I had looked them up before I'd even seen this video and was wondering how good the soil was so I'm glad to hear this & will check them out. Which package did you get? Did you do the premium blend organic compost-omri or the super soil raised bed package?
@@OFFGRIDwithDOUGSTACY thank you so much, I will do the same then. This is my first year ever doing any type of gardening so I want to do it right. Is there any specific amount like how many inches you put down for the top dressing layer? Vs the raised bed fill amount?
My husband has never been a hands on guy. He was a detective for 26 years and always hired somebody to even mow the lawn, after watching this he says he's ready to make these because you explained it all so well.thank you!
This is one of the most helpful video's. I am a widowed woman have been for some time. My husband died in 98. And this was our dream to go off grid. Except he got cancer and died at 32 when my kids were 6&8. My true love. I am still single kids raised. Never an easy moment and never a dull moment. I don't know how I managed. I am getting on with your help and I am so grateful.
Just a tip from a 25+ year machinist, never let you tape measure slam closed, it will stretch the holes out that hole the end piece on and it won't be accurate anymore and will get off more and more every time you let it slam shut. It is designed to move back and forth exactly the thickness of the end of the tape to allow for inside vs outside measurements. Have a blessed day!
Our tomatoes and peppers went CRAZY this past year. So big, so heavily laden with fruit that it took 2 people to harvest. One to hold up the vines and the other to harvest. Learned our lesson on quite a few things this past year! I also made raised beds out of the lumber from our back porch that I tore apart. Maybe not the best choice but there were over 200 boards that needed to be repurposed. I am a repurposing fool!
It's currently winter right now but watching this video gets me all hyped up and ready for the spring! I cannot wait to build my raised garden beds!! Thank you, Doug and Stacy for your tips, tricks, and advice! I cannot thank you both enough...you both have been such an inspiration to me!! God bless you and your family!
The general rule for the width of raised beds is that they be no wider than you can reach into the center comfortably. For most women, that's 4 feet wide. If you can't get to both sides, the recommendation is for 3' wide, unless the person taking care of the beds has a longer reach. Your raised beds are so beautiful! They'd be a joy to work!
This to me is the best thing video it shows you how to begin your growing your own food. If you don't have a good foundation to anything you do than the end product is not good I cannot wait to make my raised beds. Thank you.
Thank you Doug for the valuable tip of using wire type mesh at the bottom of the garden bed, followed by compost. I agree Stacy, organic matter top soil is best. I like the " lasagna method" of layering with branches, green plant waste and scraps; and compost. It keeps my soil stable, nutritious, and the roots well fed. I agree Doug, crop rotation is important for mineral mix. God bless. 😇
Goodafternoon, Your are a blessing for all humanity. Thank you so much for all the hard work, dedication and valuble information you provide us, may GOD our father bless you, your wonderful wife and family 🙏
I build my beds exactly as you do and I agree that raised beds are fantastic! It's also easy to turn them into hoop houses and protect seedlings from frost
I needed this. We're building 8 new raised beds for Spring, we have too much gravel in our soil in odd places. Tried growing in the ground this year and it was hit or miss with the gravel, but my 2 raised beds did terrific. Rabbit poop is my secret sauce.
You both are famous now to me and my husband...I've read some of Joel Salitins books and we went out of our way to go meet him when we were in West Virginia! Wish we could go to your homesteading event.thank you all for the great information you guys are so organized and putting out all that information must be a lot of work! Have a great homesteading day!!
We had to turn our 'in ground' garden into all raised beds because our ground was so full of clay we had no drainage. This year was our best harvest ever! Most of mine are 4' x 8'. Strawberry and asparagus are 4' x 16'
Excellent video! Thanks for the hardware cloth tip. You are the first person I’ve seen to suggest this and I have watched A LOT of videos on raised bed gardening. I have been doing container gardening and am now interested in branching out into raised beds.
I didn’t know about the hardware cloth. Thank you and I was just gonna grow a few things but you guys inspired me to grow a bunch more stuff. Some in pots around the raised garden and around the chicken coop like oregano, mint and lemon balm
I DID learn something new today, about the hardware cloth. Thank you! I put together one raised bed a couple of years ago. I put down newspaper and cardboard, then put in limbs and sticks that had fallen from my trees. Then I put the compost (from a local company). It has done very well. I have two blueberry bushes and two grapevines in there. They all came back this year. It's the very first time that I have had any luck at all with blueberries. :-) Last year I grew tomatoes and peppers in there, too. This year I have three new raised beds. I already have the limbs and compost to go in there, but looks like I will have to get some hardware cloth to go in first. Thanks again for all of the golden nuggets! God Bless! Carmen
IM ENJOYING YOUR VIDEOS AND NEW TO ALL OF THIS. IVE STARTED FERMENTING THINGS AND PUTTING OTHER TIPS INTO MOTION. I CANT WAIT TO BUILD MY RAISED BED!!! ☀️🥰. THANK YOU!!!
