6 Basic Survival Garden Tasks (for Better Harvests)

Many gardening tasks are necessary in every vegetable garden. Some garden maintenance is more important when trying to grow as much food as possible. Gardener Scott discusses and demonstrates six basic gardening tasks that are important in survival gardens for better harvests. (Video #382)
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[@pollywaara8737]

Scott, you are an excellent teacher, You explain the task, show the plant problem (spacing, weeds, etc.), describe possible solutions, explain why you have selected an option while allowing that your way is not the only way. You give us ideas to try so we can develop our own adaptable styles of gardening. Thank you for teaching me so much over three years of growing food.

[@AndYourLittleDog]

Hand on heart, I am watching this while eating a salad with purslane from my garden. It’s delicious.

[@laneeacannon1450]

Nice! I just did the same today! 🤗 Harvested a bunch of both, plus collard greens.

[@AndYourLittleDog]

@@laneeacannon1450 so tasty!! I took some baby beet leaves too.

[@Mary-uz2tz]

@@AndYourLittleDog and I just had a mid morning snack on Chickweed.

[@Dragondezznuts]

I wouldn’t pull all the weeds from your garden. You want a few left for the bugs to eat. Given the choice a bug will pick what it likes but given only one choice (being your plants) then you might end up weeding your self out of a end crop altogether. Weeds can be great for over all soil health. Weeds also bloom at some point and that will bring in more pollinators (good thing) for your flowers consumable. Weeds help with water retention. Like everything in life it’s never one way of the other it’s usually somewhere in the middle on all aspects.

[@IVOrganic]

Excellent gardening tips Gardener Scott! I like how you keep the weeds behind as mulch, instead of trashing them. Plus, my family loves purslane as a salad topping- healthy & nutritious. Your newest subscriber! Charles 🌱👍

[@GardenerScott]

Thanks, Charles. Welcome to the channel!

[@beckyjo0207]

I wish I would've found your channel back in May. This is my first year growing a garden and I've made so many mistakes. I'm learning though and channels like yours are fantastic. I appreciate your straight forward approach.

[@elizabethstephens6471]

We learn faster while failing! Your going to be awesome!

[@lillyg88]

Keep it up! I find I learn best from my "failures". I just started gardening last year and really its a learning process. Just enjoy the process. It comes in time.

[@juanitaglenn9042]

Yes! So much of gardening is experimenting as well. Another good source of info is Huw Richards. Gardener Scott and Huw are my faves😍

[@kdavis4910]

Mistakes help you learn. Just don't get discouraged and give up. That's the important thing. The other important thing is to understand that if you have been gardening for 50 years you will still have failures because that's gardening. The last important thing is there is no such thing as a stupid question so ask, ask, ask, because it might help you avoid some errors 😉. I guess the most important realization the first year for all new gardeners is that not all plants grow the exact same meaning they like different nutrients in different quantities. For example carrots and potatoes really grow well with phosphorus, while lettuce really favors nitrogen. It's a lot to learn but you can do it.

[@JmarieD]

I find it's a continuous education. I have a dear elderly friend who has been gardening successfully longer than I've been alive. She told mes few weeks ago that she had learned something new about some veg this year. There's SO much info to absorb and put into practice. Keep it up and you'll do great.

[@Dovorans]

Purslane is really cool because it has both C4 and CAM photosynthesis pathways. The C4 pathway helps it grow really quickly during hot and sunny weather as long as it has sufficient water, like corn. The CAM photosynthesis pathway allows it to survive by conserving water like a cactus when it gets really dry. I think we'll start using more and more purslane as we start experiencing more and more heatwaves, droughts, and heavy storms thanks to climate change.

[@amandachamberlain3169]

This year I'm intentionally allowing my purslane to naturalize to provide more ground cover since my grass clipping mulch is not quite thick enough. Then once my squash plants have spread as much as they will I can harvest some of the purslane. It really is a good plant and its the only plant source of omega fatty acids that I know of.

[@kdavis4910]

I used seed tape for my carrots this year. They're already spaced in the tape. It works well.

[@dol3980]

Use radish seed for spacing - gardening shud be a back to nature experience/agenda, and not a hi-fi or tech project i.e. using silly seed tape and synthetic NPK is for condo gardeners. Life is a complicated affair for us homesteaders (yes: we weld, repair engines, cut firewood (aka very dangerous), compost everything, etc., and tape is an expensive luxury and cumbersome as well when radishes will do the trik and eventually treat as Scot suggests.

