How to Build & Plant In-Ground Garden Beds

[@NaturesAlwaysRight]

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[@childeroland6858]

About 3 weeks ago, a buddy sent me a link to your year 3 update video from San Diego. I wondered why he was sending me a link to a SoCal hipster farmer wannabe, but I took a look anyway. I was so impressed, I went back to your first video and began watching all of them, one by one in order. I'm caught up now, I just watched this one, and I have to say, you have completely changed my outlook on planting, harvesting, and even monetizing all of this. Thank you for all the work you've done. I believe 'to each according to his ability', so I'm going to save your website and support your work any way I can. It sounds cheesey, but there are several watershed moments I have had throughout my life that have completely changed my paradigm, and I feel that the skills that I am learning from you will be counted among them. Thanks bro, keep up the great work.

[@NaturesAlwaysRight]

This is why I take the risk of ridicule by showing everything I do publicly, in hopes it has an impact on people. Thank you this means a lot.

[@ChefIsaac925]

@@NaturesAlwaysRight your changing the game son!!!

[@BNJBarber]

Good commentary, but very unnecessary disparaging of a SoCal gardener.

[@childeroland6858]

@@BNJBarber I would never disparage gardeners, please don't misunderstand my comment. I happily and relentlessly disparage SoCal hipster wannabe farmers, but those are totally different types of people, and I feel that it is quite necessary to disparage them as much as possible 😉.

[@trillium7582]

Steven, sorry to leave another comment, but: please do more content about a market gardener's perspective on growing for a home food system! This is great.

[@NaturesAlwaysRight]

Thanks for the feedback I sure will! I'm working on one right now about what typical things I look for and maintain when I work in the garden.

[@wilmaluna3499]

T

[@Mary-had-a-lil-farm]

This is a ton of good info in this video Steven. A lot of effort went into this and it’s pretty inclusive. Thanks you!! I always appreciate your effort. I loved that you did a whole new garden area. I bought a little property 3 seasons ago and it was/is incredibly challenging for me to decide where to put what. Garden, fruit trees and fruit bushes. Also deciding how to prepare the beds. I was so worried I would do it wrong and, I don’t know, the world would blow up 😉. There are so many different ways. I am figuring out there are several ways that work, not just one magical way. Always always always appreciate your point of view. Thank you.

[@Jeff_PNW]

Provider beans are by far my favorite. They're prolific producers, and they taste great.

[@jarredkushnerd13]

Happy Sunday everyone

[@HAcountryliving]

Before deciding to learn ground bed gardening, I watched your video. Thank you for your thorough explanation. Because I am environmentally conscious, I will use burlap instead of black net to prevent weeds and organic fertilizer to mix the soil. I hope your channel always has a lot of useful videos.

[@VK-qo1gm]

I'm in Australia, have been watching your vids, what seems like forever. I have learnt so much, your research, hard work, trials & errors have made it so much easier for us. We even built a chicken coop & run after watching your previous videos on this topic. We have a great garden & echo system using many of your methods. Thank you! 👍🌺🇦🇺

[@trillium7582]

I really like this way of starting a garden. I hear people on wanting to be low- or no-plastic, but starting a garden over a lawn if you don't want to do repeated tilling can be a real struggle, at least in my experience. Rhizomatic grasses are no joke! This method seems like a happy medium to me. Thanks for sharing!

[@ajb.822]

Yes. I have had great success with using plastic to kill off the sod, even though we have just moved and I only had a couple weeks until I just had to pull it up and get ready to plant, at which time I then used all the cardboard and paper I had acquired and covered that with old hay from a friend's old barn, and grass clippings when I ran out off that. Using just a small amount of compost for some direct-seeded hills and rows, or to help transplant into, things did really well except carrots and beets. They kept drying out too much, too fast until I mulched them more on the surface, between the plants. The ground turned out to be really compacted and the potato area too shady as well - they looked good but very slow to come up & produced little - bur everything else did surprisingly well even tho it REALLY should've been broadforked and I had very little grass and weeds coming up through.

[@NaturesAlwaysRight]

Ya once you've spent hours pulling up bermuda you swear to yourself, never again!

[@farmyourbackyard2023]

The first thing you do is clip the lawn as low as possible! You did that but didn't mention it much. Everything looks great and I think you did an amazing job on this project.

