I like how you display the description cards for each garden type as you mention them. It's a helpful summary that helps us understand the various garden methods.
It is very helpful. It's been a pleasure watching this wonderful project grow over the years and it's now to the point where we viewers can almost get "lost" in the scale of it. I'm so glad the project is continuing with such vigor!
Bruce, as always, you're an inspiration. Even to have taken the time to make this many plans and dreams for the future of your context is something. Best of luck this growing season. I'll be watching.
This is My ASMR...I really relax to the tone plus I enjoy great minds playing in the garden, I garden 20 to 30 hours per week...I love every second of it!
It’s good you have another person to help. This will be a big project. I’m just a little garden but try to follow some of your ideas. Especially having the garden as a distraction to what’s going on in the world 🙁. I am looking forward to your next video. 👍
It's funny how I completely forgot about a certain pandemic last summer. Autumn came and I was surprised to learn it was still a pandemic. (That's only slightly exaggerated.)
I think you have the backyard gardeners dream, though it could turn into a nightmare. More and more gardening space, expansion after expansion. Most home gardeners, ant least in US where I am have limited space. We all want more garden space and wish we could have more if it isnt available. I know my garden has expanded each year, though this year will be the last. I will have taken 1/3rd of my large backyard and turned it into garden. It will end up with a total of about 400'x25' along the south edge. To tell the truth its all I think I can take care of. I hope you are able to take care of the additions, and it doesnt become to much.
As always, I adore this series your channel and your work. It was shocking how much you accomplished as a solitary person and now that you have your helper I am absolutely amazed at what you two can accomplish. I'm exhausted thinking about what you have planned and I wish you the best. Very much looking forward to any videos that come out of all of it🌱
Wow! Good luck Bruce! You provide a lot of very useful info! Remember to take some time out for yourself and loved ones. Thanks for sharing your plans.
I'm so glad you have help. That's a lot of work for even two people. I don't know how you managed so much by yourself. I look forward to following along.
You are one of my favorite RUclipsrs! Always get right to the point and no rambling! I dream of having the time and money to do what you do, maybe someday. I hope you have a blessed growing season
i absolutely adore good garden experiments ! Let the fun begin! personally I have moved from onion sets to seeds for the last few years and really like it. As an aside I have a very large container into which i've planted onions...I always let those onions grow and go to see so I have a built in seed factory! Instead of letting some, which i've planted, go to seed. It's great.
Wow, Bruce, you and Chris have worked so hard on all of that, on top of everything else. The trials will be super exciting, especially the squash and the no-dig. I can't wait to see them. Good luck and sunshine to you, and at least we can forget this crazy world while thoroughly enjoying everything you do.
Hi Bruce and Christina wow! How exciting 👏. Certainly a great year to increase productivity. I wish you all the best and look forward to supporting and watching your developments. Great video 👍
I admire you commitment to expansion! I've promised myself, "NO NEW BEDS," this year. Instead, I'm focusing and taking better advantage of the area I've already developed and using a more carefully thought out, comprehensive plan. My approach is somewhere between the Simple and the No Dig gardens, while also trying to get two crops in succession out of several beds. My composting operation has also grown to the point where I need to be a bit more systematic about moving material through the process. Good luck with the new projects this year, Bruce!
I'm also drawn towards a combination of Simple and No Dig. Especially establishing new beds using the Simple method (squash), then transitioning to No Dig. Either directly in year 2, or after one season of digging/tilling. I'm also considering growing potatoes instead of squash for the first season, through mypex.
@@ximono I think the Simple to No-Dig transition is an interesting one. One of the reasons I like starting with the squash, is it can be fairly fool proof in dealign with the weeds (assuming decent weather), and makes the sheet composting quite efficient.
@@ximono Yes, I think in many cases it make more sense to do some serious digging the first year or two before transitioning to a "minimal digging" approach. I tend to start new beds with potatoes, since they will get a second "digging" at harvest time to help blend the soil components a bit more before leaving it to the bugs and roots.
@@fxm5715 I think that is possibly the best option in so many places. In some cases I think an initial 'Dowding' mulch of lots of compost the first season to clear all the growth of grasses/weeds. And then the second season, and perhaps again in the third, to dig it all in and clear out the debris and stones, and remove any serious compaction. Then revert to the 'minimal digging approach.
Thank you for telling us about your interesting and exciting ideas. I am thrilled to see how these new things work and how the family scale gardens prosper.
Right now I fing it very difficult not to be distracted by what's going on in the eastern part of Europe. Hats of too you with all the ideas and plans you have, it shall be interesting hearing about their progress.
Your channel will be my replacement/vicarious garden this season as we're selling our home & its 400 square foot (± 40 m²) organic vegetable plot this year. Hopefully upgrading to an old farm somewhere in New England with a lot more land. Anyway your very thoughtful approach(es) at the RED Gardens and all the food for thought you generate will be a strong influence when I start my farm next season. Thanks so much!
Thanks! A few more volunteers would help, in theory, but I find I don't have a lot of capacity for managing people, and keeping them busy and preventing them from messing up the explorations.
I've had really good luck with sweet corn starting it early in the greenhouse and transplanting later. Pollination and infestation and mold might be issues inside a poly tunnel or greenhouse. Not to mention the real estate. Still trying to get the hang of melons though I have had better results as the seasons come and go. Three sisters in a poly tunnel would be a neat undertaking.
Yeah, I figure the pollination and mould may be an issue in the polytunnel, but with our cool summers and occasional high winds, the protected microclimate will likely be more productive. I was thinking of trying the three sisters1!
@@REDGardens I still hand pollinate my corn. The high winds and soggy cool mornings plague most of the growing season here as well. Last year I got 2 full harvests of sweet corn. I try to get the earliest variety available. I got greedy and tried to get another crop of carrots. My timing was a bit off and my watermelon vines spent more time drying off than they should have. Every year trying not to repeat the previous years mistakes. This year is the year for some homegrown melons. Very good luck to you and the company you keep sir.
I don't know how you have the energy to take on what you do. There is not another gardening channel like yours. The comparisons on results are facinating. While some results are puzzling, it just proves how many different things can have an effect. I understand why mass food production relies on a practices to try to control or reduce as many variables as possible. That said, smaller operations are also essential to ensure on going plant diversity.
That’s a lot of land to manage without tools. You and your community are to be commended for your hard work. One suggestion I have on your no till covering. Instead of thick cardboard that takes maybe years to fully decompose try the roll paper they sell at paint stores. The one sheet thickness will last only a few months long enough to kill the weeds under it. I’ve known one person who got theirs free from the local newspaper. When they near the run of a daily print they may have a partial roll too little for the next run but plenty for your needs. Let me know what you think of the idea.
Sounds like an interesting option. With the scutch grass and other weeds I have, I prefer the covering of cardboard to last for quite a while, or else these pernicious weeds will just continue to grow.
Thank you for giving me a dollop of sanity in an insane world. You are an inspiration and I don’t know how you manage to get everything done never mind recording and sharing your journey. Please please continue your video communications and demonstrations.
Holy moly! I wish i could be your neighbour. You would have to turn the sprinklers on me to get me to go home at the end of tge day. All jokes aside, I cannot wait to see what you do next and for years to come My gardens seem to always be a "version.0" behind yours. Perfect for me as I get to at leasylt re-think my plan before the snow leaves. Thank you so much.
