10 Questions after 5 years in the Simple Garden

[@djazt.8053]

Really like your "kg per hour" choice of metrics. For comparing the different gardens it's really insightful! I assume all these numbers would be higher in larger gardens due to fixed cost degression of the time efforts needed to start and stop work. If anyone else has more of these "kg per hour" metrics for me to compare, I'd appreciate!

[@REDGardens]

Yeah, I like that metric. But it is a rough measurement and keeping track of time is quite prone to distortions. Some days we work faster than others, and there are always interruptions in this modern world.

[@Melicoy]

@@REDGardens The ending of "Growing Wheat For The First Time" is Perfect for getting more people to sub... do that in every video. ask to sub, ask to like, tell about where money goes, ask for patreon... Also ask questions in videos so people answer below

[@pdsantos925]

I've found your channel to be an absolute gem here on KZbin! I tend to have a hard time enjoying the learning process of things, but with your videos it's been immensely fun getting into gardening and I can't thank you enough for bringing this hobby into my life, and from such an interesting and insightful perspective too. Keep up the great work!

[@REDGardens]

Thank you for that wonderfully encouraging comment! It is so good to know that people out there really value the videos I make.

[@Theballonist]

I feel like I’m dropping in on an advanced agriculture class each time I stop by. Your meticulous work is very much appreciated!

[@REDGardens]

Wow, thank you!

[@martinstamenov7285]

As always, you have my gratitude for your high quality content. I especially love the scientific approach where you measure everything and are very open about issues and causes. You don't subscribe blindly to any gardening dogma, so we don't see you glossing over certain issues you encountered. You're able to question everything. In that process I as a viewer learn a lot. So thank you!

[@REDGardens]

Thank you very much! I am glad to hear that the process of questioning and going thorough al of the issues helps you learn a lot! 😁

[@maximerivest3501]

Bruce, your yield, fruit number and hour estimates are pure gold nuggets!! thanks a lot for your videos. Also, the hourly perspective is very interesting to me :)

[@Hysteresis11]

This channel is a rare gem on what is quickly becoming a trash platform.

[@REDGardens]

Thanks, glad you like the data!

[@REDGardens]

@@Hysteresis11 🙂

[@trillium7582]

The Simple Garden is one of my favorites of your various projects. It often makes me think about how this could be a very practical application for many households, a way to achieve meaningful food security, perhaps even if the land you were growing on was borrowed or rented away from home. Thank you for sharing, as always.

[@REDGardens]

Thanks! One of the aspects of this method is the possibility of using it to progressively add more land to a garden, starting with sheet composting and squash, moving through the soil cultivation that naturally comes with a potato patch, and ensuring weed free soil for the carrot and onions. After that the soils is open to any kind of vegetables!

[@jeanninepenniment401]

I love this garden so much. I appreciate the analysis of growing calories with minimal effort, a very important question that I think is not addressed enough. We are moving into a new home in an ecovillage this year once our home is built. We have access to irrigation dams and are in a Maritime Mediterranean Climate. so we can grow all year round with irrigation. I've been thinking of doing a squash - potato - sweet potato - onion/garlic in a two year rotation. I trialed sweet potato with sheet compost and it did not like it. Carrots we can grow year-round so I've left it out of this system

[@REDGardens]

Thanks for comment. Growing calories to eat over winter is an important thing to do, I think, for those of us who can. Your future life in the ecovillage sounds lovely. Hope you have a very successful transition.

[@christianmuller2725]

For better carrots in heavy soil growers in Germany often use dams or hilled up rows. This method leads to a much better quality crop, maybe und should try it ones:)

[@REDGardens]

Interesting idea. The soil we deal with is quite light, so not sure if the hilled rows would help.

[@SlackerU]

I was thinking poor drainage too. If the Ksat rating isn't sufficient then the young carrots might be getting root damage after a larger rainfall.

[@ИринаСоколова-ф1о]

I’m so glad to watch your videos after winter)))

[@REDGardens]

😀

[@nonyadamnbusiness9887]

Forking in carrots can be caused by excess nitrogen or low pH, both a consequence of enriching garden soil.

[@REDGardens]

I don't think either of those are a factor here, as a lot of the nitrogen would have been used by the potatoes, and our soil is quite alkaline. But perhaps that is part of the issue.

[@kubaistube]

@@REDGardens Was the soil properly tilled before seeding the carrots? Forking might occurred where tiny seedling´s tap root touched the remnant of sheet composting which could act either as an obstacle for the root or place with still too much nitrogen.

[@REDGardens]

@@kubaistube The soil was dug over was dug over quite a bit when digging out the potatoes, and then the beds established about 6 months before the carrots were sown, so I would have thought it was well settled soil, without any fish fertility spots.

