Field Notes: Midsummer Update Part I

[@Binky1982]

The weeds and volunteers that are present will indicate what any issues are with soil, and not pulling them, but chopping off above ground and dropping will quicken the process of healing the soil. Vetch and clover are great ground cover options that are nitrogen fixing, and there are larger plants you could introduce to help with nitrogen too. I'm also sure there are plenty of companion plant options to help with squash beetles and bringing in all kinds of beneficial aspects. It will take a little time, though there's no doubt your land will be lush and thriving before long, you certainly seem to have the knowledge of what to do and the drive to get it done. Keep planting, smiling, oh... and talking! :D

[@anubischick]

I got some white clover to help with bees and nitrogen, soil enhancement. I also grow comfrey which is so good for so many things. What is your opinion on comfrey for nitrogen or it's incredible healing attributes. Plus the bees love this too.

[@Binky1982]

It's always good to know more about the type of soil and the situation it is going to be used for. Vetch isn't good for horses, some other options may be too rampant or difficult to suppress if it's not wanted long term, things like cow parsley though for a wilder area could be good. Comfrey is a great option, and a variety of plants with different flowering times is only likely going to encourage more bees and beneficial insects to spend more time where you want them. Comfrey helps fix other nutrients in the soil as well as nitrogen and potassium, it also makes great compost tea fertiliser, or chop and drop to get those nutrients available in the soil more quickly. Many plants have incredible healing attributes for the soil, wildlife and us when used in different ways. There is a lot of information out there to sift through, and many more ground cover options though it might be more difficult to find some of them!

[@VeronicaFlores]

Just popping in to say yes I agree with (and am doing) all of these things. 🤓 Still looking for squash beetle companions that actually work... mine were literally encircled with icicle radishes and they did jack 💩 to protect them. 😂

[@Binky1982]

@@VeronicaFlores I feel sorry for your squash if it was still overwhelmed with lots of lovely radishes around, I hope they at least produced something worthwhile! *supportive hugs* I'm sure once everything gets a little more established you'll find things improve with the growing diversity you're encouraging!

[@VeronicaFlores]

I think I mostly just need more birdbaths! That seems to help near the other pumpkins in the yard. :)

[@ralphraffles1394]

Very interesting. Some quite technical stuff, love the black bean nitrogen enhancers as cover crop.Thanks Veronica, great to see your story unfold. Cheers Bill

[@westyw.4235]

You could not be any cuter super V - there is no one that watch your posts without smiling! :) Thank you for another informative post.

[@spritecut]

One of the best thing about your tour videos, is that you discuss both your successes and failures, unlike many videos which only show abundance.

[@VeronicaFlores]

Thank you! I think it's important to be visually honest about what's going on around us, especially as I start in a new space with difficult soil. The build process for better soil takes years, not days, and will likely be documented as such moving forward. And agreed on failure- I think it's a huge part of becoming a better gardener, and what we learn the most from. 🙂

[@stevengordon9365]

Loving your work again 😊🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@DENNISPS78]

I love your intensity and desire to experiment. With perseverance your will eventually become amazingly productive. It takes time to make the changes you want. I’m sure you will do a lot of crop rotations

[@VeronicaFlores]

Thank you! A LOT for sure 😂

[@DIYSolarandWind]

You are so knowledgeable about such a wide variety of plants.

[@TheFarmacySeedsNetwork]

Thank you for the tour... I like your "agricultural mind"... and btw.. You don't talk too much for us "ag nerds". :) On corn.. that is actually one of the best carbon sequestration plants as well as soil builders you can use.. especially setup in the three sisters configuration. You are right on point. One thing you should look into that gives you most bang for the buck are some targeted foliar feeds and the RIGHT innoculants.. 2 I'd recommend are Spectrum and Biocoat Gold. As far as foliar feeds.. even something simple every few weeks like Photomag can GREATLY increase photosynthesis and really accelerate your soil buidling operation. I have several videos on the basics on my channel and can point you to MANY other excellent information sources. Sounds like you have been doing your homework.. Keep up the great work! Yes, the Johnson Grass if that grows natural is fine.. you mentioned mowing... I have used that technique to "steer" plant type in fields. I also have videos on that and am glad to share links (per your interest). I love your landrace concepts and it has been on my "to try to do" list for a long time. I have been through many heirloom corn varieties and am still searching for "the one". The landrace beans are looking good! I put infrastructure in for my plants.. but it definitely supports the bird life and I really enjoy watching them. Glad you mention Korean Natural farming... Mulch is easy if you can find a tree service.. for a 12 pack you can prob get a HUGE truckload of wood chips.. let em cook down for a year.. throw some nitrogen source on them to help balance C/N ratio as well as innoculants, Those Garbanzo beans are cool! I like your diversity with chamomile, tulsi, cabbages etc.. that is excellent for microbe diversity and soil building! Yes.. transplant shock is a MAJOR setback with so many crops! Direct seeding is by far the best reduction of stress, and consequently the BEST influence on CPI (Critical Points Of Influence). The LATM Squash.. they truly are the last of the Mohicans! lol

[@VeronicaFlores]

Just seeing this! (Sometimes comments get so buried around here!!!) Thanks for the suggestions- I'll look into them!

