Digging Lazy Beds to Start a Garden

[@FRISKY_MANDINGO]

I just watched your "no rules composting" video and I'm realizing how severely underrated your channel is. You should have way more subscribers for the quality of content you have here. Your videos really are a pleasure to watch, not to mention extremely informative. I'll be digging a small plot for the first time ever, very soon, so it's exciting to see that you have plenty of videos for me to watch.

[@REDGardens]

john papple Wow! Thanks for the really encouraging comments. I am hoping that with more time and much more regular posting of videos, this channel will get a lot more subscribers and views. Good luck with your garden!

[@consideringorthodoxy5495]

Usually I don’t say things like this, being that your category isn’t incredibly niche, as well as your videos being of such high quality, I too am rather surprised that you don’t have more subscribers.

[@hendrik3076]

he's one of the most interresting and not annoying people to watch when it comes to gardening and such

[@bashkillszombies]

Doesn't help the audio quality is very bad. :(

[@timobreumelhof88]

I fully agree

[@CougheeBrosGenetics]

Bruh, I would love to just sit around and listen to this dude talk about anything. A vast bank of knowledge in his brain! Something tells me he has a huge library sitting somewhere in that house! Great channel. Hooked for sure.

[@REDGardens]

Hey, thanks for that comment. Glad you didn't find me boring!

[@XRTRACING]

I like that this guy tells you what he did wrong and how to fix it. Not just what he did right and keep the fails out of it. Gardening is always trial and error in every part of the world. There is no one size fits all method. There is of course a baseline but some fall below and rise above.

[@suemar63]

Very useful info as always. I was faced with starting new beds this year and faced a similar weedy area with no time to do my preferred method of sheet mulching. I smothered the areas with thick layers of grass clippings and topped with thick layers of straw. I then made "bowls" in the grass, threw in some compost, and planted in that. It worked great on big crops --potatoes, zukes, tomatoes, but did not work for small growers like lettuce and onions. But, like you-I try and look at the bright side. I got a garden full of food --just not all the food I wanted. And now this Spring, I look forward to much better beds. Thank you for your wonderful videos. I especially appreciate your honesty as far as what DIDN'T work as well. Hope you have a great growing season ahead..........

[@chrisholbourn2793]

Skull and cross bones. Crack me up. Thought I was hallucinating for a minute. Great video.

[@REDGardens]

Chris Holbourn LOL

[@ericschmuecker5573]

Yeah me too. Had to rewind.

[@XxxcloackndaggerxxX]

Yeah I saw them EVERYWHERE in this video!

[@jadepenn7407]

The couch grass is next level my friend! I have a site covered with it overlapping for years so when you said you were just flipping it over I was aghast! but good feedback loop and explanation of the negative. Have to shade it out and it decomposes very nicely

[@REDGardens]

Yeah, couch grass is a tough one. The lazy bed technique doesn't get rid of it, but it does cut up the network of roots, it also gets rid of the other vegetation and the mass of tangled roots. Both of these makes it much easier to pull up the couch grass roots. But still a chore - shading is a much better way, if you give it enough time to do it completely.

[@jadepenn7407]

RED Gardens mm I visited a site where over a two year period they had used a carrot family ground cover to shade it. The ground cover made for much better chop and drop and was edible amoung other things. I think the film is on happen films page - riverdale or something farm if interested.

[@qtpwqt]

Another great video , I think what you are doing will help all of us have better gardens

[@REDGardens]

Ah, thanks for the lovely comment!

[@blackoak4978]

A couple of buddies were thinking about converting their backyard into a garden. Originally I suggested breaking it up and pulling out all the roots and stones, and even offered to help. After a few weeks of dithering, during which they considered herbicides, I actually brought up just turning them. They never did get into it(not enough time or motivation), but I think I might convince them to do it early next year.

[@REDGardens]

Hopefully they will get into it next year. Turning it all over can be a good start, especially if you don't know what is under the surface. It will kill off some of the vegetation, but other weeds will come back with a vengeance, it just depends on what is there.

[@josephs4212]

Very smart and knowledgeable. I didn't know half the words he was using.

[@DJ-HAVOK]

This guy is really smart and not just his knowledge but his understanding of not staying Stagnant and knowing that just because something works doesn’t mean it’s the best and always staying open minded is the number one key to all of that

[@REDGardens]

Thanks for the supportive comment!

[@Ununs3pt1um]

Got mine done so far, 1.5x5m - will dig out a greenhouse and add that soil as well. Hope I'll be done before frost sets in.

[@agoodgurl2k]

Finally! Somebody with some honest videos!

[@REDGardens]

Glad you value my honesty!

[@mellis1987]

I absolutely love this channel! Every video I have watched is full of information, helpful hints and a wonderful explanation of your method(s) and process(es). I look forward to seeing how the RED Gardens project works out. Keep it up please, and thank you!

[@REDGardens]

Thanks!

[@MFRANKRR92]

Geez I bet you're happy with your mate with the drone who got those birds eye shots. That's awesome! those birds eye views would be a great added way to evaluate the change in the land over time. Great video, I watch KZbin for creators like you.

[@REDGardens]

Yes, definitely great to have a mate with a drone! The footage is very helpful, as it is the only way to get a proper view of things. It is also coo to be able to see the changes over time.

[@rochrich1223]

Sharpening the shovel, good for you. It's amazing how few people do that and how many like sharp once they try it.

[@REDGardens]

I don't know how people manage with a dull shovel!

[@Elucidator-]

Good job on being so pragmatic - and not overly ideological - when it comes down to things like herbicides (as well as other subjects). I like how you think about what the best solution is in the given circumstances, even if that means not shying away from methods that might be controversial in some circles.

[@REDGardens]

Thanks. I think it is important to understand the range of possible options, and the pros and cons of each. Having many gardens of really tough weeds, I can understand why so many people reach for the herbicide.

