I Survived 30 Days on Gardening, Fishing, Foraging & Bartering

Last year, I gave myself 90 days to prepare to live off of my garden, fishing, foraging, and bartering for 30 consecutive days. I called it the Apocalypse Grow Challenge. I wanted to see how feasible it was for me, an intermediate gardener with about 150sqft of growing space, to quite literally live off of my garden and the local environment in an EXTREMELY urban space. I live 1 mile from a major downtown city, so if I could do it...surely anyone could, right?
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[@D_A_D_]

Man, the community aspect of this really shows how our ancestors depended on each other and our different strengths and weaknesses to fulfill the needs of the group

[@_EllieLOL_]

As President Hoover said, Trust in your fellow man

[@buktababe]

Yes! Building self-reliance is a great goal, but humans survived this long because of their relationships with each other!

[@anthonybeervor2265]

That is the ultimate fallacy of the American doomsday preppers: their belief in the ideology of American individualism.

[@LilyAurora9]

@@anthonybeervor2265 They all think they can be Rambo and run off into the woods and survive. They have a hard time trusting anyone else.

[@hdaviator9181]

@@anthonybeervor2265 Lets see how open these people will be to sharing and giving away free fruits and vegetables when its a real survival situation. This so called "American Individualism" is just self reliance and self responsibility.

[@aslandus]

That apocalypse potluck really puts into perspective how important holiday feasts would've been for people before supermarkets were a thing. Most of the time, you'd be eating what you could get or trade for, but a few times a year you could get together with friends and family and really enjoy a bountiful variety of foods you might not normally have access to.

[@averageday]

Completely agree!

[@kellysoo]

100% accurate reasoning here.

[@kalanimuncan9807]

I had a heart attack reading this

[@rancisgamer]

This is the part that some prepers and apocalypse movies skip as having no value but its the part that keeps everyone in the movie alive. 👍🏿 well done

[@epicgardening]

There needs to be a movie about it

[@baverchr]

@@epicgardening The Martian! :P

[@jessicarenee1004]

Right? Ok Kevin... when can we expect the movie to drop..? lol

[@_EllieLOL_]

Yea, eventually your supplies will run out Having 20 years worth of freeze-dried food sitting underground in your bunker is great, but what will you do once that runs out

[@_EllieLOL_]

B. Brown and if it isn’t? What if it’s cobalt bombs? Those last 175 years before the area becomes habitable again What if it’s a bio weapon that kills 85% of humanity and there’s no one left to rebuild society? Both are highly unlikely but still possible Yes if you’re strong you can survive without it, but the prepared will thrive :)

[@cozycasasmr4510]

The boiled rock 😂😂

[@Jreichh]

And he almost burned himself holding it haha

[@octaviusgalacticus2253]

Hahaha

[@teresabritton1396]

Read the story of " Stone Soup"

[@blackwing1071]

@@teresabritton1396 yes

[@roymakescomics]

@@teresabritton1396 try cooking it. Quite delicious actually.

[@tami1100]

There should be a set month where people throughout the country do this every year. I would love to be a part of it in my local area. It would definitely get people out there in the garden and get everybody thinking about the hard work and where their foods come from. Thank you so much for sharing this journey with us! I'm super inspired!

[@veldtwalker]

I would be for that! And rotate what season it is in as well, especially here in Canada.

[@xvgonzales]

same

[@tauceti8341]

I like the idea but all at once would really deplete the natural sources. All in moderation! :-)

[@kelhawk1]

An Idea came to me back in the 70's for our group of hippie friends to have a "Fast or Forage Weekend", once a month, where we choose how and where to have a primitive camping experience, but bring no food. The goal would be to continue the monthly schedule, rain or shine, through the winter as well, and likely have to go hungry once in awhile...I explained to the circle of blank stares...

[@timmafee0]

99% of people would starve

[@abyssal_phoenix]

Well, I accidentally planted a potato in my raised bed which I left alone this year to become an ecosystem. When I threw potato peels in for food for the worms and etc. There was 1 potato in there, it hasn’t been watered since early April, and it has been hot and dry for 2 months. All weeds died, the potatoes thrived. So I think potatoes are my goal for growing. Being resilient and adaptive is needed when you want a crop in the climate change, our weather is pretty unpredictable. (Btw new potatoes are starting to grow already)

[@yourmichigangarden]

Wow!

