It's the Little Things that Make a Gardener's World

There are many little jobs that never get seen.
Little things that make the garden better.
Little plants that grow big and strong.
This video was shot over a four week period and we hope you can share in the pleasure and enjoyment of making it.
Thank you for watching,
Meraid and Dan

[@waynefink1641]

We look forward to your posts. Can’t wait to see what you do to the house. We watch a few homesteading KZbins on Portugal but your garden is our favourite. 🇦🇺

[@NearbyVeggies]

We’re really looking forward to starting the house too but gardening continues in the meantime. 😊

[@thisorthat7626]

As you were digging the hole for the first tomato, I said "What beautiful soil!". Then you said it too. Look how much improvement you can see in your soil in such a short time. That should make you happy. Meraid, your bright pink t-shirt looks lovely on you! And it adds a bright spot of color to the videos. Hoping for warmer nights and rain to get your plants growing. Cheers.

[@NearbyVeggies]

Thank you 😊 The old pink t-shirt was wool and was worn so thin it was see through. Definitely time for a replacement 🤗

[@paulettebarber7219]

There are many first time gardeners who don’t realize how much work goes into gardening every day. So watching these “little” tasks could be eye opening for them. It truly is a labor of love and makes for a great video!

[@NearbyVeggies]

Thank you for the wise words, Paulette. 😊

[@gardentours]

Yes, you're right it's the little things that make a garden special and beautiful 👍

[@NearbyVeggies]

We think so too. So many little jobs that go unnoticed, yet they all make up to something special, eventually. 😊

[@farmyourbackyard2023]

Thank you for including all the blooms. That was a cheerful sight on a rainy Saturday morning here in Oklahoma.

[@NearbyVeggies]

Thank you. It’s lovely for us as well to take a moment to appreciate all that’s growing. 😊

[@roselynwilliams2]

Let me emphasize, LOTS OF LITTLE THINGS! But such beautiful results. Nice work.

[@NearbyVeggies]

Thanks, Roselyn 😊 So many little under appreciated little jobs.

[@MartinaSchoppe]

YES! The little things make a garden. I hope that people also notice: You don't have tto do "everything" all at once. Start little, add a little more, when you are ready or the ressources becoma available and soon you realize you have an amazing garden! And by the way, You have and amazing garden. And it will just get better and better and better. I love to follow along. It keeps me inspiered for my own little forest garden!

[@NearbyVeggies]

Little by little, Martina. Little and often. 😊

[@crivensro]

Your gardens are becoming more and more a stunning paradise! Absolutely wonderful to see how they grow! Thank you so much for taking us along!

[@NearbyVeggies]

It’s a pleasure to share with you. Thank you 😊

[@kathleendenison8925]

Just beautiful. Love your flowers and all that you do. Ty for sharing

[@NearbyVeggies]

Thank you 😊

[@ianandresen2326]

Another great video! Thank you! I just spent the morning weeding my 1 raised bed! The one with the poly tunnel on it! Everything ( including the weeds!) Is over a foot high! I haven't been able to plant any of the other beds because we still have a threat of frost most nights! 2 more weeks and that to shall pass! Next year all the beds get poly tunnels on them! I planted that bed in April! My potatoes are over a foot high and my onion looks about ready to harvest! Great invention!

[@NearbyVeggies]

I’ve seen that method used in cold places and it’s so effective. Plenty to do before the winter comes 👍😊

[@iniabellepaz445]

Hi I learned so much from your videos! Especially to use cardboard boxes to control my weeds! Thank you for a great video. Stay well

[@NearbyVeggies]

It really helps with keeping the weeds down. 😊

[@brianquinn5060]

Great video, wishing you both the best crop you so well deserve. Thank you.

[@NearbyVeggies]

Thanks, Brian.

