How We Filled 20 Raised Beds Without Bringing in More Soil

[@mrd4032]

Anyone else that wants to know '''How We Filled 20 Raised Beds Without Bringing in More Soil'' skip to 6:30

[@MIgardener]

right on.

[@AndreBellCopywriter]

Thank you, Mr D!!!

[@bunny-uu2rr]

Andre Bell

[@laurieparis2203]

Mr D Thank you!🌱

[@1Ruh2Another]

thanks!

[@tanyaratti]

In my first raised gardens, I didn't use soil at all - by placing wet down cardboard and newspaper layed VERY thickly at the base of the bed, gives worms a good breeding base, crowds and kills any weeds and helps fills the beds. Then I laid hay and straw and sugar cane mulch... The only soil I used, was pure compost - I made a hollow in the straw, placed a handful of compost then the seedling. My garden this year has a lot of broken down material turned to soil, and is soft and pliable. my regrowth of some perennials has been amazing plus I planted some flowers and herbs. The soil is rich and full of worms - compost had loads of baby worms in and they have bred up in the paper base.

[@yes350yes]

Very good idea about the wet cardboard as a base for worms and eliminate some weeds. I have a space problem but I do have a 4' square bed in which I want to put homemade compost and maybe some straw but I put a layer of cardboard down. I grew some crops in it last year but weeds also grew. I want to grow some tomato plants in the box. Thanks for the tips. Probably might not hurt to get the cardboard down now even though Im a couple months away from putting down compost or planting.

[@ghanus2009]

This is a great idea. I hadn't even thought about cardboard. I get a lot of shipments for customers and they all come in cardboard boxes. I compost too, using up all my grass clippings and leaves and organic food scraps, but never even thought of breaking them down and adding wet cardboard to the compost. I have almost endless supply of that.

[@sooni111]

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[@sooni111]

.KOREA. SBS. NeWS

[@sooni111]

yes350yes 한국 뉴스. SBS

[@carriewh]

Why do people have to be so rude in the comments? If you don't like what or the way someone is saying something don't watch that channel, it's as simple as that. He is passionate about gardening so gives a lot of "background" info. If you listen some of the background info also has useful information intertwined, especially if you are new to the channel like I am.

[@timetravellingbunny3952]

Carrie Haddican -- "Why do people have to be so rude in the comments? If you don't like what or the way someone is saying something don't watch that channel" I like your flawed reasoning. If you don't like what people say in the comments, don't read them.

[@amindamit]

true

[@AcornHillHomestead]

Carrie Haddican I agree with you that some of us really enjoy his channel journey and for those who don’t simply move to another channel. Its interesting to understand the back story and get to know the people who take the time to produce these videos a bit better. So many whiners.

[@timetravellingbunny3952]

"So many whiners.” Name calling. That’s so rude. It’s a comment section where people make comments. If you don’t like their comments don’t read their comments. “It’s as simple as that.” Oh, wait. You have to read their comments to determine you don’t like their comments, and then make your own rude comments.

[@etherspin]

@@timetravellingbunny3952 the point is more that the videos are put together for the viewers by the content creator and the rudeness is towards the content creator - I do lots of skipping in the videos when I'm looking for a specific solution to a problem BUT at other times I really enjoy hearing the mixture of general garden chat in the full length of the videos Why go round trying to prove people are hypocrites or should just not speak , why not enjoy the videos and enjoy the chat with others here ? I hope you are on the way to a superb Christmas or holiday season depending on your country and culture :)

[@GOTTshua]

Lots of work! Oh, how I miss being in my 20's when I had the strength to work sun-up until midnight. So wonderful to enjoy the fruits of our labour when the plants produce deliciously. Always so much to share with neighbors, friends, and strangers who happen to pass by. God-given abundance.

[@CutestHeidi]

I got free composted horse manure from a local boarder near me. I had to get out there in the muck and load it up myself but it was FREE! Best thing I ever did for the garden!

[@tpishdad]

I heard horse manure is too strong for the garden? You have any problems with it and the plants growing?

[@charlescannon6775]

Tim Pishdad Hi Tim I use horse manure only because my neighbor has horses. like all manure you want it to be completely composted. I have been using it for years. compost I believe is the key though.

