Potting Soil Problems | Growing Season Starts NOW
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- Опубликовано: 15 сен 2024
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It's been a long lazy winter, but that is all over, because the growing season starts NOW! Join us as we start our very first seeds of the season - snapdragons! But, oh no - we have a potting soil problem! Learn a bit about potting soil, as I fight with my last season potting soil, and use my least favorite potting soils technique - wet potting soil, when I much prefer to work with dry potting soil.
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Ian and Serina of YOU CANT EAT THE GRASS feel that every small change can make a big difference to the world we live in. Every garden planted leads to a better future. We hope to inspire and motivate others to make positive changes in their lives by sharing our journey towards greater sustainability as we build our family farm. It's hard work to build a life worth living, and completely worth it!
Contact us at: iancolbeck@gmail.com
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don't give up on vegies...they will show a profit this year with prices in groceries store sky rocketing.
Yes, my thought, as well.
Consumers will need their veggies; when the grocer no longer gets much, farmers markets will be there.
Man those flowers were a great idea!
‘Serina and Ian are SHARING their journey of STARTING a farm!’ And for that alone, I’m appreciative of each and every video they so kindly post. The up’s and downs and everything in between. So thank you so much 💕.
What I don’t understand is, why some people find it necessary to judge and criticize.
I've never seen that at all on here or many other gardening channels! What can you say is the basis of that statement?
Just asking! Please share your thoughts with us.
I agree!
I have a relative who had you same situation. They grew beautiful veggies, but their flowers far outsold the veggies at the farmers market. One week his wife suggested they get two booths instead of one, just as an experiment. They'd sell only flowers in one and only veggies in the other. He wasn't crazy about the idea of paying the extra booth space but figured it was just one week so they could do it. They were shocked at how their veggie sales jumped. Almost doubled in that one weekend. They agreed to try it for one month and ended up doing it all season. Their veggie sales ended up more than tripling what they sold in the same booth as flowers. Customers told them the flowers seemed to overshadow the veggies when in booths together and the veggies seemed packed in too close together. Their profits that first year more than covered the cost of the extra booth.
Suggestion: Have you considered opening an Etsy storefront for your dried flowers? It might be a really amazing way to sell inventory during the winter months, and clear out any remaining stock from the year. Plus, I’m sure your subscribers would love to support you and get some flowers from the farm if we are not local. Love your videos, and cheering you on this growing season!
I think she & her husband addressed the issues with selling dried flowers a few videos earlier.
Ya, the dried are hard to ship, and we are also in Canada and shipping them over the border is a bit of a struggle
@@YouCantEatTheGrass That makes a lot of sense! Excited for you this growing season and thank you for bringing us along in the videos!
If you use very warm water to rehydrate your soil it will moisten fast.
👍 GOOD tip!!
Surprising a professional giving advice to artisans doesn’t know that.
I boil water to hydrate seed starting mix. Kills fungus gnats before they emerge
In my younger days, we would mix soil with a shovel in the corner of a cemented floor with water at the greenhouse I worked at.
It was effective.
thank you for modeling safe soil handling by wearing a mask! it’s so important. i’m so excited to see how the farm grows this year 💐
It makes a big difference - I can feel it after even just a little maskless exposure
Peat moss will absorb hot water very quickly. The hotter the faster it will absorb it.
👍 GOOD tip!!
Yup! I do it for killing insects eggs left over in the soil, as well as, easily moistening!
I add Ecos dish liquid, not much, but it will deter the Fungus Gnats too!
@@ahavarichardson5426 Fungus gnats are a real pain. Thanks for the tip.
I do hope that Canada….like uk….and hopefully Europe…will ban use of peat based composts…it,s not good for environmental reasons to use them…
@Jane Newley
I agree.
The peat NEEDS to stay in its natural habitat!
There are SOOO many important reasons why.
Beautifying human gardens are not good enough reasons to ruin this natural habitat.
Not by a long shot.
While my own soil WOULD BE better off with the use of peat,
it's just not worth it!