[@benabele3552]

What zone are you in?

[@abyssal_phoenix]

@@benabele3552 7a i think But the weather usually doesnt follow the rules of the climate zones😂

[@benabele3552]

I’m in 7a as well. I’m new to gardening but I think the key is finding what works through experience.

[@sleepyninjarin7971]

I planted potatoes in Australia... they are all dried out and dead after being watered every day

[@mrmrlee]

We recently added 4 chickens to our yard which has a garden, they provide 3-4 eggs daily and consume garden and weed scraps. In turn they provide excellent fertilizer, with very little expense or effort on our part. I heartily recommend chickens to anyone considering improving their preps.

[@adamhiggins1187]

As someone who lives in such a rural area in the middle of no where, my first thought was "this is such a dumb challenge" since all of this stuff is a bit easier to get (like hunting, fishing, farming) but as I kept watching I didn't realize all the roadblocks you have to face with living in such a big city like that with the space like that. Is is a true challenge. Every day is a different challenge within itself and it just got more and more interesting how you did it. I was absolutely hooked by the end of it and wanted more! You sir have earned a subscriber.

[@KristenRobertskris10lr]

@Southern Fern and the zombies, the zombies wouldn’t help at all

[@lilmissjoodypoody]

@@KristenRobertskris10lr yes, how can one possibly balance defending against zombies and doing all this work. You definitely need to group up and diversify.

[@marianne3024]

This is really cool! I live in the middle of nowhere, fully off grid, And unless I want to eat Squirrels and rabbit (I can live off chicken eggs though), it’s not that fun to live off stored food. Plus I can’t yet make vodka lol I can forage but where I live now, there’s pretty much nothing in summer. We just started a garden so we Don’t have much production yet. We do have wild boar around here though but no fish for many miles. That’s one thing I wish we had close. I do trade eggs for produce right now. And occasional grains. I can’t imagine living in the city anymore. I had to temporarily back in 2014 and it was horrible.

[@rogerajohnson6495]

My wife grew up on a dairy farm in Arkansas. Her family was pretty self sufficient. They did buy sugar, flour, corn meal, coffee and tea. Her mother did know how to grind corn and wheat if she had to. She also knew how to forage for wild food which they did that a lot. I feel that my wife could survive if she had to because of what she learned from her family. She still does these things.

[@amandadebara8612]

Now that your in your own house you should do another apocolypse challenge once your settled in your bigger space! See what you can do with all the space you will have. lots more potatoes, but lost of other stuff too now!

[@catnipaddict88]

That would be awesome

[@thatsalt1560]

I think he needs at least some chickens first, or a pretty gigantic field of beans. Isn't he growing avocado trees? I'd wait for that one too.

[@mikiwilliams4133]

@@thatsalt1560 avocado takes like 5 years to fruit so unless he started them in pots a few years back he wouldn't have avos to eat

[@kristophjj17]

This is what I remember most from my childhood. My family was in a rough spot financially for awhile so we lived with my grandparents out in the countryside of PA and had a big garden that produced most of our food. We had chickens for eggs, and my dad and Poppop would hunt and fish for our main source of protein. My Grammy taught me how to preserve fruit and veggies through canning and pickling for the winter months and we always had deep freeze full of venison and fish that we'd trade with our farmer neighbors for beef and chicken. I'm almost 24 now and I can't wait to start my own massive garden again once I buy a home and leave apartment life behind!

[@hellodarling9073]

That right there, is my childhood. I grew up in the village, post war conditions (during '90s), without good financial source. Growing food, having farm animals and helping out my parents was my lifestyle for a while. No internet, no social media, no advanced technology. I miss it, it was so much simpler and I remember being a happy kid without having much stuff and how united our comunity was. This video reminded me of that. Thank you.

[@silentthunder2108]

I literally laughed out loud when you boiled that stone.

[@epicgardening]

LOL me too

[@katballou6316]

Chanell Barker good source of minerals

[@PromisedJubilee]

It's like that children's book "Stone Soup"! Highly recommend!

[@KristenRobertskris10lr]

@@PromisedJubilee my teacher made stone soup for my class, wasn’t half bad except for the kid who vomited on the carpet

[@Serial8killer69]

I’ve laughed a lot also, and remembered, in my country there is a very famous delicious and traditional soup that traditionally has a big rock in it, the soup is called “sopa da pedra” that literally means “rock soup”… you should check it out!

