So excited to get started on the garden this year. We just recently bought 5 acres to build a new house and start our own little homestead. We're also in the PNW. I think its going to be an interesting year. Let's hope its better than the last 🤞.
Hey you guys be good exactly for your all videos content mostly during Covid 19 Pandemic more Plus Delta apparently so exactly I like enjoying your garden today!
You are so inspiring. You are the woman I wish to be! I don’t know if I’ll ever be on your level, but soon we will be buying our very own little homestead. I have no idea how to grow a garden - my hubby on the other hand is very skilled. I hope to learn more from you! PS- I watched one of your videos yesterday about preserving your food. You showed how you Blanche zucchini and then freeze it. Today I was cleaning out my fridge and found 3 zucchini that needed to be used. Because of your video I now know what to do with this forgotten about zucchini. I am planning on using your method to freeze for soups!
My candy onion seed is 5 years old and still germinates around 80%. The secret is keeping your seed frozen. I have 9 year old beans that germinate great. I also have the same seed storage container. I bought it at Walmart for $14.99. Love it!
We used the daikon radish as a crop in our beans/corn rotation ( soybeans, field corn ) and saw that it's excellent for busting up ground that's been compacted. It also draws deer like crazy so you may want to think about where you want to use this. Buckwheat seed is a natural herbicide, so we planted this together with a Brillion seeder. This worked really well.
In North Texas I do three plantings. One in February for the first cool weather garden. Then in April I can do my summer garden which lasts until July. Then by September I do my last garden. For example, I currently have broccoli, cauliflower, kale, cabbage, spinach, and lettuce growing.
Melissa, I just ordered your books yesterday! Can't wait for them to arrive! It is raining here today and I'm itching to get out in the garden! Your videos bless me so much! Thank you!
I had some several years old onion seed and figured they couldn’t possibly be any good so I just threw them out in the garden. I think every one of them took. It was unbelievable how many onion sets came up!
how are they still alive (the plant) when it is frozen? all of our stuff turns to mush after a freeze, and is totally dead after that. I am not as far north as you but probably higher in elevation.
@@mchrysogelos7623 I heard if you water right before it’s supposed to freeze that helps. Also I heard Brussels taste much sweeter once they have gone through a few freezes. I’m excited to try but I’m in Texas and it gets super hot. Not sure how they will do through high temps.
I don’t know the science behind it, I just know it worked. They can sustain a very heavy frost so I think it is something that Brussels lend themselves well to. You have to pick and use them right away, I tried to store them on the stalk in the root cellar before and that didn’t work very well (also our root cellar is tiny and they took up a lot of space) I was going to blanch and freeze them that year and it got away from me so we just left them out there and it worked out really well for us. (I did have to use a meat cleaver to separate the Brussels from the stalk 😂)
I have your book The Family Garden Plan, and I started filling it out already for this coming gardening season. I also have all your other books as well. Thank you for great resources 😊
Regarding the Siskiyou Seeds that you mentioned - FYI, the name is pronounced sis cue. It is for the Siskiyou Mountains. I live in Florida but was born and raised in southern Oregon. I enjoy your channel.
Thanks so much for sharing. Trying to set our raised beds. Not a lot of luck over the summer but got 6 tomatoes. 👍 now planting potatoes. Live in Florida.
good for you. I have tried for several years and one thing after another seems to happen. I just about gave up last year, but was able to get some green beans, and what many would call 'weeds' but I find are some of the best stuff - You don't have to plant them, you don't have to care for them, and they do AMAZING things (health-wise). Those may be most of my 'crops' for next year!
We moved in 2019 to raw land after selling our previous home, which had a 30x100 greenhouse. We are building our own place so we're extremely busy, but just ordered our new greenhouse from Steubers in Snohomish. Nice to find your channel, you being in the pnw. We want to do meat chickens this year too.
I’m in GA too, try self sufficient me he’s in Australia but his climate is more in line with ours and we’ve tried growing thins on his schedule this go round and seems to be working better.
