G'day Everyone, thank you for your support! For those I have bumped into lately at various random locations, I appreciate you coming up to me and saying hello and telling me what you are growing. It's great to hear first-hand about you "getting into it!" Remember to check the video's description (if you are looking for more information on specific products) mentioned in the video. I only work with Brands and products I personally like and use myself. Cheers :)
I love it, Mark! They're not called food forests for nothin. ha. Always watching from Southeastern Oklahoma, USA. I grow some citrus in pots. Limes, a lemon and a blood orange, most of which I started from seed...so will I get true to type fruit? Maybe. Maybe not, but I love growing my fruit trees from seed. In fact, I have about 10 apple trees from my own apple tree and can't wait till they bloom and set fruit to see what's what! My citrus have to come inside during the winter. I have a huge grow tent with grow lights where they hang out with the tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and greens that provide us fresh eating during the long, cold months we get here. In the dead of winter, I have my own little food forest to keep me cheery until Spring! Maybe someday, hub will get on that greenhouse he's always promised! lol Much love and blessings...from my dirt to yours!
Thanks for this instructive video! I'm reading a book right now which may be interesting to you: _Finding the Mother Tree,_ by Suzanne Simard. (I see that it can be downloaded in PDF, free from several sites.) It is about the interrelation of forest ecosystems, and how plants, fungi, and bacteria cooperate, feed, and protect one another. Her theory was dismissed by the Forest Service as timber companies had decided to grow their trees like corn, on a near-sterilized soil. Over the years, with many experiments, she proved the importance of mixed planting, and is now considered an authority on the subject.
@Selfsufficientme My garden is small but planted different trees there! 2 avocado, 3 guava, 4 citrus trees! All give fruits, except the citrus!! I live in Zamboanga City, 🇵🇭! We have plenty of rain times! I also grew vegetables, like eggplants, spinach, ginger, and turmeric; sweet potatoes graw nicely here! I'm grateful, Mark!
1. True, if you properly prepare prior to planting plants prosper, producing plentiful pickin. 2. Counter proposal to Einstein's theory: When you're born, you start dying.
Hi Mark. You do what your intuition and experience tells you. Too many so called experts give wrong advice. For example , even professors get it it wrong much of the time. Too much of the time for my liking ! Take care. Do what you know is right and not what others think they know about something they really don't. Love your content. Thanks for the journey.
@@slamrock17 Too true. I can give rediculous instances of so called professors (Tim Flannery for e.g.) who stated that a certain dam in Australia would never fill up again ! Two weeks later it was in overspill and has never been empty or will never be! He was employed by the Australian Government but resigned before the truth came out. Professors are not always what they seem. Mostly, in my friendship with a few they are purely accademic with few common sense cells in their bodies. Too many superlatives like genius are used these days with little or no understanding of what genius is. I certainly do not know what a genius is even though it has a dictionary meaning. I have come to the conclusion that genius is subjective and I have my 'opinion' on the matter. Regards and thank you for your comment.
Reminds me of a time I fixed the mechanism in my toilets tank with a taught shoe lace. My engineer brother replaced a crap plastic handle and took it upon himself to replace my shoe lace with a coat hanger. Coat hanger metal snapped within about 6 months max, my nylon shoe lace is still in there lol
Hey Mark, The Meyer Lemon tree originated from an old man who was a citrus farmer in Fillmore, California, USA. He was a friend of my Grandfather’s, who also grew citrus for “Sunkist”. One day when I was spending time with my grandparents, Old Man Meyer stopped by and my grandfather introduced me to him. I was 7 or 8 years old and I put out my right hand to shake his hand and said, Hi, Old Man Meyer. My grandfather got on to me because he thought I was being disrespectful. Old Man Meyer, said to my grandfather, Charlie, everyone in town knows me as Old Man Meyer. I thought you knew that. That day Old Man Meyer grafted a Meyer Lemon branch onto my grandparents citrus tree, which had oranges, tangerines, tangelos, lime and the Meyer Lemon. That tree was for their own personal purpose. The rest of the orchard was for Sunkist. Every time I buy some Meyer Lemons, even now, over 50 years later I think about meeting Old Man Meyer that day with my grandfather. Old Man Meyer figured out how to “create” the Meyer Lemon from reading about them from a long forgotten man from Japan who figured out how to cross 2 or 3 different citrus fruits to come up with the Meyer Lemon. My wife and I live in north central Washington state USA and here we grow apples, cherries, peaches, apricots, etc, so we have to buy our Meyer Lemons and other citrus fruits from my sister who still lives in Fillmore, California. Cheers !
I love this story! Thank you for sharing. My daughter has the most gorgeous Meyer lemon tree that gifts us every season. My grandfather used to graft all manners of citrus together. I have fond memories of him showing me how. One side of the tree gave tangerines and the other, FL orange. He would take his pocket knife out and cut the peel from the top of the fruit in a spiral going down. You would then suck the juice from the top while squeezing. Juice running down to your elbows:)
I planted a rain forest in my urban property. Blokes asked me if I was doing jungle warfare in my yard so I said "yes". Told them I had a bunker system as well. I then started growing veggies, and the same people said it could not be done, but it worked, I had only a small space left to use but I grew a number of veggies. I would prefer an acreage just to grow more trees for habitat and also food. Love your show.
Tree root spread is about the same as the canopy so if your fence is 20 metres from the trees then root penetration into your garden will be low. No worries Mark!! Your trees show the evidence of abundant fruit. Weed mat under the garden beds will also deter root growth from trees. 👍
I have Lilly pillys around, yet tomatoes thrive in the diffuse light, so do my citrus. Others not so much. You have to pick and choose what works in such cases. Good to take advice and see what works for you. Most basic veggies have root systems that won't care too much about more deep rooted trees including eucalyptus, citrus are fairly shallow rooted too and do ok in shady areas. Mine produced almost 100 fruit on trees that are only 6 foot tall in half shade. Great video, yet again.
I have learned quite a while ago that conventional farmers are no source for information about any form of sustainable farming or gardening. Listen to what they have to say, learn from what they are doing and draw your conclusions. But a "that is not going to work" from a conventional farmer has very little meaning. Which is not surprising considereng that they see soil as a sponge for mineral fertilizer :(
They till, fertilize with pellets and liquid shit, plant, fertilize a bit more, spray weed killer, use machines to harvest. Let's just say I have learned a lot more from a friend who is a small scale organic farmer than those traditional ones.
Like you I tend to ignore most other gardeners, but always try and new veggies at least 3 times before I give up. Now I do try to keep the full sun veggies in the sun, and plant shade loving plants under the taller sun loving plants. But I never listen to, it won't grow here, at least till I give it a try.
Hello uncle Mark. many many thanks, today my 5 yrs son was watching with me your video; he was very happy with your talking and beautiful Australian accent 😀 While I was amazed by the way you were managing your beautiful garden! I have a small garden and I am very much thankful for your videos from which I benefit a lot! Best wishes to you, friend!❤
Glad you had better luck than me with gum trees. I've seen first hand numerous times how gum trees suck the water and nutrients from good soil. Imagine a raised bed filled with horse manure, turns to hydrophobic sand within 2 years with gum tree roots as thick as your finger all through it matted together like a solid block. They even come up out of the ground into the bottom of flower pots and turn that into sand. Now I have only wicking beds. Pots go in trays and the tree roots swirl around underneath in a solid layer when you lift the tray up. Geotextile doesn't stop them. We don't get much rain.
