Is there TOO MUCH Growing Info + How to Manage Slugs!

[@toddberger4648]

NO SLUGS. My farm is located in northern Michigan. My hoop house's are located just a few yards from a forest. I used to have a heavy slug problem with my romaine lettuce. Now I have zero slug issue. My lettuce hoop house is 60'x 30', I grow about 2300 lbs of romaine lettuce each year. I maintain woodchipped pathways in the hoophouse and utilize overhead watering- in other words a perfect habitat for slugs. I tried all the traditional methods to get rid of the slugs without successful results. Then I reasoned that if a single wire electric fence can keep livestock in, maybe I can create a low voltage electric fence to keep slugs out. To eliminate slugs I ran 2 14gage aluminum wires along the top of the base boards making the perimeter of my hoop house. I then attached the wires to the +/- of a 12 volt power supply. I use a photoelectric timer so that the wires are only powered at night. I caulked all cracks , joints, and openings in the perimeter baseboard to ensure that the slugs would have to cross the tops of the baseboard (and wires) to enter the hoop house. The bottoms of the baseboards are buried in dirt. 12 volts is low enough to not cause any harm to people, pets, etc., but it shure deters slugs. After a few seasons of getting rid of any slugs which were already in the hoop house, now I have no slugs. I have wood chip pathways, a moist environment from the overhead watering, slugs' favorite food being Romaine lettuce, located just a few yards from a forest and have no slug issues. And it is very satisfying for me to flick the fried slugs off of the 12 volt wires every morning.

[@Power_Prawnstar]

Mate, that's genius.

[@Power_Prawnstar]

The thing I love about gardening is there's a thousand different ways to arrive at the one goal. Soil Health baby!

[@hermesharvest]

I'm watchign this information overload video with fifteen other tabs up lol....love this channel! starting up a market garden next year, got my garlic in the ground. Got the Living Soil book, I'mpressed by and grateful for the wealth of knowledge there and on this channel, especially for a novice dreamer such as myself. cheers!

[@ZaraThustra-w2n]

I use overhead irrigation with a no-till permanent raised bed system. I had to "cool my jets" on how much I was watering because I was giving the slugs a veritable paradise. If you are in a situation where you cannot use drip (I can't afford to convert my farm) you can space your plants a little further apart (depending on the crop) so they do not form a canopy and the soil will dry out faster, which the sluggies don't like. This is one of my preventative measures if I'm planting a crop slugs in my area seem to particularly enjoy. I have to space my cauliflower 3 feet apart to keep the slugs at bay. Same with my cabbage. Anyways, great info as usual.

[@johndoh5182]

For me because I start stuff indoors I find the inverse problem, not enough information and the BIGGEST bit of info most indoor starters need is LIGHT information but I watch video after video and it's something no one talks about and I'm left to wasting a bit of seed in figuring out lighting for different plants because they are no where near the same, as in if I start lettuce I need a LOT of light and if I start peppers I need substantially less. I've been starting onion and still haven't figured it out yet and I may just give up on it and try getting them going outdoors though this is the wrong time of the year to do so.

[@TheFarmacySeedsNetwork]

I completely agree on experience growing a crop... I have been growing for 35 years and STILL find growing a new crop takes a couple to 3 years to really come to understand better for growing and management. I am working on tractors all winter.. lots of overhauls to do!

[@billiverschoore2466]

For slugs i'm increasing the presence of ground beetles in clients' gardens; you can by these and make sure they have somewhere to shelter, like piles of branches with leaf litter. Not seen tiger slugs (who eat other slugs) for sale, but am noticing an increase of these in several places. 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽 🌳🕊💚

[@lenayeagle9650]

I was just about to suggest not forgetting about the huge value of beetles! As Dale Strickland says, "give em food and a home". Also oddly, I just listened to this today. kzbin.info/www/bejne/gYOZo3ajbbWXjrcsi=yUjG7R_ok0c0wT7D

[@billiverschoore2466]

@@lenayeagle9650 Nice to hear a touch of beetle mania creeping in here n there 😊 And yes, Huw and Joshua's talk there: absolute pivot point video 👍🏽 🌳🕊💚

[@BruceGlider]

Hey nerd! Interesting on the slugs. Since I moved into my current home I was seeing LOTS of large spotted slugs. As I've been building my market garden style garden, now 6 4x8 beds, I've been seeing lots of garter and brown snakes. I see one about every week and can tell there are many individual animals. Now seeing many many fewer slugs. In advertently created a good habitat for the snakes and they arrived of their own accord. I should try for toads too. Nature is amazing.

