This is how I prepare all my garden beds!

[@sathancat]

I'm surprised you don't have a bigger following! I've been learning so much from you, thanks for sharing your knowledge

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

I appreciate that! My channel is about a year old. I was talking with Huw Richards the other day, we're working on a book together. He has about 780 thousand followers and when I asked him about it, he said the first year takes the longest, and that my channel is growing faster than his did his first year!

[@kenfarley957]

This old guy already put in 8 hrs of hard work outside. I took a shower and had some dinner. Now I see this video and I have to go back outside and do more work. Thanks a lot. LOL

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

you're WELCOME!!

[@self-sufficiency7]

Haha! Same here my friend

[@GradinaBIOLegumix]

It’ s a pleasure to watch your videos! And such a clear language, I can understand every word. Thank you!💚

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Thank you! 😃

[@busygirl2681]

It was nice to see your wife and her input in the garden. The pictures were a bonus along with her saying what else the veggies were used for. Have a great day!!

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

So nice of you

[@denislosieroutdoors]

Great video there eh! Was nice to see your wife also getting involved in front of the camera... Thanks for sharing

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Good to hear from you again Denis. How's your site going?

[@denislosieroutdoors]

@LiveOnWhatYouGrow It's been slow going... just got back from a long-awaited vacation... in the process of weeding the vegetable garden getting ready for planting season here...

[@michaelcooney7687]

My knees are screaming just looking at you kneeling on those stones..😆😩😍😎

[@plchilson6283]

I have major issies with feral cats doing their business in my garden, so I like the idea of the orange protection!

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

I've got rabbits, I'll be doing a video on how to make the PVC pipe frame in the spring!

[@Growinginontario]

Have you ever tried growing gai Lan (Chinese broccoli) . It’s one of the more nutritious brassicas with the highest calcium levels and would work wonderfully in a smoothie. I try to feed soils continuously by keeping things planted and allow the plants to produce exudates , feeding the soil biology. One of the things I’ve noticed is that peas and soybeans work wonders in creating fertility. Not all nitrogen fixers are equal.

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Hello again Ian, I haven't tried Gai Lan yet, but I will because of your recommendation! BTW, I went over to your Instagram page and I just want to tell you I'm impressed with everything you're doing. It seems we're been on parallel paths with our gardening techniques right down to the crops we plant, and the way we understand plant exudates and microbiological life. So I appreciate the hard work and learning you've been doing all these years and the willingness to share with us! I've become aware of using cover crops whenever a bed doesn't have anything actively growing in it. I think I'm going to try buying some dried beans and peas at the supermarket and try planting those to save some money! Let me know if you've tried that and what kind of results you've got! Thanks for all you do!

[@Growinginontario]

Hi John , gai Lan is a brassica so it is susceptible to cabbage moth and aphids seem to really like them too. I’ve found growing them early when both of those pests are not active yet worked best as it is very cold tolerant. I directly seeded mid April during a warm spell. I save lots of extra seed from beans,peas and Edemame that I grow. IMO growing a cover crop of something I like to grow and possibly getting a harvest is a bonus. This year I planted beans after harvesting garlic and had a bumper crop because of the warmer weather. I like to use French breakfast radishes as a cover crop for a quick turnover crop as they take only 25-35 days from planting to harvest. After harvesting potatoes I like to plant a cover crop of carrots as they take a while to mature but can withstand frost and taste better after a frost also .I’ve found that growing the edamame was phenomenal for enriching soils , but it does take a long time to grow from seed to harvest.

[@markbrooks5278]

Man !! Im with you brother, ive tested it many years ago !and my cabbage and broccoli really love biochar, here is the other thing i am thinking it does, and that is biochar repels some pests..thankyou for the videos

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Thanks Mark, I've never heard anyone say that before, but you're right! But I don't think biochar actually repels pests per se. It's common knowledge that pests are only attracted to unhealthy plants and leave healthy ones alone. My understanding is that healthy plants don’t get attacked because they're not food for insects - an insect cannot digest them. A diseased plant has excess soluble nitrogen and excess sugars and insects are attracted to those - especially nitrogen. Nature is always right. The insect's job is to destroy diseased plants so the plants can't go to seed and produce genetically inferior seeds.

[@elvirakirylava5988]

Soo smart!!! Thank you!!!

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Glad it was helpful!

[@garthwunsch]

Great video! I need to up my biochar production game! I have lots of compost, but it never seems to be enough lol. I started using your tin can retorts in my woodstove, but just at the end of the season, so I don’t have a whole lot of char to charge. But I will fix that! Nice to meet your wife. Fermenting the radish seems like a great idea. Do you have much of a problem with slugs?

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Now that you mention it Garth, I haven't see a slug or a cutworm for years and I used to have a lot of both! I can't attribute it to anything I'm doing though. I hope you don't have the announcer's curse! If the slugs or cutworms re-emerge, at least I'll have someone to blame!

[@NolimitErik1466]

Love your videos they are very informative. How do you prepare your leaf mold and how long does it take to compost? Thanks in advance.

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

Hi Larry. Here is a video I made that shows you how I prepare it. If I don't have grass that's OK too, but always add biochar if you have it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/g6OXeH56ppaSaq8 You can actually use it at any stage if you put it on top like I showed in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gGTagaVqndyGaNE Sometimes I shred it If I'm going to put it on the carrot bed. But I get a batch every six months per heap per year and apply all of it to the garden beds, minus some shredded buckets full I bring into the house to mix into the raw charcoal I'm activating the biochar with over the winter. When I add it to the garden beds, it doesn't have to be completely decomposed as it will finish decomposing right in the beds through fungal action. The important thing is NOT to mix it with the soil but to put it on top as a mulch. to prevent the tie-up of nitrogen in the rooting zone of the plants.

[@das250250]

Re feeding the soil , I like to have roots in ground at all times . No roots means low biology

[@LiveOnWhatYouGrow]

You're correct in that!