This Stuff Is WAY More Important Than I Thought!

[@1millionpumpkins542]

Garden Fundamentals put together a nice presentation that summarized John Kempf's work on his Advancing Eco Agriculture channel. He's got longform podcasts with researchers and practitioners backing up the claims made here. Root exudates are the number one milkshake calling all the soil life to the yard. That's why cover crops are so important, and do NOT use up soil nutrition. Plants are the organisms that transform solar rays into carbohydrates which they inject into the earth to call specific microorganisms to their roots. The roots take in bacteria in a process called rhizophagy and use super oxide to strip them of their cell walls which are the real plant food. The plant broods the bacteria and programs them to go out into the soil and collect the plant's nutritional needs on their new cell walls. John Kempf likens it to plants "ranching" the bacteria. In addition, plant bodies harbor symbiotic microbes called endophytes. These are able to use plant-produced compounds, and manufacture plant-required compounds many of which assist the plant in becoming pathogen-resistant. Once you start this process of discovery, gardening will never be the same! Matt Powers has amazing images in his new book/videos on Regenerative Soil Microscopy. Cheers and blessings

[@Maria-ql3fc]

I'm no botanist, no PHD in soil biology but I've been to the woods a few times. The forest floor is always covered with years of leaves and other stuff and will have shrubs, briars and many other plants growing through all that. If you pull back a couple layers of those composted and partial composted materials you'll see strands of mycelium and the soil underneath smells so good, and is healthy and dark with no help from humans. God designed it that way and it's perfect for the forest, but you'd be hard pressed to duplicate that in your garden.

[@prmayner]

Amen sister, Nothing beats what GOD has made, especially from a human stand point.

[@DV-ol7vt]

Yes, The Almighty’s design is perfection. The difference is a garden is not a forest floor, It’s a plot of dirt in the open, kept free of any undesirable flora and filled with plants that are created by human intervention and will only survive by human intervention.

[@marvinbrock960]

He’s a smart dude.. Been watching a lot of his stuff. I stopped pulling plants up this year.. stopped tilling too… tons of hay and grass clippings keeping the soil covered..

[@legalyzeit]

watching your channel and some of Charles Dowding, Charles doesn't even dig, he wont pull plants he cuts off the plants and leaves the roots, vegetables and weeds the same. really seems to help the soil, thanks for the video Trav! we Love the content

[@billypabst3272]

I've watched Garden Fundamentals for about a year or two, it's one of my favorite gardening sites. He also has a great video on gardening myths. He also does a lot of research, doesn't just regurgitate stuff from other sites.

[@shaunlloyd5724]

I’ve been using a deer food plot mix that I got from tractor supply. It’s call Comeback Kid and right now it’s $30 for 3.75lbs and I’ve seen it cheaper, it is in season right now. It has 4 varieties of clover and 1 variety of alfalfa. 👉 I’ve also been using whole oats horse feed from tractor supply. A 50lbs bag is $18.59 and it is my go to cover crop. Easily germinates, grows fast, and can be mowed a couple of times if needed. When it starts to die off before I want it to, I’ll just get another bag.

[@hardstylzz5024]

Bought alot of Show Stopper from TC on clearance earlier in the year like $2 for 3lbs chickens love this stuff, also Plot spike forage got a 40lb bag chickens eat it dry. I'm gonna mix both and fence it in and wait for it to grow then let the chickens have at it.

[@robclower9606]

Yes! This is how plants get nutrients from soil (sand, silt and clay) without fertilizer. The plants can taylor the exudates to stimulate particular types of microbes that will bring them the nutrients they require. This is a very basic view of the soil food web. Thanks for the video Travis!

[@WhatWeDoChannel]

Thanks for this! I actually thought of you when I watched the Garden Fundamentals video on exudates because you always champion cover crops. He has challenged my thinking about a lot of stuff in the garden. I know he has a background in chemistry and I believe he is associated with the University of Guelph, he has written a lot of books on gardening. His garden myth busting videos are epic! When he was talking about weeds, I think he just meant compared to bare soil. I’m afraid I have to tell you that your Dogs bucket is starting to look like a pink poodle😂😇. Klaus

[@miltonwelch8619]

Really good practice-what-you-preach video. I saw the video you're referring to a few weeks ago. It was the third or fourth I saw from that guy, and there seems no bottom to his knowledge! Thanks Bro.

[@lisabooker6405]

I just stopped by to see how the cutest little tader time chiddlers on all of KZbin are doing? LOL Thank you for sharing. Blessings to all.

[@LazyDogFarm]

Doing great!

[@Saltwatercowboy79]

Super cool seeing senor Trav spread no till microbial cheer... love it. Taking a machete or loppers to our old crops costs minimal time and we can stack compost bins PROPERLY with exact % layering with the chopped crop residue. Win/win. Stay frosty stay blessed everyone🤙🇺🇸

[@brianczuhai8909]

Yeah, I saw his episode. Thought it was crazy when he showed the weeds in the corn and asserted it was good. Then I thought, gee, do I really need to weed around my okra? I am just cutting my crops off at the ground level now though. Why pull up that beautiful microbial habitat? He also does hydroponic videos. No soil. Just feeds the plants chemically. Charles Dowing just adds compost. No fertilizer. And that is his mulch. I did do some intercrop planting this year as well. Planted peppers and cucumbers between my tomato cages. And I see a lot of my community garden neighbors use the stirrup hoe to cut the tops of the weeds. Maybe that’s the way to go. The roots regrow the weeds, but they just repeat every 2 weeks. I use paper mulch and 2” of triple shredded wood chips.