[@burrrabbit9185]

Hello V Would you happen to know if fig bush/tree have deep or shallow root system ? Thank You for all you do

[@VeronicaFlores]

Figs are typically shallow but aggressive. I've seen the roots go deep every so often in soil types that aren't too compact, but generally they tend to spread out more than down.

[@burrrabbit9185]

@@VeronicaFlores Thank You Love You

[@tactrix1h]

I couldn't help myself, I'd be out there foliar feeding everything with a bokashi sprayer lol. Just like take a big ass 5 gallon jug and spray spray spray 🙂🌿. I know it wouldn't do much, being that it would probably evaporate super quick, but still. Those beans look stellar. Ooo one more idea, if you have a bait shop that you can get some earthworms from wait until you know it's gonna heavy rain and then just out there and spread earthworms all over the place while it's raining, with any lucky they'll bury themselves around all your plants and infuse some nitrogen into the soil from underground.

[@Binky1982]

I wonder if you have considered bamboo as an option for windbreak. Generally fast growing, and depending on species can produce edible shoots, timber suitable for construction, fences and screens, trellis or furniture among other things. As a note, I mean clumping bamboos, not running bamboo which is hard to control and has given bamboo in general a bad name.

[@VeronicaFlores]

I've thought about it, esp since it's great for microbes as well as building materials. Not sure I want to deal with the irrigation it requires to get it established quite yet. (I've watched the bamboo adventure in real life, and it's a pain to keep alive and requires SO MUCH WATER for the first 3-5 years during dry spells.)

[@Binky1982]

@@VeronicaFlores Swales are always helpful, but also either time consuming or another cost to have implemented, you definitely seem to have a lot of great ideas and the knowledge there, still one step ahead of me however, I've worked on lots of different landscapes around the world through HelpX and WWOOF but never any of my own... one day soon I very much hope! Wishing you continued success and happy you have at least thought about bamboo, too often overlooked! :D I'd volunteer my help if I was a little closer!

[@TherealTHAWEEZL]

Showing support to those who support this big blue marble.

[@johnwarfield7742]

Very nice V ! The beginnings of a true Permiculture Food Forest ... : )

[@VeronicaFlores]

Thanks! We'll see... I'm having a lot of second thoughts about planting trees across the entire space... Going to try and map out a few meadows in it, as they're rather high functioning and I don't want to lose that.

[@mikeallenma78]

Interesting concept. Can't wait to see the results.

[@davidniemi6553]

Some questions: 1) you had weird changes in lighting -- was it a windy part-cloudy day? 2) what was the large tall plant to your left at the start of the video? 3) is your 5000 square feet just a sliver of the middle of that field? I have a 60x120' field and your field overall looks massively bigger. Love what you are doing with diversity and increasing biomass. Saw a lot of mint-family plants as you panned past and a couple of lambs quarters. Interesting to hear how your huauzontle does -- perhaps I am too far north, lambs quarters outcompetes it here. On the corn -- when I've tried growing it in poor sites (poor soil, poor sun) it seemed to revert to its ancestral teocinte -- yielding a handful of kernels where an ear should be. Interesting to see what an intermediate form looks like.

[@VeronicaFlores]

1) Yes there was a storm rolling in and the clouds decided to do some interesting breaking right as I was filming lol 2) Not sure - there's the stick trellis behind me, some volunteer sunflowers in between, and mustard closest to me. Any of those? 3) It's the corner of the field closest to the house, one that's been disked and (synthetic) fertilized for a few years, so I figured I couldn't make it any worse. My field overall is much bigger - about an acre in total. Am all about the mint family of plants over here. They're so maligned in the garden, but very resilient and prolific in the field.

[@VeronicaFlores]

Also totally had the teocinte thought looking at this corn! Especially the Paraguayan variety. Wouldn't be mad at all if it regressed a little so I can potentially do some additional genetic support in the future. 🤓

[@davidniemi6553]

@@VeronicaFlores I was looking at the highly branched 4' tall plant to your left at around the 2 1/2 minute mark.