[@christines5430]

I love watching all the little things that you are doing to make that fantastic garden more productive as well as attractive❤

[@NearbyVeggies]

Thanks, Christine. We believe a vegetable garden can be pretty as well as plentiful. 👍

[@bealbocht63]

Beautiful! Now I’m away out to my own yard to pretend it’s just as beautiful 😂

[@NearbyVeggies]

If you made it, it’s beautiful. 😊

[@larhumba4233]

Loving the Artichokes! 😊❤

[@NearbyVeggies]

They’re a great success. Sown as seed last spring and producing their first harvest already. They’re on tonight’s menu. 😊

[@asc3184]

Your property from what we are given to see from ur video looks better each week. It is definitely the result of a lot of effort work on ur part. Btw i heard u say u have no where warm enough to grow ur seedlings. Have u considered a small polytunnel style structure for that purpose? I think from what i have seen that you will make full of such a structure! You are very active with ur gardening and your food culture! I think once u have done ur home up , with that small slice of paradise you r both creating it will become a dream place! I wish u continued success!

[@NearbyVeggies]

There is a plan to build something for growing seeds and tender plants in place. As you say, we’re waiting until we move in to get that project underway. 👍

[@Bergantin23]

Greetings from Canet de Mar, Barcelona. Everything is looking. So great. . I am an old veggie ga rdner but not any more, too old. Well done. My keyboard has gone nuts.

[@NearbyVeggies]

I can still read your lovely comment even if your keeping has gone a bit nuts 👍😊

[@SimpleLivingOkinawa]

I loved this! I think it is really important to show how much work goes into such a lovely garden. Big things like cutting down trees or harvesting olives only happen once or a few times a year, but the 'little things' that go on every day are what actually gives us most of the veggies, fruit and flowers 🐞My 'little things' this week included taking cuttings to create new mulberry trees and hibiscus. Our rainy season will start very soon.

[@NearbyVeggies]

Thank you. It’s quite satisfying getting big jobs done but as you also believe, it’s the little jobs that really make the garden come to life. Do you know which variety of mulberry you took cuttings from? We planted a mulberry (black berries) a couple of weeks ago. Coming up soon ☺️ Our rainy days will not appear now until September. It’s been the driest April in 90 years.

[@SimpleLivingOkinawa]

@@NearbyVeggies My mulberry is the 'got a sapling from a neighbor' variety 😍 I think it is a basic Asian (Japanese) wine-red berry one. Probably originally for leaves for silkworms rather than as a fruit tree. I love mulberries so want to propagate more trees. I'm in the sub-tropics, and mid-May to about June 20th is the rainy season on our island. (Miyako Island, Okinawa). If I could have a magic wish, I'd make a copy of your garden and make it appear behind my house, in an abandoned sugarcane field. Most of what you have will easily grow here - just things that don't like to be wet would have to be in pots. Olives would be the hardest, I think. Also apples and stone fruit would be impossible because they need a true winter. I envy your garden soooo much.

[@NearbyVeggies]

I got a bit from the neighbour variety is probably the best plant to have. They always have a wee story attached and a memory to make us smile. We wanted a true winter so we could grow a wider variety of fruit and nuts. 😊

[@hatcherhollerhoodlum4418]

I'm keeping an eye on you two From the mountains of WVa. Keep on plugging at it. You ll soon see the fruits of your labor. Your hearts will be warm an fuzzy with pride each evening👍🏻🍻🍷🤩

[@NearbyVeggies]

Our hearts are warm and fuzzy every day 😊

[@stevejohnstonbaugh9171]

Solarizing the soil before opening up new gardens is a good way to reduce the seed bank and kill the growing weeds without herbicides. The longer you can leave an area tarped the better. Put the black side of the tarp up because it will capture more solar energy thus raising the temperature in your 'sterilization' zone. As you going about with your bark - always remember to mulch the young trees. 3" away from the trunk, 3" deep and 3' around the trunk. Will make your grass mowing easier and cool the roots, manage moisture, suppress weeds and encourage earthworms and mycelium growth. 😊

[@NearbyVeggies]

We do mostly do this and we’ve never used chemicals in the garden

[@stevejohnstonbaugh9171]

@@NearbyVeggies Thank you for letting me share your beautiful gardens.

