How Much Food Can I Grow in 1 Year?

[@Qopzeep]

First rule of vegetable gardening is to grow what you love. BUT if you're looking to save costs, grow veggies that are expensive to buy. Vegetables like lettuces, basil, parsley, coriander and other herbs and leafy greens which can be picked multiple times can yield a lot. I've harvested multiple kilos per square meter. And don't forget about succession crops: beetroot and radishes can be grown in a matter of weeks, so they can go before or after a crop, like your potato bed. Garlic doesn't need its own bed, they need so little space that they can be planted between other veggies, like fennel or carrots. Plant sprawling plants at the edges of your beds and let them trail across the ground or better yet, train them up your fence, where they'll stay out of the way and get extra warmth. Lastly, you can easily grow veggies through the winter, if you get them in by August or September. For next year: either top up with a healthy dose of compost or amend with fertiliser (chicken manure pellets are cheap and work just fine). You had a great start (onions are not that easy!) but you can definitely triple or quadruple your savings with a little more time investment and smart planting :)!

[@Rick-5728]

Another good rule is to grow things that are significantly better than what you can get at the grocery store: tomatoes and green beans are a good example. Onions and garlic, I'm not so sure about. Also, grow stuff you want to use but that's hard to find. For example, I love to cook Thai food and some of the ingredients are hard to find in stores, so I have a kaffir lime tree and I grow coriander mainly for the roots (which are not sold in stores here - the leaves are plentiful and cheap). Finally, any kinds of herbs are great. They are easy to grow in pots, and expensive in the stores.

[@Qopzeep]

@@Rick-5728 excellent points! I grow perennial kales, choggia beets and several pumpkins that are hard to come by. It makes it a fun hobby :)!

[@woodybob01]

Damn this is a lot of really good sounding advice.

[@undefinednull5749]

Fertilizer does not replenish micronutrients such as boron, magnesium, molybdenum, copper, selenium and many many more, You just add nitrogen etc so that the plants can grow faster (as nitrogen is the building block of protein) but they lack proper health themselves and are not as healthy and tasty for consumers

[@livedandletdie]

I love Radishes, and they're expensive to buy a lot of, so, growing a lot of them myself, is a godsend. Oh and yeah, it all depends on what you want to grow, as one can grow things in the winter as well, leeks and onions are good to plant in the winter, so one can harvest their seeds later. And Lettuce and Kale can be grown in the winter as well. Potatoes need a lot of fertilizers, and a lot of CO2, well all of those plants needs a lot of CO2, trust me, if the air levels of CO2 were doubled or tripled, you'd see double or triple the yield. Oh and the more CO2 in the air, the less water your plants will use, because the process of converting CO2 and Water to Sugar via photosynthesis is solely dependent on CO2, and the plants just use water evaporating to trap CO2, and the more CO2 there is, the easier that process is. . . So having more CO2 is a bit hard to control, especially since there are too many doofuses that doesn't understand science screaming CO2 bad... ain't a farmer out there who'd ever say those words. But yeah, Ecolosers and Vegans are about the least intelligent sobs on the planet.

[@gen81465]

A handful (or two) of helpful hints to (possibly) turn "failures" into "success": . 1. Take the tomatoes that got eaten by the bugs and don't throw them away. You will notice they still have seeds in them, which will grow into next year's tomato crop. Spread the seeds out (along with their gelatinous insides) on a paper towel and dry them. Some people even cut a thin slice of tomato (with seeds inside) and plant it directly in the ground. The gelatin inside is food for the plants, but you can boost their startup, especially considering you have bees. When you start each tomato seed, surround it with a drop of honey and some cinnamon. That will give it the nourishing boost it needs in its critical first days of sprouting. . 2. To get rid of slugs, put out a saucer or soup bowl with beer in it. Slugs will get attracted to it, crawl inside, get drunk, and drown. If you don't put out all the beer, when the slugs are gone, you can celebrate and get drunk on the rest of it. . 3. Another culprit for tomatoes is the tobacco hornworm, which can grow as large as your thumb. When the plants are dry, dust them with food-grade diatomaceous earth. It's basically microscopic shards of silica glass that tears up the juicy bodies of the bugs and dehydrates them. Since rain rinses the dust off, reapply after storms (once the plants are dry again). . 4. If you find that not all of the tomato flowers are getting pollinated, help them out a bit. Take an electric toothbrush and touch the back of the flower. It will loosen the pollen and will increase your yield dramatically, as tomatoes are technically self-pollinating. . 5. Change which bed you plant the tomatoes in, each year, as they tend to strip the soil of a lot of the nutrients; it will give them the best chance of thriving. Also, use an old blender or food processor to chop up the tomato stalks and leaves and mulch the area with them. All of the vitamins and minerals that were trapped in the plants will get returned to the soil. . 6. Cut your seed potatoes into slips (chunks like you did when cooking them), making sure each slip has at least one eye. Each piece will grow into a full plant just as the whole potatoes did. . 7. Plant potatoes in expanding fabric barrels. Start out with the barrel folded down and put potato slips into 4 inches of soil. As the plant starts to grow, roll the fabric bag upwards and add more soil to cover all but the very top couple of leaves. All of the buried leaves will now sprout additional potatoes on them. Be sure to use the dark black fabric barrels, as potatoes are a hot weather crop that are also very intolerant of light (which causes the potatoes to discolor). The bags are available on Amazon for about $20 for 3 bags. This should grow enough potatoes to encompass the entire two rows you planted, but only take up the horizontal space of 3 plants. . 8. Practice "lasagna gardening" (look it up on Google). Dig into your soil and layer black and white newsprint sheets. They will decompose, loosen the soil and block the light so all the weed seeds will get cooked and not sprout. Also, when you put down a layer of newspaper, add any of last year's plant stuff as mulch, and wet the whole thing down. If possible, also spread a layer of earthworms in the garden, as they help to create mulch. And if you don't get into too much trouble with your environmental agencies, before you wet the newspaper, burn it it and it creates "bio-char" (or use the wood ash from your pizza oven). Note: If you smoke, don't touch the tomato plants with your bare hands. Tobacco mosaic virus will get to those plants, and if an infected plant rubs against a healthy one, it can transfer the virus. Also don't use cigarette ashes as mulch. As a top layer, use some black garden fabric or black plastic with small holes punched in it for water drainage. The sun will heat up the fabric and speed up the mulch/decomposition process. . 9. One more tomato suggestion: I noticed that you were very effective in pruning the non-fruit-bearing branches from your tomato plants. Try this trick: leave the very bottom branch (the sucker) attached and bury the middle part of it in the soil with just the top of it sticking out. It will root itself and become another entire tomato plant. . 10. Many root crops will sprout new plants by cutting off the leafy top portion and propping it up in a jar of water. Check out this article, which pertains to carrots: www.gardeningchannel.com/carrots-regrown-from-tops/ . I guess that's a couple handfuls (10 ideas = 10 fingers worth). Enjoy and best of luck in your garden. . 11. Ok, here's another one for good measure: Cucumbers can grow vertically quite easily. As the plant starts to spread along the ground, pick up the end of the plant and gently weave it into a trellis, which can be something as simple as 3-4 pieces of stick, tied together in a teepee formation, with additional twine wrapped around it. Keeping the cucumbers off the ground will help prevent them rotting. . 12. And here's one more to make an even dozen: Plant marigolds around your tomato plants. The essential oils in the plant help drive away the caterpillars and moths. . Ok, NOW you can enjoy! . George (gen81465)

[@BeautifulJ]

Thank you

[@amandapeterson790]

You're awesome..... wow.... thank you so much for all this info!!!

[@Jay-lz2wc]

Saving this for when I actually have my own place and can use this information... thanks!

[@VivSees]

Wow! You’re amazing, love all your tips! Thank you! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

[@guilherme94]

This guy plants.

[@nomad_devv]

During the great depression, my grand parents knew it was going on. But it did not effect them whatsoever. They grew their own vegetables and grain. Grandma knew how to sew, cook, and take care of 8 children. Grandpa knew how to raise cattle, hunt, and fish. And take care of 8 children. They didn't only survive, they thrived.

[@StoneTheCr0w]

They didn't "know" anything lmao they were products of nepotism. Regardless, knowing those things are useless without being given the land to do them on lmao.

[@sixupsprite5501]

That's great, but that means they had land to grow their vegetables and grains on. That meant they were better off than quite a few people in the great depression. I'm not diminishing what they accomplished, just that circumstantially it's not practical for everyone right now to grow their own food entirely.

[@nazaxprime]

@@sixupsprite5501 Like the many who had their farms taken by for the war effort.

[@ewoknroll]

The great depression ey? If I was FDR, I'd have issued one giant pill called the great zoloft

[@aisforapple25]

You should make a portable pizza oven. I just saw it on here the other day. Look it up.

[@PattaTrades]

Recently I found out if you crush eggshells and sprinke them around your plants it will stop slugs and snails from going all over them. I had a similar issue last year.

[@40watt53]

Why do snails hate eggs?

[@BassRTA84]

Its like walking on glass to them​@@40watt53

[@jeng9927]

@@40watt53 It’s more that the sharp edges of the crushed shells damage them and act as a deterrent.