I can find other ways to improve my soil.
I WILL find other ways!
I HAVE found other ways.
I wish I had known decades ago about the destruction the peat harvesting has done.
Having the internet at our fingertips has brought this issue to light.
And we, as gardeners and especially lovers of nature, should do the right thing, now that we know.
Why would any of us knowingly tear up, ruin, or even extinguish, one extremely important habitat, just so our flowers can bloom?
And the bogs are not just a habitat for flora and fauna.
If you research it yourself, I think you may be surprised to find out what role the peat bogs play in the homeostasis of the entire Earth.
Even if we use it for food production, there simply needs to be a different way to go about it.
Let's not be the destructive, selfish humans, which is so easily done by closing our eyes to the impact our actions have.
When we purchase it at the store, we are telling the harvesters of the bogs that they should continue to destroy the bogs.
And as long as they have a market to sell it, they WILL continue.
If anyone reading this doesn't know how important it is to keep this natural resource- the peat bogs, intact, please research it to find out for yourself.
I know I was surprised to find out HOW important the bogs are.
But then, the complexity of how Nature works never ceases to amaze me!
This really is one area where each of us CAN make a difference by NOT purchasing it anymore.
Just because it is available at the store, that doesn't make it alright to buy it.
We can even go so far as to talk to the store manager, and tell them we want other options:
▪︎peat free compost,
▪︎peat free soil,
▪︎peat free EVERYTHING!
Imagine if multiple people told the same manager this message!
Because really,
HOW will they know if we don't tell them?
Making choices with your dollars does help.
Voicing your preferences helps even further.
Let's ALL save the peat bogs before they disappear!!
YOU SHOULD DO A CALENDAR!!!!!!!! All your lovely pics
I've been trying to find a place that prints and ships from the USA, but haven't found anything. The cost of shipping myself would be $20+, just for shipping
A squirt of Dr. Bronners will help so much to get resistant soil to accept wetting.
The plant abundance channel said to use a little organic hand soap so the soil will absorb the water❤️
This post has nothing to do with this video but contains a great suggestion.
I remember watching a video where you all talk about the importance of making fewer steps in a day. My property is 200 meters deep. My dad rigged up an adult tricycle with a towable cart and now instead of making 20,000 steps in a day, I can bike to the back of my property quite easily and quickly. I'm sure y'all could use a side by side or four wheeler of some sort to make it even better, but that's a lot of expense I could not afford!
Should we start a go fund me for this 4 wheeler??
Lol, I'm not quite ready yet to invest in a golf cart or side by side. But we definitely are trying to be more intentional about using carts, so we have our tools with us, ect
Best wishes for a successful 2022! We will be watching and cheering you on every week.
This is the first video I've watched in quite a while and I just wanted to tell you how enjoyable it was. I love the casual conversation Sabrina now has with the camera. I feel like she's talking right to me and giving me helpful hints on seed starting. I've never made a video so I can only imagine how uncomfortable and weird it is at first but I'm glad to see this calmer, casual attitude instead of the loud emphasis on every other word. Maybe that's just me getting old. I see the younger generations like that attention-grabbing, excited way of talking. Me, I just want some calm chit-chat. Thank you for what you do and for sticking with it. You've gained back a viewer.
Ian (am I spelling that wrong?) really nailed the music on that one! Also perfect volume when you're talking, that can be tricky to get right! (And annoying if it's wrong)
No one appreciates how much work a flower/veg farm is until they do it themselves lol. It can be excruciating! You guys are tough cookies let me tell you! I hope you manage to streamline things, that irrigation will really help!
Ian pretty soon you're going to need a pony tail elastic lol maybe your daughter can lend you one 🤭 (sorry everyone's a critic lol)
All kidding aside, love your videos guys. Keep em coming!❤️🇨🇦Penny4a
yes! i noticed the music was perfect. and no music during talking was super!
@@jonibowen7367 it was there but muted. It was perfect tho!
Putting trays with dry soil in 1020 trays filled with water works really well.