[@clivesconundrumgarden]

Another excellent video. Lots of great information. As far as carrots, please take this with a grain of salt, as I'm very new to gardening. I think the subjects are linked. It may be as simple as too much fertility for the carrots. Onion roots are fairly shallow, so when you follow them with carrots, the tap roots essentially don't have to dive down deep into the soil to find nutrients, couple with the fact that the sheet mulching still wouldn't be fully decomposed the tap roots could fork when they hit the "more solid chunks of soil". A possible trial of following potatoes with carrots may reveal interesting results. Again, I'm no expert, just an observation, and will be interested to see how you evolve with this. Cheers from Victoria, Canada

[@fittpatley]

I seem to find more forking with nutrition being high in the soil. But then it can be random with an "Ann Summers" carrot being followed up by a perfect 12" 🥕 right next to it??

[@clivesconundrumgarden]

@Pat D agreed as we are new to gardening, there's so many factors to consider. But that's half the fun of it !! By the look of the carrot tops, there's seems to be lots of nitrogen in the soil

[@REDGardens]

Thanks for the thoughts. Just to clarify, both the carrots and the onions followed the potatoes in this rotation (each taking up half of the dug over potato bed.) It is possible there is still some material that is not fully decomposed, but I am sceptical, as anything left over on the surface was raked off before the potato crop. But perhaps the soil is very 'charged' with fertility because I put on so much material with the sheet composting and that is causing an issue.

[@REDGardens]

@@fittpatley That is interesting.

[@enriquegarciacota3914]

This seems like the best way for newbie gardeners to start producing crops.

[@REDGardens]

I agree. If they can accept not being able to get the good stuff like lettuce, beans, etc.

[@bobertcronos8433]

I enjoy how in depth you went with all the information, you explained it very well. Also I'd like to see an inter- cropped bed maybe having the onions will deter pests from the other plants. And disease and pest issues may be lowered by having the plants "social distance" from eachother.

[@bobertcronos8433]

Should.have watched your other videos before commenting. Just watched your polyculture video. You earned my sub. I'll be watching your other videos first :)

[@BostonBonsaiIdiot]

Always fun to see your process, progress and results. Thanks for sharing as always!

[@REDGardens]

😁

[@threegoodeyes7400]

“Perhaps it only takes a closer look to discover many more questions”. Such true words! Loved that hint of a smile about it.

[@REDGardens]

🙂

[@nilsthoming6441]

Hello, I have a small tip that helps well against the flying away of the landscape fabric: At the edge of the bed with the spade pierce 5-10 cm deep gap. Once around the bed. Then stuff the fabric in. Finally, tamp it down briefly. I use this to secure my foils and no additional weighting, such as with stones, is necessary. Greetings Nils PS really interesting channel!

[@REDGardens]

Thanks for the tip.

[@stacyedelprete5477]

I still maintain that you are criminally under viewed. Fantastic content.

[@REDGardens]

😀

[@dadodadic9125]

greetings from Croatia squash prefers deep mulch due to easy root spreading and constant moisture carrots require equal texture and moisture throughout the depth of the soil for example it is better not to loosen the soil than to loosen the top 5 cm I am still impressed by your studiousness

[@REDGardens]

Hi there in Croatia. I think you might be right about the more consistently moist soil being beneficial to the squash. And it makes sense that carrots require consistency. I would have thought the soil in this bed would be consistently loose as it had been thoroughly dug over when harvesting the potatoes the previous autumn. But perhaps this was not the case.

[@samuelbarrow5502]

Great video! I've always wondered how effective saving seeds would be at producing disease resistant varieties. It makes sense that even If a plant is disease resistant it would be most resistant to the varient that is dominant where said variety was produced. Your variant of the same disease may be more or less effective and or lethal so it would make sense to save the seeds from the plants that faired the best. But also the more resistant you become the more effective the disease will become possibly limiting future variety trials. Idk its easy to go deep into a rabbit hole once you begin to ask questions regarding gardening

[@samuelbarrow5502]

Also I wonder if too much water is a reason for the carrots to fork. Originally they're from the middle east. So the reason they developed to go so long and deep in my unqualified opinion would be to access water deeper in the ground since the middle east is a pretty dry place. However that's common sense knowledge not scientific by any means. Most likely a more complicated reasoning for the forking. But still an interesting question worth asking

[@REDGardens]

It is very easy to go deep down the rabbit hole!! I think you may important points about the disease resistant varieties. I have found this with blight resistant potatoes that became not very resistant as the blight evolved but the variety didn't. Saving seeds is one way, and there is also the role of plant breeders continually refining and developing new varieties. Nothing stays the same.

[@REDGardens]

@@samuelbarrow5502 I think the forking is due to a complicated series of factors, but hadn't thought of too much water, which would be interesting.

[@farmerchick3040]

When I top my onions I found I get bigger bulbs. I also chop the onion greens up and spread them around my cabbage and other plants which seams to confuse the cabbage worms and cucumber Beatles. If you grown mint chopped mint also helps deter pests. I need to start covering my garden in winter. I'm thinking a heavy mulch each spring and I will see how that goes. Great content as usual! We have a big deer problem in my area so I have to fence in my garden or I won't get anything.