[@MrMonkey2150]

@@jeng9927dam 😂, why not just use razor blades then

[@dustysgarden2254]

Copper tape is wonderful! 😊

[@MamaLena123]

A few pieces of unsolicited advice: 1. Tomatoes only like their toes to get wet, so water at the base. Try to keep water off the leaves, as this will contribute to blight. 2. Throw the blighted tomatoes in your garbage, not your compost. You don't want to spread any diseases or bad microbes back into your soil. 3. If the beer trick doesn't work for the slugs, try copper tape, broken eggs shells or straw. They don't like any of those. 4. Wait for the potato plants to turn yellow and fall over before harvesting. 5. When strawberries start emerging, place straw underneath the plant to keep slugs away and keep the fruit from dragging on the ground. (Hence the name "strawberries 🍓) 6. Larger courgettes (?) (we call them zucchini the U.S.) will drain the most energy from the plant so check your plants daily. However, it seems like there's always one that get away. The squash flowers are also edible. 7. I like to "hide" crops in my front yard, as well. Try mixing lettuces, green beans or peppers here and there. No one will notice but you. We have six blueberry bushes in our front yard. They look like regular landscape shrubs. 8. Most importantly, have fun with it! After a while you'll know what works and what doesn't.

[@dead1097]

And if you really want to care about things you'll learn the difference between the slug species as well so you focus on culling the invasive ones while relocating the native snails as they are very important decomposers who already struggle with the fact that the invasive snails will eat them. Keep your garden healthy by keeping your environment living.

[@KirbySmasher48]

i want to start doing basic crop gardening, ill keep this in mind. thank you for the tips

[@MamaLena123]

@@dead1097 I agree. That's why I'd rather use things like broken egg shells and straw.

[@thegoodgeneral]

This is such solid advice.

[@jeromegassmann9664]

The zuccvibi Might have had a fungus idk the englisch nsme but in german It is Mehltau wich is a fungus on the top side of the leave identifyable by the easy test if rubbing the leav if it is that fingus it will be rubbed off and its a white fuzzy coat

[@heidib.ausd-23xxx78]

The potatoes grow as long as the leaves are green. So if you wait until the leaves will have been gone brown, the potatoes would have grown bigger.

[@Max_Gao]

did you see his new video on another channel? He completely removed the garden and turned it into an awesome koi pond!

[@weedman69420]

@@Max_Gao I feel a garden is a lot better

[@nzbidzel]

Yeah but at the same time baby spuds washed, but not skined steamed and butter... YUM

[@kernow9324]

@@Max_Gao I bet you enjoy telling children about Father Christmas too! 😠

[@zaxuoz]

@@Max_Gao Its not Him. Its from his brother

[@mycereal]

KZbinrs really out here breaking their comfort zones and routine for one whole year for a 20 minute video. I love it.

[@martinmoore6971]

They make roughly 4k per million views, his view count is 4.7 million.

[@micheleh5269]

Cool video, but his dad has greenhouse, so kinda doubt he's too far out of comfort zone.

[@goodluck]

@@martinmoore6971 where do you get that math from ? I"ve been doing YT for 14 years. you get $1,000 per 1 mill

[@hr6703]

@@goodluck when have you ever gotten a million views dawg?

[@goodluck]

@@hr6703 my other account is damodder100hd

[@MissTarryn]

I love how you added it all up and showed how much money you saved or didn't save, but the true value of this experience is your new knowledge and the joy of watching something grow from your own yard, free from chemicals and growth hormones. I would pay double for that, well done!!

[@sadjaxx]

I love the way you went about this. So many gardeners seem to be professionals who know all there is to know, rather intimidating. You give me courage to give it a try. Thank you!

[@sarahmohdmisri5087]

same here

[@kevindarroch7332]

A very human story for sure, one of us.

[@Albtraum_TDDC]

I get what you mean. My father died in April 2021. My mother and me tried to keep up with the large garden he had. Trees and vegetables. We didn't know what to do so we got help most of the time. It's not worth it in money or time spent. But not everything in life is about money.

[@magictooth2]

@@quercus8833 This is somewhat true. There are alot of products that when used improperly will cause plants to fail to produce or even die. Plants "do just grow" if the conditions are right. Growing outdoors you are restricted to growing plants that can thrive in your weather and season conditions. I know this because I've grown in Australia and in Sweden. It is a very different story.

[@denisewilson8367]

ALL gardeners were beginners once upon a time. They just kept trying and keep notes as to what works & what doesn't in their areas. You can be great too, it will just take a little time.

[@thinking-monkey]

The literal cost of the vegetables you grew may have been only 64 pounds, but the feeling of happiness, self-satisfaction, and self-reliance were worth at least a million pounds, easily! Great job, my friend!

[@thegoodgeneral]

For everything else, there's MasterCard™.

[@ipow1035]

Not to forget his vegetables are also (probably) organic. If he would incorporate that aswell he will see that he made more than he thought

[@AndrewLighten]

And the taste. Home grown tomatoes are so, so much nicer than mass produced shop tomatoes.

[@thinking-monkey]

@@AndrewLighten There is a world of difference. Anybody who has never tasted an actual sun-ripened tomato has no idea what a tomato even really tastes like. We live in a state that has a large number of commercial tomato farms and we locals don't eat those tomatoes. We refer to them as "shipping tomatoes", not "eating tomatoes". They're designed to transport well, sit in a warehouse, then sit on the store shelf for a long time and still look pretty, that's all. Most big farms do have smaller patches of those good "eating" ones and they do sell them locally. Grow some yourself and you'll see the supermarket has been cheating you out of flavor all these years lol

[@ar007r]

I dont know what this guy is on but I grow about $2k of veggies in the same area as this guy and spend about $50-100 a year on materials. Im pretty certain if I sprinkled seeds in the ground and did absolutely nothing Id still grow more than $100 worth. This video just showed one guy who is absolutely useless at gardening.

[@Lindisfarne666]

The most valuable thing here isn't the vegetables, but the knowledge gained, and the peace of mind that you can survive on your own if you had to.

[@ton1]

wrong it's the power drill and the knife 😛

[@Lindisfarne666]

@@ton1 You cant eat a drill my friend!

[@memeily]

@@Lindisfarne666 not with that attitude

[@Bahtou1]

Till the garden bandits come

[@uncrunch398]

@@Lindisfarne666 If you can, and do, what will you do for your next meal?

[@CrazyMagicHomelesGuy]

Maybe I'm late, but here's some advice: Let the potato plant dry up at the end of the season for optimal yield. When it dries the plant makes the potatoes bigger to survive the hersh winter.

[@Musa-xx6qe]

Yep these are young potatos he harvested they cant be storaged for long.

[@Adelwapen04]

I have heard that you should wait for the potatoes leafs to turn yellow, and that’s when you know they are ready to be harvested. Maybe it’s connected

[@code9mill]

@@Adelwapen04 its directly connected, the less energy the potato plant puts into the stem is the more energy it can put into the root.

[@JacquesDeM0lay]

One thing where you can really win at with home gardening is having fresh herbs like thyme, rosemary, basil, mint etc that you don't use in big quantities, but the moment you need them, you just go to your garden and take the freshest possible stuff you can get. This is also very nice when you have a few pots with herbs indoors during winter, and you still get fresh herbs (which is sometimes they don't sell in winter in some places).

[@glennnickey3160]

Basil is easy to grow in a pot, just keep it pruned back. In summer I plant them outside, then start a new pot in the Fall. Starting to grow Chives now and Parsley in pots.

[@jodeum2]

Also, herbs are very easy to dry in a low heat 150F oven. Once dried, crumble them up and store in jars. You'll have herbs all year long.

[@mehere8038]

add plants like garlic & onions in a similar way, cause their foliage can be used to create the same flavours while they are growing

[@Shyntie]

They also work as anti-pests in many harvestable plants. So if you plant them alongside they work together. Very nice to have some in your kitchen too.

[@craigkirby9202]

I love the fact that my local supermarket has rosemary growing all through it's carpark as a landscaping feature, and also sells if for a few bucks for a packet of three short stalks. IF YOU WANT ROSMARY JUST WALK DOWN ANY STREET FOR A BIT AAAAGGGHHH!!! :)

[@KornflakezRandomStuff]

It is not always about saving money. When it comes to food, it tastes just so much better to grow your own food than the stuff from the supermarket. Great video for sure.

[@ne555timer6]

👍

[@sam4secretary]

Yeah, you won't be able to beat the professionals doing agriculture at scale with technology + proper investments. There's a reason why farming is most efficient at scale.

[@Khaztr]

that's extremely subjective and dependent on so many factors that I don't think you should do gardening because "it tastes better", or you might be very disappointed

[@ahuman5772]

@@Khaztr it tastes better 99% of the time - it's more fresh and not picked green. Store bought tomatoes are not even comparable to home grown.

[@euneadventure3112]

I heard some info that organic food from the stores are like 5% of what they used to be in terms of vitamins and minerals in them,one tomato today equals to around 1/20 of a tomato back in 1970s...

[@jailorserry704]

5 am watching a man grow his knowledge as he grows his crops, you've more than earned a sub mate. Cant wait to see more

[@przemyslawbak]

Same here

[@EmperorQuinking]

Damn you got me beat im here at 3:00am lol

[@winiii3670]

fk.. same for me lmao. tho it's around 3 am and ye also watched he grow his knowledge

[@Wh3nth3wick3drul3]

You people who are awake at 3:00 am, you are probably deficient in Progesterone. See a hormone specialist.