Yes it definitely depends on where you live. Mark is in the sub tropics and gets plenty of rain, and I’m sure has nice soil to plant into. I’m like you, I only have wicking beds now for my semi shade veggies, and they all thrive and are nearly under a large eucalyptus. The same eucalyptus that sucked dry a garden bed I’d put alongside my hoop house where I have my wicking beds.
I always get comments like that Mark. "That tree will destroy your wall" "That tree will destroy your foundation" "Nothing will grow next to that tree" "That tree will get too big" All have been wrong so far. These things don't magically happen. If it does happen it will be a a slow gradual process that will give you ample time to adjust and modify if necessary. Most people are unaware of how they project their fears and ignorance. I'll just continue to enjoy the process without fear and I'll keep reaping the rewards. Experiment and push boundaries and you'll be surprised how "wrong" most people are. Thanks as always.
Peter Cundle and (by association) Gardening Australia were staple viewing for my Nan, Mum, and (eventually) me. Mark, you are approaching legend status. ABC Australia and you should hash out a deal and give the mainstream some of your experience. Good on ya mate. 2.34M subscribers is bigger than any TV show you grew up watching. $0.02 from a 53 year old Tasmanian genuine subscriber.
And yep, youre a legend Mark! Loved Peter Cundall - "And that, I'm afraid, is your lot for the week!"❤ really enjoyed his segments about the veggie patch in the Botanical Gardens.
Don't let others bring negativity into what you do, especially these days. There are many out there who don't like self sufficiency. They'd rather see us starve.
Such a well done video on this subject. And I never find myself getting distracted or tired during an episode of "Self-sufficient Me." Thank you for what you do. My sister is gone now and we didn't agree on much, but she & I both appreciated your videos so much. I love being able to remember our good moments when watching your shows ❤
My brother, who was an agronomist in the NT, used to define an 'expert' this way: 'X', the unknown factor; 'spurt', a drip under pressure. I live in a part of Sydney with a lot of mature eucalyptus trees. Their roots will seek out nearby treasure, i.e. nutrient- and water-rich raised gardens beds, but if you put a reasonable amount of distance between your plants and the trees, it is a manageable issue.
I’ve had several folk tell me how to or how not to grow things I was already growing successfully. I’m always happy to listen to advice and often have. Mostly I do my reading ( books) and then go to garden centres and speak to the staff over 45. Then I watch channels like yours. Always being careful of weird advice. Planning and good soil.. and I talk to my seedling like the precious little babies they are❤❤❤❤ weird? Me? Nevah!
G'day Mark, cold here down in Victoria right now but rugged up and the fire going inside. I have a massive Avocado tree and some gums shading my raised beds but like you, I don't have a problem whatsoever with intrusive roots etc.. P.S: your citrus trees look magnificent mate!!! :)
You’ve come up with great solutions! But I get their point though. If it wasn’t so boggy, and you had in ground beds, and the trees weren’t so far away you’d have more problems. And I’m sure different species of trees have different growth habits that would effect how intrusive they would be to the garden. Good thing to think about when placing your beds.
I have had experience of a big gum tree sucking moisture out of my plants! I own 3 acres on the Mid North Coast of NSW. The soil is hard clay, with little to no topsoil. We have wet summers and dry winters. We are classed as warm temperate. The first tree I ever planted after buying the block was a Meyer Lemon, but after 10 years of it staying the same size, I pulled it out. I bought a new Eureka lemon tree and also a Tahitian lime, and put them in big pots to grow them on for 12 months. They were so healthy and happy. I then decided to put them in the ground, so chose a site that was sheltered from the strong winds we get, but was also sunny. So my partner made this lovely 3x1m raised bed out of hardwood which I’d tried to grow veggies in, but nothing thrived. So I thought not great for veggies, I’ll plant my beautiful, healthy, thriving lemon and lime into this bed, but straight away the lemon started getting yellow leaves and losing leaves. The lime was similarly affected. Eventually the lemon lost 90% of its leaves, the lime maybe half. I pulled them out and repotted them and have brought them back to life. I couldn’t understand why this was happening but then came across information about planting near eucalypts, and realised I was 10m from a big gum, and bingo! That was my answer and made perfect sense. When I’d had veggies in the bed, I never seemed to be able to keep the water up to them. So now, I have the citrus in big pots sitting in the bed, and I grow Mediterranean style herbs, which thrive in the dry conditions. So eucalyptus trees are definitely something to take into account when planting near them, but I’d never cut one down or rip it’s roots, each tree is too valuable to me. During my research I found that a maximum of 30 metre is a good rule, to keep plants away from my beautiful eucalyptus trees.
I live in coastal South Texas, next to a wildlife sanctuary. The brush, across the fence sends sucker roots into my corn amd sorghum fields. I put a subsoil chisel on my tractor and make three or four passes, a foot apart, every two to three years to prevent loss of production. DL Bates
A home grower should always try new things, other than dumping chemicals into their property. And I don't mean constantly trying new things, I mean things you want to do and hope will work even though it's supposedly not ideal for where they live. There is SO much variation even over 20 sq. miles if you have a pretty diverse environment especially if there are urban areas mixed around with land that's been left alone, you have rivers nearby. etc....... So you get a pretty diverse amount of microclimates, and this is something no standard recommendations can account for. The fact that you have roads and houses ALONE introduces opportunity. And even if something fails once, maybe simply putting that item in a different location on the property is all that's needed and those are things figured out by research on what it is you're growing along with old fashioned effort and applying lessons learned. LOVE what you do there.
Mark, Have you ever heard of a Marion berry? It’s like a Raspberry or Blackberry, but there’s no seeds in the fruit. When they’re ripe they’re Black. In our area of the PNW, every time a bird eats on of our Raspberries and poops, we get another vine. The Marion berry plant will stop that.
Great and informative video. One thing I have learnt from watching and listening to family gardeners talk, is always use your intuition and gut instinct. 👍
Hey Mark, when you are talking about whether or not the big trees will suck up all of your nutrients, you are spot on in saying that they will only take what they 'need'. Liebig's Law states that regardless of how many excess nutrients there are, there will always be something limiting the plant's growth. In other words, no matter how much nitrogen you give a tree, if it is deficient in phosphorus it will not keep sucking up the available nitrogen. Eventually, if you are pumping so many nutrients into your soil, the plant will be limited by the amount of water or sunlight it can absorb at any given time. Spot on with your intuition. Love the videos.
This has given us great hope Our Community Garden is bordered by huge trees we are in WA, so coping with sand, not soil and wind in our Council granted land via an MOU is a challenge We have mostly raised garden beds and we are hoping to create an orchard So far our garden is thriving ❤ Your tutorials are awesome and so helpful Thankyou Padbury Community Garden ✅👍❤️
I live in Georgia USA. The entire Appalachian mountain chain is considered a rain forest...lot of people don't know that. I have a half acre and my trees surrounding my property and even on my property, have not held me back with my gardening. We get lots and lots of rain. I have managed to grow a vegetable garden and gave loads of flowers as well. You just have to know where your sun is coming from. I organic garden and am very successful.