[@acolley2891]

No wonder people in rural areas around the world revolve their lives around food...they HAVE to!

[@Superbug-tf8zy]

i mean, everyone needs food

[@wcskeleton1388]

Superbug 3003 dont be ridiculous

[@marylandj3228]

I've seen someone do this as a vegan challenge but actually watching this one with eggs and fish seems more like something I'd eventually try. I'm new at gardening and I want to thank you so much for your videos.

[@epicgardening]

You're welcome!

[@ryno4ever433]

I can't imagine someone trying to do this as vegan or even vegetarian. It would be damn near impossible to fulfill your nutrient and calorie requirements in this way. Those diets work because of our modern advancements. I say this as a vegetarian. If the apocalypse hit, my vegetarianism would go out the window so fast.

[@brieoshiro]

@@ryno4ever433 I'm mostly plant based too and I agree. Eggs and fish would be as far as I'd prob go for animal protein but it would be hard to get sufficient calories to eat only plants probably. I def love my frozen Gardein stuff and ready made tofu too much haha

[@ryno4ever433]

@@brieoshiro Yea, I use plant based meat sometimes but I rely on it less nowadays. I definitely make use of a lot of heavily processed things like breads and pasta though (who doesn't). This wouldn't be feasible in this situation without some very hard work, very specific planning, a large plot of land, and help from other people.

[@liriodendronlasianthus]

It's funny because vegan options that can cover my protein and fat intake don't grow where I live, they're expensive to import. Where I am, we have an easier time accessing eggs and fish. One time, I did some math on a nutritious vegan diet vs a regular one, an angry vegan started berating me for "not trying hard enough" and that I might as well eat my own dog. Part of the reason I made that post is because I am on disability and I still earn a minimum wage in a small Asian town. I don't drive and I am dependent on family members to get groceries. I have peers who have been able convert to veganism successfully, I am happy that they're able to do so. Personally, I just can't do it yet.

[@thombaz]

In a situation like this I would chose to only grow Pepsi and Cheese.

[@ericfricke4512]

Cheese trees are SO finicky.

[@Heheheheheheh284]

Lol

[@Mapstom2018]

@@ericfricke4512 You just need to Veg them for a while so that you can get some larger cheese production sights.

[@kjb6606]

You can’t forget the chetos and pizza

[@sciencewizard2861]

@@Mapstom2018 how to make sure that those pesky Mouse bugs don't get them

[@seanbernardo4067]

Sorry Kevin I lied to you I said you’d have 600k subs by Wednesday It’s only Monday...this is a result of how badass you truly are..congrats my guy

[@epicgardening]

How dare you lie to me bro!

[@nehasanghvi7245]

You can try to barter some coconuts and use dry coconut flakes instead of bottled oil, they release their own oil and add flavour to the food

[@Kiterpuss]

I was thinking about using some kind of nuts or even bartering for some lard or butter! But I'm from a rural part of the US where hunting and cows are easy to find

[@SK-he5yj]

Unfortunately, Coconuts don't grow here in San Diego. It is too dry here. The tree can grow but it will never fruit...

[@noveltystylus6703]

In my DnD games, this kind of challenge would eventually lead into someone trading blood to a witch for a handful of potatoes.

[@evilgizmo1410]

I mean....it can be used as an egg substitute

[@chrishernandez9277]

“I think I can do that” as I struggle to put down my chips and pizza rolls

[@homesteadgamer1257]

21:51 This part right here really (the whole barter process entirety, too, but specifically this timestamp) emphasizes how important it is to have community. No matter how small, if one person each has a "specialty" in their home or garden that they can barter, everyone in the community will thrive no matter where you live. It's good for everyone to know how to forage and garden and fish and hunt, BUT if each person is slightly better at one aspect than the others, you will never lack, and in times of hardship, the community is there to pull you back up.

[@kan-zee]

Being a Solo *Lone Wolf Prepper gardener* is a fantasy..... *Community unity cooperation* is the True survival way... Did you get any food fatigue...(tired of eating the same produce) every day ??

[@epicgardening]

Totally did. I was so sick of potatoes

[@abyssal_phoenix]

Epic Gardening impossible in the Netherlands. We eat 5 days a week potatoes 😂.