[@JuanSilva-hn3xn]

I can see how you will evolve as you experiment and and how your love of pesticide-free agriculture will augment.

[@jstevenintexas]

Really enjoying your videos so far, as well as the editing and attention to detail. Nice use of the skull in the frame at 8:25 :).

[@REDGardens]

I missed your comment earlier, but wanted to say thanks. It is nice to know that my work and approach is appreciated. Glad you like the skull. I was surprised by how many people were freaked out by them.

[@roccoconte2960]

nothing seems lazy to me looks like a lot of work good job.

[@BushGold]

You're a legend mate,keep spreading this common sense wisdom.....

[@REDGardens]

Ah, thanks man!

[@josephstark6494]

Great to see a new video! I'm a big fan of the overall presentation and thought you out into your work

[@REDGardens]

Very cool to hear that all the effort is appreciated. Thanks.

[@MissL4lly]

Recently moved to a little place with a tiny side garden full of weeds and tufty grass (these have now been evicted;)), next step I'm going to turn the soil add compost and fill with herbs and veg, toyed with the idea of flowers but na, waste of space in my opinion. I've never grown my own veg before and live in a similar climate as yourself. Excited to see how it all turns out. Thanks for this video, given me food for thought. Cheers Ally.

[@REDGardens]

Glad you found it useful, and good luck with your growing. I have the same opinion about flowers!

[@MissL4lly]

@@REDGardens only good for bees :) .

[@49testsamiam49]

love the skull when talking about roundup

[@REDGardens]

Glad you like it! Some people really disturbed by it.

[@michaelculbertson3584]

I love your videos and your approach to growing food! In my own experience, I've found the black weed cover to be probably my most powerful tool in gardening - placing them in locations for two weeks to kill off weeds and then establish my plants on my mounds, beds, and around vines/bushes/trees with very little weeding or soil disturbance. Anyway, love the videos and thank you for sharing your work!

[@REDGardens]

Thanks for your comments! I am favouring the use of blacked cover more and more these days. In Ireland it has the added benefit of helping to warm the soil, but I have found that it takes more than 2 weeks to kill the weeds - perhaps you are in a climate with more sun.

[@Charito29NP]

Wishing you many subscribers, success and health. Excited to see your garden over time

[@REDGardens]

Thanks for your lovely comments!

[@manuelbettencourt4213]

You could sheet mulch and just cut out plant holes for garden on the first year keeping the sheets intact so the weeds would be controlled during the growing season.

[@REDGardens]

That would work with larger plants, and have tried a version of it for tomatoes etc, but wouldn't help with beetroot, carrots, etc.

[@lisahodges8299]

That seems a lot of work but done with the best intentions, weeding regularly seems hard but the slow approach did win out. I feel encouraged to keep going, clearing but by bit. Birdy

[@clivelightwalker]

A considered, practiced and balanced approach to gardening - gained yourself a new subscriber 👍 thank you for uploading.

[@REDGardens]

Awesome, thank you!

[@JohnnyCake12333]

Excellent video and information!! Thank you for sharing. I just wanted to give some input on the rhizomous grass problem... I cleared out a 350 ft^2 space that was covered in rhizomous grass, and I did not want to fight it forever... It's not exactly a lazy style, but basically, I manually removed all the grass once and it did not come back, and if it did, it was very little and only more came after my neighbors grass seeded all over the area afterwards months later which I couldn't control. Even then, they were easy to pull out before they established their rhizomes again and started running. My tried lazy technique (kind of a manually sped up sheet mulch): Cover a weedy area in some horse stable bedding (manure and hay) by 1-2 inches, weeds and all, including rhizomous grass. Don't even trip dog, let it either rain heavily on the plot so it's saturated and just wait a couple weeks (or more, I guess that's the "lazy" part). Wait until all those weed seeds germinate and even grow to a decent size so you ensure all the weed seeds on the topsoil have germinated, and then go ham on the weeds that came through the mulch and the weeds that germinated with the new soil and watering. Use good posture, squat down with proper breathing technique (stabilization) and form (or do whatever, just get close with your hands), and rip those bad boys out of the lightly mulched ground, making sure to get the entire roots system, particularly with the rhizomous grass. The plants will come out of the soil incredibly easily with the loose mulched soil, and since topsoil is minimally disturbed by manually weeding (instead of using a hoe like you did nya), there is very little return of weeds afterwards and your plants can dominate! The small number of weeds that do return are easy to take out of the loosened soil too. I see no other reasonable way to get rid of that dang rhizomous grass except for herbicidal sprays, which really I would say should be avoided considering just about everyone uses Round Up and that stuff is just cancerous as hell. The technique is labor intensive, but you aren't against that are ye? It's kind of similar to Curtis Stones except he uses tools to drag away the top soil as well. This inevitably results in more work instead of a one shot go like this technique. Also very interesting to hear you say certain plants deal with rotting material better than others. I have heard that before but just in offhanded ways, such as viney plants enjoy a sheet mulch (or slightly active pile) in general, more than regular soil even... But that is interesting to think on!

[@REDGardens]

Thanks for sharing your experience, and method for dealing with the rhizome roots. I think I agree, the best method in the long run is to go at it manually, and thoroughly. But as you mention, you need to get the soil in the right moisture condition to make it easier. I am planning to clear another big section of overgrown grass and I think I am going to try covering it for a month or so, to help decompose or at lease weaken some of the tangled surface growth, then to methodically dig.