[@NearbyVeggies]

Pleasure 😊

[@maggiemorgan8422]

Lovely as always. Music made us think of a western stand off again!

[@NearbyVeggies]

Thanks so much, Maggie 🥰

[@debgrouette6885]

Wow, your garden is a delight!!

[@NearbyVeggies]

Thank you 😊

[@miromedica7878]

Vines and dry stack stone walls don't mix, just my two cents. OMG those are lovely artichokes. Another exotic crop you can grow in the Portuguese heat is lemongrass, it a makes for a wonderful herbal tea, repels mosquitoes and can be used in cooking.

[@NearbyVeggies]

We grew lemon grass last year and the artichokes are delicious 😋

[@miromedica7878]

@@NearbyVeggies How did the lemon grass turn out? Why didn't you grow it this year?

[@NearbyVeggies]

It was great. We dried it and have enough to keep us for this year. We’ll grow it again next year. 👍

[@NearbyVeggies]

We also grew it in our greenhouse when we lived in England.

[@elisekuby2009]

Here's a trick that you may wish to experiments with: put one tablespoon of Epsom salts (Magnesium Sulphate) into the hole for each tomato and then bury your plant up to the first set of leaves. Tomatoes adore Epsom salts, but don't use the scented kind - just the plain.

[@NearbyVeggies]

Interesting idea. The tomatoes do exceptionally well here as they are. Will do a bit of research 🧐

[@elisekuby2009]

@@NearbyVeggies Huh! I wonder if the soil of Portugal is rich in Magnesium, which would explain why they do so well? I learn something new every day.

[@ArthurDentZaphodBeeb]

​@@NearbyVeggies yes, please do some research - you'll find epsom salts do nothing useful and actually promotes blossom end rot. Why people still use epsom salts is boggling...

[@adrianaarancibia1320]

muchos saludos a mis super heroes .por esa enorme energia .me gustaria tenerla pero me pesan los 73 años ..

[@NearbyVeggies]

Obrigados, Adriana. 😊

[@waynejones750]

Love watching you two.

[@NearbyVeggies]

Thank you 😊

[@BillyBob-uc9zp]

Well done you two! ❤️

[@NearbyVeggies]

Thanks, Billy Bob. 😊

[@philb8654]

The hard work is paying off. It looks lovely ! Well done 👍

[@NearbyVeggies]

Thanks so much 😊

[@janicedias_sowgrowanddiy]

I love your place. The birds chirping in the background ❤😊

[@NearbyVeggies]

Beautiful. Thank you 😊

[@Peachy08]

Everything looks beautiful!!🍃🌻🌼🌷🌹🐞🐝

[@NearbyVeggies]

Thank you 😊

[@kathytucker2491]

Looking fab 🌺

[@NearbyVeggies]

Thank you 😊

[@Nulife23]

How wonderful to grow in Portugal... i love watching what you guys do there...thanks so much for sharing!

[@NearbyVeggies]

Thank you, Jeanne 😊

[@ruthconstantino6861]

Very much enjoyed this vlog. Everything looks beautiful. 💖

[@NearbyVeggies]

Thank you, Ruth. 😊

[@anupamsingh1041]

They are serving mother universe ❤hey you lovely couple❤both of you really doing great work ❤I loved watching your hard work..and enjoying the whole process at the same time ❤keep serving mother universe ❤stay blessed always ❤

[@NearbyVeggies]

Thank you so much 😊

[@kathleenpitt1981]

Wondering where the warehouse is, that holds your secret stash of cardboard?😊

[@NearbyVeggies]

We have a great source now. Our secret 🤫 warehouse 😂

[@Gabriela_73]

❤❤❤❤

[@NearbyVeggies]

Thanks 👍

[@yingfenchen1]

Garden is looking very nice.