[@loriirons9503]

This was such an excellent and helpful video! As "old but new" gardeners who grew up in it but are now retired and growing a huge garden for the first time in years, I so appreciate this channel and all of your help and suggestions! We are in 5B and our garden is producing so much we are kind of overwhelmed! But finding others to share it with is such a blessing!

[@carolparrish194]

I really like your trellis! It is so hot and dry in my garden . I am thinking of putting a shade cloth over my plants. Presently I put a sheet over my kale.

[@dustyflats3832]

I have same--hot and dry. With the extreme heat next week I think I will shade tomatoes and peppers until it passes.

[@tranthiduyen615]

Xin chào bạn Scott, video của bạn hôm nay tôi nhìn thấy vườn rau của bạn rất tuyệt xanh tốt.

[@eliandkate]

Wow… it feels like all of a sudden your garden is green again. Everything is looking great.

[@GardenerScott]

It only happens during the short growing season, but is definitely nice to see. 🙂

[@waynesell3681]

Really like your methods. Doing more mulching and time to thin zinnias

[@GrownByHand]

Love your content as always. Some of the best gardening advice available.

[@paulsvictorygarden5387]

Thank you Gardner Scott, great information.

[@dwaynewladyka577]

Thanks for sharing this information. Cheers, Scott! ✌️

[@tirusew]

This is one of the best videos I have seen on your channel! I love it and thank you.

[@FloridaGirl-]

Your gardens are looking great Gardener Scott! 👍 Happy harvesting! 🤗

[@greggdehner3078]

I love weeding. Its so gratifying and meditative and is a great time to get in close to take a good look at your plants.

[@heidiclark6612]

What a fantastic helpful video! Excellent tasks and explanations of why and how! I always learn a lot from your videos.

[@DonnyPlunkett]

@Gardener Scott, Great video. Probably the best quality, most instructive and comprehensive video on your channel so far.

[@brightantwerp]

Thank you!

[@marvinmulford2536]

Good ideas!

[@conniedavidson1807]

It's 105 here today. So much of our western states are burning up with no rain.I'm watering daily just trying to keep my garden alive, not thriving. I've put up 70% shade cloth which is helping. I'm tempted to let my garden fill up with purslane which is growing as if it has perfect growing conditions.

[@robertsanders339]

All gardens in central texas are dead

[@conniedavidson1807]

@@robertsanders339 I'm in N Central Texas. What I have left is all under shade. This full sun stuff doesn't work here.

[@juanitaglenn9042]

Wow and up North, North, it's rain, rain, rain.

[@dustyflats3832]

@@conniedavidson1807 the full sun stuff isn't working in WI either. The sun is much harsher these days and shade fabric is needed. Can't do much about actual temps, but can prevent sunburn and help with retaining moisture. I don't remember such weather and seeing a lot of dead trees last 2 years and colors of flowering trees and bulbs are being affected. We are hopefully getting rain tomorrow as we have been in a drought since last year. I hope the clouds don't split apart when they get here as they usually do because we have high heat next week and not much chance of rain. Will have to put shade fabric back up.

[@dwaynewladyka577]

@@juanitaglenn9042 Alberta didn't get a heatwave, this year. Lots of rain.

[@loganc4233]

Thanks!

[@Inpreesme]

Thank you

[@Barrell60]

Thank You

[@joedisallotmentskitchengar8390]

You cannot underestimate the usefulness of continual weeding as those weeds use the nutrients that will maximise harvests

[@carlahabeck4051]

Its worth noting to be careful when pulling weeds and leaving on the ground that some weeds will grow more from these pieces you drop on the soil surface, rooting from the segments.

[@TinaHarris]

Lambs quarters/white goosefoot and amaranth/pigweed pops up all over my garden! I'll put what I want in salads and pull up the rest to keep it from taking over.

[@mylittlerebornlove8851]

I actually like weeding the garden. I didn't know I could just drop them there. I usually drop them somewhere away from the place I removed the weeds from. Thank you for sharing this because It's saving me time and energy.

[@amandachamberlain3169]

It works for most of them, theres a couple in my 6b garden I toss out to the grass and chop up with the mower first bc if I leave them in the bed they just take up again. The ones that root at the leaf nodes are the ones I don't leave.

[@mylittlerebornlove8851]

@@amandachamberlain3169 Thanks for the tip!

[@umiluv]

You can also mulch which reduces weeding. I mulch with grass clippings. I get very few weeds.