This was very timely, getting ready to jump into raised bed construction. Cedar planks and hardware cloth-as always a huge wealth of information. Thank you Doug and Stacy, Wilber and Margaret-getting very excited about that F150 XLT- Blessings and Grace
I did learn something for sure! I'd love to have raised beds but not possible in my situation, but I just finished a video your wife did showing using pots on my porch which I'm totally going to do. Was happy to hear you are Shabbat keepers, me too. I'm learning so much from both of you, thank you so much! Shalom!
I really appreciate everything you guys do. As soon as I’m ready to purchase my supplies, I will use your link, so you guys receive the credit you deserve. Your information is gold.
I absolutely love both of your passion to live one with the land. I have been feeling such a strong pull for 5+ years and soon we will be living our best life, one with nature like you both! THANK YOU!
I appreciate the simplistic way you explain how to build and set up your raised beds to help any novice jump right into gardening for the first time.....plus sharing the importance of hardware cloth to keep the critters from digging up the plants root system.
40+ years ago I started gardening food. I'm still going at it - I only missed a year of gardening during all those years - I didn't have a home or yard to garden in. I have grown in the ground, and in containers and both. Now that I'm older, I do container gardening. I have been eating kale and spinach since late January this year. I have a lot of herbs seeded and some I'm eating - basil. I have seeds started for tomatoes, radishes, peppers, and peas, and will direct sow green beans, beets, carrots, more lettuces, onions and whatever else I can get growing. We must have green beans, snap peas, tomatoes and carrots no matter what. I personally love radishes. my kids still grab all the snap peas on the vines so I have to plant a lot to make sure I get some. My grandkids love to pick and eat almost everything - dirt and all. I always plant organic beginning to end. I cannot imagine not having my own fresh food. I have preserved the abundance via canning, freezing, brining and fermenting. I have mentored along lots of folks, and will continue to share what I know until I no longer have thoughts. Happy growing and lots of love to you both. thanks for sharing your lives with us.
Doug and stacy my hubby and I love love love your videos!!!!. We are hoping one day to build our own homestead and log cabin to live in and be self sustaining. We are so happy we found your videos. Even our kids enjoy watching how things are done and we have build our own raised garden beds which we have grown our food in and canned for the last 2 summers. We hope one day to as self sustaining as you. Saving up now to buy the land. This year we get our chickens. We only have just u der an acher now. But believe me We take notes on your videos. God bless ya’ll
One of the best gardens I ever grew was on a weeds I had dug up and put into a long pile. One year I had no manures to put into the garden and not much soil to top it with. What I did that year was put some of our clay soil on top of the dried weeds, which were mostly Canadian thistle and dandelions. I found a bag of peat moss and put it on top of the clay soil. It was only 4 of 5 inches deep. I then planted my garden and it grew so well, I was amazed. I grew on that mound for for or five years before it became flat with no sign of a mound. I was impressed for the good.
Thanks for the tip about the hardware cloth! I'm about to start my first raised bed, and I've been watching videos and taking notes, so I really appreciate the timely tip! Yah bless you and your efforts. Shabbat Shalom! :)
Watching the screws go in as smooth as silk. Meanwhile mines jumping, splitting and I’m cussing a blue streak. Even with wax on them. Bless you and your drill.
pilot holes can help a lot. also soap on your screw threads (good on the wax! that should help too), lower your drill speed, go with a higher torque setting if possible, and use the largest driver head that will fit your screw. pilot holes can definitely help with the splitting, (go with about 2/3- 3/4 the diameter of the screw shaft) and rubbing soap on the screwthreads helps lubricate them going in, if the drill's turning highspeed, if it catches at all it'll slam the driver head against the recess in the screw and jump it out. a lower speed and a higher torque is kinda like using first gear to haul a trailer - might be a bit slower, but you're making steady progress, and the higher torque will cut in better. and the largest driver head that will securely fit eliminates wobble, which can also cause jumping, and is way less likely to strip your screwhead out as well.
Raised bed help with a couple things. For ppl with mobility problems, I can reach without falling (and it's no fun trying to get up all alone). Also raised beds allows u to put weed barrier down & then improve soil in areas with poor soil(1 place I had clay
I have just started gardening again I did it as a child with my Dad. I only planted a couple plants. I planted 1 zucchini, 1 yellow squash, and 1 cherry tomato, 1 cucumber and some herbs such as Basil, English Thyme, Flat Leaf Parsley, Rosemary, and Lemon Sage to see how they grow here in Las Vegas. I am excited and am hoping to make a raised bed but since we don't own our place I need them to be movable so this has given me some great ideas to make them a little smaller so I can eventually take them to their forever home. Thanks I really enjoyed the video. My hope is to be living off grid in 12 years. Thanks... Koko
Bakercreek is OUR neighbor in Mansfield Mo. Thats where we get alot of OUR seeds. Love the friendly people They are very helpful. Just like you and Stacy.
I just love watching you guys. I learn so much and I find myself smiling through all your videos. Thanks for all the knowledge and joy, I truly appreciate it.
Planning on doing this this year for the first time. Just got our house built on 6.2 acres. Going to build a greenhouse and chicken coop too. I'm super excited!!! 👏👏👏👏
Bro you two are an inspiration to many people who love living off the grid my wife and I love you two thank you for helping countless people be self sufficient ❤️
I'm in southern Az and hardware cloth is a must! Squirrels live underground here and as I watered all my beautiful flowers I had put in the night before, they were being pulled under ground as I stood next to them! It's a must!
