Grow HEALTHY Seedlings - Works EVERY TIME! (+ some BIG news!)

Wanna know a SECRET to help you start seedlings that will grow healthier plants in your garden? If they don't get a good start they will be more susceptible to disease and bugs. They won't produce as well. Michelle will show you how to get them off to the best start possible! (all chemical-free and organic too!) And today, we'll also do another pregnancy test for our cow Maddie. Is she FINALLY pregnant?
Watch this video to see exactly how to do your own cow's pregnancy test: • EVEN FASTER AT HOME Pr...
Where to find Penn Valley Potting Soil: www.pennvalleyfarms.net/deale...
Peat Pots: amzn.to/3m8oCuC (different brand than we used, but same idea)
Quality Grow Light: amzn.to/3Kd7g7K
At Home Cow Pregnancy Test: www.pbsanimalhealth.com/produ...
We get our seeds from Berlin Seeds and we highly recommend them! You can download their catalog here: berlinseeds.life/
You can get a high quality stainless steel milking pail like I use on Shenandoah Homestead Supply. Use the code MORETHANFARMERS for a 5% discount: www.shenandoahhomesteadsupply.com/morethanfarmers
More Than Farmers Hats and T-shirts here: www.etsy.com/shop/MoreThanFar...
(I'm a "quality tool" kind of guy, and I'll only ever recommend something that I would want for myself. If you make a purchase through a link posted here I may receive a small affiliate commission, but at no extra cost to you. It helps to make this channel a reality!)
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Sharing our passion for efficient, sustainable homesteading that brings the family together. We believe in homesteading that's sustainable, not just sustainable homesteading. In other words, we want to show you that homesteading doesn't have to wear you out to the point that you give it up. We've seen it happen, and almost came to that point ourselves.
There's fresh content every week, so go ahead and take a whack at that subscribe button if you'd like to join us on this crazy ride. Get ready to learn and be inspired!

[@whipsandchains1]

I love seeing young people with so much knowledge like this. I'm in 40's and just now learning.

[@morethanfarmers]

Thanks...Very nice compliment. We are also still learning...and will never stop:)

[@peterspadaro1470]

Congratulations on the baby !

[@sararich2026]

All right yeah!!! Congratulations!!!woohoo!!!

[@michelewhite1150]

I would luuuuv your tomato recipes please and how you can them. Thank you

[@5GreenAcres]

OMG I made that mistake last year!!! I put 3 seeds to each little section. I ended up with 48 tomato plants and I only needed 12. I'm very lucky I have sandy loam soil. I have seeds that are from a plant 33 years of seed saving. An original heirloom no disease. Beautiful 1 and 2 lb tomatoes.

[@dauntlessdivine2627]

Love the bloopers!

[@franthomas5867]

loved the vid- and the bloopers. I think you're one of the only farming and gardening channels that subscribe to that is willing to put up the bloopers:) Thx for the smiles!

[@morethanfarmers]

Wow, thank you! Very encouraging:) We all need to take ourselves a little less seriously;)

[@fauziamukhwana5211]

As mamas if pray more for our families and ourselves we will be okay ❤

[@victoriamaclaren568]

I use the peat pots for starting my seeds, and I plant the whole thing!! I cut the top edge of the peat pots, and plant them, and have never had any trouble with them!!

[@mrs.broccoli4362]

waiting for the result of the pregnancy test was like a thriller. you two are so cool Thanks for the informative video, as I wrote before, I learn so much from you guys.

[@morethanfarmers]

Our pleasure!

[@NadesikoRose]

It’s better to plant the peat pot and plant together when the time comes as the roots will grow right through the leaf pot. I have smaller pots than that so just put the plant and pot into a slightly bigger pot when the time comes. I don’t need to do much more than that as by the time the seedling gets big enough in its new pot, it is usually time to plant them in the garden. I live up in Canada, so the growing season here is a little later than it is down there.

[@kprairiesun]

You can save seed from your best Amish Paste tomatoes since they are an heirloom. I recommend that because I have got inconsistent results from different amish Paste seeds I have purchased. You might try Big Beef or Big Beef plus. It really produces and tastes as good as an heirloom. I grew 200 toato plants one year and 100 the year before because I like trying different varieties. I also grafted tomatoes including Big Beef. I got at least 35 tomatoes from one Big Beef plant and it produced early, ripened early. I also love Amish Paste and classic Beefsteak (from Baker Seeds).

[@morethanfarmers]

Thanks for the tips!

[@MariaGomez-mm6bq]

I like your channel so much I even push like before I see the video. God bless you guys.

[@chasidydimauro1588]

Love the bloopers!!

[@galeharris6696]

Congrats on your preggie Maddie! Very nice video, and Michelle, I start my tomatoes the same way you start your tiny seeds. Tomato plants are way hardy, and I plant as many as I need in one little pot, then pull them all out once they're big enough, a few inches tall. Pull them apart and put each one in its own little pot, and they have another 6 weeks or so of growth, and I don't waste any pots or soil that way. Amazing little plants, tomatoes...

[@morethanfarmers]

That’s great! It does work well.