[@VeronicaFlores]

Oh yeah! That's a volunteer sunflower. :)

[@LawrenceTheTruth]

Thank you for your experimental videos, as a lover of gardening I am learning a lot from you :) ~ Lawrence

[@VeronicaFlores]

Thanks for joining! 🙂

[@davidexton877]

I'm fairly impressed to see what a planting of winter wheat did for my garden. Plants are real healthy, except for those dam squash bugs. Lol. The only downside was having to cut it down before planting. But if you turn the soil/wheat over (just the sod layer) before that wheat gets any higher than 6-8 inches, it's not so bad.

[@VeronicaFlores]

Great to hear! Totally planning on winter grains here for sure. 🙂

[@edwardleroy7648]

At 12:38 min when the Zuni Pueblo beans are in center screen the plant just to the left is Lambs Quarter/Goose Foot/Pig weed. It has powdery light colored fuzz on the leaves. It is delicious and bugs don't bother it here in central Miss. I saute the leaves and make an omelet with them. Taste very much like spinach and can be picked through most of the summer.

[@VeronicaFlores]

So much of it! It's a little tough now, but I have some nice magenta spreen and other heat tolerant greens coming in hot. 🙂

[@GreenThumbGardener]

What is your long term plan to grow in that space? Mostly corn..three sister crops?

[@VeronicaFlores]

No, looking at a pretty diverse orchard with alley cropping right now... needs more trees for any crops to hypothetically survive in the future. Thinking I may break it up a bit to keep some meadow in place though, as I'm finding it to be rather functional ecologically in this space.

[@edwardleroy7648]

I got lost and can't find the hot weather greens that you have planted. What were they again please?

[@VeronicaFlores]

Currently amaranth, quinoa, magenta spreen, huauzontle, and swiss chard, as well as some lettuces that are a little more tolerant

[@edwardleroy7648]

@@VeronicaFlores Thanks, now I know what to look for.

[@rw7038]

you are very smart and fun...im impressed

[@sovereigncitizensouthcarol7593]

How are your forest potatoes doing?

[@VeronicaFlores]

Posted an update about a week or two ago! (Not great but hanging in there lol.)

[@robertstewart7228]

We had squash Beatles too but my butternut squash didn't get affected so bad . I in central Texas

[@VeronicaFlores]

Crazy, I got obliterated this year but the soil still needs work so that's part of it for me I'm sure

[@harison548]

How about a small section where you heavily mulch with leaf litter from the forest. To see what happens.

[@VeronicaFlores]

It would undoubtedly be helpful, but I have no plans to cut off my nose to spite my face lol. (Can't take from one area without impacting its overall function.) 🙂

[@kennethflores1854]

I have lots of cherry tomato plants, they have produced tomatoes, but take for ever to grow and turn red, ripe, What fertilixer should I be using. I have been using a 6 6 6 fertilizer and ebsom salt.

[@VeronicaFlores]

I don't give synthetic fertilizer advice.

[@kennethflores1854]

Ok, thank you. So just worm tea?

[@MollyMcBooter]

Kenneth Flores fertilizer won’t change the ripening process. It can give you bigger plants and more blooms, but the tomatoes themselves just ripen on their own accord. Once one starts changing colors (usually can take up to a MONTH), others will quickly follow. Just be patient :)

[@bayareasparky9180]

Hi Veronica. What is the tall purplish-red plants I see throughout your field? Also do you consider yourself a patient person? Thanks and best to you as always.

[@VeronicaFlores]

They're Monarda, a type of beebalm that grows wild here. 🙂 Yes, I'm very patient, but only because I've learned how to draw extremely firm boundaries and not put up with bullsh*t unless it's been composted first. I think that is key.

[@bayareasparky9180]

LOL, it almost seems like you just gave me the brush off... would it make a difference if I told you I had been composted? :) Seriously though, the reason I ask about patience is that I'm not myself by nature but gardening has taught me to be. I enjoy the daily changes in each plant... that in and of itself is its own reward. The end result is a bonus. I see you doing things that will pay off years from now so I was curious to ask. Gardening is often not about immediate gratification. Thanks for the reply and best to you Veronica.

[@edwardleroy7648]

@@VeronicaFlores As David the Good says, "compost your enemies".