So interesting to watch and learn from. I commend you on your want to experiment and the enormous effort and planning it all must take. Wish I was closer to lend a helping hand. I wish you the best of luck in your trials this coming year. Especially the beets. Mine failed miserably last year. I’m also trying different varieties this year in hopes of a better outcome. 😊
Wow! Good luck to you. That sounds like a whole lot. Very exciting experiments. Don't burn yourself out though! You can always save editing and posting some videos until winter.
Your plan for the perennial space reminds me of syntropic systems, a bit. I'll be very curious to hear more as your plans for that space evolve! And I'm eager to hear more about your carrots in the simple garden. Carrots seem like they are simple for many people to grow, but they are my least-successful crop. I haven't been systematic in my approach, which I'm sure doesn't help! As always, your video is inspiring and very informative. Thanks for sharing. :)
"Syntropic systems" sounds interesting. Something to look into, to see how it differs from other similar approaches. The carrots are an interesting one, as they seem like they should be simple, as you say, but often aren't.
You go !!! Great goals. Can you add one more goal? Contact a local arborist tree guy and get some wood chips delivered and start adding it to you pathways. Time on that will greatly reduce time on weeding inside the beds. Also with that extra untouched area make a movable chicken coup and every 2 or 3 days move the chickens over it. They will eat and tear it all up. Low time on chickens when you use a moveable coup. Look up some videos on youtube. Make is small scale not large. 5 to 10 is more than enough. Also noticed you dont keep the no dig covered with light killing material. I thought that was the point. The only plant getting light is the one you planted... Looking great. And ask for people in the begining to sub more often at the end since they watched the whole video as about partron and why. If you want to be successful at something copy people who are successful... One more thing. If there is a famers market in town go see what is high priced veg selling there and make some yourself to sell. WHAT do you do with all your crops when harvested?
Thanks! Wood chip availability is one of the interesting things about different locations. I have been in touch with every tree guy in the area (and beyond) and they just don't have the kind of supply, and most of what they do produce is used by other people. The only time I have been able to get a reasonable load of woodchip was after a bunch of local trees blew down in a storm.
@@REDGardens Thanks. Maybe buy a small wood chipper and do it yourself or borrow one? It really does make a big difference or... lay branches down over the grass...
Wow! Bruce I think this is a great idea to call show your planning for this coming year. Cause I think it’s really inspirational for people to see the various methods that they could apply to their individual context. Keep up the great work can’t wait to see how things turn out this season.
I enjoyed seeing this aspect of RED Gardens, the ambitious pre-season planning. We all probably take on too much during this stage! The Black Plot is what interests me the most, as I'm planning something very similar in terms of size and methods. But all your videos are a great inspiration, there's always something to learn. The use of growbags on top of plastic ground cover was clever. I've been wondering how to best clear weedy ground while still getting a crop the first year. SG's first crop of squash is brilliant if sheet composting is an option. I can't do that because of difficult neighbours. So I'm considering growing potatoes through holes in mypex, with some kgs of finished compost on each seed potato (under the mypex). Perhaps growbags filled with compost on top would be even easier and give a higher yield. Or maybe a combination, where I burn holes in the mypex _through_ growbags on top? In any case, thanks for the inspiration!
Glad it was inspiring. This option was one of the reasons for investing in the grow bags, as I knew I wanted to cover a lot of ground, but realised I needed a lot of things to weigh it all down with on this windy site.
Looking forvard for your big projects! Here in Slovakia, middle Europe, sweet corn is one of my favourite crops, I direct seed it in to the garden. Hope it can be done so in Ireland, would be a pity if it had to occupy space in polytunnel. If so, You could grow it on that rough space on black plot, preferrably plowing (or turning) the soil first. It's a strong crop, anyway, weeds later in the season won'n mess with it. I recommend planting a supersweet sh2 hybrid, much sweeter than classic su and heritage varieties. Wish good luck!
Thanks for the recommendations and advice. I think we would need to have a really good summer weather for sweetcorn to be able to produce outside here in Ireland. But I guess I won't really know until I try! I found this comparison of the weather between Ireland and Slovakia to be interesting. You have a much warmer summer. weatherspark.com/compare/y/33067~82397/Comparison-of-the-Average-Weather-in-Birr-and-Bratislava
People have told me to run mustard greens cover crop before carrots to reduce nematodes. I tried following my arugula with carrots last year and that seemed to help. My plan is to try mustard on some beds this year and see if it is better.
ah , your always a inspiration .. wow have you ever been busy i remember mabey 2 years ago .. when we chatted about using plastic as ground cover ..its truly amazing ,i just pulled back a bed that had been covered for 5 months ,the soil was so perfect i was in shock ..even in cold weather it was soft to the touch and you could see all the worm castings ..anyway i look forward to seeing your squash .. i more look forward to seeing when you are using your seed .. again i will state my theory is .. the seeds become acclimated to your area , soil light conditions.. the temperature, and even resistance/tolerance to insects mold ,Recently learned we as humans, are more closely related to mushrooms than i ever thought possible.... via the way our stomach breaks down food into acids bacteria.the mycelium in the ground and the seeds must be connected in some kind of way ,or take on the genetics.. i see your leeks for seed that will be a nice test .. as per grow bags . i will say im not a fan of the plastic bag , as much as i am the cloth ones , i bet they cost alot more ..cheers brother
Thanks for the comment and encouragement! The ground cover can do an amazing job, if given enough time, but with some weeds I have found they find a way up through the fabric! That is interesting about the relationship to mushrooms. I would love to have been able to get a load of cloth grow bags, but these plastic ones cost only a fraction of the price.
@@REDGardens yes i follow a local you tube guy called ..( yarrow wilerd ) the (herbal jetti ) he runs a company named ( harmonic arts studio ) or something similar, they make tinctures harvest wild eddibles .so they find lots of cool plants for medicine, horsetail, rose hips , cleavers , burdock, his wife knows about sea weed and runs some kind of program.. he recently did a video about cannabis, you should check it out , the use the hugo mound ,or something similar to grow plants so big they need scaffolding.. and maybe you can apply this to your area , things like the comfy plant ..or others.. either was its all relevant information.. i always herd plants can communicate with each other from far away..i thought that was crasy ..but here we are , doing the same thing .. last information, last year around my strawberries i used moss instead of straw, moss is available everywhere..and interplanted radish in the strawberries...i harvested tons of radish i left 8 large easter egger radish from our( west coast seed ) and got almost 1 liter of seed .. the radish was the most glorious plant, butterfly bees and others came daily to vist them ..
I’m not sure about that. In our climate squash can be such a marginal crop that it seems with only careful breeding that we can get a decent crop from a few varieties. If I had loads of space and a decade or more, it would be a cool project to work on.
Another wonderful video. Do you think you'd be able to explain, at some point, how you do your planning for the year? I watch a lot of gardening videos, and one thing I can't seem to find is advice on how to plan out a year's worth of crops. I've tried a number of methods myself, but it seems like every year after the initial planting I end up flying by the seat of my pants when it comes to succession planting, and things are deep in the weeds by autumn.
Your comment reminded me of a couple of videos by another YT Channel: Josh Sattin - Crop Planning & Crop Planning Tips for Market Gardening I hope they help!