[@paprichaat5]

CutestHeidi omg I got 100# this week from my local farm and I had to bring three huge containers to it. The only part that stunk was I had to walk in compost which was so dirty but I did no shoveling or lifting. The manager for farm did it happily

[@mycozygardencottage]

I believe that it's fine if it's old/composted. I have a friend that just told me he didn't like to use horse manure because the grain that they eat sprouted in his garden and caused problems. But I think that is also solved by using only composted manure.

[@paprichaat5]

Ronda DiCicco omg yes I keep getting sprouts from my garden. It is composted but maybe the top layer that I brought home had grains that were sprouting. I keep having to turn it over and mix it through. It's early my and I still haven't transferred my seedlings into the garden beds. It's been cold every other day

[@preppypinkcrocodile3400]

Looks great. My favorite way to keep weeds out and moisture in is to mulch with a thick layer of newspaper and on top of that, straw. I do it in the fall when I am closing out the season so that I can just dig into the straw/paper in the spring to plant. But you can also add it around your already planted out beds. I does an amazing job at keeping most of the weeds at bay, keeping the moisture in so you need to water a lot less, helping keep soil born diseases like blight down, and it all just composts in by the end of the summer growing season.

[@patriciacole8773]

Do you know if straw is safe from round up used to “ ripen” wheat?

[@livtheday6938]

Incredible bay garden in the makes! Gardening takes work, bending, shoveling, lifting, sweating, it isn’t for the faint of heart, but the rewards to all the hard work certainly pay off, thanks for showing gardeners what it takes to start a good foundation for beds.

[@tammyrusso4340]

You seem like such a sweet down to earth person, Luke! I am learning a great deal from your videos. Thank you for them.

[@bobbiechinn9578]

Can't wait until next yr!! It'll be my 2nd yr with this property and I have big hopes. I've been gardening my entire 45 yrs and now I have a great space to work with of my own. Thanks for the good info.

[@skyym3629]

Dang bro, kudos to you for the hard work. That is a full day to dig up soil and fill those raised beds in one day all by yourself. Congrats and it being three years in the future everyone can see your hard work paid off multiple times over and then some. Thanks for the vids, the information you give us and of course, the entertainment of it all. God bless you and your family.

[@dkulikowski]

Your new gardening method looks GREAT. I think you will love it.

[@prettypothos4me290]

I did mine like this, but used black landscaping fabric on top of my beds. I had no weeds that way. With the junk I put in the trench, I never watered, not even once! I live in PA. My peppers were huge producers!

[@Browneyedladee1]

Forget the haters. Do what you love. I enjoy watching your garden videos!

[@timmiller4111igi]

Our ministry Old Mother Hubbard's Cupboard built a row of raised beds in our three acre gardens this year. one thing we did is because of the length of the beds we put a cross member (2 x 6) in the center down from the top of each bed to keep the sides from spreading over time.

[@MidwestManMountain]

Nice progress! Plenty of new things in our garden. New perennial fruits, lots of vertical gardening, and an additional 400 square feet to work with. It's a great time of year!

[@rocko777p.8]

I am going to put a garden bed this year for the first time!

[@shoxroxice]

I just got done building and filling 12 raised beds! Almost 10 yds of soil moved by shovel and wagon. You guys were the inspiration, my arms were the motivation. I need to put some pictures up on your facebook or something.

[@zritamoe7528]

He's so authentic, which makes him relatable, interesting, and adorable. LOL. I love these videos

[@cheyennestarr6134]

In Central California. Gardening zone 9. I'm doing my first raised beds. We got two 8x4 beds that we put together the end of February. I had started an array of veggies containers in the end of January beginning of February. So right now in our raised beds we got corn, tomatoes, onions, carrots, bell peppers, strawberries, zucchini, cucumber, green beans, sugar peas, sunflowers, basil, dill weed, parsley and a spaghetti squash.

[@jasmineamorgan]

Looks great! that's how we filled our beds too. Lots of shoveling dirt from the ground and mixing good soil with it. we also added mulch in the walkway so it won't get muddy during the rain.