[@leslienichols5268]

Thanks RED Gardens. I have never seen sheet composting done in that way and it was very interesting.

[@REDGardens]

👍 It seems to work quite well for this crop.

[@MeandYouHello]

Thanks for sharing your videos

[@REDGardens]

👍

[@matthewlivergood9624]

Try Ox Heart Carrots. I had great success with them in my clay soil. They did not fork on me, and create a more bulb like shape.

[@REDGardens]

Interesting. I have sandy loam soil, so would be interested in the difference.

[@stingray43550]

I also have a clay soil that I haven’t dug for 4 seasons now… Danvers has been my choice variety carrot with no forking, a small almost non existent core, and stores fine

[@flatsville1]

I too reco ox heart carrots. Great fall carrot crop for soups & stews. If left in the ground in the late fall, they become sweeter. Overall less malformation. I think the shorter the carrot, the fewer the problems.

[@MuscadineMarlon]

Such detail! Thanks for your consistency.

[@REDGardens]

👍

[@f3n1xplat3ad0]

I really appreciate your content

[@REDGardens]

Thanks!

[@gillsmoke]

I've seen the diagram of the different types of gardens you do repeatedly and I was always a bit curious what the simple garden was. Now I know. I love your channel and you are one of my aspirational heroes. If he can successfully run a market farm in coastal Ireland than I surely can grow something anything here in Ohio. I'm doing a container grow along with another youtuber and am trying to germinate some blueberries this year.

[@REDGardens]

Thanks for the wonderful comment! Hope you have an increasingly abundant journey into the realm of growing your own food!

[@danielfisch655]

Thank you for another informative video.

[@REDGardens]

👍

[@GordonjSmith1]

Lordy you do pose so many questions, but all of them are relevant! Really interesting vlog.

[@REDGardens]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@bipolarbabe9530]

Root nematodes will make carrots fork. Plant Marigolds next to the carrots then pull the marigolds and dispose of them at the end on the season to remove the nematodes. That you so much for your very informative videos. 💗

[@REDGardens]

Sounds like an interesting option that I should try.

[@s1ack3r07]

It has been great watching your experiments, once I get organized, I'll apply what I've learned here! Thank You!

[@REDGardens]

😀

[@alisonburgess345]

This is my fave garden which i have copied, i'll admit. It's a clever design. Great concept and video..!

[@REDGardens]

Excellent!

[@fredrickvanolphen3299]

Thanks so much Bruce! To me that's some pretty impressive yield per hour of work. Only the moles, squirrels, possums, coons, deer, birds and bugs could tell you what my yield is.

[@REDGardens]

Thanks, it is quit a bit of food. I am glad I don't have to share so much of it with the wildlife. 🙂

[@designaddict101]

Great review, thanks. We are very much looking forward to our garden plan for the next year...

[@REDGardens]

👍 My next video is going to be all about my plans for 2022!

[@designaddict101]

@@REDGardens Your plan maybe more solid, we still don't know if our plan starts in Vietnam or Australia...!

[@REDGardens]

@@designaddict101 That is quite a choice to start with!

[@designaddict101]

@@REDGardens Exciting times, wouldn't be dead for quids..! : )

[@sepound33]

In NY, USA- your the only patron I support on KZbin, as always... very informative. (I'm a raised bed gardener)

[@REDGardens]

Awesome, thank you!

[@Ultrazaubererger]

Question 8: Sheet composting without cover fabric: I practice a similar style for my Garden. For Reference: I live in south Germany so your climate is not quite as mild as yours I believe. I exclusively grow Tomatoes, Peppers and Pumpkins (Hokkaido). Across the street there is a small organic hay field and I have permission to take whats left after their harvest. Also I get all of one neighbors hedge trimmings which I put through the wood chipper. This is enough to sheet mulch very thick in the late spring. By late summer most of the hay is gone, so I sow green manure (mainly mustard and related things like oil radish) for the winter after the harvest. In spring all that's left is a thin layer of the woody parts of the hedge trimmings and weeds start to take over. If the green manure is growing well, the weeds get suppressed pretty good as the mustards are winter hardy here but that depends on how early I sow it and the weather (last year was a dry fall so not much grew). Ideally I would have a source of mulch in the early spring or late fall, negating the need for green manure (although that has other benefits that would be lost) but that would mean having to store it over summer/winter as no fresh mulch is available to me at these times. The only weed I consistently have problems with is bindweed as it can easily penetrate the mulch and starts to choke my tomatoes.

[@REDGardens]

That sounds like a useful system, and probably helped by the warmer weather. Thanks for sharing. Bindweed can really be a hassle!

[@stubbi]

Hey Bruce, I dont think you need to worry about seeds when you compost tall grasses under the sheets. The heat should kill most seeds that would otherwise be sprouting, if they're not dry. So most of them would simply also decompose.