[@VeronicaFlores]

Haha no brush off! Just my perspective around patience. Gardening definitely helps with that. (And agree on composting your enemies.) :D

[@shirvanmaharaj4484]

Magic beans . This vid gives me hope

[@nicolasbertin8552]

3.2 % organic matter isn't that bad. Ideal is 4-5 %. In France, they're tilling so bad some soils are at 1 or 2 %. Their method to turn it back up is either big quantities of compost and mulch (like woodchips, straw or hay), or cover crops. Cover crops are easier and cheaper as you already know, but longer. You just toss some seeds in the air and wait. It usually takes 4 years of that to gain 1 %, at least according to French farmers. But 1 % is a lot. You can still grow stuff with 3.2, you just need extra compost or weed mulch, or to grow only legumes like fava beans, peas, beans etc... Of course salads, garlic and onions will still grow, just not be huge. As cover crops, there's a whole bunch of them, you let them grow until they all flower, and roll them over to kill them so they decompose and feed the soil. In summer, it's usually buckwheat, phacelia and crimson clover. You can still sow these in July if you have rainfall. For the winter, a combination of grasses with legumes. Rye works great alongside common vetch (there's a winter variety) and the fava bean used for green manure (again, there's a winter variety). And in spring you can just use anything, especially mustard, canola, oat, fenugreek, linen, ray-grass etc... The more species in your mix, the more fertility you gain. A farm in Germany has done a huge variety of mixes, up until 16 different plants, and with every plant you add you gain fertility quicker (IE organic matter and NPK). You can also use a perennial like alfalfa, cut it every time you want to plant something, and it'll have grown back by the end of the crop. Something you really need to understand about nitrogen fixing plants : if there's nitrogen in the soil, they take it. They don't grow for free, because activating their special ability takes up energy. Also, they don't release nitrogen into the soil during their growth it's an hypothesis never proven, all attempts have failed. Only as mulch when they die. And finally, they work a lot better when you put grasses with them, and like I said, the more types of plants you use the better. Just careful with some that are really big and can take over, like sorghum or canola. But there's a species of sorghum that grows tall like corn with very little water you should try it (it's called forest sorghum in French, no idea in the US).

[@VeronicaFlores]

Thanks for the info! I'm definitely looking into a diversity of covers. As far as your understanding of nitrogen fixers go, all the studies I've read actually show that they take the nitrogen from the air, not the soil, though they will also take it from the soil if it's readily available (otherwise they'll form symbiotic relationships with rhizobacteria in the soil which assist them in the collection and processing of N from the air.) Agreed with the rest though- they won't release it until they die and the root mass begins to decompose. And that bit about growing them with grasses is why I've left the endemic grasses in situ- there are even a few I've noticed root nodules on as well. :) No plans for canola- I'm super iffy about the stuff (doesn't have a great rep here.) Will see if I can find the sorghum you're talking about- I got one from experimental farm network recently that may become perennial here.

[@nicolasbertin8552]

@@VeronicaFlores they only take nitrogen from the air when there's none or close to none in the soil. So in a typical garden they don't activate this symbiosis. In a crop field where they only use enough fertilisers, and right after harvest, they're very useful as a cover because there's no nitrogen left.

[@REGENETARIANISM]

For your insects, are you planting any hedgerows for beneficials? Also to increase your microbiology, are you doing any compost or extracts with biostimulants?

[@VeronicaFlores]

YES, to all of the above.

[@austinbridges1178]

Qualitative and quantitative awesomeness!

[@brianking6064]

what about growing some barrage and cumphry

[@VeronicaFlores]

Borage and comfrey are out there!

[@JM-mr5jo]

Have you heard of the lazy Irish bed or the German hugelkultur?

[@VeronicaFlores]

Yes! I have a hugel bed here in the front yard that I built a few weeks ago... love those things. 🙂

[@edwardleroy7648]

With this weather map you can look at weather about anywhere. click to enlarge one time and it usually helps to wake it up to interactive. Have not seen a high pressure cell form anywhere round the world so far this year. No Bermuda High to influence/control the South Eas States weather. I am 69 and was a farmer many years, a weather watcher, and our weather is not normal.

[@VeronicaFlores]

Yeah not normal at all! Keeps it interesting I guess... really lights a fire under me to get more shade planted soon though.

[@woodmaster2785]

What part of texas are you in

[@VeronicaFlores]

Northwest of DFW area

[@terifarrar7317]

I must have missed someinfo somewhere. Why do you say "got back here"? I thought you lived there. And in another video you mentioned other workers...?

[@VeronicaFlores]

I was working at another farm in California until late last year, went on a walkabout for a few months between there and Texas to decide where to land next, decided Texas was my best choice for the work I wanted to do, went back to CA a few months ago to wrap things up there, then came back here to really dig in. There were other farm workers in CA; here, it's mostly me (and sometimes dad.)

[@terifarrar7317]

@@VeronicaFlores got ya. Felt like i was missing a big part of what was going on.

[@marianneodell7637]

I just found you. Where is this plot of land located?