Ah, planning. It is a tough one to do, and I think an even tougher one to talk about and show others. Or at least that is my experience. I think the issues you mention about things going off script after the initial planting are a big factor with this. Not sure it it ill help, but I am moving more towards dividing the garden up into 3 zones. One for what I call Quick Rotation Crops (often finished within 8-12 weeks), which I can plant in succession, 3 or 4 batches a season, with several beds to manage the succession planting. A second section for medium rotation crops (often finished in 12-20 weeks) where I can get 2 crops out of a bed in a season. And a third section of long season crops, with generally only one crop in a bed for the season (with the possibility of sneaking in something quick growing before or for over wintering). This is something I am only starting to work on, but I think it helps with the planning end of things, and it is the mixing of the crops with different time scales that seems to get me confused.
as usual well produced. Interesting to see the plan for the start, perhaps periodical updates on how progress has gone weather that is telling us a project has been dropped or kept or reduced or scaled up. Would be interesting and informative to show new entrants that even accomplished leaders like yourself sometimes have to cut and scale back mid season if things are going to well
Thank you. This video was a bit of an unusual one for me, as I mentioned. I don't mind talking about failure, and successes, generally after things have happened, but I tend to stay away from the updates kind of video. But I will keep it in mind.
I'm looking forward to seeing the results of the orange beet seeds I grew last year. They are definitely the nicest but you get so few in the rainbow beet pack. That and shallots for the first time. 😍
Yikes. Potatoes in bags. I can see some advantage for early, new determinate potatoes for a home gardener. I don't bother with those & have taken to growing late potatoes more/less above ground in huge wire rings where they are easy to hill ( just dump in more organic matter) & harvest by opening up the ring & clawing through it. You can also crop rotate those rings. I think your 4x crop rotation makes good sense on your bigger production beds.
@@REDGardens I scratch up the dirt below the heavy compost & make certain the chitted potaoes have contact with actual soil. Make a shallow trench for the chits or dig a little depression in the soil to put the chits in. Re-heap with compost/ organic matter. Conserves moistrure too. Every few years I re-line the rings with cardboard. This bending over to dig out potatoes must stop.
I would like to suggest sowing a cover crop mix over the invasive grass to reduce it's influence and overtime developing weed free, fertile space for future gardens
I haven't had luck sowing cover crops into invasive grass areas. What cover crops have you had luck doing this with and what process did you use? It would be helpful knowing that.
I was thinking of taking one section and seeing if I could tame the weeds with a cover crop. I have my doubts with scutch grass, but it may be worth trying.
@@daallaad I use red clover as part of my rotation. It is really good where I live in Ontario. As you mentioned you do need to give it a relatively weed free growing area to start with. I was hoping Sebastian had some secret seeds that could be used without soil prep and advanced weed suppression.
how wonderful I just found your channel!!!... I see you use plastic grow bags for potatoes... are those specialty "food grade" plastic ??... because I have been doing the same for years with simple black trash bags poking holes in them for potatoes... but recently many people are giving me a hard time because they believe the bags leach harmful chemical into the potatoes... what do you think?...
Hey there, glad you found my channel! They aren't 'food grade' but they are UV stabilised, so they will not degrade in the sun, or at least will be a lot slower to degrade. I don't know about the leaching issue, no doubt there is a bit, but does it actually get into the potatoes? Part of me thinks this issue is being overblown because of the general fear of plastic, but no doubt there is a certain amount f truth to it all. There are many reasons to not use plastic at all in the garden. My general approach these days is that any food you produce yourself will be a hell of a lot better than anything you can buy. Better quality, better for the environment, less fossil fuel use, less pollution, less packaging ... essentially less of all the bad stuff and more of all the good stuff! Or at least this is true in the vast majority of cases. When you look into the way most of our food is produced, there is a huge amount of plastic involved, at many stages of the process, and all of it has the potential to leach chemicals (on top of the actual harmful materials that are sprayed on the crops). So if people are worried about plastic leaching then they really need to grow everything themselves. But I go back to the issue that however you grow yourself, it will be better than anything you can buy, in most cases. Sure we can do better, but it is far more important to grow more with problematic methods, than it is to grow less with ideal methods.
@@REDGardens man that was a perfectly balanced response!!... I agree on every point especially the last sentence " better to grow more with problematic methods than less with ideal methods"... that puts it to rest... thank you my friend
Do you think it might be worth looking into what is the biggest value of food that can be grown? I am always reluctant to grow carrots and potatoes because they are soooooo cheap, I know that your own will be pesticide free etc but I think growing strawberrys and raspberries will be the most valuable in terms of money saving at my weekly shop
I tend to stay away from exploring the value of food, though I do understand how it an be an important metric for people. Part of the reason is that I don't buy vegetables, and haven't for years, so I don't have any personal experience. I also think that people's diets change when they start to grow a lot of vegetables, so it is even harder to determine how much a person can 'save'. The other big factor is people eat such a wide variety of food, and buy it from very different places at radically different costs. It is one of those things that it really comes down to the individual, making choices about what they like to eat, but can grow themselves.
Very nice, what a great wealth of information! Are those 15 gallon grow bags? They look like a good size for potatoes. I have a new plot to open up this spring in a sunny area right behind the house, and planned to do something completely different to open it up, but seeing the area between the two poly tunnels convinces me to cover with a ground cover and use these bags. They look much easier and cheaper than buckets and I can start them in the basement. We still have another month of freezing weather and the another month or more of possibly overnight hard frosts here in upstate NY. I'm just planning on basement starter plants with grow lights and don't need to commit for a few more weeks. The benefits of short growing seasons, I guess.
Thanks! They are 35-40L or about 10 gallon grow bags. I think there is a lot of potential options with these bags, and I hesitated getting them (more plastic, more work, more money) but when I realised that they would be so good for holding down material to clear new ground, while getting a crop, I figured it could be a good investment.
Hello again, Bruce. As always, I'm loving your videos. I've been wondering if you'd like to share what tools you're using. Specifically you have a very good setup to track temperature in different locations. I'm trying to set something similar up myself. I'm considering just using "smart home" devices that send the data to a hub of some sort. But these solutions seem to be cumbersome and not do exactly what I want them to do. So can you share what you're using for that? I recently built a solar water heater out of PEX tube in a wooden box (tube and box painted black to capture solar heat) with a transparent polycarbonate top. It's my intention to try to heat my isolated greenhouse with it somehow. One of the things I need thermometers for is to control when to pump water through the solar heater. It's a fun little project that I think you'd enjoy if you have spare time at some point. Looking forward to your next video!
I'm wondering do you ever list your suppliers? Not as advertising, but as a help to others? Mostly I'm wondering where those grow bags came from! Very handy
I normally don't list suppliers, as only a small percentage of the viewers of this channel are in Ireland. My main supplier is www.fruithillfarm.com, and I got the soil bags from dekerhort.ie
11:13 where is the drainage? Is it just large mounded rows where you're sending all the water into the polly sides? I've got six inch subsurface pipes b/c my drainage required it. Now I'm having issues with excessive yard-waste-compost having a PH of 8.1 so I've added sulfur but am thinking I may need Pine-hardwood-mulch to get the PH more stable.