[@REDGardens]

Most wold likely decompose, though I don't think the compost would heat up enough to cause much damage, as the layer is too thin.

[@RoyHolder]

Thanks for the insight! 👍

[@REDGardens]

👍

[@milenakalinic4084]

In my vegetable garden I have flowers as well, partly because I love flowers, but mostly to attract pollinators and pest predators. Try to plant some cosmos in rows of carrots and onion, calendula is another flower that is good to have, marigold as well. To store well onions the best time to harvest them is when leaves close to the ground become yellow, also stop watering them and push green top to the ground. When half the leaves have dried it's time to harvest them. You have really nice looking onions for selling fresh, but for storage they need to be longer in the soil. Last year my carrots stayed two weeks longer in the soil and they became hairy and lost taste. Potatoes do not like wet soil, once the top is dead it's time to harvest them. Good luck.

[@REDGardens]

The issue with leaving in the ground longer is they are much more prone for rotting especially with the consistent rain that we tend to get here in Ireland. Any time I have left them in the ground longer when we are getting we weather, a lot more ended up rotting.

[@gardenlikeaviking]

this is such a wonderful channel.... I can really appreciate the way your mind works in relation to experimentations and observations leading the way to real knowledge on these subjects... thank you for your efforts my friend

[@REDGardens]

Ah, thank you for that really supportive comment!

[@normancoutts]

Seems to me there is a lot to be said for simplicity. All very interesting, thanks.

[@REDGardens]

😀

[@tofinh]

Carrots might fork if you have a heavy clay soil. At least in my (limited) experience, they don't seem to like clay soils.

[@REDGardens]

I have sandy loam soils.

[@SStream2012]

@@REDGardens greetings from Bohemia 🙂 Carrots tend to fork because of a high nitrogen values of the soil. Chicken manure pellets are very strong and long lasting fertilizer. I would try to go with onions after the potatoes and as third and last crop before fertilizing, carrots. Thank you for the videos (and very clear pronunciation), your scientifical approach is really cool :-)

[@mehmood7776]

Good quality seed will definitely promise good yield provided they are grown at a suitable time of season. If seeds are grown before their suitable time they end up giving week plants that are more likely to catch pest, very humble suggestion.

[@REDGardens]

That is definitely part of the picture. With squash, the issue in this climate is we need to get them started before the weather is suitable, or else there is not enough time/heat in the season to ripen the squash.

[@xaviercruz4763]

Would love to see basil variety experiments, with the strains between varieties experiments (like Italian large leaf ill2 vs nufar or napoletano vs lettuce leaf etc) with different planting spaces very close vs normal and what’s an excess of space if watered vs natural rain and what fertilizer works best for them vs no fertilizer which are more tender etc

[@teatimetraveller]

A great reflective film. Onion wise we're growing Santero this year for the first time (from seed) its marketed as being unaffected by mildew. I notice you don't seem to use any fertility building phases in your rotation. Have you considered including these in your research? They form a big part of organic production systems (although not so much at a domestic grower scale) but their role in soil health/ fertility management is fascinating.

[@REDGardens]

I grew Santero (sets) the previous year and had good results with it. I haven't incorporated a green manure or fertility building phase, mainly because it is easy to add enough organic matter. But it would be good to explore the possible benefits.

[@calebweldon8102]

This really inspires me to put more effort into tracking my garden metrics

[@REDGardens]

😀

[@rickthelian2215]

Carrots may be forking due to compaction of soil? You may wish ti use a large pot for a test sample with fluffy soil to compare to the plot planted carrots for that variety.

[@REDGardens]

That is a possibility. I am thinking of how to set up an experiment to test a few different hypotheses, to try to figure it all out.

[@jamescanjuggle]

Just thinking out loud here for the carrots forking issue. 1- most likely is root damage from pests causing the plant to fork 2- Could soil texture/depth be a possibility? Anything that could disrupt the roots path. 3- Does forking occur at any particular time for your plants? Perhaps having a few sacrificial carrots to pick out during the year at their various stages could lead to some insight.

[@REDGardens]

Interesting points. 1. Some kind of soil organism is a definite possibility. 2. The soil is quite deep with a few stones, but it is the same texture and number of stones that produced a wonderful crop that first season. 3. I think the forking occurs very early as the first tap root developed, bt perhaps it is later on.

[@martinengelbrecht5384]

Your are an amazing expert, a doctor / professor of note!

[@REDGardens]

😁

[@ThatBritishHomestead]

I love you numbers that’s epic!

[@REDGardens]

😀

[@terry.n.xiaohei]

I am not a pro, but I read the article about "why the plant grows special". about the red carrot.. is that NPK, the K(potassium) is too much, will cause the plant to grow too fast. although the right amount of K will be stable in the growing stage. *sorry for my poor English and thank you for keep sharing your idea with us... thank you!

[@REDGardens]

That is interesting. Something to keep in mind. Thanks.