[@reformedzoomer]

9:46 PM. Reasonable bed time gang.

[@Alex-vn7on]

While you didn't turn a profit, you created something you'll enjoy for years to come, and created something for millions to enjoy. I can really appreciate this type of video, something that takes a year to make is no small task. Keep doing what your doing.

[@Falney]

You can start Garlic and Onions in November for a spring harvest. You take them out, fertilize the ground and immediately replant with your next crop. Its basically a bonus crop. Also :> If your room mates say you only get to grow on your third of the garden, tell them they can only eat the veg grown on their third

[@rosariot4610]

The garlic can be also planted near the root of the tomatoes, they both grew up well together and let you save a little space for something else

[@ivankontenski4396]

Keep in mind that only works in areas with warm winters and no snow. We often have days with -15 to -20 deg and more than 1 meter of snow here in Austria, which makes growing winter crops quite impossible.

[@Falney]

@@ivankontenski4396 It depends. Garlic can survive being berried under snow. and it can survive being under it for a longtime. If the cold weather starts with a rapid freeze though, that will kill it.

[@Patriot1459J]

Compost is a great Fertilizer. Feed the dirt like in nature, such as a forest, forests use no fertilizers, just nature's compost. Buy or use cheaper cow or horse crap. Animal crap Must be at least several months old or it will burn the plants. Mix really good in the dirt. To prevent burning.

[@Patriot1459J]

​@@ivankontenski4396 Things like snap Peas, Spinach can survive winters plant in fall

[@MElaughs]

My tip for bigger and more potatoes is leave the plants in the ground as long as possible and slug patrol every night throughout October time. Be sure to ALWAYS PICK THE FLOWERS and if all the leaf matter above the surface has died off completely get them out the ground ASAP to stop the worms getting them, so long you keep the slugs off you're in for monsters - just hold your nerve and keep watering. Tomatoes do better in shelter and need regular tending from training to supporting - acquire some bamboo and willow and make some columns to support. If you can get them in the conservatory or greenhouse you've reduced the possibility of issues. Courgettes, try to avoid letting them get to that size - I've had some beasts but the speed of fruiting depletes after getting a big one. If you harvest them young the plant stays in a state of pumping out fruits and not forming seeds inside them. Cheers, you've inspired me to sort my seed trays out tomorrow - if you've not got a compost heap started yet, get your plant waste in a container of water and keep plant matter topped up and hydrated 1:2 ratio, allow 6 months of maturity before using the super juice that smells like poop so you know it's gonna work wonders. Avoid composting knotweed or seeding grasses, mix regularly to avoid plants from sprouting. I'm always learning and I've had fails but these have been my tried tips for success.

[@ADM-wt9cn]

Can you do potatoes in a green house to avoid the slugs al together?

[@MElaughs]

@@ADM-wt9cn yeah, biggest pot you can find, half barrel ideally. Stick 4 per pot in a wide triangle and a middle one but do not put the points to the very edge. Keep wet and fed and the secret to potatoes is ALWAYS PICK THE FLOWERS. Or if you're feeling super lazy use big compost bags with small holes at the bottom end and opened up the top. It's easy enough.

[@jojoretardstandidiot6543]

During oktober either use copper around the sides or get slug grains for anti slug uses

[@Arturo124]

@@ADM-wt9cn Green house helps a lot, but it also needs resources and time to build (light, heating, watering systems installed etc.)....

[@sage0925]

@@ADM-wt9cn I have a greenhouse here in Idaho, and I still get slugs.

[@stevenboswell4524]

I appreciate a video that didn't go absolutely perfect. This was an actual representation of what someone could expect for their first time. Awesome job

[@adriansutton6880]

Depending on resourcefulness you can definitely cut down on the start up costs. There's videos of people making beds from wooden pallets, you can get seeds from other gardeners or the foods you eat, I even saw a video of someone making their own fertilizers. I think gardening is really beneficial physically and psychologically. Getting outside and moving and breathing the fresh air... watching something you have invested in grow and produce...it's an accomplishment. Theres also the mental stimulation from learning new skills.

[@mtnbkr5478]

With all that clay, those garden boxes could have been free.

[@Gniknella83]

Hi Alex, sorry just discovered you’ve got your own channel. A great first year of growing. A little advice if you don’t mind me giving it. Leave potatoes in the ground and harvest as you need them instead of digging them all up. The ground will keep them fresh and they will continue to grow. Unfortunately that does look like blight on your tomatoes which means it’ll keep coming back. Look for blight resistant toms and pots as they are the same family and are both susceptible to it. You courgettes need to be harvested a lot earlier if you want them to remain courgettes. After a certain size they become marrows. Keep up the great work.

[@blackg0076]

if you do get marrow , remove the seeds , and sometimes the skin if its tough. you can bake or boil it , I like it with cheese sauce or white sauce .

[@interstellarsurfer]

Get out of here with that french nonsense.

[@boboften9952]

Coppersulphate into the soil helps combat blight . Teaspoon per square metre ..... Not exactly scientific , Grandfather's remedy. Gypsum breaks up hard soil ( Gypsum walls boards ... the lime in it ) Thanks for reading

[@charizardsniper5064]

Did you know that you combine the potato bottoms with the tomato tops? Just cut them both in the middle of the stock get a tooth pick shove in down the potato stock until half the tooth pick is in the stock then just take the tomato top and stick it on the other part of the tooth pick til it meats the potato stock. It’s that simple 😊.

[@interstellarsurfer]

@@charizardsniper5064 Hahaha No.

[@s.a.m_e.v.a.n.s]

Can you all imagine how much better the world would be if we had more people like Alex, What an absolute treasure you are pal

[@mallinalii]

sure. but sorry, i cant stop to imagine we get all our 'talents' back. a peace of land we are abel to grow our food ... isnt it our planet? or is it owned by old contracts people made which are already dead since a loooooooooooooooooooong time?!

[@YeahButCanISniffUrPantsFist]

oh yeah, remember how great thr middle ages were? when everything was organic and ppl plabted their own crops? yeah, great times

[@videojeroki]

Are you one of the people? you mean if people would farm few vegetables in their garden since they don't have kids to take care of and work 8h/day in order to contribute to society (like producing seeds, packing fertilized soil, making and selling gardening tools, ...) and make sure others like Alex have free time to follow their passion? Let's be humble for a minute, and not pretend we know better.

[@KrazieeGG]

@@videojeroki Right lol, imagine being from a family thats well off and not having to work for your things.

[@mikoajszczypiorski6102]

We will be forced to do it one day. Own piece of land is a treasure.

[@silversiren7046]

I'm a biologist. I know how it works...but growing plants is still like magic to me! The Royal Horticultural Society has some great tips to get buddy gardeners started and it's all free.

[@micheleh5269]

I live in Florida, and to me it seems like magic (or maybe something more sinister!) Except for sweet potatoes which are practically invasive and take over half the yard!

[@Lowseeds]

@@micheleh5269 bruh free sweet potatoes

[@lucasmoreel8126]

I was looking for this comment ! I can't imagine that any level of scientific education would chip away at the wonder of seeing a seed sprout and turn into a full plant.

[@silversiren7046]

@@lucasmoreel8126 sadly science is under attack right now. There's a lot of people who think they can change science to fit their own ideals rather than accepting it for what it is. The study of our natural world and all the wonder it brings. I like to think of science as artistic in some ways. There is beauty in form and function!

[@amrmohamed1387]

It's a miracle but the human eyes have gotten so used to it :)

[@xingcat]

Potatoes have turned out to be my favorite vegetable to grow, because I always assumed you needed a big farm to get a decent amount of potatoes, but I've grown them in grow bags and planter boxes, and they take no care at all, really. It does feel like magic, a bit, growing our own food.

[@destroyerofworlds2239]

Glad I discovered this video 11 months after it was uploaded. I hope there's a part 2, where he shows how much he got this year. Growing in your own garden is perhaps not very good economywise, but as a passtime it's really great, because it rewards you with free and healthy food

[@redlion145]

I found this video in the suggested videos from this other video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qYG6pX6in8mei9U I think they're brothers, and brother No. 2 made a huge Koi pond in this same garden. Don't think there will be a part 2...

[@destroyerofworlds2239]

@@redlion145 LOL! Well, I decided to subscribe to this channel anyway. The travelling videos on here are pretty good

[@jasonnehceis3267]

Not free... he paid for it with hard work! Thats the value and process most of us have forgotten or never learned. Once upon a time, there was no such thing as money.

[@Greenar88]

Oh it's very good economywise! He is just still learning. Last year only my tomato harvest was like 40kg. Additionally, you get the benefit of vegetables, which actually have a taste instead of being like plastic + you know they are BIO....

[@avisdunrandom]

@@Greenar88 how vegetables is not bio? I mean if you mean without pesticide or more chemicals stuff to increase the production or to preserve as much vegetables as possible, yes since you know what you put. (I think we can artificial creat vegetables but as far as I know it's still not massively produce and is still to expensive compared to cultivate yourself so we can stipulate that every vegetables are mostly and only bio)

[@abigailmckernwalkingwithpo4582]

Totally inspirational! I built my first raised bed last year and felt the same satisfaction as you growing tomatoes, onions, courgettes, spinach, red cabbage and parsnips. Also planted 15 fruit trees and I’m 68. I love feeling more self sufficient especially as there are shortages in the supermarket fruit and veg isles. Looking forward to year two. Congratulations!