I planted a ton of fruit trees very close together and also under a large tree canopy, different trees thrive in different conditions so it's just a matter of finding a good spot for what you want and use all the layers - I use strawberries, boysenberries, and herbs as ground cover then taller herbs, berries, currants and flowers underneath and surrounding dwarf / semi-dwarf fruit trees, and nut trees on the outer edge in the back where they don't block the sun.
We have a simlar situation only worze. An Ergon easement is our only clear space, therest is protected native forest. Our citrus are doing really well and the hickson mandarin still has a few ripe fruit on it and is already bursting with new flowers. Love your videos.
Love all your videos. Milzie C Here in Oregon USA. Been watching you for years now, first time with a comment, So much good info. Keep going on your special garden. I use lots of your ideas about in my area. You inspire so many people to get out and grow your own food, so important in these troubled last days. Bless you and your garden.
Great video. I have my upper garden right next to several different species of trees (my mini forest). All my beds in this garden are raised and I have weed fabric down so I don't have to mow between the beds. So far I have had no issues with the trees and I love that this upper garden is shaded after 3 pm in the spring and summer days. My garden is thriving in this location.
I grow vegetables right up close to gum trees, no issues. Some things that don't like partial shade don't thrive, but plenty of things do fine. I had issues with pumpkins and melons getting sooty mildew, everything else is fine.
I know I’m late so you probably won’t see this, but as always I am so thankful for this video!!! Hubby and I purchased 27 acres of fairly heavily wooded land in NSW Cowra ! Of course everything here is eucalyptus ( with some pine) so I was so upset to hear I “can’t use” the dead trees for hugelkultur or compost or mulch etc etc due to some toxic compound blah blah blah but bugger it! My gut says once it’s dead and broken down a little that it will be fine so “getting back into it” and gunna give it a red hot go!
When I started gardening, I put a raised bed lined with cardboard about 20-25ft from a perennial chayote. At the end of the season, I cleaned up the bed and I found big, long, thick roots of chayote when I was fluffing up the soil. These things are super tough and prolific. I since moved the bed because I didn’t want to remove the chayote. I’m in N. Cali zone9b
My gum tree allowed squirrels, raccoons to have a safe place to live and watch me plant seeds to go eat or ripening fruits. Plus the spikey seeds blended with the soil to poke under my nail beds when I dug the soil to plant.
Hi Mark, love your channel. I grow many fruit trees & veggies whilst my property, also SEQ, is surrounded my mature gumtrees. People are astounded by what I’ve grown. Your tips are great. I also think that fruit trees and veggies are surface feeders, having feeder roots in the topsoil for nutrients and water. Gumtrees on the other-hand have long extensive roots mainly to find water. I find if I apply water, manure and fertiliser lightly but often to the surface feeder roots the fruit trees & veg, they thrive under or near the gums 🌱
I am in Canada, so you plants/ fruits are interesting. The trench idea, we use gravel in the dugout trench and its used as a drainage . walnut tree in Canada is similar to your gum tree, as it root system release a toxic substance to keep out competition tree varieties
I have raised bed near my oak, mulberry and figs (not directly under) and I do have to dig out feeder roots every year but I don’t have much choice. I do it in the spring when I’m getting my beds ready.
Hi Mark. I live in suburban Adelaide with neighbors growing Large gum trees. I have had to raise my garden beds above ground level on concrete pads set on timber and set my raised beds on the slabs. Occasionally I still have to dig the bed out (every 2 or 3 years) but I do that as part of reconditioning the bed.
High Mark glad it worked for, I am in east Gippsland on a sandy type soil,no problem with gum trees but the Blackwood trees are nightmare a tree that is only 20 feet across the canopy can send roots out well over fifty meters and the do make a bee line to all your improved soil namely your gardens and fruit trees. They will suck every bit of goodness out of the soil, as a result I have removed every Blackwood from my yard and replaced them with more garden friendly trees, I have large gum trees and they give me no problems except for shading the garden in winter
Thanks for this one. I have some raised beds under an apple tree and two figs. They are on the south side (light side) of the trees so they get plenty of sunlight but the fig trees do have invasive roots. SO far this has not been a real issue for the crops I am growing in the beds. My garden is so small that it is quite an advantage to make use of this space if I can. I reason that the compost and soil actually benefit the fruit trees. And I’ve gotten good yields from both. (I’m gardening in a semi arid climate.)
Very inspirational video, Mark! We, too, are gardening in an area that has a very specific sunlight pattern through the day and are surrounded by trees and structures. Many people told us we wouldn't be able to do exactly what we have successfully been able to do over the last few years. Maybe we will do a video on our experience with this. Thanks for the inspiration, Mark!
I took out just enough trees to put in a garden space here in the foothills of the Appalachia. I haven't seen any problems that they are referring to. Provides just enough shade to keep it from burning up in the summer months.
I have just filled my raised beds,put logs in the bottom but I chipped them first with my Hansa chipper.Looking forward to your podcast about your new Hansa
Mark we were told that too about gum trees. Most of our property is gums, however our fruit trees and veggies are absolutely thriving THANX!!!😂😅 Our peas are size of marbles and tangelos are THE sweetest!!! 👌 P.s. our bananas🍌 like a bit of gum leaf mulch mixed in too.
Amazing video, like always!!! I have lots of old growths, lots of berries grow naturally here, but not entire sure about veggies and other types of fruits. This video has been an amazing inspiration!
I had an incredible eggplant season last SummerSouth East QLD. And I knew I had root knot nematode. We had so many eggplants from the one plant. We got si k of them. When I dig around the roots I van see they we’re definitely affected. I haven’t really addressed the nematode issue yet. I’m still growing winter food. Brassicas etc. a garden is always an experiment 🌻🌻🌻
In syntropic agriforestry eucalyptus grandis is used as an emergent layer planted directly into tree rows. They provide biomass and grown pulses for the fruit trees when pruned routinely. They are however pruned out/killed after about 3-4 years as they can slow the growth of the system if allowed to mature or go into senescence. However by that time another type of emergent is allowed to take over that nurturing role, often a suitably structured tall tree that provides doppled shade but allows enough sun through. Where shade is a concern it’s helpful to remember that all plants have different light requirements. Often contrary to the nursery tag which tends to label almost all plants as “requires full sun to part shade”
I needed shade in my yard and I have gardens around the sunny side and lettuce plants around the shady side Plants do enjoy some shade As for watering you might have to water more but not really because the shade helps cool things not needing as much water
Hello from the central highlands of Mexico, Mark. I've loved watching your videos from your first one, but THIS one really hit home, so to speak! I live on an acre in the midst of a national forest - all gum trees, nowhere to set up a garden 10m from one or more trees, pretty much 3-4m max. Before I started gardening five years ago, I read all I could find about eucalypts - all gloom and doom: toxic to anything you plant, rob the water and nutrients, can't use leaves for mulch, or trunks and branches for hugelkultur, etc. VERY few positives, but I told myself I'd do my own experiments anyway, damn the torpedos and full speed ahead. I have citrus growing within 3m and they're fine, producing well. I make leaf mold and compost from the leaves and they work beautifully, just takes longer. But, I sure wish I had known about the root intrusion into raised beds before I started those. Now in fourth year of raised beds (hugelkultur based) and had to partially dig up one bed to repair a side that was bending out. Discovered massive euc root invasion. Backhoe trenches out of the question, but the mere thought of digging all 10 beds up, putting a root barrier down and starting all over makes this old lady weep!! (And yes, I have visions of torpedoing the eucs!)