[@jennymullins593]

I really enjoy all the info you supply in your presentations, Luke. Feels like you're a good old friend of mine! I'm in Australia. & like knowing all the various situations you need to contend with, etc. Good job! I'm always so blessed & inspired. Been gardening since my mother passed away in 1985...still so many things to learn from a young'un like you!

[@ourharvestmoonhomestead4878]

we are adding more and more raised beds, if for no other reason than to try to use as much of our space wisely as possible, good job on yours

[@rebecca8317]

My son brought me to your channel and I(we) are hooked. Love your videos.

[@grannybee6805]

Am doing raised beds this year for several reasons. Harder to get up and down, new backyard, not sure how good the soil is, etc. Filling them up with junk mail, cardboard, lumber scraps, leaves and straw. Hope it works. Have big plans and dreams.

[@Cindyscrossstitch]

to build my raised bed I used concrete block building bricks. in the holes I plant herbs, it serves as double durty. super easy and quick. it will probably last longer then wood. you can always move the bricks and very inexpensive to buy. I enjoy your videos.

[@farmerdoug4646]

great idea, to plant herbs in the blocks. I use building blocks and retaining wall blocks for appearance.

[@lucypreuninger8192]

Don't try it in Texas. Your plants will get fried no matter how much water you put on them.

[@ghanus2009]

I saw a TV show where a guy used vertical tubes like 6' - 8" dia. He became wheelchair bound after some accident and was a master grower. This raised his garden to here he could rim it and care for it. It turns out it is very efficient with water and created great plants. Your tip on using the holes of CMU bricks is a great idea too. Plus you can paint them if you want!

[@mfcabrini]

Besides, in central TX, Austin area, the soil is such heavy clay you have to add topsoil and compost or you might as well make pots out of it.

[@suebarnard1734]

Cindys cross stitch I

[@cultivatingorganicbyjomig1719]

Great job Luke, and I know exactly how you feel. You are doing exactly what my husband and I did. The only difference is, I was the one digging the weedy and grassy soil while my husband build the frame of the raised bed. Yes, I was aching all over but felt really great for two reasons, one, I had a great work out and two, we accomplished our goal :-)

[@barbkitts759]

Great video! Thank you for sharing your experiences. I grew up with gardening, but never in raised beds. Now that I am going on 70, but want to have a nice smaller garden, I have been trying to learn as much as I can. I love your ideas. Thank you again.

[@gigicedo4909]

Very hardworking person

[@RobBackyardGardenerr]

It's coming along GREAT Luke! What a project but the reward will be soooo worth it, as you know!

[@kokopelli2012]

That's ingeneus! I also push the wheelbarrow around the neighborhood bringing back leafmass etc for compost. Unlimited supply out here. Then just stack the compost and fry any seeds that remain by cooking combustion.

[@seedtotable7478]

looks absolutely amazing thank you for bringing us along on your journey. I have to fill 3 beds this week and I'm a little hesitant..lol .I can't imagine 20.. im down in zone 10 .. florida.. so my fight is against the heat and I'm also near water. but i wouldn't garden if I wasn't optimistic. .happy gardening everyone!

[@3rwe03]

Looks great! My husband asked me to research how to build raised beds and I really like your ideas. I'll show him when he gets home. Thank you, Mlgardener!

[@RADARTechie]

Holy cow thats amazing! That'll be a great garden once you get planted and growing. I am mightily impressed.

That's actually very clever idea - taking the soil from under the raised bed. Thank you!

[@jacksoner8053]

This year I constructed a sub-irrigated raised bed from 3 pallets, some 4mil thick plastic, 3 inch pvc pipe, 8 bags of stone, and many bags of soil.. I estimated it to weigh about 1,000 lbs. The bed was way too large for my apartment deck lol, so I took it all apart and made several trips to reconstruct it elsewhere (parents house). I have to travel an hour to get to it; I planted bush beans and lettuce in it. I chose to grow these based on the weather and sunlight conditions. This project is mostly an experiment for me, but has been a lot of fun so far. - So, that's my new thing I'm trying this year. I thought pairing beans with lettuce was a good idea since beans are nitrogen fixing legumes!