There are holes punched into the buried plastic bottom of the soil trench, for drainage. I am planning to add a rain catching channel, once I get electricity supply to be able to pump the water.
Very ambitious plans. Hope you keep up to everything. Have you have much experience with those grow bags? How well do they hold up? I've been trying several different cheap pots to grow peppers (pots from dollarama, kitty litter pails, and pots that come with shrubs and small trees) only the latter hold up to UV for very long, and I'm not going to buy that many shrubs.
I only just got the bags, so don't know how they hold up or will last. I was impressed with how thick the plastic was, and they are supposed to be UV stabilised, which I hope is the case. I will be disappointed if they done last at least 5 seasons.
Have you done a specific video on the No Dig Garden. I'd be very interested to see how you've developed it as that is very close to the setup we use. A very Dowding-ish setup, but with some definite differences. We've also been setting up some Birdies raised beds right beside the house for our "salad crops" (lettuces, root crops, etc)
@@REDGardens Thanks, I just watched it. We've been slowly reestablishing the previous owners very large garden a bit at a time, so our journey has been a little easier than yours it seems. We already had great soil, so cardboard and heavy compost layer were enough to get us started. We have mushroom compost readily available at low cost that we use to amend the soil in early spring, then we use a heavy layer of straw ala Ruth Stout on top of that. This has been very productive for us. Thanks for taking the time to document this project.
@@phlips11 Ah, to be able to take over already fertile and cleared ground! Something I have never had the benefit of doing. I always end up with rough ground to tackle!
I just noticed your solar panels in the bird's eye view, have y'all considered agrivoltaics? I think a group in the Netherlands has had success with raspberries while a group in Kenya has had success with lettuce, cabbage, and eggplant.
I was thinking of that. in this climate, access to full sun is essential for most crops. I know in other places the partial shade can be quite useful, but not much useful grows in the shade around here.
It does feel like spring is already here, as it's 1st of march, but the frost is still here, so I'm not sure whether to sow some early spring crops or to yet wait, the temperature is from -3°C up to 10 °C. Also may I ask please, do you also do composting in winter? I've a compost pile which I put quite a lot of material into throughout the winter, but it doesn't seem to have composted much. Thank you for answer in advance and good luck in your gardening :)
@@FireflyOnTheMoon I know, I've watched each at least 20 times but I'm just not sure about the winter composting session, if it's worth the effort to try to make compost in winter when it's just too cold for composting
I do compost during the winter, but it is mainly kitchen/household material bulked up with cardboard, as there is very little coming out of the gardens/landscape at this time of year. The piles don't heat up as fast, or at all, but they eventually decompose as the season warms up.
Great video again, thanks. Is it possible that you could share what the new information was that you received that caused you to plan to do the trial of the nitrogen provision in the Extensive garden? I ask because my own garden at home is a sort of combination what you call your Extensive garden and No Dig gardens - basically I use No Dig but the annual application of compost that I put on is 'mineralised' homemade compost - 'mineralised' by adding a tailored variant of Steve Solomon's COF. I've been using soya bean meal as my nitrogen source hence my interest in what has prompted your trial of the nitrogen sources in your Extensive garden,
After my video about 'Protein as Fertiliser' I got an email from Steve Solomon suggesting that the rolled oats I was thinking of using could release the nitrogen to the plants a lot slower than the seed meal, which he suggests is one of the key benefits. So I turned that into a trial to test the suggestion.
Weird idea The area's you don't have time to work, why not try wild gardening (essentially planting things that survive well in the wild and just foraging rather than managing). Things like rapsberry, blackberry, wild garlic, etc. Usually perennial or self seeding plants and trees
Interesting option, but most of the things what would thrive in that kind of approach, would be even harder to get rid of when I wanted to convert it to a more managed growing space.
I only know of Enrich Compost, which is what I have been getting over the past few years. Not sure if they supply into West Cork, but they do seem to have distributors in lots of places.
I have a few videos on the Polytunnel Gardens. Some of them are listed here, though I haven't added all of them to the list. ruclips.net/p/PLTFUdST3VlJvOr9jHNf6LoAqtQUWiY1-y
I like how you display the description cards for each garden type as you mention them. It's a helpful summary that helps us understand the various garden methods.
Grass fed Cow manure is my favorite fertilizer
That is the first time I have used those, so glad to know they were appreciated.
It is very helpful. It's been a pleasure watching this wonderful project grow over the years and it's now to the point where we viewers can almost get "lost" in the scale of it. I'm so glad the project is continuing with such vigor!
And having it on the big screen paused is great too 👓
@@mrJMD Thanks! And thanks for continuing to watch!
That's a lot of work. It's becoming a university scale agricultural experiment.
It is quite a bit of work, I figure I am on my second PHD 😀
As a Canadian I’m very jealous of your short winter, bloody warm water current giving you such nice weather despite being north of me.
It is one of the things that I like about goring over here (I am also a Canadian), but I do miss the growth during the heat of the summer.
Bruce, as always, you're an inspiration. Even to have taken the time to make this many plans and dreams for the future of your context is something. Best of luck this growing season. I'll be watching.
😁
Will be yet another year of excellent learning. Many moving parts. Excited to see what happens
Cheers
😁
Can’t wait to see the course of the different no-dig ground establishments. Keep us posted please.
Planning to make a few videos.
This is My ASMR...I really relax to the tone plus I enjoy great minds playing in the garden, I garden 20 to 30 hours per week...I love every second of it!
Awesome!
Good luck with all your plans I'm looking forward to seeing it all as I grow in a similar climate here in South Wales UK
👍
It’s good you have another person to help. This will be a big project. I’m just a little garden but try to follow some of your ideas. Especially having the garden as a distraction to what’s going on in the world 🙁. I am looking forward to your next video. 👍
It's funny how I completely forgot about a certain pandemic last summer. Autumn came and I was surprised to learn it was still a pandemic. (That's only slightly exaggerated.)
The gardens can be a great distraction. Generally, when I watch what is happening in the world, I find I need to get back to the gardens, to do more.
I think you have the backyard gardeners dream, though it could turn into a nightmare. More and more gardening space, expansion after expansion. Most home gardeners, ant least in US where I am have limited space. We all want more garden space and wish we could have more if it isnt available. I know my garden has expanded each year, though this year will be the last. I will have taken 1/3rd of my large backyard and turned it into garden. It will end up with a total of about 400'x25' along the south edge. To tell the truth its all I think I can take care of. I hope you are able to take care of the additions, and it doesnt become to much.
Haha, yes a dream that could turn into a nightmare!
As always, I adore this series your channel and your work. It was shocking how much you accomplished as a solitary person and now that you have your helper I am absolutely amazed at what you two can accomplish. I'm exhausted thinking about what you have planned and I wish you the best. Very much looking forward to any videos that come out of all of it🌱
Thank you so much!
Wow! Good luck Bruce! You provide a lot of very useful info! Remember to take some time out for yourself and loved ones. Thanks for sharing your plans.
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I'm so glad you have help. That's a lot of work for even two people. I don't know how you managed so much by yourself. I look forward to following along.
Thanks, it is a lot of work, but it is great work to be able to do.
This is amazing. Thank you for taking the time to share it.