[@R.L.U.]

That was pretty cool how you started with the audio and transitioned it from you doing the seeder to talking smoothly.

[@darrellluck7230]

Amazing first-year garden!

[@NaturesAlwaysRight]

Thanks Darrell!

[@CBDubz]

In the future could you put a time stamp in your video stating when you planted? I live in western Kentucky and am extremely excited you moved out this way. I had really been struggling finding someone who has to deal with our climate. I’d already been an avid viewer and couldn’t be more excited when you decided to move to the heartland. I’d be extremely grateful to know when you started your in ground garden.

[@NaturesAlwaysRight]

You're right Jeremy that is exactly what I should be doing, I always forget to make a point of the date. This was all planted in the middle of July.

[@timothy4weigel]

Awesome set up!!!

[@Gray8YT]

Woohoo Steven!! 💕Thanks for all the teaching and inspiration Kimberly from LG

[@kirrileepearson9981]

Thank you for your videos... I have a small plot of 5 x 5 metres here in Brisbane and want to get the most out of the limited space so in-ground planting seems to be the way to go rather than raised beds (soil and drainage are both good). Wish I had the space for a chicken coup like the one you had in San Diego. Stay awesome!!

[@brodyllc]

Your the man Steven! Such great content

[@xJAYDEMANx]

I still can't get over those magnificent brows bro...

[@sueours8150]

We did mulch over landscape fabric which over time broke down and the weeds loved it. 😢

[@annapetrosian6696]

Please do more videos thank u so much for sharing your knowledge

[@mikepapa3196]

Thanks for the cool tips especially for the earthway seeder, spring fast approaching here in locked down alley here in the south pacific!

[@mariaallevato6121]

I love your videos. And your hat! :) I'm in CO, zone 4, and sure wish I had that kind of a growing season. Thanks for all of the info. It doesn't all apply to my area, but I take what does, and file away the rest.

[@gvas7560]

Hello Steven. Thanks for sharring. Great info on the potatoes. I will try that next spring, but in containers since I do not have that much space for them. Keep up the good work God bless you

[@BNJBarber]

Excellent and most helpful material, as always. Thank you!

[@sherimatukonis6016]

Construction paper (rolls if very thin cardboard) works really well.

[@JK-jf7xq]

I used the same type of landscape fabric for pathways in my raised bed garden.

[@jjca_travel]

Great video, as always!

[@HippieHillHomestead]

Great video. It looks like you have a lot of canning to do. I hope you are enjoying TN. We are not far from you, we are in Pikeville TN.

[@BetterGetReady]

It's also my home state. Welcome, hope all your dreams come true Steven in Tennessee. Thanks for your videos, I've learned a lot.

[@southernfriedland8002]

I can’t wait to start my humble little homestead!!!! Wicked awesome video.

[@aron8949]

You can do it!!!

[@AJsGreenThumbLLC]

Excellent information and tutorials. Thanks for sharing!

[@STxFisherman]

Great video. Thanks for sharing.

[@heatherhiggins1083]

This video is really awesome! Can you provide a suggestion on where to find a high quality landscape fabric? Also I would love to know where to find for plastic for solarizing.

[@mycombs]

Great video! Just an FYI: those aren't sesame plants at 1:41, those are perilla plants. They are sometimes known as "sesame leaves" and they have edible seeds too, but it's not sesame. You should try true sesame next year, they should grow easily in your area!

[@deborahsimmons2414]

I really think saving seeds is a great resource for the future. If you do that please explain which plants and varieties you do it for and your success with it…whether it involves vegetables or flower plants…if you could please and thank you.

[@ezforsaken]

thanks for the video! the seed depth tip seems to be where i'm failing

[@Jrami7]

Great garden 🪴. Congrats and thanks for all the info you share.