And so it begins...... we have a while to go here in Cape Breton but time goes by faster each year! Good luck for the year ahead!!
I am looking forward to 2022 growing season....God bless and Love, hugs and kisses to you both. I absolutely love watching y'alls journey....🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂
💗💗💗
I'm gonna say it - please keep the dried flower tree up year long! I love it so much
"You're a bad cat" 🐱
😄💕
Bad Buddy
Would you be able to outline how your organize your seed starts? How to keep track of what and when to start for transplanting? Also, do you direct sow your sunflowers or start indoors?
"His favorite is larkspur because its POISON" 😆
Stupid Buddy - he isn't our smartest cat
7:49 I use dry potting mix too, put a quart of lukewarm water into the bottom tray, and just spritz the top until wet with a sprayer, and that has worked great bc I can work with the dry potting soil until after I've planted.
Amazing channel, i learning a lot!!! Thank you so much!!!
Love the dried flower Christmas tree 😍
I hope the walk in cooler is all working for this summer!
Well you do deserve a rest in winter😀…and today I planted my first veggie seeds too…now in the airing cupboard, propagation and one windowsill😀good luck for the season ahead, jinxy
Nice!
As others have mentioned- warm water, and the organic dish soap to break surface tension. It's also a big help for rehydrating raised beds, because I don't know what it's like for the rest of the world, but here in the UK, the demand for compost is so great, that its quality is not so, which is leading to water retention issues. Since people tend not to water enough in the first place, or use drip feeds, which don't always allow for spread, the compost ends up looking like yours, and plants suffer. Getting organic matter in those beds afterwards is what's needed too... just in case anyone has issues this year.
I would think the soap would burn the roots of seedlings. Seeds are so expensive I wouldn't recommend using soap in soil when seeding.
It can definitely be hard to get fresh dry compost wet for the first time, especially with drip. I've struggled with that before
Two days and I get to start another round of flowers and herbs 😁😁😁😁 the gardening itch is real!!! 🤣 I am selling plants though so there's a purpose haha
That's a slippery slope of justification 😉🤣 I know from experience, lol
I wanted to find you latest video to give you another choice for lighting of your seedlings. I bought my lights from Barrina and 10 of them are $129, these are 4' LED 5000LM / 5000K and each light runs on 40W. They give you the plugs to daisy chain them together, I do that with 6 lights. I'm currenty running 18 of these lights and have yet to see a change in my electric bill. I enjoy your videos, thanks.
So excited to the farm full if flowers!!! Welcome to team flowers. 😂🌷💐
Transition time! It's so exciting that you started with snapdragons..I love them. The tiny seeds are a pain, but the flowers are so useful for bouquets.
I love snaps
May you have a happy, successful and above all healthy growing year:)))
💗💗💗
You guys are so adorable. I love your attitude and your down to earth personalities. I wish you all the luck in the world. God bless you.
Nice! It will be fun to see your adventure this year!
Good thing you had some potting mix left from last year, there seems to be supply problems this year.
I can't even concentrate on the last few minutes of the video with that beautiful dried flower Christmas tree behind Serena! Is there a video that goes over the different kinds of flowers that are used on the tree?
It just seems like yesterday that your 2021 season was ending. I’m so looking forward to this year’s videos as I always learn so much from you guys! If it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t be growing flowers this year. Here’s to a happy and productive year ahead for all flower farmers 💐😊
I feel the same way - the winter disappeared fast
I live in Greece and I watch your videos for a long time now. Today I bought hyacinths, ranunculus and many other "spring" flowers that were fully flowered! I think we have very good climate for growing things here! In mother's day we are full of flowers already. Too bad a have a tiny balcony...
Happy start guys! ⚘💐🌻🌾
How lovely! I can't wait for spring blooms again here
A lot of people have mentioned already but I just wanted to second using very hot water for dry starter. I fill a 5 gallon bucket about 3/4 full of soil and pour over a gallon or two of water with cinnamon boiled in to control fungus/spore outbreaks. Put on the lid to the bucket and leave it til it cools or overnight.