[@VeronicaFlores]

Northwest Texas

[@marianneodell7637]

@@VeronicaFlores 👍🏼

[@dezertraider]

Thank you Veronica...I have been growing Anasazi bean in ME. They dont do well but I do grow a few each year for seed...Very cool.You Rock!,,,Do you do paypal?/or PO Box?........Love seeing you on here,I really dont like the Instagram thing..Thank you for your great time Veronica,Stay well

[@graphicgeek80]

She has a Patreon, there is a link at the end of the video. Hope that helps!

[@dezertraider]

@@graphicgeek80 Thank you so much,I cant do it,Says I need FB so I went with paypal...TY STay well

[@cmc7106]

Veronica is back !! 😊

[@davidcaldwell8977]

I'm a fan...

[@sandiegotropicalgarden3531]

Thanks for sharing your garden

[@TheDave570]

Mid-summer ?? What?? the first day was just 6 days ago~~~ rushing it??

[@westyw.4235]

I think she intended "mid season" probably

[@VeronicaFlores]

Totally rushing it lol. It's hot and I'm tired. 😂

[@Binky1982]

Midsummer's day was a few days ago, essentially it's the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, so you're not wrong Veronica!

[@defaultuser1447]

There's a difference between Midsummer's Day and the middle of summer. And summer did NOT start a few days ago. See my rant elsewhere.

[@boscoyeaux22]

its always mid summer in the south. been mid 90s here in louisiana for a month already.

[@Combat.Wombat.official]

First of all, it's the middle of winter, not summer, your country is on backwards *jk Hey unrelated, do you grow stevia? The only place I could get seeds was from America, and it just looks like a bag of charf, dusted it over a seed tray and will find out, but would like to know from someone if I got stooged or if that's what its supposed to look like?

[@jamese4219]

Duncan Massive of course it’s summertime. I would suggest your county is the backward one

[@Combat.Wombat.official]

@@jamese4219 not good with jokes I see.. At least you seem to comprehend the notion of 'other countries' I guess (ps, I don't have oil and don't need liberation lol)

[@jamese4219]

@@Combat.Wombat.official as it happens I'm not American either and don't live there. My humour is obviously nothing like yours. Thanks anyway

[@VeronicaFlores]

Haha aren't we on opposite sides of the globe? 😂 Still blows my mind how that works though... I've gone to the southern hemisphere in the dead of winter and was like WAIT I COULD LIVE IN SUMMER YEAR ROUND JUST BY FLYING SOMEWHERE??? 🤣 Sounds like you got not super clean seeds. They are pretty tiny though, so they could be in there (think as small or smaller than mint.)

[@Combat.Wombat.official]

@@VeronicaFlores Cool, there was tiny spoors in there :) And my winter gets down to 60F on average, so I can almost walk around my house and always be in summer like conditions lol

[@justinfiorini3142]

So where do you get landrace seeds?

[@rehoboth_farm]

At the land track.

[@VeronicaFlores]

Sometimes you can find a local seedbank that has them. That's where I'd probably start. Good comps would be Native Seed Search, Roughwood Seeds, Seedsavers Exchange, and possibly Experimental Farming Network. The ones I'm currently growing I got unexpectedly, and only after putting in nearly a week's worth of manual labor cleaning thousands of them in exchange for room, board, and knowledge. 🤓

[@DIYSolarandWind]

Get the praying mantis eggs from ebay and save your fields. They also sell lady bugs.

[@VeronicaFlores]

What's wrong with my fields now? I barely have pest issues, save for the squash bugs - I have both ladybugs and mantis here wild and native, as well as assassin bugs, lacewings, etc. It's always amazing to see "what shows up" when you don't spray and do plant their favorite things. 🙂

[@anubischick]

Summer begins June 21st let us not RUSH we are at the beginning of summer!

[@VeronicaFlores]

Lol good point! I should fix the name 😂

[@defaultuser1447]

Not really. There's nothing in meteorology or planetary physics that indicates the the Solstice should be the start of summer. The atmosphere and oceans cause temperature lag, so it's not way off, but it isn't accurate either. In most temperate zones of the northern hemisphere, the peak temps are in the middle of July. The "meteorlogical" summer begins June 1, which fits well with that. June 2X doesn't. It's just one of those weird traditions with no basis in fact. End pedantic rant.