[@christineherrmann205]

@@epicgardening if you were alone on Mars...

[@mburgers1964]

@@abyssal_phoenix yep, cook, fry, bake, roast you name it!

[@abyssal_phoenix]

M Burgers I’m mostly a fan of baked and deep fried potatoes. I need mayonaise or veggie with my cooked ones, otherwise I don’t really enjoy it

[@amber19619]

Have a question if you decide to do this again have you thought of bartering services for food such as helping someone clean the coop for eggs or helping a bee keeper chores for honey for example? So glad to see this video! Love your channel keep up the good work.

[@epicgardening]

Yeah I think I would probably do something like that!

[@-whackd]

I bartered my time at the office for $300 one day, then I bartered the $300 for a month's worth of groceries.

[@farisasmith7109]

Cool challenge. Really shows how important community is. Even now my neighbor and always have something to pass over the fence. If everyone shares something no one should go hungry.

[@jeffreystewart9809]

Did this back in 2018 and it was one of the most rewarding experiences ever. I was able to raise rabbits and had a garden to support what I foraged, caught and bartered for. I'm planning on doing it again this year and have an actual homestead to support it.

[@tejasjay]

i would be really interested if you did this again, since you have a larger garden now. A season 2 of this would be cool, Love this concept.

[@AlonzoWhite]

I just started following you a couple months ago. Your short documentary was intriguing and compelling. I loved your ground rules. I loved your take-aways, particularly as it pertained to the value of mutually supporting, like-minded friends and neighbors. All in all, I felt very inspired! Thanks for sharing!!

[@epicgardening]

Thank you for watching Alonzo!

[@joshuahebert4914]

I'm with you on preferring the mulberries over blackberries.

[@kelhawk1]

Like the quality of these videos, a mulberry pie cannot be beat.

[@Palatineoffacts]

this is how our ancestors lived before globalization and industrialization

[@LmaoMoni]

To be fair they also had scabies and scurvy

[@knowledge-quest5812]

@@LmaoMoni that was from lack of hygiene...

[@thematrix3663]

Scurvy is from lack of vitamin c though.

[@canadrian]

Umm... www.ditext.com/diamond/mistake.html

[@darkmatter1475]

@@BobDevV I agree with you on this, but I think it's still important knowledge on how to do these things. We have a generation of people who can't even sew a button on a shirt without googling/youtube after all. I don't think everyone should give up all or any modern ways of living. But in a time when me might not be able to rely on super markets I would at least like to know how to grow and store some things. As for the hard work, we have so many ways of growing food that people in the past didn't have the luxury of doing. We can grow fruit trees in houses nowadays. Lol. And of you have a yard you got to go out and mow it anyway :/

[@epicgardening]

Hope you guys love this, here are your timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 1:57 - Rules 3:18 - Body Composition Before 3:50 - Growing Strategy 5:52 - Day 1 7:37 - Grunion Runs 10:55 - Foraging, Bartering, Fishing 15:31 - Mulberry Foraging 17:48 - Silver Play Button :) 19:20 - Apocalypse Potluck 22:17 - Body Composition After 23:40 - Closing Thoughts

[@generaldiego]

Where's the time stamp you running into water in your underwear? Ha great video man! I've always wanted to try similar or supplement over here in Columbus, Ohio and in apt so def challenges

[@Jreichh]

You had me at 0:00

[@Jreichh]

You made a mistake around 24:00 about trading potatoes for eggs but you traded kumquats at 17:00

[@imogenekoch2151]

You might want to pin this, in my comment section it is like 10 comments down

[@Luna_77723]

Pin it please I'm begging youuuuuuu

[@whereswipa2268]

This is one of my favorites videos. I’m a pro-foraging, survival enthusiast. I am in the process of learning what’s safe to eat within my area (Tampa). I’ve been harvesting edible weeds from the community garden…well I’m still here 😊 my friends think I’m nuts but there’s so much food “just growing”. Thank you for a fun video. I may do a test run of 1-week just eating from the garden. I did an only cook what’s in your freezer and pantry. As a clean out and a way of not buying groceries for a week. I’ll do it again!!