[@LazyDogFarm]

I think some crops do fine with grass/weed competition -- okra being one of them.

[@brianczuhai8909]

@@LazyDogFarm Gee,... that is huge! I learn the biggest from you, 'ol great one. BUT,... I have some local streamers I relate to as well.

[@brianczuhai8909]

@@LazyDogFarm Anyway. That's what struck me about "Am I also doing it wrong?" My community gardeners neighbors that do stirrup hoe might be the thing to do. Keep that root structure growing in the ground. Cut off the growth?

[@rickthelian2215]

Garden Fundamentals is a good show, he is very scientifically look at gardenning😊

[@gardeningsimplified]

I think it's about time for a new Dog's bucket.

[@Mark_Nadams]

What Robert was trying to say is every plant or crop likes a different microbe mix. It won't help a crop that likes say "orange creamsicle" flavor microbes if you plant a cover crop that builds "banana cherry" flavor microbes. A good mix of cover crop plants like you show is the best bet that you will be able to better supply the flavor of microbes to your crops they like.

[@FrogRogers]

I started using sweet feed ( horse and mule feed ) in my little garden. It has molasses and ground up grains plus wheat and oats. The wheat and oats will grow, but you can spray them with a little vinegar later on to burn them back. Seems to really help but we'll see later next spring and summer

[@HadassahHaman]

Another really GREAT video Trav!😊 I appreciate the content and garden and grow this way, cutting plants at soil line base leaving the roots. I'm still studying and trying to master cover crops. Ill get there soon!!!! Thank you again, and blessings to you and your family. Happy Fall growing! ❤

[@rosebrown5256]

I picked up cover crop seeds from the local library not knowing the purpose of them but after researching i decided to plant in my large bed. My garden looks like a forest ground now.

[@DaveK385]

I've seen quite a few people who pull the weeds, roots and all, and put them in buckets of water and let them ferment, rot, whatever. Then they take the liquid and use it as fertilizer. Not sure if that increases microbes or not but it should.

[@joeyl.rowland4153]

Cover crops not only increase microbes in the soil, cover crops also add carbon to your soil. The more carbon you have in your soil, the better your soil will be as the carbon will attach to other elements such as nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, calcium, magnesium and sulfur, all the macro nutrients that all plants are dependant upon. Exudates from sorghum Sudan grass is known to help to give corn crops a lot more vigor if you kill the sorgum sudamgrass and turn it into the soil and plant your corn within 35 days. Downside you have to increase nitrogen as the sudangrass debris will tie up nitrogen for about 30 days after your corn is in the ground.

[@ScottHoback-p1g]

In Texas they throw beer cans out there to “foster microbial activity”😮😂😅Go Dawgs!

[@virginiadaneke2362]

So that explains the water bottles I saw them throw Saturday night? Go Dawgs!

[@adamschaafsma5839]

Weeds do a job, we don’t have a comprehensive knowledge of what they do. But there is some interesting research regarding weeds and the mineral and microbial elements they accumulate in the soil. I hope this research continues.

[@mikebrinker6342]

I always tell my wife, there are no weeds, they are wild flowers that have not bloomed yet.😅

[@jvin248]

Australian researcher Christine Jones on multiple youtube channel coverage of her presentations revealed that a mix of four to eight different unrelated specie cover crops maximizes the interactions and soil performance. And some weeds can fill out the species matrix.

[@deb1973d]

You may appreciate Dr. Elaine Ingham's work, podcasts, and classes.

[@patricknunnally5742]

Great video, you always have practical and useful content!!

[@weseaster4054]

I have been following an outfit out of SD, they are agronomists and work Nationwide. They have suggested to me that adding dry Molasses to the soil to increase the brix level of the soil, through microbial activity. I believe they recommend a level of 12 - 14 to discourage detrimental insect and fungal damage. I froze out a month ago and have just not gotten it cleared up enough to cover crop yet. Love the info you present and the comments that the content generates. Keep it up.

[@marvinbrock960]

You’re well on your way to No-Till gardening!

[@ahabthecrab]

Travis, what are your thoughts about leaving roots in the ground that have nematode knots in them? I heard that the knots are where the female nematode lays her eggs.

[@LazyDogFarm]

I think it's a good idea to pull up an okra or tomato plant every now and then to check for nematodes. But if you have nematode problems, you might already know because the plants were struggling.

[@ahabthecrab]

@@LazyDogFarm I have lots and lots of nematode issues. Have for years. Nothing truly gets rid of them. My okra was struggling around September and I did notice some root knots. I top dressed with a ton of black cow and the plants powered through it.