[@VeronicaFlores]

Pedantic rants are my favorite. 😂

[@bryanst.martin7134]

@@VeronicaFlores Wow! What language! You're a whole lot smarter than you dress. God Bless you darling. But I would really like to have a long discussion about the more appropriate course of activity due to the GSM and catastrophic changes in the weather. My views are based on historical data that main stream "Education" is omitting. Like, why did China lease North African desert and build a long railroad? They know the weather patterns, they even refused free land from Russia. Crops are failing across the World. Africa is already seeing food shortages, but they are far from alone. We should not expect to provide food based on the customary techniques. The deserts are getting moist, and the normal farmlands are either drying up or drenched. 2 maybe 3 years at best are left to prepare for inconceivable famine. We do not know what is truly awaiting, unless we are of the faithful. God gave us this amazing brain, and most are up to 10% of it's capacity. Ugh!

[@VeronicaFlores]

Super condescending much? Then again, manners are rare on the internet I suppose. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Anyway, get out of here with that "it's the fault of magnets in outer space and not hoomans" pseudo science bs. I refuse to have a long discussion about armchair philosophy that champions lack of accountability over action. It is a complete and utter waste of my time, and you should consider valuing yours more highly. Now then. "Normal farmlands" are MEASURABLY depleted because of unsustainable industrialized practices that rely on biology killing synthetic chemicals and over-tilling to grow food crops on what's essentially life support. This isn't woo woo subjective physics theory - it's evidence and data based fact. As for China buying deserts, deserts are cheap real estate, and can be rigged to do the same as above, grow food on life support, provided that certain conditions can be met by mechanical/chemical technology (see also: growing tomatoes in sand in Florida.) Regardless of what weather and climate does, rebuilding healthy soil is never a bad choice in this equation. That's what I'm focused on, that's where my work can have actual impact, and that's what I'm willing to discuss. ✌️

[@kmalnasef1512]

👍👍👍

[@jeremyjames83]

If you inoculate your beans they produce twice as much N.

[@oddopops1327]

👋😊

[@kmalnasef1512]

hi i am someone from the metric world you said your field is 5000 sq feet which about 464.5 sq meter. but the picture of your field looks like more greater area than 500 meter!!! thank you

[@VeronicaFlores]

Yes- the flat field is about 1 acre total (less than half a hectare) but I'm not currently working with all of it.

[@HappyPepper]

Good Information. Thanks for sharing!

[@johnkmatsch]

A wind break. Thats really clever.

[@VeronicaFlores]

I have dreams about what will eventually accomplish it

[@guitarino1]

The boots?

[@VeronicaFlores]

What about them? They're cheap and chewed on and falling apart. 😂

[@guitarino1]

@@VeronicaFlores My kind of garb... Very nice VF. I have some New Balance leather gymers of similar stature. 🌞👍

[@VeronicaFlores]

Yeah they're from Walmart. No one makes decent rubber boots anymore, so since they all fall apart in six months to a year regardless of cost, I just get the cheapest ones I can find. (I think the Tractor Supply ones at the same price point might last longer, but they have an injection molded toe seam on the inside of the boot that I'm incapable of tolerating.)

[@guitarino1]

@@VeronicaFlores WOW! A farm girl who can express herself in entertaining detail. Kudos your direction. 🌼🌱👍👨‍🎓

[@edlowder342]

👍❤

[@damageincorporated2158]

You rock

[@cichlidjedi]

Have you thought about having someone graze that large patch with say goats or sheep? It will provide lots of urine and feces to help build up your organic matter?

[@VeronicaFlores]

I have, but it's not exactly high quality forage. Do have access to plenty of cow manure from next door though!

[@davidsmith6859]

OMG, new jeans, lol. No more knees sticking out.

[@VeronicaFlores]

The others were in the wash 😭

[@davidsmith6859]

@@VeronicaFlores I'm not sure if washing something that primarily consists of holes counts as washing.

[@indiopeltier9758]

Wait isn't it Barely Early Summer?

[@VeronicaFlores]

Hahaha yes. Always a little too ahead of myself over here 😂

[@jean-marclariviere7618]

aaahhhhhhhhhhh..........mid summer...i was just sowing 2 weeks ago...i had snow on my land until 3rd of may....if it's ok i will start the video again and skip the first minute...

[@VeronicaFlores]

It's the beginning of summer, I'm just tired and hot already 😂

[@cindyneely6087]

very pretty

[@TherealTHAWEEZL]

I still need to find that ogre.

[@afriendofB]

Thanks for sharing your journey. Good to see someone with a long term vision for a place. I farmed near Waco for a few years. Now I'm farming in Ohio. I don't envy you the challenges you face, but it can be done. You need to plan some grazing animals in rotation on your plot. They will build soil microbes and organic matter faster than anything you can do. The Savory Institute (www.savory.global/) has some really good research on holistic land management and regenerative agriculture. You may find some of it interesting. Looking forward to your next post.