[@zedmeinhardt3404]

When I finally get my property, planning to try a bunch of methods in smaller garden beds. No till, hugel culture, back to eden, etc. Interplant a bunch of different seeds and see what works in my soil (and for my budget/labor)

[@denisekelley2292]

Failure and my experimental nature have been my best garden teacher. I have tried some crazy things, surprisingly some work well. The best garden advice I have received is keeping a journal and trying different things in different ways.

[@ursamajor1936]

As a gardener for many decades, I feel that gardening and possibly farming is a lifestyle rather than a hobby and as a lifestyle there is a flow to the neverending learning curve and it's the learning that keeps me engaged. There's really no right or wrong to it but there is that sublime feeling of accomplishment that comes when finding the way to make plants grow and thrive and the added bonus of watching an ecosystem evolve.

[@palominogirl2732]

It is a lifestyle. The same with horses. Serious horse people - different lifestyle than many other people. Good country livin'. That's what I say when people tell me I don't look my age. :)

[@WildAcresFarmGA]

Agree with this message 100%! We started our market garden in 2023. and I had a friend who listened to all the farm podcasts and he physically handed me about 8-9 books. Including Jesse Frost book. I have watched the no till channel for some years. I said the same thing, every book and farmer does it different. I haven’t opened them up and we just used growing knowledge we had. It’s too much contradiction. I know plants need good soil, temperatures, and nutrients. Back to basics and just do it. Learn along the way and come back to the books for reference.

[@brokenmeats5928]

I love ALL No-Till Growers videos!

[@stuckinthemudgarden7726]

As far as slugs go . I have found that if I use a weed burner on the bed plant it and cover it with insect netting immediately after planting the slugs become almost no problem. They climb the insect netting and birds feast on them every morning.

[@Ohelojam]

So glad you talked on this subject of differences in info. Beginner here in growing veggies. I have your book and I listen to your podcast with 1-2 others. Learned to ignore other social media for sure. So much I learned the first year and took a break this fall to reflect and be more ready in the spring. Thank you!

[@palominogirl2732]

I'm old school. We have a rototiller on the tractor and since the northeast is having a drought in November (very strange), it was dry enough to just till in the corn stalks, bean plants, etc. a few weeks ago. In spring, we'll rototill again with the tractor tiller because it goes deep in our soil. This was clay and rock, but I've been working this 100 x 70 piece of ground for exactly 30 years. I have horses, so that is what our fertilizer is. I make rows, and when it is weedy I till in between the rows. I used to put black plastic down, but that created a very nice habitat for slugs. So, no more of that. I will mulch with newspaper with old hay on it. I used to have a lawnmower with one of the bags on it, but that was long ago. So, I use what I have. Horse manure, old hay. For the strawberry bed, I'll rake up pine needles, or use some new shavings. Pine needles are free from the trees I planted 30 years ago. People will tell me that I'm doing it 'wrong', but I garden like my parents and grandparents did. I'm not building a bunch of boxes to garden in. I have better uses for my time and lumber. My garden is very large and provides most of my produce for the year. I also have a hoop house that still has spinach and lettuce in it at the moment. I don't heat it, but will cover plants up in early spring, and some in the fall. That really lengthens the season, but when Thanksgiving rolls around, it's time to rest. I appreciate your channel even though I'm old school. It works for me. I also save a LOT more seeds lately. My seeds germinate!

[@lisamorgan9151]

Do you deworm your horses? I’m asking because I had an epiphany last night….we use feed thru dewormer pellets in their feed every morning and I was wondering if that would kill worms indiscriminately thru the manure in the pasture? Don’t have thoughts on this?😮

[@rondavis2791]

Definitely do whatever works for you. I had to stop tilling wasn't working for me. More I tilled the ground would still pack down hard as a rock even all the amendments tilled in wouldn't help much. And a clean reliable source of manure is hard to find nowadays. Since I notill I use way less fertilizer and water. And way less pest pressure. Every year it's getting easier. But I only garden 2000 sq ft. And I don't sell my produce.