Thanks for this, [I may have bought a lot of seeds] I live in the country and hope to start a little homestead lifestyle like my parents used to live ♥
I recently organized my seeds and used the cases you are using! My individual compartments are colored, so I put carrots in orange, lettuce in green, tomatoes in pink (no red), etc. For years I've had them in plastic bags, boxes, etc and they were just so messy I didn't know what I had and didn't have.
I am still green when it comes to gardening. No pun intended. I am so overwhelmed. I don't have this kind of space and I live in SoCal so my garden is growing in desert soil. I want to provide for my family but where to start? I love your videos and learn so much. Now i want to use it.
I live in so cal, desert soil too. Get chickens they will help in the process of amending your soil. Compost and start a container garden while you get your soil ready. Best of luck!
Hello from USA!!! I watch many videos from Sweden (YES, - in ENGLISH!!! ha ha). I love how clean it seems over there! but I do NOT like cold (I AM currently living in a somewhat cold place, but hope to move soon). I wish you much success in your gardening; you could possibly use a greenhouse setup to help you out in the cooler times.
I have students and viewers all over the world. Like I mentioned in the video planting is dependent on your last frost date. If you have any questions please let me know! I hope you have a Happy New Year!!
I've had success with Territorial's seeds as well. I'm in the southeast and I like Southern Seed Exchange for some of our heirlooms. We tend to save a lot of seed every year.
Could you do a video on how you deal with garden pests such as caterpillars and slugs? We live in SE AK and have a very rainy climate and we fight cabbage whites as well as several other varieties of caterpillars as well as slugs. Beer traps don't seem to do anything and the granules just disintegrate in all of the rain we get.
I put in an order from Baker Creek a couple days ago. A few things were sold out, but most of the seeds were in stock. Was able to order some bean seeds I wanted last year that were sold out because I waited too long to order last year.
Spring plants -- look for 30-45 maturity or early greens or heirloom seed varieties from colder areas, eg Scotland, Korea, Japan, Baltic states, or high altitudes -- CO, ID, New England, Canadian, etc... Shelter from the wind & rain & things will pull through... Start plants every 2 weeks if at the end or beginning of planting times.
Hello , your knowledge is exceptional , your videos inspirational. I will not say , I wish I had come across your channel earlier , the main thing is I am here now. thankyou and Happy New Year from England ps have you done any Kim Chi videos -im abit scared to make it
😉 you being scared of making Kim-chi reminds of me being scared of doing ANY food canning!!! Kim-Chi for some reason doesn't scare me, but I have done several of those type of things - however, I refrigerate them usually and eat them right away (e.g. kim-chi, pickled onions, sauerkraut, etc.). If I were to store on shelf , i would be nervous about it - although I have done it (very few times!). I have a Korean neighbor who makes Kim-chi constantly, and it is wonderful. I hope to oneday, write down her process from start to finish and try it myself. Good luck with your recipes.
I have been following you for some time now, great videos! I have a question regarding canning. Recently I decided to purchase a canning book, and I considered the Balls book for canning. After reading many of the comments, I always start with the negative comments first, they stated that the new version has some incorrect information. Which book, if any, would you recommend at this time. I am completely confused as to what would be the best for an absolute beginner, that has the most information possible? BTW, you have an awesome channel, thank you for all of your efforts.
Love the organizers, too. Where did you get them? Really helpful information, Melissa. Thank you. Does the planner only apply to your area or all zones?
I organized my seeds right before Christmas and got the same case at Michaels for $14.99. I love it and so easy to find your seeds when needed and know your inventory 😊
This is all really interesting, but it’s like a foreign language to me. I really want to develop the skill of growing my own food and teaching that skill to my kids, but it’s been very difficult and it’s overwhelming for me. Where do you recommend someone like me start? I’m in SoCal in case that matters. Thank you!
Where did you get the seed storage boxes you are using ? I would love to get some to store my seed and keep them organize. Thank you and Happy New Year!!
Thank you for this video!! How do you test the germination rate for seeds? I was gifted a ton of seeds for a variety of flowers and fruit and veggies, from a coworker who is a self proclaimed seed hoarder. But many are many years old now, even as many as 15 years, and I'm new to gardening, but I'm not sure if trying to plant these are even worth it. Any suggestions would be appreciated!!