[@ar007r]

It wasnt inspirational for me to watch someone completely fail at gardening. I could grow $100 of veggies in one window sill while spending under $1. In the same area I spend probably 50-100 and grow 2k of veggies without any problems. It would have been inspirational for him to actually do research and put a little more effort into gardening properly rather than making it look like a waste of time. I can replace my entire diet of produce with home grown organic fruits and veggies with little space and not a lot of effort which is obviously worth a lot more than $100.

[@micheleh5269]

@@ar007r Sounds great! Would love to see a video of someone grow $100 worth of veggies in a window sill while spending under $1. Although I rather doubt it.

[@ar007r]

@Michele H I don't know what you spend on seeds and dirt but they are practically free. The dude in this video has an entire garden bed and only grew 100 of produce. That's like a weeks worth where I'm from. So yes just grow a bunch of basil in a window and in one season you easily would be growing over $100 worth of basil. That's not even hard considering it costs $4-5 for a tiny pack of basil I could eat in one caprase salad. I'm pretty certain I could grow $100 of produce from one plant if harvested properly.

[@ar007r]

Example $2. One vanilla bean plant can produce enough vanilla to make hundreds of dollars of vanilla extract. Example 3. 1 tomato plant can produce several hundred tomatoes. That's another example of one plant making hundreds of dollars of produce. It's not rocket science but these comments and videos really show how dependent people are on the system. There is literally endless abundance and growing food is dead simple. You can make a 6 figure income (income not revenue) from a 1 acre property. It's not even a matter of chance. You can look up how to do it and simply make yourself that income. Like most things that require a tiny amount of hands on labor, you can easily make more than a doctor. The problem is people are lazy, reliant, and debt ridden.

[@lolalola2592]

​@@ar007r why don't we encourage young people instead of bringing them down. I don't get the point of your comment about such an inoffensive video.

[@jefftaylor5370]

Lookup companion planting. It’s especially useful if you have limited space. The idea is that you plant stuff together that helps each other. One of the more famous is the “three sisters” - corn, beans and squash. The corn stalk gives something for the beans to climb, the beans put nitrogen into the soil and the squash leaves shade the ground to hold in moisture. You will find all sorts of variations all with different benefits like soil fertilization and bug protection. You had mentioned chickens and I highly recommend them. Not sure what the laws are where you live, but backyard chickens are great! They eat bugs and even small rodents, they give you eggs and their waste is an extremely rich fertilizer. I think 3-6 is perfect size for a backyard flock. I have 20 chickens right now and in the winter I let them roam my garden. When I clean the coop I dump the litter in the garden during the winter. Also, lookup vertical planters. You could grow a ton of greens and strawberries in vertical planters. They take very little space and you can get extremely high yields. Also (sorry), for potatoes, lookup potato towers. With a tower, you could get 100 or more potatoes from a 3x3 tower. If you’re looking for a natural pesticide - boil hot peppers and save the liquid. Put it in a sprayer and add a couple of drops of oil of oregano and mint oil. It will keep most bugs off I’ve found. The downside is you will have to reapply after you water or it rains. And in my area, it seems to attract deer for some reason. The mint maybe. Great video!

[@runed0s86]

Companion gardening, as a practice, is the act of planting plants together to form a guild. Usually that amounts to at least 2 annuals and one perennial. The idea is to get beneficial fungi to colonize the perennial that the yearly annuals can jack into every year. Fruit trees are usually a good choice for the perennial.

[@nikkivanzanen]

Won't the chickens eat your plants and seeds?

[@jefftaylor5370]

@@nikkivanzanen I don’t let my chickens in the garden during growing season. Some people do. I think you need to know what plants they’ll eat and put up barriers to keep them away. You have to protect sprouts too. The bonus is that the chickens eat bugs and slugs that would harm your plants. It’s a hassle but if you find a balance that works, can be great for the garden.

[@louisadredge571]

Rhubarb and strawberries grow well together too. 😁

[@gen81465]

@@nikkivanzanen The squash plants have very prickly stalks and leaves, which extend out a couple feet. That keeps a lot of critters away from your beans and corn, although a really determined raccoon will still find a way to get to the corn.

[@andrewmckeown6361]

For larger potatoes, only leave 1 or 2 sprouts (chits) on each potato. You can even cut them into pieces with 1 or 2 chits on each to make them go further. If you cut them though, let them dry out for a few days before planting to avoid rotting before they sprout :)

[@ASTROKING-S]

Love your video, you can grow more in less space by using aqua ponics, fix some gutters to your fence, fill with small stone gravel and pump your fish pond water through the guttering on a timer. Plants use the fish waste as food, water gets cleaned And returns to the pond with all the harmful nitrates and nitrites removed. Turbo charges growth because of the aeration to roots. You can literally have a wall of herbs, veggies, strawberries, lettuce. 😉

[@just_alex]

Sounds pretty cool!

[@rebeccaconlon9743]

Strawberries for sure love it so much XD I aim for vertical farming

[@patrickd9551]

@@just_alex Sounds cool, however there is a reason aquaponics haven't been implemented on a bigger scale. It's really hard to properly balance out. Most commercial farmers going that route as going belly up in less then five years. Even if they have experience on a smaller scale, it's hard to scale.

[@zianeshkasparen4358]

@@patrickd9551 it depends because thete are places in Africa and Colombia doing Aquaphonics in grand scale successfully for over 10 years.

[@toowongfoo5479]

Why not just buy a "sonic bloom" box? Build the soil with cardboard and compost. In the end, you remove hours and hours of your time spent 'gardening'.

[@dikhed1639]

Your one time costs need to be averaged over the useful time you will be using them. Also, now you have learned a lot. Can hardly waite to see what you do this year. BTW, when you harvest your first potatoes, do not harvest them in a row--harvest one plant, then skip a plant and harvest the next one. Only harvest the amount you will be eating immediately, at leaswt till the growing season is over. During non-grow months, try to put dead leaves and other organic materials on your grow plots. Try putting a few garlic in the ground in late September. Leave the carrots in the ground, pick them only as you use them.

[@whofan1212]

That or learn to store your potatoes individually, wrapping them in newspaper and keeping them cool tends to work well

[@Cellystix2.0]

This reminds me when I had a chilli garden when I was in 3rd grade,it was just a small project we had to do for recycling so I decided to use some aluminum trays and planted some chili's in it. They sprouted once I took them to school and everyone was amazed. Soon they grew too big so I set up a garden bed in the ground and planted them. They lasted for about two years until my family had gotten into some trouble and I had to stay with another relative. When I got back they all were dead and that kinda hurt me a little since I raised em from when I was young. I'm planning to start another garden soon and it's happy to see other people getting into it.

[@Sleepyflax]

That's a really sweet story. I hope your gardening goes well!

[@battlepassTrading]

Start again it's never to late

[@user-en8qr1gm2l]

You might have lost money growing your own but it looks pretty organic which is priceless. Save your good stock for another crop..overall you did well and I found the video inspiring!

[@bruce4130]

If you travel to the supermarket by car, there is a cost in fuel, so the losses are reduced if you don’t do that as often by having g a home garden!

[@danilooliveira6580]

@@bruce4130 but what you save from growing your own, you waste by spending time growing and tending for the garden. however it's also important to note that the savings depend on the prices of the season. you can go to the market and suddenly tomatoes are 4x more expensive and look like shit, meanwhile your garden should give you enough vegetables for the whole winter when they are more expensive. also if he does composting he will also save A LOT on fertilizers. so the next few years should be basically free except for his own time.

[@shewolf2584]

There are a lot of things you missed in your configurations that make growing your own food more cost effective than you think. Also, here in the US you have regular food and organic food, your food would have to be compared to the Organic prices wich is way more expensive. I love seeing younger people taking such an interest in being more self sufficient and healthier, keep up the great work because the longer you do it, the more cost effective it becomes. Make sure you learn how to harvest your own seeds from your crops, it's a real money saver!

[@general_prodigy]

Organic food is a thing in the UK too

[@serenity52705]

When pricing up your produce you have to bear in mind yours are organic. In the supermarkets they are more expensive. I live in Malta and we suffer with alot of snails and slugs and we also use crushed up eggshells. We use mixtures of banana skins and coffee grounds which helps our crops alot . We have high temperatures so in the summer everything dries and the majority die off.

[@johngrisum]

It's only truly organic if the soil is also organic. Not all soil and soil additives are organic.

[@jcus300]

Hum, try leaving out beer in a bowl or pie dish, snails and slugs crawl in and not back out (not sure if drown or just drunk)

[@sran9492]

@@jcus300 nah they know where is the best to spend their retirement

[@nightdiffy]

to get rid of snails…. you can pour garlic water on the ground, too. this is a tip from the first episode of the irish series “greatest gardens.”

[@2_Bike_is_Life]

@@jcus300 If you pour a beer in a dish outside, you'll have me hanging around and it won't solve your slug problem :D

[@maryjoyvilla567]

This video encourages people who would like to start planting their food. It's insane how much effort you have to put into this content, and I hope other KZbinrs will do the same. Thank you for giving us genuine and honest content.

