From thorns to Barefoot Garden - John Kaisner The Natural Farmer

www.johnkaisner.com/
When we started our farm, there were so many prickly "touch me nots" that we were obliged to wear shoes at all times. Now, with the help of nutrient cycling, our garden has been transformed into a BAREFOOT GARDEN. Here's how...

[@felixebeyer8845]

what a delightful reminder "touch me not" grew up with them in north borneo

[@Skidkid]

This what I named my business! And that’s why I named it like that! Barefoot Gardens LLC! That’s me! I don’t know how to garden but that’s ok I’m learning

[@marcelobarefoot3549]

I am a barefooter too and is amazing to do that all day...and ever we can... most in the fields and nature

[@TheNaturalFarmer]

Haha. Cool! Yes. The earth is good. Feet connect us to it :) Nice to hear from you

[@marcelobarefoot3549]

@@TheNaturalFarmer Thank you, my friend!!!! How many years are you living barefoot?

[@TheNaturalFarmer]

@@marcelobarefoot3549 Oh no Marcelo. I'm afraid I didn't understand your original statement. I am not a barefoot person in the sense that you are. I only meant that I like to go around barefoot on the land. You mean that you are 100% barefoot all of the time. My hat goes off to you. That is wonderful. My apologies for the misunderstanding...

[@marcelobarefoot3549]

@@TheNaturalFarmer In fact, there are diferent kind of barefooters... in my case i go barefoot only out off my job... in my free tima that means in weekends and on night... as I live in a big city, Rio de Janeiro, we could go barefoot around the beaches and forests we have inside the city perimeter...

[@junejewell]

We have goat heads here in NM, US. We’re barefoot able within the fence. I love it.

[@RefugeeOfReality]

These Weeds might need need light for their seeds to germinate.. so tilling them under with a tractor would leave some of the seeds exposed to light letting them regrow while your sandwiching method prevented that from happening immediately! Greetings and blessings from Germany!

[@TheNaturalFarmer]

Possibly. Only Nature really knows, in my opinion. The important thing is: it works :) Hello to Germany...

[@annedonohue1140]

Barefoot farming sounds like a very natural thing to do. We have some serious wildlife here down under, recommend you bring your boots when you come:)

[@TheNaturalFarmer]

Haha. Sounds good. But what about the Aboriginal people? Do they all wear shoes?

[@annabelladanhart5537]

The Natural Farmer Good point. Better bring a boomerang then! LOL!

[@TheNaturalFarmer]

Hahaha Good one. I'll see what I can pick up..

[@carlosginatta]

Jagannath this in unbelievable! I can't recognise the garden from last year! Incredible work!

[@TheNaturalFarmer]

+Carlos Antonio Ginatta Hahaha. Thanks my friend! Good to hear from you! Speak soon...

[@suburbanhomestead]

You are awesome my friend! You are doing a phenomenal job! I guess rototilling is just destructive to the soil, and perhaps the thorny nitrogen fixing weeds serve as a band-aid to prevent erosion and grazing/ compaction by animals.

[@TheNaturalFarmer]

Haha. Thanks! Yes, I'm guessing these weeds are there for this type of reason. Nature is no fool... :)

[@rhuomairhuopostale7857]

LOVE this! I believe bare feet are happy feet too! Here in central Florida (west coast) we have thorny things too, as well as rampant native vines that are not technically invasive. I am planning to apply this method as I reclaim the overgrown parts. Can't wait to walk barefoot in my Zone 1 and Zone 2 areas. :)

[@TheNaturalFarmer]

Excellent! It's a wonderful feeling when the transformation happens. Let me know how it works out..

[@rhuomairhuopostale7857]

Will do!

[@mybellegirls]

@@rhuomairhuopostale7857 I’d like to know too. I’m Central Florida East.

[@nyongrmo]

Great video right here man ! Love the info

[@TheNaturalFarmer]

Cool! Yeah, I think it's a pretty amazing discover actually. But many people don't catch it. Well done! Great to hear from you...

[@DominicBruzzese]

John, after 6 years of more experiences and growth, have you revisited this question? Why did circulating the nutrients in zone1/2 get rid of the touch-me-nots but not the tilled zone 3?

[@TheNaturalFarmer]

Hi Dominic. Yes, I need to make an update video. I've had a similar reaction in the soil on our project here in Sicily. We buried blackberry bushes, a lot of them, while conducting earthworks. No blackberry regrowth whatsoever. So now I've seen this on two separate occasions, in two completely different climates.