[@JohnnyCake12333]

No problem, I am really happy you appreciate it! But yes, that is true, the soil has to be at the right moisture, otherwise the roots are just about impossible to tease out of the ground. Must be something to do with its Mediterranean origins I think... Another benefit of the 1-2 inch sheet mulch covering the weeds is that it will hold moisture really well and the microbial boom working with the compost and plants roots' economics (as in shipping/trading) will loosen up the ground significantly. You do end up growing weeds though, which could be a downside if you have any local weed seeds that seed within the first couple weeks of being watered. I did not have any species as such. For your goal of weakening the grass/decomposing it, any thin biological sheet mulch like I did will not do much of that, but yeah that would happen with regular covers. My method is pretty different from non-biologic covers in that it works via loosening the soil with the microbial boom and plants roots moving about, but the downfall is that it does not weaken the weeds, rather it only makes it easier to remove them, as ironic as that may sound. It may temporarily weaken them, but they come back through the mulch rather quickly (the mature plants), especially the grass, within a couple weeks. My problem with that rhizomous grass is, that even if covered with a plastic sheet mulch for instance, it takes many many months for it to die. I've heard some gardener friends say it's not even recommended for use in compost the stuff is so mad. It's Mediterranean origins make it resistant to flooding AND drought, for freaking months! It just needs an herbicide for any speedy removal. I agree with the corporations in the end I guess. But hands are the best herbicide for the job I say, which is where my opinion and actions differ from theirs! It would take an incredibly advanced machine to do what can manually be done with the hands and a shovel to remove the grasses' rhizomes. And synthetic herbicides just can't match the benefits of doing it manually. Maybe profit wise they could, but not ecologically nor health wise you know? Using a shovel will be a really good idea. I forgot to include, I also used a shovel for part of the job. 1/3 of the plot was shaded by low hanging fig tree branches, so I was actually forced to squat to remove the weeds under there, and I also did not want to hurt the roots of the tree, along with leaving some beneficial plants. Otherwise though, I used a shovel in the open areas. I would just loosen the roots of the grass a little bit more with the shovel head, a typical technique, and then manually remove them, feeling out their roots from the base of the grass and following the rhizome root tracks wherever they led, and shaking off the soil unless it was just a clump of rhizomous roots, in which cases, I would toss the soil as well. Afterwards, you could probably just water the area to germinate any seeds that came from the soil disturbance from uprooting of the rhizomous grass, and just flame weed after, or use a spray herbicide if you unfortunately choose that route! The thing is though, there will be little return of that freaking grass if at all with the thin sheet mulch and pull technique, and pretty much all other weeds pale in comparison to that grass, so as long as the dang rhizomes are gone, weeding becomes much less tedious/damaging. Any rhizomous grass weed seeds that germinate don't have rhizomes yet so they are easy to remove. If you have them around your field, you just have to plant consistently to discourage competition and be careful not to encourage edge growth by watering them on accident. Or you could just use a sheet mulch or what have you, I did not take care of the edge grass around the 350 ft^2 area, so rather than having problems with rhizome competition (since I planted so often and avoided watering the grass), I had problems with grass germinating from seeding grasses around the area. I would probably either mow, cover, or remove the surrounding grass in the future. The seeds end up being the problem in the end though from surrounding grass, not their rhizomes, so they end up being less problematic as long as their runners are removed from the area of concern, and maybe a little more for safety so you can water your plants without feeding them at all.

[@REDGardens]

Interesting point about the not weakening the weeds, but loosening the soil though microbial bloom and root activity so that they are easier to pull out. I find working like this is dependent on timing, of getting back at the weeds within the right period of time. Same thing I found with the lazy bed method. If I waited a few weeks/month for the scutch grass to start to send up new growth, and then pulled them up at that point, it was a lot easier than trying to find them earlier, or allowing them to gain another foothold. a lot of it is about timing, which I often don't get right.

[@JohnnyCake12333]

You are right about the importance of timing. You do have to remove the weeds at the right time. One other thing with the 350 ft^2 area I mentioned is that I actually left the weeds growing about 2 weeks longer than I had planned because I got busy with other tasks, but the grass was so happy, even with a month long period of growth, only some of it had just began to go to seed. The plants are so happy with the thin sheet mulch, that they do not want to go into flower and seed immediately but will rather sit around because they feel relaxed and happy in their rich soil. So, the timing is important, but with the thin sheet mulch it would seem you can procrastinate a little, because the weeds tend to take a long time to flower/go to seed when they are so happy. I've been reading through other comments here. The thin sheet mulch seems like the best compromise between the no manual labor plastic covering and trying to just clear it. You still have to do work, but it is easier in the end, and it takes less time than the plastic covering. Also, it mocks that rhizomous grasses' natural habitat: trampled by animals and then covered in manure. So they absolutely love it... Make war while they are relaxed I say! And remove them just when they think everything is going well!!!!! But yeah though, timing may be a bit more lax with this technique.

[@Alastair510]

Sharpening your spade! So few people do this, and it makes cutting turf so much easier.

[@gininoulianina8635]

Simple, as much as it can be... realistic and based on true experience... apparently not influenced but just 1 point of view, i’ll follow your channel! Keep on farming man!

[@derby1919]

Its nice to see that you are doing well with your site, but as an other tool for your garden, instead of spraying have about getting a Chicken Tractor to go over your beds before planting. as chicken will 1 eat bugs and weed seeds 2 fertilise your beds with dropping, 3 you will get good eggs of them to. Hope this helps keep on with the good work.

[@REDGardens]

I hope to get some hens in the spring and use them to help clear some more land.

[@robs9574]

derby gamer 12345 Great comment! How many square feet per bird to remove veg from 25’x12’ area per week? Three bed rows wide 25’ long.

[@kimberlyhughes5475]

Pigs and goats are good at clearing land, too. I'm not sure which has the best manure to compost, though. I'd raise rabbits for theirs, if I could. You can safely add that right to your garden.