[@karlacoco2821]

Wonderful 👏👏👏👏👏

[@jimmyvalenzuela6448]

Your the best love your videos thanks

[@deliastanley3921]

Loved this video! Hi from Oceanside 😊

[@timothyblazer1749]

In my case, we have to use deep bed pit gardening, because we're in the desert. I have to dig 2 feet down, then mix carbon and compost at about 60% with the clay dirt to make it viable. Then put it back and tarp the rest for back fill as it subsides over time. The beds are dressed at the top with stone and brick to prevent erosion. So I have a Jack hammer, a Roto tiller, a cheap cement mixer for blending dirt and compost, and a very good wheelbarrow. :-) mind you...you only have to do this once. With heavy fine clay, you can't just farm on the surface and expect long term success. Most plant roots will NOT bust through this clay more than a few inches, and I'm not waiting a decade to establish fertility in my beds. You can also get a broad fork, to do this in ground with a double dig. Remove the first dig, use the second as dirt and fill to the top...although mixing in the amendment would be serious work. If I was doing this on a large scale, I'd be using something diesel. 😄 In addition, the perc rate on clay like this is low. So you have to cover the soil with mulch once you have seedlings, otherwise you end up with wet soil below, dry above. You can easily get root rot if you don't manage the moisture near the top. Some folks will mix vermiculite and perlite into the top 6", which does work. Large scale you'd need to use a couple inches of fresh mulch. Boutique gardeners use stones after transplanting, and for small trees and bushes. HOWEVER my amended soil has amazing Cation exchange, and is full of minerals.

[@baejiaoflying9434]

Great video. If I didn't protect mine plantings with a thick mesh.... gophers would have a great open buffet.

[@pnwfarmandgarden]

It's great to see your new homestead growing! We will be creating an in ground garden using the same methods for next season. Would you recommend preparing the beds right before I want to plant, or would preparing them a few months ahead of time help build the soil structure? I'm thinking about preparing the beds during the winter just so that I can have them ready, but guessing that I should cover them with a tarp to prevent any weed growth on the surface of the soil. Any tips would be appreciated!

[@R.L.U.]

Yes! I've been waiting for this!

[@clivesconundrumgarden]

Great info as always. Thanks for sharing

[@ChadnRanda]

Ha you're wearing my hat😅 thats funny cool.. farm on brother, great video. If you mix up some pure protein 15-1-1..get a rag, soak it in the Pprotien and then rub your potatoes down with the wet rag when you're planting them, BIG DIFFERENCE 😉 that and doing the same things with worm tea ("worm juice") ab same results

[@heatheringram2976]

Can you do a video on how to make a batch of the solution you poured on the potatoes? Thanks

[@beckyjohnson3153]

Your videos are always so informative. I’ve learned a lot!

[@janetwestrup411]

Steven, do you have chickens in your new place? I’m planning to get some this Spring and designed a coop (which my husband built for me)after the one you had in San Diego. Such a great design. Do you have any videos on keeping chickens?

[@CBDubz]

I can’t wait to learn about the goats.

[@NaturesAlwaysRight]

They are a hair sheep breed called St. Croix. Hair sheep look a lot like goats though!

[@ForageGardener]

That's how it's done!

[@pamelaremme38]

If using woven ground cover use a butane little torch to burn the holes or (cut) the woven cover. It will not unravel. Living Traditions Homestead has an excellent show on this. I would NOT put chips on top of the woven cloth or soil on top. You will be dealing with weeds in no time at all.

[@elizabethporter6398]

What about a dusting of straw?

[@davidwille7103]

Great vid man~!

[@OfftoShambala]

If you have Bermuda, I’d go two years. Personal experience with smothering.

[@infinitecycle3479]

Always a great vid

[@donvitokorleonevito139]

Ideal practice, personal experience is everything in this space, please explain how we Can feeding plant. Do you use beneficial fungi ?

[@mustardchips7419]

I'm getting into planning out my garden and was going to follow this cardboard method but was wondering, how quickly does the cardboard break down? You said you only put about 4 inches worth of compost on top, don't most vegetables need a lot more than 4 inches for root growth or does the cardboard breakdown in very short team to let the roots grow deeper?

[@shaneswing2016]

Pieces of potato do better than whole potatoes in my experiments this year. Whole potatoes grew a lot of smaller ones.

[@Xainfinen]

Whole potatoes give more yield and the smaller size is probably due to a lack of organic matter to feed the growth. Halving the potatoes do the same effect as thinning fruit on a tree so you get a lower yield but higher quality potatoes.

[@jnorton8022]

Do you prefer to orient your rows north-south or east west?

[@Adizzy12]

How do you not have a fence around the garden?

[@christophera-realone9834]

Yeah the bunnies are destructive

[@rogerfeenstra9496]

Great video. Thanks for the practical tips. Keep them coming!