[@greggdehner3078]

I'm curious as to how you were able to harvest non-bolted radishes in June considering the heat you have had. I can usually get good radish harvests in May and June, but by the end of June they have already started to bolt. Seems like your were not bolted at all. Probably cannot plant again until mid to late August.

[@GardenerScott]

You can see it in earlier videos. I covered all of these beds with shade cloth and only removed it for this video.

[@prekeujkaj1625]

Hi professor! I join your video few years are most helpful for me , I m zone 6 New York,I need your advice: What tree fruit can I plant here ,pears,plume,peaches and figs ,can you give what varieties I should plant here please,thanks your support and have wonderful weekend

[@GardenerScott]

You should be able to grow apples, pears, peaches, plums, and possibly figs. Check with your local plant nursery for variety suggestions. Some varieties are resistant to disease and it's best to choose based on what local experts suggest for what will do well in your area.

[@cynditemplin6324]

I know this isn't about video topic, but I ran into an issue in my garden - squash bugs! What is the best preventative and best way to kill the bugs and eggs once they appear. Thank you, greatly enjoy your videos.

[@GardenerScott]

I usually squash the eggs and bugs when I see them. Here's some more info: ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74144.html

[@cynditemplin6324]

@@GardenerScott Thanks! I watched some videos about applying a pure, organic soap and water-spraying it on the nymphs and adults. Killed them on the video, eggs still needed to be smashed . Look forward to your videos, so informative. I tried raised beds for the first time this year. Herbs, onions, cabbage, tomatoes, watermelon and cantaloupe as well as flowers doing good. Tried cucumbers with not much success. Also tried raspberries and strawberries. Strawberries doing good, while about 1/2 the raspberries either died or did not grow at all.

[@K-Zone]

Howdy! Thanks for this video! Question: I have a super sweet 100 tomato, and on the fruit clusters, at the end, there is an entire new branch growing from it, with leaves and flowers! Is this normal? I'm guessing to just pinch it off?

[@GardenerScott]

That is unusual. The branch may be growing from the stem near the cluster and it looks like it's coming from the cluster. Either way you can pinch it off.

[@hugelpook]

Can you grow buckwheat with radish, (by broadcasting the seeds)? Would the buckwheat impede the growth of the radish?

[@GardenerScott]

You might be able to. Buckwheat can germinate and grow quickly and may overtake the radishes, but they're usually harvested within a month and a little shading is okay.

[@lilycardoso4679]

Do you prune your cucumber plants? Looks like it would be difficult. Is it necessary? My cucumbers are taking too long to fruit.

[@GardenerScott]

I do prune cucumbers. Here's my video on it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hmTbeKF3gdSNmZo

[@lajuanjensen6820]

Where do you buy your straw?I live in central Texas and can’t find any good straw for mulch.I have looked online but can’t decide what will make good mulch for my raised beds.

[@GardenerScott]

My only option is my local farm and ranch supply store.

[@lilycardoso4679]

Is it bad to leave beets in the ground too long? They're not very big.

[@GardenerScott]

You can leave them in the ground a long time. Cold weather can make them taste better.

[@juliaryan1410]

Do you replant the carrots you thin out? Any thoughts on that?

[@Dovorans]

The carrot root tends not to respond well to transplantation and often branches or grows funny, which can expose it to mold and rot. Carrots seed vociferously and their germination rates are poor so it's easier to just sow heavily in the area you want to grow carrots and thin rather than transplant. If you intend to save carrot seeds it's important to remember that they are biennials, so don't expect your seed carrots to produce any seed in your first year.

[@GardenerScott]

I don't. As Dovorans points out they don't transplant well and the roots are usually deformed when trying it.

[@amandachamberlain3169]

Just eat the thinned ones in a salad or something.

[@dustyflats3832]

In zone 5a it's difficult to find room or have enough time as those who have a longer growing season. Could be the desert like area I'm in also, but things seem to take too long to produce. Large healthy plants, but takes a long time. I've started more plants in June after planting summer garden, but now I don't have the room to plant them as really nothing is finished producing. The other problem is grubs--small brown and many large white. They eat the feeder roots and causes weakness in water uptake. Is the only answer beneficial nematodes?

[@GardenerScott]

Nematodes can often be effective. If you know the specific pest you can try to disrupt their life cycle by removing plant waste, covering plants in spring, turning the soil, or another action to keep eggs and larvae from appearing.

[@RM-eb6gh]

5.19min mark. why not just cut smaller Swiss chards at soil level instead of pulling them up along with roots?

[@GardenerScott]

That is an option too.

[@WichalRangai]

dont pull everything else in eden