[@EarthCommission]

AMAZING. People like you never fail to amaze and inspire me. I'm only 17 but when I get older and expand my knowledge, I'll definitely give this challenge a shot someday. Nature gives us everything we need to survive. We just never notice it. Like the people at the park with the mulberry trees. How many of the people there even knew you could eat those? Just today I found out there's an elderberry growing on the side of my house. Nature is full of so many surprises.

[@hannahbrooke1034]

This seems fun for maybe a week.

[@animesoul167]

I think I could go for a week, especially if that potluck was like 5 days in or something. You'd have to hide all the regular food in my house and disconnect the phones, or I'll order pizza. lmao

[@songbirdJ1]

You really hit on a topic that resonates with me. I'm helping put together a community food forest in my county, and I'm beginning to forge a career as a permaculture designer and educator, so the aspect of community really struck me in this video. My goal is to show people what is possible, and the abundance you all shared is exactly the kind of experience I would love to see become commonplace in our society.

[@ecto78]

This is so cool!! I love bartering and foraging when I can!! My neighbor lets me forage blackberries from her yard. I actually made a cobbler from some frozen berries from her yard the other day. Yum!!

[@cosmokramer3081]

19:17 pro tip: the liquids of the green poppy bulb can be traded for more than its seeds.

[@stephfitti]

Mulberry trees as decorative foliage is something very comon in Brazil. My childhood memories are filled with long walks, eating mulberries with my friends and homemade mulberry jam. Hahahah

[@kellyy4525]

This is so the way my Dad grew up. I love that you did this and shared it with us all. Just the idea of prepping ahead just makes me realize how important it is to "prep ahead" for whatever may be in the future. I'm just getting started really growing vegetables and it's so rewarding and I'm sharing with my 86/84 year old parents now! Cycle of life :-)

[@megaanny1]

The stone in the potatoes reminds me of the fairytale of the soupstone. In that tale a traveller starts boiling a stone in a pot of water. He tells everyone he has a special soupstone that makes the tastiest soup. He allows people to taste it, if they bring some veggies, herbs or meats for the soup. More and more people add things. In the end the traveller removes the stone and everyone shares the soup full of good veggies. They have a lovely meal together. The next day he goes to the next town and picks up another rock along the road.

[@user-di6cn2ne7u]

We call green onions "gronions" so I was very surprised to learn they are a fish lol

[@tanluwils1736]

Thanks for sharing this experience with us man. I'd love to participate in something like that sometime. It seems like it's one of those things where it takes a village to support each individual within it. Also, huge congrats Kevin on reaching 100,000! You deserve it!

[@epicgardening]

Thanks so much!

[@daniellek808]

This was great, it’s not easy to grow everything. Good to have friends.

[@brandoncomeau130]

Kevin you’re the only one i seen brave enough to attempt this and put their green thumb where their confidence and mouth is. Thank you for the family friendly content, the honesty and the willing desire to share ypur knowldge with ppl like me, My brother, my homie much live buddy 💪🏽💪🏽❤️

[@Katemazing4]

I'm doing my first attempt at growing this year and I've been showing my family your videos to get us all educated along the way! Now we're growing over 20 different things to see what we can do best!!! Love your content and I'm happy I found your channel!!!! Thanks for the help with my green thumb!!

[@epicgardening]

That's so awesome!

[@wannaBtraceur]

Great job , what a great glimpse into a different and more socially healthy lifestyle! You can just imagine how people would see each other as family if this were a permanent thing. Any plans to do this again sometime?

[@epicgardening]

Definitely

[@solo8430]

I would like to just say thank you for this, you really put the thought alot of us has been tossing around into realistic terms and scenarios. The value of community I believe was the most overlooked and underrated asset to surviving...and the boiled rock was hilarious

[@cheryllovestoread]

Very very interesting! I’m in Central CA and of course my first thought was how many people I know with fruit rotting on their trees and falling into their yards. So, I was all over the fruit, no problem. (And mulberries ARE delicious fresh and dried too. Great little nutritional powerhouse!) But, alas, we can’t live on fruit alone. I realized that I didn’t know many other gardeners that I could barter with. So I truly agree that living in community is the safest strategy, both from malnutrition and zombies!! One other thing that you said in one of the clips in passing, is that finding your daily food took lots of time! I don’t think the average person realizes the energy it takes just to subsist when you are, say, homeless. Or living on very few dollars/food stamps. When your body is truly hungry and your next meal doesn’t exist until you walk to find it, it gives you a whole new perspective on being poor. As always, I’m grateful to live in a climate that really does feed the world. Californians have an abundance all around them. I appreciate you walking us through your challenge. Great video & congrats on your KZbin Play Button. Well deserved!