[@NearbyVeggies]

It’s getting nicer every day 😊

[@Coyotehello]

Another great video thanks! I love your gardens, thy are turning out beautiful and bountiful. I love the stone walls and the fences like the one at 10:55. The everyday chores video really makes it homey and personal! Now for my weekly question ;-) I noticed that you often spread some large bags of black earth on the patches you are planting. Is the soil on the farm not fertile enough?? Cheers.

[@NearbyVeggies]

We’ve run out of our own compost so have to buy some in. We use it as mulch and it eventually gets worked into the soil by the worms and moles and other critters. 😊

[@Coyotehello]

@@NearbyVeggies Oh, I see yes. You guys think of everything... I guess since the farm has not been worked for some times all these things have to be put back in action/cycles... Great, thx!

[@NearbyVeggies]

You’re welcome ☺️

[@debbiesmith1626]

Looks stunning 🎉

[@NearbyVeggies]

Thanks, Debbie. 😊

[@offgridwanabe]

I'll be waiting until May 24 here in Canada but the hoop house is up for a cheater.

[@NearbyVeggies]

It’s not cheating, it’s giving yourself an extended season. Go you. 👍

[@bluelilly22222]

👍👌❤

[@NearbyVeggies]

Thank you 😊

[@franzinauen8443]

Do you know the Ice-Saints? 4 monks which became Saints. When they are over (after the 15th may) we can plant here in switzerland.

[@NearbyVeggies]

I don’t know them, but lots of countries have dates related to saints that are when you’re supposed to plant. For example, in Ireland, potatoes go in the ground from St Patrick’s day - 17th March. 😊

[@louiseswart1315]

I have once grown the grey plant with the burgundy flowers, but I can't remember the name. I also have an area where I need to make new beds. There are some pineapples that need some tlc and friends to help shade their roots.

[@NearbyVeggies]

Globe artichokes 👍

[@stevejohnstonbaugh9171]

Oh dear, you need a walk behind mower that will mulch or bag (bagging for compost making materials), or a brush hog on a tractor, Too much area to string trim. That's why it's call a sting TRIMMER. Clever marketing ploy to call it striming because it makes it seem it will do everything. But it is very hard on your lower back, neck and shoulders. Be very careful. That kind of repetitive motion injury takes months to heal.

[@NearbyVeggies]

👍

[@christasmicroflowerfarm2695]

💚

[@NearbyVeggies]

😊

[@mandyshort9278]

Th a inspiration you work so hard but wish we could see more of you 😢 how's the house coming along

[@NearbyVeggies]

Thanks, Mandy. Still waiting...

[@almareynoso6579]

Have you ever tray to plant papaya Maradol? It’s so delicious.

[@NearbyVeggies]

Sadly, Our winters are too wet and cold for papaya

[@silvielarischova6137]

přeji hodně sil

[@NearbyVeggies]

Thank you 😊

[@brianhenderson4223]

Those are Charles Dowding cell trays!!!

[@NearbyVeggies]

These are local Portuguese made module trays, great value. 👍

[@hasmika9412]

👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👍🙏❤

[@NearbyVeggies]

Thanks 😊

[@portugal1969]

👍

[@NearbyVeggies]

Thank you 👍

[@jasonslade1253]

Is there any progress on the house reno? It’s been weeks since you’ve shown the house.

[@NearbyVeggies]

Oh Jason, it’s Portugal. Two weeks never means two weeks. I should know that by now. We need to stay patient. 😂

[@jasonslade1253]

Hang in there and good luck.

[@NearbyVeggies]

Thanks 😊

[@user-gj5sm9fc8o]

Did you know straw has weed seed

[@NearbyVeggies]

We’re quite lucky as we don’t have that challenge. Our straw is mainly wheat.

[@elsafischer3247]

How is the house going?

[@NearbyVeggies]

It’s still there, waiting for the licence to restore. 👍