I don't test mine before hand. I rotate my seeds and usually don't have any over 5 years old. If they're older than 5 years you can put the seeds on a damp paper towel and seal it up to see how many sprout.
How long is your growing season. In North Pole Alaska our growing season is about 90 days so no way could we do three growing seasons unless you are doing radishes. LOL
Even if I were already in a homesteader's dream place, I'd feel overwhelmed by the imenseness of planning a year's food for my family. Too much to take in at once.
yes, but you could also do it in 'baby steps'. It is overwhelming to think about all you need to do to be somewhat 'self-sufficient'. but don't expect to do it all at once. Start with some basic (and easy) crops to encourage you and supply some of what your family needs. And, yes, do involve your family. I think kids would enjoy doing this. Esp. if you were also doing something like chickens (manure = vitamins for crops; crops = some food for chickens). The kids can see the 'cycle' of how things work. Scraps go into compost, etc. etc. I LOVE that stuff!!! anyway. Wish you all the best in your endeavors.
I understand how it can feel overwhelming. This is why I created The Family Garden Plan and The Family Garden Planner to help with this. Choose one thing on the homestead that you'd like to learn first -- gardening, canning, baking etc and start there. Also, don't wait until everything is "perfect." I have so many students that live in apartments or in homes with small yards and get creative and make it work and learn along the way.
So excited to get started on the garden this year. We just recently bought 5 acres to build a new house and start our own little homestead. We're also in the PNW. I think its going to be an interesting year. Let's hope its better than the last 🤞.
That's wonderful to hear! Yes, hopefully will be better than 2020.
Hey you guys be good exactly for your all videos content mostly during Covid 19 Pandemic more Plus Delta apparently so exactly I like enjoying your garden today!
You are so inspiring. You are the woman I wish to be! I don’t know if I’ll ever be on your level, but soon we will be buying our very own little homestead. I have no idea how to grow a garden - my hubby on the other hand is very skilled. I hope to learn more from you! PS- I watched one of your videos yesterday about preserving your food. You showed how you Blanche zucchini and then freeze it. Today I was cleaning out my fridge and found 3 zucchini that needed to be used. Because of your video I now know what to do with this forgotten about zucchini. I am planning on using your method to freeze for soups!
My candy onion seed is 5 years old and still germinates around 80%. The secret is keeping your seed frozen. I have 9 year old beans that germinate great. I also have the same seed storage container. I bought it at Walmart for $14.99. Love it!
We used the daikon radish as a crop in our beans/corn rotation ( soybeans, field corn ) and saw that it's excellent for busting up ground that's been compacted. It also draws deer like crazy so you may want to think about where you want to use this. Buckwheat seed is a natural herbicide, so we planted this together with a Brillion seeder. This worked really well.
Growing up we always rotatilled the ground prior to planting
In North Texas I do three plantings. One in February for the first cool weather garden. Then in April I can do my summer garden which lasts until July. Then by September I do my last garden. For example, I currently have broccoli, cauliflower, kale, cabbage, spinach, and lettuce growing.
That is awesome! Thanks for sharing!
Melissa, I just ordered your books yesterday! Can't wait for them to arrive! It is raining here today and I'm itching to get out in the garden! Your videos bless me so much! Thank you!
I had some several years old onion seed and figured they couldn’t possibly be any good so I just threw them out in the garden. I think every one of them took. It was unbelievable how many onion sets came up!
I might try some of my year-old ones then!
I had the same experience with some very old leek seeds.
I used 7- yr. old beet seeds and they came up and were good!
Nasturtium helps with squash bugs , too.
I have kept Brussels sprouts in the garden all winter, we are in Maine, zone 5. I picked them frozen and they roasted up beautifully.
how are they still alive (the plant) when it is frozen? all of our stuff turns to mush after a freeze, and is totally dead after that. I am not as far north as you but probably higher in elevation.
@@mchrysogelos7623 I heard if you water right before it’s supposed to freeze that helps. Also I heard Brussels taste much sweeter once they have gone through a few freezes. I’m excited to try but I’m in Texas and it gets super hot. Not sure how they will do through high temps.
