Can you plant a garden in FILL DIRT? (Let's find out!)

[@veronicadoggone5660]

I nominate a sunflower forrest as the first crop for that space. 😁🌻

[@Blossomandbranch]

That would be fun! If the soils test comes back high in heavy metals I'll consider that!

[@deborahparmelee1458]

Sunflowers, field peas, and pasture radishes. They are all soil busters.

[@Hailey-bz2ym]

It’s refreshing to see someone else with super heavy clay. Makes me hopeful that I can grow things. I have raised beds but want to get more into perennials

[@Blossomandbranch]

Clay is actually great for growing in, just takes a little extra work to keep aerated at planting time and the more organic matter the better!

[@wild_gardener]

I coach people in a grant program who are transitioning lawns or other spaces to pollinator friendly spaces. The most common question I get is how to transform soil. I’m definitely going to send this video to them. It’s very straightforward and simple

[@Blossomandbranch]

Thank you!! The goal is to make is accessible 🥰

[@Defender_of_men]

That's great!Im an avid Gardner and composter but When it comes to navigating applications and forms for grants and financial assistance to grow more In a bit of a dummy🤣How would one procure your coaching assistance?Mu daughter is in the beekeeping club and has a beehive she is setting up for the springtime and we have decided to plant almost exclusively

[@Defender_of_men]

Plants for pollinators.

[@karlsapp7134]

I’m always impressed by your content. This is an excellent resource for anyone looking to grow their soil and plants in healthy ways with efficient methods.

[@LauraLea1978]

Wow, the big reveal at the end. So good. Thanks for all the great information :)

[@Blossomandbranch]

Thanks for watching!

[@kimberlyc6897]

Thank you so much for sharing this Bri! You seriously saved my yard from being a mud pit all winter. Anyone who has compacted clay should definitely try this! Details for anyone wondering: I am in Zone 7a in the southeastern US. I had some grading done on my property that led to super compacted areas of red clay; the total square footage was probably about 5-6 times larger than what Bri appeared to be working with in this video. Of course, I thought that the work finished up too late in the planting season to do much about the areas that were turning to mud every time it rained. Then I saw this video and decided to just go for it. I followed Bri’s steps almost exactly apart from a few things. One, I did not use a tilling machine. I regret not just paying to rent one. I tried to use a rake to break the clay up and not only was it a lot of manual labor that wasn’t even all that effective thus requiring me to buy more bags of soil than I wanted (I think it ended up being about 10 bags), but it also bent the rake pretty badly. I’m not sure if trying a broad fork could work in place of a machine. Because I wasn’t able to break up the clay much, there was not a lot of dirt/soil to rake seeds into, so I ended up using leaves blown off my driveway to cover/protect the seeds I spread. For seeds, I only used field/winter peas and oats. Because my area was facing a drought, I experimented with soaking half the peas and half the oats in water overnight before spreading them; I am unsure if this really made a difference, but it didn’t seem to hurt. Bri didn’t mention anything about watering in the video, but I did end up watering the areas between once a day and once every other day depending on how much time I had in the week. After about 2.5 weeks of growth, my clay areas look about the same as the one in the video though Bri definitely spread her seeds more evenly. I am so pleased with the results, especially since I skipped the tilling machine, and can’t wait to plant into healthier soil in the spring!

[@betsymaltby6788]

Recently discovered this channel, follow a few garden channels, but none discuss cover crops. I may have some time to get some seeds sown here in NJ before 1st frost sets in (we've had an unusually warm October). Thanks for the info...new game changer for me. Trying to stay as organic as possible.

[@Blossomandbranch]

Welcome! Glad you’re here!!!

[@nicoletihista7031]

This was perfect timing! We have very rocky and not sure what else soil in the back that we are trying to get healthy. When I cut my zinnias back this fall, I'm going to leave the roots in the soil to feed and condition! I learn so much from you. Thank you for sharing!

[@sjwestmo]

There’s an old farming book. I read that showed how deep roots go. As i recall, most Vine crops have roots that go 6 feet into the ground

[@sc-dw6gt]

last year we put a veg garden on a new area of our property---a degraded, compacted solid adobe clay road (the very clay our house was once built from! zone 7a high desert). The power of cover crops cannot be overstated---the transformation was amazing! We used a variety of cover over winter---winter rye, field peas, clovers, vetch, oats, radishes, and so on---and, although all the areas did great, I must say that the areas planted with winter rye (the most difficult crop to terminate by far) now have the most incredible soil of all the beds, in only one year. Go cover!