[@mybellegirls]

@@TheNaturalFarmer Have you current videos to share on your Sicily project? Totally enjoying your knowledge sharing.

[@ingeleonora-denouden6222]

I love walking barefoot, but only when it's warm enough... one of the reasons I want to move to a warmer climate 😃

[@TheNaturalFarmer]

Yes the Tropics are best for this, as is sandy soil. However, with the benefits come some pretty dangerous snakes, so be careful! :)

[@ingeleonora-denouden6222]

the advantage of the Caribbean island I plan to go to is: there are no poisonous snakes! The are some insects to be aware of, but none of them so dangerous they kill humans directly. And there's one tree that's dangerous.

[@lpmoron6258]

Living in the Arkansas river valley, my problem is for ants. They are everywhere. Even had them in the house during summer. They were after dog food.

[@MartinaSchoppe]

I'd guess, that the tilling destroy the fungi more than you do, when you bury that thorny stuff.

[@architektura204]

I wish your (and our) all zones to let bare feet visit. For what you have done in one year we bow with respect. It a little stubs my heart with envy, which is the best sign that admiration is in order. Please, do share also with us your harvest. We already can share a little, and nothing, absolutely nothing creates a better sense of being weightless. Happy New Year Jagannath.

[@TheNaturalFarmer]

+architektura204 That's very sweet of you to say. You're the one who gave me the idea for this video! Would love to share my harvest, but now I am in Australia taking Geoff Lawton's PDC. I'll most likely be traveling for some time now. Still hope to share videos though.... Always good to hear from you my friend.

[@architektura204]

+The Natural Farmer o! how very exciting, this is like taking sculpting lessons form Michelangelo! I bet Geoff will try to corrupt you to stay :)

[@TheNaturalFarmer]

Hahaha. That's nice of you to say. No, I won't be staying. I'll be traveling for a while. Hope to share some interesting things along the way... :)

[@architektura204]

+The Natural Farmer ...o good, it is better to be First in Our Own Little Hut from being second in Rome. I can't wait what you will share with us next as you trek the Earth upside down.

[@BenJamin-zw2pv]

This was an interesting video and had me thinking for days as to why the change in plant varieties. I'm thinking the tilling was causing the spiky weeds to reestablish after removal. The slightly higher population in your food Forrest is probably more likely to be caused by the less visits you do to that area for manual removal. We have a very persistent vining plant that forms a very thick mat (up to a couple of feet deep) on the ground if left unchecked. Burying the cut vines will cause them to sprout and regrow, so I have been using brush cutter to knock them back and then let them dry and form a mulch. My scyth with me using it is ineffective. The vine itself forms a protective ground cover but is otherwise unusable except as a carbon collector. I've noticed that it really struggles under the banana canopy however so will be looking to transplant some more suckers. Thanks for sharing your experiences, there is a definite improvement to the soil there.

[@TheNaturalFarmer]

+Ben Jamin Thanks for the comment. Actually we don't pull out many plants - not enough to make a difference, in terms of visits. I believe the hyper accumulators of nutrient - the "weeds" - were able to fully deliver their "message". They got to do their job. We just sped it up by burying the material, ie their bodies. That's the difference in these zones.

[@ameeraljadie1282]

❤❤❤❤❤

[@santoshsurendra]

I would want to wear my gum boots to keep my self safe from snakes in the garden

[@harmonyrose856]

What a wonderful transformation! and I really like the term 'lasagna beds' - explains it perfectly :) Would burying the weeds be more favourable because you are getting better breakdown through the bacteria in the soil?

[@TheNaturalFarmer]

+Harmony Rose I don't know. I'm guessing that maybe the entire plant body nutrient gets absorbed. Nature has many mysteries. All I know is it works! :)

[@Oggiwara1]

Great video as always, Jagannath! It seems you are doing the right things no matter if you don't know everything about why everything are happening. The reason why that plant does not spread out in your zone 1 and 2, might be that the seeds gets composted and not germinated in the lasagna beds? It sounds great with a bare foot garden, Jagannath. I would love to do the same. But what about poisonous snakes, spiders and so on?

[@TheNaturalFarmer]

+Svein Arne Grønnevik Haha. Well, there are definitely poisonous snakes and spiders in India. We just keep the grass trimmed with a scythe and it's pretty easy to see what's on the ground - they don't have many hiding places on the path. So far so good. And yes, the seed might very well have been composted in the lasagna beds. That's a good theory. All I know is that it works, so I do it. Great to hear from you as always my friend!