I don’t know the science behind it, I just know it worked. They can sustain a very heavy frost so I think it is something that Brussels lend themselves well to. You have to pick and use them right away, I tried to store them on the stalk in the root cellar before and that didn’t work very well (also our root cellar is tiny and they took up a lot of space) I was going to blanch and freeze them that year and it got away from me so we just left them out there and it worked out really well for us. (I did have to use a meat cleaver to separate the Brussels from the stalk 😂)
@@mchrysogelos7623 Everything has a different freezing point. It was 12 degrees here last week. My kale, parsley and lettuce are looking pretty good.
You go girl, we do what my parents and grandparents did, can, make jerky, and pickle lots of our veggies.
I have your book The Family Garden Plan, and I started filling it out already for this coming gardening season. I also have all your other books as well. Thank you for great resources 😊
Regarding the Siskiyou Seeds that you mentioned - FYI, the name is pronounced sis cue. It is for the Siskiyou Mountains. I live in Florida but was born and raised in southern Oregon. I enjoy your channel.
Thanks so much for sharing. Trying to set our raised beds. Not a lot of luck over the summer but got 6 tomatoes. 👍 now planting potatoes. Live in Florida.
good for you. I have tried for several years and one thing after another seems to happen. I just about gave up last year, but was able to get some green beans, and what many would call 'weeds' but I find are some of the best stuff - You don't have to plant them, you don't have to care for them, and they do AMAZING things (health-wise). Those may be most of my 'crops' for next year!
I always save my seed each year and Great video btw, thanks! Hope everyone has a great new year!!!
Thanks, you too!
Sweet Melissa, thank you for all info, Happy New Yrs from Alabama, hugs
Happy new year!!
Loving your being Prepared tips and tricks. thank you Mrs Norris for your helpful videos...Happy new year to you and family. 🌟💥⭐️ 🔅🎈🌺🎊🎉
Thankyou ever so much Melissa, I've organized those downloads. This is your best episode yet. Keeping you in 🙏 Love from Australia
I absolutely love your planning book! I'm taking a day this week to fill everything out and get prepared for the spring garden.
Wonderful!
I had just began transitioning my seeds into one of these photo keepers but found I needed another one. Michael's has them on a great sale this week.
We moved in 2019 to raw land after selling our previous home, which had a 30x100 greenhouse. We are building our own place so we're extremely busy, but just ordered our new greenhouse from Steubers in Snohomish. Nice to find your channel, you being in the pnw. We want to do meat chickens this year too.
can you come to Georgia and walk me through all of this step by step? I'm not joking🥰😁
Yes! And then Nova Scotia...pleeeeease!?!?!
I’m in GA too, try self sufficient me he’s in Australia but his climate is more in line with ours and we’ve tried growing thins on his schedule this go round and seems to be working better.
She was in Tennessee last month at the Homesteaders of America hands on workshop; hope you got to go!
Thanks for this, [I may have bought a lot of seeds]
I live in the country and hope to start a little homestead lifestyle like my parents used to live ♥
Thanks Melissa! I love the seed organizer. I just purchased.
Where do you get that?
@@juliedumas1132 Under the video there’s a description drop box. Click on the little arrow, and she has Amazon links.
You can also get similar boxes from Michaels.
Wonderful!
@@lmlindylu thank you.
I recently organized my seeds and used the cases you are using! My individual compartments are colored, so I put carrots in orange, lettuce in green, tomatoes in pink (no red), etc. For years I've had them in plastic bags, boxes, etc and they were just so messy I didn't know what I had and didn't have.
I am still green when it comes to gardening. No pun intended. I am so overwhelmed. I don't have this kind of space and I live in SoCal so my garden is growing in desert soil. I want to provide for my family but where to start?
I love your videos and learn so much. Now i want to use it.
Start with playlist, I did a series on gardening planning here ruclips.net/p/PLM1AU13ArmGT11abE-RfNaeDxtsaLe8UA
I live in so cal, desert soil too. Get chickens they will help in the process of amending your soil. Compost and start a container garden while you get your soil ready. Best of luck!
Marketplace is a great place to start! For totes,buckets etc we have free horse manure all day long in Arizona
look up do dig and no till gardening. it may help
@@morpro4u watch for pesticide residue that stays in horse manure.