[@Lendo_1]

A point that I want to make regarding the costs of the materials, compost, fruits and vegetables (general things) for people thinking of having their own garden: - The initial setup can be expensive. However, you will end up getting your money back over time, as all of the things you have planted will be able to be replanted using the leftover seeds (bulbs, cloves, etc.). Gardening and having your own patch to look after can seem like a gigantic investment, but as long as you put in the effort and work maintaining your garden and caring for your plant's needs. You will theoretically have an 'endless' supply of fruits and vegetables! And trust me and many other gardeners, even the best gardeners have killed the most plants because gardening is all trial and error! Happy gardening!

[@boshenaw.929]

Don't also forget that your food would have been grown in a lot more organic way than anything store bought so much higher prices would be asked for it. Additionally, everything is energy and when you put love into growing and preparing your food it is a lot more nutricious. BTW, when you grow your own potatoes and don't use any nasty chemicals to do so, you can definitely eat the skins. They give baked and even cooked potatoes (with butter, yum) a lot more "potatoe" flavour and also there is a lot of extra nutrients in the skins. Same with carrots :-)

[@bloodybonescomic]

I have been gardening on my small rocky estate since 2010. I have 5 6 x 12 raised bed gardens. I also grow potatoes and sweet potatoes in containers. The abundance of these gardens amazes everyone. Huge yields. I can greens, beans, salsa, pasta sauce, carrots and more. During the spring and early summer I eat mostly greens like lettuce, collards, turnip greens and cabbage. The health benefits are huge. This is what everybody who has land available needs to do.

[@stevesmith4051]

Growing as much of your own food as possible is very rewarding, plus it doesn't get any fresher. Alex, there's nothing disappointing in those small potatoes. Give them a good wash and they're perfect in with a pot roast or roasted chicken and vegetables.

[@thisweirdkidbummer3266]

I really like your videos because most people just show their success and do it “on the first go” so seeing someone just start and try something out is really refreshing

[@miranduri]

You learned self sustainability and home grown crops are cleaner and more delicious. As a gardener it makes my heart happy to see a young man grow food.

[@JustGamingAllDay]

I feel so disconnected with reality sometimes living in a big city, that when I watch videos like these it brings a sense of warmth I cannot explain. Thank you for sharing this process. nature is truly a thing of beauty.

[@mehere8038]

you can grow stuff even in a small space. Lettuce & some leafy greens will grow with minimal lighting & can be eaten as they grow to make them as space efficient as possible. A basic hydroponic light & an old fish tank or similar area for plants will likely give you all the leafy greens & herbs you eat. Sprouts, microgreens & mushrooms are also good options for apartment living

[@genodedemon5109]

You can always move somewhere else.

[@user-ed7et3pb4o]

Guaranteed this guy also lives in an urban environment. You can live in a city and still have a small garden. You can also grow on a balcony. I recommend Her86m2, another KZbin channel, for advice on balcony vegetable growing.

[@CheesusCrusts]

​@@user-ed7et3pb4o But what if you don't have a balcony? 🤔

[@STHSilqueira]

Love the part where he said "I might need to get chickens" as a solution to deal with the slugs. My man, if he had ONE chicken it would absolutely murder every living thing on a 5 mile radius of his garden.

[@BambuFlarn]

expect for slugs. He need ducks for that

[@ahmadibrahim406]

he wouldnt habe plants to save hhhhhhhhhh

[@lmaChroma]

He's gotta get a duck, way less destructive

[@ferafera20]

Would always destroy his garden

[@RyeDun]

@@lmaChromaI agree wholeheartedly, ducks leave plants alone mostly but you can’t trust them around strawberries in my experience

[@ahmadkhalid-rg2zy]

Thank you for being honest with your numbers and cost comparisons. You didn't boast or exaggerate and kept it simple. And, good job!

[@treehuggingbuddhist]

I discovered your channel a few days back and want you to know that your enthusiasm and curiosity gave me such a lift! It’s been so much fun watching you dive straight into some of the same rabbit holes i’ve explored in my 60 years and finding that your discoveries bring me as much joy as my own.

[@just_alex]

This comment makes me very happy. Thank you for taking the time to write it. I’m glad you found the videos! 😊

[@treehuggingbuddhist]

@@just_alex if you ever want to visit a temperate rain forest, I live in WA state, US and my partner and I own 20 acres of conserved old growth forest…We have tons of chanterelles and a creek that meanders through where salmon are beginning to spawn again. happy day to you!

[@arlindislami8240]

I remember my grandpa was always a man that kept a huge garden with tomatos potatos shallots onions everything you could think of, and yeah there was lots of work put into it but damn i could swear everything tasted so much better than even the most expensive product that i buy now in the so called "Green Supermarkets", such that I've made it a personal goal to build enough wealth so i can spend my years after 50 in the country side with a huge garden lots of pets and delicious fruits and vegies that i grow myself, videos like this one help enforce that goal 🙏😊

[@hannahwillis9838]

Yes! We share the same vision. Much love to you, I know we will get there.

[@arlindislami8240]

@@hannahwillis9838 thank you, cheers to us getting there 🥂🙏

[@JackONeill497]

My honest advice is you shouldn’t wait. Grow small today. What if you don’t make it to 50?

[@cowboyblacksmith]

Wow, thanks for sharing your dream. I am living it myself and it's my main joy in life. I own 1/2 acre of land I've gardened on since I bought it (now own). Next month I'm semi retiring with Social Security and have even bigger plans for this year. I lost my partner of 33 years to lung cancer last summer so it's just me now. But by canning potatoes and also storing them down basement, tons of spaghetti sauce, sauerkraut, fermented pickles, hundreds of heads of garlic, lots of onions and plenty of frozen vacuum sealed peas and beans have given me so much food over this winter that will last well into late Spring. Gardening is food for the soul too, and in dreary cold winter days I plot and plan and garden in my head for the better weather on the way. Plant what you can even in five gallon buckets if that's all you can do. Heck, I even saved the clothes dryer drum to plant potatoes in this year and made all my raised beds for free from wooden pallets, even reused the nails. You can garden on the cheap if you’re crafty, it's worked well for me. Check into Korean Natural Farming (KNF) and master Cho here on YT. Homemade fertilizers from weeds, fish guts (awesome stuff) and soil boosting bacteria (Jadam JMS) very simply made from a handful of great forest soil, a cooked potato for microbe food and a five gallon bucket. It's all here on KZbin and I just thrill to see us gardeners here like y'all sharing and gettin enthusiastic.

[@arlindislami8240]

@@JackONeill497 True but i live in the city and i dont have any land of mine right now, hopefully saving for that but with multiple obligations right now for other family member its kinda hard to move in a spot for myself without hurting them financially, hopefully im alive and well, if not it was never meant to be anyways, im more happy to fix my family issues for now since dying without doing them would be a way more regretful death than any other for me :)

[@eviek3809]

As a little girl I wanted to grow vegetables. My mum told me to try growing potatoes under my window sill where the ground was really hard. She said they would turn the soil to gold. She wasn’t far off. Hard, rocky dirt was turned into lush brown soil that produced a beautiful crop of 30 or so potatoes:-)

[@christinabarrett]

This has gotten me so excited!! I can't wait to have gardens in the front & back... to can & jar things, to preserve. It's gonna be great, I can feel it.

[@adkmcmahon]

That was great Alex. I did basically the same thing with posting it on youtube. I retired from a 35 year career at Verizon and spent my time and energy on a handicapped friendly raised bed garden as directly after retiring arthritis ended my ability to walk. The raised beds are high enough to work them from a wheelchair. I did not raise enough to have any impact on my grocery costs but it definitely fed my soul in ways unexpected. This year I’m going to add three more raised beds and raised furrow as long as my yard and about two feet wide. I’m in a wheel chair now but my garden still brings me vegetables and smiles. .

[@jaredkinneyjr]

KZbin does not have Section 230 protections as this video as been "randomly" suggested to everyone. I was watching someone react to YT videos on Twitch & this video came up on recommended. KZbin is 100% an editor, this isn't even debatable

[@Jadefrost_10]

Just some tips, my grandma used to step on the onion leafs,like right from the ground where the leaves pop out of the ground (bend them and not break them) , as in put the leafs on floor, at the time where the onions start to grow the flower stick, this way, the onion would stop producing flower and seeds and feed all the food in the bulb, she used to grow massive onions, also harvesting them was being done late summer, when the leaves were completely dry, also potatoes unless you want the summer potatoes that are easy to peel, she used to make potatoes for winter so she would only harvest them when the leaves and stems were dried out

[@mothman1856]

It saves more money the longer you do it. I can't wait to be able to do this when I get a home. I love seeing how small yours is and how much you were able to get from it. I hope your crops grow better each year!

[@mellowenglishgal]

My dad built me a raised bed literally the weekend before the very first lockdown here in the UK. I grew beans, tomatoes and lettuces, among other things, and during that first lockdown I had fresh salad every day - wonderful during the heatwave we had! My garden has never since looked so good - or had quite as brilliant a yield of veggies. Mostly because our British weather - slugs are my nemesis! They go after all the tender shoots the moment they’ve started poking their heads above the soil.

[@UltraRussian221]

Here’s a tip for anyone planning to garden every year: switch up where you planted the vegetables because the spot you had the first year has nutrients that is great for other plants and vice versa.

[@malibuhiegts]

Rot cropation

[@rap5374]

I love to imagine a day where we all grow our food and get back to the roots of nature. There is so much to learn from gardening, it’s almost like the language of the planet… a delicious language full of nutrients and hidden knowledge.