[@VeronicaFlores]

I'd love to incorporate some animals at some point! Looking into doing chicken tractors in the near future, as there's not really enough land to support hooved livestock without bringing in a lot of supplemental feed.

[@doobs930069]

16:15 Their needs to be a compilation of cute produce, I saw a raspberry so cute it made me smile.

[@VeronicaFlores]

With the amount of footage I have squealing at plants, I'm pretty sure I could eventually make that happen 😂

[@tech958]

You should check out AEA, advancing eco agriculture, they are all about what you are trying to do. They focus on feeding the plants to bring the soils back to life with foliar sprays and fertigation. Check out their KZbin channel for very informative podcasts and webinars, you’ll love it!!

[@VeronicaFlores]

Thanks! Will do!

[@Ricardo_Veteran]

Make a place for wildflowers to attract bees for better pollenization.

[@VeronicaFlores]

Literally my entire field is that place 😂

[@GuitarZombie]

Giggity

[@patrickmunoz1006]

Mom has a melanoma I would like to believe that something like the Rick Simpson oil would be beneficial for her, I e I would have to grow the medicine myself

[@justinmatthew8978]

Funny story...my normal seed bank where I buy my prolific yellow squash went out of business. Bought from a new place... some were inoculated, some were not. I decided to plant only the inoculated ones. Started noticing they were trailing, so now I have a bumper crop of spaghetti squash, woohoo! Good luck with late squash in Texas, I have to plant my squash EARLY because of the squash bugs in Arkansas. Seems like once July gets here mine have pretty much played out. I have pepper bushes!!! Thanks for the pepper tips!

[@VeronicaFlores]

We planted SO early this year, starts and seeds, and they still got destroyed... even the hardy volunteer Boston Marrow pumpkins in the compost pile (that went untouched by borers in CA) were decimated here. Likely need to bump up my calcium plans a bit I think... and figure out IPM trapping early. Idk if late plantings will do much, but I'll be damned if I don't at least try. ✊

[@justinmatthew8978]

@@VeronicaFlores this is the second year I've been saving all my egg shells...everytime my 5 gallon bucket fills up i blend them in my blender. I suggest doing it outside, smells funky and is super dusty. I've also been known to plant my fish heads...but they never grown more fish.

[@VeronicaFlores]

I just got some oyster shells I'm going to leach the calcium from with vinegar... planning on doing it with eggshells as well once I have enough. 🙂

[@justinmatthew8978]

@@VeronicaFlores someone dumped a bucket of crab leg shells...exoskeleton whatever in a sand pit I'm currently trying to build up some plant muscle in and the spot where the crab was dumped was the greenest place in the whole 5 acre field.

[@jeffschmidt4795]

Yes indeed ur beautiful 🌹😘

[@marcinmazur1217]

"YOU ARE HERE" 👍

[@Desperado070]

magic beans x)

[@rauelb09]

thats not really fair to you because corn is a very very heavy feeder

[@VeronicaFlores]

I knoooow lol. But I still had to give it a shot. 😂

[@bryanst.martin7134]

Tomatoes too.

[@MollyMcBooter]

Uuugh stupid squash bugs. I swear I am normally a nice person who tries to love and appreciate everything, but squash bugs and Japanese beetles can suck it :| lol

[@VeronicaFlores]

Dude totally agree. I love how I start the season timidly smashing them with my boots or tools or sticks, and a few months later it's nonchalantly with my bare hands smearing their guts across the soil like a warning to their brethren. 😂

[@sgray1906]

:)

[@homesteadinhawaii3261]

Hey I hope Grace dazzles your life. Sorry about any miscommunications. I hope you walk in love and be love powered by the Creator

[@bantamdude]

Stop forcing your religion on healthy people! Only skitzofrantics believe in that crap.

[@homesteadinhawaii3261]

@@bantamdude oh just forcing my religious beliefs upon her huh. I think you've been hurt by religion, don't take it out on me. Nothing religious about love and Grace. You need to wake up a bit.

[@JohnnyAfghanseed]

not religious but tolerance should be a universal principal regardless of your beliefs, if you are triggered by it that`s your own problem.

[@gmoney860]

you are soooooo cute!

[@OakKnobFarm]

tiny bit creepy. Thumbs up. Then inside voices.