[@adamdavis785]

Recommendations on bulk rock dust??

[@lauras5312]

nice

[@TheAnbaricuda]

What grow zone are you in please?

[@deepnineforty5646]

For the inside rows did you just cut the 4x300 material in half? Whats a good way to cut that if so?

[@Eden-ov3qw]

Hope you guys are okay in Tennessee

[@raincoast9010]

Very nice beds, i just put in carrots but i think it's a bit too late.

[@danvankouwenberg7234]

Crushing it.

[@R.L.U.]

Do you find this way easier, cheaper and over all better than lasagna layering with stray/hay?

[@rachelstark2391]

Greetings, What is your row spacing in the in ground beds, especially the carrots? My garden hat is is over 20 years old...never going to get rid of it. Cheers, Rachel, U-NY

[@katiez5660]

I had a potato peal in the worm bed. It gre 6 inches tall.

[@Make-A-WAY-Farm]

How did you do your 2ft walk ways did you split/cut 4ft Dewitt fabric or order 2ft?

[@manditorino]

hi! thanks for sharing. hope you can help me, i would love to use knf but where i live i can not have angelica, do you know if i can use somethinh else in stead?

[@heatheringram2976]

Would wood chips in between your beds keep the dirt in place? Do your paths puddle when it rains heavily as they’re lower than the beds?

[@idiocracy10]

your super compost had micro organisms. Might have been more optimal to put it down first and cover it with the other compost to reduce sunlight exposure to your biology.

[@NaturesAlwaysRight]

Ya I need to get some mulch going and I should have mentioned mulching! But at the same time it's so wet here that I really don't need mulch and I need the beds to dry out so mulch would actually be a bad thing unless we have a drought.

[@jeffreychiu3730]

Hey Steven and the gardening community, quick question, I'm looking to set up a raised garden bed at my condo and a concrete patio is the only option I have for this. What would you recommend for the lining for the bottom of the garden bed? Thick plastic or high quality landscape fabric? I know both will get the job done but I am concerned about both of these fabrics leaking chemicals into the soil. Are there more healthy alternatives? Any feedback would be appreciated!

[@michellel5444]

My potato plants are getting nailed by flea beetles. Any suggestions? Have you noticed different insect pressures with your move? Awesome video. Happy for you two ✌

[@NaturesAlwaysRight]

If you want to save them then a JADAM pesticide or neem. I've had pressure but never enough to take down any crops other than picking some worms and spraying aphids with water I haven't had to do anything else. Japanese beetles did some damage but populations never exploded, we did soap water.

[@realfoodgoodfood]

I'm going to plant an in ground garden for the first time ever. I live in central Texas. The area is basically scorched earth. Over the last 6 months I've covered the area with raked moist leaves from our wooded area, riverweed- because why not I'll try anything, and earth worms. My question is, should I till or dig up the area before I plant as it was so unhealthy to begin with or leave it layered as is? Help! Thank you for your videos!!

[@NaturesAlwaysRight]

Tons of mulch/carbon will be your friend in that climate. Nowadays I always just recommend people buy in compost, add minerals, and form their beds and grow immediately. Use that mulch in all pathways and 3ft perimeter around garden

[@agrarianarc]

Does the plastic fabric allow water to penetrate?

[@Stigmadiablo]

What kind of alternative would you use to avoid plastic. Would very deep mulch work as well? Are there pros and cons, specially pests?

[@NaturesAlwaysRight]

Yes deep woodchip mulch and keep adding it as it lowers through the season. Pull all weeds as you see them. Mulch can attract pill pugs and earwigs.

[@ChefIsaac925]

@@NaturesAlwaysRight ya I heavily mulched my garden and earwigs everywhere!!!!! What do I do!!??

[@GrowBroTV420]

was wanting to plant pole beans gathered the resources but unsure of the spacing… is 1” or 1.5” or 2” ideal? sorry if thats technical

[@birgitelisabeth9661]

Do you cover your beds over the winter to prevent weeds from getting a foothold?

[@NaturesAlwaysRight]

Yes I like to do that, helps prevent rain washing things and protect soil out too.