Hi Mark, I’m in California in the U.S. and lots of,people use those same eucalyptus trees as wind breaks here. They’re horrible trees, lol. I will admit they’re beautiful, but here in our hot and dry climate they cause issues. My neighbor has his entire 2 acre property ranges with them and I can’t grow anything within about 40 feet of that side of my property. I had a bunch of horse manure delivered and I let it compost about 30 feet from the tree line and when I moved it, it was packed full of eucalyptus roots. They drop so much debris and leaves and that seems to also hinder growth under them. I have a fantastic garden and when I get too close to that side of my property everything struggles to survive while a few feet away it’s lush and abundantly productive. It all gets watered and fertilized the same way so I’m convinced those eucalyptus trees are the culprit.
Funny thing about "experts" is that they give facts based on their own experience, not thinking that other people might have different outcomes. And that's when they tell you that because THEY FAILED means that you will too. WRONG. so wrong. Do your own research, youre doing great❤
The success level of gardening around large trees is largely about what type of trees you have. Our eucalypts create a dappled shade, so growing things under them isn't too terrible, and in fact highly beneficial for many plants during the extreme heat of our summers, but too close and roots can get a bit invasive. Many of the large deciduous species of the northern hemisphere block out a lot more sunlight during summer creating full shade that veggies won't grow under at all, but they allow full light through during winter. Trees like Jacaranda have very wide shallow mat forming invasive roots that make it hard to grow much around them. Then there's Athel Pines which salt the ground around them making it impossible for anything else to grow there. Large eucalyptus are actually one of the better trees to be growing near given some of the alternatives.
Thank you Mark for your wonderful work and share. From Québec, stubborn french speaking canadian hahaha ! Going through tough winters and an ocean of english speaking. By the way I just love, love your australian accent ! Really sweet.
I have a similar property set up, here in Montreal, Canada. I also get sufficient rainfall and I think following your own, logic based, reasoning wins every time 😉 Love your work mate, keep that knowledge coming! Wish I could grow sugar cane, sigh 😢 Thanks Marc!
Everyone has obstacles to circumvent you have yours and are working out how to deal with it. I have just moved to a property 1440ft above sea level in South Wales (the original one!) from East Anglia (sea level peat soil), I'm now finding ways to deal with a shorter growing season that's colder but I'll get there! Perseverance and note taking help in this.
Citrus roots feed in the top 12 inches of soil and usually grow about the same diameter as the drip area so I don't see how deep eucalyptus roots can compete.
Hi Mark. I have a lot of trees around my place also... But I do need to take a few trees down because of hazards. The squirrels planted a black walnut (there are others on my place and they are common here) under some nearby pines and I did not know it was there for some time. We have cut it down several times, it keeps coming back. I planted the pines years ago, and they were a gift from friends. They are now 70 feet or more tall... I do not want to kill my pines, and that black walnut is hard up against one of them. If/when those pines come down, it will cause much trouble in any direction. That black walnut poisoned a compost pile that I had to get rid of. It killed an apple tree, and maybe other damages? My tame berries are in containers because it would kill them. Another black walnut (it had been cut down) had been too near my garden, and killed many blueberries, raspberries and tomatoes before I knew what the trouble was. Black walnuts have a chemical called juglone that poisons many kinds of plants. They were here long before I moved here. The elms and most others are okay, but they can sometimes make trouble too. In spite of that, I have most of my trees anyway. I would warn against planting trumpet vines though, they are very invasive and make many problems. I do enjoy your videos from "down under".... Zone 6b MO USA.
Would have more worries that there would be too much nutrition for the gums, rather than than the other way round.I have been successful growing around gums as long as the beds were raised.You,re a success keep doing it your way many thanks Mark
"Sometimes the experts can be wrong". I appreciate you saying this. Just wish more people would realise this doesn't just apply to gardening (where the experts are probably correct more often than medical "experts", financial "experts", nutritional "experts" or climate "experts".
I'm eastern US and my raised beds are too close to some massive pines, about 20-25 meters tall. The roots come into my beds every year, but they don't have enough time to grow into anything significant and I just pull them out every spring.
Looking at your solar panels and angle they are set the sun would go in align with that (I would imagine) and thus the fruit trees and vegie patch would get good number of hours of sun and my understanding dithered light is still good (probably not so for commercial farms but then they will have shade issues too all in a row etc).
It’s sorta like I’ve always said, need to learn how to run your garden not someone else’s. I watch a few gardening channels on RUclips but I know that what I grow will be different, due to climate and my garden as well as different varieties and different growing methods. The end product is hopefully the same, to feed the family! But I know that my garden won’t be like yours as I live in the south east coast of the uk not Australia and the weather is far different. Our summer temperatures are your winter once’s in places lol. No wonder so many retired people want to more there for the weather. Lol Thanks for sharing your experience and teaching us to try things and see what happens. As you won’t know until you try. Take care mate
You're also using raised beds, which keep roots out of your main veg garden. And I've seen how well you fertilize and 'water water water'. So you are actively compensating for the trees, to some extent.
G'day Everyone, thank you for your support! For those I have bumped into lately at various random locations, I appreciate you coming up to me and saying hello and telling me what you are growing. It's great to hear first-hand about you "getting into it!" Remember to check the video's description (if you are looking for more information on specific products) mentioned in the video. I only work with Brands and products I personally like and use myself. Cheers :)
Great video Mark.
Have a ripper mate!
I love it, Mark!
They're not called food forests for nothin. ha.
Always watching from Southeastern Oklahoma, USA. I grow some citrus in pots. Limes, a lemon and a blood orange, most of which I started from seed...so will I get true to type fruit? Maybe. Maybe not, but I love growing my fruit trees from seed. In fact, I have about 10 apple trees from my own apple tree and can't wait till they bloom and set fruit to see what's what!
My citrus have to come inside during the winter. I have a huge grow tent with grow lights where they hang out with the tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and greens that provide us fresh eating during the long, cold months we get here. In the dead of winter, I have my own little food forest to keep me cheery until Spring! Maybe someday, hub will get on that greenhouse he's always promised! lol
Much love and blessings...from my dirt to yours!
Thanks for this instructive video! I'm reading a book right now which may be interesting to you: _Finding the Mother Tree,_ by Suzanne Simard. (I see that it can be downloaded in PDF, free from several sites.) It is about the interrelation of forest ecosystems, and how plants, fungi, and bacteria cooperate, feed, and protect one another. Her theory was dismissed by the Forest Service as timber companies had decided to grow their trees like corn, on a near-sterilized soil. Over the years, with many experiments, she proved the importance of mixed planting, and is now considered an authority on the subject.
❤❤❤❤ I'm growing two fig tree, one citrus in pot, basil in pot and one mango in pot
@Selfsufficientme
My garden is small but planted different trees there! 2 avocado, 3 guava, 4 citrus trees! All give fruits, except the citrus!!
I live in Zamboanga City, 🇵🇭! We have plenty of rain times! I also grew vegetables, like eggplants, spinach, ginger, and turmeric; sweet potatoes graw nicely here! I'm grateful, Mark!
Gets notepad and write: first step, buy a big property with lot of trees. 😐
Jokes apart, love you and your work Mark.