Cost prohibitive for many but still good info & something to aim for. I have cedar I'm going to cut & have made into planks. I admit tho that my nxt door neighbor runs a small sawmill...otherwise I most likely wouldn't. Cedar is awesome however!
I'm not sure how I missed this video. I think I've been subscribed to you guys for 2 years. and I try to go through the list and watch all your content. I've never seen this one!😊
We have used raised beds since the mid 70's. There is no other way to get the most for the least work! And we have always thrown sticks and stuff in the bottom to get rid of the mess in our yard but had no idea it actually had a name for it! One year we had a lot of rain and everyone's seeds rotted but our garden did great and was a month ahead of everyone else. They thought we were nuts doing all the work but then they saw our beautiful garden and they had nothing after a month. We changed a lot of minds about raised beds that year. Thanks for all of the info in this video. One thing you didn't talk about is getting the bed level before adding the dirt. That is important for the water to stay where you put it and not drain to one side.
I bumped into one of your videos last week and now I'm hooked. You guys are so blessed. Not only do you have each other but your wonderful homestead is amazing. Been working on mine by myself for years. I have a Horticulture Landscape degree and I'm right there with ya when you talk about stuff.. but you taught me some great new ideas and I appreciate it. So much, Thanks. And I only just started watching your videos. I never subscribe to anything.. I am subscribed to you guys now. From this girl in Homer, Michigan:-)
Great looking beds. For those needing a cheaper bed, pine was mentioned, but there's still cheaper methods. Straw bales on their side, the bales can even be part of the bottom layer of the raised bed. Chicken wire to keep the birds out, you can use chicken wire as sidewalls of your early garden raised bed. The straw eventually breaks down into part of the garden bed.
well because of the lock down iv been making home brew beer ,backing our own bread ,and i kid you not i just made some raised garden beds ,and im about to get my self one of them new flow hives , nothing like fresh honey , my wife and i love your show , thank's
If you put the 4ft pieces on the outside of the long side pieces it will make the beds 44 or 45 inches wide inside depending on what kind of lumber you have 44 inches inside which is easier to reach across than the 48 inches you would have if you put them inside of the long side pieces. Also the joint will be stronger that way.
I have always grown in raised beds, every thing is in and growing :-) Give's me great pleasure watching them pop up. I will start pulling my first crop of carrots in 2 weeks/ Kale. I was going to down size this year but instead i have put more raised beds in :-) Take care be safe every one. Oh 1 thing i do is line the box last longer.
Love you man.....Giving us 30 years of experience in 30 to 40 minutes....can't beat that. There's NO PRICE you can put on an Education that is 100% Tried, Trued and Proven!! I like watching to refresh my memory....many things we forget as we get caught up in life's bellows and for us living in the suburbs or outskirts of cities, I see your videos as grocery store knowledge waiting to be eaten. That makes no sense -- unless you've done the raised bed stuff -- and have eaten from the efforts of your successes! Thanks man....and Thanks to the Wife (The Boss)!
In MO too and the weather has made getting started a little tough. We dont have a green house yet so I have the multiple teenagers helping me carry a ridiculous number of seedlings back and forth from every flat surface near a window to outside on pretty days and back again. Lol. Takes a lot of plants for a fam of 10 plus gram'ma!
January 4, 2023 I'm in Missouri, & so ready for Spring planting to start. I usually start to plant seeds too early indoors. I am trying to hold off. God bless you, Doug & Stacy. I have missed many of your videos so I'm catching up.
I really appreciate the detailed information. When my wife retires in two years, we're bailing from California and we're going to start a homestead. My personality is a big picture kind of guy. I've been a company grade officer but I think like a field grade officer sometimes. That's not always good. LOL What's worse is that I can f*** up things up that are PFC level. The way you teach and speak here is invaluable. Continuing along the military allegory, you are Master Sergeant or Sergeant Major material. Bless you.
We started putting in our raised beds yesterday. This video's extremely helpful we are going to do the other half for the garden with these tips to day. We have a dozen horses and have horse manure that is old 10 years old… Will be using out along with old chicken droppings dirt I hope this works somewhat. As we are quite nervous about the food situation in the world the way it is right now. We are hitting gardening hard. growing a lot of seedlings in house to start them out Trying to front load the food supply as much as possible just don't know what's going to happen I'm also looking into getting a pressure canner in cased the food crop comes in at the same time We live in San Diego County. But we live in the country.
Like this one. I was ready to turn the ground, but now I'm all in with the raised bed. 10,000 years ago this was beachfront property. Not much more than sand now. Been working on compost for a while now. Believe it's time for a raised bed. Enjoying the content. See yall later.
Love all the tips, thanks for sharing. I'm coming to the end of my growing season but I'm still experimenting on ways to grow during the heat of summer here in South Florida.
I’m seeing a lot of money to set this place up. Even has a Skid steer ( looks like a Cat 246 ,, great machine. ).,,, I’m building my raised beds out of concrete, 16 ft x 3 ft. And 2 ft tall. ..chamfered corners. 8 inch thick. Making 4 beds. This guy is livin a good life.