[@Grognarthebarb]

This is really impressive you do such wonderful record keeping

[@REDGardens]

Thanks! It is a job in itself!

[@marqessanzcora4089]

Thank you for honest a great video 🙂

[@REDGardens]

😀

[@joefization]

Red gardens is such an awesome project. I want to help run something like this.

[@REDGardens]

😀

[@skunkebud8]

I love all your videos! You pay great attention to detail and seem to document everything meticulously. Have you considered getting a microscope and looking at the microbiology of your soils? It would be fascinating to observe how different plants encourage different populations and ratios of bacteria to fungus. This might also shed light on the areas of the garden experiencing blight and pest pressure. You could also work on moving your soils further along in succession which might eliminate the problems (make them where the plants love the soil but the pests and parasitic fungus do not). Thanks again! always look forward to seeing one of your videos pop up, i don't know if it's your voice but they always bring be a sense of peace. Thank you.

[@REDGardens]

I have considered getting a microscope, and think it would be fascinating. But I delay as I don't think I have the time and headspace for another task and steep learning curve. I think it would take a solid year of lots of explorations to be able to begin to understand what is happening, and come up with possibilities of what to do about it. And I am already too busy with what I am currently doing. I think this is a separate profession, same as mineral soil analysis, plant breeding, etc. that is really out of reach of most people managing the complexities of growing. But there aren't necessarily those people integrated into the community, or even in the region, yet. Another reason I have delayed, is we did have a person come for a visit years ago, who was starting to do the microscope work and gave us a demonstration (plus a huge amount of details about the way things apparently work). We spent hours collecting samples and looking under the microscope, and I came away with nothing useful. What he said should be there, wasn't. It is perhaps unfair, as he was at the beginning of his journey, but it did put me off the whole thing for a good while.

[@jeshurunfarm]

Respect from Africa 🇿🇦

[@REDGardens]

😀

[@andersonomo597]

Hey Bruce at 4:48 should the heading be 'carrot yield' for that graph?

[@REDGardens]

Ugghhhh, yes it should.

[@andersonomo597]

@@REDGardens I wasn't looking to be picky - rather to give you a chance to edit it early if you wanted to. Thanks yet again for another thoughtful and insightful video!!

[@REDGardens]

@@andersonomo597 Thanks. Unfortunately I would have to upload the entire video again, and decided it wasn't worth it. One of these days I will make a mistake big enough to need to do that, but so far I think this onion/carrot mistake is the biggest one I have made!

[@RayFromTheHayclan]

Hello from New England. The reason why my carrots fork in my garden is because of root rot nematodes and I control them by planting french marigolds. Hope this helps.

[@REDGardens]

I really should try marigolds. Do you interplant them with carrots, or grow them asa crop before?

[@michaelmcclafferty3346]

Does mulching with hay attract slugs? Thanks for a very interesting video.

[@ktm8488]

thanks

[@REDGardens]

👍

[@jimmyjohnny3779]

What is the idea of the white water containers amongst the squash plants? Also, what did you make the small hand weeding tool from? ❤️ your work 👍

[@omgtrojan]

The water containers are for thermal mass; absorbing and maintaining heat from the days sun to keep the crops warm(er) overnight. If I recall from another video the weeding tool is literally just some bent wire.

[@REDGardens]

@@omgtrojan Yes, Steve I correct on both. The wire weeder is hammered flat first then bent.

[@ideopath72]

@@REDGardens I made a wire weeder after watching one of your vids a couple of years ago; it is so efficient and effective that I named it 'bruce'.

[@REDGardens]

@@ideopath72 Awesome!

[@amys3168]

I’m curious why seeds would last longer than sets. I’ve heard the bulbs get bigger with seeds, but I hadn’t heard about the storage issue. I want a long storing onion and I prefer yellow, so I’m adding Patterson to this years crop. F1 hybrid, sooo maybe not sustainable. But I really love large, long storing onions.

[@REDGardens]

I heard that seeds produce smaller bulbs, which is one of the ways that they store better, but I don't have experience with this. Just going on the basis of what I have heard.

[@EatSomeBagels]

you should look into beneficial nematodes to try and reduce the carrot fly larvae

[@TheEmbrio]

Perhaps raising question about having questions means you have more questions ? ;) As always, glad you walk us through the process.

[@REDGardens]

Always more questions than answers! 😉

[@adamkranz1273]

love these videos. Always look forward to them. The simple garden has inspired me 4 years ago to start my own. I have one question, what are the onion spacing?

[@REDGardens]

Thanks! I generally plant the sets 15cm or 6" spacing in rows 25cm or 10" apart.

[@adamkranz1273]

@@REDGardens Thank you!

[@Picci25021973]

Some gardeners say carrots fork when there is too much nitrogen in the soil. I can't say ifthey are right, but it makes sense to me... as carrots are substantially only the taproot of the plant. What do you think?