Happy new year from north of Sweden! Not really the same zone as you but Im so inspired to start growing much of our own food. 🥔 🥬
Hello from USA!!! I watch many videos from Sweden (YES, - in ENGLISH!!! ha ha). I love how clean it seems over there! but I do NOT like cold (I AM currently living in a somewhat cold place, but hope to move soon). I wish you much success in your gardening; you could possibly use a greenhouse setup to help you out in the cooler times.
I have students and viewers all over the world. Like I mentioned in the video planting is dependent on your last frost date. If you have any questions please let me know! I hope you have a Happy New Year!!
Excellent video full of extremely useful information! thanks from London England 👍❤️😎
Glad it was helpful! Happy New Year!
@@MelissaKNorris Thank you and Happy New year to you and your family also! Here's to a much better 2021 for EVERYONE!! 👍❤️🤞🙏😎
As always a great video, thanks for the inspiring videos
Glad you enjoy them!
Thank you for your help Meliza it seems that you know that the grid going down and you’re really trying to help
Territorial Seeds are also a great resource for seeds. Also a PNW company
MIGardener, even HSCN(home shopping club network) Ty for the referrals
I've had success with Territorial's seeds as well. I'm in the southeast and I like Southern Seed Exchange for some of our heirlooms. We tend to save a lot of seed every year.
What is a PNW co?
Oh Pacific Northwest.👍
Information on your seed storage container please. Loved your video! Great information!
So glad you enjoyed it Seed organizer: amzn.to/35ImK0x
Could you do a video on how you deal with garden pests such as caterpillars and slugs? We live in SE AK and have a very rainy climate and we fight cabbage whites as well as several other varieties of caterpillars as well as slugs. Beer traps don't seem to do anything and the granules just disintegrate in all of the rain we get.
melissa, those are photo storage cases that you have your seeds in, aren't they? very nifty way to store them :)
I put in an order from Baker Creek a couple days ago. A few things were sold out, but most of the seeds were in stock. Was able to order some bean seeds I wanted last year that were sold out because I waited too long to order last year.
Try MI gardener see what they have..he's out of michigan
Great to hear. Thanks for sharing!
Last year was absolutely nuts for seed shopping, never hurts to start early in case it’s just as bad this year!
Felix Ano Nuevo!!!!......Besitos!!!!
Excellent idea
Spring plants -- look for 30-45 maturity or early greens or heirloom seed varieties from colder areas, eg Scotland, Korea, Japan, Baltic states, or high altitudes -- CO, ID, New England, Canadian, etc... Shelter from the wind & rain & things will pull through...
Start plants every 2 weeks if at the end or beginning of planting times.
Hello , your knowledge is exceptional , your videos inspirational. I will not say , I wish I had come across your channel earlier , the main thing is I am here now. thankyou and Happy New Year from England ps have you done any Kim Chi videos -im abit scared to make it
😉 you being scared of making Kim-chi reminds of me being scared of doing ANY food canning!!! Kim-Chi for some reason doesn't scare me, but I have done several of those type of things - however, I refrigerate them usually and eat them right away (e.g. kim-chi, pickled onions, sauerkraut, etc.). If I were to store on shelf , i would be nervous about it - although I have done it (very few times!). I have a Korean neighbor who makes Kim-chi constantly, and it is wonderful. I hope to oneday, write down her process from start to finish and try it myself. Good luck with your recipes.
Love all your great info. Just ordered your book. So excited to read it!
Awesome! Thank you so much for the support!
I have been following you for some time now, great videos! I have a question regarding canning. Recently I decided to purchase a canning book, and I considered the Balls book for canning. After reading many of the comments, I always start with the negative comments first, they stated that the new version has some incorrect information. Which book, if any, would you recommend at this time. I am completely confused as to what would be the best for an absolute beginner, that has the most information possible? BTW, you have an awesome channel, thank you for all of your efforts.
I haven't found incorrect info in the Complete Book of Home Canning by Ball personally
Happy New Year!❤️
Same to you!
Where did you get your seed saving kit from? You have an excellent system!