This is the motto I live buy! I save up money to buy quality product up-front so I don’t have to keep replacing things every couple of years...hopefully saving money in the long run.
Doug, you're a great teacher, I got some very useful tips. I've always want to try to grow veggies in a raised bed but wasn't sure how to go about it, your explanation and logical method has encouraged me to try....okay, okay....to at least THINK about trying....hahaha The folks that brought the frankenvirus currently...have also quietly announced a food shortage in the near future....watching the daily NOAA satellite weather site one can see that THEY are making that a possibility...I know the weather has been cooler and much windier than normally here....My Doug and Stacy "SunOven Special" has finally arrived but I'm afraid the wind is delaying my first "test-drive"...crossing fingers and saying a prayer that I'll be able to utilize God's sunshine gift before my farmer's market vegetables go bad...I think you and Stacy live a noble life...take care and thank you
An easier to sqaure corners is to use the 3, 4, 5....on a corner measure 3 units on one end board then 4 units on the adjoining board then connect those two with 5 units (units equal feet) so you make a three four five triangle
We are putting our raised beds in today. However, we live a the top of a mountain and our beds are 6'× 3' and we are using pine. Everything has gone up in price so the pine was our only choice. Thank you for all the great information about building raised beds. We woke up to snow last Sunday and we agree it has been crazy weather this year. Have an amazing Easter.
I love to tour old homes from 1800's even Plymouth Plantation and St. Augustine FL, some late 1600's. I can remember how happy Mom was when a bread truck finally made it out as far as our farm. She was in HEAVEN!
you mustn decide if u do "inside" or "outside" , u can alternate in and out and get a square. next row other way around...this may add some stability...especially for higher beds
I grow all my potatoes and sweet potatoes with just grass cuttings and rotted leaves as abed and some covering the chits, this negates any digging and when you need some of the potatoes you just take what you need and replace the rotted grass cuttings
Yes--did that growing in tires that were discarded along the road where we lived in Panama, Central America. Ran the mower over the leaves, filled the tires up with them, planted the sweet potatoes, and in spite of all the rain during rainy season had incredible sweet potatoes that were the envy of the neighborhood!
Our weather here in Virginia is still cold, had a frost last night and calling again for tonight! We had some warm weather a week ago, but we cant even start seedlings, the weather is not reliable anymore, up and down. You and your wife are a huge insperation, you guys are the best!!!!! Blessings
bluebirdcomposting.com supplies our growing medium and use coupon code "OFFGRID" at check out to save $
The closest one to us is Springfield Mo
@@MJ-wz6jo they deliver anywhere in Missouri so reach out =)
I had looked them up before I'd even seen this video and was wondering how good the soil was so I'm glad to hear this & will check them out. Which package did you get?
Did you do the premium blend organic compost-omri or the super soil raised bed package?
@@TheWayWalker raised bed mix and compost mix for the top dressing
@@OFFGRIDwithDOUGSTACY thank you so much, I will do the same then. This is my first year ever doing any type of gardening so I want to do it right.
Is there any specific amount like how many inches you put down for the top dressing layer? Vs the raised bed fill amount?
My husband has never been a hands on guy. He was a detective for 26 years and always hired somebody to even mow the lawn, after watching this he says he's ready to make these because you explained it all so well.thank you!
Mines not either. Still not interested. But I think that I can hammer these out!
It’s three years later…2023. Did he make them for you? How do you like it?
@@cbass2755 actually they commented 11 months ago but looks like she's not seeing the notification yet. I love this vid. In going to do them myself.
Did it happen?
This is one of the most helpful video's. I am a widowed woman have been for some time. My husband died in 98.
And this was our dream to go off grid. Except he got cancer and died at 32 when my kids were 6&8. My true love. I am still single kids raised. Never an easy moment and never a dull moment. I don't know how I managed. I am getting on with your help and I am so grateful.
❤
Praying for you 🙏
@@lmbarnhart4898 thank you so much!!
Sorry to hear that! Are your children still at home? God bless
@@juliecarter8098 out on their own now. They prefer the city life.
Just a tip from a 25+ year machinist, never let you tape measure slam closed, it will stretch the holes out that hole the end piece on and it won't be accurate anymore and will get off more and more every time you let it slam shut. It is designed to move back and forth exactly the thickness of the end of the tape to allow for inside vs outside measurements. Have a blessed day!
Doug, the amount of information you can pack into a video is just amazing!
There amazing 🤩
Awesome as always xxx
Our tomatoes and peppers went CRAZY this past year. So big, so heavily laden with fruit that it took 2 people to harvest. One to hold up the vines and the other to harvest. Learned our lesson on quite a few things this past year! I also made raised beds out of the lumber from our back porch that I tore apart. Maybe not the best choice but there were over 200 boards that needed to be repurposed. I am a repurposing fool!
Doug you’re a great teacher! God bless you and Stacy!