[@Poopdudeification]

Very cool video and experiment! I am No professional, but being a fairly serious "hobbyist" powerlifter, can explain a bit of the body composition stuff. Your total mass is a combination of your body fat, lean muscle mass, water+blood and other organs (skin, stomach, blood, bones, etc). The "other" category is really consistent and not likely to change much in such a short period of time. Hydration can vary quite a bit in terms of your overall body weight, but hopefully shouldn't change too much if you're within normal range of hydration. Which leaves us with body fat and lean muscle mass as the 2 most malleable, most heavily studied, and most diet dependent components that make up total body mass. Body composition is determined by the interaction of nutrition (macronutrients and calories, more precisely), activity and genetics. We can't control genetics, so for the sake of simplicity, we'll ignore that as well. Essentially, what you experienced is what most competitive athletes fear most. You lost body mass along with lean muscle mass. The fact that your total mass went down does indeed mean that you lost weight, obviously. What goes along with losing weight, though, is also a loss of fat and lean muscle mass. Almost every time, unless you are training, eating, possibly supplementing, possibly juicing (the kind with needles, not fruit), and resting to accommodate a sustain of muscle mass while dropping weight. Bodybuilders call this "cutting", and when they do this they have to INCREASE their protein intake (animal based, usually, since the math gets very complicated with plant protein and is not as varied or readily available to the body, on average) while cutting calories AND continuing to train at very high levels. This process typically can't be sustained for much longer than a handful of weeks. So to clarify, what you probably experienced was in fact your body eating its own energy stores due to the caloric deficit you were in, but the fact that your fat percentage increased during this time means you were using up fat AND muscle for energy, and the muscle at possibly a slightly higher rate than fat. Trading more carbohydrate sourced calories for protein sourced calories (both equal 4 calories per gram) wouldve likely maintained a bit more lean muscle mass, more total mass, and may have dropped your body fat percentage a touch. Cutting sucks and it makes you feel as though you are "surviving, not thriving" as you say. This info may be completely useless to you, but I thought it may shed some light into your results. This is in no way a critique of you, your channel, or anything like that either. It's really cool and interesting that you did a body comp as part of this. Love your channel, keep kicking ass.

[@funnytime1111]

This is great information considering the current situation, we may actually need these resources soon. Thank you!

[@cfiocco]

I love how you found a sense of community through this callenge! I come from an urban setting and now live in a very rural area. I feel a little different in this setting because I am a freelance artist catering mainly to urban folks but I have to say that in our rural area (this may be the case for others as well!) it's like community is our default. Even though my community is mainly interested in snowmobiles and hunting (which are both awesome!) and not so much in my work, it's as if community is built at a more basic level of unconditionnal support which might be less of a reality in cities. Good job for doing the challenge for a whole month!

[@leafletleaflet]

It was really interesting to hear the bit about trading skilled labor (garden consultation) and something that isn't even food yet (rare seeds) for food! I never thought about bartering like that before. I'm not very good at growing vegetables but I can do a lot of textile things (mending, weaving, crochet, sewing, etc) which might be more useful than I realized in this kind of context

[@chrystalroberts7945]

Great concept! When community rallies around you its a great feeling! This was cool to watch!

[@seedylee]

i felt like i was w my friends at that potluck. really needed that.

[@tommontgomery9400]

May i just point out that the guy at 7:09 has some fabulously bushy eyebrows

[@SimenRingstad]

If that was the amount of potatoes he got for that many eggs, Steven did a bad/kind trade. :)

[@katpihlaja]

Simen Ringstad but if you have an excess of eggs and really want some homegrown potatoes then maybe it’s good 😊

[@Kiterpuss]

@@SimenRingstad Well, if he was also participating in this challenge and his primary currency was eggs, he might not have a lot of calorically dense foods. So if you consider the trade as 1 week of protein for 1 week of calories, it might have been worthwhile.

[@Sun-soilproductions]

tom montgomery-scobie i want to trade for Steven’s eyebrows

[@dragonmammma]

That guy has his own KZbin channel, sorry I can't remember the name. I always refer to him as "Mister Eyebrows."