Thanks for the tip
I also use very hot actually boiling water to moisten my potting mix as I was trying to kill any fungus gnats that might be in the mix for the last couple years I have found those a huge problem in my newly purchased bags of seed mix. I have heard of sprinkling cinnamon on the soil for gnats but not putting it in the water. How much cinnamon do you use per gallon of water? Thank you.
I love, love, love snapdragons. I am always picking the seed heads off after the flowers bloom and sprinkle them in wherever they are growing and always get them coming back the next year on their own
They are one of my favorites too
Your channel inspired me to grow snapdragons for the first time this year! (As well as a lot of other things.) So far they're doing wonderful! :D
I love snaps, I just hate how small the seeds are, lol
Seeing this video reminds me how far behind I am this year! Thanks for the inspiration to just get it done!!!!!!!!!
Unless you have a good green house, you're not behind. There's plenty of time.
This is so exciting! I can’t wait to see your whole farm in bloom!
I’ll start by saying I love your videos and your realistic view to farming. Thank you for not romanticize flower farming. Just a few suggestions on seed starting. Wash those trays before use. Measure labour time between mass planting seed verse planting into individual plugs. A glass of wine and a tooth pick makes it easier and you can skip 1 step or splash out on a vacuum seeder (Johnny’s).
I've run the numbers, and pricking out snaps is fast then fighting with the small seeds, and then thinning/filling gaps
@@YouCantEatTheGrass next Christmas ask Ian for a vacuum seeder. I can do 60 trays in 2 hours. It’s a game changer.
Hot water and a little plant based dish detergent added to water to break the surface tension will work like a charm.
Thanks for the tip
Thanks for the tip. I have to try that this year.
My favorite bouquets are the flowers with green mini tomato branches in them. I imagine they are more beautiful in person.
I love those too. I always have a good chunk of self seeded juliets popping up around the garden to use in that way
I started my seeds yesterday! I’m so excited for this year!! I’ve learned so much these past 3 years. I’m ready to put all that knowledge to good use.
I thought you'd say "This way I can look at my seedlings as I take a bath." Snapdragons are the first seedlings I started this year also. They are 3 inchs tall sofar.
Lol, I don't think I've ever used the shower there before other then for seedlings
I so appreciate you being so honest and upfront about what is going on at your farm and how you make your money, it’s a huge inspiration and a great help for me in starting my own business. Keeping my fingers crossed that both you and I have a fantastic 2022 with lots of sales and pretty flowers!
I'm feeling positive about the new year! At very least, it will be filled with flowers
That tree is still looking beautiful. I think I would have to have that in my living room year around.
Love the bathroom set up!! Such a great idea!!
It works really well
This is my 2nd year as a flower farmer and I love your videos for advice. I too have switched from a veggie focus to a flower focus! LOVE love watching the bouquet assembly videos and was wondering about your stem counts for your $20 bouquets...I always lose count watching you and distracted by what you are saying or spying your kitties 😊
lots of luck for 2022!!😁
Gotta get me some Costa Apricot seeds in my life! Great idea for starting the seedlings! For my reference 10:00
Here's a video showing the process ruclips.net/video/tzF6KZrVXbk/видео.html
Hi 👋 sorry missed a few catching up! 🥰U! 🌸🥀🍅🐈🌻🌞❤️
Just discovered you guys my friend shared a link. Thank you for great videos
Can't wait to see your beautiful flowers and veggies!
I use warm water and it helps wet the soil
Thanks for putting in your video what is not going right. It is almost more helpful to learn from your trail and error, in this case it was the soil situation, than in things that are easy. It is great to see even people with lots of experience still have so many challenges and we get to learn from you figuring it out. Great video!
I wasn't expecting to make a video about potting soil when I started filming, lol. But fighting with potting soil is relatable I figure, lol
Can't wait to see all the flowers and vegetables.... And the market stand 🤩
Me too!