I’ll be looking forward to seeing what’s to come
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You are one of my favorite RUclipsrs! Always get right to the point and no rambling! I dream of having the time and money to do what you do, maybe someday. I hope you have a blessed growing season
i absolutely adore good garden experiments ! Let the fun begin! personally I have moved from onion sets to seeds for the last few years and really like it. As an aside I have a very large container into which i've planted onions...I always let those onions grow and go to see so I have a built in seed factory! Instead of letting some, which i've planted, go to seed. It's great.
Interesting idea having the ones in a container go to seed, instead of making space in the gardens.
@@REDGardens it works for onions, this year i'm going to try more biannuals and see about those too.
Uh oh! I'm not yet done looking through seed catalogs! You are getting a fast start.
Looks like a great plan. Good luck!
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Wow, Bruce, you and Chris have worked so hard on all of that, on top of everything else. The trials will be super exciting, especially the squash and the no-dig. I can't wait to see them. Good luck and sunshine to you, and at least we can forget this crazy world while thoroughly enjoying everything you do.
Thanks! It does keep me distracted (a bit) from the other stuff!
@@REDGardens We all need that :)
Hi Bruce and Christina wow! How exciting 👏. Certainly a great year to increase productivity. I wish you all the best and look forward to supporting and watching your developments. Great video 👍
Thanks so much!
I admire you commitment to expansion! I've promised myself, "NO NEW BEDS," this year. Instead, I'm focusing and taking better advantage of the area I've already developed and using a more carefully thought out, comprehensive plan. My approach is somewhere between the Simple and the No Dig gardens, while also trying to get two crops in succession out of several beds. My composting operation has also grown to the point where I need to be a bit more systematic about moving material through the process. Good luck with the new projects this year, Bruce!
I'm also drawn towards a combination of Simple and No Dig. Especially establishing new beds using the Simple method (squash), then transitioning to No Dig. Either directly in year 2, or after one season of digging/tilling. I'm also considering growing potatoes instead of squash for the first season, through mypex.
@@ximono I think the Simple to No-Dig transition is an interesting one. One of the reasons I like starting with the squash, is it can be fairly fool proof in dealign with the weeds (assuming decent weather), and makes the sheet composting quite efficient.
Thanks. Sometimes I wonder why I keep taking on new spaces!
@@ximono Yes, I think in many cases it make more sense to do some serious digging the first year or two before transitioning to a "minimal digging" approach. I tend to start new beds with potatoes, since they will get a second "digging" at harvest time to help blend the soil components a bit more before leaving it to the bugs and roots.
@@fxm5715 I think that is possibly the best option in so many places. In some cases I think an initial 'Dowding' mulch of lots of compost the first season to clear all the growth of grasses/weeds. And then the second season, and perhaps again in the third, to dig it all in and clear out the debris and stones, and remove any serious compaction. Then revert to the 'minimal digging approach.
It's exciting to watch the comparisons of the different methods. There's always so many considerations! Thanks for sharing your work.
Great video! It's awesome to not only read/watch the results but also the plans/progress!
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You are an inspiration.
Best of luck for all those plans.
Thank you for taking the time to share it.
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great job. all the best this year
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How exciting. I love this plan! Can't wait to hear of an update.
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Very much looking forward to how things go this year!
me too!
Thank you for telling us about your interesting and exciting ideas. I am thrilled to see how these new things work and how the family scale gardens prosper.
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method of carrying at the end was my highlight in this great video. Looking forward to future videos!
😀 I was wondering how many people would like that!
Right now I fing it very difficult not to be distracted by what's going on in the eastern part of Europe. Hats of too you with all the ideas and plans you have, it shall be interesting hearing about their progress.
It is a tough world out there.
Your channel will be my replacement/vicarious garden this season as we're selling our home & its 400 square foot (± 40 m²) organic vegetable plot this year. Hopefully upgrading to an old farm somewhere in New England with a lot more land. Anyway your very thoughtful approach(es) at the RED Gardens and all the food for thought you generate will be a strong influence when I start my farm next season. Thanks so much!
😁 Hope you get lots of land soon!
I am just discovering your videos, and am really enjoying your candor and your resourcefulness! Thanks for making fantastic videos!
Glad you found my channel!
Thank you for taking the time to make these videos!
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so looking forward for this years videos!!
Wow!! My first time seeing your channel and I can't wait to explore it ...thank you❣
Glad you found my channel! Hope you enjoy the other videos!
I can't wait to see all of this. It's amazing.
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Methinks you may need to add a couple more volunteers! I get so many wonderful ideas from your videos, I try to never miss an episode.
Thanks! A few more volunteers would help, in theory, but I find I don't have a lot of capacity for managing people, and keeping them busy and preventing them from messing up the explorations.
I've had really good luck with sweet corn starting it early in the greenhouse and transplanting later. Pollination and infestation and mold might be issues inside a poly tunnel or greenhouse. Not to mention the real estate. Still trying to get the hang of melons though I have had better results as the seasons come and go. Three sisters in a poly tunnel would be a neat undertaking.
Yeah, I figure the pollination and mould may be an issue in the polytunnel, but with our cool summers and occasional high winds, the protected microclimate will likely be more productive. I was thinking of trying the three sisters1!
@@REDGardens I still hand pollinate my corn. The high winds and soggy cool mornings plague most of the growing season here as well. Last year I got 2 full harvests of sweet corn. I try to get the earliest variety available. I got greedy and tried to get another crop of carrots. My timing was a bit off and my watermelon vines spent more time drying off than they should have. Every year trying not to repeat the previous years mistakes. This year is the year for some homegrown melons. Very good luck to you and the company you keep sir.
@@theronjump4266 That is such a big part of it all, trying not to repeat the previous year's mistakes! Best of luck with the melons!
Wow. Excellent information and help as I try to help a community garden. Thanks
Glad to help!
I don't know how you have the energy to take on what you do. There is not another gardening channel like yours. The comparisons on results are facinating. While some results are puzzling, it just proves how many different things can have an effect.
I understand why mass food production relies on a practices to try to control or reduce as many variables as possible.
That said, smaller operations are also essential to ensure on going plant diversity.
Wow, thank you! Reducing as many variables as possible is definitely a key aim of larger production systems, a good way of putting it.
Wow! Good luck chap, hope it goes well
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Lots of good explorations ahead. Sounds great, but don't work yourself to exhaustion! All the best.
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Fence off the PE garden and run a load of bantams. Worked a treat for me on an overgrown raspberry bed.
Interesting.
Your knowledge is awesome, thanks for sharing it with us.
absolutey adore this channel. thanks, friend
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I am interested. I saw all your progress and i know you can give more . So keep going . Let's explore more 👏👍
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That’s a lot of land to manage without tools. You and your community are to be commended for your hard work.
One suggestion I have on your no till covering. Instead of thick cardboard that takes maybe years to fully decompose try the roll paper they sell at paint stores. The one sheet thickness will last only a few months long enough to kill the weeds under it. I’ve known one person who got theirs free from the local newspaper. When they near the run of a daily print they may have a partial roll too little for the next run but plenty for your needs. Let me know what you think of the idea.
Sounds like an interesting option. With the scutch grass and other weeds I have, I prefer the covering of cardboard to last for quite a while, or else these pernicious weeds will just continue to grow.