[@REDGardens]

I think that makes sense, when there is a lot of nitrogen fairly recently added. I am not sure if it is the nitrogen itself that causes the issue, or the extra biological activity brought about by the extra nitrogen, and the small young carrot root is just collateral damage. Either way, it can be an issue. Bu tI am not sure that is what is happening here, as I would have thought that the potatoes would have soaked up a lot of the surplus nitrogen, but perhaps not.

[@Paula_T]

Perhaps a soil test is in order, otherwise you don't know what the fertility level really is for those carrots.

[@Pixieworksstudio]

I loved the work hours per kilo and will find the onion trial fascinating. I think we all had a short spring due to the cold May too, but 2017 seemed to be a good year for you with that garden, I wonder if that was weather-related? In Wales, we had an amazing spring and it was quite hot, or do you think the bug and slug problem may be some kind of build-up? As you say, so many questions, That's the compelling thing about gardening. Mind you, it was great that the squash tasted better, what a fabulous result. A cool video - Thank you. Everything looked very lush, I can't wait to see what you do in 2022.

[@REDGardens]

The yields on the different years would definitely be impacted by weather, including the reduced yield in 2018 with the extended dry period and quite hot weather. But I haven't really done a proper analysis. The slug issue with the potatoes might be building up in the soil, and I know that the carrot root fly has increased, but I am slowly trying to reduce that.

[@Pixieworksstudio]

@@REDGardens Gardening is just so diverse, isn't it. I think that's what makes it so interesting, and why I like your videos so much and what you do there. I'm just so rubbish at carrots I'm trying them in containers this year, not that it is an option for yourself, and potatoes too. Mind you, I'm also rubbish at radishes lol. We have so much rain in wales and the humidity can be so high that slugs are constantly in their element. Like today it wasn't very warm however the humidity was 88% still. I am also tying nematodes this year for the first time, but I have heard that they can be hit and miss. I'm wondering now (thinking while I type) what kind of conditions carrot root fly prefer?

[@REDGardens]

@@Pixieworksstudio I also wonder what kind of conditions carrot fly prefer, as so much of the info is from warmer climates, and almost nothing from Ireland! Of course we know what conditions slugs prefer, good luck with your strategies for reducing their damage.

[@Pixieworksstudio]

@@REDGardens Thank you, I'm not sure how good they will be. Determined little scroungers :D

[@patmog]

Could your method somehow be pleasant for root knot nematodes? You could try a variety that’s resistant to it and see if forking reduces. Or potentially solarization with clear plastic.

[@latlatko]

you mentioned carrots flies, apparently they can also cause carrot forking. maybe its related? other causes are frost and other pests, but the former should be obvious and the latter should also result in other symptoms. at this point in the rotation I would also be shocked if there were many organic debris left over from the compost that could cause it.

[@REDGardens]

That could be related, though there was a forking in a lot of carrots that had no sign of carrot fly. I agree that there would unlikely be any organic debris left over. I suspect it may be some form of soil organism, either that or the soil isn't the same consistency, and any disruption causes the carrots to fork.

[@Thrymheim1]

I find that squash plants (I grow crown prince, uchi kiri and spaghetti squash) produce around 3x the amount of squashes when grown over black plastic, even when all other inputs are the same. I believe it's due to the extra heat the plastic absorbs. This year the slugs ate all but 1 of my crown prince plants but that remaining plant produced 9 ripe fruit of 3-4kg each. The previous year I tried without plastic and got 2 squash per plant and the second one didn't ripen fully. As for the carrots, have you checked for root knot nematodes? That would explain why this one garden is worse than the others.

[@REDGardens]

Interesting to hear about your experiences with squash yield. It is possible that nematodes are an issue, though I haven't noticed the knotting of the root that is a sign of major infestation. Something I want to investigate some more.

[@Pixieworksstudio]

. Afternoon, I'm just about to watch your video, however, this just came up on my list and I thought of you straight away. It is from Vasili's Garden and it is Casting made by soldier fly larvae. Absolutely fascinating, so I'm going to follow and see what happens :)

[@REDGardens]

👍

[@OrtoInScatola]

Since you are going to grow a large number of onion varieties from seeds you have the perfect setup to let the best of each variety flower and to essentially evolve from a population of different varieties into a smaller group of varieties that are most suitable to your environment. It takes a bit of time to get there, but it would be a perfect experiment and a good experience for you and for the communì as well. Population evolutions are finally coming back after many years of variety segregation

[@REDGardens]

That would be interesting. Not sure I have the time or headspace for that. I would be keen to save seed from a few 'segregated varieties' first. Longer term explorations will have to wait!

[@OrtoInScatola]

@@REDGardens I used to think the same way as you do, but then realized that if I want a specific variety I can always buy it, seeds are relatively inexpensive. But in the past farmers used to exchange seeds locally and then let them cross pollinate to obtain a stronger and more adapted variety. This seems to be something you cannot buy, so it triggered my attention

[@REDGardens]

@@OrtoInScatola The' land race' approach is very interesting. Myself and a baker friend have been trying to do that with a mixed population of wheat.

