Growing ALL our VEGGIES with Way Less Work

It's GO time! We plant tomatoes, watermelon, and peppers for our year's supply of food. Also taking the time to do some major weed prevention so we can maximize our food production with less time.
Garden Supplies/Tools:
Silage Tarps, Row Covers, Ground Cover, Shade Cloth, Irrigation Supplies- www.farmersfriend.com/c/the-s...
Soil Knife- amzn.to/3pmm4L4
Weed Torch amzn.to/3xm7Gpu
Weed Barrier Paper www.arbico-organics.com/produ...
Japanese Weeding Sickle- amzn.to/3Jy47jl
Favorite Large Tools- www.theseasonalhomestead.com/...
Soil Blocker 2 inch- amzn.to/3Icy5ZX
Soil Blocker 4 inch- amzn.to/3VRvFp3
Soil Testing- rxsoil.com/nutrients?source=s...
Use code SEASONALHOMESTEAD for 10% off your order!
Garden Plants:
My favorite source for Organic SEED POTATOES, ginger, turmeric, comfrey, rhubarb, elderberry and more. shop.growingfarmers.com/?ref=... Use code BECKYPORTER for $5 off your order!
Garden Infrastructure:
Caterpillar Tunnel & High Tunnel www.farmersfriend.com/c/the-s...
Garden Attire:
My Favorite Garden Overalls- shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=206046...
Favorite Knee Pads- amzn.to/3LUDKVh
Garden/ Winter Boots: click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/...
Garden Hat: amzn.to/49RjKx9
Green Garden Apron: can be found here amzn.to/43xtHha or here rstyle.me/+nENnhPD6cl7NTp-E_J...
My blog: www.theseasonalhomestead.com/
Shop My Favorite Things: www.theseasonalhomestead.com/...
Music: www.epidemicsound.com/referra...
Garden Planning & Preserving Journal:
Seedtime garden planner: seedtime.us/jkmel4ukl4tonac09...
Amy's (my sister) garden planner 2024 dated -printable pdf version: tidd.ly/3tGDkwv, for undated version click here tidd.ly/41CC5uZ
Amy's garden planner -book version 2024! amzn.to/4aGThnl
Canning and Preserving Supplies:
Juicer: I have this one: amzn.to/47l5taa but you can find a similar one for cheap here: amzn.to/486YXoR
Freeze Dryer: affiliates.harvestright.com/1...
Dehydrator: amzn.to/3nV8JbW
Pressure Canner: amzn.to/42Hk0Lw
Waterbath Canner: amzn.to/3VYZgwD
Sauce Maker: amzn.to/43EFycq
Most links are affiliate links. Please know I will only recommend items I LOVE and use myself, at no extra cost to you, and it helps support the channel! You guys are the best! -Becky
Chapters
00:00 Compost hallelujah!
02:19 Sweet Potato Slips
3:15 Goodbye Cover Crops
5:08 Covering the Ground
8:43 Planting Watermelon & Peppers
12:28 Planting Tomatoes, Flowers, and Basil
#selfsufficiency #growingfood

[@teddyjacobs8412]

It's such a joy to see a family working together, a lot of kids now don't know what it's like to work in a garden and grow your own food. They have their faces glued to the phone or TV, we need to get back to the old timey way

[@ChristinaMoore79]

Riggs playing in the dirt is too darn cute. And as others have said before, i love seeing the whole family getting involved in cultivating the garden.

[@laurel2453]

You have the most beautiful videos of gardening. I love your photography and music. They are a gorgeous work of art. Thank you.

[@maheenkhan9887]

Love that the kids have their own gardens and can apply what they learn from you guys and experiment!

[@CountieLt25]

Love watching your children working with you! The boys had a growth spurt!

[@cherylpresleigh6403]

As always it’s such a joy to see the family working together to grow food. Your space is bursting with new life and color and overall looks amazing! Thanks for taking us along.

[@samanthafitch952]

So excited to see a new video! I swear you and your family are awesome! You homestead is amazing, you seriously need to write a book on raising children and running a homestead, it would be a best seller hands down! Have a great Mother’s Day 🙏🏻✝️💜🦋

[@ellevictory1339]

I always have great days I'm god I choose to create it for myself but thx for the experience otherwise

[@ellevictory1339]

I build what I choose not what the programming in social media tells me to do god doesn't need friendly reminders to pretend to be a simple lower existence and then pretend I need family to help when I do everything this is just facts but I won't lower myself to ur unintelligent standards anymore my children husband are leveling up what I create is a surprise then children and my husband can say they want to feel as they belong which they always would why wouldn't they alwe don't think unevolved

[@meganlee1438]

I wish I could have an in depth conversation with you about what your days look like and how preserving is handled with you guys and your family. I'm a mom of 4. Oldest is 7 and youngest is 1 and a half. Every year the garden is like a train on rough tracks. I call it juggling the struggle and preserving has been... some what of a hot mess. UGHH!

