This video is off the cuff and not exact when it comes to numbers. I never expect 100% success I hope for as close to that as possible. Trying to relate to those who are not successful in the beginning stages. Sounds like you're pretty good and don't need this video. Best of luck.
Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
First year Market gardening in Kansas City metro. I had three internships across various farms and decided to take the leap this year focusing on Roots, greens and herbs.
Let me tell you Ive had about every problem mentioned then some from deer eating my lettuce to weeds taking over my carrot bed. Too a disease strangling my beets and even the farmer folding mid season.
You are absolutely right learning to let go take your lumps enjoy the high points and keep moving forward is truly the only way to go
Yep letting go is the only way forward. God is in charge. 😊 I started a free online community to connect growers all over the world. You want to continue this conversation there? www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
I really appreciate this video. I have the complete opposite problem - Zone 9B but the last 3 years have been terrible. This year we had 14 days over 110 degrees, drought, hurricane. Last year, drought, hurricane and floods. Year before, a random freeze (the one that took the whole Texas grid down - and killed all of my indoor starts.)
I'm just going to keep on keeping on, and working to solve each problem as they come up.
That is rough. Some years are just tougher than others - hang in there!
👋Hello fellow grower 🌱
First video to witness here. I truly appreciate your unique circumstances & that you are sharing your point of view with all of us out here in the "wilderness." And I seriously can't imagine dealing with your growing zone. Beyond well done! I'm kind of speechless. You got grit boy.
New subscriber here.
Thanks mate. Where you grow at? Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
I’m just a backyard gardener, my struggle is how to garden economically. We are in a draught, I refuse to jack up the water bill, so we have set up a rain catchment system, but I need rain! This situation reminds me of a spring baseball coach who is drooling over his team, the pitchers, the hitters, the runners, envisioning the wins only to see them gradually fade away to injuries and obstacles… eventually that season ends. We mope for a while until next year’s dream comes alive again:)
Yea basically me too. Once you get through a few of those years you're battle hardened for the future and figure out ways to win through the toughness. I use a well so I'm fortunate but it was a huge expense.
We had a very very bad drought last year. I had to feed and water the wildlife including the bunnies and frogs or they would have died. But now they`re everywhere. The bunnies don`t bother my garden much because I plant summer vining peas away from the garden for them. A raccoon I helped got real pushy and I had to run him off. Ha! Then again this summer we barely had rain. But as soon as my figs began ripening it poured and ruined them. Each time I plant potatoes we get an actual flood and they rot.
Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
@@baneverything5580 yea it's tough some times. Not always sunshine and unicorns. Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
Hello from North Dakota, I am trying to do the same thing here in 3b. On top of the outside garden, I started a hydroponic garden in my basement. While people do buy my product, I am not yet there in trying to live off this. Keep up the good work sir.
Yea obviously me neither. 3b is intense. What's your avreage frost free days? Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
I appreciate this style of video. Its reality. Last year I lost all of my squash and pumpkins because of squash bugs. I didnt know how to handle them. This year, when I saw the first ones i just started picking them and "squashing" them. I went out 3 or 4 times every day and picked them off and checked for eggs. Best squash harvest ever. Then I had a massive problem with blister beetles this year, there were thousands of them all over my brassicas. I lost quite a bit of those.
That's the dedication right there. Those are stories only you can tell. Every climate will have their own stories totally unique to them. Mine usually revolve around extreme cold events.
The vine borers always get mine and mysteriously one random plant will live. I did manage to get 8 Butternut Squash this year because the vines of one plant rooted in 4 places.
Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
I'm in zone 1a to 2b and trying to do the same thing. Youre outside in December and in just a jacket You have it made brother. Keep your chin up and get it done. I'd kill for your season. U got this and youre doing a great job.
And remember. You have it made to me .....and to someone else,I have it made. I know its hard to be in the moment sometimes but its so true,that it could always be way worse. The fact that its not,is enough reason to be thankful for a lifetime. Thats one poor way to say all that but I think u get my drift.
holy crap that is insane. How many frost free days you have? I'd be fascinated to see what your season is like in Alaska. Do plants grow insanely fast in the summer with the long days? Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
@@manVSgoldNorthToAlaska Yea this video is not really me venting it's about relating to people who've struggled growing and let them know they're not alone. I just haven't seen many people share that part on the internet. Only highlight reels. Every context has it's own difficulties and yours sounds insane. I would honestly be so fascinated to see photos of your farm or garden. This is why I LOVE having this online community. To connect with people like you all over the world means the world to me. I'd love to stay in touch and thanks so much for contributing to the conversation. happy growing.