[@markjoe5579]

i really enjoy you video, i'm going to try your method this fall so i can be ready for next year. i think it's so neat that you look so much like that guy off the sonic commercial. lol. one thing in missouri my garden bed was good for growing rocks. my first bed i dug out by pick shovel and rake, it's 22' x 10' x 2'.

[@REDGardens]

Hey there, took me a while to reply to your comment, but thanks! Sounds like you have a tough site to grow in - good luck with all your work.

[@terriwilson2093]

Red Gardens..I caught your posts for the first time tonight. I'm in Peoria Illinois in USA. I wanted to tell you a couple things I picked up listen to you. one was telling about a buzzard taking care of pests. you ran out of pests, lost your buzzard. my next thought was you'd become your own pest buzzard. haha!. I also support 1000 o/o your culling rats. you're the one plucking around the compost. it's totally correct. among other reasons, my husband died of non hod lymphoma at 52. he smoked and welded. stay away from the roundup. he used it at home, and at the place he worked. find something else. you're a kind man. I subscribed and hit the bell.happy growing. Terri.

[@REDGardens]

Glad you found my channel, and that you likely videos. I was laughing at the idea at me becoming a replacement buzzard! Some things you just need to take care of yourself!

[@danielhughes5614]

A nice and informative presentation.

[@REDGardens]

:)

[@columlynch4229]

Hi and good luck with your project. I have found an easy and simple way to growing veg here in co.cavan. i use old half ton bags the ones that sand or gravel are delivered in. They give me a 90cm diameter by 60cm high raised bed. I fill them with a mix of lawn clippings and saw dust from my workshop and i never dig, i just top up at the end of the growing season and cover for the winter.

[@REDGardens]

Cool idea to use the bags. I have seen them being used to make an instant community garden, but those were filled with soil. Interesting that you use just lawn clippings and sawdust - like growing on a compost pile.

[@sikamikan]

favourite gardening channel, great content thanks for sharing

[@REDGardens]

Very cool to hear that these videos are being appreciated! Thanks.

[@evelynconroy4821]

sikamikan crabgrass

[@delectablemountainshomeste8629]

I am a new subscriber. I love your scientific approach to gardening. Scientific method is how my brain comprehends information. I also gained a lot from your composting video. Cheers!

[@rockocanuck]

Delectable Mountains I agree. He doesn't show too much bias against anything and is willing to to test it out. it's good outlook to have, especially when every other channel is like "you must do it this way, and chemicals are scary bad"

[@delectablemountainshomeste8629]

I am still not sure what method I will be using on my garden this year...or if I will have a garden this year. What i do know is that i am documenting it on my channel. Do you garden?

[@rockocanuck]

I do. I live on an acreage in zone 2b/3a so I won't be doing anything for a while yet. But my garden is fairly big. My biggest problems here are late/early frosts, watee and wind. I'm going to set up a rain water catchment as I don't think my well water is very good (lots of heavy metals). So I really use a combination of methods. I'm lucky in that weeds are not a big problem for me, but we use a wood chip mulch so I think that helps keep them down.

[@REDGardens]

Thanks. Glad you got something out of my videos, and appreciate the more scientific approach.

[@anderseriksen2282]

Hello Red Gardens. nice video on hard work, You can try this method I got from my Grand - granddad, many years ago: 1) First year on a new bed, plant potatoes directly on your digging, and accept some los in quality and amount, but make the potatoes cover the soil completely, and make the field clean on weed above the potatoes. 2) In the autum, when picking up the potapoes, remove all big stone, plastic, and bad potatoes 3) after removing, ad Compost/manure/firtilizer, and tiller it down into the earth. 4) The rest off the year, until next spring, just keep the soil without weed And you are ready for gardening Best Regards and wishes from Denmark Anders Eriksen

[@REDGardens]

HI Anders, thanks for the comment. That method sounds like it could work well. One limitation in Ireland is the possibility of blight killing off the potatoes earlier in the season.

[@Sooper8]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience!

[@naynaya3565]

I like the way he speaks and explains things. Kinda reminded me of a StarTrek character lol

[@REDGardens]

NayNay A LOL

[@christ4edwoods207]

Thank you. You can spray napalm weeds will never stop coming. You will get a couple of months at best. Best you can do be consistent and cover it with galvanize and old sheets of plywood.

[@kimberlyhughes5475]

Thank you for the reminder to sharpen those sod lifters!

[@REDGardens]

👍 Sharpening seems to be a very undervalued task.

[@kimberlyhughes5475]

@@REDGardens Can lazy beds be used to grow all vegetables? I'm excited to try this method of making beds!

[@vonippo8371]

videos are the best

[@Hayley-sl9lm]

Interesting! I tried digging up grass and turning it over once just as a method to keep grass down in the woodchip mulch on the paths in our community garden and it didn't work at all. The shoots just re-grew in the right direction, and the decomposed grass blades just basically fertilized it. But yeah if something could cast shade quickly on top of it, that might work? I think the grass needs to be SUPER buried so they don't get any light at all to keep it from re-growing though.

[@REDGardens]

Hayley Yes, it probably depends on how deep it is buried. Also, some grass (especially scutch/couch grass) can’t be killed off in that way.

[@growyourownveggies]

I just found your channel and am thoroughly enjoying your journey! I appreciate the comparison of different gardening methods in other videos. I live in Florida, USA. I realize this video is a few years old, but I wanted to caution you about the use of herbicides, particularly those containing aminopyralids, on the off chance that you have not heard about the persistent damage they can do to your crops (can last years!). I would hate to see your hard work be destroyed.

[@REDGardens]

Glad you found my channel. Fair warning about the herbicides.

[@twoteekay]

Hello, I'm a new viewer...The subliminal skull&bones was freaking great at the end 😃

[@REDGardens]

Glad you like them - a number of people have been freaked out, or disappointed by them.