It's currently winter right now but watching this video gets me all hyped up and ready for the spring! I cannot wait to build my raised garden beds!! Thank you, Doug and Stacy for your tips, tricks, and advice! I cannot thank you both enough...you both have been such an inspiration to me!! God bless you and your family!
I agree I had some raised bed and our garage burned down and my raised beds were destroyed so I have to start over.
First time grower here. I DO NOT like dealing with the weeds. LORD willing, I'll do beds next year.. thank you for all your tips!!!
The general rule for the width of raised beds is that they be no wider than you can reach into the center comfortably. For most women, that's 4 feet wide. If you can't get to both sides, the recommendation is for 3' wide, unless the person taking care of the beds has a longer reach. Your raised beds are so beautiful! They'd be a joy to work!
This to me is the best thing video it shows you how to begin your growing your own food. If you don't have a good foundation to anything you do than the end product is not good I cannot wait to make my raised beds. Thank you.
Thank you Doug for the valuable tip of using wire type mesh at the bottom of the garden bed, followed by compost. I agree Stacy, organic matter top soil is best. I like the " lasagna method" of layering with branches, green plant waste and scraps; and compost. It keeps my soil stable, nutritious, and the roots well fed. I agree Doug, crop rotation is important for mineral mix. God bless. 😇
Goodafternoon,
Your are a blessing for all humanity. Thank you so much for all the hard work, dedication and valuble information you provide us, may GOD our father bless you, your wonderful wife and family 🙏
I build my beds exactly as you do and I agree that raised beds are fantastic! It's also easy to turn them into hoop houses and protect seedlings from frost
Starting my path to Self Sufficiency. Thank you for leading the way.
I needed this. We're building 8 new raised beds for Spring, we have too much gravel in our soil in odd places. Tried growing in the ground this year and it was hit or miss with the gravel, but my 2 raised beds did terrific. Rabbit poop is my secret sauce.
great idea putting the hardware cloth in the raised beds!
You both are famous now to me and my husband...I've read some of Joel Salitins books and we went out of our way to go meet him when we were in West Virginia! Wish we could go to your homesteading event.thank you all for the great information you guys are so organized and putting out all that information must be a lot of work! Have a great homesteading day!!
Thanks!
never disappointed watching your videos!!! thanks for caring and sharing!!!
We had to turn our 'in ground' garden into all raised beds because our ground was so full of clay we had no drainage. This year was our best harvest ever! Most of mine are 4' x 8'. Strawberry and asparagus are 4' x 16'
I love going through the older videos for all the nuggets
Excellent video! Thanks for the hardware cloth tip. You are the first person I’ve seen to suggest this and I have watched A LOT of videos on raised bed gardening. I have been doing container gardening and am now interested in branching out into raised beds.
ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC FROM START TO FINISH. *Gratitude*
I'm here because the thumbnail looked like Gandalf giving some gardening tips. It wasn't Gandalf but I still enjoyed it.
I didn’t know about the hardware cloth. Thank you and I was just gonna grow a few things but you guys inspired me to grow a bunch more stuff. Some in pots around the raised garden and around the chicken coop like oregano, mint and lemon balm
I DID learn something new today, about the hardware cloth. Thank you! I put together one raised bed a couple of years ago. I put down newspaper and cardboard, then put in limbs and sticks that had fallen from my trees. Then I put the compost (from a local company). It has done very well. I have two blueberry bushes and two grapevines in there. They all came back this year. It's the very first time that I have had any luck at all with blueberries. :-) Last year I grew tomatoes and peppers in there, too. This year I have three new raised beds. I already have the limbs and compost to go in there, but looks like I will have to get some hardware cloth to go in first. Thanks again for all of the golden nuggets! God Bless! Carmen
IM ENJOYING YOUR VIDEOS AND NEW TO ALL OF THIS. IVE STARTED FERMENTING THINGS AND PUTTING OTHER TIPS INTO MOTION. I CANT WAIT TO BUILD MY RAISED BED!!! ☀️🥰. THANK YOU!!!
This was very timely, getting ready to jump into raised bed construction. Cedar planks and hardware cloth-as always a huge wealth of information. Thank you Doug and Stacy, Wilber and Margaret-getting very excited about that F150 XLT- Blessings and Grace
I did learn something for sure! I'd love to have raised beds but not possible in my situation, but I just finished a video your wife did showing using pots on my porch which I'm totally going to do. Was happy to hear you are Shabbat keepers, me too. I'm learning so much from both of you, thank you so much! Shalom!
I really appreciate everything you guys do. As soon as I’m ready to purchase my supplies, I will use your link, so you guys receive the credit you deserve. Your information is gold.
You are a wealth of knowledge. Thanks for all the tips. As we grow older less bending is appreciated.
I absolutely love both of your passion to live one with the land. I have been feeling such a strong pull for 5+ years and soon we will be living our best life, one with nature like you both! THANK YOU!
Love the hardware cloth tip in the bottom of the beds. Never thought of that simple solution.
I appreciate the simplistic way you explain how to build and set up your raised beds to help any novice jump right into gardening for the first time.....plus sharing the importance of hardware cloth to keep the critters from digging up the plants root system.