@@farmtablewest5991 about 90. The internet says a bit more but thats not the reality on the ground.
@@farmtablewest5991 I know it brother. I was just talking. Not because of anything you said in particular. I heard you said it was December and u were outside with green growth around and i was in awe lol. I remember those days and they were fantastic!
I hear your frustrations, as I am also learning to acquiesce and go with the flow. It is so important when you're an optimist. Wise words my friend.
We lost 90% of our tree fruit crops on our one acre property this year. We're talking 30 trees of blossom drop because of late frosts. It happened two years ago too. Seems like every other year we get more than we can handle and then near zero. Que sera sera.
Wishing you peace and happiness in your endeavors for you and yours.
Yea that happens around here all the time. May Frosts are rough. This is what pushing the envelope is all about. Not always sunshine and unicorns. Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
I appreciate your video. I've been gardening going on 14 years and just are getting a clue. I have accepted that there are no such thing as control. My goal is to get to 75% vegetables grown that I eat. The biggest challenge for me was focus and finding a simple way to do things for myself. At 68 I have a simple concept now of working as smart as I can, which is simply focusing on the vegetables my family eats as opposed to wanting to grow many things that I've found that we don't really eat. That has allowed me get better at growing a smaller list of vegetables.
There you go. Focus is a HUGE part of it. Thanks for contributing!
Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
Well said. And have a prosperous December and a Merry Christmas!
You too!
Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
Ima contractor, in home repair. Been growing food 20yr. I had been wanting to dedicate my life to Christ, again. So i was led to join a local church and manage its community garden. So let me share a soul crusher. Let's jus use one of the most recent ones, im finally starting to not be as bitter about! So i grew from seed about 90 heads of cabbage (3 varieties with different harvest times) i babied these through the depths of summer. Im in zone 8a coastal Va by the way. I plant them out mid - late September. Through drought, aphids, catapillars, and finally they are Cadillacin'. Big dark green , some with the starting of a head. Kool! 😎 Well a large flock of geese had set up residence at our church. Its 4 acres so i figured they had plenty of grass, but i netted my cabbage anyways to be safe. Well, those horrible creatures of death jumped on the nets, flattened them down ,pooped everywhere and ate my cabbage through the netting and destroyed the entire crop in about 2ish days 😢. And i had already decided to donate half of those to the food bank. The others were for our food pantry patrons. But my collards, beets, carrots, spinach, celery, broccoli, turnip greens, and lettuce all did well and is still producing. U win some an u lose some
Amen. Thanks so much for sharing. I find I appreciate the successes and deeply thank God for every harvest so much more because of experiencing these soul crushers. Your story resonates so much. Thank you for sharing and keep growing!
@farmtablewest5991 as far as your vole issue, i been thru that too, even a summer of rats.I Pray that God sends you an owl, in the name of Jesus.
@@izaacdreddpimp I pray so too. We actually have a bunch on the property but they don't go in greenhouses and that's where the voles are. Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
In my area in Minnesota I dont see anyone growing a fall garden! Its such a missed opportunity for a 2nd and 3rd harvest in our small window of frost free growing time.
Amen. That's the biggest concept I'm trying to get across on this channel. Fall garden is the key to huge yields in a small space. Bummer about deer and rabbits. Deerbusters.com has great fence kits.
This year's drought has been challenging for me, and I really appreciate your video!
I appreciate your attention! Growing is a challenge.
Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
Great talk mate. I'm in the uk we get 4- 5 months frost free
I'm 3 yrs in on a few acres cultivating about a quarter and constantly expanding. I got a few sheets of builders plastic I lay down for a spell then I mulch and plant out. I'm trying veggies, flowers,fruit, trees, lots of cuttings, lots of plug trays otherwise the wily critters get the lions share (except for parsnip & carrot)
I got moles voles mice rats rabbits all getting in on my smorgasbord, I'm making maybe 5 ton bags of compost a year it's never enough so I do cover crops . No chemicals no machinery, I got a wheelbarrow pitchfork rake and machete
Doing alright loving the lifestyle but no clue as to the where how and why of making a buck from it all. I thought that if i just keep on keeping on some financial reward will come eventually somehow from somewhere. Even if it don't i just love the feeling of giving out plump juicy produce
Had so many disasters but I sow massive amounts and make seed from winning cultivars. This year I stood by like a muppet while spider mites invaded my polytunnel, the sun hardly came out , all my melons failed , my shallots rotted cos I planted them in a soggy depression and it rained for 3 months ,taters got wireworm, my onions got downy mildew and my outside garlic rusted away....