[@kebertxela941]

You got a timestamp for it? How close to the end?

[@Tristram27]

@@REDGardens what was the point of them?

[@REDGardens]

@@Tristram27 Just playing around with some imagery - background critical commentary.

[@lasivianleandros3558]

@@REDGardens I totally approve. :)

[@Dimora]

As always, excellent analysis of techniques. And +1 for hidden skull & cross bones :P

[@REDGardens]

:)

[@6610stix]

@@REDGardens So what is the purpose for that hidden skull and it's cross bones?

[@REDGardens]

@@6610stix Beyond playing around with some images, I guess when I was editing the video part of me disagreed with what I was saying, so inserted some critical commentary.

[@holtscustomcreations]

I delay converting about 1/8th of an acre of my yard to garden beds for an entire year because of invasive weed growth. I covered the site with a black non-permeable plastic tarp for most of that time. When I finally pulled up the plastic, the worms were everywhere. Then I had the chickens work over the site for about 3 months. Now, the site is ready to be made into beds and produce crops. Only time will tell if the investment will pay off.

[@REDGardens]

That sounds like a good strategy, and oneI've used a few times since. Taking time, if you can, and letting the plastic and hens do the work makes a lot of sense.

[@johncourtneidge]

Very good, thank-you. Year 1 costs money, Year 2 breaks even, Year 3 Production. If you persist!

[@RobsAquaponics]

Thanks for your thoughts Bruce. Definitely will help a few folks out I think.

[@REDGardens]

Cool, I appreciate that.

[@deandretrey7575]

A trick : you can watch movies at kaldroStream. I've been using it for watching all kinds of movies recently.

[@emmettlachlan9770]

@Deandre Trey definitely, have been using KaldroStream for since november myself =)

[@kingstonjensen5589]

@Deandre Trey Definitely, I've been watching on kaldroStream for since december myself =)

[@RobsAquaponics]

@@deandretrey7575 SPAM

[@chocolateciara]

great video Bruce, seeing how the lazy beds would have their ups and downs I think I would take a year out to "acquire" compost , mulch, leaves, food scraps, manure etc and lay it all down. but I'm incredibly lazy. there's a fella in Dublin called the guerilla composter who collects as much free material to make into compost. I feel I would like to try this if I was to take on such a large project as yourself. keep up the fantastic work

[@REDGardens]

Thanks for the comments, and support. Stockpiling fertility and material before starting a garden is a definite benefit, if you can manage it. In the context I am, with the size of the Black Plot, the volume of material just seemed too much, and digging seemed a more convenient option - at the time.

[@Livetoeat171]

What’s with the subliminal Skull and crossbones at 8:42 and a few seconds later,...one on the right hand side and one on your left side?

[@REDGardens]

Just playing around with some graphics. I filmed the comments about how and in what context I might use weedkiller, and then when I was editing the video I had second thoughts and decided to subvert my own message a bit.

[@Rabidavid]

its been good watching your videos. i have resorted to using roundup for killing ivy, growing on a part of our garden. it has or had large rocks and stones under the surface - it was an old quarry bacfilled with rocks and soil. the ivy roots made it impossible to dig along with the rocks. after killing the ivy, it has been back breaking work to remove the rocks and roots leaving a fine clay sand loam. i figured leaving the roundup laden roots wouldnt be good for the soil, and wanted to sppeed up the recovery of the soil. i hope to plant the area with a green mulch, of clover and lupins, but will mix through the soil garden compost and grass clippings prior to seeding with the green mulch. forgot to mention that it is a raised bank with deciduous trees atop of the bank, which draw water from the soil. were on a water meter

[@teachatami45]

I love this sooooo much

[@dontymck]

Fascinating!

[@tedc3895]

Moldboard plow? Turn opposite each way. Next year same thing. Plowing what was unplowed last year. Never have done it but same idea ,,, easier on back., nothing leaves my garden burn in place and till in rest. Fire wood ash scattered in wind. Grass clippings scattered. Tree leaves burned in fall. All tilled in fall and again in spring. Brush , shrubs tree limbs burned and tilled in. Works great. I broadcast sow lettuce and onions together. Even under tomatoe plants. Row radishes. Corn and beans. Theory being if there is a bare spot something will grow. It might as well be something to eat. Pull weeds you can see, grass clippings in corn rows. Or card board. Or news papers. Water good.

[@REDGardens]

A plow would do the job. One of these days Id like to try plowing at a larger scale.

[@billastell3753]

Hearing about burning leaves is just painful. Leaves are great mulch and enrich the soil tremendously. OUCH!

[@dimitarzlatanski]

Very interesting. I wonder what other methods of establishing fixed beds exist.

[@TheUntypicals]

I find using herbicides allows Mare's Tail to thrive as it destroys the weed competition. I've opted for the digging with a for method and put the weeds + grass on the compost heap...

[@REDGardens]

Interesting observations. I agree digging is best!

[@jessiemartinez7681]

Bruce, another thing you could try to suppress weeds would be wood chips, to a depth of a foot or more. That is if you have access to wood chips. If you do decide to use wood chips, remember to not turn them into your soil, big mistake. Let them decompose on the surface.

[@REDGardens]

Wood chips could work, if I had access to them. Wood is not so abundant as it should be here in Ireland. I would need over 180m3 or about 6000 cubic feet of chips to cover the area of the garden I am talking about. It would probably be cheaper to hire someone to dig the whole site!

[@roselagelizon1912]

Coverting unproductive lands to vegetable garden really requires a lot of effort. Im like doing a trial and error everytime i work in my backyard garden.If I wont succeed on my first, second or third attemp.im not gonna stop until i make right. Its tiring, and i felt Disappointed sometimes specially when the crops Im growing is not productive. I hope ill do well with my current squash garden...thanks for your video..helps me keep going. 💗🌻

[@REDGardens]

It can be a tough task, but there are processes to make it easier, if you have the time.

