That SunCalc gadget reminds me of the old joke about the "Polish Weather Stone". You get this flat stone and put it outside your window. If it's wet, it means it's raining or it has rained; if it's dry and it's not night, it means it's sunny out; if it's got snow on it, it means it snowed; if it's not there, it means it's been very windy and has blown away; if you can't see it, it's probably night time.
that's exactly true though. my wife is the one that watches the weather. I asked her how's the weather going to be she looks at her cell phone and says the weather Rock says it's cloudy. going to be hot today.
If someone can't tell if they have sun or shade in their garden they shouldn't garden. I go outside and take a picture of my garden every 3 weeks starting in April until September. Its easy to know when and where the sun will be throughout the growing season.
Im glad I found you. I’ve learned so much from you. I don't use fertilizer in my garden. I prep the beds in Spring before planting. I use manure, amendments and potting mix with my soil. I never need to fertilize. Everything grows beautifully. If i do see a plant struggling I will use organic fertilizer but haven't needed it.
@@666bruv I put cardboard on top of the weeds in my ongoing "Zen" garden. Then I put plastic on top of the cardboard and either real rock (if I can get it for free) or fake rock (which I make by covering those blasted foam containers that contain meat or fish and aren't recyclable over with concrete) on top of the plastic. In certain areas I have planted evergreen bushes, trees, etc. So far, it seems to work, but it's a very slow process as the area is about 1,250 square feet and I'm slow making the fake rock. I make fake rock because real rock is expensive! $60 for half a pallet!
New to gardening 👩🌾 been watching tons of RUclips videos on compost, fertilisers, you name it. I’ve watched so many my head is busmzzing 😂 thank the lord I found your channel with all the hints, tips and straight talking. It will save me a fortune in the future. Thank you 🙏🏻 ❤
Not sure if they sell this fish fertiliser overseas but in Australia it is great and is an Australian product. Charlie Carp. It is made from the introduced Carp that are descimating inland waterways. They are actively fished by everyone and usually just thrown up on the bank, so they usually go to waste. But the Charlie Carp company has at least put them to use. I also find that using a fish emulsion helps to stop transplant shock.
I had the idea to do this with carp in the US Midwest years ago. Figured you might even be able to get some government grants. Don’t know if anyone in the US is doing this yet. Good to know it’s working in other countries.
I agree with much of what you say but I will defend landscape fabric for some applications, the one you mention that landscapers use it for keeping it neat for a couple years, I'd say that's a pretty good application and secondly I used at the bottom of my planters over a bed of stone then filled it with soil, the fabric keeps the soil out of my stones with are there as a wicking bed, so it works here too. Cheers and happy gardening everyone.
Thank you so much for your common (or not so common) sense. I will never buy fish emulsion ever again - I assumed it was made from waste or by-products. Totally unconscionable.
Sir I agree with you about using manure or better yet homemade compost in place of store bought fertilizer. However, I do tend to keep at least a bottle of 5.1.1 fish emulsion liquid fert around for my transplants. It’s enough of a nitrogen boost to save some weaker plants or even help prevent shock. And I dilute it way down so lasts many years in my use case. it does end up being a good investment for that purpose. Another thing to mention about using manure in place of fish fertilizer is that you should be diligent about using cheaper cow or horse manure, as they may contain traces of round up, which is a complete nightmare for backyard gardeners. The chance is low but I prefer to use compost instead of manure.
I just spent the afternoon ripping out weed barrier under 3-5 inches of soil and roots. Probably got about 10% of it out and it filled up my entire garbage can. Ugghhhh! It. Is. Terrible!
2nd vids of yours I've not I'm here forever. Thanks for your inputs and knowledge. I'm here forever. How about a vids on some of the most reliable things/equipment/tools a gardener should have
Those weed barrier cloths are the worst! I have them all over my yard because the people who lived here before me put them in. They are so annoying when I'm trying to plant things.
I love my Felco handheld bypass pruners and have 2 pair since 2000. Consumer Reports at the time did a comparison and rated Felco products the highest. They are expensive but they last. I gave Felcos as presents that year and everyone loved them (including my sister, a Master Gardener).
My Dad liked to fish, because, well, it gave him a few hours away from my mother. 😂 My mother liked eating fish and would save the guts for the garden. I learned both skills from them. Dog rocks, eh? I initially thought these were calcified dog scat😂😂 No, I just pick up after my dogs water the lawn to dilute urine. No need for any electronic devices either. I have, however, used weed barriers, but you're right about weeds growing after a couple of years.
love this video! i just found a new tool that im over the moon about! yall- get yourself a pitchfork thats curved and at least 15" wide- its SO MUCH EASIER to move and spread mulch with!!!
I absolutely love your videos. I learn something new each time. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and time with me/us. As a new gardener, I appreciate your all your tips, tricks and wisdom.
In Australia most fish-based fertilizer is made using invasive European Carp that is a pest in our waterways, profits go towards further removal and control of that species, which in-turn, helps protect and repair damaged ecosystems.
I can’t remember the name of the company but there is one that was just a fishing company and realized how much they were wasting by dumping the fish they couldn’t sell and started making fertilizer as a side gig.
When I was a kid growing up in Tasmania my mum used to collect washed up seaweed hose it down then dry it out to put on the garden it was great fertiliser
Thanks! It appears to me that gardening is often driven by fads. . I’ve seen fads come and go. Most recently my region has become fascinated by biochar. The claims make me very suspicious. I’d love to hear your opinion on its use.
Just an additive for soil once annoculated houses a place for soil life to live. Your soil already has all it needs. Just make compost from YOUR garden and provide long term nutriment to keep your soil alive. Never let soil dry or it dies. All you need is compost and water for a garden. Buying products makes companies rich not you. Your whole goal is to grow food sustainably and save money. So don't buy anything. Its all a gimmick to make companies richer and this hurts your pocket. We use food scraps ( composted for a year), aged chicken manure (1 year old), egg shells ( once added crushed into a fine powder last almost forever) , leaf mold from the forest and things seem to grow well if watered properly.