[@geraldcroft9020]

What kind of pets do you encounter in Tennessee now that you’re there I just moved to Arkansas from Utah

[@johnrussell4113]

Thanks for another wonderful video! I would love to try something like this on my own property, but the soil is thick TN clay and rocks. Did you do any sort of assessment / soil profiling before deciding on no dig? I guess I'm worried about rocks and compacted soil stunting root development. Any advice?

[@JessicaCruz18]

You mention not to disturb soil in raised beds, I’m using bokashi I was under the impression you need to disturb the soils to get it under there. What are your thoughts? Should I just place it on top?

[@toastfacegrilla3321]

what direction have you run your rows? Parallel or perpendicular to North- South?

[@inventanew]

are you going to do jadam?

[@NaturesAlwaysRight]

Yes and I'll be doing videos about it.

[@inventanew]

@@NaturesAlwaysRight You've been inspirational to my farming, I started a 26 x 16 in Georgia started seeds in late august(my first garden besides hydro which was a hassle), just moved from NY. The soil is clay and sand so I pumped it with jms 50 gallons straight like 4 times, not sure if I'm doing everything correctly because the soil is still terrible. I'm growing cover crop for green manure, hairy vetch and rye,I heard that was as good as cow manure, I'm posting all the videos after all the editing which takes a while. Just wanted to thank you for all the knowledge, it is going to be ever increasingly important in the days to come.

[@إنتنصروااللهينصركم-م6ف]

I like your eyebrows bro. Did you use mushroom compost to get the same?

[@agrarianarc]

mmmmm, Synergy Guava Goddess... my favorite. :~)

[@herbsthewerd1]

You didn't include a link for the "Tilther" drill powered tiller so I tracked it down myself. They want $550.00 (on sale, normally $650) for that thing. And you still need a $100 cordless drill to power it. That is an absurd price. There are plenty of cordless lightweight tillers on the market for less than half that price.

[@susanmyer1]

I was scrolling to see if I could find info in the tiller. Wow. That’s out of my price range. I will be checking the smaller tillers you mentioned. Thanks

[@jamesj.williams7702]

Do you ever add small amounts of bokashi bran directly to your soil? I’ve used it when preparing planting areas but I didn’t know if adding it to the soil at the same time as minerals would be a beneficial way to inoculate the soil if I don’t have my own inoculated “super compost”. Any thoughts would be appreciated!

[@richstone2627]

Aliens took control of Steven. I base this on his use of plastic.

[@7Goemon]

I would like to know if Korean natural farming is the same as JADAM and if not are there specific books relating to this technique?

[@codyg.8483]

So do you leave the cardboard under and put soil on top or remove cardboard then soil?

[@NaturesAlwaysRight]

Leave cardboard it will disintegrate in about 3 months.

[@michellebatista9702]

When were you actually planting the seeds?

[@nancyseery2213]

I really get the Bermuda grass headache, I'll be watching to see if this works. I already know the wood chips won't work.

[@jksatte]

Do you blanch your green beans before you freeze them? Oh I was also wondering about the carrots in those beds with them not being that deep. I know it worked but would you do it that way again?

[@NaturesAlwaysRight]

I don't cuz I'm lazy, the texture is better if you blanch. They came out amazing perfect honestly, so yes I would do it this way again. You can see what the carrots looked like here, kzbin.info/www/bejne/bYvEeoFtepJkiKs

[@deborahsimmons2414]

Minerals, Minerals, Minerals!!!!!! It’s not surprising that plants need a wonderfully complete course of minerals to be healthy and to yield all the amazing benefits they would as a result…why??? Why indeed!!!! Most naturopathic practitioners know that mineral deficiency is the pathway to every dis ease..and making sure our bodies have the exact mineral competency is the key to absolute health.

[@carolinecouturier5031]

Hi ! i have a question, does the cardboard prevent's the roots to go trough the soil ?

[@Travelingforlife]

It breaks down

[@lilyhuang2990]

Is this a farm? How big is the area？

[@mizzlemoonglade4996]

I plant potatoes in February but back in April decided to preorder seed potatoes from a company that allows you to select your shipping date (everyone else up north doesn't ship until April or May). I set it to ship in January, and lo and behold, I received the potatoes a week later. So now I have 25 pounds of seed potatoes in the crisper drawers of my fridge, with 6 inch long sprouts. Which I hope is okay. Lord help me. 😆

[@NaturesAlwaysRight]

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