Thank you for giving me a dollop of sanity in an insane world. You are an inspiration and I don’t know how you manage to get everything done never mind recording and sharing your journey. Please please continue your video communications and demonstrations.
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Holy moly! I wish i could be your neighbour. You would have to turn the sprinklers on me to get me to go home at the end of tge day.
All jokes aside, I cannot wait to see what you do next and for years to come My gardens seem to always be a "version.0" behind yours. Perfect for me as I get to at leasylt re-think my plan before the snow leaves.
Thank you so much.
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looking forward to it all
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So interesting to watch and learn from. I commend you on your want to experiment and the enormous effort and planning it all must take. Wish I was closer to lend a helping hand. I wish you the best of luck in your trials this coming year. Especially the beets. Mine failed miserably last year. I’m also trying different varieties this year in hopes of a better outcome. 😊
Thank you very much!
Wow! Good luck to you. That sounds like a whole lot. Very exciting experiments. Don't burn yourself out though! You can always save editing and posting some videos until winter.
Thank you! Will do!
WOW, best of luck!
Thanks!
Once again very interesting. Thank you.
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Inspiration indeed.
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I've talked my dad into container spuds he starts them in the greenhouse in February and follows them successfully with carrots in the same container
Excellent, that was exactly what I was thinking of doing.
Your plan for the perennial space reminds me of syntropic systems, a bit. I'll be very curious to hear more as your plans for that space evolve! And I'm eager to hear more about your carrots in the simple garden. Carrots seem like they are simple for many people to grow, but they are my least-successful crop. I haven't been systematic in my approach, which I'm sure doesn't help! As always, your video is inspiring and very informative. Thanks for sharing. :)
"Syntropic systems" sounds interesting. Something to look into, to see how it differs from other similar approaches. The carrots are an interesting one, as they seem like they should be simple, as you say, but often aren't.
appreciate your work
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You go !!! Great goals. Can you add one more goal? Contact a local arborist tree guy and get some wood chips delivered and start adding it to you pathways. Time on that will greatly reduce time on weeding inside the beds.
Also with that extra untouched area make a movable chicken coup and every 2 or 3 days move the chickens over it. They will eat and tear it all up. Low time on chickens when you use a moveable coup. Look up some videos on youtube. Make is small scale not large. 5 to 10 is more than enough.
Also noticed you dont keep the no dig covered with light killing material. I thought that was the point. The only plant getting light is the one you planted...
Looking great. And ask for people in the begining to sub more often at the end since they watched the whole video as about partron and why.
If you want to be successful at something copy people who are successful...
One more thing. If there is a famers market in town go see what is high priced veg selling there and make some yourself to sell. WHAT do you do with all your crops when harvested?
Thanks!
Wood chip availability is one of the interesting things about different locations. I have been in touch with every tree guy in the area (and beyond) and they just don't have the kind of supply, and most of what they do produce is used by other people. The only time I have been able to get a reasonable load of woodchip was after a bunch of local trees blew down in a storm.
@@REDGardens Thanks. Maybe buy a small wood chipper and do it yourself or borrow one? It really does make a big difference or... lay branches down over the grass...
@@Melicoy I did invest in a chipper, just need to collect the material and use it.
Thanks for sharing 👍🏻
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Wow! Bruce I think this is a great idea to call show your planning for this coming year. Cause I think it’s really inspirational for people to see the various methods that they could apply to their individual context. Keep up the great work can’t wait to see how things turn out this season.
Thanks Paul!
sounds like an exciting season, looking forward to following along :)
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Amazing work and your plans sound great.. sounds almost like work for the next 5 years instead of just this year.. ;-)
Thanks. Yeah, it is a lot of work!
best gardening yt channel/tv show tbh,,,
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I enjoyed seeing this aspect of RED Gardens, the ambitious pre-season planning. We all probably take on too much during this stage! The Black Plot is what interests me the most, as I'm planning something very similar in terms of size and methods. But all your videos are a great inspiration, there's always something to learn.
The use of growbags on top of plastic ground cover was clever. I've been wondering how to best clear weedy ground while still getting a crop the first year. SG's first crop of squash is brilliant if sheet composting is an option. I can't do that because of difficult neighbours. So I'm considering growing potatoes through holes in mypex, with some kgs of finished compost on each seed potato (under the mypex). Perhaps growbags filled with compost on top would be even easier and give a higher yield. Or maybe a combination, where I burn holes in the mypex _through_ growbags on top?
In any case, thanks for the inspiration!
Glad it was inspiring. This option was one of the reasons for investing in the grow bags, as I knew I wanted to cover a lot of ground, but realised I needed a lot of things to weigh it all down with on this windy site.
Looking forvard for your big projects! Here in Slovakia, middle Europe, sweet corn is one of my favourite crops, I direct seed it in to the garden. Hope it can be done so in Ireland, would be a pity if it had to occupy space in polytunnel. If so, You could grow it on that rough space on black plot, preferrably plowing (or turning) the soil first. It's a strong crop, anyway, weeds later in the season won'n mess with it. I recommend planting a supersweet sh2 hybrid, much sweeter than classic su and heritage varieties. Wish good luck!
Thanks for the recommendations and advice. I think we would need to have a really good summer weather for sweetcorn to be able to produce outside here in Ireland. But I guess I won't really know until I try!
I found this comparison of the weather between Ireland and Slovakia to be interesting. You have a much warmer summer. weatherspark.com/compare/y/33067~82397/Comparison-of-the-Average-Weather-in-Birr-and-Bratislava
People have told me to run mustard greens cover crop before carrots to reduce nematodes. I tried following my arugula with carrots last year and that seemed to help. My plan is to try mustard on some beds this year and see if it is better.
Hmm, that is interesting.
ah , your always a inspiration ..
wow have you ever been busy
i remember mabey 2 years ago ..
when we chatted about using plastic as ground cover ..its truly amazing ,i just pulled back a bed that had been covered for 5 months ,the soil was so perfect i was in shock ..even in cold weather it was soft to the touch and you could see all the worm castings ..anyway i look forward to seeing your squash ..
i more look forward to seeing when you are using your seed ..
again i will state my theory is ..
the seeds become acclimated to your area , soil light conditions..
the temperature, and even resistance/tolerance to insects mold ,Recently learned we as humans, are more closely related to mushrooms than i ever thought possible....
via the way our stomach breaks down food into acids bacteria.the mycelium in the ground and the seeds must be connected in some kind of way ,or take on the genetics..
i see your leeks for seed that will be a nice test ..
as per grow bags . i will say im not a fan of the plastic bag , as much as i am the cloth ones , i bet they cost alot more ..cheers brother
Thanks for the comment and encouragement!
The ground cover can do an amazing job, if given enough time, but with some weeds I have found they find a way up through the fabric!
That is interesting about the relationship to mushrooms.
I would love to have been able to get a load of cloth grow bags, but these plastic ones cost only a fraction of the price.