But hey I still got a ton of food in the ground so big ups for that. It certainly is a black art getting grub from seed to belly
Happy days
Gday mate. So happy to connect with somebody across the pond. I'm dying to get over there and see some plants. I'm a massive Charles Dowding fan. The business is tough but it is character building. Cheers to growing! I'd love to try growing in England. It looks like a tough but fascinating climate. We have basically 0 rain so I'm sure that'd be a learning curve.
Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
I can relate to that brother. I watch you from Honduras I’m getting hit with a lot of rain now to much for our plants and it’s out of ours hands like you said. Just keep your head up and keep pushing.
Amen. That's all we can do and have faith in God.
Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
I was given a chance to grow food in a new location this year. Zone 4b/5a. My vision for what I could grow to feed my family wasnt reality. Huge learning experience. Next year will improve.
Amen each vision to reality experience gets us closer to what we want.
Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
Great video! I'm new to your channel. Perhaps a mean cat or mink would help with your mice and voles? Or maybe set up a spot to encourage owls to nest?
I'm a gardener near Boulder CO and haven't had particularly bad pests this year, some blight on a few tomatoes and potatoes, a few cabbage caterpillars and some squirrel and raccoon damage is all. Japanese beetles have come to my yard this year but haven't become a problem yet.
Also, i keep my brassicas in a 4' tall catapiller tunnel covered with netting to keep the critters out and have it covered with two layers of plastic now for the cold. I still have a dozen or so broccoli and several cabbage to harvest through the winter. It's amazing how cold hardy they can be with a decent covering! I've harvested cabbage through March in past years.
Wow I didn't know it was that warm there. Pests are a painful part of growing. We can't get away with that here.
@farmtablewest5991 I wouldn't say it's warm but certainly more so than Cody. We've gotten plenty of nights below 20 so far this year but the plastic coverings have kept everything alive.
I've had lots of aphids in the past and slugs have been a big issue too. Flea beetles and other critters have been a pain as well. In my experience when you plant is the best strategy, giving the plants enough time to get big and healthy before the pests come out, and protecting them with netting etc. The slug problem I had last year made me focus on garden hygiene and trapping which paid off. Slugs will eat tough healthy plants and can't be kept out with netting if they're born in the garden bed.
I'm always taking notes and learning out here just like yourself.
@@joefization happy growing. Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
I struggle with the emotional side of things taking the smallest losses far to hard. I'm in zone 3b in Northern Mn and like you I only have so much time to try to make some money. Next year will be my 4th season and in my short career as a market farmer I've be driven to near insanity by; thrips, aphids, leaf hoppers, deer, rabbits, weeds, weather and blight....... still I enjoy it. Your content was very relatable and appreciated.
I've been there man. 3b is tough I admire you for getting at it. I've been near insanity many times. Very few people to share it with so I appreciate you sharing it here.
Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
I’m so glad you said that bro i been saying that from the beginning we can have everything we need but its Jesus Christ who allows anything to grow
Amen! God is in charge! Thank you for appreciating the message.
Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
turned my backyard garden into a permaculture garden - removed the lawn to grow more food. More fruit trees and berries to shade the beds from sunlight and more low maintence perma veggies - tree Kale, walking onions, shallots, leeks, garlic, asparagus, rhubarb. My harvest philosophy: if possible not removing the whole plants with the roots but cut and let them regrow. From garlic I often only harvest the green stuff - wet garlic - and it regrows in a few weeks. The bulbs stay in the ground and in Autumn they come back. I let most of my veggies overwinter like kale and offer flowers to the insects in spring. Harvest the flowers like brokkoli sprouts, cut it back and I have still the same plants in the ground from last year and they are yielding. My leeks bloomed and died back in the summer. I harvested seeds. In Autumn they returned, obviously from the bulbs and now they are back, still small but - no work for sowing them again.