From what I understand it is an additive if your soil lacks something or your soil is too acidic. If your soil, like mine is alkaline bio char will make it more so.
Oh my word…that dog rock thing REALLY made me chuckle. 🤭 WOW. Also I will attest to the weed-blocking fabric just being inconvenient trash that you’ll have to pull from your landscape for YEARS to come…I’ve basically inherited some that came with the property. Fun fun fun.
When it comes to fish fertilizer it makes no sense to buy in commercial products, but if one can access fish waste through their own fishing hobby, that of their friends and families, or through local fish markets it makes a lot of sense to make one’s own Fish Amino Acids (FAA) as it is relatively cheap, converts a waste stream into a source for high quality plant food, and provides plants with a source of readily available Nitrogen in the form of ready to use amino acids instead of in the form of simpler molecules that plants would have to expend energy in converting into amino acids.
I put all the fish skins from my consumption of fish into my compost barrels, along with vegetable waste, egg shells (yes they do rot, but it takes about a year), and other stuff.
I was having issues with tuber formation on fall/winter/spring turnips, carrots, beets, radish etc in Louisiana but I have no topsoil and have been slowly creating it over 2 years with sandy soil from a wash, forest debris and grass clippings. I tested turnip transplants in a small mound of soil and added organic fertilizer with 20 microbes and small amounts of bone meal until tubers formed then repeated this (but only just enough) in the rest of my garden. I also used this as part of my soil creation mixture around my fruit trees.
Weeds grew right through my weed barrier. Weeds love it! Also, next year I'm going to use my own compost tea for fertilizer. We've used all sorts of store bought only to have that expense.
So happy I happened upon you channel! I love gardening novice at best:} Been on this property 29 years, 1/3 acre corner lot west facing front yard back yard east with good southern exposure (heat); planted trees when we purchased the property (well still paying in it lol) my dilemma front and north facing yard sand and hard clay mix; the two remaining trees in front yard are 15yr old Maple and 5yr old seedless poplar...both beautiful growing well at this point in time; dilemma, grass has dyed and still dying in the mid section between the trees from the front of the house to the sidewalk; I don't have the bucks $$ to spend on sod, grass seed for the zone will not grow, this section now all sand~! :{ needless to say being on a corner lot...not pleasing to he eye~!~ anyway at 72 I am not digging as much, nor bending to do anything just need to know...what I can spread on the area to get the micro organism's back? Sorry this is so long hope you have time to respond!~ I live on the front range of Colorado suburb of Denver. Thanks!~
Great video! If only I'd heard it 8 years ago before I covered my yard in that Landscaping fabric. Now it is such a hassle with weeds growing on top of it and roots through it. Also those little seed starting pellets. I thought the gauze was some kind of paper not a plastic product. But now that I see years later it hasn't degraded I realize it's plastic.
I have always tried the tried and true method. Honestly, I loved this video because it made me realize that I ❤ your content even more and that most of my neighbours were wrong all along.😂😂 Thank you so much!
Regarding blossom and rot on tomatoes. I understand it's a watering issue. So I had a couple tomatoes with blossom end rot and I changed the watering for those plants and the rest of the tomatoes came out fine!
I love your videos. I use 5 oz plastic cups, I poke holes into the bottoms for my seedings. They're cheap and the plastic is food grade if that actually really means anything. Most of the plastic planters are not made of food grade plastic.
If you ever want to stop using plastic then you can try using toilet rolls. It's free, saves one more thing out of the landfill, you can plant them out directly into the garden without messing with your seedling and their roots, when you bury them they break down and provide excellent worm food. N.B. this must be the plain brown cardboard rolls. Anything with white or other colors or that feels like it has a coating on it is a no no.
@@EmpressG I did try that, but all the seedlings molded. Obviously, I over watered, but even on a second try, the seedlings didn't germinate. I may give it another try, but I can't afford to lose my seedlings.
@@mudpiemudpie785 Not sure of your watering method, but what I found easiest was to put the rolls in a container and bottom water. So you have the seedlings in soil in the rolls - first give the seedlings a good drink overhead making sure the cardboard is saturated, then let them sit in the remnants of the water...which should be no more than a couple millimeters or so. Thereafter just put a bit of water in the container itself when it's dry and it should wick the water up keeping perfect moisture. Try it out with some seeds you don't care about first to get the hang of it. Something out of a pumpkin/watermelon/tomato that you are prepping for a meal so essentially it's kitchen waste and you're not out of pocket. You can also use this method to regrow kitchen scraps like scallion/green onion as well although I personally prefer the self-watering planter. That's another topic though! 🤣
@@mudpiemudpie785 Hmmm. I'm not sure what happened. I use this method a lot and have never had any probs. Tiny roots even grow thru the sides which makes the plants super strong in the end. I'd stsy stick to what works for you in that case 😊
I just discovered your channel and I am really enjoying it. I live in Guatamala and I want to start a grass seed farm growing both full sun and shade tolerant grass and I would like to do it without any pesticides (for ovious reasons) or ammonia fertilizers (they tend to explode a little to often in the tropics) liquid NH3 is ok but hard to get here. Any advice or books you recommend would be very much appriceated. Robert
I can buy 25kg of blood, fish & bonemeal for the same price as 25kg of 7-7-7 artificial fertiliser & see no difference in the results (3 years of container grown potatoes). Cheap bypass secateurs are far worse than cheap anvil pruners & at least the anvil version will work if kept sharp, whereas sloppy bypass kind will _never_ make clean cuts. I have Felco #7 bypass & some ancient CK anvil secateurs. For anything except doing a _lot_ of pruning, where getting blisters is a real possibility I'll go with the old Anvil ones. BUT I keep both sharp (most people don't know how to sharpen tools, or even realise the necessity). Other than that, I agree with all the rest.
Instead of the Peat Pots, I am using the "Cardboard Fiber" egg cartons, and filing them with a nice homemade potting soil. Another problem with "Fish Fertilizer" in our soil is that it is no good to put any meat product in my mulch pile. If you want Microbes in your soil, just feed the soil. What REALLY need to know is, "How do I treat Silver Leaf Blight?"