[@palominogirl2732]

@@lisamorgan9151 That is a good question! I don't use the feed-through. And I'm old enough to remember the vets coming to tube worm, once in spring, and once in fall after the first frost - way before paste wormers. And then we were told to de-worm every 6-8 weeks. Now, though, the thing is, (what's the word...not desensitized...) the worms becoming immune for lack of a better term, so now they suggest fecal samples to determine if, or with what type of de-wormer. With that said, everything in my barn is very clean, and I keep poop away from where they eat. And the manure pile section I put on the garden is OLD - shavings broken down completely, Black Gold that is! We have tons and tons of worms. LOL, sometimes I'll l even dig around in the manure pile, find a bunch, put them in a bucket and take them to the garden, but there are lots. If I'm killing them with the rototiller like some folks claim - then I still have plenty. :)

[@palominogirl2732]

@@rondavis2791 Yes, that sounds like it's working for you - go for it! I don't sell mine either. If I have too much of something and I've already frozen or canned a bunch, there's always the chickens! I've been giving them split open pumpkins lately, and I freeze the seed and goop for them to eat in winter. Supposedly, pumpkin seeds act as a natural wormer. Don't know if that's true or not, but I've never had a wormy chicken. They are also free ranging all over our acres. Also, let me say, that my soil in the hoop house, where it's, like, 100-degrees by nine in the morning in summer (in NY), that has only been worked up a couple years, and so much clay that it is like baked bricks. I chunk it up, haul it out to the hedgerow, and take horse manure to the hoop house. Yes, my horse manure is like black gold. So few people can afford horses now, there used to be tons of backyard horses for people's kids to ride. Now kids are wrapped up in cotton wool and live in suburbia and don't do the good things I did as a kid. Play outside all day, ride horses, ride my bike all over, build forts in the woods, etc. All without adult supervision.

[@lisamorgan9151]

@ Thank you!

[@FungalNetwork]

I was in the garden this season at night spraying jadam Sulphur on the tomatoes and garlic and a heard a kid passing by say, “why would you ever garden at night?!?” It made me laugh thinking about how crazy people think gardeners/farmers can be

[@patrickedwards1087]

I have a lot of luck with radishes to deter slugs and snails. We have a TON of them here. Particularly the latter. But they absolutely love radishes. I use daikon to improve my soil health and drainage and there will be hordes of them on the greens all summer. And radishes are pretty hard to kill once established. So they just prune them back and encourage more growth from the plant. Having some radishes nearby (but not mixed in with) other crops has worked well to keep them occupied and off the plants I want to harvest.

[@lksf9820]

The top UK name in No-dig grows pretty crappy carrots and parsnips. They're an important crop to get right for me so I used the JF method and evaluated the soil, dug it up, amended it accordingly and now grow better carrots and parsnips than he'll ever do. People are horror struck that I dug my soil (once) as if it'll never recover, but it did, it always does if treated correctly. I don't need to dig it anymore, ever.

[@joycee5493]

So here’s my advice for people who are overwhelmed. I’ve only been organic vegetable gardening for three years, but I’ve done Woodland restorations for 10 years. So, I do have planting experience. However, gardening is different. My advice is jump in with both feet, you will learn very quickly. There’s a steep learning curve. You will definitely have some successes, the first year and some failures. The following year meaning your second year, you may not have the same successes, but you may have success with some things that failed the previous year. If you just jump in and go for it and plant, lots of different things and get as much good information as you can Through KZbin videos you will be fine. My knowledge and success rate has increased exponentially in just three years. You will also end up adding garden beds or widening garden beds as you go and it will get easier. I found one of the hardest things in the first couple years and even early this spring was, the addition of infrastructure, fences, trellises, etc. Anyway, don’t stress just do it and if things don’t work out for certain crops, you’ll learn how to do it right eventually.

[@ajb.822]

Yes. I would add to that w just this : the crop failure may not be all that related to you, your experience or knowledge or lack thereof, your method or etc. . Every experienced, successful, knowledgeable, full-time/professional gardener I follow on KZbin, and the long-time home gardeners I know IRL, such as my 90 yr old Grandma, experience "failures" ! Crops growing weirdly slower than usual, or not coming up or otherwise not normal, for them. While often I, and sometimes they, can identify a likely cause sooner or later, we don't always, and even when we do, often we've had those "causes" ( conditions, situations) b4 ( seemingly... of course a lot of the small details may have been dif., such as soil life or health), without such adverse results. Why my friend can buy broccoli starts from nursery, barely do anything to harden them off or etc., & - none too early in spring- stick em in black plastic on compacted ground, and basically ignore other than I weeded them once ( was sharing garden), and have a wonderful, not very wormy, harvest... & I struggle to grow broccoli AT ALL successfully the handful of times I've tried, in various gardens, over the years ( or they're disgustingly full of worms, in spite of trying to spray them in time w BT). Sigh.