[@bobdoney2963]

About three minutes is the right length for a video that makes one straightforward point. And about 15 words for a simple comment!!

[@patriciacole8773]

Freeze Beach and yet you used 23 words to condemn someone in their own video. If you don’t like his style couldn’t you make your own and open yourself up to the critics?! Lol!

[@tulipsmoran5197]

Brilliant Idea! Thanks. I would have never thought to using the soil surrounding he beds to fill them up. Actually the lawn/grass and top 3-6 inches is rich humus and will help to build soil. Add compost, perlite, rock dust, rock salt, fungi mycorrhizae and castings and its a perfect growing medium. I always add soilless mix to my beds by the 6 cu ft bundles. I have a 50'x90 ' garden/orchard that i cultivated over the past six years and now planning to relocate out of state. This will be a great way to replicate my urban farm on my new property.

[@jypsydog6079]

You make hard work look EASY! Nice job.

[@dalebailey754]

I am using wood that was given to me to make some raised beds. Can’t wait to get to work.

[@katanatac]

To help from getting weeds growing up through your soil, lay down several pieces of cardboard then put your box on top of that and fill with dirt. You can also lay down heavy fence wire before the cardboard or after, to help keep the moles out.

[@billweston3601]

katanatac 0

[@cf8959]

You remind me of my son & my nephew...... a nice mix of the 2. Both are great guys. Ahhhhh, to be young and strong!

[@BobG127]

DON'T expect to learn much from this. You'll learn everything you need to know in less than a minute and a half, beginning at 6:30 -- including the fact that the video title is *inaccurate.* He *did* bring in *THIRTY cubic yards of compost* a couple of years previous to the video that he now used for the raised beds. On top of that, he brought in more amendments because he wasn't happy that the compost had compacted.

[@amynguyen7]

Wow. It looks great.

[@flowerchild760]

Love your optimism and the garden. Can't wait to see what you plant in there.

[@BubbleBeet]

Excellent Garden expansion! i'd be wiped out after filling just 3 or 4 of those beds. your soil looks nice and rich too, great use of moving it into the new raised beds.

[@seedaholicgardens9085]

A gardener whose eyes are bigger than the garden? who would' thought?! LOL It looks fantastic Luke this is going to be you guy's best year ever! I keep wanting my hubby to grab me two of the metal fir rings too1 I love the industrial kind of look it goes so nice with the wood, I agree. Very, very nice, cant wait to see the harvest this year guys! Thank you for sharing!

[@mycozygardencottage]

Thank you for the video! I've been watching many of your videos and I really enjoy them.( Ignore the negative comments) I totally get your reason for this video. You moved soil from the surrounding space into the beds so as to raise the soil level in the beds. I think it's brilliant. I just moved into a new place and had to start a new garden. I wish I'd seen this video over the winter because I would have like to make raised beds but didn't want to haul in soil.

[@ambervanzitamore]

can you please post a video explaining how to make your harvest last through the winter? how you store it, etc? i want to be able to make my crops last without going bad, but i have no idea what to do. thank you in advance.

[@regularguy3202]

So awesome man!!! Love watching your videos!

[@JRCHomesteadTexas]

We'll be building several raised beds. Very timely video - thanks

[@hughjanus3798]

All your hard work will pay off in the garden. There is a lot to be done. Take care.

[@Just-Nikki]

I put straw at the bottom of my bat houses and when I change it out I pile it up and after it breaks down I have compost with guano 😀

[@kRis-rn6so]

Thanks for explaining the real aspects gardening. I just moved to the NW and am settled enough to start gardening, late. Thanks for simple honesty. I’m subscribing☘️

[@namelesssadge9773]

im new at gardening this year. i wanna feed my family in a better way. been watching your videos for the last 2 days and my thumbs are starting to turn green..lol. will be getting a rotten bale of hay next, for the core gardening.. love the idea. keep making these videos! i love it. you're awesome

[@heavymechanic2]

That's a lot of work! last year, I dug up my lawn and it was pure clay and as hard as a county road LOL. After mixing in bagged products of Garden Soil and Humas Manure, it produced a decent crop but those darn root knot nematodes are a constant problem.. This year, the soil is a lot softer from adding old potting mix and whatever organic material was available. Got some worm castings to mix in when planting starts. Due to summer like weather, I'm planning to plant onions, leeks and beets in a few days.