[@gmoney860]

sorry

[@pruimeboomxD]

buy a goat, it will solve all your problems

[@VeronicaFlores]

Have you ever had a goat? Because I have and 1) you need at least two so they don't get lonely and 2) they literally destroy everything you don't want them to eat and ignore all of the stuff that you got them for in the first place 😂

[@VeronicaFlores]

Nevermind it adding to the cost problems (vet bills, supplements and feed, additional fencing, watering troughs, and shelter.) Not considering all of these things before getting an animal is simply poor animal husbandry, and I refuse to go that route. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@pruimeboomxD]

@@VeronicaFlores I meant it only half as a joke and half as a daydream haha. Although I'd figure you could use the manure to feed your garden but never really considered the practicalities you mentioned

[@brucea550]

You had me laughing at ‘it will solve all your problems’. I love goats, they are very sociable and entertaining, however they are nothing BUT problems at times! As Veronica mentions, you need at least 2 (an only goat is a lonely goat) and all the added expenses, eating he wrong things, etc. I’ve come to conclude that you get goats for only 3 reasons- milk, meat or pets. If you need land cleared, they may be helpful, but they are browsers, not grazers. If you wanted to clear an area and fertilize it, I think a combination of chickens and pigs would work better. You can eventually eliminate the pigs (move to a new area or consume) and start planting crops and let the chickens help with pest control.

[@nygardenguru]

You don’t look like a farm girl lol

[@VeronicaFlores]

Sounds like you may need to expand your internally held beliefs around women to be a bit more inclusive, rather than defaulting to stereotypes lol. 👌

[@PalJoey-rm2yh]

Looks like you're spinning. Get a rototiller and use it twice a year. In the fall to bury plant materials for natural fertilizer for the next year. And in the spring to loosen and prepare the soil. Both rototiller uses will also disrupt the insects reproductive life cycle - insects that are destroying your crops. Do you want whole earth religion or food? You do not need chemicals, but you do need to use natural processes and not be a victim of nature. Hersey, I know.

[@VeronicaFlores]

Look into the soil food web and how frequent tilling violently disrupts it, releases carbon, and increases soil compaction issues. The only insect issues I've had problems with this season were squash beetles, and I have a feeling they may have been in a batch of compost I procured, though everyone around here (tilling or not) says they've been bad this year due to weather patterns. I do disc to plant covers, but once they're in you're doing yourself and your soil a disservice to till again and destroy the work that's been done. I am 100% using natural processes over ones humans have decided are better (short term yes, long term eff no.) There's literally zero scientific evidence that supports tilling at scale as a good thing for soil or ecosystems. Only a victim of science over here. ✌️

[@PalJoey-rm2yh]

@@VeronicaFlores You've drunk the Kool-Aide, V. But I still like you. I've rototilled 2X/year forever with none of the problems you allude to. And maybe one fourth the pests I would get otherwise. I'm just using in the garden, what the farmers do in the fields with a tractor. They feed the world, and I usually have to give away crops. I'm just choosing which 100% natural processes are at work. Don't walk around in a Field Of Weeds - bury them and grow food.

[@brucea550]

PJ- tilling is not a natural process. If you wish to loosen soil a broad fork is excellent.

[@PalJoey-rm2yh]

@@brucea550 What makes it "unnatural?" The fact that a machine is doing it? Would a horse and a plow be unnatural? They're doing the same job. I can loosen soil, add mulch, and do 10 - 20 - 30 times (?) as much as a man with broad fork in the same time. It's all the same to the microbes in the soil. God gave us brains to build machines. That's natural too.

[@brucea550]

Yes, a horse and plow are technically unnatural, though less destructive than a tiller. Nature has no machinery. You could fence the area and let pigs root through the soil. The action of the tines of a rototiller is detrimental to the soil structure. And if you’re going to use some god to support your logic, consider that brain from a god also was used to develop nuclear bombs. Natural right? I could just as well claim some god I believe in gave me brains to be able to think beyond the need for machines. But the earth evolved just fine without your brain or mine, or any machines to help things grow. As it is, we are trying to get the ground to do something unnatural- grow a specific plant in a place we choose, which may or may not be where it would grow best naturally. It always amazes me when I go hiking and see trees growing out of the cracks of boulders. Humans would never think to plant a seed there! And you sure as hell couldnt have rototilled.

[@TechGorilla1987]

Girlfriend!! Muy Flaca! You need a good cook to fatten you up a tad. Now, I don't do carbs, but I make one heck of a fettuccine bolognese. I keed, I keed....

[@marigoldpippetwhistle4297]

.......

[@VeronicaFlores]

Thanks for the concern - I thought about addressing this for sure! Know that I'm very much aware and working on it. Not used to quite so much manual labor, and usually used to someone else feeding me (or reminding me to eat) at least twice a day. I have alarms set now, and am shooting for 2000-2500cal a day. ❤️

[@justinmatthew8978]

@@VeronicaFlores remember...everything is bigger in Texas. ;)

[@kennethflores1854]

Are you married?