Can't wait to see him all it's going to look gorgeous
I was shocked to see the amount of snow you have😯. I'm in Saskatchewan and here I expect mounds of snow but always thought BC would have no snow or close to no snow. Thank you for your video and explaining your process. I have worked for few greenhouses over the years and each one although very similar had their own 'what works for them' process. Love the watering system you have I think its perfect! Excited for the season and watching how your farm and family has grown. Awesome content. 🌱🌱🌱
I love seeing all the cool set up stuff in people's greenhouses, it makes me drool, lol
@@YouCantEatTheGrass yes some greenhouse set ups are spectacular and make you want to run home to replicate. But don't think that they look like that behind the scenes ba ha ha ha. Most greenhouses and even RUclips channels aren't as transparent as yours and I thank you for that.
It might help to mix a few drops of dish detergent into the water first
A small amount of dishwashing detergent is great for soil rehydration - y'all probably know that though.
Fingers crossed 🤞 for 2022 to be more successful re veggies and market sales especially if the atmosphere is less smoky and area residents don’t feel like they’re living in a nightmare disaster zone.
It seems very unlikely it won't be a smokey hellscape, since it is every summer. But I'm hoping for only 1 month of it instead of 3, lol
If you add a tiny bit of dishwashing liquid to the water, it will help the soil hydrate
It is so awesome watching you both! You both show such a positive energy in all you do. Happy planting 2022👍
Thanks
Warm water and a drop of dish soap really helps the potting soil take up water. Otherwise it’s really hydrophobic.
Always love seeing what you’ve got going on!
Use a little fro of soap in water it helps break surface tension
Yes, a wee bit of soap really helps it absorb.
You have to buy a wedding agent, just get a hold of it through your Nursery wholesaler.
Using hot faucet/tap water can really speed up hydrating seed starting mix & potting soils. Just let it cool off before seeding. If you start with flats of dry mix, use sit another flat of the same size on top to gently compress the soil. Then slowly lower the filled flat into a hole-less bottom tray of hot water. By the time you fill the next flat, the first one will be ready to drain. Repeat 🌿🌸🌻🌾💡⚡️
Thanks for the tip
GREAT VIDEO! Y’all are the best. i can’t wait for flowers!
Me too
Your kitty has beautiful eyes☃️❄️💚🙃
Maybe you could start an Etsy shop for your dried flowers? They are so beautiful and I believe they would sell well!
I was never able to find answers to if they could be shipped internationally. So I'm not quite there yet on the shipping questions
Wondering if you could find a way to sell your dried flowers for Valentine’s Day.
I don't know if this helps but for my farm on the scale we have when we have trays that need light to germ what we do is wet row cover that was ripped the year before and lay that on the trays.
It helps a lot.
That's a great idea. We don't have any agribond here, but I've thought about laying some plastic strips over trays. I have a fridge germination chamber for when I have more stuff on the go
I just had that happen with a brand new bag of potting soil that I just purchased. It was so dry and would not absorb water. Took about 3 days before it started absorwater. So weird!
That's annoying that it happened with fresh potting soil.
You should use an auger on a hand drill to stir the potting soil
Last year, we bought a cement mixer just for stirring up large volumes of potting soil during the crazy seed starting season time
Hi, thanks for your videos, I really enjoy them. You mentioned using peat based compost. I know from your previous videos that you’re very eco conscious so I thought I’d pass this info on- Peat bogs are very important biodiverse habitats that sequester carbon and take thousands of years to build up. Moving away from peat based composts helps to avoid their destruction by the horticulture industry. It’s big news in the uk, where I live.
I love all the cool sifted and sterilized compost products they have over in the uk as soilless growing medium subs. Peat has its issues, but its also a local product, so it's a tricky one. My position is the most eco solution is to grow direct seed in the ground as much as possible. Soilless and indoors really isn't sustainable, but I'm also not ready to move 100% away from it yet. But I can recognize it's problems.