[@winrawrisyou]

While I'm no fan of eating herbicides myself, I find this comments section disappointing in how much people deny herbicides & other chemicals in our resilient and plentiful food supply. Ultimately countries with high life expectancies and life satisfactions use them, so it's a luxury (or dare I say in today's age, a privilege) to consume organic foods. In a really bad situation, I'd take RoundUp over starvation too. I'm surprised at the backlash to your "subliminal messaging" imagery too. Can't put a joke in without people thinking propaganda is in their gardening channels.

[@Jack-oc2xq]

You can just tell by the way this guy talks that he really knows his stuff

[@REDGardens]

Hey, thanks for that. Still learning loads though!

[@Nobody-11B]

Choice between herbicides and something else, I'dgo with something else. Maybe a controlled burn if drastic steps are needed. Great video!

[@REDGardens]

I'd go with something else, as well, but I have the luxury of time and abundance around me, for now.

[@2Svastara]

@@REDGardens If you use them, I will unsubscribe!

[@eliasescalante1133]

This is one awesome channel, thanks so much

[@REDGardens]

Thanks! Glad you appreciate my work.

[@Swampsquash]

I live in Southwest FL and It takes me a couple years to get my raised beds to a point were they look about half as dark as your soil lol. The sandy FL soils are brutal for growing. But that said I can grow all 365 days a year. With large spring and fall gardens. I wish I had lots of space and scraps, so I could up my compost manufacturing to make enriching my soil, much quicker and easier.

[@REDGardens]

I had heard that it was really hard to keep fertility in the shady soils of Florida and other places. would love the year round fast growth though! Have you seen my No-Rules composting video? It is a 'community' compost I use to collect scraps from a lot of neighbours - might be worth thinking about if you are looking for lots more compost.

[@Swampsquash]

Yeah I watched that video. I wish I could do community composting. Not sure my community would do something like that. Unfortunately. I was trying to figure out where I could get large quantities of compostable material. Horse Manure is plentiful, but the problem with that, is the pine shavings never seem to break down. Unfort I tend to spend a small fortune on Home Depot composted manure, etc. Which seems a bit ridiculous to me :-/

[@REDGardens]

It can be a tough thing when you are caught in the loop of purchasing fertility/amendments. Does the horse manure come with pine needles? Are they used as bedding?

[@Swampsquash]

Yeah, I can get free compost from the landfill (I know that sounds really bad). They collect yard trash and mulch it down and make compost separate from the garbage of course lol. I've tried it but its not great. It's dark looking, but doesn't do great with plants, unless you add lots more stuff to it. The horse manure around here is either with pine shavings or if you're lucky you can find it with pine pellets. The pellets at least break down quickly, but are more expensive, so less people use them. I'm a beekeeper and use those same pellets for my bee smoker...great pellets lol!

[@REDGardens]

Brian Chrisman The yard waste compost from the landfill/recycling can be good, my parents have used quite a lot of it. But I understand that it is often quite low in fertility, but a useful soil improver. So adding other high fertility material to it sounds like an option. Have you tried growing a dedicated soil building green manure? With your climate, it might be easy to fit some in between crops.

[@jamescatlover123]

You can try fermented urine as herbicide

[@REDGardens]

I hadn't heard of that. I imagine if it kills weeds than it would do a lot of other damage to the soil ecosystem.

[@jamescatlover123]

@@REDGardens actually when the weeds are killed you can water it and it will make the soil more fertile. Urine is used as fertilizer but it need dilution with water. Fermenting the urine will increase the nitrogen level and that's the one that will kill the weeds.

[@jamescatlover123]

@@REDGardens It's the safest way and cheapest to kill weed. It will make the soil fertile too. More info kzbin.info/www/bejne/oHOThaWtadSdj7c

[@ryno856]

after working it a season or two put on like a foot of compost and mulch mixture, add a whole lot of worms and bam you have no dig/no till... also would help to inoculate with beneficial mycelium easy place to find it is forest undergrowth

[@REDGardens]

That is an option, although I don't know that I can get my hands on that much material - we are talking about 10,000 square feet of growing space here.

[@Mothana808]

Very good informational video

[@REDGardens]

Yeah, a bit rude, and outside the point of the video.

[@Mothana808]

@@REDGardens sorry, love ur vids tho

[@REDGardens]

Thanks

[@saha6818]

Thanks for the video. It gave me to ambition to go out and fight some invasive species for garden space!

[@LittleLargeMouth]

Really cool video, thank you!

[@REDGardens]

Thanks!

[@cavemanjoe7972]

You can use a long-handled propane torch to sterilize the seed bed after turning, killing all those pesky rhizomous grass roots before they can reestablish.

[@REDGardens]

Not sure if the rhizome roots would be killed by the torch. The ones that have been dug up would be killed off, but they are just as easily raked off. The buried ones would be unaffected unless I really torched the soil!

[@seankeefe3692]

Hello, I am really happy to have stumbled upon your channel. You are very informative with an open mind to possibilities of future trials which I respect. I am curious if you have considered the use of large sillage tarps for assisting with the decomposition of weeds, rhyzomes and other vegetation you may want to have broken down. I recently purchased 3 acres and plan to start out with 6 40'x50'. This coming season will be the start of my preparation and my original plan consisted of sillage tarping the entire growing space and periodically tilling the soil and retarping for an entire season. Having seen this I feel it may be more beneficial to do this modified lazy bed technique you have shown here and then tarping for an entire season. Any experience you or anyone else reading this comment might have would be greatly appreciated.

[@REDGardens]

I think silage tarps could be a really useful way to help get land into shape for growing. I have been following the approaches used by some market gardeners who use tarps to keep already established beds 'clean' until they are needed again. I'm hoping to start my own explorations with using silage tarps this season.