1. That is a testament to properly preparing the soil, and caring for your plants
2. Einstein said, when you stop learning, you start dieing. ❤
1. True, if you properly prepare prior to planting plants prosper, producing plentiful pickin.
2. Counter proposal to Einstein's theory: When you're born, you start dying.
Hi Mark. You do what your intuition and experience tells you. Too many so called experts give wrong advice. For example , even professors get it it wrong much of the time. Too much of the time for my liking ! Take care. Do what you know is right and not what others think they know about something they really don't. Love your content. Thanks for the journey.
It's because we live in an idiocracy. An institutional system where obedience is rewarded over intelligence. Genius recognizes genius.
@@slamrock17 Too true. I can give rediculous instances of so called professors (Tim Flannery for e.g.) who stated that a certain dam in Australia would never fill up again ! Two weeks later it was in overspill and has never been empty or will never be! He was employed by the Australian Government but resigned before the truth came out. Professors are not always what they seem. Mostly, in my friendship with a few they are purely accademic with few common sense cells in their bodies.
Too many superlatives like genius are used these days with little or no understanding of what genius is. I certainly do not know what a genius is even though it has a dictionary meaning. I have come to the conclusion that genius is subjective and I have my 'opinion' on the matter. Regards and thank you for your comment.
I always go back to the saying "those who can't do, teach"
@@slamrock17 So right.Thanks for your view. I really do have a practical experience of this.😄
Reminds me of a time I fixed the mechanism in my toilets tank with a taught shoe lace. My engineer brother replaced a crap plastic handle and took it upon himself to replace my shoe lace with a coat hanger. Coat hanger metal snapped within about 6 months max, my nylon shoe lace is still in there lol
Hey Mark,
The Meyer Lemon tree originated from an old man who was a citrus farmer in Fillmore, California, USA.
He was a friend of my Grandfather’s, who also grew citrus for “Sunkist”.
One day when I was spending time with my grandparents, Old Man Meyer stopped by and my grandfather introduced me to him.
I was 7 or 8 years old and I put out my right hand to shake his hand and said, Hi, Old Man Meyer.
My grandfather got on to me because he thought I was being disrespectful.
Old Man Meyer, said to my grandfather, Charlie, everyone in town knows me as Old Man Meyer. I thought you knew that.
That day Old Man Meyer grafted a Meyer Lemon branch onto my grandparents citrus tree, which had oranges, tangerines, tangelos, lime and the Meyer Lemon.
That tree was for their own personal purpose.
The rest of the orchard was for Sunkist.
Every time I buy some Meyer Lemons, even now, over 50 years later I think about meeting Old Man Meyer that day with my grandfather.
Old Man Meyer figured out how to “create” the Meyer Lemon from reading about them from a long forgotten man from Japan who figured out how to cross 2 or 3 different citrus fruits to come up with the Meyer Lemon.
My wife and I live in north central Washington state USA and here we grow apples, cherries, peaches, apricots, etc, so we have to buy our Meyer Lemons and other citrus fruits from my sister who still lives in Fillmore, California.
Cheers !
I love this story! Thank you for sharing. My daughter has the most gorgeous Meyer lemon tree that gifts us every season. My grandfather used to graft all manners of citrus together. I have fond memories of him showing me how. One side of the tree gave tangerines and the other, FL orange. He would take his pocket knife out and cut the peel from the top of the fruit in a spiral going down. You would then suck the juice from the top while squeezing. Juice running down to your elbows:)
Very cool
What a great story! Thanks for sharing.
@@lenorabearer5764 You’re welcome
@@Doc1855 10k acres! So happy to know that American families still own that kind of acreage. What a great trade fruits/veggies for beef/pork; nice.
Studies have shown trees that have mixing roots share resources through mycelium. I think advice should be to grow small trees close to big trees! 😊
especially nitrogen-fixing trees and shrubs. Acacias, Sheoaks etc here in Australia. It'll make the native fauna very happy too!
I planted a rain forest in my urban property. Blokes asked me if I was doing jungle warfare in my yard so I said "yes". Told them I had a bunker system as well. I then started growing veggies, and the same people said it could not be done, but it worked, I had only a small space left to use but I grew a number of veggies. I would prefer an acreage just to grow more trees for habitat and also food. Love your show.
Tree root spread is about the same as the canopy so if your fence is 20 metres from the trees then root penetration into your garden will be low. No worries Mark!! Your trees show the evidence of abundant fruit. Weed mat under the garden beds will also deter root growth from trees. 👍
weed mat is horrible for the environment :(. Mark has more than enough space for nature and him to co-exist :)
Thank you for this video. Important message that native flora and food gardens need not be in conflict.
I cannot wait to watch this. I’ve just bought a house with significant tree coverage. Couldn’t be better timed!
I think that the fact that you are using raised garden beds has helped your gardening success.
I'm glad you kept those gum trees healthy.
They are beautiful!
I have Lilly pillys around, yet tomatoes thrive in the diffuse light, so do my citrus. Others not so much. You have to pick and choose what works in such cases. Good to take advice and see what works for you. Most basic veggies have root systems that won't care too much about more deep rooted trees including eucalyptus, citrus are fairly shallow rooted too and do ok in shady areas. Mine produced almost 100 fruit on trees that are only 6 foot tall in half shade. Great video, yet again.
hooray for big trees
not plastic barriers!
Glad to hear your back is OK again.
I have learned quite a while ago that conventional farmers are no source for information about any form of sustainable farming or gardening. Listen to what they have to say, learn from what they are doing and draw your conclusions. But a "that is not going to work" from a conventional farmer has very little meaning. Which is not surprising considereng that they see soil as a sponge for mineral fertilizer :(
They till, fertilize with pellets and liquid shit, plant, fertilize a bit more, spray weed killer, use machines to harvest.
Let's just say I have learned a lot more from a friend who is a small scale organic farmer than those traditional ones.
Like you I tend to ignore most other gardeners, but always try and new veggies at least 3 times before I give up. Now I do try to keep the full sun veggies in the sun, and plant shade loving plants under the taller sun loving plants. But I never listen to, it won't grow here, at least till I give it a try.
It's a beautiful when everything lives in harmony... I always say, trust your instincts ... Thank you for a very informative video..
You add compost and leave spoilt dropped fruit under the trees, so plenty of nutrients getting returned even if those trees are using some.
Hello uncle Mark. many many thanks, today my 5 yrs son was watching with me your video; he was very happy with your talking and beautiful Australian accent 😀
While I was amazed by the way you were managing your beautiful garden! I have a small garden and I am very much thankful for your videos from which I benefit a lot!
Best wishes to you, friend!❤
Glad you had better luck than me with gum trees. I've seen first hand numerous times how gum trees suck the water and nutrients from good soil. Imagine a raised bed filled with horse manure, turns to hydrophobic sand within 2 years with gum tree roots as thick as your finger all through it matted together like a solid block. They even come up out of the ground into the bottom of flower pots and turn that into sand. Now I have only wicking beds. Pots go in trays and the tree roots swirl around underneath in a solid layer when you lift the tray up. Geotextile doesn't stop them. We don't get much rain.
Yes it definitely depends on where you live. Mark is in the sub tropics and gets plenty of rain, and I’m sure has nice soil to plant into.
I’m like you, I only have wicking beds now for my semi shade veggies, and they all thrive and are nearly under a large eucalyptus. The same eucalyptus that sucked dry a garden bed I’d put alongside my hoop house where I have my wicking beds.
I am not really fond of gum trees, for many reasons.