[@nicholasryan5401]

Greetings from Ireland, Beautiful set up, Its the bees knees. My veg garden is small, We have thirty containers of carrots, a glasshouse for tomatoes and peppers and a no dig veg bed for all the greens. We are both retired and have more than enough for the two of us and we give most of it away to our family, neighbours and friends.

[@Beaguins]

Spring is so hard, but so amazing!

[@francismccullick2730]

I love watching your channel! I want to wish your family a great growing season. We know it's a lot of hard work producing a garden.

[@neppieb]

Your garden is beautiful. All your meticulous work pays off big time. My husband and I have a small garden which is just right for the 2 of us eating fresh. It also provides lots of produce for us to can and freeze. We are in our 70's so our work is not as meticulous as yours, but we still get lots of healthy food to eat. Thanks for sharing your family working together with us.

[@joannak4640]

Your whole family absolutely amazes me ❤️ Of all of the homesteaders I follow, I think yours probably has THE BEST nutritional and tasting food there could possibly be!! I love watching baby Riggs getting into stuff and " helping" out 😂 Thank you so much!!!!

[@TheSeasonalHomestead]

Thanks Joanna!

[@bgatlin5918]

Agree! But makes me feel like a slug to be sitting watching the video! 😂

[@joannak4640]

@@bgatlin5918 me too 😂😂😂 I am elderly and disabled. Gosh, when I was raising my kids I wish homesteading was more common back then. It would've been a world of difference on how they were raised. I often wish I could go back in time but we know that can't happen so I get my fill of homesteading by watch them on KZbin 😂🤷🏼‍♀️

[@karend8575]

So glad you guys are safe from the storms! Love seeing your posts with the kids working too. Am excited to see what they do with their plots of garden space! 👍🏻

[@valerieewing4023]

I agree! A whole video dedicated to the kids gardens would be awesome!

[@kendallk3519]

So grateful for you and the family! Hope you have a beautiful and wonderful Mother’s Day Becky!🫶🏾💐💕

[@andielliott7721]

Yep...rained here to for a couple of weeks. Each time the rain "pauses" and run out to the garden and work.

[@christinad132]

This is my favorite you tube channel💕 fyi pitch forks work so much better than shovels to move the compost.

[@sgrvtl7183]

Second time watching this video, such a heart-warming video to see the family working together~~Thank You for Sharing! trkuly a gift for me~~💗💚

[@doityourselflivinggardenin7986]

Good to see the entire family pitching in with the work and learning about irrigation. I find it interesting watching other homesteaders. They start out gardening naturally and eventually get a giant greenhouse. I have mixed feelings about that, but it is a personal issue, not a judgement. Everyone needs to do what works for them. With climate craziness, we will all need to learn to adapt to new methods. I have one of my gardens that has been saturated for an entire year. The rain was unrelenting. Much of the nutrients have swashed out and the soil is anaerobic. I may not get it planted this year. I simply cannot get in there to work it. I got lucky to get the cereal rye grain planted in the fall, but by the looks of it, I have some serious issues there. That is the good thing about planting cereal rye grain; it tells you where you have nutrient issues. In this case, that area may be better suited for a greenhouse now. I just don't think I have it in me to start a project like that at this point. As we get older we don't plan log term/expensive projects like we used to. In-fact, our planning is how we can scale back. You will experience that a few years after your kids leave the nest. You will not be able to do the same amount of work you do now once you lose those helping hands. Enjoy them while you can. Happy gardening!

[@Therease1]

It would be interesting to know the financial output for your veggie gardens. Thanks for the great content.

[@BethBurrell]

Think about how much a family of 7 would spend at the grocery store buying food from God knows where and what chemicals are laced with in that “food”. There is no cost to good health of your children and your self. I also grow all of my 100% of our veggies, 40% of our fruit and we have our own meat chickens and layer and buy beef and pork from local small farmers. I do still have to go to the grocery store to fill in the fruit gaps for my husband and myself and spend well over $75 a week just for fruit in months that I can’t grow it. I can’t imagine what food from a grocery store would cost for a family this size.

[@mrs.broccoli4362]

As always, I love your videos. Greetings from Germany 🙂

[@donnakearse2503]

I watch to see when you post. I love how clean your gardens are. Love your sweet family. Stay safe from storms.

[@robertacleary5256]

Your videos are beautiful. I really enjoy them.😊thank you 😊

[@karenzorn773]

So good to see you all, glad you all are ok from storms, your garden is looking great.

[@kdavis7525]

Love, love, love seeing that baby play in the dirt!