[@joycee5493]

@ keep in mind that you can cover broccoli with insect netting all season because you don’t need it to be pollinated. That will keep the cabbage moth from laying worms on it.

[@paradyme]

I really like this format. Especially during the off season, I feel like I could watch these anytime I have a spare 1/2 hour. It is very focused and I know if I sit down and focus it will be a valuable use of my time. I hope you are able to continue with it and bring in many studious viewers.

[@dougbatten7678]

Curious specifically how ducks are a food safety nightmare? I had great success with them last year for pest protection, but you raise a good point about contaminating food. Love this content, your books a staple, you’re an inspiration thanks!

[@il8099]

Hi right back at ya Charlie!🐾

[@robertcunninghammusic6712]

One time tillage is generally a must. You may need to add something, break compaction and many others reasons before you start!

[@ajb.822]

I have gladly learned from Jesse not to be a never-tiller, BUT I also know from own experience, besides believe other's experience and the saying " one year's tilling is 7 years weeding" to be true/worth taking into consideration. Again, I've learned from Jesse the things to consider, how to tell when it may be best or at least not bad, to till at least once. I plan to try that next time, in those situations. But I HAVE had a fairly* successful gardens 1st year with no tilling (*very for some things, ok for others, poor for a few but they also were either in spots worse than I realized - I wasn't one there when 1st planting that area & soil was SOUR - or had other issues due to my being down sick and not on top of things). I had corn on top of cardboard on sod, with minimal compost to plant into, and minimal mulch between the mini hills, and I was afraid it wouldn't be able to root deep enough ( some was thick cardboard from tough boxes) & would all fall down in a storm. A very windy day came and honestly, I don't recommend this bc I'm still amazed it stood ! I will use rosin paper to play it safer if I do that again... . And maybe green Oaxacan corn is just that tough ! But the cucumbers, green beans, squash, beets, peppers and herbs all did well. The carrots and some beets drying out too much b4 being mulched better while just planted then I got real sick, died out. The tomatoes my relative put in a last-minute added on space w the sour soil, did poorly, in spite of her efforts to bury food scraps under them. The potatoes put in the plot she HAD tilled and used the previous year or 2 ( for various veg) did poorly, but I think they were too shaded among other things. As much as many lists list potatoes as tolerant of part shade, they are 2 for 2 in performing poorly in it, for me. I have been in a few disced and rototilled gardens which had real compaction just beneath where the machinery touched... . So, till or not, I'd check for that and use a (deep, heavy-duty) broadfork or subsoiler plow ( ideally a "keyline" one, allegedly it - the special shank which one can buy - shatters the hardpan more/differently than just any ol subsoiler). That's just my two cents, didn't mean to argue or criticize or anything !

[@MrKoobuh]

Trying to find gardening books/pamphlets written by authors with experience in your area/climate helps tremendously. Your local Ag Extension office will most likely be a trove of information as well. Best thing to do though is making friends with an old gardener/farmer that has worked in your area for a long time. There's no substitute for practical experience.

[@stefanr570]

With billions of videos on KZbin alone, there's definitely too much information out there even for a niche such as gardening/farming. You have to prune it down by picking sources relevant to you. Jesse is in Kentucky and I'm in the North Georgia mountains so our environment is similar. Hot and humid Summers, not too cold Winters, lots of rain, and clay type soil. So I watch every one of Jesse's videos, and review his old ones. I also follow Jason of Sow the Land, the Millennial Gardener, and a couple of other Tennessee and North Carolina growers. Then there are two or three food forest experts that I regularly follow, because I am building one myself. For fun I watch Self Sufficient Me in Australia, but he's tropical and he frequently talks about plants I never heard of. I do really enjoy his shows. All these guys have consistent, coherent, and useful videos that I can pick and choose from and put into practice. And learn. You have to learn.

[@cordrel9000]

Thanks!

[@thepragmaticfarmer6308]

The mind mess that i get from too much farm info out there is, when I fail, fall short, or something doesnt work, etc I get really frustrated and angry with myself. I feel like with all the info out there, there is no excuse and I should know better. Its not like I am reinventing the wheel.

[@cuttwice3905]

Land mollusks dislike diatomaceous earth. I also sprinkle it around smaller bedding plants during cutworm season.

[@harlowecustommicrogreens]

Never had any success with the beer trap. Sluggo is the only thing that’s saved us.

[@Frog13799]

Ferramol/Iron phosphate pellets, havent seen a snail or slug in years

[@justinciallella4724]

I sell native plants at a farmer's market in a college town. The kids don't have any place to plant natives, so I saw them house plants, hoping it's a gateway drug towards gardening.