[@benburns5995]

Hi Codi, congratulations on Maddie finally being pregnant. The excitement on your face sad it all. Just think of it as all the new experiences you will learn from by having a new calf in November. Thanks for all the helpful tips about starting your seedlings indoors. Shelly has a lot of patience to plant each of them individually. It is a real pain in the neck when the seeds are so small to handle.

[@morethanfarmers]

Yeah that’s true! The last winter calf experience makes me a little nervous 😉

[@markmorris8410]

You guys are doing great! Continued blessings!!!

[@morethanfarmers]

Thank you so much!

[@joycepinheiro76]

Thanks for the seedling growing tips, and how not to get them leggy❤

[@morethanfarmers]

You're very welcome! Best wishes!

[@TMesser74]

Down south, we have to plant more tomatoes because with our intense heat, they don’t last very long so we plant more because of the small window of grow time.

[@morethanfarmers]

Makes total sense😊

[@helenmcclellan452]

Can you do a video on the care you give on your tomatoes to get such a large yield? What do you add at time of planting? How often do you fertilize and which fertilizer do you use, etc.

[@morethanfarmers]

We’ll try to do that!

[@nomir4065]

Woohoo! Such good news on Maddie! Michelle, thank you for the seed starting tips. I've been one of those people who plants a million tomato plants, but not this year. My goal is to do things more efficiently. Also, I love your bookshelf in the background. So cool!

[@morethanfarmers]

You’re welcome! Good goal! Codi made the bookshelf and I love it 😊

[@lilaholland5764]

Love cattle! Grew up on a small family farm in WNC& miss the farm life soo much. Trying to talk hubby into getting a Jersey milk cow...🤞

[@morethanfarmers]

Good luck 😉

[@tomreppert1722]

I planted CA wonder peppers for years. Though they produced decently, I went to a variety called New Ace and my production has increased drastically! I'm in SE PA, so it should be a similar climate.

[@morethanfarmers]

Nice! Thanks for the tip. We’ll have to look into those.

[@Rickmarino215]

“Sounds like me” 🤣

[@paulcarolinerobson8173]

Yay for Maddie!! Did you do anything different that may have helped her conceive?

[@morethanfarmers]

It was a different time of day than the others I think 🤷🏻‍♂️ 😂

[@Zizzyyzz]

"Like me." 😂

[@morethanfarmers]

😁

[@Lena-qb1zd]

Hi you guys! I am really impressed by the way you work and have decided how you want to live your life! I think you will love my tip to you. use carbon instead of plastic film😊 Good Bless!! ❤

[@morethanfarmers]

Thank you for the tip!

[@minicrumsfamilyfarmhomeste1656]

Love all your tips and advice

[@morethanfarmers]

So glad!

[@andrewsusen3154]

You guys should check out soil blocks. Money saver and reduces transplant shock

[@phammond18]

Great info! What’s the difference between “treated” and “untreated” seeds?

[@kimberlydickenson9141]

Michelle do you have a website for your ketchup, Barbeque sauce and salsa recipes?

[@jimmynorris1164]

I like fox farms products they have anything you need for plants

[@morethanfarmers]

Good to know!

[@jonathonpack5742]

Oh man, that's some great news! 🎉🎉 Karennina has our grow lights out but nothing planted yet. I need to check out this miracle soil you showed...

[@morethanfarmers]

I can hook you up! We might have some left over, or Yonie's Greenhaus close to Plain City should have it.

[@webbfamilyau]

What type of raspberries do you grow? We have thorns on ours and they are so hard to pick without getting stung.

[@morethanfarmers]

Heritage.. they have thorns 😏

[@tubecontributor3206]

Michelle, thanks for all the great tips. I hope you don't mind me saying but you look so young-like a teenager. Cody looks young too. I wonder if it is the lifestyle (less stress) and healthy eating.

[@morethanfarmers]

Very nice compliments, thank you 😊 This life is for sure not stress free, but we do try to take care of ourselves.

[@angelicas.6391]

New subscriber here. I learned from this video. Thanks for the tips and God bless y’all!

[@morethanfarmers]

Welcome!..and thank you!

[@rebeccastone9315]

When do you remove the plastic wrap from your seeds while growing under the grow light?

[@morethanfarmers]

As soon as they are sprouted.

[@emaboo592]

Stop calling me out on my 30 kinds of tomatoes in my 600 Sq ft garden 😂 Tomatoes are LIFE and the whole reason I started gardening 😁 I absolutely love having multiple varieties of many things. I know that's not the most efficient, but it is interesting and exciting and that's what keeps me doing it 😍 also I do all the garden work and research and planning etc, so I want to enjoy it because it's a lot of work! But I LOVE it! ♥️

[@morethanfarmers]

Haha...You have the right to grow as many tomatoes in your garden as you like. I actually love variety too! What counts is that you're doing what keeps you upbeat and thriving! Once our kids grow up and we have more time, I'm guessing we'll be able to branch out more too and still keep our sanity:)

[@whitneycrawford250]

New here, hello 👋

[@amandabradshaw6760]

OK, I'm totally that person who is planting too many tomatoes. Can you tell me what your growing method is and what "take care of" means to you? I struggled with my toms last year. (First year in a new garden space) Tell me everything.