@@REDGardens
yes i follow a local you tube guy called ..( yarrow wilerd )
the (herbal jetti ) he runs a company named ( harmonic arts studio ) or something similar, they make tinctures harvest wild eddibles .so they find lots of cool plants for medicine, horsetail, rose hips , cleavers , burdock, his wife knows about sea weed and runs some kind of program..
he recently did a video about cannabis, you should check it out , the use the hugo mound ,or something similar to grow plants so big they need scaffolding..
and maybe you can apply this to your area , things like the comfy plant ..or others..
either was its all relevant information.. i always herd plants can communicate with each other from far away..i thought that was crasy ..but here we are , doing the same thing ..
last information, last year around my strawberries i used moss instead of straw, moss is available everywhere..and interplanted radish in the strawberries...i harvested tons of radish i left 8 large easter egger radish from our( west coast seed )
and got almost 1 liter of seed ..
the radish was the most glorious plant, butterfly bees and others came daily to vist them ..
You have got your hands full, may have to pick up another helper.
Perhaps!
One option for squash that is 'comparably' low input would be to start a land race
I’m not sure about that. In our climate squash can be such a marginal crop that it seems with only careful breeding that we can get a decent crop from a few varieties. If I had loads of space and a decade or more, it would be a cool project to work on.
Another wonderful video. Do you think you'd be able to explain, at some point, how you do your planning for the year? I watch a lot of gardening videos, and one thing I can't seem to find is advice on how to plan out a year's worth of crops. I've tried a number of methods myself, but it seems like every year after the initial planting I end up flying by the seat of my pants when it comes to succession planting, and things are deep in the weeds by autumn.
Your comment reminded me of a couple of videos by another YT Channel: Josh Sattin - Crop Planning & Crop Planning Tips for Market Gardening
I hope they help!
Ah, planning. It is a tough one to do, and I think an even tougher one to talk about and show others. Or at least that is my experience. I think the issues you mention about things going off script after the initial planting are a big factor with this. Not sure it it ill help, but I am moving more towards dividing the garden up into 3 zones.
One for what I call Quick Rotation Crops (often finished within 8-12 weeks), which I can plant in succession, 3 or 4 batches a season, with several beds to manage the succession planting.
A second section for medium rotation crops (often finished in 12-20 weeks) where I can get 2 crops out of a bed in a season.
And a third section of long season crops, with generally only one crop in a bed for the season (with the possibility of sneaking in something quick growing before or for over wintering).
This is something I am only starting to work on, but I think it helps with the planning end of things, and it is the mixing of the crops with different time scales that seems to get me confused.
as usual well produced. Interesting to see the plan for the start, perhaps periodical updates on how progress has gone weather that is telling us a project has been dropped or kept or reduced or scaled up. Would be interesting and informative to show new entrants that even accomplished leaders like yourself sometimes have to cut and scale back mid season if things are going to well
Thank you. This video was a bit of an unusual one for me, as I mentioned. I don't mind talking about failure, and successes, generally after things have happened, but I tend to stay away from the updates kind of video. But I will keep it in mind.
Wow nice video
Thanks
I'm looking forward to seeing the results of the orange beet seeds I grew last year. They are definitely the nicest but you get so few in the rainbow beet pack. That and shallots for the first time. 😍
I am really looking forward to tasting the diversity!
Yikes. Potatoes in bags. I can see some advantage for early, new determinate potatoes for a home gardener.
I don't bother with those & have taken to growing late potatoes more/less above ground in huge wire rings where they are easy to hill ( just dump in more organic matter) & harvest by opening up the ring & clawing through it.
You can also crop rotate those rings.
I think your 4x crop rotation makes good sense on your bigger production beds.
The wire ring approach is an interesting one. I tried it once years ago, but might have another attempt.
@@REDGardens I scratch up the dirt below the heavy compost & make certain the chitted potaoes have contact with actual soil. Make a shallow trench for the chits or dig a little depression in the soil to put the chits in. Re-heap with compost/ organic matter. Conserves moistrure too. Every few years I re-line the rings with cardboard.
This bending over to dig out potatoes must stop.
@@flatsville1 Thanks for the details.
This tittle is my life rn 😂
Always a good video, thanks!
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I would like to suggest sowing a cover crop mix over the invasive grass to reduce it's influence and overtime developing weed free, fertile space for future gardens
I haven't had luck sowing cover crops into invasive grass areas. What cover crops have you had luck doing this with and what process did you use? It would be helpful knowing that.
@@billastell3753 red clover is quite tough, you will have to turn the grass first ... When it's not seeding
I was thinking of taking one section and seeing if I could tame the weeds with a cover crop. I have my doubts with scutch grass, but it may be worth trying.
@@daallaad I use red clover as part of my rotation. It is really good where I live in Ontario. As you mentioned you do need to give it a relatively weed free growing area to start with. I was hoping Sebastian had some secret seeds that could be used without soil prep and advanced weed suppression.
how wonderful I just found your channel!!!... I see you use plastic grow bags for potatoes... are those specialty "food grade" plastic ??... because I have been doing the same for years with simple black trash bags poking holes in them for potatoes... but recently many people are giving me a hard time because they believe the bags leach harmful chemical into the potatoes... what do you think?...
Hey there, glad you found my channel! They aren't 'food grade' but they are UV stabilised, so they will not degrade in the sun, or at least will be a lot slower to degrade. I don't know about the leaching issue, no doubt there is a bit, but does it actually get into the potatoes? Part of me thinks this issue is being overblown because of the general fear of plastic, but no doubt there is a certain amount f truth to it all. There are many reasons to not use plastic at all in the garden.
My general approach these days is that any food you produce yourself will be a hell of a lot better than anything you can buy. Better quality, better for the environment, less fossil fuel use, less pollution, less packaging ... essentially less of all the bad stuff and more of all the good stuff! Or at least this is true in the vast majority of cases. When you look into the way most of our food is produced, there is a huge amount of plastic involved, at many stages of the process, and all of it has the potential to leach chemicals (on top of the actual harmful materials that are sprayed on the crops). So if people are worried about plastic leaching then they really need to grow everything themselves.
But I go back to the issue that however you grow yourself, it will be better than anything you can buy, in most cases. Sure we can do better, but it is far more important to grow more with problematic methods, than it is to grow less with ideal methods.
@@REDGardens man that was a perfectly balanced response!!... I agree on every point especially the last sentence " better to grow more with problematic methods than less with ideal methods"... that puts it to rest... thank you my friend
Do you think it might be worth looking into what is the biggest value of food that can be grown? I am always reluctant to grow carrots and potatoes because they are soooooo cheap, I know that your own will be pesticide free etc but I think growing strawberrys and raspberries will be the most valuable in terms of money saving at my weekly shop
I tend to stay away from exploring the value of food, though I do understand how it an be an important metric for people. Part of the reason is that I don't buy vegetables, and haven't for years, so I don't have any personal experience. I also think that people's diets change when they start to grow a lot of vegetables, so it is even harder to determine how much a person can 'save'. The other big factor is people eat such a wide variety of food, and buy it from very different places at radically different costs. It is one of those things that it really comes down to the individual, making choices about what they like to eat, but can grow themselves.
Love the grow bag trial area!
Brilliant way of opening new systems. Rotational poly locations…limitless
Long view data…
It is going to be really interesting I think!
Very nice, what a great wealth of information! Are those 15 gallon grow bags? They look like a good size for potatoes. I have a new plot to open up this spring in a sunny area right behind the house, and planned to do something completely different to open it up, but seeing the area between the two poly tunnels convinces me to cover with a ground cover and use these bags. They look much easier and cheaper than buckets and I can start them in the basement. We still have another month of freezing weather and the another month or more of possibly overnight hard frosts here in upstate NY. I'm just planning on basement starter plants with grow lights and don't need to commit for a few more weeks. The benefits of short growing seasons, I guess.