[@KorvidRavenscraft]

Speaking of masterclasses... I'm looking at my first small plot to farm this upcoming year (about 1/8 acre, with the possibility of scaling to up to 1/2 acre if it goes well). Do you have any recommendations of which masterclass I should look into? Trying to decide between Ben Hartman (lean micro farm), JM Fortier, Neversink, and Ray Tyler's. I can see value in all of them. What's your thoughts on how to decide which to start with, given my context?

[@robertcunninghammusic6712]

You don't read just the book. listen to those like this video that show their growing produce and it looks like on video. When I do the underlaying soil here I was horrified and it's very good how this is such a success as can be seen on these videos. He's doing excellent

[@ProlerSkyphet]

“These are my slug attack turtles” -hopefully me one day

[@Power_Prawnstar]

😂 Is it illegal to name them anything other than the TMNT names? I hope so.

[@ProlerSkyphet]

@ they miight have outfits when they’re on the clock…

[@angelafree6419]

Jesse, what was that cool Jazz music that got recorded on this episode? Apparently someone noticed and fixed the recording but I would love to know if you know what I am talking about. Or maybe it just happed to me???

[@stef1695]

Hey Jessie! What's some things you want to track the next season?

[@aileensmith3062]

Really need to get us a GOOD Garden Planning System tied in with Spreadsheets. Most everything that we have seen is via a computer. Wondering if anyone knows of a written (by hand) system that might also tie into the computer? ..................... Thank You!

[@gaylekerr9826]

Good question! Commenting, hoping for an answer.

[@scottbaruth9041]

I sell at 2 farmers markets and have yet to use a spreadsheet. What I do is keep a planting sheet in my grow room that lists the date, variety, and quantity planted. Outside in my shop, I keep a handwritten log of date planted and any notes needed, such as "next year plant more/less, or any changes needed next time. I do have references built that tell me how many 72 count trays of cabbages/tomatoes/beets... I would need to start a 50-foot row. So... here in a bit, I will order next year's seed, and in Jan, I will look at my notes on say onions. If the planting notes from the shop say "right amount," I will simply duplicate my planting amounts from the planting log of 2024. On succession planting, 7 day crops get planted every Saturday evening. 14 day succession goes in on the 1st and 15th day of each month. 30 days, follow your last frost date and plant every 30 days. Simple. Also, keep track of when you sold your first pepper, tomatoes, okra... because people will ask in May when they will be ready. Other notes are handy, like how many rows of beets would you plant if someone wants to buy 40 lbs for canning. Just get it in your book. It will be handy. But, for me, a notebook travels a lot nicer to where you're working than a computer.

[@czerniana]

When you say to till before starting a no-till because you've seen it fail.... how did it fail? I am not able to till because I have pipelines running through my yard, and was going to add enough compost in rows to grow no-till. If you can't till, what do you suggest?

[@ThinkLittleFarm]

So Ole Munch is actually THE 500 year old sin eater and not just a relative of the Welsh sin eater from the flashback?

[@notillgrowers]

💯

[@ThinkLittleFarm]

@@notillgrowers damn. what a crazy good season.

[@whydoyouwantmynamegoogle396]

How do you keep yourself from squeezing charlie to death?

[@lenayeagle9650]

Don't forget about the huge value of beetles! Dale Strickland talks about this a lot. I saw an interview with Joshua Sparkes just today on this topic too! Here ya go: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gYOZo3ajbbWXjrcsi=yUjG7R_ok0c0wT7D

[@donavinnezar]

theres alot of info , and with all that info there is alot of mis-information , wich is why critical thinking is important , look at multiple sources and decide on that wich suits your style or property the best as for slugs and snails , i live in a place where skinks are common and when i find thier burrows i LEAVE THEM ALONE , they eat alot of the larger pest insects like slugs , snails , earwigs , crickets and armyworms and probbaly alot more that i cannot mention without writing an essay , now i get that not everyone has the luxury of having natural predators so i cant exactly comment on how to keep them controlled via other means because i simply never needed to use other methods

[@Blynn-md4dx]

Buffalo! Lol

[@JoyoftheGardenandHome]

Microexperience

[@billsnyder6945]

The never till folks are annoying and advising by philosophy not context. If they came to my yard they would quickly be made a fool. I say quickly because what they advise would work, but only after years and I am too damn old to wait for good results.

[@dsulli7383]

Isn’t that the definition of your channel? Too much info. Successful farming is a physical language. A problem solver’s delight.