[@PoornaPrakashParvathala]

Another very nice video and i like the way you explain things, i've watched all your videos . However, recently i'm not finding your older videos in this series. Are they re-located to somewhere ? where can i find those either free or paid.

[@TheNaturalFarmer]

If you go to my website you'll see an online Natural Farming Course. Just scroll to the bottom. This course contains 42 videos + the option for live online classrooms. You may find it interesting... www.johnkaisner.com/

[@andresamplonius315]

Podria ser Mimosa pudica, Sensitive plant, nativa del neotropico.

[@justwatching9151]

This is a perfect example of why lazy is the best way. Nature doesn't till. When carbon is tilled into the soil, the carbon from the soil is released to the air and also the tilled carbon is decomposing and is released to the air. When you cover your carbon by another layer on top, the carbon stays in the soil, and then is decomposed layer by layer and absorbed into the soil. A tractor is also adding a few nasty chemicals to the mix, creating your very resilient thorny bush, a natural sign screaming at you: touch me not.

[@santoshsurendra]

At what stage of the touch me not life cycle do you chop and bury? Are they still flowering or are they fruiting or much younger or older?

[@joaozitogameplays]

About the problem in zone 3, what if you covered the weeds with cardboard and mulch, then planting something over? I don't really know many things about permaculture, just a humble opinion of a guy that's learning a lot from you.

[@TheNaturalFarmer]

That's an enormous amount of cardboard and an enormous amount of work. It's true that you can basically start fresh on an area by stacking layers of cardboard, then covering them with compost or mulch, but in India - especially in that area - cardboard is not as readily available as it is in the West. In addition, I normally try and work from the inside out - helping to create a balanced soil, where the weeds no longer need to come.

[@achsahkaleb4844]

Do you just chop them off? What about the roots? Do you take the whole plant out? please explain

[@smrsraja]

As always, a wonderful video. I am still wondering whats specific about being barefoot in the farm. I still hesitate to walk bare foot in our farm fearing that I might slip on some poisonous snake or insects.

[@TheNaturalFarmer]

+smrsraja Haha. Good question. For me it's a question of being connected to the land. Literally. In "Mother India", the home to countless saints and sages, I really enjoy being in direct connection with the land. That's all. I can feel the sacredness, if you will, of the land here. There are many places throughout the planet that this can be felt. So for me it's really nice - like the difference between scuba diving and free diving - the less equipment that stands between me and nature the better. Something like that. But of course there are times where equipment is absolutely necessary, and that needs to be accounted for.

[@GrandpaCl]

Call it mimosa in Florida

[@apextroll]

It is a nitrogen fixer as well.

[@part-timeprep5932]

I wonder if this works with crabgrass and Johnson grass? 🤔😁

[@CausticVCoso]

+The Natural Farmer I wonder if digging the plants in vs tilling allows fungal pathways to remain in tact, keeping mycelium pathways in tact and allowing more nutrients to remain through fungal dominated composting?

[@TheNaturalFarmer]

+Aaron W. Hello Aaron. You've been reading a lot! :) Unwanted plants, we believe, come when there is a niche open for them. In this case it's a nutrient niche. Remember, those are Nitrogen-fixing plants, the touch me nots. They're trying to fix Nitrogen in a Nitrogen-deficient area. My understanding is that Nitrogen is not the only nutrient missing. My belief is that by burying the plants, we have provided the nutrients that the soil was lacking. We have allowed the "messenger" - the weed - to deliver its message. But only Nature knows what really happened :) Try it at home, let me know how it goes!

[@CausticVCoso]

+The Natural Farmer it would be interesting to find out. In any case I celebrate your success. I particularly like the before and afters shown in this video. Take care my friend!

[@LillianGreenHiLilly]

John Kaisner, In my garden in the UK there is a weed that looks a bit like scrambled untidy bright green fern. Its very prickly to touch. Please can help me identify what it is. Do you possibly know the name it may be. Thank you.

[@TheNaturalFarmer]

Hello Anne. I wish I could be of help, but unfortunately I am unfamiliar with the plant you mentioned. However.... Even if you never discover the name of this plant, you will most likely be able to eliminate it or control it to a great extent by applying the technique illustrated in this video. I hope that helps...

[@LillianGreenHiLilly]

The Natural Farmer. Ok thank you and God bless you and your work

[@migueltigrelazo]

Couldnt you have used goats to eat the touch me nots ? That way they clear and fertilize the land

[@mrd05d]

We have massive amounts of red fire ants here. How do you combat that where you are? Once you improve soil do they move on?