[@plantgurugangsta7299]

100k subscribers? You're almost at 1M now! You deserve it!👏 congrats and keep planting seeds!🌱😄❤

[@lifewith2youtubers217]

I was really looking forward to seeing this based on your Instagram posts previously. It was fascinating. My favorite part was the community support and what you learned. Thank you so much for sharing this with us!!!

[@mistyb9853]

I love this and I love watching your videos! I’ve only started watching about 2 weeks ago, but I’ve already learned so much that has helped out with my garden! You really are great at what you do!

[@skilltes037]

I don't understand your words when you said "so I don't go crazy eating potatoes" I could live my life eating potatoes everyday!!!

[@danjirinnn]

I've literally been looking for this video the past month thinking I'd missed it but it's finally here!! Excited to watch and kudos to you for trying!

[@FinznFowl82]

As an avid fishermen, I would have used the fish you caught to catch the bigger fish that were feeding on them. I would imagine larger fish were feeding on those small fish(can't remember what you called them) that beached themselves by the thousands. Catfish, bass and other larger fish love to eat those small sunfish. Something to keep in mind.

[@AnnaDuweke]

Thanks for making this video, Kevin. Honestly what I've loved the most to hear is how you've connected to more like minded people and actually got in a rhythm with living the barter/self sufficient way. Isn't that how it's "supposed to be"? Trading in fair value, helping each other out and literally getting together? Beautiful! @epicgardening

[@justincosby5771]

This was great. I've always wanted to do something like this.

[@eriklane4808]

Been waiting all year for this video! Thanks, Kevin. And from 100,000 subscribers to over 600,000 in under a year?! You must be doing something right - keep it up!!

[@kennyton7979]

I love all your videos. The extra details like doing a BMI scan adds so much more depth

[@Tomotix]

This was really great and inspiring. It was good to see that this not only maximised your self-sufficiency but expanded your community as well.

[@thecurioustraveller7494]

loved watching , sounds like community was the best gain , I'm sure food sustainability is a process and of course bartering has always been part of the journey , look forward to seeing your next longer version .

[@vanesacova8681]

So inspiring Kevin! As you said the beauty in it is in sharing what you grow!

[@ppazautomation]

This is so timely! Loved this and moving more towards a self sufficient garden as well. I live in the city so this KZbin channel has been very great for my beginner green thumb! Thank you!

[@allanramos9003]

Can’t wait to see this!!

[@jgrady9553]

Great challenge/experiment, and thanks for telling us about fallingfruit. Too bad no one had avocados to trade for some healthy fats and serious calories! Having a community to share and trade with= more realistic survival, and finding the fishing spots was a good addition. Really enjoyed this video.

[@bluesight_]

What an incredible experience. Thank you so much for doing and sharing this. Been wanting to try something like this myself

[@katz.8812]

Wow, that was awesome! You did really great! How crazy that your body composition changed in that way, I wouldn't have guessed that. That was fun to watch, thanks so much for sharing and best of luck in your new home!!

[@BurningBlockAbout99]

This was so inspirational! It made me just feel happy. Happy that you grew your own plants. Happy that you took the time and effort to make memories and give us something truly wonderful to watch. Lifewith2youtubers shared this video with me, and I gatta tell you, I'm happy she did. New subscription for you! I can't emphasize enough how great this channel is. And for any random people reading this..... Hi :3 Have a food ( i mean good ) day!

[@Junzar56]

Knowing what you know now after this experience, are you getting more of a food supply rouse in case of emergencies? It’s great to have fresh food,, but having grains, died beans, pasta, dried herbs and spices,honey, sugar, oil, leavening, bottled and canned items make emergencies a less stressful.

[@epicgardening]

Yeah, I've built quite the stockpile!

[@dragonmammma]

And of course, we all need to plant toilet paper trees, the currency of the COVID-19 SIP.

[@vix.00.]

This was so awesome to watch! Thanks for posting it 😊

[@ladarrellworf6896]

So amazing! This is soooooooo inspiring and helping me continue on my new gardening journey. Thank you!

[@trogdortheburninator3621]

Foraging weeds is great too. Dandelions and red root amaranth are my favorite.

[@Twiggycmt]

This is great content and deserves way more views.

[@muhleekuh]

Wow. This was so informative and I loved this challenged! Would love to see you do it again!