[@jentbarnes7328]

Excellent timing, as I’m working on converting my driveway to flower beds right now. I’ve been worried about the compaction and the dead clay soil, but your optimism bolsters my hope! Thank you for outlining a doable approach to adding new life to sad soil.

[@grizzmo2447]

This is such a helpful video! My neighborhood is about 15 years old and has that rock hard soil, and I want to make a garden. I so appreciate you❤️

[@SoilRevivalJourney]

This is such an interesting experiment! 🌱 I’ve always wondered if fill dirt could support healthy roots. It reminds me of a video I saw about how cover crops can improve poor soil conditions-fascinating stuff

[@richardgaspar4590]

Healing the soil sounds so good, looks so lively already. Growing native wildflowers also helped a lot in the garden.

[@jameskniskern2261]

Excellent "how to" video. Knowing when to use the big guns of a tiller and rebuilding soil life for your area.

[@Bob-w2b8j]

In Florida newer houses are usually elevated on sandy fill dirt (even the fill dirt is sand here, lol), including in my neighborhood. What you notice is that none of the trees or shrubs ever seem to establish. There are trees in the neighborhood that must be 8 years old and are STILL staked up to prevent them from falling during one of our normal summer thundershowers. If you have fill dirt you likely need to bust it up physically and amend heavily

[@jeannet9592]

This was so interesting, and impressive how well your cover crop grew in that newly tilled and amended soil. Thanks for sharing.

[@ElahehDaisy]

22:00 my jaw just dropped, amazing

[@Blossomandbranch]

Should have filmed another update 10 days later, it's HUGE now!! I'll try to catch it before first frost!

[@ElahehDaisy]

@@Blossomandbranchoh wow, thank you

[@fraukeg.facchini2691]

Please do that! ​@@Blossomandbranch

[@janaimaughan3599]

This is perfect! We are working on putting our native meadows and some more formal gardens in at our new home. It’s 1.5 acres so I definitely prefer to fix up our existing soil.

[@James-ol2fr]

LOVE this project! Cant wait for updates! Dr. Christine Jones says the fastest way to grow soil is probably using the 16+ diverse cover crop of annual plants, and cutting them before seeding, and going again and again! Probably no time for that this year, but just a note for anyone interested! Also, if you dont have room to set up your own Johnson Su compost bio reactor, know you can purchase that compost online! I've bought some from an Oklahoma producer, but dont have my own land, so nothing of note so say about it, yet. Many say that using molasses is not beneficial long term as it creates a quick boom-bust with bacterial life, but it has been used to stimulate the FUNGAL population, which follows after that bacterial population drop. I bet you experience long term benefit from this! 😊

[@Blossomandbranch]

Thanks, yes I agree the more biodiversity the better, she is so wise! As far as molasses, I agree with you and don’t spray it on my plants as a regular routine treatment as I think it leads to long term imbalances between bacterial and fungal life but I like it in this one time treatment when combined with compost, and alfalfa for a nitrogen source!

[@DianaLopez-ih4hv]

Is it weird that I got so happy to see the crop cover results? This is amazing . Thank you so much for sharing.

[@britt518]

I have had clay soil that is hard like that before. I found waiting until after it rains makes it easier to work with. I bet using a hose on it too could work as well. Love how you’ve broken this all down and with a challenging area. I’m excited to see how the area transforms!

[@annakozlowski4837]

Can't wait to see how the soils turns out I have planted peas and oats in my veg bed.... the house looks Glorious ❤

[@Blossomandbranch]

10 days later it's looking amazing, hope it keeps up! Thank you so much!

[@MyFocusVaries]

I don't see people talking about parsley, but its taproot is really long. I think it would be helpful for breaking up soil.

[@charlesbale8376]

Appreciated the information.

[@Blossomandbranch]

You bet!

[@gardentherapySOS]

Love your informational videos. I started winter peas about 2 weeks ago in my raised garden beds to keep them covered for the winter. They look great so far. Thank you for opening my eyes to good soil health!

[@swampfoxtactics7720]

I love your videos about soil health. Thank you educating me.

[@emilymimikos4756]

Thank you for providing such phenomenal content. The thoughts and information that you share has been even more helpful than my horticulture degree focusing in sustainable ag classes. Thank you!