Adding trellises helps growing peas, beans, kiwi, grapes, chayote, cucumber and pumpkins. Yesterday I added sunchokes, jersusalem artichokes because they are a winter veggie and high yielding and can grow in neglected areas near a shaded wall/fence. The perfect plant. People want to get rid of them because they are so invasive and grow like a feed. The perfect plant as a back-up if you need fresh food in winter in hard times or because they taste good and are easy to grow. The less work I have with gardening the better. The best plants are those which are easy to grow with no work at all. Potatoes didn't grow well in spring. I had planned to grow very many of them because I've calculated and wanted enough potatoes for the whole family for nearly a year - this plan was dumped. We had a lot of rain and tons of slugs. Good thing - they don't like to eat perma veggies but summer crops are at risk. Summer crops (Tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, eggplants,..) are hard to grow compared to easier veggies like root veggies and alliums. But I had a ton of volunteer tomatoes coming from the added compost to the beds. A gift from God if you will. Sometimes radishes and beets grow from seeds that are fallen to the ground too. The 2nd potatoe run from July to October was better but also not as much as I hoped for.
But you are very dependent on weather and climate change. Early flowering fruit trees are regularly hit by late frost, so there are no to very few apricots. I added figs to compensate this a bit and more fruit trees for late season like medlar, kiwi, persimmon and quince and early season berries like haskap and put strawberries everywhere as a cover crop. In a small garden you can micro manage some things better, use small trees, so you can expand the harvest with different varieties and don't need too much yield from a single tree. When a tree dies back, it shouldn't be too much of a problem. And we use the wood for winter too.
My goal was to harvest year round and that you can find something to eat each day of the year fresh from the garden. Carrots did well in raised beds, even after frost in January. Last year I harvested very big parsnips in March. A delight because it was not the typical gardening season.
It's another approach as market gardening or a small farm because I don't need to store the veggies before I use or sell them. I only need to go outside, cut some fresh veggies and put them on a plate or in a pot. This works well with tree kale or the green garlic. At least once a week we can cook with kale, year round - soup, casserole, pasta or salad. This is a success. These things have no long shelf-life when harvested.
Some things need to be optimized because serious gardening should be focused on calories, proteins and fats - which means nut trees like almonds, hazelnuts and walnuts and corn. Planted a lot of broad beans for protein but they also didn't yield as much as I hoped for. Same with chickpeas which I tried some years ago as an experiment. Will focus more on runner beans and peas, peas worked well in some areas in others the snails were faster. So the goal will be around 70% perma veggies - allium family, tree kale and sunchokes. Tree Kale is easy to propagete by rooting some cuttings. This takes out a lot of pressure. Root veggies are also fairly easy to grow - carrots, beets, radish and parsnip. They don't need much attention. This year I will focus on Chayote for different reasons. They can have high yields and they store well over winter too - but can be tricky to grow or easy, seems to be dependent on the season or variety. They are not well known nor easy to become here except from Asian Supermarkets. We had a dry summer and a wet Spring with late frost and in Autumn continuous rain for 4 days and flooding in many areas in Austria. Our house was spared. We will see how cold the winter will become. Last year my Persimmon died back but the rootstock is a lotus plum and this variety survived. The kiwis didn't like the late frost and the dry, hot summer and all the grapes were early ripening in late July till early August. I can usually harvest grapes 6 weeks long from different varieties from mid August till mid October but this was not possible this year. In the future we will have to adapt to these weather conditions and learn to grow something that can withstand all these conditions in one season, this is the main challenge.
Well thought out response. It sounds like you are a very experienced grower. Much more than me. What would be your top piece of advice for growing food to everyone in these comments?
Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
Problems I had: crab grass everywhere constantly digging out roots. Strange weed in the entire garden. Discovered the space was shaded less then 6 hours of sun in a day. Deer, rabbits, and idk what else eating peas, beets, chewed on a few fruit trees. Extremely wet spring. Dry summer. Popcorn didnt produce at all.
Bummer
Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
God is in control of our lives.
Amen
Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
Mice are my freaking BANE. They really gave a big hit to my sweet potatoes this year. I just plan to grow way more than I need. Plan for a 50% loss and the vast majority of situations are better than the plan.