[@iamirene]

Wooow, I'm so impressed and inspired!!! ❤❤❤ thank you so much for finding time to post your videos😊😊😊

[@ChristianMomof2]

Lovely! Thank you for sharing. The weather messed up my seedling planting time as well. Plus I'm still working out what seedlings to start when 😅. I did the sweet potato water method twice and it didn't work out well. I did grow some but rather small sweet potatoes the second year I tried it. So I had given up on them. Everything has its learning curve. Thank you for the tip! I'll have to try that next year. Wishing you a wonderful growing season 🙂!

[@brandysears3546]

Sending support, love, and kindness from Lexington, MI, USA.

[@albertnett7864]

Gardening is never boring.

[@kellyhosler2678]

You are such an inspiration! All of you!

[@susanfreeman6350]

Riggs looked so happy, covered with dirt! Loved the video!

[@DoctorSam-MD]

You all are such inspirations! I love watching your garden come together and grow each season!

[@nancyseery2213]

Great job in the garden. Now everyone lines up for a bath! God bless y'all and keep growing.

[@gloriadavidson8599]

ALWAYS enjoy your videos 😊 Thank you for sharing ❤❤ Love from the UK x 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@patriciahogg5763]

Extreme Team Efforts!! 👏👏👏

[@heatherpfeil2939]

I love your videos! They are so beautiful and peaceful to watch even though I know it’s a ton of work. I never thought to plant y carrots under my tomatoes. I’ll have to try that.

[@adamwulf5369]

Looks very similar to the compost I get and when it’s wet it’s dang heavy for sure. Amazing fir the garden and plants for sure

[@jerrystout3032]

Outstanding FAMILY!😇!😇!😇!😇!😇!😇!😇!

[@maribelhilario2148]

You are amazing!! 🤩

[@caroltomlinson9164]

WOW, so much work, but the payoff is worth it !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@sydneysmith6658]

Can you guys do a video of cam and how he takes care or your animals/ what goes into having animals?

[@garydenner6253]

I'm VERY surprised that you guys don't make your own compost!!!! Giving the amount of green waste you'll have left over, especially after harvest! The amount of time & $$$ you save would be epic!

[@TheSeasonalHomestead]

Thank you! We do make our own compost from plant waste but when all is said and done it’s about 3 yards of finished compost a year. For the size garden we have, we need 20-30 yards of compost over the course of a year. Eventually as we build up the soil organic matter, I hope that number will reduce. So that’s why we supplement. We also add back organic matter from chopped up cover crops which is really my preferred method. Hopefully at some point we will move over the that entirely.

[@michaelniziolek6990]

Try pickled beets with some cinnamon sticks added. Make em a little sweet !

[@teachwithwoolf]

Another great video ❤

[@alaneschultz1137]

Because I’m in your same growing zone, I’d love to know which variety of DETERMINATE paste tomato you like. The determinate tomatoes do quite well in the south.

[@zerowastehomestead2518]

Very well done videos :)

[@cathykillion6544]

Enjoyed the video 😊

[@OhioJeremy]

The weeds this year so far are no joke, every other day rain here also. Hard to keep up with and hard to get food in the ground.

[@charlottethebrunette4339]

First to comment! Wow that never happens to me, lovely video! I always enjoy watching your videos, they taught me so much on how to plant veggie plants.

[@louiseschmitzls7]

I love watching your videos. You inspire me so much. I have a small flowers and vegetables garden. But right now I'm having troubles with slugs. Don't you? How do you deal with them? Greetings from Europe - Belgium 😊

[@tamararobinson2069]

The weather has been up & down crazy everywhere this year!! 🤪 The yams in water doesn’t work well for me either excited to see how the dirt method works. I’m very interested in little space cover crops.

[@hunglikehorse4339]

Love your videos

[@taleshnature]

❤❤❤Beautiful

[@rickthelian2215]

Happy Growing season, lots of hard work as was prepping the seeds into soil blocks😊 If the trailer was faulty in the sense of tipping properly then they should of given you a discount on the hire fee. How expensive was the compost per yard? The compost looks great, was still a bit steamy though. (fresh)😊

[@Milottine]

Hi becky !! I always appreciate your video!this is my moment of relaxation 😊 You're doing so well!!! I have a question, how do you regulate the slug ?? In my garden with the rainy day it's big problems.... Thank you 😊 🙏 Sorry for my bad English. I'm French 😅

[@gmify1]

Could you please share where you got your irrigation system from? I enjoyed your videos. Thank you!

[@karenarchambault2625]

Thank your for sharing! How many days of work does this take? Do you ever sleep?

[@ellevictory1339]

God is beauty

[@Yours.truly.jhyothsna]

hey! What is the brown paper that you used to cover the compost in the tunnel??? Is that compostable?

[@georgelowellohhdgg63nnd96]

What is the cover crop mixture in what you called your children's garden? Many thanks for your great videos!