This single lady is doing the pallet potato bed and my son is building me a raised garden bed, from your video. Thank you XO
40+ years ago I started gardening food. I'm still going at it - I only missed a year of gardening during all those years - I didn't have a home or yard to garden in. I have grown in the ground, and in containers and both. Now that I'm older, I do container gardening. I have been eating kale and spinach since late January this year. I have a lot of herbs seeded and some I'm eating - basil. I have seeds started for tomatoes, radishes, peppers, and peas, and will direct sow green beans, beets, carrots, more lettuces, onions and whatever else I can get growing. We must have green beans, snap peas, tomatoes and carrots no matter what. I personally love radishes. my kids still grab all the snap peas on the vines so I have to plant a lot to make sure I get some. My grandkids love to pick and eat almost everything - dirt and all. I always plant organic beginning to end. I cannot imagine not having my own fresh food. I have preserved the abundance via canning, freezing, brining and fermenting. I have mentored along lots of folks, and will continue to share what I know until I no longer have thoughts. Happy growing and lots of love to you both. thanks for sharing your lives with us.
👍 👍
We have launched a kitchen gardening course for our teachers.
Can you guide us about it?
Doug, I really enjoyed this video!!! Thank you so much. Give Stacy my love.
I like cedar because as it ages it turns a really pretty gray, kind of like us as we get older😆
That was funny, the rooster crowed when you said catching all kind of !!!!
It was perfect timing.
Great tip about looking for the bow in your boards! Many thanks.
Binging old episodes that came out before I found you guys!! Enjoy all the videos.
Love raised bed gardening I built 3 of them last season and hopefully building some more this year,your raised beds look fantastic!
Super enjoy how ya talk to all of us like family for so many years. Joe n Christina
Doug and stacy my hubby and I love love love your videos!!!!. We are hoping one day to build our own homestead and log cabin to live in and be self sustaining. We are so happy we found your videos. Even our kids enjoy watching how things are done and we have build our own raised garden beds which we have grown our food in and canned for the last 2 summers. We hope one day to as self sustaining as you. Saving up now to buy the land. This year we get our chickens. We only have just u der an acher now. But believe me We take notes on your videos. God bless ya’ll
One of the best gardens I ever grew was on a weeds I had dug up and put into a long pile. One year I had no manures to put into the garden and not much soil to top it with. What I did that year was put some of our clay soil on top of the dried weeds, which were mostly Canadian thistle and dandelions. I found a bag of peat moss and put it on top of the clay soil. It was only 4 of 5 inches deep. I then planted my garden and it grew so well, I was amazed. I grew on that mound for for or five years before it became flat with no sign of a mound. I was impressed for the good.
Thanks for the tip about the hardware cloth! I'm about to start my first raised bed, and I've been watching videos and taking notes, so I really appreciate the timely tip! Yah bless you and your efforts. Shabbat Shalom! :)
Thank you for all the detailed information. I love the videos you & Stacy share with us! God bless you both & God bless us all.
Watching the screws go in as smooth as silk. Meanwhile mines jumping, splitting and I’m cussing a blue streak. Even with wax on them.
Bless you and your drill.
Out of curiosity is it the type of wood, type of drill, or type of nail that would cause a non smooth drill hole?
pilot holes can help a lot. also soap on your screw threads (good on the wax! that should help too), lower your drill speed, go with a higher torque setting if possible, and use the largest driver head that will fit your screw.
pilot holes can definitely help with the splitting, (go with about 2/3- 3/4 the diameter of the screw shaft) and rubbing soap on the screwthreads helps lubricate them going in, if the drill's turning highspeed, if it catches at all it'll slam the driver head against the recess in the screw and jump it out. a lower speed and a higher torque is kinda like using first gear to haul a trailer - might be a bit slower, but you're making steady progress, and the higher torque will cut in better. and the largest driver head that will securely fit eliminates wobble, which can also cause jumping, and is way less likely to strip your screwhead out as well.
Raised bed help with a couple things. For ppl with mobility problems, I can reach without falling (and it's no fun trying to get up all alone). Also raised beds allows u to put weed barrier down & then improve soil in areas with poor soil(1 place I had clay
I have just started gardening again I did it as a child with my Dad. I only planted a couple plants. I planted 1 zucchini, 1 yellow squash, and 1 cherry tomato, 1 cucumber and some herbs such as Basil, English Thyme, Flat Leaf Parsley, Rosemary, and Lemon Sage to see how they grow here in Las Vegas. I am excited and am hoping to make a raised bed but since we don't own our place I need them to be movable so this has given me some great ideas to make them a little smaller so I can eventually take them to their forever home. Thanks I really enjoyed the video. My hope is to be living off grid in 12 years. Thanks... Koko
Bakercreek is OUR neighbor in Mansfield Mo. Thats where we get alot of OUR seeds. Love the friendly people They are very helpful. Just like you and Stacy.
I just love watching you guys. I learn so much and I find myself smiling through all your videos. Thanks for all the knowledge and joy, I truly appreciate it.
Good info Doug! We appreciate you and Stacy tremendously!!
There’s a woman after my own heart. Bush jacket, cowgirl hat and sandals ...lol love it Stacy.