Thanks! They are 35-40L or about 10 gallon grow bags. I think there is a lot of potential options with these bags, and I hesitated getting them (more plastic, more work, more money) but when I realised that they would be so good for holding down material to clear new ground, while getting a crop, I figured it could be a good investment.
Hello again, Bruce.
As always, I'm loving your videos.
I've been wondering if you'd like to share what tools you're using.
Specifically you have a very good setup to track temperature in different locations. I'm trying to set something similar up myself. I'm considering just using "smart home" devices that send the data to a hub of some sort. But these solutions seem to be cumbersome and not do exactly what I want them to do. So can you share what you're using for that?
I recently built a solar water heater out of PEX tube in a wooden box (tube and box painted black to capture solar heat) with a transparent polycarbonate top. It's my intention to try to heat my isolated greenhouse with it somehow. One of the things I need thermometers for is to control when to pump water through the solar heater. It's a fun little project that I think you'd enjoy if you have spare time at some point.
Looking forward to your next video!
I can see a book in the making. Don't work too hard though.
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I’m in the U.S. but would love to come help in your garden and eventually find my own piece of land there
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I'm wondering do you ever list your suppliers? Not as advertising, but as a help to others?
Mostly I'm wondering where those grow bags came from! Very handy
I normally don't list suppliers, as only a small percentage of the viewers of this channel are in Ireland. My main supplier is www.fruithillfarm.com, and I got the soil bags from dekerhort.ie
11:13 where is the drainage? Is it just large mounded rows where you're sending all the water into the polly sides? I've got six inch subsurface pipes b/c my drainage required it. Now I'm having issues with excessive yard-waste-compost having a PH of 8.1 so I've added sulfur but am thinking I may need Pine-hardwood-mulch to get the PH more stable.
There are holes punched into the buried plastic bottom of the soil trench, for drainage. I am planning to add a rain catching channel, once I get electricity supply to be able to pump the water.
If you're going to cover the old perennial garden for a year or two, NOW is the time to add biochar.
Now would be a good time for the, but I am not going to use biochar in this garden.
Very ambitious plans. Hope you keep up to everything.
Have you have much experience with those grow bags? How well do they hold up? I've been trying several different cheap pots to grow peppers (pots from dollarama, kitty litter pails, and pots that come with shrubs and small trees) only the latter hold up to UV for very long, and I'm not going to buy that many shrubs.
I only just got the bags, so don't know how they hold up or will last. I was impressed with how thick the plastic was, and they are supposed to be UV stabilised, which I hope is the case. I will be disappointed if they done last at least 5 seasons.
Have you done a specific video on the No Dig Garden. I'd be very interested to see how you've developed it as that is very close to the setup we use. A very Dowding-ish setup, but with some definite differences. We've also been setting up some Birdies raised beds right beside the house for our "salad crops" (lettuces, root crops, etc)
I am planning another no-dig video in the summer. The last one I did was 2 years ago ruclips.net/video/oo9tt3lzUmM/видео.html
@@REDGardens Thanks, I just watched it. We've been slowly reestablishing the previous owners very large garden a bit at a time, so our journey has been a little easier than yours it seems. We already had great soil, so cardboard and heavy compost layer were enough to get us started. We have mushroom compost readily available at low cost that we use to amend the soil in early spring, then we use a heavy layer of straw ala Ruth Stout on top of that. This has been very productive for us. Thanks for taking the time to document this project.
@@phlips11 Ah, to be able to take over already fertile and cleared ground! Something I have never had the benefit of doing. I always end up with rough ground to tackle!
I just noticed your solar panels in the bird's eye view, have y'all considered agrivoltaics? I think a group in the Netherlands has had success with raspberries while a group in Kenya has had success with lettuce, cabbage, and eggplant.
I was thinking of that. in this climate, access to full sun is essential for most crops. I know in other places the partial shade can be quite useful, but not much useful grows in the shade around here.
@@REDGardens Ah I see, thanks for the reply.
It does feel like spring is already here, as it's 1st of march, but the frost is still here, so I'm not sure whether to sow some early spring crops or to yet wait, the temperature is from -3°C up to 10 °C.
Also may I ask please, do you also do composting in winter? I've a compost pile which I put quite a lot of material into throughout the winter, but it doesn't seem to have composted much. Thank you for answer in advance and good luck in your gardening :)
Bruce has quite a few videos about his composting systems. Worth finding.
@@FireflyOnTheMoon I know, I've watched each at least 20 times but I'm just not sure about the winter composting session, if it's worth the effort to try to make compost in winter when it's just too cold for composting
I do compost during the winter, but it is mainly kitchen/household material bulked up with cardboard, as there is very little coming out of the gardens/landscape at this time of year. The piles don't heat up as fast, or at all, but they eventually decompose as the season warms up.
yup
🙂
Great video again, thanks. Is it possible that you could share what the new information was that you received that caused you to plan to do the trial of the nitrogen provision in the Extensive garden? I ask because my own garden at home is a sort of combination what you call your Extensive garden and No Dig gardens - basically I use No Dig but the annual application of compost that I put on is 'mineralised' homemade compost - 'mineralised' by adding a tailored variant of Steve Solomon's COF. I've been using soya bean meal as my nitrogen source hence my interest in what has prompted your trial of the nitrogen sources in your Extensive garden,
After my video about 'Protein as Fertiliser' I got an email from Steve Solomon suggesting that the rolled oats I was thinking of using could release the nitrogen to the plants a lot slower than the seed meal, which he suggests is one of the key benefits. So I turned that into a trial to test the suggestion.
Weird idea
The area's you don't have time to work, why not try wild gardening (essentially planting things that survive well in the wild and just foraging rather than managing).
Things like rapsberry, blackberry, wild garlic, etc. Usually perennial or self seeding plants and trees
Interesting option, but most of the things what would thrive in that kind of approach, would be even harder to get rid of when I wanted to convert it to a more managed growing space.
Hey - just a thought - but would you be able to dedicate an area to the concept of food forest?
Crazy events indeed. Our prayers are with Ukraine.
War on top of climate, pandemic, energy crisis ... it is a tough world when you look into it.
Hi thanks for the great videos, in West Cork here, any advice on where to get large amounts of compost?
I only know of Enrich Compost, which is what I have been getting over the past few years. Not sure if they supply into West Cork, but they do seem to have distributors in lots of places.
@@REDGardens thanks again!!
Have you talked about your hoop houses in any earlier videos?
yes
I have a few videos on the Polytunnel Gardens. Some of them are listed here, though I haven't added all of them to the list.
ruclips.net/p/PLTFUdST3VlJvOr9jHNf6LoAqtQUWiY1-y
I assume with the water amount of water you use you have municipal water? Or do you run on well water?
We have municipal water, from a local well in our small community.
What type of weed barrier cover are you using, or would recommend?
I use the conventional woven plastic ground cover fabric. Often referred to as Mypex.
I think I've watched every video. I still don't know why it's called red gardens
Research Education Development, and also like that the name is not what people would expect, so is more memorable.