I always get comments like that Mark.
"That tree will destroy your wall"
"That tree will destroy your foundation"
"Nothing will grow next to that tree"
"That tree will get too big"
All have been wrong so far. These things don't magically happen. If it does happen it will be a a slow gradual process that will give you ample time to adjust and modify if necessary. Most people are unaware of how they project their fears and ignorance. I'll just continue to enjoy the process without fear and I'll keep reaping the rewards. Experiment and push boundaries and you'll be surprised how "wrong" most people are. Thanks as always.
Peter Cundle and (by association) Gardening Australia were staple viewing for my Nan, Mum, and (eventually) me. Mark, you are approaching legend status. ABC Australia and you should hash out a deal and give the mainstream some of your experience. Good on ya mate. 2.34M subscribers is bigger than any TV show you grew up watching. $0.02 from a 53 year old Tasmanian genuine subscriber.
G'day Matt, yes, mate, Peter Cundle was an inspiration for me also - what a legend! Thanks for your kind words and support. Cheers :)
And yep, youre a legend Mark!
Loved Peter Cundall -
"And that, I'm afraid, is your lot for the week!"❤ really enjoyed his segments about the veggie patch in the Botanical Gardens.
Don't let others bring negativity into what you do, especially these days. There are many out there who don't like self sufficiency. They'd rather see us starve.
That's a bit of hyperbole...let's not exaggerate.
I started gardening and some people reaction was "why you do that?you can buy everything in supermarket" Maybe it is some kind of gealousy..@@jw4879
Agree
Very true words! And if I took any notice of the haters I wouldn't be a RUclipsr... All the best :)
I only have one criticism Mark. I just want ore videos. I don’t care if it’s just you weeding and watering. I would Tcg it all
Such a well done video on this subject. And I never find myself getting distracted or tired during an episode of "Self-sufficient Me." Thank you for what you do.
My sister is gone now and we didn't agree on much, but she & I both appreciated your videos so much. I love being able to remember our good moments when watching your shows ❤
G'day Susan, it's nice of you to share such positive feedback. All the best to you and your sister! Cheers :)
My brother, who was an agronomist in the NT, used to define an 'expert' this way: 'X', the unknown factor; 'spurt', a drip under pressure. I live in a part of Sydney with a lot of mature eucalyptus trees. Their roots will seek out nearby treasure, i.e. nutrient- and water-rich raised gardens beds, but if you put a reasonable amount of distance between your plants and the trees, it is a manageable issue.
Here's a gum tree sized thumbs up. I love your content and your attitude. 👍👍👍
Thank you Loren! :)
That the trees bring in birds is definitely a big benefit 🐛🐌🐜🐦👍
I always thought you were a great gardener an awesome one at that.
GOOD MORNING MARK FROM GEORGIA, USA.
G'day Diane! All the best :)
Thanks Mark, I always enjoy watching your videos, they are very informative.
I’ve had several folk tell me how to or how not to grow things I was already growing successfully. I’m always happy to listen to advice and often have. Mostly I do my reading ( books) and then go to garden centres and speak to the staff over 45. Then I watch channels like yours. Always being careful of weird advice. Planning and good soil.. and I talk to my seedling like the precious little babies they are❤❤❤❤ weird? Me? Nevah!
Thanks Mark
G'day Mark, cold here down in Victoria right now but rugged up and the fire going inside.
I have a massive Avocado tree and some gums shading my raised beds but like you, I don't have a problem whatsoever with intrusive roots etc..
P.S: your citrus trees look magnificent mate!!! :)
You’ve come up with great solutions! But I get their point though. If it wasn’t so boggy, and you had in ground beds, and the trees weren’t so far away you’d have more problems. And I’m sure different species of trees have different growth habits that would effect how intrusive they would be to the garden. Good thing to think about when placing your beds.
I have had experience of a big gum tree sucking moisture out of my plants!
I own 3 acres on the Mid North Coast of NSW. The soil is hard clay, with little to no topsoil. We have wet summers and dry winters. We are classed as warm temperate.
The first tree I ever planted after buying the block was a Meyer Lemon, but after 10 years of it staying the same size, I pulled it out. I bought a new Eureka lemon tree and also a Tahitian lime, and put them in big pots to grow them on for 12 months. They were so healthy and happy. I then decided to put them in the ground, so chose a site that was sheltered from the strong winds we get, but was also sunny. So my partner made this lovely 3x1m raised bed out of hardwood which I’d tried to grow veggies in, but nothing thrived. So I thought not great for veggies, I’ll plant my beautiful, healthy, thriving lemon and lime into this bed, but straight away the lemon started getting yellow leaves and losing leaves. The lime was similarly affected. Eventually the lemon lost 90% of its leaves, the lime maybe half. I pulled them out and repotted them and have brought them back to life.
I couldn’t understand why this was happening but then came across information about planting near eucalypts, and realised I was 10m from a big gum, and bingo! That was my answer and made perfect sense. When I’d had veggies in the bed, I never seemed to be able to keep the water up to them.
So now, I have the citrus in big pots sitting in the bed, and I grow Mediterranean style herbs, which thrive in the dry conditions.
So eucalyptus trees are definitely something to take into account when planting near them, but I’d never cut one down or rip it’s roots, each tree is too valuable to me. During my research I found that a maximum of 30 metre is a good rule, to keep plants away from my beautiful eucalyptus trees.
I live in coastal South Texas, next to a wildlife sanctuary. The brush, across the fence sends sucker roots into my corn amd sorghum fields. I put a subsoil chisel on my tractor and make three or four passes, a foot apart, every two to three years to prevent loss of production. DL Bates
"I'm always learning."
That's why I love your channel Mark!
A home grower should always try new things, other than dumping chemicals into their property. And I don't mean constantly trying new things, I mean things you want to do and hope will work even though it's supposedly not ideal for where they live.
There is SO much variation even over 20 sq. miles if you have a pretty diverse environment especially if there are urban areas mixed around with land that's been left alone, you have rivers nearby. etc....... So you get a pretty diverse amount of microclimates, and this is something no standard recommendations can account for. The fact that you have roads and houses ALONE introduces opportunity.
And even if something fails once, maybe simply putting that item in a different location on the property is all that's needed and those are things figured out by research on what it is you're growing along with old fashioned effort and applying lessons learned.
LOVE what you do there.
Trees create shade, water loves shade.
Trees love water
Mark,
Have you ever heard of a Marion berry?
It’s like a Raspberry or Blackberry, but there’s no seeds in the fruit.
When they’re ripe they’re Black.
In our area of the PNW, every time a bird eats on of our Raspberries and poops, we get another vine.
The Marion berry plant will stop that.
No I haven't but I'll do some Googling! Cheers :)
Love your work, Mark. As an aside, that 'owl' is a tawny frogmouth - a member of the nightjar family. They loooove insects!
Great and informative video. One thing I have learnt from watching and listening to family gardeners talk, is always use your intuition and gut instinct. 👍
Hey Mark, when you are talking about whether or not the big trees will suck up all of your nutrients, you are spot on in saying that they will only take what they 'need'. Liebig's Law states that regardless of how many excess nutrients there are, there will always be something limiting the plant's growth. In other words, no matter how much nitrogen you give a tree, if it is deficient in phosphorus it will not keep sucking up the available nitrogen. Eventually, if you are pumping so many nutrients into your soil, the plant will be limited by the amount of water or sunlight it can absorb at any given time. Spot on with your intuition. Love the videos.