I’m not sure how you got fish fertilizer to cost $32/100 grams of nitrogen. 1 gallon of water is 3,785.41 grams. At 5% N this would be 189.25 grams of nitrogen per gallon. At $10/gallon, I get $5.28 per 100 grams, not $32. Of course, that’s much more expensive than Scotts, but about 1/6th of your calculation. Am I missing something? Thanks.
I do appreciate your expertise and your advice to us on useless garden implements. But I disagree about Alaska fish fertilizer. They claim to use fish by-product (guts, heads, etc.) or by-catch fish. If true I see no harm in it. This product, applied once monthly to cole crops (along with regular watering) that I have planted in soil enriched with compost, does a great job. Manure has to cure first lest you burn your plants. For a rather small (192 sq feet) garden that I plant, fish fertilizer is great for all young fruiting plants and all cole crops. I lay off the fish fertilizer once my tomatoes bring flowers. And I don't grow tomatoes in the same season I grow cole crops.
On superthrive you've only addressed the vitamin B1, but there are other things in it. I get good results from it, I suspect that might be because of the IBA component. But saying that I haven't tried applying IBA by itself to any potted plants, only in tissue culture.
Have you done a true comparison ? Otherwise it's like saying the ones I repotted on Monday did better than the ones I did on Sunday so I will do all repotting on a Monday!
YES, consider the whole resource and environmental cost of gadgets and anything you think k you need, so consider paper napkins, energy, and resources that go into raw materials,then plastic packaging, then cardboard boxes, then the environmental cost of transporting to a store you can by it from....or use reusable cotton napkins that last forever. I sure do like your line of thinking
Totally agree about bone meal in North America. In Australia we have a fish fertiliser product called CharliCarp made from introduced feral species of fish Shocked - I didn’t think the other fish based products were from fresh fish! Eye opener - makes total sense in hindsight and is quite shocking
I have two items i disagree somewhat. The anvil pruners qctually are useful, or at least maybe it's my anvil pruner, which is really useful. I have an anvil pruner with 3 stage lever. Basically, you just squeeze the pruner 3 times to make a cut. I use it for slithly larger branches that are a bit too big for normal small pruners. My anvil pruners aren't really able to cut small branches either way. The other item is the landscape fabric. I'm ba farmer and i use a platic sheet which isnt completly solid to line the outside of my Farm under the edges because it makes it easier to manage the edges and weeds. Now i wonder what your opinion is on using the platic fabric in this setting. I haven't really had a problem with weeds in those areas, but I've only installed the fabric about a year ago. Ocasionally, a poky weed pokes thru the plastic, and i just pick it out. But it does save me a ton of time on weeding that area.
Iowa State University, extension and outreach: Blossom end rot is caused by a calcium deficiency in developing fruit. Fluctuating soil moisture due to overwatering or drought, high nitrogen fertilization, and root pruning during cultivation are conducive to blossom end rot. You are partially correct.
…and that fluctuation is what causes calcium mobility problems. I live on what was a huge inland sea bed and our soil calcium levels are off the charts yet we still have end rot. I’ve found the best cure is to grow resistant varieties and of course get the water right.
Mycorrhizal inoculants definitely do work and they definitely have a place in high value indoor crops, particularly in hydroponics since the medias tend to be inert. I'd agree with you that adding mycorrhiza in a large garden may not be the best use of your money given the wealth of life found outdoors and the low likelihood of any non natives surviving in your soil in any sort of dominant form. Indoor growing tends to use more inert medias and it is quite easy to replicate this yourself. There was a noticeable difference in density, branching and even structure of the roots when I used a high end microbe inoculant. Your comment regarding some manufacturers being less than honest is a good one but that should just reinforce the belief that you should look for those honest companies cause their products actually do provide a value to certain facets of the industry. Just because it may not be cost effective or even required in a garden in the first place does not mean the entire product category is snake oil. A more genuine criticism would have been the ridiculous cost of these products, particularly when as you say, some of them do not bother to consistently test their product to make sure they have the advertised CFUs. I am not blind to the consumerism being created here and I see the ridiculousness in the application rates they sometimes recommend but that does not stop you from using your head, using the product once on the root zone and just keep feeding that one inoculation through your nutrient solutions throughout the entire grow cycle. It really does make a difference, in my opinion.
Are the mycorrhizal inoculants in MaxiGro powder? That`s all I use because it`s easy. I do have a large 20 lb pack of the 3 hydro Masterblend but never bothered with it. I may use it in my outdoor garden.
@@baneverything5580 Nope, those are simply water soluble nutrients. If you have an outdoor garden which you amend with compost, there is zero need to buy microbe inoculants. These products are meant for high value indoor crops that uses inert media. Good garden soil is the opposite of inert.
Hi. Thank you for the video. Very entertaining and very true. There's a lot of gimmicky stuff out there that's just trying to make a quick buck. If you want organic fertilizer like you said, use manure. It's cheaper. That's what they use back in the old days when there was no chemical fertilizer. I just subscribed. I'm not sure if you have any videos in your series where you looked into debunking some common internet gardening hacks. That would be very interesting. Have a good one
I agree w/all, took decades and $ to learn some of these the hard way 😂 (hmmm, why don’t I have a RUclips garden channel? Good for you and thanks for sharing).
6:30 The only function that works alright on those cheapo analog green meters is the moist detection. It's not accurate at all with how wet something is, but it does always read if something is wet or not and that's all that I need it for. A long probe that basically just tells me if something is wet or dry.
Sun and shade move constantly in my garden, as the sun travels across the sky. Plants grow and change the shade levels. Even years of observation won't get a sun calendar exactly right.
Here in oz you can get a Carp based fish fertiliser. They're a massive ecological pest, imported, of course. So that's a good product to use. It's all I use. The rest is compost, chook poo and seaweed emulsion.