[@Tomas-ml9nv]

If you ask some farmers they would probably give you the old silages polythene for free ,usually there's a few holes in them though.

[@vencent8329]

your soil is better than my back yard soil

[@REDGardens]

I am lucky to have it to start from.

[@runnsheeprunn9828]

Great information good work 😊

[@johnjohnson2826]

thank you.

[@MsTressie]

Hi Bruce, I love your videos, very informative and to the point. Kudos for including your experience from so-called “failures” as well. I’d like to know how wide the beds and paths are? Further down in the comments you mentioned that they measure 1.2 metres wide including the path. Does that mean that they are each around 60 cm wide? In the video the paths look a lot more narrow than the beds, but that could be from the camera angle. Ideally I’d like to make beds that are 70-80 cm wide and paths that are 30-40 cm wide, but I’m not sure how that would be possible unless you have extra soil or mulch available to fill in the gaps underneath before you turnover the top layer of grass. I hope it’s clear what I’m asking. Thanks from a danish viewer. :D

[@REDGardens]

Thanks! Glad you appreciate my videos. In that garden, I made the beds about 75cm wide and the paths 45cm wide, so a total of 120cm between the centre of the beds. I found that by cutting off a thin layer where the paths were to go, and putting this into the trench where the part of the bed was turned over, it created a slightly raised bed. over time this levelled out as material was raked off the beds.

[@MsTressie]

RED Gardens Thanks, I'll try it out and if I remember to take pictures or a video I'll post it and tag you, so that you can see it if you want. 👌

[@raywharton9425]

There is a half acre of pasture I am considering turning into an extensive three sisters garden bed. The shape would be a 50 meter line with corn in the middle, inside of rows of beans, inside of a squash patch. Because the area I want to grow is larger than the garden I intend to put in I should have abundant mulch, and living in Colorado where the desert meets the mountains I am not overly concerned with slugs and other mulch opportunists. My question is, do you think that corn, beans, and squash would put up with the dual vegitation layer in the 'lazy mound'? I will try at least a couple for the sake of science, but if it seems workable based on your experience I am inclined to using it for a larger part of the row.

[@REDGardens]

I don't think I have enough experience to be able to really answer on your question, especially as we live in very different climates. Transplanted squash plants should be fine with the mulch, but not sure about the beans or corn. Good luck with it all!

[@raywharton9425]

Thanks for the thoughts and well wishes. It occures to me that the irish style lazy beds might be prone to drying out in this area. It is more likely I will be working on sheet mulching for the newly established garden.

[@REDGardens]

That makes sense. One of the benefits of the 'Irish' lazy beds is that they help to dry out the bed, or at least keep the top part of the bed from being flooded! It is all about context.

[@銀河星-b2y]

Do you use chemical fertilizer when you plant vegetables。Thanks.

[@jackieeastom8758]

A good replacement for roundup is household vinegar ,with epsomsalt and dish detergent,its 1 gallon vinegar,1 cup epsomsalt,and 1/4 cup dawn

[@REDGardens]

Interesting mix. I wonder what the impact of using that over a wide area would be? I imagine that soil life wouldn't like it.

[@jackieeastom8758]

not sure of the longevity on this mix,but to my understanding it kills everything.i will not be spraying the edges of my garden with it,but for the fence rows and other areas it should work fine

[@REDGardens]

Sounds like it would kill a lot!

[@chrishardynature]

So could Round-up. www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-glyphosate-california/california-to-list-herbicide-as-cancer-causing-monsanto-vows-fight-idUSKBN19H2K1

[@REDGardens]

Indeed. Dangerous stuff. But there would be a difference between persistent and excessive spraying of crops, including just prior to harvesting some of them, and the very occasional use to establish gardens, months before anything is planted. I wonder about the possible space between excessive use and total ban, but I'm still not about to use it!

[@JuanSilva-hn3xn]

Great Experiment!

[@REDGardens]

:)

[@random-zr6jx]

Ever heared of safers trounce organic pesticide, works really really well and works in 2mins flat

[@REDGardens]

I haven't heard of it. Seem to only be available in Canada and USA.

[@markjoe5579]

i like your video that's alot of garden you dug up how long did it take to do the lazy beds,? i'm going to pull all the weeds out of my garden area soon and i'm going to try this method out, what's your thoughts on using the triple 13 fertilizer on the garden before covering it with lets say shredded newspaper fall leaves and straw?

[@REDGardens]

It is a big garden! Each bed, which is about 20m long and 1.2m wide (including paths) took us about 1 to 1.5 hours to turn over. then there was the work in cleaning up the surface, removing weed roots, stones etc. The method isn't perfect, but it does a good job of nocking back the weed growth. I don't have any experience with using fertiliser like that, but the idea of adding concentrated fertility (I use things like chicken manure pellets) with a high carbon cover seems like a good one. I guess it would depend on your context and how long you were going to leave it before planting?

[@86Corvus]

Hmm maybe the lazy bed method isnt perfect but wouldnt it be a good way to prepare a bed over a longer period of time? decomposing most of the weeds and then next planting season cleaning it up would be easier and easier yet?

[@REDGardens]

I think You are right. It makes a good first pass at cleaning up the soil.

[@Looseball777]

love the subliminals

[@REDGardens]

cool - some people are freaked out by them.

[@salemaljaber221]

عمل جبار اخي رد نشكرك على جميع فيديوهاتك التعليمية وارجو لك طول العمل ليستفيد منك المجتمع ومحبي الزراعي محبك/سالم الجابر المدينة المنورة المملكة العربية السعودية

[@REDGardens]

Thank you for your comments, and best wishes.

[@RiverPlaid]

Love this stuff....thank you

[@REDGardens]

Thanks, glad you like it.