[@mycozygardencottage]

An organic farmer I know told me a trick to get rid of the weeds. He said to mix a tablespoon or two of molasses into a bottle of water and spray it onto sod that you have overturned...or weeds. The sugars will feed the soil bacteria and the multiply and become voracious and will eat up the roots and plants. It really seems to work for me. But don't plant anything there for a couple of weeks. I also keep a thick layer of mulch on top of the soil and never till. I hardly have to weed at all.

[@paladin3798]

can not wait to see your garden this year.....yahoo

[@dennisschwab8113]

Very good looking raised beds, and I do like your use of the galvanized fire rings. Good idea.

[@myklmusic]

After almost 7 minutes you finally got to it. Thank you.

[@brooksanderson2599]

Just a tip. I loosened the soil UNDER the original ground level of the raised bed before piling on loose soil from the outside, That gave my raised bed the effect of being a double-dug bed as avocated by John Jeavons. :-)

[@joanmarshman208]

I'm not a good gardener, I wish I were but you're great. I love seeing your progress. It motivates me to try again next year.The only thing good that grows in my garden is peppermint. Maybe next time I'll do better. I'm going to take your advise about the soil and make a formed planting bed. I've been planting in pots for convenience and mixing store bought soil and manure it just doesn't work for me. Thanks for your inspiration and keep up the good work.

[@MIgardener]

keep giving it a shot. We all have to start somewhere. I know for a fact that you can do it. If I can, then you certainly can.

[@anndennis7163]

very deep mulch 4 to 6" will help with the weeds and feeds the soil as the worms process it.

[@lightenup4u2ok]

try urban farmers trick of covering the beds with plastic and cutting holes for plantings...no weeds

[@forrestforrest7790]

Very efficient. You created an area for easier flooding and don't have the wood on the ground. Good job. I don't think what was done was smart but if you have to do this again: 1) clear area for first bed THEN put down the wood. 2) fill 1st bed with the soil you clear for the 2nd bed. 3) keep doing 1 and 2 for the rest of the beds until the last one. 4) on the last use the soil from clearing the first bed. Your wood will now be on the ground with less work.

[@spoolsandbobbins]

Super inspiring Luke! Thanks, from N.S., Canada

[@karyolpagekuchan123]

We received our packets of seeds from you folks and are excited to give them a try. we are long time gardeners- like if we go back to being kids and gardening with our folks- almost 50 years. We live in the PNW- and tomato blight- early and late is horrible. Can you recommend a blight resistant tomato. We have tried everything suggested over the years to stop it and it always seems to catch hold. And generally it is late blight. The only time we didn't have blight is when we planted and left them full season in the green house- Thanks again for the enjoyable videos/ Happy Gardening! Karyol

[@vllewella1]

excellent. I envy your space. I am also doing raised beds, but they are much smaller. I am also doing containers and trying out some grow bags for the first time. We'll see how that does. One of my tomatoes has 3 little baby tomatoes on it and the rest have flowers everywhere. My jalapeno pepper is covered with peppers already as well as my hungarian yellow wax pepper, so that's pretty exciting. I'm fighting slugs, and cabbage maggots from my cabbage, and released 1500 lady bugs to battle aphids on my strawberries. I still have lots of seedlings that need to go into the ground (or in pots) and I am feeling a bit behind schedule on some things, especially my pepper seedlings.

[@holly_kay5570]

I have heavy clay soil. Can I mix peat moss with my native soil to fill my raised beds?

[@jahaysunny5571]

I live in southeast mi. Heavy clay soil here too. I've got an area available for me to dedicate to gardening (.75 acre) problem is 70% of it doesn't drain water well at all. I'm gonna have to use raised beds if I wanna make it work. Any ideas or suggestions?

[@zephirinedrouhin3735]

Big 292 I would mix sand and peat moss and mulch with the clay. Just my 2 cents.