Make your own fish amino acids (FAA). If you fish you can use the fish scraps from your own catch, or alternatively you can ask around for scraps from anyone you know who fishes, or from local fish markets…there’s plenty of how to videos on RUclips to get you started on the process, but it basically amounts to using the osmotic pressure exerted on the fish by sugar crystals to extract the liquid while simultaneously moderating microbial metabolisms thus allowing for a slow fermentation process to break the fish down into a bioavailable form…the basic process is identical to that of making culinary fish sauce, but using sugar to supply the osmotic pressure instead of salt. The best part about it (aside from using a locally available waste stream to produce high quality plant food of course) is that it has no stench, and can actually smell pleasant, funky, but pleasant (though that is probably subjective)
What are your thoughts on putting dead rats, gophers or squirrels in a planting hole underneath a small 1” tall potted tree? I’m in sand and wonder if it would leave a big air pocket that would dry the roots after it decomposed. I’m planting trees today. I own a pecan orchard and the squirrels and crows rob me every year. They take at least 50% of my crop. I’ve got a squirrel I shot today and a gopher I trapped today that I was going to throw in the holes. I know fish are really good but what about the air pocket left behind afterwards.
Most things rot slowly and as the bodies decompose the soil above and around the corpses will fill any void. Matter does not disappear it simply changes into something else.
Be selective about reusing plastic pots until they wear out (1:35) if you are concerned about plastics and contamination. Even some premium pots can turn out to be made of materials that release nanoplastics or styrene &c. Nursery pots are frequently made of number 5 plastic, which (while very safe at first) should not be reused after they become worn. Stay away from pots made of number 6 plastics all together if you do any planting in a greenhouse or on a heat mat, or anywhere the pots will become heated; they will leach styrene. Of course, not everyone will be concerned about this, but since this was offered as blanket advice for avoiding plastic waste and contamination, I'll suggest you make sure you are checking your containers first and ideally choosing either a 2, or a 5 and using them for less long.
The dog rocks actually do help with female dogs. The problem is most people aren’t reading the instructions. You have to let them sit in water for 4-6 hours before you give it to your dog. Now, I will say it does not totally work but helps dilute the pee. To eliminate the burn you’ll have to regularly water the areas your dog pees in. My test consisted of the following 1) give regular water out of the tap. results: pee spots with dead grass. 2) do not follow instructions and put rocks in bowl. Same results a 1 3) follow the instructions and giving our dog water without watering. result: very light pee spots. with partially dead grass. 4) test 3 with regular watering. results: less noticeable pee spots. I am a lawn nut so it pains me to see the pee spots from our female dog so i have tried everything under the sun and it seems a combination of soaking the rocks for long periods of time before giving water to your dog in conjunction with regularly water the area where the dog pees is where I am seeing the best results. Now, you bring up a good point. Can I just use regular rocks….I’d have to try.
Sorry have to diagree with anvil pruners there my go to pruners they give a nice clean cut ive got 4 bypass and 1 anvil and always reach for the anvils i only use felco pruners.
Thank you for encouraging everyone to garden in a more sustainable fashion.
For pushing Billy Gates propaganda *
Dragging gardeners into the scientific age, one video at a time. Thank you, Sir.
That SunCalc gadget reminds me of the old joke about the "Polish Weather Stone". You get this flat stone and put it outside your window. If it's wet, it means it's raining or it has rained; if it's dry and it's not night, it means it's sunny out; if it's got snow on it, it means it snowed; if it's not there, it means it's been very windy and has blown away; if you can't see it, it's probably night time.
lol!
that's exactly true though. my wife is the one that watches the weather. I asked her how's the weather going to be she looks at her cell phone and says the weather Rock says it's cloudy. going to be hot today.
Considering my polish heritage it’s right in! 😂
If someone can't tell if they have sun or shade in their garden they shouldn't garden. I go outside and take a picture of my garden every 3 weeks starting in April until September. Its easy to know when and where the sun will be throughout the growing season.
common sense is free.
I consider myself an experienced gardener, but I’ve been fooled more than once, it seems. Thanks for your straight talk!
I love this. I have been researching this particular garden by standing in it at different times of the day to see if it has sun.
The US has an invasive fish the Asian carp, you can legally catch as much as you want, perfect fish for fertilizer. It’s a win win business idea.
we have carp it in Australia .
Im glad I found you. I’ve learned so much from you. I don't use fertilizer in my garden. I prep the beds in Spring before planting. I use manure, amendments and potting mix with my soil. I never need to fertilize. Everything grows beautifully. If i do see a plant struggling I will use organic fertilizer but haven't needed it.
I use cardboard boxes stripped of tape, glues and staples instead of landscapers fabric. Worms love it.
Sorry, Rob states that cardboard doesn't work. So you must stop wasting your time
Question….stent there toxic substances used in the manufacture of CBBs??
It works. Cardboard really helps with the weeds
@@sgmahabir it does,,but rob thinks it doesn't, but rob may have actually never tried it, which seems like a common approach with him
@@666bruv I put cardboard on top of the weeds in my ongoing "Zen" garden. Then I put plastic on top of the cardboard and either real rock (if I can get it for free) or fake rock (which I make by covering those blasted foam containers that contain meat or fish and aren't recyclable over with concrete) on top of the plastic. In certain areas I have planted evergreen bushes, trees, etc. So far, it seems to work, but it's a very slow process as the area is about 1,250 square feet and I'm slow making the fake rock. I make fake rock because real rock is expensive! $60 for half a pallet!
You are doing a great job. We have been fooled by big business to buy all this crap.
😳😬😵💫way too often life seems like a constant grind of buy work eat sleep but buy buy 🥴
if you educate yourself on how nature works you will never need a device.
I bought a soil tester meter and you are correct - it was a waste of money. Thank you.
New to gardening 👩🌾 been watching tons of RUclips videos on compost, fertilisers, you name it. I’ve watched so many my head is busmzzing 😂 thank the lord I found your channel with all the hints, tips and straight talking. It will save me a fortune in the future. Thank you 🙏🏻 ❤
I would like to know how you would deal with moles in the yard and flower beds?
if you can find crown imperial flower bulbs for a bed buy them they are a great mole repellent moth balls work to some extent also.