Planning on doing this this year for the first time. Just got our house built on 6.2 acres. Going to build a greenhouse and chicken coop too. I'm super excited!!! 👏👏👏👏
Bro you two are an inspiration to many people who love living off the grid my wife and I love you two thank you for helping countless people be self sufficient ❤️
Thanks for the information! This will help the old back from hurting so much!
Lots of nuggets Doug! When we rebuild our raised beds the mesh screen will be included. Hoping you and Stacy have a truly blessed Resurrection Day!
I'm in southern Az and hardware cloth is a must! Squirrels live underground here and as I watered all my beautiful flowers I had put in the night before, they were being pulled under ground as I stood next to them! It's a must!
You should do more of these out of all the homestead videos yours I actually learned from.
Thanks!
Cost prohibitive for many but still good info & something to aim for. I have cedar I'm going to cut & have made into planks. I admit tho that my nxt door neighbor runs a small sawmill...otherwise I most likely wouldn't. Cedar is awesome however!
We put wire mesh down first to keep the critters (moles, voles, etc.) from coming up from below.
Yep, I thought was a better idea. I hope Doug sees our comments.
This video is great feels like he's talking right to you. Learned a lot
I'm not sure how I missed this video. I think I've been subscribed to you guys for 2 years. and I try to go through the list and watch all your content. I've never seen this one!😊
Same. I am playing Catch Up!
We have used raised beds since the mid 70's. There is no other way to get the most for the least work! And we have always thrown sticks and stuff in the bottom to get rid of the mess in our yard but had no idea it actually had a name for it! One year we had a lot of rain and everyone's seeds rotted but our garden did great and was a month ahead of everyone else. They thought we were nuts doing all the work but then they saw our beautiful garden and they had nothing after a month. We changed a lot of minds about raised beds that year. Thanks for all of the info in this video. One thing you didn't talk about is getting the bed level before adding the dirt. That is important for the water to stay where you put it and not drain to one side.
Bless you for Everything you do to help us ALL XXX
I was literally just thinking about how to build one if these and your video uploads that second.
haha. my wife was looking at me as I was watching the video.
I've been thinking about raised beds, but didn't know how to start. This helped a lot. ☺️
Love the raised bed tips, especially the hardware cloth on the bottom to stop critters.
I bumped into one of your videos last week and now I'm hooked. You guys are so blessed. Not only do you have each other but your wonderful homestead is amazing. Been working on mine by myself for years. I have a Horticulture Landscape degree and I'm right there with ya when you talk about stuff.. but you taught me some great new ideas and I appreciate it. So much, Thanks. And I only just started watching your videos. I never subscribe to anything.. I am subscribed to you guys now. From this girl in Homer, Michigan:-)
Great looking beds.
For those needing a cheaper bed, pine was mentioned, but there's still cheaper methods.
Straw bales on their side, the bales can even be part of the bottom layer of the raised bed.
Chicken wire to keep the birds out, you can use chicken wire as sidewalls of your early garden raised bed. The straw eventually breaks down into part of the garden bed.
well because of the lock down iv been making home brew beer ,backing our own bread ,and i kid you not i just made some raised garden beds ,and im about to get my self one of them new flow hives , nothing like fresh honey , my wife and i love your show , thank's
If you put the 4ft pieces on the outside of the long side pieces it will make the beds 44 or 45 inches wide inside depending on what kind of lumber you have
44 inches inside which is easier to reach across than the 48 inches you would have if you put them inside of the long side pieces.
Also the joint will be stronger that way.
I have always grown in raised beds, every thing is in and growing :-) Give's me great pleasure watching them pop up. I will start pulling my first crop of carrots in 2 weeks/ Kale. I was going to down size this year but instead i have put more raised beds in :-) Take care be safe every one. Oh 1 thing i do is line the box last longer.
Your videos are a blessing to me. Wish I could live exactly like you guys do
Well that's my job today doing the raised beds.
Love you man.....Giving us 30 years of experience in 30 to 40 minutes....can't beat that. There's NO PRICE you can put on an Education that is 100% Tried, Trued and Proven!! I like watching to refresh my memory....many things we forget as we get caught up in life's bellows and for us living in the suburbs or outskirts of cities, I see your videos as grocery store knowledge waiting to be eaten. That makes no sense -- unless you've done the raised bed stuff -- and have eaten from the efforts of your successes! Thanks man....and Thanks to the Wife (The Boss)!
In MO too and the weather has made getting started a little tough. We dont have a green house yet so I have the multiple teenagers helping me carry a ridiculous number of seedlings back and forth from every flat surface near a window to outside on pretty days and back again. Lol. Takes a lot of plants for a fam of 10 plus gram'ma!
January 4, 2023
I'm in Missouri, & so ready for Spring planting to start.
I usually start to plant seeds too early indoors.
I am trying to hold off.
God bless you, Doug & Stacy.
I have missed many of your videos so I'm catching up.
Absolutely stellar! Thanks Doug. Very much appreciated. We're just about to build a half dozen raised beds. This video was so valuable!