[@hannahwillis9838]

Absolutely. If we lived in areas where we shared land with others, I think growing food together would create a great sense of trust and bond. Food is a primal motivation; which can be what bonds us together, or pins us against each other. Depends on if we are in the hunt or in the harvest. Very fascinating

[@karinabrozinic6146]

Yes, and also what the gardening does to our body and mind. We will gain healt from moving around outdoors. Fresh air, D-vitamin from the sun, inhailing the good bacterials from the soil and much more, makes it easier to keep up good healt. And if we choose to garden organic, we won't be eating chemicals.

[@Leon.Stanic]

Hunting is natural, not eating random man-made plants.

[@hannahwillis9838]

@@Leon.Stanic you may be missing some crucial context and information in your statement, depending on what you are talking about.

[@fredfrederic6860]

Keep in mind these vegetables aren't found in nature. They were "made" by humans, for human consumption

[@wvhaugen]

This is great. I grew up on a farm until I was 15 and was a market gardener for 15 years before I retired. You are doing it right Alex. Don't worry about the startup costs as they will amortize over 10-15 years. Good luck.

[@runed0s86]

He removed the garden and put in a koi pond. Check his latest video :(

[@jorasparents]

I really appreciate the size of your garden and your beds. So many videos -- even those tagged "urban" -- feature yards much larger than what I have access to, so seeing what you can do in a really small space is heartening and inspiring. Thanks!

[@elizabethblane201]

I love young people who discover the joy of growing their own food. You are an ideal young man, Alex, whose meaningful projects keep you doing wholesome activities and keep you out of stupid stuff. Keep it up! Also, next year wait until your potato leaves are all brown and collapsed to get the maximum yield.

[@rhonaanderson3820]

I loved your excitement at growing your own food and the miracle of plant growing. I feel exactly the same in my garden.

[@Livingsamsara]

Every new gardener will discover that there's (usually) a net loss (financially) in start up but in harvesting, we know we're getting nourished, it's fresh, it's organic (if we go that way, which I do) we feel accomplished, _and_ nourishing the soil (if organically grown) to produce for our next plantings. Good luck in the future and I look forward to seeing more of what you do!

[@GoMathewVideo]

If you are frugal about growing a garden you might save money but it truly is an indescribable feeling watching a garden grow that represents all your hard work.

[@LifeinLancashire]

The initial outlay always means that you are running at a loss, but does get cheaper especially if you have contact with other growers who can pass seeds/plants, on to you and if you produce your own compost etc. However, I am sure that all of your produce tasted much better than produce purchased from the supermarket.

[@samurphy]

Agreed. Year after year, if you save your own seeds and make your own compost from kitchen waste and yard waste, the cost in subsequent years is near zero. He could have saved even a fraction of the smaller potatoes and regrown them the next year for a larger and larger harvest year after year with no monetary outlay. When I first started I put about $30 out in tomato seeds alone, to get a large selection of heritage breeds. It's now 15 years later and I haven't bought seeds again since. Just keep saving seeds from my best tomatoes, fermenting them, drying them, plant again next year.

[@jolenethiessen357]

Agreed. I have very little costs year to year anymore. Save seeds (stored in faulty mason jars that can no longer be used for heat processing), compost (3-bin system made from scrounged pallets, plus it diverts about 50-60% of our household waste), tools (had for years or bought at yard sales), water collection (1000L x 2 tanks that collect rainwater from gutters, paid $100 years ago for them, paid for themselves after a season or two of not needing city water). I did invest in grow lights for starting plants, they took 2 seasons to pay off vs buying started plants. We also spent like $35 a few years ago on an rv pump that we hooked up to an old battery and a scrounged solar panel and charger to make watering easier/faster. We also have lots of perennial crops, like rhubarb, apples, raspberries, gooseberries, strawberries, chives & garlic chives, oregano, walking onions etc. They require very little care besides getting cut back/trimmed (they will take over otherwise!). Our next project isn't the gardens but in the house and create a proper cold room. Right now, we compost several hundred pounds of apples a year because we don't have a space to store them properly and I can't process/can/dry them fast enough! That's on top of what we give away (our 2 tress are very productive and are at least 20 years old, probably older).

[@boaterboy100]

Hello Alex I did my first garden patch last year was great fun and tasty food. Little tip for the slugs. Break up old egg shells and scatter them around the base of the plants/beds stops them getting too it as they don’t like sharpness. Good luck next season 🙌🏼 .

[@lynb2039]

your vids are top tier. what I love is your meter, in speaking, your excellent up close videography and pictures, your step by step processes, your humility, cheeky humor, and tenacity, and one of the best elements is your transparency; sharing with us your entire journey from beginning to end, including your successes and failures. you're a really intelligent, likeable guy to boot. you are helping me to plan and design sustainability in my life, and for my first new homestead, which I'll be moving into in the next couple months. new fan and following. thank you. lyn from new york

[@niklashbg]

We planted cucumber plants for the first time this spring, and just over a month we've got at least a dozen 20-30 cm long cucumbers that beat the ones from the supermarket. Growing your own food is perhaps one of the best things in life!

[@receptionvector122]

I would have loved to see you do a second year of your vegetable garden and the crop productions and learnings you made from that. Best crops to grow with biggest yield etc, pest control.

[@Jillard]

Hi there! You’ve probably come up with a bunch of other clever tricks to gardening in the past year, but I have one for potatoes. My dad has become quite the raised-garden-potato-whisperer. Before he plants his potatoes, he actually cuts them in half. You want to make sure that both halves have at least two eyes (or sprouts) on them before planting. You can then plant both halves. You’ll double your potato yield! Super cool!

[@jill7717]

But do I cut those potatoes in half just before I put them in the ground? Or do I need to do that a number of days before planting them in the ground?

[@jill7717]

I now see your name 😂😂😂 you have the most amazing name 😉

[@nidhisri1]

@@jill7717 I have done two harvests recently (newbie gardener) and I found out that the first step is to identify if your potato is determinate or non-determinate type. Second, to answer your question, I usually cut them in half and bury them in the soil. No Need to wait for them to sprout.

[@jill7717]

@@nidhisri1 thank you Sascha! I did a little test last year in a random part of the garden with different potato “styles”. Let them sprout, don’t let them sprout, and cut them in half…….and then came the cat from the neighbors are mixed them all together so I could not see the difference anymore 😂 so thank you very much for taking the time to respond 😊 are you sharing more of your gardening online?

[@nidhisri1]

@@jill7717 aww i've got possums living on my roof and they know exactly which plant to eat and which plant to dig up. It fascinates me. Anyway, unfortunately I don't share gardening on any platform. My partner does do it but I will ask her and let you know!

[@fergusdangerfield156]

When calculating your input and harvest costs don't forget the amount of pleasure and enjoent you have gained from your exploits. That in my opinion is priceless! I'm sure you'll agree that your home grown produce tasted far better than what you've been used to from the supermarket!

[@pe4795]

You can grow vegetables in the fall/winter as well, in particular lettuce and radish! Put that space to good use every month of the year :)

[@davereed8636]

I grew vegetables on an allotment I had 10 years ago, if you plant marigolds around the borders of the raised beds it'll attract slugs and snails to them , also when they die, dead head and reuse the seeds to grow a never ending supply of replacement plants , hope that helps ! : )

[@honorableaggro8412]

the fact that you got that good of a harvest your first year is amazing. even if you didn't make money or break even. keep doing it and with in another year or two you'll be on top of it. great job. also i would like to see an update video

[@mraidymaddful]

I dug over about 3 square feet of my front garden over 5 years ago. I then planted some seed potatoes around the space. There really is nothing better than watching them grow, then harvesting and eating them. The great thing is though, after that first year I didn't do anything to the space and yet every Summer since, I have had a crop of fresh potatoes. Alex, although the initial outlay was probably costly, it will pay for itself over time. But the best thing is, food you grow yourself, always tastes better than the stuff you buy in supermarkets. You got another subby cos of this vlog mate. Keep up the good work and remember, learning is what life is all about......

[@francesmallon6979]

Loved your video. It was real. Another little tip is if I buy spring onions I plant one. Leave it in the ground like forever and I have an ongoing crop of scallions. Gorgeous in egg sandwichs and salads. Happy growing Alex. Thank you.

[@lovesarita]

beginner here; don't you pull it up to harvest it? How is it an ongoing crop? Thanks

[@denteewee]

Greetings! If you are planning to continue experimenting with food growing, here are some tips for growing a large crop in a small area Potato. You can get a much bigger harvest if you spend a little more time preparing your planting: 0. Dig a trench about 10 inches deep. 1. At the bottom of the trench, place a layer of sawdust approximately 0.5 to 1 inch. I'm not sure if you can easily find sawdust, you can find softwood cat litter (without any odors, chemicals, etc) 2. Approximately 3-4 inches of regular hay on top of sawdust (any dry grass can be used, but mixed grass animal feed hay is the best option) 3. Use wooden ash left over from your pizza oven - it's rich in minerals that will help potatoes grow better. Sprinkle some ash on top of the hay layer. Do not use charcoal ash or burnt debris (eg paper, plastics) 4. Put the potato seeds sprouts up. Each seed should be cut into a 0.1-inch-thick piece on the underside. Damaged potatoes grow better. 5. Cover the potatoes with a small layer of hay (a couple of inches will be more than enough) 6. Cover everything with soil - so as to level the ground level. The soil needs to be compacted a little. We place the excess soil along the edges of the trench - it will be needed later. Of course, the planting needs to be watered. 7. When the potatoes have grown to about 10-15 inches tall, make a pile of excess soil around the stem of the potato bush. This will allow the plant to get more sunlight and fresh air. When it comes time to harvest, you will be pleasantly surprised by the purity and quantity of the harvest. An easy way to deal with snails is regular salt. Sprinkle the soil around the plants with it.