[@TheNaturalFarmer]

+mrd05d Ugh. Fire ants. That is not an easy topic. We have them on this farm, but luckily they are not in the areas where we spend the most amount of time. They're off under a tree, near one of the hand dug ponds. I wish I could be more helpful with a solution. The only thing I've found to be effective is the white ash created from burning wood. Fine ash is best. You may try dumping a good amount of that on the area where they hang out. The fact is they are excellent chewers and grinders and they help create soil. I don't believe in killing them or trying to eliminate them altogether. Instead we do as you mentioned - improve area by area and they just seem to move away. Does that make sense?

[@mrd05d]

+The Natural Farmer Yes of course it makes sense. I get so angry at them when I accidentally step on their home while harvesting or tending plants. I just wish they would not build mounds directly in my beds.

[@abdulhakeem9957]

Thanks Sir for all these great inspirational videos. I am amazed. Few questions... 1. Seeing your video about chop and drop, I told my mom to not cut weeds and plants that grow up in our backyard. Problem is we got visitors (snake about 4-5 feet long) which we never showed up for years. So with the idea of so much bushes growing in the land we are bound to get lots of snake in India. How to tackle it? That would be a big distracter for my family whom I am trying to make them love farming. 2. With these "touch me nots", did you uproot them? or just chopped to the stem? 3. How long after you buried them you started to plant on the land? Did you directly start going for the bananas shown in the video?

[@TheNaturalFarmer]

Rule number one: be safe You don't need to let the weeds grow too high. You can keep things manageable. The main thing with chop and drop is that you place the material in the same area where it was cut. If the snakes are too bad (hiding under the chopped material), then you made need to change your approach and create a compost pile near the area you are trying to cultivate. By making a circular pen out of welded wire, placing sticks on the bottom for aeration, and then adding chopped material as you go, you will be able to create slow compost. Keep the garden ground covered with some mulch is possible, but not enough for a snake to hide in. We dug up the "touch me nots" - removing the roots when possible, and burying everything. We planted almost immediately after burying the material. I started with beans for nitrogen in the areas I was not yet ready to fully cultivate. Then we chopped and dropped the beans and planted pumpkins on top...

[@abdulhakeem9957]

+The Natural Farmer thanks 😊

[@burmese434]

+The Natural Farmer Hey sir I wanted to know what's the best tasting banana trees you grow in India?

[@TheNaturalFarmer]

The little, sweet yellow ones. The nickname for them is "gorilla fingers", but unfortunately I don't know the species name.

[@luutas]

What happened was that burying the plant you killed the seeds because they were composted. But if you only chop and drop the seeds are still going to germinate in the next rain. That's a good technique if you want to extinguish some plant, but if you don't want it, if you just want to recicle the nutrients and cover the soil so just chop and drop

[@TheNaturalFarmer]

So...the truth is, none of us knows beyond a shadow of a doubt what happens in these situations. That's my experience in the field. Here in Sicily I chop and drop twice during the rainy season. Once mid season, when I'm certain of regrowth, then once again end of season when the seeds are out - I do this to create greater density in the cover crop (which Nature chose, not me). The weeds help me greatly, and each year they get more mild, with less thorns. The technique in this video was not about eliminating seeds. The plants were not seeding when we chopped them. It was about nutrient cycling. I believe. But I always try and maintain a position of open-mindedness, ie humility, in cases such as these. After all, Nature is the only expert on Nature now isn't she? :) You may or may not agree with me, but that's my perspective on the situation, and it seems to be backed up, in this case anyway, by the feedback I've received in the field. Good to hear from you. I always appreciate thoughtful comments such as yours. Thank you

[@luutas]

@@TheNaturalFarmer. I totally agree with you and actually I work increasing the number of weeds collecting seeds to break and cover the soil (I'm in a very arid place so that's very helpful) but also for genetic domestication of weeds trying to make them useful for the other farmers. Another excellent way that is helping me a lot is use thorn plants for living walls. Protection from the animals and also from invaders. But some times things get out of control or the farmer can't deal with a specific plant and its good to know this elimination methods. Even by selecting the genetic variety in the field we need to eliminate some plants. And covering them with soil is a very good solution. Here I try to stimulate the producers to use this plants for start fire at home and then use the ashes back in the field. But you are totally right. The objective is not to eliminate the plants. Is better to learn how to use them alive. Let's keep trying this

[@Chr72e]

Did they come from animal feed?