That’s extremely helpful Mark thank you
Thank you Brian! Cheers mate :)
@@Selfsufficientme No, thank you :)
This has given us great hope Our Community Garden is bordered by huge trees we are in WA, so coping with sand, not soil and wind in our Council granted land via an MOU is a challenge We have mostly raised garden beds and we are hoping to create an orchard So far our garden is thriving ❤ Your tutorials are awesome and so helpful Thankyou Padbury Community Garden ✅👍❤️
I live in Georgia USA. The entire Appalachian mountain chain is considered a rain forest...lot of people don't know that. I have a half acre and my trees surrounding my property and even on my property, have not held me back with my gardening. We get lots and lots of rain. I have managed to grow a vegetable garden and gave loads of flowers as well. You just have to know where your sun is coming from. I organic garden and am very successful.
I planted a ton of fruit trees very close together and also under a large tree canopy, different trees thrive in different conditions so it's just a matter of finding a good spot for what you want and use all the layers - I use strawberries, boysenberries, and herbs as ground cover then taller herbs, berries, currants and flowers underneath and surrounding dwarf / semi-dwarf fruit trees, and nut trees on the outer edge in the back where they don't block the sun.
Mother Nature at work doing what she does best .
We have a simlar situation only worze. An Ergon easement is our only clear space, therest is protected native forest. Our citrus are doing really well and the hickson mandarin still has a few ripe fruit on it and is already bursting with new flowers. Love your videos.
Love all your videos. Milzie C Here in Oregon USA. Been watching you for years now, first time with a comment, So much good info. Keep going on your special garden. I use lots of your ideas about in my area. You inspire so many people to get out and grow your own food, so important in these troubled last days. Bless you and your garden.
Great video. I have my upper garden right next to several different species of trees (my mini forest). All my beds in this garden are raised and I have weed fabric down so I don't have to mow between the beds. So far I have had no issues with the trees and I love that this upper garden is shaded after 3 pm in the spring and summer days. My garden is thriving in this location.
I grow vegetables right up close to gum trees, no issues. Some things that don't like partial shade don't thrive, but plenty of things do fine. I had issues with pumpkins and melons getting sooty mildew, everything else is fine.
I know I’m late so you probably won’t see this, but as always I am so thankful for this video!!!
Hubby and I purchased 27 acres of fairly heavily wooded land in NSW Cowra ! Of course everything here is eucalyptus ( with some pine) so I was so upset to hear I “can’t use” the dead trees for hugelkultur or compost or mulch etc etc due to some toxic compound blah blah blah but bugger it!
My gut says once it’s dead and broken down a little that it will be fine so “getting back into it” and gunna give it a red hot go!
Trees draw in water and they are life.
When I started gardening, I put a raised bed lined with cardboard about 20-25ft from a perennial chayote. At the end of the season, I cleaned up the bed and I found big, long, thick roots of chayote when I was fluffing up the soil. These things are super tough and prolific. I since moved the bed because I didn’t want to remove the chayote. I’m in N. Cali zone9b
My gum tree allowed squirrels, raccoons to have a safe place to live and watch me plant seeds to go eat or ripening fruits. Plus the spikey seeds blended with the soil to poke under my nail beds when I dug the soil to plant.
Hi Mark, love your channel. I grow many fruit trees & veggies whilst my property, also SEQ, is surrounded my mature gumtrees. People are astounded by what I’ve grown. Your tips are great. I also think that fruit trees and veggies are surface feeders, having feeder roots in the topsoil for nutrients and water. Gumtrees on the other-hand have long extensive roots mainly to find water. I find if I apply water, manure and fertiliser lightly but often to the surface feeder roots the fruit trees & veg, they thrive under or near the gums 🌱
Love it. Good advice is always appreciated but trusting your gut is important too. Great video
I am in Canada, so you plants/ fruits are interesting.
The trench idea, we use gravel in the dugout trench and its used as a drainage .
walnut tree in Canada is similar to your gum tree, as it root system release a toxic substance to keep out competition tree varieties
Its called a french trench
I have raised bed near my oak, mulberry and figs (not directly under) and I do have to dig out feeder roots every year but I don’t have much choice. I do it in the spring when I’m getting my beds ready.
I love how you felt the need to clarify that Gums aren't some insidious hivemind, trying to penetrate all garden beds 🤣
I feel that your constant growth of mowable material and the addition of organic matter everywhere keeps the whole area nutrient dense
As always, thanks Mark, so much insight and valuable information.
Love your work 🙂
Hi Mark. I live in suburban Adelaide with neighbors growing Large gum trees. I have had to raise my garden beds above ground level on concrete pads set on timber
and set my raised beds on the slabs. Occasionally I still have to dig the bed out (every 2 or 3 years) but I do that as part of reconditioning the bed.
High Mark glad it worked for, I am in east Gippsland on a sandy type soil,no problem with gum trees but the Blackwood trees are nightmare a tree that is only 20 feet across the canopy can send roots out well over fifty meters and the do make a bee line to all your improved soil namely your gardens and fruit trees. They will suck every bit of goodness out of the soil, as a result I have removed every Blackwood from my yard and replaced them with more garden friendly trees, I have large gum trees and they give me no problems except for shading the garden in winter
Thanks for this one. I have some raised beds under an apple tree and two figs. They are on the south side (light side) of the trees so they get plenty of sunlight but the fig trees do have invasive roots. SO far this has not been a real issue for the crops I am growing in the beds. My garden is so small that it is quite an advantage to make use of this space if I can. I reason that the compost and soil actually benefit the fruit trees. And I’ve gotten good yields from both. (I’m gardening in a semi arid climate.)
Very inspirational video, Mark! We, too, are gardening in an area that has a very specific sunlight pattern through the day and are surrounded by trees and structures. Many people told us we wouldn't be able to do exactly what we have successfully been able to do over the last few years. Maybe we will do a video on our experience with this. Thanks for the inspiration, Mark!
I took out just enough trees to put in a garden space here in the foothills of the Appalachia. I haven't seen any problems that they are referring to. Provides just enough shade to keep it from burning up in the summer months.
I have just filled my raised beds,put logs in the bottom but I chipped them first with my Hansa chipper.Looking forward to your podcast about your new Hansa
Mark we were told that too about gum trees. Most of our property is gums, however our fruit trees and veggies are absolutely thriving THANX!!!😂😅
Our peas are size of marbles and tangelos are THE sweetest!!! 👌
P.s. our bananas🍌 like a bit of gum leaf mulch mixed in too.
Amazing video, like always!!! I have lots of old growths, lots of berries grow naturally here, but not entire sure about veggies and other types of fruits. This video has been an amazing inspiration!
I had an incredible eggplant season last SummerSouth East QLD. And I knew I had root knot nematode. We had so many eggplants from the one plant. We got si k of them. When I dig around the roots I van see they we’re definitely affected. I haven’t really addressed the nematode issue yet. I’m still growing winter food. Brassicas etc. a garden is always an experiment 🌻🌻🌻
In syntropic agriforestry eucalyptus grandis is used as an emergent layer planted directly into tree rows. They provide biomass and grown pulses for the fruit trees when pruned routinely. They are however pruned out/killed after about 3-4 years as they can slow the growth of the system if allowed to mature or go into senescence. However by that time another type of emergent is allowed to take over that nurturing role, often a suitably structured tall tree that provides doppled shade but allows enough sun through.