Not sure if they sell this fish fertiliser overseas but in Australia it is great and is an Australian product. Charlie Carp.
It is made from the introduced Carp that are descimating inland waterways. They are actively fished by everyone and usually just thrown up on the bank, so they usually go to waste. But the Charlie Carp company has at least put them to use.
I also find that using a fish emulsion helps to stop transplant shock.
Swiftgro
I had the idea to do this with carp in the US Midwest years ago. Figured you might even be able to get some government grants. Don’t know if anyone in the US is doing this yet. Good to know it’s working in other countries.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
I agree with much of what you say but I will defend landscape fabric for some applications, the one you mention that landscapers use it for keeping it neat for a couple years, I'd say that's a pretty good application and secondly I used at the bottom of my planters over a bed of stone then filled it with soil, the fabric keeps the soil out of my stones with are there as a wicking bed, so it works here too. Cheers and happy gardening everyone.
Bless you plant man
Thank you so much for your common (or not so common) sense. I will never buy fish emulsion ever again - I assumed it was made from waste or by-products. Totally unconscionable.
I am buying for $4 AUD at my hardware store already composted cow manure in 25 litre bags.
Sir I agree with you about using manure or better yet homemade compost in place of store bought fertilizer. However, I do tend to keep at least a bottle of 5.1.1 fish emulsion liquid fert around for my transplants. It’s enough of a nitrogen boost to save some weaker plants or even help prevent shock. And I dilute it way down so lasts many years in my use case. it does end up being a good investment for that purpose. Another thing to mention about using manure in place of fish fertilizer is that you should be diligent about using cheaper cow or horse manure, as they may contain traces of round up, which is a complete nightmare for backyard gardeners. The chance is low but I prefer to use compost instead of manure.
Those jiffy pots are truly a joke, tried them once, never again😊
I just spent the afternoon ripping out weed barrier under 3-5 inches of soil and roots. Probably got about 10% of it out and it filled up my entire garbage can. Ugghhhh! It. Is. Terrible!
2nd vids of yours I've not I'm here forever. Thanks for your inputs and knowledge. I'm here forever. How about a vids on some of the most reliable things/equipment/tools a gardener should have
Those weed barrier cloths are the worst! I have them all over my yard because the people who lived here before me put them in. They are so annoying when I'm trying to plant things.
me too and stones. the weeds grow on top just like the video stated.
The Dog Rocks work! You just have to use them correctly, when the dog pees on your plants... Throw the rock at him.
😂😂😂
Such good common sense. Thank you. Just stumbled upon your video. Subscribed.
I have been using my Felcos for 40 years now. Inherited my moms and use them too. Love them. Very interesting, thank you.
I love my Felco handheld bypass pruners and have 2 pair since 2000. Consumer Reports at the time did a comparison and rated Felco products the highest. They are expensive but they last. I gave Felcos as presents that year and everyone loved them (including my sister, a Master Gardener).
the most useful information for a beginner living in europe - thank you
My Dad liked to fish, because, well, it gave him a few hours away from my mother. 😂 My mother liked eating fish and would save the guts for the garden. I learned both skills from them.
Dog rocks, eh? I initially thought these were calcified dog scat😂😂 No, I just pick up after my dogs water the lawn to dilute urine. No need for any electronic devices either. I have, however, used weed barriers, but you're right about weeds growing after a couple of years.
Thank you so much for bringing attention to the dangers of fish fertilizer. People have no idea the environmental impact that it has!
love this video! i just found a new tool that im over the moon about! yall- get yourself a pitchfork thats curved and at least 15" wide- its SO MUCH EASIER to move and spread mulch with!!!
I absolutely love your videos. I learn something new each time. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and time with me/us. As a new gardener, I appreciate your all your tips, tricks and wisdom.
Thanks for the words of wisdom to help us enjoy our gardens more by spending less $$. Fun and interesting as well as useful facts.
I always assumed they make fish fertilizer from waste. smh
So did I.
In Australia most fish-based fertilizer is made using invasive European Carp that is a pest in our waterways, profits go towards further removal and control of that species, which in-turn, helps protect and repair damaged ecosystems.
I can’t remember the name of the company but there is one that was just a fishing company and realized how much they were wasting by dumping the fish they couldn’t sell and started making fertilizer as a side gig.
When I was a kid growing up in Tasmania my mum used to collect washed up seaweed hose it down then dry it out to put on the garden it was great fertiliser
Seasol is a seaweed solution made in Tasmania
Awesome information. Thank you 👍
Thanks! It appears to me that gardening is often driven by fads. . I’ve seen fads come and go. Most recently my region has become fascinated by biochar. The claims make me very suspicious. I’d love to hear your opinion on its use.
He have videos on it. And his website too.
Just an additive for soil once annoculated houses a place for soil life to live. Your soil already has all it needs. Just make compost from YOUR garden and provide long term nutriment to keep your soil alive. Never let soil dry or it dies. All you need is compost and water for a garden. Buying products makes companies rich not you. Your whole goal is to grow food sustainably and save money. So don't buy anything. Its all a gimmick to make companies richer and this hurts your pocket.
We use food scraps ( composted for a year), aged chicken manure (1 year old), egg shells ( once added crushed into a fine powder last almost forever) , leaf mold from the forest and things seem to grow well if watered properly.
From what I understand it is an additive if your soil lacks something or your soil is too acidic. If your soil, like mine is alkaline bio char will make it more so.
Biochar was used by some gardeners to help with grazon contamination.
Really great video - on what to buy & not to buy - thanks so much …we need to know what to buy ….😊
Oh my word…that dog rock thing REALLY made me chuckle. 🤭 WOW. Also I will attest to the weed-blocking fabric just being inconvenient trash that you’ll have to pull from your landscape for YEARS to come…I’ve basically inherited some that came with the property. Fun fun fun.
Us too, same story. It's the reason I'll never buy the stuff.