[@LisadeKramer]

I need to do this in my backyard. Weeds and prairie dogs have made a mess of it. I have a nice patch of buffalo grass but all around needs to be redone. That may be next year's project. Two years ago my local seed company suggested planting rye as a cover crop in my front yard. That was a mistake. I finally got it irradicated out of there.

[@mistygeller3193]

That looks awesome!! And that’s only 2 weeks of growth!! Just wow! How cool! I want to do something like that with my extremely sand filled yard 😊 Thank you for all of the amazing information that you share. It’s absolutely fascinating to me and you are so inspiring. I feel so much more well equipped to plant all sorts of different things on my property now!

[@cbak1819]

I was saying "she's gonna have to till " Just a nother thought. I noticed Dahlia's aerate my soil tremendously!

[@mariac__as]

This video was so helpful I even wrote down notes. Thank you so much for all of this info ❤

[@fraukeg.facchini2691]

That cover crop looks amazing! Thank you for another great recipe for soil improvement! How much molasses and which kind do you use for the alfalfa mixture?

[@Blossomandbranch]

We have the full recipe if you search our channel for alfalfa fertilizer ;)

[@fraukeg.facchini2691]

@@Blossomandbranch Thank you.

[@mandypittman1154]

I'm so excited for you and what you are going to do. I vote native flowers!!!

[@chubbybottomacres]

im learning so much!!!

[@kathymerner6402]

In my online search for alfalfa pellets, all I'm coming up with is horse feed. Is that what you are using? Sharing brands you use would be so helpful for us newbies. Unless there's a good reason for you not to do so. Thanks for all of the great content. I plan to install a couple of your mini cut flower gardens next year.

[@Blossomandbranch]

Yes, exactly! Any feed store like tractor supply will carry them.

[@MyFocusVaries]

And from my research, most western Canada grown alfalfa isn't grown with pesticides

[@bagpudding]

This is great information to learn! Thanks for all the content you share on your channel. I was hoping for a bit of advice. I recently had a number of trees removed (too tall and putting the house at risk). It’s now a great spot for a fruit orchard! The stump grinding process has left a lot of wood chip along with years of leaf litter as a sort of mulch layer. I was thinking of doing a winter cover crop mix in a similar style to this video to give the soil a nice start before planting in trees (luxury of zone 8). Should I clear away the mulch layer and then seed, or just seed straight into it and let it all do their things?

[@JenniferSmith-d5b]

Hi Bri, this is so helpful! My question is how much watering is needed to get the cover crop to germinate? And then how much is needed after germination?

[@Blossomandbranch]

We watered once a day to establish and once it was all germinated dialed back to once every three days since temperatures have been pretty temperate!

[@megantrindell8448]

Love all your content and videos so so much. Have you ever thought about writing a book? 😄

[@dfabella85]

Plant daikon radish for compaction

[@AnnaKincaid]

This video could not come out at a better time since we are looking to buy a new place and start a small regenerative homestead / farm from scratch. Some video requests I have or ideas for you that would be helpful for us are reducing costs for things like cover crop seeds and etc. How you care for your sheep and the many ways you use them on your property and farm I know over the years you have shared bits here and there but a whole video on that would be great like a DITL sheep on the farm or something. Another thing that would be great is an updated cost of your flower farm and what you do in the winter. I Just have so many questions and I too homeschool and such plus holidays are coming so I understand the time it takes to get these awesome videos out there and want you to know how much I appreciate them. 😀

[@chelseavenable3678]

Yes, I second a video about uses of the sheep! Thanks for the awesome content.

[@mihaeladog7187]

I planted my tulip bulbs 1 inch deep 😂 that’s all I could dig .Put some mulch on top and waiting for a miracle in the spring 😂

[@SarahKotri]

Yeah that’s what our soil is often like here in Alberta, Canada. How much did you have to water the cover crop though? Water also loosens the soil, although that type would still be clay and clumpy when wet

[@at1the1beginning]

Digging and rotivating aren't adviced anymore, but sometimes you just need a hard reset. Soil like this needs to be dug deep, preferably several feet to break up compacted layers and then rotivated (with some added organic matter) to be turned into a more homogenous growing medium. Leveled/raked and mulched asap. The biggest factor is going to be time ofcourse. Even weeds growing in the mean time is better than nothing.