[@Littlesharky-h2s]

Yes

[@RussellBallestrini]

You rock, I'm dreaming of your beds, a lot of work is right... I have too many plants and I need to figure something out ASAP, I might be building a few beds tomorrow.

[@pauldominic2150]

Here's what I read in these comments- reposting here- "DON'T expect to learn much from this. You'll learn everything you need to know in less than a minute and a half, beginning at 6:30 -- including the fact that the video title is inaccurate. He did bring in THIRTY cubic yards of compost a couple of years previous to the video that he now used for the raised beds. On top of that, he brought in more amendments because he wasn't happy that the compost had compacted." also: "SUMMARY: Tells about bringing in 30 yards of compost at 6:50 then will take 3" of top soil and use this from all around the walking isles to fill. Also at 7:00 talks about adding bagged soil, beach sand, Pete moss, and more compost to the beds." I like your enthusiasm. Keep on growin'!

[@linhfphung7867]

Aw. Was excited to find a good way

[@patriciacole8773]

Paul Dominic I watched the video so I skipped your complaints I mean your comment

[@shanteporter4676]

I'm from Cleveland... Lake effect snow is the worst!!!! I can sympathize with you on the lingering cold....

[@cheaphomesteading]

agree

[@lamato62]

Nice job. Are you using pine for your beds? Are they just nailed at the corners? How many years do they last?

[@artistben7]

I attached a Vegetable raised bed garden in a unique way to our Firepit. I do have video on this project on my channel. Its not easy work, your right Luke.I am hoping this Fall to attach another raised bed to our firepit area. There is never to much garden when your on a tiny 1/3 acre house lot. :)

[@SemiHomestead]

How deep are the beds? 6, 8 or 10" ? Beyond the sale, is 6" deep enough?

[@uncleraymond3833]

I have been stopping on the way home from a real estate construction site - I have been told I can take anything from the 5 or 6 bins outside a row of houses - I picked up 18 pieces of 2 feet long 1 1/2 inch by 5 1/2 inch tall pieces of pine ( made four 2 feet square boxes ) then with other pieces I made two 2 feet by 10 feet - one 2 feet by 12 feet and a couple more 2 feet by 8 feet - not bad for free wood - yes some had cracks in them or a sliver of bark - but a wood frame only last 4 to 6 years and I told my wife it will hold the cardboard base / compost / mulch and top soil till it gets started

[@GOOGLEGoogle-sn8pl]

Uncle Raymond -Great work Uncle Raymond.Construction sites often discard rusty reinforcing material for cement flatwork.Stand it up and it makes a great compost bin.The rust is a benefit not a problem(adds a little iron).I like the way your using wood that would have been discarded.Iron nails really do give plants iron as does any fasteners you see rusting.These are very good to toss in the planting hole with trees,shrubs and vines.They also help annuals,biennials and perennials.Take them if you can.Keep up the good work.

[@karleken2009]

Hey, thanks for the video. What's the red rocket looking thing to the right in the background? Thanks, Jess, Australia

[@twardpgh07]

karleken2009 lol

[@eranaburland4608]

can interlocking concrete blocks be used for raised beds?...its cheaper then timber in NZ,

[@patriciacole8773]

Erana Burland yes! It’s a great choice. Also add coconut coir to your “ soil”.

[@tarasherlock2712]

Learned my newbie raised garden bed mistake. Just purchased fill dirt thinking that was enough....it grew some plants, but I suspect it would have been better if I had better soil.

[@wenonasiggelkow9306]

I'm so glad I stumbled upon you and jess at roots and refuge. I'm learning so much and also thanks for the seeds. I ordered several packets from rhubarb to sunflower and I'm so excited. I'm in northern Wisconsin, so a can't start indoor seeds for another month. Looking forward to watching all of your videos

[@anniegaddis5240]

1. You mentioned "sand from the beach." Make sure you "wash" it first, so you're not adding a bunch of salt to your beds. 2. Put down black 6/mil plastic and cover with pea rock or strips of old carpeting you can get free from the city carpeting stores (they have to get rid of the stuff they removed from the houses. Real estate property managers can help with this too). If you add straw or wood chips like I did, it will eventually turn into dirt and grow weeds again.