Hey that's awesome when things go better than the plan. I always LOVE that. It id such a blessing. Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
A master nurseryman confessed he put portland and salt mixture in the middle of a four foot run of 4" pvc and ran it under his fence as a critter entrance and last meal.
really? for voles? please explain I am VERY interested. Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
Oh...I forgot to add....the caterpillars even ate ALL of my onions and garlic! AMAZING! They tried to eat my fig trees but met their match.
terrible. Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
where do you grow?
What’s with the mole explosion across the nation ?? They hate garlic. I do a smaller scale organic garden . I have a clientele that I grow for . I admire your operation . You’ve achieved awesome success in a few short years. Beautiful production. ! Never give up ! 2 more weeks to the shortest day then it brightens up. I’m prepping my seedling room with lower energy consumption lights. The first thing I make sure I plant is flowers for the pollinators . Good luck for 25 . 💚🌞💦
I have no idea. Is there an explosion across the nation? You too! I love this time of year actually.
@ ….i have heard and read a lot of comments of mole trouble in the last couple years. I had trouble first time last year.
@@riverunner9978 Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
Pocket gophers! I could see something was going on but didn't realize what was happening underground. Tried some control methods that didn't work. Finally learned how to use the scary and hard to set and dangerous traps. After watching many videos about how to place them I eventually started catching gophers but then I had to deal with emptying the traps. By that time a couple of years had gone by and my fruit trees started dying. A couple of them had no roots left, just chisel marks from the gophers eating them from below! So discouraging! I caught over 10 and I think the gopher snakes took care of any that might have been left. Haven't seen any more signs of them so far this year. That was a lesson l never really wanted to need to learn.
Wow that's so harsh man. It is soul crushing to deal with the problems out of your control. The traps do work but they are dangerous as he'll and a ton of work to keep up on. Might have to try Bill Murray's caddyshack method lol.
Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
Speaking of deer, I just planted 1500+ garlic cloves for next year, and there's FIVE deer *inside* the deer fencing. I'm not one to typically eliminate animals, but if I can't flush them out, and figure out where they came from before my cloves sprout... that might be my only option. Hopefully some of the neighbors like venison 🤷♂️
Bummer. Garlic is one thing I've never seen deer eat actually. I used to grow thousands of plants before the deer fence. They never touched them.
@farmtablewest5991 thanks for your comment; that's encouraging to hear. I've already seen their hoof prints on the landscaping fabric, so I'm still a little nervous about it. With any luck, they'll be gone before it becomes an issue to really worry about
I like venison
@@KorvidRavenscraft unfortunately I doubt they'll leave. They ar the number one pest in my opinion. Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
Damn voles been killing me for 2 years!
Yea they're a bear.
Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
I'm a market gardener in Michigan, Zone 5/6. Also battling rodents, neverending. I'm on 2 acres, but probably only growing on about 1/2 of one acre. We are going to install an owl box in our trees and see if that will help. I'm learning drip irrigation for the first time. I have hose kits (not drip tape), and would love any advice.
I use orchard style drip tape from Berry Hill drip irrigation. High quality drip is worth the money so you don't have to replace as much. Need to learn gpm outpout to make sure it works in your system. Big rabbit hole ask that company for help.
Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
solution, companion planting
I'm not a huge fan if that. Too complicated on the farm scale
Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about
You say you are an optimist and then go on to concede that you shouldn't expect 100% crop harvest "this soon". No matter how good you are, expecting 100% ever is not being optimistic it is being delusional especially in as harsh an area as Wyoming. If you ever get 100% it is a time to thank the Lord for his blessing.
After 4 years I would shoot for 80-90% harvest of what I planted and then start reducing my expectations by 5-10% for every predator I was battling at the time. Rodents? Deduct 5-10% from expectations. Massive insect infestation? Same thing. Grass/weeds taking over your garden? Shame on you and same thing.
Optimism is hoping for the best, not expecting it. If you haven't had a rodent problem still plan for it perhaps by planting herbs or whatever that rodents don't care for around the crop to discourage them. Or reducing food supplies by making sure you only feed animals what they need and store food supplies in rodent proof containers.
Thanks. This video is off the cuff and not exact when it comes to numbers. I never expect 100% success I hope for as close to that as possible. Trying to relate to those who are not successful in the beginning stages. Sounds like you're pretty good and don't need this video. Best of luck.
Hey by the way I started an AWESOME free gardening community if you wanna continue this conversation with more growers click 👉www.skool.com/backyard-gardening-101-5702/about