@@YouCantEatTheGrass well, I think you guys are doing an amazing job. It looks challenging and yet despite still not being farm profitable, you still keep in mind ideas for being more environmentally friendly. I wish you much success for the growing season ahead and hopefully in the future, better access to peat free growing mediums. (Ps do you know about coir.)
not early to start seed...i'm in gardening mode!! zone 6 here.
Been watching a few of your episodes and decided to subscribe, love what you guys are sharing with the world. I’ve been watching the BuildASoil channel and found that using saponin as a wedding agent in your water to moisten your dry soil will insure that your soil will be moistened through and through before planting. Just putting my two cents in.
I am a recent subscriber, but just came across a neat way of mixing your nutrients with the seed starting mix.
We came across one of those 2 inch bulb augers that you put in your drill. I thought it was funny to try to run it through our starting mix, and dang. It does work.
Nice!
You probably have some viewers like me that are faced with the problem that the tray you sowed your Snapdragon seeds is far too large for the number of seedlings they need.
I've found that styrofoam meat trays work well for me. You will have to make some drainage holes - I use the heated tip of a screwdriver to do that.
Good tip
please please please pay attention to the volume when you start the music. It really jumps up to much higher. Thanks
Try hot water, that's soaking in much better.
And thus,
IT begins...
🌻
(WHEN will we get a Snapdragon emoji!!)
You mentioned your cat loving to eat larksburg. So the cat has eaten it and survived. I'm thinking of planting them but another video mentioned its poisonous so was worried. But seems like many plants are poisonous that my grandmother had grown and yet she had many outside cats that managed to survived for many years.
he only ever eats it dried, so I don't know if that affects how poisonous it is. It's poisonous enough though, that I'm not super excited about him eating it, and I try to keep it out of dried arrangements that I bring inside the house. He's the only cat I've ever had that has had any interest in eating anything poisonous. Usually cats only want to eat grass
Hi from Hamilton, On: Have you considered talking to local restaurants, they should be tripping over themselves to get fresh picked seasonal local veggies at a decent price?
Have you ever tried dish soap to help hydrate dry soil? Dawn is environmentally friendly (thy use it on wildlife in oil spills) and it helps hold the water to the soil. I saw this on an organic gardening video a couple of years ago. Maybe worth trying.
they still have the 5 tiered shelves at target for $49.99 usa
When are you starting your cosmos?
I don't start any till at least into April. They need warm weather
This has happened to me so many times !! The absorb rate of thr mix is a nightmare on times !
They aren't bad when they are fresh, but when they get wet and then dry, it can be a struggle
Just curious what that fertilizer is in the brown bag?
Maybe for the perennials.. try winter sowing? Is that just only for gardeners or can it apply to farmers too?
I did an experiment with winter sowing, but in actual seedlings trays, just with some plastic draped over it in a greenhouse. They germinated and popped up well, but they weren't really much earlier then just starting them in April. So giving them some extra heat in March by starting inside, really does get a few extra weeks. Not necessarily worth it for a hone garden though or without the investment in the lights, ect
are you using warm water to hydrate your soil?
Is “growing for market” newsletter include say nursery type plant sales also? I grow alot of Iris and Roses want to turn it into a mini farm of sorts..selling Iris and Roses online and locally…is there info for those kind of plant sales as well? Or is it just cut flowers? I live in the same region as you (smith creek WK,BC) I love what you’re up to! Could you possibly share your supplier of pots and trays?
My favorite part of the magazine is you can search the old articles online, with the full access subscription. There are lots of different articles on different subjects. I think you can do the search for free too, you just can't see the full article, so you could take a peak and see if there would be good value for you.
I get my trays from a local store, growers supply.
Do you have links to the products you use? I need new garden gloves and you seem to wear the same kind in each video so you must like them. Can you tell me what brand the gloves are?
Thank you!
My mom buys those specific gloves for me. My favorite brand is stealth hero by Watson. I also get the Amazon ones too, and they are all pretty good. Nitrile coated usually
Please turn on your comments. It's annoying not being able to communicate with you. I dont use facebook and other platforms.
thanks for sharing.
anti surfactant to break the surface tension