When it comes to fish fertilizer it makes no sense to buy in commercial products, but if one can access fish waste through their own fishing hobby, that of their friends and families, or through local fish markets it makes a lot of sense to make one’s own Fish Amino Acids (FAA) as it is relatively cheap, converts a waste stream into a source for high quality plant food, and provides plants with a source of readily available Nitrogen in the form of ready to use amino acids instead of in the form of simpler molecules that plants would have to expend energy in converting into amino acids.
I put all the fish skins from my consumption of fish into my compost barrels, along with vegetable waste, egg shells (yes they do rot, but it takes about a year), and other stuff.
I was having issues with tuber formation on fall/winter/spring turnips, carrots, beets, radish etc in Louisiana but I have no topsoil and have been slowly creating it over 2 years with sandy soil from a wash, forest debris and grass clippings. I tested turnip transplants in a small mound of soil and added organic fertilizer with 20 microbes and small amounts of bone meal until tubers formed then repeated this (but only just enough) in the rest of my garden. I also used this as part of my soil creation mixture around my fruit trees.
Thank you for telling me about the fish fertilizer
Weeds grew right through my weed barrier. Weeds love it! Also, next year I'm going to use my own compost tea for fertilizer. We've used all sorts of store bought only to have that expense.
So happy I happened upon you channel! I love gardening novice at best:} Been on this property 29 years, 1/3 acre corner lot west facing front yard back yard east with good southern exposure (heat); planted trees when we purchased the property (well still paying in it lol) my dilemma front and north facing yard sand and hard clay mix; the two remaining trees in front yard are 15yr old Maple and 5yr old seedless poplar...both beautiful growing well at this point in time; dilemma, grass has dyed and still dying in the mid section between the trees from the front of the house to the sidewalk; I don't have the bucks $$ to spend on sod, grass seed for the zone will not grow, this section now all sand~! :{ needless to say being on a corner lot...not pleasing to he eye~!~ anyway at 72 I am not digging as much, nor bending to do anything just need to know...what I can spread on the area to get the micro organism's back? Sorry this is so long hope you have time to respond!~ I live on the front range of Colorado suburb of Denver. Thanks!~
Thank-you, I'm going to go out right now and enjoy my garden! Love your words of wisdom.
Bone meal is also rendered from highly medicated animals. I don't want those drugs in my organic garden.
Great video! If only I'd heard it 8 years ago before I covered my yard in that Landscaping fabric. Now it is such a hassle with weeds growing on top of it and roots through it. Also those little seed starting pellets. I thought the gauze was some kind of paper not a plastic product. But now that I see years later it hasn't degraded I realize it's plastic.
I have always tried the tried and true method. Honestly, I loved this video because it made me realize that I ❤ your content even more and that most of my neighbours were wrong all along.😂😂 Thank you so much!
Regarding blossom and rot on tomatoes. I understand it's a watering issue. So I had a couple tomatoes with blossom end rot and I changed the watering for those plants and the rest of the tomatoes came out fine!
Great video Gray, the failures and successes seemed to be equal. Well done
I love your videos. I use 5 oz plastic cups, I poke holes into the bottoms for my seedings. They're cheap and the plastic is food grade if that actually really means anything. Most of the plastic planters are not made of food grade plastic.
If you ever want to stop using plastic then you can try using toilet rolls. It's free, saves one more thing out of the landfill, you can plant them out directly into the garden without messing with your seedling and their roots, when you bury them they break down and provide excellent worm food. N.B. this must be the plain brown cardboard rolls. Anything with white or other colors or that feels like it has a coating on it is a no no.
@@EmpressG I did try that, but all the seedlings molded. Obviously, I over watered, but even on a second try, the seedlings didn't germinate. I may give it another try, but I can't afford to lose my seedlings.
@@mudpiemudpie785 Not sure of your watering method, but what I found easiest was to put the rolls in a container and bottom water.
So you have the seedlings in soil in the rolls - first give the seedlings a good drink overhead making sure the cardboard is saturated, then let them sit in the remnants of the water...which should be no more than a couple millimeters or so. Thereafter just put a bit of water in the container itself when it's dry and it should wick the water up keeping perfect moisture. Try it out with some seeds you don't care about first to get the hang of it. Something out of a pumpkin/watermelon/tomato that you are prepping for a meal so essentially it's kitchen waste and you're not out of pocket. You can also use this method to regrow kitchen scraps like scallion/green onion as well although I personally prefer the self-watering planter. That's another topic though! 🤣
@@EmpressG It was after that first watering when I saturated the cardboard that they promptly molded.
@@mudpiemudpie785 Hmmm. I'm not sure what happened. I use this method a lot and have never had any probs. Tiny roots even grow thru the sides which makes the plants super strong in the end. I'd stsy stick to what works for you in that case 😊
I just discovered your channel and I am really enjoying it. I live in Guatamala and I want to start a grass seed farm growing both full sun and shade tolerant grass and I would like to do it without any pesticides (for ovious reasons) or ammonia fertilizers (they tend to explode a little to often in the tropics) liquid NH3 is ok but hard to get here. Any advice or books you recommend would be very much appriceated.
Robert
Excellent keep it going this Info IS what WE need all the best Germany
very good. agreed.
what do you suggest for root knot nematodes?
Good question. I'd like to know also......
I can buy 25kg of blood, fish & bonemeal for the same price as 25kg of 7-7-7 artificial fertiliser & see no difference in the results (3 years of container grown potatoes).
Cheap bypass secateurs are far worse than cheap anvil pruners & at least the anvil version will work if kept sharp, whereas sloppy bypass kind will _never_ make clean cuts.
I have Felco #7 bypass & some ancient CK anvil secateurs. For anything except doing a _lot_ of pruning, where getting blisters is a real possibility I'll go with the old Anvil ones.
BUT I keep both sharp (most people don't know how to sharpen tools, or even realise the necessity).
Other than that, I agree with all the rest.
Thanks so much for all these eye-opening facts!! I'm changing my ways!
Instead of the Peat Pots, I am using the "Cardboard Fiber" egg cartons, and filing them with a nice homemade potting soil.
Another problem with "Fish Fertilizer" in our soil is that it is no good to put any meat product in my mulch pile.