[@allisonjay8631]

This is my first year with a big garden and it's overwhelming. So good to watch you for inspiration! Do you recommend a specific brand of kelp and blood meal? And have you ever used wine cap mushroom spores?

[@TheSeasonalHomestead]

Down to earth brand is what I use for kelp and blood meal. I’ve never used wine cap mushroom spores before.

[@JustTheTwoOfUsHomestead]

Ohhh I wish I had your energy Becky….I’d settle for half 😂 What type of soil do you start your seedblocks in?

[@TheSeasonalHomestead]

I make my own. I have the recipe here: www.theseasonalhomestead.com/soil-block-recipe/

[@briannelton9153]

Is that a F150 truck? If so, 5 yds is over the towing capacity then

[@jenniferstafford1514]

Amazing...what state do you all live?

[@LastChanceTinyHouse]

The weight of the trailer, you said wasn't over the limit so that engine light and the truck getting too hot sounds more like a truck problem. maybe you water pump. You should put it on the computer and check it.

[@DemonaLlama]

Do you preserve the lettuce? :>

[@ellevictory1339]

God creates doesn't eait for husband to surprise

[@Misswhy156]

How do you preserve your lettuce Becky?

[@TheSeasonalHomestead]

I don't preserve it. With the tunnels we are able to eat it fresh year round. We do a lot of succession planting of lettuce so there is a constant supply.

[@BethBurrell]

Becky- I am curious if you think that the polypropylene leaches into the soil from weed barrier?

[@TheSeasonalHomestead]

I’m not sure. I’ve read a few articles and studies on microplastics in soil but none of them used polypropylene. Of all the plastics polypropylene is the safest. It’s the same type used for food containers like yogurt. I think if leaching did occur, would be more prevalent with a long duration of use and heat. The polypropylene ground cover weed barriers are thick and do not break down and photo-degrade easily. Also- as far as I know Polypropylene ground cover is allowed in organic gardening but they can only be on the ground during summer and must be pulled up each year. Like all things, I think moderation is the key. I wouldn’t cover the entire garden in it. But for use as edging or in a few problem areas, I don’t think it would be an issue.

[@RoostsRootsandHorseshoes]

@@TheSeasonalHomestead thank you for your response. I wondered why you didnt use it more in your garden instead of the paper which can be expensive to replace at the end of each season. Happy Mothers Day! You have a beautiful family and I love seeing the kids grow up learning where their food is coming and pitching in to grow it is even better!

[@1cewe]

Which covercrops can you recommend?

[@TheSeasonalHomestead]

I have a guide to cover crops here www.theseasonalhomestead.com/how-to-use-cover-crops/

[@misty9419]

Please!!! Is there some secret to keeping ants out of the compost piles?

[@normamccomas9272]

❤❤❤

[@victoriaspringle4873]

*parted the green sea

[@knaupp]

Love the videos and the channel. But I am not convinced your method is less work than tillage to destroy weeds. It seems that your approach relies on bringing in new compost (that someone else worked to create) and hand-spreading it, which is extremely labor intensive. Using ground cover (either plastic or paper) is definitely labor-saving for weed suppression however. But it only works with single-plant crops, not row-crops. So weeding for those crops is still unavoidable.

[@TheSeasonalHomestead]

Thanks! Yeah, I’ve never done a side by side test with till vs no till so it very well could be more labor intensive. I have noticed as long as I’m not inverting soil layers than the number of weeds is less. So that’s where the time saving aspect would come into play. It would be interesting to do a side by side test at some point to measure health, yield, hours involved, etc. with both methods.

[@doityourselflivinggardenin7986]

@@ChristianMomof2 I have watched several of his videos. He relies heavily on compost (top dressing), otherwise it doesn't work. He cannot produce enough of his own compost so he runs around the neighborhood collecting grass, leaves, etc to compost. The thing with gardening, if you remove 100 pounds of vegetables (weeds included), you need to put back 125 pound of organics so the soil stays alive. Otherwise, you will need commercial fertilizer. To accomplish the pay-back, I naturally compost the weeds between the rows of vegetables (roots exposed to sun), I cut down the stalks of veggies when they are done and leave them in the garden, I put chopped leaves on the soil in the fall, an then I till that in and plant cereal rye grain to over-winter. It works for me. At the end of the day, if you like a method and you are happy, its all good. Anything beats buying veggies at the store.

[@ellevictory1339]

Tnese ate actual facts now ur welcome my husband is jn love with me bit he yried to hide it pretend to distract most high intelligence good job 😜👍 bit u can't oyt snart my highest existence

[@billiebruv]

Make your own compost. Why waste so much time and money in buying?

[@TheSeasonalHomestead]

We don’t have the materials to make the 20-30 yards of compost we go through each year. It’s something I would eventually like to dabble in, but for now we’re leaving it to the experts.