[@baileywise9725]

I used to help my grandmother in her garden and now that she has passed I really miss those times. I wish I could have asked more questions and learned more from her. One day I will have a garden and it will be dedicated to her. ❤️ like you I wouldn't know a lot to start out but would be eager to learn.

[@Mikedeela]

I realize that this is an old video, but I thought of some things you might want to consider for this year. When you harvest the potatoes, or the other root vegetables, Kale, Collards, Cabbage or other leaf vegetables can then go in the same place after harvest. Kale is my favorite, as it will grow well into the winter. London is warm enough that it might grow through the whole winter. You can trim a cook pot full and it will grow back. The down side, but not too bad of one, is the bugs. They like kale too, so you have to check for them when you harvest in warmer weather. However, during the winter most bugs disappear. Another thing, tomatoes are susceptible to a lot of pests. However, cherry tomatoes grow fast and produce well. They also stand fairly tall so that a lot of pests don't make it too far up. Nice video. Good luck.

[@sofianosss]

I love how you didn't skip the bad stuff (higher cost than market, diseases and bad results sometimes). If someone wanna do something like this it is only because you will enjoy it. I remember when I was a child, I planted some potatoes and other stuff with the help of my dad. It was one of best childhood memories.

[@biblebasher9364]

Nice job. I am right there with you. I discovered how many tomatoes 15 plants produced, and found myself turning them into tomato paste! It was toooo many tomatoes but the paste condensed them and I discovered that I Love tomato paste! I never appreciated it before and homemade tomato paste is frickin delicious compared to store bought. So much flavor that you can eat it with anyyyyything. Combined with that pizza oven be very flavorful paste produced.

[@OGMTANK]

Really is, when the farmers market has discounts I try to buy some extra pounds to make my own paste. Good with everything.

[@ioanagan6779]

Hi, Alex! Here's a way to protect your crops from slugs: bury a narrow mouth jar (without the lid) so that it's mouth to be at the same level with the top soil, fill it with cheap beer, almost to the top (or use water and beer 50:50 ratio) and let it there. Change the liquid every week or even 2 weeks. Slugs love drinking it and it becames a very efficient trap.

[@joefarmer9976]

You may not have saved money per se from the value of the vegetables grown, but the big thing for me is the sense of pride when you harvest one of your own vegetables and use it in a meal is so good. Just being out there, growing them, looking after them and seeing the yield will be so good for your wellbeing!

[@KardoganLR]

I recommend planting a suitable subsequent crop directly after harvesting a vegetable. This way you always have fresh vegetables from April up to October/November and no unused space in the garden just because you have already harvested something. In my garden project (several people share plots in one field) we harvested the following from March to the end of October: Spinach, peas, chard, several varieties of radishes, kohlrabi, red cabbage, white cabbage, lettuce, onions, 3 varieties of carrots, broccoli, 2 varieties of potatoes, zucchini, Hokkaido squash, peppers, corn, Brussels sprouts, 2 varieties of beans, tomatoes and more. Do not plant the same plant bed the following year with the same plants, unless you completely replace the soil or fertilize well. A bed, where strong eaters (potatoes, cabbage, pumpkin, cucumbers, etc.) grew, should be planted the next year with medium eaters (carrots, lettuce, chard, etc.) and the year after then with weak eaters such as radishes, beans, cress, onions, etc. Then let the bed rest for a year, unless you want to fertilize artificially (four-field farming). With green manure, which is then dug up, you can then start again with strong eaters in the 5th year. If you do not know which plant is what (strong eater, etc.) or when you should replant what, if something was harvested... for this there are now wonderful overviews on the Internet that help you. You can only get better and with experience the harvest also increases!

[@leahwilton785]

As a Canadian, it was quite funny to see you being annoyed about snow in February. We don't really have spring where I live

[@continual-improvement374]

Your videos are fantastic Alex. You share your curiosity and interest with a nice dose of humity that comes across brilliantly. Anyone can grab a camera and tell others they're an expert, but your openness to learn combined with wonderful storytelling makes for great, informative and entertaining content- keep it up mate!!

[@just_alex]

Thanks so much. Your comment means a lot! :)

[@suanho-dinh4372]

Hi Alex! This is just brilliant. I have seen so many gardening videos in past 5 years and yet I think the simplicity and honesty wrapped up in so professionnal video making (looks like a BBC documentary!) is an inspiration. Thanks Alex! Keep up the good work.

[@zeiszachary]

I learned to garden with my mom in Georgia, USA. Been in the dirt 37 years now. Started a new garden last year with compost from my horse farm. Going to add 2-3 beds to the 5 I made last year. Food for thought for any new Gardner’s, start small and work up to massive. Don’t expect to feed yourself for a year on your first harvest or two. Don’t expect to save a ton of money unless ALL of the supplies are free, but expect to fail and learn, and then adapt next year. Start small, pay attention, and all will work out. Even the most successful gardeners fail every now and then. I like to think I fail a little every year, but only because I could do it better than I did. Last year, I started my pepper, tomato and eggplant seeds too late, so I started them 1-1 this year. Of course, I still have enough tomatoes to make 3-4 more quarts of spaghetti sauce, lol! Hoping to have about 30 heads of garlic, too. We’ll see how it goes, though. Good luck, get dirty, and learn something every year!

[@MrRussfreeman]

Growing your own food is a superpower. If you do it without using chemicals, and you feed the soil web, then what you grow is more nutritious than anything you can buy in a supermarket. Next, save the seeds...become self sufficient. Don't forget that things like potatoes and onions can be planted and harvested twice in a year, thus ensuring you never run out.

[@louielle13]

I just stumbled upon your channel and this was the first video i saw and honestly there's something so pure in the way you're excited about growing your own plants and vegetables, considering the fact you're not even some professional but just a lad who decided to try this. It actually made me happy and also determined to try it myself this year. Subscribed because your content and your genuine personality really got me. Thank you

[@melindalafevers7851]

My seed potatoes had instructions to cut them up into chunks a few days before planting, with at least one or more “eye” in every chunk. Every eye will grow a plant. Also, when they first start showing above the ground, cover them up again with dirt or mulch. Do it again the next time they start showing above ground. This will result in more potatoes per plant.

[@stevekollen1672]

I grew up on a farm that grew potatoes and we had a big table with a tilted table and knives sticking upright around the table. The table would be loaded with whole potatoes and our family members would sit around it and grab a potato from the table and slice it using the upright knives so each slice of potato would have an eye in it. There was a special machine pulled behind a tractor that would throw a slice into a furrow in the ground at even spaces and that was how acres and acres of potatoes were grown. As a kid, it was very tedious, but yes, each eye grows a plant that grows many potatoes.

[@Donnybrook10]

that's a method many use but not necessary. Many swear by planting a full potato. It will definitely maximize planting though. I'm going to experiment with both method this year to see if the yield is higher with a full tater.

[@stevekollen1672]

@@Donnybrook10 I suppose it's more economical to cut them into separate eyes.

[@panachevitz]

I can confirm that Melinda's method does work. My dad had a square foot garden and he would add more soil/compost from the grass clippings on top of each mound basically getting a bumper crop of potatoes. As mentioned in other places, you can maximize output by having your crawling/climbing/sprawling vegetables planted next to a trellis so they go vertical. Really look into how to garden by the square foot (or square meter for everyone else), you can get a lot of produce from a very compact area. Good luck!

[@renalshomlmes338]

@Steve Kollen I had never actually seen anyone throw in a whole potato before and came here looking to see if anyone else was thinking the same as me.

[@NashMakado]

Your storytelling ability is incredible. Thanks for sharing your stories.

[@quel2324]

I live in an apartment, so the garden part is impossible, but I'm thinking of starting to grow plants inside (with growing lights) and this is exactly the kind of video I needed. I guess thanks, algorithm? Edit: Also, this comment section is wonderful for my goals hehe.

[@just_alex]

I just starting growing down microgreens inside. It’s definitely a great way if you don’t have a garden!

[@VergiI_Sparda]

Are you in an area where there might be a community garden plot somewhere close? Usually those are pretty cheap to grow in, and also if you can use your apartment's roof! If you have enough room for them, a five gallon bucket you can pick up at any grocery store bakery dumpster (or even just ask, as they often use 5 gallon buckets for icing that can be rinsed out), you can grow potatoes and other similar crops in! The bucket isn't massive, so it's quite space effective for vertically growing plants (perhaps even tomatoes or peppers!)

[@quel2324]

@@VergiI_Sparda Sadly there's not a community garden in my area, and my roof isn't accessible, but I really like the vertical plants idea! I had already decided on planting potatos, I didn't know tomatos and peppers worked that way too. Thanks!