Seed organizer: amzn.to/35ImK0x
You mentioned once, about dehydrating summer squash, is there a video for this? Can u share link? 😁💚🌿💜🥒
Have you got videos on how to make soap, laundry soap and so on. I want to go healthy and natural
Love the organizers, too. Where did you get them? Really helpful information, Melissa. Thank you. Does the planner only apply to your area or all zones?
Seed organizer: amzn.to/35ImK0x
Planner apply to all zones!
@@MelissaKNorris Thank you!
Where did you purchase that wonderful seed saving container?
Thank you.
You're welcome!
Hi Melissa .... where did you get the boxes that you are storing your seeds in .. ?
Seed organizer: amzn.to/35ImK0x
Walmart also carries them, in clear or colored options.
Where did you get the seed storage boxes? Enjoy your shows.
It's all linked in the video description (just click the show more button) but this is the direct link Seed organizer: amzn.to/35ImK0x
I organized my seeds right before Christmas and got the same case at Michaels for $14.99. I love it and so easy to find your seeds when needed and know your inventory 😊
This is all really interesting, but it’s like a foreign language to me. I really want to develop the skill of growing my own food and teaching that skill to my kids, but it’s been very difficult and it’s overwhelming for me. Where do you recommend someone like me start? I’m in SoCal in case that matters. Thank you!
howdy i have 4 marshmallow plants 1 year old -when are the roots going be ready for grinding up
Should I be indoor sowing strawberries zone 7b? Or blueberry
Where did you get the seed storage boxes you are using ? I would love to get some to store my seed and keep them organize. Thank you and Happy New Year!!
Craft or fishing supply shops.
Thank you for this video!! How do you test the germination rate for seeds? I was gifted a ton of seeds for a variety of flowers and fruit and veggies, from a coworker who is a self proclaimed seed hoarder. But many are many years old now, even as many as 15 years, and I'm new to gardening, but I'm not sure if trying to plant these are even worth it. Any suggestions would be appreciated!!
I don't test mine before hand. I rotate my seeds and usually don't have any over 5 years old. If they're older than 5 years you can put the seeds on a damp paper towel and seal it up to see how many sprout.
@@melissanorris591 Awesome! Thank you SO much!!
What was the name of the flower you companion plant to deter cabbage moths?
Orange nasturtium
I'm in Arizona and Ive never seen cabbage miss good to know
Ty
Difficult to have a garden in New England unless you have a heated green house.
What containers did you use for seed storage?
Check the description under the video!
Great video🙏👋👍👣😷
Thank you
How long is your growing season. In North Pole Alaska our growing season is about 90 days so no way could we do three growing seasons unless you are doing radishes. LOL
We plant warm weather mid to end of May and first frost is anywhere from end of September to mid-October
Even if I were already in a homesteader's dream place, I'd feel overwhelmed by the imenseness of planning a year's food for my family. Too much to take in at once.
That's why you get them involved and get them to help!
yes, but you could also do it in 'baby steps'. It is overwhelming to think about all you need to do to be somewhat 'self-sufficient'. but don't expect to do it all at once. Start with some basic (and easy) crops to encourage you and supply some of what your family needs. And, yes, do involve your family. I think kids would enjoy doing this. Esp. if you were also doing something like chickens (manure = vitamins for crops; crops = some food for chickens). The kids can see the 'cycle' of how things work. Scraps go into compost, etc. etc. I LOVE that stuff!!! anyway. Wish you all the best in your endeavors.
I understand how it can feel overwhelming. This is why I created The Family Garden Plan and The Family Garden Planner to help with this. Choose one thing on the homestead that you'd like to learn first -- gardening, canning, baking etc and start there. Also, don't wait until everything is "perfect." I have so many students that live in apartments or in homes with small yards and get creative and make it work and learn along the way.
Has anyone been doing GH vertical gardening?
What state and zone are you in?
I'm in northern Washington state gardening zone 7
What zone are you in?
"This one isn't full yet. I think that means I need to go seed shopping, don't you ag.." Why are you still talking? GET TO THE COMPUTER!!! lol
Then get your rear in gear...go on get ..scoot skat lol