[@TheAnantaSesa]

Looks an improvement on the double digging method.

[@REDGardens]

Definitely easier to get established, but i n the long run I think double digging would be better.

[@nicolaiitchenko7610]

I seem to be your eleventyfirst thumbs up! I am thinking long and hard regarding you comments on roundup and tend strongly to agree with you... Love the videos...

[@urutuc]

apart from the herbecide ( which is never an option once it kill the living soil) ... ( and then again erases the reason not to simply buy the food ) . Other than that , very good considerations as in the no rule compost clip . Well done !

[@REDGardens]

Thanks.

[@billastell3753]

Very good video. One more thing you will learn is, get yourself a round / pointed nose long handled shovel. The flat faced spade, regardless of how sharp it is, is an inferior digging tool in rough ground.

[@REDGardens]

I do like my spade, and have gotten really use to it, but I need to try to give a pointed shovel a good try, as I may end up liking it better.

[@billastell3753]

I may end up buying a good spade myself. I may find it better than the pointed shovel in some situations. I should also find myself a long handled fork. There is no such thing as too many tools.

[@REDGardens]

A long handled fork is a great tool. If I had to choose only 2 tools, it would be a sharp square headed spade and a long handled fork. You can do a lot of the jobs in a garden with just these two.

[@recklessroges]

I like your closing thought. I don't like the company that makes it but that herbicide is unreasonably effective.

[@REDGardens]

It is a tool we can use, if needed.

[@jackbigtree2160]

Love your videos. 1 question though. when you say season...which you do a lot you mean 3 months or a year. Because sometimes im not sure. thanks for any answer.

[@REDGardens]

I generally mean a year, unless I specifically say something like “during the growing season” in which case I mean the 4-6 months when plants are really growing. A bit confusing I suppose.

[@stanleysmith5297]

This dude can speak.

[@markjoe5579]

one year when i made my garden i made beds that looked like grave sites i had at least 10 in it . lol

[@REDGardens]

Lol, freshly dug beds do look like graves!

[@prjndigo]

RoundUp, when applied by contact wicking using rope combs, can be done on a wheelbarrow frame in a very efficient manner without leaving ANY residue in the soil. It's important to grub up the killed weeds/grass/crop and destroy it by exposure/fire to completely destroy every bit of residue but when used in a contact abraded application manner it is one of the safest and most effective full herbicides you can use. Don't spray it on, rub it on using wicking tools. If you wick it on after using a crimper to crush the flora it is about 4x as effective. If you live somewhere with a good amount of sunlight, simply use a crimping roller, black plastic and apply a spray of beer+coke+ammonia at a rate of 6 liters per 100 square meters. (you can use dead wort or even Spent from the brewing process for extra fertility) Then you cover it with black plastic that gets brutal hot and let that work for a couple weeks. We literally JUST used black plastic and soil displacement to control weeds in our 200sqm garden when I was growing up.

[@oakpoacher433]

There is no method of using roundup safely. Its better to eat McDonalds fast food than fresh produce tainted with poison..☻

[@REDGardens]

@OakPoacher The problem with eating at McDonalds is that it likely has a lot of residue as well. the stuff is apparently everywhere

[@REDGardens]

I remember hearing about an approach similar to what you describe, and it seems to make a lot more sense than spraying - if you are going to use it at all. Here in Ireland, relying on any strong sunlight can be a problem!

[@prjndigo]

@@oakpoacher433 If you don't broadcast RoundUp and only manually apply it to the weeds and unwanted volunteers then pull them when it's killed their roots it is absolutely perfectly safe. You use a sponge brush and a glove and a tiny cup. Or a wheelbarrow with rope wrapped around a pipe that lets the rope get wet so you can brush over the tall stuff with that.

[@oakpoacher433]

@@prjndigo It does sound like you are well aware of the potential harms of using roundup and are doing so as responsibly as possible. However I wonder how many others are this diligent compared to how many just mix up a batch and spray away. Its just such a harmful chemical I would rather not use it or support the company that makes it.

[@defrancosarabia1548]

I love your videos! It's like I'm watching an Alien space-age farming experiment from the future!

[@REDGardens]

Haha, thanks!

[@peteskitchengarden1761]

Great videos, please keep them coming :)

[@REDGardens]

Thanks! I am already working on the next one ...

[@iknowyouwanttofly]

Do you think this could work for plants like pak choi, komatsuna tatsoi, wong bok and kailaan?

[@REDGardens]

I'm not sure. I think it is probably better with larger plants, so it is easier to deal with any perennial weeds that do reappear.

[@apolloallotment5130]

Curious - how did the lazy bed produce that first year ?

[@REDGardens]

Some were really good, especially in the places that didn't have a lot of scutch grass.

[@apolloallotment5130]

@@REDGardens I like the lazy bed idea. I was thinking of making them myself with paths between. Kinda raised in hills. Paths between for access. It is also very easy to manage. I like the idea of higher beds, but not with wood involved as it’s costly and not needed. Raised bed with wood just isn’t my bag. With regards to animal feed as fertiliser, I happen to get alfalfa chaff from local store which is organic and also alfalfa pellets organic, no additives. It’s only £5 for 25kg. The chaff I bury into the soil in a trench and it rots slowly, do you think this is a good idea for fertility ? The pellets I can wet them for a while and spread them on the surface of the soil then dig them into the top 3 inches. The chaff takes time to Rot but think it’s a good addition to the soil. Couldn’t get my hands on Rapeseed meal sadly. Or cottonseed meal in the uk which has been a pain to source.

[@REDGardens]

@@apolloallotment5130 Yeah, I am not really in to wood sided raised beds, either. I don't really know anything about the chaff. I would imagine it is fairly high in carbon, so might take a while to decompose.