If you want Microbes in your soil, just feed the soil.
What REALLY need to know is, "How do I treat Silver Leaf Blight?"
I’m not sure how you got fish fertilizer to cost $32/100 grams of nitrogen. 1 gallon of water is 3,785.41 grams. At 5% N this would be 189.25 grams of nitrogen per gallon. At $10/gallon, I get $5.28 per 100 grams, not $32. Of course, that’s much more expensive than Scotts, but about 1/6th of your calculation. Am I missing something? Thanks.
Thank you for your back to basics information
I do appreciate your expertise and your advice to us on useless garden implements. But I disagree about Alaska fish fertilizer. They claim to use fish by-product (guts, heads, etc.) or by-catch fish. If true I see no harm in it. This product, applied once monthly to cole crops (along with regular watering) that I have planted in soil enriched with compost, does a great job. Manure has to cure first lest you burn your plants. For a rather small (192 sq feet) garden that I plant, fish fertilizer is great for all young fruiting plants and all cole crops. I lay off the fish fertilizer once my tomatoes bring flowers. And I don't grow tomatoes in the same season I grow cole crops.
Wow, this is great. Very true about experience vs marketing
Now what 12 products we should buy?
Thanks for all the ideas
I have a ton of myco products but I use them for inside plants. I have seen good results.
On superthrive you've only addressed the vitamin B1, but there are other things in it. I get good results from it, I suspect that might be because of the IBA component. But saying that I haven't tried applying IBA by itself to any potted plants, only in tissue culture.
Well done & thanks!
how come the plants i use myco are 1/3 bigger ?
If it works keep using it.
Yah it’s noticeable for me that when I use myco for my first time up potting transplants, they get a huge boost in root growth.
Have you done a true comparison ? Otherwise it's like saying the ones I repotted on Monday did better than the ones I did on Sunday so I will do all repotting on a Monday!
@@jeanmcginlay2363I did. And it’s been a real difference.
But I wonder whether all mykorrhiza products are similar
YES, consider the whole resource and environmental cost of gadgets and anything you think k you need, so consider paper napkins, energy, and resources that go into raw materials,then plastic packaging, then cardboard boxes, then the environmental cost of transporting to a store you can by it from....or use reusable cotton napkins that last forever. I sure do like your line of thinking
Hummingbird feeders (about 10 ½ min in the video) Quit spraying for aphids as the birds love it.
Totally agree about bone meal in North America. In Australia we have a fish fertiliser product called CharliCarp made from introduced feral species of fish
Shocked - I didn’t think the other fish based products were from fresh fish! Eye opener - makes total sense in hindsight and is quite shocking
I have two items i disagree somewhat. The anvil pruners qctually are useful, or at least maybe it's my anvil pruner, which is really useful. I have an anvil pruner with 3 stage lever. Basically, you just squeeze the pruner 3 times to make a cut. I use it for slithly larger branches that are a bit too big for normal small pruners. My anvil pruners aren't really able to cut small branches either way.
The other item is the landscape fabric. I'm ba farmer and i use a platic sheet which isnt completly solid to line the outside of my
Farm under the edges because it makes it easier to manage the edges and weeds. Now i wonder what your opinion is on using the platic fabric in this setting. I haven't really had a problem with weeds in those areas, but I've only installed the fabric about a year ago. Ocasionally, a poky weed pokes thru the plastic, and i just pick it out. But it does save me a ton of time on weeding that area.
This is great. Thank you!
Iowa State University, extension and outreach: Blossom end rot is caused by a calcium deficiency in developing fruit. Fluctuating soil moisture due to overwatering or drought, high nitrogen fertilization, and root pruning during cultivation are conducive to blossom end rot.
You are partially correct.
…and that fluctuation is what causes calcium mobility problems. I live on what was a huge inland sea bed and our soil calcium levels are off the charts yet we still have end rot. I’ve found the best cure is to grow resistant varieties and of course get the water right.
Id be willing to bet your soil isn’t calcium deficient.. unless you grow in pots with soilless mix..
What else do they teach you at Silo Tech aka ISU?
I tried fish fertilizer ONCE - I had so many flies come to that bed, it was CRAZY! No more, no thank you! Thank you for confirming.
I bury whole carp in my veggie patch works so well
@@lewis5605 interesting! Maybe I’ll try that 🤔
@@dianesgardeninspiration bury at least a foot deep within months all that’s left is a few bones I do have heaps of worms in there as well
@@lewis5605 love it!
Mycorrhizal inoculants definitely do work and they definitely have a place in high value indoor crops, particularly in hydroponics since the medias tend to be inert. I'd agree with you that adding mycorrhiza in a large garden may not be the best use of your money given the wealth of life found outdoors and the low likelihood of any non natives surviving in your soil in any sort of dominant form. Indoor growing tends to use more inert medias and it is quite easy to replicate this yourself. There was a noticeable difference in density, branching and even structure of the roots when I used a high end microbe inoculant.
Your comment regarding some manufacturers being less than honest is a good one but that should just reinforce the belief that you should look for those honest companies cause their products actually do provide a value to certain facets of the industry. Just because it may not be cost effective or even required in a garden in the first place does not mean the entire product category is snake oil.
A more genuine criticism would have been the ridiculous cost of these products, particularly when as you say, some of them do not bother to consistently test their product to make sure they have the advertised CFUs. I am not blind to the consumerism being created here and I see the ridiculousness in the application rates they sometimes recommend but that does not stop you from using your head, using the product once on the root zone and just keep feeding that one inoculation through your nutrient solutions throughout the entire grow cycle. It really does make a difference, in my opinion.
Are the mycorrhizal inoculants in MaxiGro powder? That`s all I use because it`s easy. I do have a large 20 lb pack of the 3 hydro Masterblend but never bothered with it. I may use it in my outdoor garden.
@@baneverything5580 Nope, those are simply water soluble nutrients.
If you have an outdoor garden which you amend with compost, there is zero need to buy microbe inoculants. These products are meant for high value indoor crops that uses inert media. Good garden soil is the opposite of inert.