[@titanlurch]

Have you tried growing bunching onions. I know very little about them other then there a few different varieties.

[@REDGardens]

I don't have much experience with those.

[@titanlurch]

@@REDGardens It seems that the only way to get your hands on some varieties is to know someone who has them growing in their garden. I have looked through seed supply stores and catalogs and have only found scallions and shallots.

[@johnsharry9546]

Dear Bruce thanks for the really informative videos - they are really helpful. I’m planning to try a version of your simple garden - . In terms of timings, I am planning to plant the potatoes/onions/ beets (instead of carrots) from mid April, and then the squash plants from June. is that about right? does that mean you keep the squash bed covered with plastic right up to their later planting? also have you have any problems with rodents using the sheet composting?. Thanks for your help. John

[@REDGardens]

Hi John, the timing is about right. If you can get the squash in earlier, and protected for a few weeks/month from cold weather/winds/frost then you are more likely to have a successful crop. Last year I didn't cover the squash patch at all, but in previous years, I planted the squash in between the two sheets of woven ground cover fabric, and let them grow over this fabric in place all year. Yes, I have had issues with rats in the sheet composting, especially if any material from the kitchen is used. Have fun, hope it works well for you.

[@stacyedelprete5477]

I've never tested the theory but I've always heard that forking of carrots is caused by excessive nutrition in the soil.

[@REDGardens]

I have heard that quite often, and I have had forking that was probably that issue, but with this I would have thought that there wasn't enough fertility, but I could be wrong about that.

[@robertoats1517]

Bruce I think the reason for forking is damage to the tip of the root during growth

[@REDGardens]

Yeah, that makes sense, but not sure what is causing that damage, and how to prevent it.

[@robertoats1517]

@@REDGardens yeah it might be those slugs you mentioned attacking the tip or it might be stones/pebbles in the growing medium. It seems it happens en masse when it happens or not at all when it doesn't. So there is a common factor at play here.

[@jasonperry6046]

I am not sure if this is in line with the videos; but, i would be interested in a review of the tools you have used over the years, and why you choose to use your current selection.

[@REDGardens]

I did make a video “Favourite Tools In the Garden” about 2.5 years ago, but perhaps it is time for another video.

[@jasonperry6046]

@@REDGardens if you have made one i will get to it. I have been watching a lot of RED Gardens and i dont see it slowing down any time soon.

[@pitermarx]

Can you do a video about winter storage?

[@REDGardens]

Yes, I should do one about that, probably next autumn.

[@gregbluefinstudios4658]

I wonder about the seed from weeds, too. I wish there was a way to heat the grasses cut, to kill the seeds, that was easy and efficient! Mind you, practically, not possible. but, wishing still!

[@REDGardens]

Yeah, there are always ways, but rarely easy and efficient.

[@billastell3753]

Those are gnarly looking carrots. Why is a mystery.

[@REDGardens]

Yep!

[@fpsninja1]

Great video Just an idea. I've heard apparently legumes might fix nitrogen to soil and add fertility (I've read stuff either way). Rather than "rest" two beds, why no plant a crop of broad beans/french beans/peas (could opt for a variety that doesn't need support). Potentially a really simple way to add fertility and add crop?

[@REDGardens]

That is an option, though apparently most of the nitrogen ends up in the beans/peas, not in the soil for the next crop.

[@fpsninja1]

@@REDGardens yes I be also heard this, won't stop me doing do though

[@717379]

Possible causes for forked carrots: - too cold temperatures in the first few weeks - too much water - root meeting interference/obstacle as it grows. This could be from pests or pathogens; from a compost that hasn't rotted properly; from remains in the soil of previous crops, of roots, of clumps of soil, small stones, etc ... It seems carrots are a bit fussy with the texture of their soil.

[@williambehling7816]

For potatoes, have you tried the variety Sarpo mira? (I see that your trying Sarpo una) It has good late blight resistance and it tolerant of some abiotic stress.

[@REDGardens]

I tried it a while ago, and seem to remember not liking the taste, but it could be one of the other Sarpo varieties.

[@sebastiancannavo8786]

I wonder if the carrots are forking because of the high organic content of the soil.

[@REDGardens]

Possibly, but this soil isn't very high, or it wasn't the last time I got it tested.

[@theopeterbroers819]

Did you ever get your soil tested for Northern root-knot nematode (Wikipedia)? It is known to cause forking of roots.

[@REDGardens]

I haven't had it tested for that, and I think I probably should. Thanks.