Where shade is a concern it’s helpful to remember that all plants have different light requirements. Often contrary to the nursery tag which tends to label almost all plants as “requires full sun to part shade”
Thanks Mark I've been waiting for someone to talk about this issue.
You were very helpful keep up the good work
I needed shade in my yard and I have gardens around the sunny side and lettuce plants around the shady side
Plants do enjoy some shade
As for watering you might have to water more but not really because the shade helps cool things not needing as much water
I’m doing the same in the U.S. I have my orchard surrounded by huge oaks and pines. The name for it is agro-forestry.
Hello from the central highlands of Mexico, Mark. I've loved watching your videos from your first one, but THIS one really hit home, so to speak! I live on an acre in the midst of a national forest - all gum trees, nowhere to set up a garden 10m from one or more trees, pretty much 3-4m max. Before I started gardening five years ago, I read all I could find about eucalypts - all gloom and doom: toxic to anything you plant, rob the water and nutrients, can't use leaves for mulch, or trunks and branches for hugelkultur, etc. VERY few positives, but I told myself I'd do my own experiments anyway, damn the torpedos and full speed ahead. I have citrus growing within 3m and they're fine, producing well. I make leaf mold and compost from the leaves and they work beautifully, just takes longer. But, I sure wish I had known about the root intrusion into raised beds before I started those. Now in fourth year of raised beds (hugelkultur based) and had to partially dig up one bed to repair a side that was bending out. Discovered massive euc root invasion. Backhoe trenches out of the question, but the mere thought of digging all 10 beds up, putting a root barrier down and starting all over makes this old lady weep!! (And yes, I have visions of torpedoing the eucs!)
Hi Mark, I’m in California in the U.S. and lots of,people use those same eucalyptus trees as wind breaks here. They’re horrible trees, lol. I will admit they’re beautiful, but here in our hot and dry climate they cause issues. My neighbor has his entire 2 acre property ranges with them and I can’t grow anything within about 40 feet of that side of my property. I had a bunch of horse manure delivered and I let it compost about 30 feet from the tree line and when I moved it, it was packed full of eucalyptus roots. They drop so much debris and leaves and that seems to also hinder growth under them. I have a fantastic garden and when I get too close to that side of my property everything struggles to survive while a few feet away it’s lush and abundantly productive. It all gets watered and fertilized the same way so I’m convinced those eucalyptus trees are the culprit.
We have gum trees and she-oak around our yard here in Tasmania. We have a large variety of fruit trees.
Funny thing about "experts" is that they give facts based on their own experience, not thinking that other people might have different outcomes. And that's when they tell you that because THEY FAILED means that you will too. WRONG. so wrong. Do your own research, youre doing great❤
The success level of gardening around large trees is largely about what type of trees you have. Our eucalypts create a dappled shade, so growing things under them isn't too terrible, and in fact highly beneficial for many plants during the extreme heat of our summers, but too close and roots can get a bit invasive. Many of the large deciduous species of the northern hemisphere block out a lot more sunlight during summer creating full shade that veggies won't grow under at all, but they allow full light through during winter. Trees like Jacaranda have very wide shallow mat forming invasive roots that make it hard to grow much around them. Then there's Athel Pines which salt the ground around them making it impossible for anything else to grow there. Large eucalyptus are actually one of the better trees to be growing near given some of the alternatives.
Thank you Mark for your wonderful work and share.
From Québec, stubborn french speaking canadian hahaha !
Going through tough winters and an ocean of english speaking. By the way I
just love, love your australian accent ! Really sweet.
I have a similar property set up, here in Montreal, Canada. I also get sufficient rainfall and I think following your own, logic based, reasoning wins every time 😉
Love your work mate, keep that knowledge coming!
Wish I could grow sugar cane, sigh 😢
Thanks Marc!
Everyone has obstacles to circumvent you have yours and are working out how to deal with it. I have just moved to a property 1440ft above sea level in South Wales (the original one!) from East Anglia (sea level peat soil), I'm now finding ways to deal with a shorter growing season that's colder but I'll get there! Perseverance and note taking help in this.
Citrus roots feed in the top 12 inches of soil and usually grow about the same diameter as the drip area so I don't see how deep eucalyptus roots can compete.
Hi Mark. I have a lot of trees around my place also... But I do need to take a few trees down because of hazards. The squirrels planted a black walnut (there are others on my place and they are common here) under some nearby pines and I did not know it was there for some time. We have cut it down several times, it keeps coming back. I planted the pines years ago, and they were a gift from friends. They are now 70 feet or more tall... I do not want to kill my pines, and that black walnut is hard up against one of them. If/when those pines come down, it will cause much trouble in any direction. That black walnut poisoned a compost pile that I had to get rid of. It killed an apple tree, and maybe other damages? My tame berries are in containers because it would kill them. Another black walnut (it had been cut down) had been too near my garden, and killed many blueberries, raspberries and tomatoes before I knew what the trouble was. Black walnuts have a chemical called juglone that poisons many kinds of plants. They were here long before I moved here.
The elms and most others are okay, but they can sometimes make trouble too. In spite of that, I have most of my trees anyway. I would warn against planting trumpet vines though, they are very invasive and make many problems.
I do enjoy your videos from "down under".... Zone 6b MO USA.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience, I am more enthusiastic about gardening 🥳
Would have more worries that there would be too much nutrition for the gums, rather than than the other way round.I have been successful growing around gums as long as the beds were raised.You,re a success keep doing it your way many thanks Mark
"Sometimes the experts can be wrong". I appreciate you saying this. Just wish more people would realise this doesn't just apply to gardening (where the experts are probably correct more often than medical "experts", financial "experts", nutritional "experts" or climate "experts".
I'm so incredibly jealous of your weather.
Its been really warm this summer in my part of alaska ...70+*f
😢
Great video Mark. My experience with big tree roots and gardening is the same as yours.
I'm eastern US and my raised beds are too close to some massive pines, about 20-25 meters tall. The roots come into my beds every year, but they don't have enough time to grow into anything significant and I just pull them out every spring.
Looking at your solar panels and angle they are set the sun would go in align with that (I would imagine) and thus the fruit trees and vegie patch would get good number of hours of sun and my understanding dithered light is still good (probably not so for commercial farms but then they will have shade issues too all in a row etc).
It’s sorta like I’ve always said, need to learn how to run your garden not someone else’s. I watch a few gardening channels on RUclips but I know that what I grow will be different, due to climate and my garden as well as different varieties and different growing methods. The end product is hopefully the same, to feed the family! But I know that my garden won’t be like yours as I live in the south east coast of the uk not Australia and the weather is far different. Our summer temperatures are your winter once’s in places lol. No wonder so many retired people want to more there for the weather. Lol
Thanks for sharing your experience and teaching us to try things and see what happens. As you won’t know until you try.
Take care mate
Thanks for debunking this common myth!!
glad to see maximus living his best life in elysium 😅
You're also using raised beds, which keep roots out of your main veg garden. And I've seen how well you fertilize and 'water water water'. So you are actively compensating for the trees, to some extent.
Great advice sometimes gardening is trail and error and experience
From Northern USA. I don't know what a gum tree is but, sure do enjoy your postings. Keep it up & Thank you.