[@robertchaffee5662]

I've always had that same feeling of incompleteness myself. Always like to get it done. Very nice work non the less!

[@gordbaker896]

Remove Snow-fence. Plow, disc and harrow the entire area. Leave 2x10's or whatever in the lumber store. Lay out planting areas with string and sticks. There is no need to Raise growing areas. What are you thinking? They will simply dry out faster. Replace snow fence to keep out small animals and put up a decent gate. Consider electric fence wires if deer are a problem.

[@evanwright4070]

I am vindicated!! My soil is stunning naturaly. Don't ask me why. Very new gardener here... But, I had been trying to figure out this exact problem with no monwy for other oprions, and I decided to do this exat thing. My soil, qithout any amendments, looks as dark and rich as yours 👍🙌😂 Last year (first garden) out potatoes and cucumbers went CRAZY!!!

[@SansaStarkofWinterfell]

Luke, you did a wonderful job. And, it looks like you ended up doing most all, if not all of the work yourself. Be proud of yourself! The garden looks great! I cannot wait to see what you do with the fire rings. I have some Datura wrightii (Jimsonweed) which the bees around here absolutely love. Not sure if you want to plant any of it somewhere outside of your garden in a sunny area and let it go wild. But it has a very lovely, intoxicating scent to it and the blooms are so beautiful. 😍

[@andrewm6666]

can't be that chilly if you are rockin' shorts!

[@JesseStutsman]

finally some garden vids from someone with a comparable climate to myself

[@mrmrlee]

Use the Square Foot Gardening mix; 1/3 compost, 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 vermiculite. Works best of any mix I've ever tried. Also, line the bottom of the boxes with cardboard before filling with soil. Blocks any weeds and will decompose over time.

[@josephppopp7493]

I wish that I was still young 😂 Inspirational video. Well done.😊

[@s.spyker371]

How much space do you have in between each bed?

[@DeepSouthHomestead]

Goos flat ground really helpsnice bed setup Luke.

[@mindypatriotangel6064]

Looks great Luke!

[@fluffysuds]

It's been so hot in the detroit area I don't want to do any gardening lol. We put some tomato seeds outside the other day and the silly raccoons dug them all up lol.

[@devvoncrowder5057]

Michigan represent, woop woop. Milford raised

Since you had already hauled in compost and moved it around once by hand, I think I would have found somebody with a caterpillar and had them plow it up into 4 ft wide beds. Then you would only have to move a little soil from between each bed in the row, not the entire garden. Silly to do it all by hand. I also think you should have left more space between the beds. Why? For using a wheelbarrow or even a wagon to haul in your own homemade compost in later years to replenish your beds. And I agree with those who said wood chips in the walkways... lay it down nice and thick... like 6 to 8 inches. Doing so helps conserve moisture right there in your garden and creates soil underneath the chips, that's how forests make soil. There is also a video here on youtube showing a no-till woodchip-only method of gardening that is perpetually creating new soil AND acts to soften the hard soil underneath it... so soft that what was previously hard pan and near impossible to dig into, became soft and workable soil. The secret to good soil and conserving moisture is to keep bare ground covered... cover crops, mulch, straw, wood chips, cardboard, whatever. No exposed soil, ever! Mulch those beds.

[@christinearmington]

If you want to find out, go to 6:30.

[@yellowbird5411]

A little late to this party, but I couldn't help noticing that the base of his raised beds sits below the surrounding turf by a significant amount, and it seems water will run off the higher undisturbed turf into the lower dug out area, bringing more water to the base of the raised beds. Ever noticed a drainage ditch and how weeds grow so much better in them than the surrounding area? More water runs off the ground around them, and the rain also brings in topsoil runoff, which is a good thing.

[@CreativityWithStamps]

would you mind sharing where I can purchase some large amounts of organic bagged soil (potting soil) for cheaper?

[@SirCracker]

I'm not sure what you did with the walkways however if you haven't done anything with them yet you could get a hold of an arborist and have them dump off free wood chips and fill the holes with wood chips

[@bang-ijam]

awesome... well done guy, very informative farming guidance. thanks

[@robhoug3724]

built two of these worked awesome