[@trek150082]

Amazing video thank u

[@kaitlynharmer8459]

This is really exciting!!! I have similar soil at my property but haven’t moved there quite yet. I’m in northern ca (Mediterranean climate) where it doesn’t usually freeze until mid November at the earliest. I don’t have any irrigation yet. Would I be safe planting a cover crop in November once it starts raining? Also, there’s a ton of rocks - some are pretty big. Do I need to remove those first?

[@sharigordon6312]

This was really helpful. I live in Lakewood (Green MTN) and the bunnies have annihilated my southwest back lawn. They've eaten the grass down to dirt and ate digging holes and weeds galore. I'm wondering what to do with the area. Would the bunnies eat the cover crops? I'm at a loss what to do with the space. But this gives me good ideas!

[@yardenrice]

This video is awesome!!! So informative.. thank you!! I needed this 🙌 HalleluYah

[@Blossomandbranch]

Glad it was helpful! Let me know if you give it a try!

[@britt518]

At what point do you start using dried leaves?

[@michelleyanche1706]

This is so interesting and helpful! About what proportion of molasses to alfalfa?

[@AnnaKincaid]

@michelleyanche1706 she has a video on it here some where I saw it and have yet to have time to give it a go.

[@terributler215]

Where would you buy alfalfa pellets? Molasses from the grocery store? Thanks

[@MyFocusVaries]

Feed stores. It's animal feed

[@eulerizeit]

I'd love to see how successful or unsuccessful those radishes are.

[@Blossomandbranch]

I'll update!

[@KokoraLife]

Wow! That is some hard soil!

[@EvaMarieK]

Your house looks beautiful!! Congratulations! I’m sure it’s been a long process. We would love to see it, but maybe you would like to keep it private! Thanks for all you share ❤

[@Blossomandbranch]

Thank you! I'll be sharing soon, we are just doing final stuff like paint (Dave and I are doing most of the finish ourselves like trim/paint/tile/etc. so it's been slow going, haha!)

[@fraukeg.facchini2691]

​@@BlossomandbranchGood for you, it saves you a lot of money. ❤

[@justbynature]

Did you swap your overalls buckles with elastics because the buckles dig into your shoulders?? I noticed lately that after wearing mine while doing a lot of repetitive movements with my arms outreached the buckles will actually leave my chest sore the next day

[@Blossomandbranch]

Haha this would be so smart but no, I actually wear them so much the buckles broke so this is my quick fix! But it does let them have a little more give for sure!

[@nommindymple6241]

With the state of that "soil," I'm surprised you didn't break it up with the excavator on the back of your big, green tractor-thing.

[@Blossomandbranch]

I'm slow with it yet, still learning the controls!!

[@nommindymple6241]

@@Blossomandbranch Of course, on the plus side, more people would have access to a surface tiller than to an excavator/back-hoe. So, that's good for more of your audience. It would be interesting to see if your broadfork could penetrate that soil. Perhaps watering it the day before for the clay to loosen up might have helped with that. Anyway, the growing plants at the end look wonderful (buckwheat's a great plant).

[@tamararobinson2069]

🤗👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏Thank You!!!!!💚

[@sallyazzato3481]

If I did the alfalfa fertilizer in the spring, should I plant right away, or do it a certain number of weeks ahead of planting?

[@Blossomandbranch]

You can plant right away! I did it to give the cover crops a boost!

[@savinggift158]

Easy thrown down cardboard and green stuff and waste vegetables a bit of soil or vacuum cleaner dust on top and put bulbs in. Eventually will get soil

[@Blossomandbranch]

Oh my, NEVER use vacuum cleaner dust in your soil, especially if your carpets are polypropylene. Thats how you get microplastics in your soil!! As for cardboard, I don’t like using it. Potential contaminants like PFAS combined with inability for water and oxygen to permeate it leads to the death of soil life. We did a test on it a couple years back, tilling once is far better for soil life than smothering with cardboard!

[@nicholasdemarest4254]

Good thing you have the money to waste

[@thevector]

Great video! A random thought/question -- have you thought about the vertical space above ground? I am imagining some stakes/poles or even some deadwood here and there to bring in some birds and even predator insects, prior to planing taller plants and bushes down the road. The hope would be to increase biodiversity even more for that new ecosystem. But I am not at all an expert, just something that came to mind. Thank you for all your hard work on these videos!