[@dnawormcastings]

Lots of great information 🇳🇿🌱

[@andrewbermel1099]

I've been wanting you to get on the root exudate (I won't say no till) train for a couple of years now. Because I know you are going to knock it out of the park. And the method you develop is going to have a serious impact on the community. I want to see how you develop your method for leaving your roots in place, and working around them. I would be interested in a mini series on this plot in specific, and how you manage it. Chickens? Wheel hoe?

[@LazyDogFarm]

After the chickens make a couple rounds on the plot, it's usually killed off enough to wheel hoe a few times and have it ready to plant. If I don't need that particular plot for a few months, I'll usually just tarp which also will terminate it.

[@ChristiLynnOutside]

Thank you for all the great information!

[@LeahNess-t7o]

Lots of great information!! Thanks😊

[@shirleyk623]

I just started using nemagone mustard seeds as a cover crop in my grow bag to hopefully get rid of nematodes. I hope it work because nematodes always kill my cucumber plants.

[@paulandbarbie1969]

Great video. We primarily raised bed garden but have a 25 x 30 in ground too. The in-ground plot is relatively new, only used for two spring seasons. We have very sandy soil (northwest Florida) and was planning on topping off with a load of compost and then silage tarping for the winter, due to not using until spring. Would you recommend doing something different? Panama City zone 9a

[@LazyDogFarm]

I think that's a good idea. Add the compost on top and don't mix it into the soil -- otherwise it will burn up quickly. Been there.

[@paulandbarbie1969]

@@LazyDogFarm thank you for the advice. Keep those great videos coming!

[@jeffsullivan3362]

Sounds like a perfect place for microgreens since you cut the tops and leave the roots....lots of roots.

[@compticny3138]

What is your opinion on using compost extract and/or teas added to soil? If you add compost tea to your soil you will get a burst of activity but like adding a million people to an area will the food sources for the microbes be eliminated as they deplete the organic material from the soil? If the organic material is depleted does more need to be added to keep the microbes from being reduced? This would create a cycle in order to maintain the fertility?

[@LazyDogFarm]

I think it will boost microbial activity for a period of time. But once they consume it, the microbes will go back to their state before the addition. Much like the guy from Garden Fundamentals stated.

[@bigtitan27]

That Dawgs bucket is getting faded. Its gonna be Orange before long.

[@bpfsu]

Now you’re just being mean.

[@johndavis2011]

It's hard to beat a good manure bucket 😂

[@bigtitan27]

@@johndavis2011 😀😀😀

[@priayief]

Garden Fundamentals! My favorite myth-buster ... has saved me a lot of wasted time, effort and $.

[@WhatWeDoChannel]

Me too!

[@rexhavoc2982]

Cover crops eat the same food your trying to build, Get a test plot with Bio Char and Compost, fresh cow manure and plenty of store bought P&K.

[@joshsparks6915]

How about okra? I know that could be an issue

[@gardeninggalagain]

@joshsparks6915 Can you explain? What about okra? Thanks!

[@joshsparks6915]

@@gardeninggalagain okra big on root knot nematodes right? I would think by leaving okra roots in the ground could cause problems

[@LazyDogFarm]

If you have root knot nematode issues, yes you'd probably want to remove the entire plant. But we usually just cut our okra plants at soil level.

[@gardeninggalagain]

@@joshsparks6915 K, thanks. I'll have to pull one and see. I have just chopped, and pulled out the stubs (no roots) a garden season or two later when planting something else. Thank you!

[@davidkoba]

the secret to healthy soil is not mixing compost in it. compost belongs on the top.

[@ozarksbuckslayer2484]

Lmao!

[@davidkoba]

@@ozarksbuckslayer2484 you can laugh all you want that is how nature is. I see you don’t even know that soil is composed of sand, clay and silt. Organic matter disappears over time.

[@ozarksbuckslayer2484]

@@davidkoba Organic matter doesn't magically disappear, genius. Compost becomes dirt once it's completely finished composting, and the dirt in my garden is over 50% compost for well over a foot deep. From dust thou art, and dust thou shalt return, idiot.

[@ozarksbuckslayer2484]

If your compost is magically disappearing, it's not voodoo black magic, it's called rain. Farmers who are smart enough to know how to farm have been plowing organic material into the dirt for millennia so their organic material doesn't magically disappear. Lmao!

[@davidkoba]

@@ozarksbuckslayer2484 are you serious? Organic matter is broken down into basic elements that a reabsorbed by plants. They took a section of soil in a rainforest and it was 99.8% mineral. They even said that the .2% was probably insects. You are a fucken idiot.

[@murdok1100]

I been following a company called sustainable green team they claim to have invented a soil that doesn’t require water or fertilizer. Ive looked at there science and it looks like nothing more than compost. Their product is called humisoil its not available yet i got my doubts

[@Outlander929]

I thought everyone concerned with soil health knew this already!

[@Chris-op7yt]

unless you have repeated trials that show increased crop yield compared to cost of doing it, all you have is anecdote and stories based on theory.

[@666bruv]

That one vid by pavlis is the only one worth watching, everything else is just content creator crap. His vid on sap brix is a good example.

[@rayathome151-i1n]

Cool guy. Uses scientific sources and not bro knowledge.