[@SlackerU]

My yard-waste has a high 8.1 PH & your plants look a little yellow so you're probably having a similar issue(iron lockout). Elemental Sulfur doubled the darkness of green on my plants in about 90 warm days. It's expensive but it's a necessary soil amendment for the results it creates. I'm in the American Subtropics & when we use black-tarps it's only in the hottest 90 days of the year, starting about July, & is called Solarizing the Soil. The Universities claim temperatures of 180f can be reached in the top six inches of soil to destroy seeds, parasites, & pathogens. The larger the tarp the hotter the soil might get. I don't think my soil has the same nutrients as what they tested b/c I can only reach 164f.

[@REDGardens]

Solarisation like that is probably impossible here in temperate Ireland! Not sure about he iron lockout, as a lot shows up on the soil tests, but sulphur seems to be useful.

[@flofi4397]

Carrot forking is highly related with different soil structure. In can all be soft oder hard soil - no problem, but there should be no change in soil structure

[@REDGardens]

That makes sense.

[@BeckJoseR]

Not sure of it's validity, but I've heard that soil that is too workable, will cause forking in carrots. This could explain why your yield has decreased as you cultivate the ground.

[@REDGardens]

That is possible. The thing I find strange is the bed for the first crop of carrots 5 years ago was really heavily dug over, multiple times to remove the weeds, before sowing that crop. So, I suspect that it is inconsistent cultivation, or any change in soil structure/fertility, that might be one of the causes of forking.

[@walrusiam6233]

Awesome video, and I have two questions. First, how much seed are you planting to get that potato yield, and second, what database/spreadsheet/software are you using to track all that data?

[@REDGardens]

Thanks! We planted 100 seed potatoes in total, 25 of each variety. We use Numbers (spreadsheet app supplied with Mac/iPhone) for all of the planning, task lists and data collection.

[@walrusiam6233]

@@REDGardens Any guess as to the weight of those seed potatoes? I'm thinking that comes to maybe 30 lbs of seed? Ok, so just a spreadsheet. I use Excel myself, but with the number of metrics you graph, I thought maybe you decided to use a database instead of a spreadsheet. A couple metrics I've been looking at are harvest value, harvest calories, as well as harvest weight, and then each of those valued per sq foot of bed space.

[@tbnplant8614]

AMAZING BRO SIS

[@REDGardens]

😀

[@shawncarr8699]

i have heard that too high of nitrogen can cause the carrots to fork.

[@REDGardens]

That is a possibility.

[@tonisee2]

I have read that both too well fertilized (too much N) and too wet soil when carrot plants are already getting going can cause forking. There are hints that the best yields may come from light or relatively sand-rich soils.

[@KPKENNEDY]

Last year nearly everyone's onion's on our allotments, went to seed quite badly, probably due to the cold snap in May. These were grown from sets. I grew mine from seed and did not have any go to seed out of over a hundred onions grown. I have had better results since growing from seed rather than sets.

[@REDGardens]

That is interesting, thanks for sharing.

[@whatabunchocrap437]

I would love to know how you keep your crop free of squash bugs. It seems like it could be an entire video.

[@REDGardens]

Thankfully, we do not have squash bugs over here in Ireland.

[@Mossy5150]

What is going on with the forking carrots? What the fork?!

[@REDGardens]

Exactly! What the fork!?

[@gailthornbury291]

That’s a humongous amount of food for the time spent. Pity about the carrots but it doesn’t seem to take much to disrupt their growth and those pesky carrot flies are so persistent. I grow pumpkins on compost heaps and they seem to grow with relish on half rotten stuff!

[@REDGardens]

Yeah, it doesn't take much to disrupt them. So often we look for one reason for the forking of carrots, but I think it is any number of things that disrupts the roots.

[@wdsp69]

Insulation is very possible

[@REDGardens]

Yeah, a more stable soil temperature.

[@jimmyjohnny3779]

The soil in my back garden is sandy and loose, the carrots never fork. But out at my plot the soul is heavy and clay-ie so I dare not grow 🥕🥕🥕

[@REDGardens]

That is interesting. I have quite sandy soil, not clay, so not sure what is going on.

[@charlespalmer3595]

A fallow period might be a good opportunity to focus on removing pests from your soil. Starve those slugs!

[@REDGardens]

That is an option.

[@ChrisJohnson-pd4hh]

The slug problem will be due, in part, to the rotting compost pile. In my traditional compost heaps I get a lot of slugs.

[@pinballwizard6906]

✌️😎

[@xaviercruz4763]

10:50 for doing this standing: weeding hoe

[@REDGardens]

Yep, that could work too, but a wire weeder fits in my pocket.

[@MariA-nw5qx]

I'm not 100% certain but I wonder if nematodes were the culprit for your deformed carrot roots. Pythium is another suspect.

[@REDGardens]

I have bene looking into that possibility. The carrots don't have the deformity that seems to come with a heavy infestation, but it could be part of the issue.

[@MariA-nw5qx]

@@REDGardens Good luck on your quest! My carrots kept forking as well (sandy loam in North Yorks. Stopped growing carrots now). It's hard to know why as there are many possible causes.

[@REDGardens]

@@MariA-nw5qx Thanks, I hope to figure out what is going on.