[@msmuffet_16]

Terrace garden may be of assistance 😉

[@ragcell]

OR grow stuff with hydroponics where there are kits that can easily fit in an apartment window-your WIDEST south window. And then grow year round… Also, no dirt needed.

[@ДимитърИванов-е5ъ]

You should search for some heirloom tomato seeds since they are not bred for their looks and how long could they last on a shelf, they are one of the tastiest things you could ever eat. Also you could try searching what plants you could plant together since some compliment each other and create more resistant crops. For example you could plant basil near tomatoes to deter some pests.

[@mollymollie6048]

My mother was an avid gardener, and I was her appointed child labor, lol. For slugs, she put out tin pie plates with beer in them. Slugs love to creep in them, drink themselves silly, and the little drunkards drown. Worked wonderfully. She also bought ladybugs (they were mailed to us…alive…no idea how they stay alive like that) and she let them loose in the garden, and they love to eat aphids and other little tiny things that eat away leaves, and they don’t damage the plants. She also saved anything that could be used for compost from the kitchen (coffee grounds, egg shells, vegetable/fruit peels, etc) and added them to her compost pile in the way back of the yard. Our climate meant peas and lettuce were hit or miss depending on heat, but anything that could tolerate high heat and humidity did wonderfully…you have a very different climate! You may feel you lost money, but she did the first year, too…all the start up costs. She saved seeds and used those under grow lamps to start in the late winter to plant, and saved money that way. It takes time. Good luck to you! Fantastic project!!! Just found your channel and it’s fantastic!

[@thusmo1661]

I'm only half-way so excuse me if I call this out wrongly but I have two tips for next time: Usually, when planting you create the little trench (better a bit more hollow than deep, it can usually grow if you just throw it on the ground as is, that how Mother Nature intended it, but watch out for pesky birds, they can dig through your precious little garden and eat every single one of them) put your seeds or saplings and water it once without the sprayer on your watering can (careful not to wash them away though) and after that you put the soil back on top (I'd always compress it down lightly and then go over with a rake) and do the last watering round with the sprayer head (Idk what it's called sorry). This double watering technique ensures there's enough water all around the actual seed and gives it a head start. Also for a head start it's good to put a pinch of those seeds instead of just one, so on every spot you'd put 1 seed put 3. BUT: if it's a plant that grows big, wide or needs a lot of space (carrots, beets, those big types of radish etc.), you have to pick out the "twin" plants, to create space for the one. You can compost the picked out plants or you can replant them somewhere else. A really big and important thing about gardening multiple seasons is that after you've harvested all your garden, plowed your garden and waited through winter, you are going to want to start again. You're gonna want to keep track of where you've planted what plants, because each species needs a little bit different soil (different nutrients or substances like nitrogen ions in the ground). That means that if you've had a plant that uses up a lot of nitrogen from the ground, planting a plant that also needs nitrogen in the same spot the next year will make the growth not as efficient. So keep track, and for upcoming two years don't plant these similar types on the same spot (you can find whole spreadsheets on which plants can and cannot be planted after each other). There is a good side to this tho because plants not only take stuff from the ground but also give some new stuff back into the soil (like pooping :o ), and some plants like this, so it's more efficient to put such types after each other. And lastly, speaking of nitrogen ions - most plants need it so it's a good idea to put stuff like green beans or peas along your other plants (for example just make one row in the middle of your bed). And remember that stuff like tomatoes, for example, need a lot of sun so came up with a space that's oriented so that it gets the most sunshine, the longest throughout the day (no obstacles, trees and stuff that would block the sunlight and create shade). Oh and speaking of tomatoes (but is good for any big plant: courgette/zucchini, aubergine/eggplant and so on): put something like a funnel right next to it (dig it as deep into the ground as are the roots of your plant), something like a upside down plastic bottle (preferably 1 - 2 litres of volume) with a cut off bottom and when you go watering, just fill those up! (maybe as you're going around watering your plants fill those first and when you've gone around fill them again if the water has already drained) Good luck gardeners! 💗 also 🥺 I make music on my channel, so please go check if u like edm 🥺 but only if you'd like thank you

[@Uradamus]

A key to keeping costs down is to make use of all of the waste byproducts from your garden, and even from the stuff you are still getting from the shops, so you can make your own soil/amendments. Consider raising worms and giving them a good bit of the kitchen scraps. Much of the rest should be composted. But if you can do so legally in your area, it would be a good idea to also turn some of it into biochar, which you can then charge and add to your soil.

[@Vyncent1982]

I don't call it a rule, but one thing I did in my own garden, to maximize the limited space I had, was to stake everything that would grow as a vine plant. First consider the direction of the sun light that your plants are getting, and then ANY vegetable that grows as a vining plant. I always put the stakes, example Tomatoes to the back of the garden, and put six foot (sorry, I don't think in metric), stakes along that back part of the garden. I also always used nylon stockings to help the plants as they grew stay in place on the stakes. Reason? The nylons stretch so that you don't have any worry about a plant being strangled. Then anything else I was planting I put in front of the vine row in order of average height, so that all plants got relatively equal sun daily. For the slugs, a simple solution is to, strange as it may sound, take lids from old jars, like an lid from a jar of pickles, any old jars that have lids, save them and then put them throughout your garden, and pour a little beer into them. It seems weird, but I know from experience this works. The slugs are attracted to the beer, and basically they crawl into the lids, get drunk and drown. I staked every thing that I could in my garden, and always had amazing results. I remember one year I had found away to stake up a cabbage plant, and by the time I harvested it, I had a 15 pound head of cabbage. My father-in-law thought it was hollow, but when we cut in in half he found that it was solid all the way through... Plant a few flowers around the area. Ones that attracted beneficial insects, they are a great boon to any garden, and help with pollination, and some also help with unwanted bugs. Just a few ideas that I know from experience work. It can help your efforts to grow more in less space.

[@trenomas1]

When you trim hazel, you need to take the thinner trunks as they sprout from the base. The aim is to take what you need with minimal impact to its foliage spread.

[@inalmisimir6601]

I appreciate you being quite candid about your experience. I started my garden in 2021 and made a loss as well but I do endeavor to not stop

[@Tinyoak2]

You actually saved more than you think. I have been doing this for 3 years now and I cannot put into words how much better I feel overall having given up the processed foods and gone completely "garden to table". You can also get a couple of rabbit cages that would fit nicely in the corner of your garden area there and perhaps even two chickens ( they don't need much space at all, just provide them with a small spot to scratch in). It will give you compost, endless eggs ( buff Orpington chickens ) and also Rabbit meat is some of the healthiest meat there is with a fat content of just 2% Saturated Fat 0.471g 2% Trans Fat for a total fat content of 1.57g per rabbit. Because of this "low and slow" is the rule of thumb, but you could conceivably save those hundreds at the market per month.

[@micheleh5269]

I was just thinking that his next video should be "How Many Rabbits Can I Grow in a Year?!" Bet it would be more than $100 worth!

[@mtnbkr5478]

@@micheleh5269 I get about 35lbs of meat/mo from a breeding pair, but feeding them off pellets and letting them grow out a little longer than I should, I end up paying about $4/lb for it. Next year I'm going to try to feed them primarily on wheat grass, which should cut the costs down significantly for an extra 5 minutes or so of work each day. But I'm able to keep all of them in an 8'x8' pen, atop which I have my chicken coop for space savings.

[@lovesarita]

This is so cruel. Rabbits need a *lot* of space. Chickens need hay bales or perches as well as space to scratch, and they need company so three is the absolute minimum.

[@Tinyoak2]

@@lovesarita actually rabbits do not need "a lot" of space. Only 8 square feet is necessary per rabbit. Chickens for a decent run which includes room to scratch and do their dusting is 8-10 feet. Obviously the more you have the better, but as per this video, he does not have 5 acres to give a chicken. You actually do not want a lot of added warmth for chickens because they overheat easily. I am not sure where the idea of cruelty in what I said comes from. I assume you raise rabbits and chickens and are a certified expert to know I am being cruel to these animals though. Which I am not.

[@Tinyoak2]

@@micheleh5269 their gestation is 30 - 32 days, so if you were to breed just 1 rabbit 4 times ( though I would suggest giving the girl a break and rotating), and assuming all the kits survive ( conservatively speaking lets say each rabbit has the standard 8 kits) , that's 32 rabbits in the year, sold for $10 a bunny, so a ballpark of somewhere around $320-ish /year. Personally I only breed 2 rabbits and do it once a year and they only get bred 4 times in their life, avoiding winter , because naked bunnies in winter is just not likely to make it through.

[@ianashton1593]

Really good video. Wouldn't worry too much about the savings this early. The satisfaction of growing your own food alone is worth the initial outlay plus the flavour of home grown veg is way better than the stuff you buy in the supermarket and you know its chemical free.

[@seethroughwalls]

Just wanted to say that there is a really good vibe in this video. It is a little gem: with honest, informative content, plus you are really unpretentious (which I love) and it's delightfully tongue-in-cheek. Finally, the video is well-edited. Bravo!!

[@laszlovitticeps]

Maybe you grew only £64 of veggies... BUT... - you engaged yourself, - you were outside on the fresh air, - you were working for it (bit of psychical work), - YOU ATE YOUR OWN GROWN Well done 💪 Keep going (we are doing the same here 😁..I wish a bit warmer weather.. specially for the nights for the cucumbers 😛)