[@janika2356]

Already routinely liked the video before watching it, but do I wish I could like it again! Thank you so much for this, this was SO INSPIRING!

[@ashtorbytheroots31]

Loved this so much. It’s also an eye opener to what we are capable of doing with such few resources

[@Torbeth]

At last! We've been waiting for this. Looking forward to just how tired you got of Norland Reds! :-)

[@epicgardening]

Tell me about it hahaha

[@julie-joywilliams7280]

Awesome Kevin... right up my alley... just wish I had more people around me interested in the same... need more like minded folks around to share the fun of growing and preserving and sharing... thanks for sharing...

[@farmerbug7343]

Enjoyed this one, Kevin. Advocating your channel to fellow flips around TO. 500K subscriber jump in a year is an epic awesomeness. Keep up the good job and hope to see more of your shares so this gardener wannabe can learn more. Cheers!

[@christineherrmann205]

This was pretty cool. I'm wondering how your trade partners fed their chickens, if you know. They can get a lot on their own free range (bugs and weeds amd such) but they usually need grain too. As I'm finding out, grains are a fairly difficult thing to homestead. I'm trying amaranth right now, but I'd be interested to see what others find the best grain to try to homestead is.

[@epicgardening]

Yeah grains require so much space!

[@swedishdogs3327]

That's a problem I'm facing in the future, I won't be able to grow wheat and it's hard getting ancient grains, especially ones that can handle my climate. So I hope free ranging, oats and barley will be enough!

[@TheRealHonestInquiry]

@@swedishdogs3327 try some Spelt ;)

[@corycrider5697]

This was awesome to see, I love self sufficiency. Think everyone should learn how to be more so. However as your adventure has shown first hand how a community supports one another and doing it in this manner really helps each other value what we have and what others do for/with us more. It's awesome man and I agree with others in this chat that it should happen every year and I would totally jump on board with this! It'd also be cool to see how someone with a whole family (ie Wife and kids) would fair in this challenge. More hands for work but more mouths lol

[@Carol-sz3lw]

This is just brilliant! I admire your garden knowledge, humble approach, and willingness to do this challenge. Three months of lockdown this year with a real Pandemic. I’d be lost without my three raised bed gardens. I’ve learned much from your videos. Thank you!

[@mkrgonzales]

The potatoes being your main staple is like what happens in The Martian by Andy Weir and later the movie with Matt Damon. I think I’m going to try to grow potatoes for sure if I can ever get this veggie garden started! Thx for the inspiration!

[@ArtistWizardry]

Hopefully this wakes people up and appreciate how awesome the system we have in place truly is.

[@MostIntelligentMan]

wut, i grow all my food, i dont even own land, just have patches in wild bushes, its fun and easy and better quality, cant imagine buying food, u dont even know what a hell has been done with it

[@TravelNP]

Amazing! This needs to be the Forever plan! I love this and wish I had a community like this. How can us regular guys with no epic channel do this?

[@epicgardening]

Follow the guidelines in the video, give it your best shot!

[@AmandaMcGee]

Great video! Glad you decided to share it!

[@ericpond3709]

About to live on a sailboat and I am currently growing veggies and fruit in containers to take with us and learning to fish. Love that you did this video

[@DIYivan04]

That was such a cool/difficult challenge. FYI; In a serious “apocalypse” situation, all those sources are gone within 24 hours.

[@angelcaban1322]

14:09 someone trapped in his frig!

[@ashleyberg2948]

I loved watching this!!! The community of people coming together was lovely to see!

[@jonprice9097]

Kevin, you are awesome! Thank you so much for sharing your life and knowledge. It’s such a blessing to see a life lived so beautifully, especially in such a crazy time. God bless

[@Jreichh]

The only thing that grew in my garden this year were cherry tomatoes and 3 zucchini, I would have died lol

[@caitlinhenshaw6228]

LMAO! I was getting serious Matt Damon on Mars vibes with your potato strategy

[@tanclan7]

wow! Thanks for sharing this. I am setting up my new garden space and realized the value of overabundance is bartering. I didn't want to overgrow now that my 5 children are on their own, but I'm definitely rethinking this as a way to help in tough times.

[@Michelessex]

Great channel, love your casual relaxed teaching style. Just fabulous! Thanks for the treat!