You do not need mycorhizal products in the garden just bits of old wood eg woodchip. The soil microbes soon find it.
@@jeanmcginlay2363 Kinda what I was saying there :p
@@jeanmcginlay2363 Exactly! I have found it loves pine chips, esp.
Weed fabric-guilty! Fish fertilizer-guilty! Anvil pruners-GUILTY!! 😅😢😅. Oh wait…bone meal-guilty! Lol
Hi. Thank you for the video. Very entertaining and very true. There's a lot of gimmicky stuff out there that's just trying to make a quick buck. If you want organic fertilizer like you said, use manure. It's cheaper. That's what they use back in the old days when there was no chemical fertilizer. I just subscribed. I'm not sure if you have any videos in your series where you looked into debunking some common internet gardening hacks. That would be very interesting. Have a good one
Thanks for the shearing 💐🎁🎁🎁🎁👍👑🙏
I agree w/all, took decades and $ to learn some of these the hard way 😂 (hmmm, why don’t I have a RUclips garden channel? Good for you and thanks for sharing).
I love all your info
The other problem with fish fertilizer is that it STINKS!!!
And the fishy flavor translates, or can translate, into the harvest.
You’re supposed to dilute it.
I planted Magic Possum Beans this year in Louisiana. They`re guaranteed!
Thank you for the video!
Great video! Thanks so much. 😊
Good to know that PH meters don't work, but what does? I need to test for my blueberries and I want blue hydrangeas.
6:30 The only function that works alright on those cheapo analog green meters is the moist detection. It's not accurate at all with how wet something is, but it does always read if something is wet or not and that's all that I need it for. A long probe that basically just tells me if something is wet or dry.
Love this video.
Sun and shade move constantly in my garden, as the sun travels across the sky. Plants grow and change the shade levels. Even years of observation won't get a sun calendar exactly right.
Blossom end rot drives me insane just need to water consistently
I'm from Australia and I've never heard of dog rocks 😂 I feel cheated. That said, we do use feral fish (Asian carp) for fish emulsion 👍
Excellent! Asian carp are an invasive species and using them for fish emulsion is a win-win!
Swift grow
@@backyardbanana looks good -- better than Charlie Carp?
Here in oz you can get a Carp based fish fertiliser. They're a massive ecological pest, imported, of course. So that's a good product to use. It's all I use. The rest is compost, chook poo and seaweed emulsion.
What is the alternate of fish hydroslate for making fungul compost tea ??
Make your own fish amino acids (FAA). If you fish you can use the fish scraps from your own catch, or alternatively you can ask around for scraps from anyone you know who fishes, or from local fish markets…there’s plenty of how to videos on RUclips to get you started on the process, but it basically amounts to using the osmotic pressure exerted on the fish by sugar crystals to extract the liquid while simultaneously moderating microbial metabolisms thus allowing for a slow fermentation process to break the fish down into a bioavailable form…the basic process is identical to that of making culinary fish sauce, but using sugar to supply the osmotic pressure instead of salt. The best part about it (aside from using a locally available waste stream to produce high quality plant food of course) is that it has no stench, and can actually smell pleasant, funky, but pleasant (though that is probably subjective)
Thank you Mr. P. 🌺💚🙃
What are your thoughts on putting dead rats, gophers or squirrels in a planting hole underneath a small 1” tall potted tree? I’m in sand and wonder if it would leave a big air pocket that would dry the roots after it decomposed. I’m planting trees today. I own a pecan orchard and the squirrels and crows rob me every year. They take at least 50% of my crop. I’ve got a squirrel I shot today and a gopher I trapped today that I was going to throw in the holes. I know fish are really good but what about the air pocket left behind afterwards.
Most things rot slowly and as the bodies decompose the soil above and around the corpses will fill any void. Matter does not disappear it simply changes into something else.
@@jeanmcginlay2363only fluid disappears pretty fast
Thank you for all the information!
Brilliant thank you.
Thank you for the common sense video! Glad you didn’t name anything I use. 😁😀
Same! 😜
practical and economical!
I bought manure a year ago. I need to learn how to use it and better yet I need to remember that I have it.
I believe you, thank you, wow savings and time .
Be selective about reusing plastic pots until they wear out (1:35) if you are concerned about plastics and contamination. Even some premium pots can turn out to be made of materials that release nanoplastics or styrene &c. Nursery pots are frequently made of number 5 plastic, which (while very safe at first) should not be reused after they become worn. Stay away from pots made of number 6 plastics all together if you do any planting in a greenhouse or on a heat mat, or anywhere the pots will become heated; they will leach styrene. Of course, not everyone will be concerned about this, but since this was offered as blanket advice for avoiding plastic waste and contamination, I'll suggest you make sure you are checking your containers first and ideally choosing either a 2, or a 5 and using them for less long.
The dog rocks actually do help with female dogs. The problem is most people aren’t reading the instructions. You have to let them sit in water for 4-6 hours before you give it to your dog. Now, I will say it does not totally work but helps dilute the pee. To eliminate the burn you’ll have to regularly water the areas your dog pees in.
My test consisted of the following
1) give regular water out of the tap. results: pee spots with dead grass.
2) do not follow instructions and put rocks in bowl. Same results a 1
3) follow the instructions and giving our dog water without watering. result: very light pee spots. with partially dead grass.
4) test 3 with regular watering. results: less noticeable pee spots.
I am a lawn nut so it pains me to see the pee spots from our female dog so i have tried everything under the sun and it seems a combination of soaking the rocks for long periods of time before giving water to your dog in conjunction with regularly water the area where the dog pees is where I am seeing the best results.
Now, you bring up a good point. Can I just use regular rocks….I’d have to try.
*you’ll have to regularly water the areas your dog pees in* = dilute the nitrogen from their pee right where it happens, thereby solving the problem!
Sorry have to diagree with anvil pruners there my go to pruners they give a nice clean cut ive got 4 bypass and 1 anvil and always reach for the anvils i only use felco pruners.
I agree. I find that the bypass slip off any stem that is vaguely tough...
@@jw4879Not if they are correctly sharpened.