I really appreciate the detailed information. When my wife retires in two years, we're bailing from California and we're going to start a homestead. My personality is a big picture kind of guy. I've been a company grade officer but I think like a field grade officer sometimes. That's not always good. LOL
What's worse is that I can f*** up things up that are PFC level. The way you teach and speak here is invaluable. Continuing along the military allegory, you are Master Sergeant or Sergeant Major material. Bless you.
Pro tip with the hardware cloth. Thanks!
Yeah it's time to start building raise beds today. Thank you!!!!!!
We started putting in our raised beds yesterday. This video's extremely helpful we are going to do the other half for the garden with these tips to day.
We have a dozen horses and have horse manure that is old 10 years old…
Will be using out along with old chicken droppings dirt
I hope this works somewhat. As we are quite nervous about the food situation in the world the way it is right now.
We are hitting gardening hard. growing a lot of seedlings in house to start them out
Trying to front load the food supply as much as possible just don't know what's going to happen
I'm also looking into getting a pressure canner in cased the food crop comes in at the same time
We live in San Diego County. But we live in the country.
Like this one. I was ready to turn the ground, but now I'm all in with the raised bed. 10,000 years ago this was beachfront property. Not much more than sand now. Been working on compost for a while now. Believe it's time for a raised bed. Enjoying the content. See yall later.
Love all the tips, thanks for sharing. I'm coming to the end of my growing season but I'm still experimenting on ways to grow during the heat of summer here in South Florida.
I did not know about the hardware cloth at the bottom! Perfect solution.
I’m seeing a lot of money to set this place up. Even has a Skid steer ( looks like a Cat 246 ,, great machine. ).,,, I’m building my raised beds out of concrete, 16 ft x 3 ft. And 2 ft tall. ..chamfered corners. 8 inch thick. Making 4 beds. This guy is livin a good life.
Love the idea to use Hardware cloth at
bottom of raised beds🥰
"You get what you pay for", my Dad's version that I inherited, "I'm too poor to buy cheap things."
Love it!
I’m totally stealing that saying! 👍
This is the motto I live buy! I save up money to buy quality product up-front so I don’t have to keep replacing things every couple of years...hopefully saving money in the long run.
My Dad said to buy the best because if you dont youll be going back later to buy it anyway.
LOVE LOVE LOVE these shows. Always learning something new! Thank you!
Doug, you're a great teacher, I got some very useful tips. I've always want to try to grow veggies in a raised bed but wasn't sure how to go about it, your explanation and logical method has encouraged me to try....okay, okay....to at least THINK about trying....hahaha
The folks that brought the frankenvirus currently...have also quietly announced a food shortage in the near future....watching the daily NOAA satellite weather site one can see that THEY are making that a possibility...I know the weather has been cooler and much windier than normally here....My Doug and Stacy "SunOven Special" has finally arrived but I'm afraid the wind is delaying my first "test-drive"...crossing fingers and saying a prayer that I'll be able to utilize God's sunshine gift before my farmer's market vegetables go bad...I think you and Stacy live a noble life...take care and thank you
An easier to sqaure corners is to use the 3, 4, 5....on a corner measure 3 units on one end board then 4 units on the adjoining board then connect those two with 5 units (units equal feet) so you make a three four five triangle
We are putting our raised beds in today. However, we live a the top of a mountain and our beds are 6'× 3' and we are using pine. Everything has gone up in price so the pine was our only choice. Thank you for all the great information about building raised beds. We woke up to snow last Sunday and we agree it has been crazy weather this year. Have an amazing Easter.
You can use cinderblocks or not what about a dollar and a half apiece to make your raise beds just a thought
I love to tour old homes from 1800's even Plymouth Plantation and St. Augustine FL, some late 1600's. I can remember how happy Mom was when a bread truck finally made it out as far as our farm. She was in HEAVEN!
you mustn decide if u do "inside" or "outside" , u can alternate in and out and get a square. next row other way around...this may add some stability...especially for higher beds
Thanks for teaching me how to improve the soil in my raised beds!!
As my Mama use to say, “You don’t want those raised beds all whompy jawed!!!” 🤣🤣🤣
We love raising our own food!!!!!
I grow all my potatoes and sweet potatoes with just grass cuttings and rotted leaves as abed and some covering the chits, this negates any digging and when you need some of the potatoes you just take what you need and replace the rotted grass cuttings
Do you make piles without a structure?
Do you alternate and layer the grass cuttings and leaves?
@@LargeFamilyHomesteaders Yes, you can. I experimented planting some in rotten leaves last year.
I've grown in composted manure and a heavy layer of straw. Had great yields.
Yes--did that growing in tires that were discarded along the road where we lived in Panama, Central America. Ran the mower over the leaves, filled the tires up with them, planted the sweet potatoes, and in spite of all the rain during rainy season had incredible sweet potatoes that were the envy of the neighborhood!
Our weather here in Virginia is still cold, had a frost last night and calling again for tonight! We had some warm weather a week ago, but we cant even start seedlings, the weather is not reliable anymore, up and down. You and your wife are a huge insperation, you guys are the best!!!!! Blessings
Secret sauce? Blessings to you and Stacy from sunny Anchorage, Alaska!
Hi, neighbor! Anchorage here, too!