[@morethanfarmers]

Hey I’m sorry you never got a reply! Michelle is the garden ninja so I’m gonna have her answer you.. Maybe she’ll get to it today 😊

[@shelliknox8098]

Hey:) so I like to start my tomato plants in rich soil under a grow light, keeping the light about 3 inches above the plants so that they stay stocky…not long and leggy. I plant the tomatoes deep so that they are anchored well. I put cages over them right away because there’s nothing more frustrating than waiting too long and trying to squish the plant into the cage. I fertilize my tomatoes with fish fertilizer and/ or liquid seaweed a few times during the summer. I prune and branches that are leaning down and touching the soil. This has helped so much with blight. I also mulch my tomatoes thickly with leaves. Many blights are carried by soil so the best way to prevent disease in my experience is to keep the plants off the ground. I also spray my plants with an organic spray to keep away fungus. Berlin seeds magazine has a few different sprays that I rotate between. I spray weekly for the first 5 weeks or so. Once the tomatoes are set and starting to ripen, I usually quit all the maintenance and just focus on canning. My plants still get fungus by the end of the season, but it doesn’t hinder the crop too much:) I hope this helps. With this routine, I only need to plant 10-15 plants for a family of 6. This supplies us with more than a years worth of every tomato product imaginable!

[@kaylawalden4599]

Thanks for sharing all this! Can you order this soil online somehow? Or do you have to ask the individual dealer?

[@morethanfarmers]

I don't believe you can online.. you'll have to find a dealer.

[@charliequincy8884]

Do you have well water or do you use a filter?

[@morethanfarmers]

We have a well, but we also run that water through a Berkey filter.

[@pamn7457]

Which grow lights do you use

[@morethanfarmers]

We have this one amzn.to/3P8tqe3

[@pamn7457]

@@morethanfarmers Thank you. I will have to check these out. By the way I love watching you guys. I found you by accident and now I look forward to watching your videos. Fixing to start building raised beds from boards that was being thrown away.

[@katariinakuusk3501]

❤❤❤

[@Sara-mp4ut]

9:14 Can you talk about your water filtration canister next to your coffee maker? I’ve seen it in a few other video’s of yours and would love to know about it. Right not we are going to town twice a week to buy reverse osmosis 😢

[@bethhubbs9937]

Look into Berkey water filters. That is what they have in the video.

[@Sara-mp4ut]

@@bethhubbs9937 Thank you! I really appreciate it 🤗

[@minicrumsfamilyfarmhomeste1656]

We are a family of 12 so we tend to plant a lot of extras lol

[@morethanfarmers]

I’m sure 😂

[@dianaweatherford5005]

I have never seen a man so excited to find out someone's pregnant. Just sayin.😂

[@morethanfarmers]

😂

[@user-vu5dp5pj8z]

My dear friend trust me all products are plastic nowadays

[@shawneestump2862]

If you do biodegradable pots again, I'd recommend that you not do PEAT based pots. Peatlands are a highly unique & exceptionally rare ecosystem that support biodiversity and serve as carbon sinks. Peat releases huge amounts of stored carbon dioxide when it is harvested. Peatlands cover only 3% of the Earth's land, but store approximately 30 percent of the Earth's soil carbon. A better option would be CowPots. Young roots easily penetrate the sides and bottoms so plants suffer no transplant shock by planting straight into the ground. They are tested and validated by numerous universities & growers as helping to shorten the growing cycle, decomposing faster, and are odorless. I don't know how they're made, but since you have your own cow, you might even be able to make your own cowpots if you could figure out a similar recipe & save on costs even more. :)

[@morethanfarmers]

Did not know that. Thanks for sharing!

[@joelleschmidt5944]

Wow! not everybody has the same needs ,nor the same environment , it is really "highly unecessary" for you guys to make snarky comments about how many plants of tomatoes people need? , have you grown tomatoes in Alaska.? or 9000ft mountain altitude where season is super short? have you tried growing tomatoes on an Island where the salty ocean air and winds can stunt your plants? have you grown enough to donate to your local pantry for low income and homeless shelter? , you don t know everyone situation no one knows it all , being a little humble is more becoming than talking like you know it all or better than others

[@morethanfarmers]

Wow, you really took that to heart 😏 Most people will take it for how it was meant.. we want to help people thrive. Part of that is learning tips to grow more from less plants/less work. We’re learning too. People will also be able to see that we’re not in Alaska, at 9,000 ft., or by the ocean 😊 The people we were referring to were obviously growing for themselves and in a similar climate, but were making some mistakes that were really hindering their end harvest. Should I pat them on the back and tell them “good job, keep doing it that way”? If it was me, I’d want some tips. Should I keep quiet and tell everyone who is just starting to homestead to follow their example? We’re here to share. And if we make a mistake in how we present it, I’m sorry, but we will always try to choose kindness.

[@TodaysBibleTruth]

Wouldn't it be a good idea to use gloves when handling the blood and all?

[@morethanfarmers]

You could if you wanted. Not worried about it. Welcome to farm life 😏