Removing the Old Grapefruit Tree & Refreshing Herb Beds!

The time has come...the old grapefruit tree that was here when I bought the Epic Homestead is coming down. I got out the chainsaw and Jacques hit the stump grinder to reset that area for two more citrus: a Melogold grapefruit and a Meyer lemon. We also hit the herb bed for a refresh and propagation session.
00:00 - Intro
00:28 - Reasons For Removal
01:42 - Harvest & Chainsaw
03:08 - Stump Grinder
03:44 - Herb Refresh
11:19 - Propagation
15:47 - EZ Clone
16:15 - Outro
IN THIS VIDEO
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[@k9spot1]

I absolutely love these tiny episodes of “will the chickens eat this?” it’s like a running miniseries 😂😂😂

[@daisyblooms4813]

We need more chicken content.

[@jeannamcgregor9967]

I once asked a Thai co-worker where she bought her lemon grass, and she thought that was hilarious. Next day she brought me a start like yours and it's hard to stop it growing!

[@epichomesteading]

No one will roast you harder than a Thai gardener, TRUST ME

[@rebelpepper7397]

All I can think about is " oh dear, it was a run-by fruiting." 🤣

[@MMuraseofSandvich]

You two are hilarious, as is the team behind the camera.

[@deborahmarlewski6786]

When you have leftover plants after cleaning out the beds, put them at the curb with a "FREE" sign. You will be surprised on how fast they will go!

[@Gardenpixee]

Managed to palm off all my spare strawberry plants to a friend that has a more wild garden than I do after resetting the patch

[@nonalolagirl]

The editing is killing me xD the gardening version of The Office

[@epichomesteading]

Our team is amazing :)

[@thomasheeley1075]

Watching the two of you honestly makes my day so much brighter! You make me wanna grow alllll day long

[@epichomesteading]

Honored :)

[@lindasoaft9303]

I usually let my hose run in a bucket in summer until it gets cold! Saving the water until it cools down then use it later for my potted plants😀

[@connorlewis518]

This channel is like two dads having too good of a time! 😂 Keep it up!

[@californiaflowergirl1823]

You can slice up the grapefruit and either dehydrate or freeze them. I use the lemons and grapefruit on the BBQ, lay a couple down and cook fish on top. . .ie: salmon. Yummy! 🌼

[@JAMAICAN876]

That Banana patch in the neighbor’s corner yard can start sending suckers up in your yard (if it hasn’t already). If you keep that corner consistently moist it’ll send you some free suckers over there. Had banana stalks growing in my yard back in Jamaica, and it would even switch sides between my yard and the neighbor (grandfather started them in our yard). That side of the yard always got grey water from laundry run off, and the moisture spread to the neighbors past the concrete fence.

[@prettyhottie45]

The imperfect moments are perfect 😂😂😂

[@humanbeing4368]

Grapefruit juice, dehydrated fruit rings, powder, leather, preserve and syrup are some things you can make with your abundant grapefruit harvest.

[@michellebaker8513]

That behind the scenes/bloopers playful beginning of this video was everything!! haha! Love seeing that side as well!

[@adyscript]

Thank you so much for this. I have multiple lemon grass and oregano plants that are several years old and totally out of control. I just walk past them shaking my head at this point. It’s time for me to face the dragons.

[@VerageJoe]

you should use those to make oils for scented candles or something along those lines.

[@notarobot8105]

You guys are a good duo

[@VictorNewman201]

For viewers who would like an alternative to cutting down a healthy tree, they should look into grafting new varieties on to the old one. The existing root system will really help the new grafts take off. You can even do many varieties on the same tree.

[@markus_selloi]

But let’s just ridicule that idea, short term pain you know.. even if that doesn’t make any sense Kevin

[@goranbreskic4304]

@@markus_selloi Relax, Markus.

[@markus_selloi]

@@goranbreskic4304 got triggered by the way kevin talked about it

[@ronk4073]

If you drink alcohol, you could turn some into grapefruit cordial or grapefruit liqueur. An an unopened bottle of liqueur should keep indefinitely if it's above 20% abv, so you could make a few bottles to keep for the future, or give away as gifts. Once opened it should keep for a couple years. If refrigerated a cordial will keep 6 months, but you can freeze extra and pull it out later. Cordial can be used to make non-alcoholic drinks. Mix some with soda water to make grapefruit soda. Also, I recently got a hori, and it is amazing.

[@meagantrout2127]

You could thin slice the grapefruit and dehydrate it and use it for holiday decorations. I used a bunch of too old citrus to make a garland and Christmas tree decorations. It’s been several years. Also juice them and freeze the juice in an ice cube tray. I do this when I buy a ton of citrus and then use for marinades, mixed drinks and flavored water

[@Carmen-ok]

I’m one like you, if the tree is not producing good fruit why keep it, cut it down plant something else that would you enjoy. Lots of delicious herbs 🌿 I use herbs and spices in my cooking all the time, can’t be without them. Loved the video, you guys are amazing at what you do and have a beautiful friendship ♥️

[@michellestarns3415]

I’m loving Bobka!! She’s so inquisitive. We’ve got Tuck on the east coast and Bobka on the west coast. 🥰

[@JWDicus]

That was a tiger moth caterpillar you had there. In the family Arctiidae. They will feed on literally hundreds of species of plants, unlike most caterpillars. I'm a field biologist working in San Diego County and I see them every spring.

[@chezpoisson6]

How about grape fruit curd, dried sugared peels, fermented grapefruit (like Moroccan pickled lemons /limes but grapefruit - just add so much salt and wait), or macerate peels and some pulp in sugar with a little juice. It'll turn into a citrus syrup and the peels will get super sweet and soft. Great for cocktails or ice cream topping!

[@beseggg]

love you guys and the epic garden but that jacaranda tree in the background is making me swooooon 😍😍😍😍

[@epichomesteading]

It's in bloom!

[@Witchydigit]

I'm pretty sure there's at least five there. Also, you should make a batch of oleo saccharum. Take the peels (minus pith), and combine with an equal weight of sugar (or look up a recipe, idk). The sugar draws out the moisture and oils in the peels and makes a citrusy syrup that should last quite a while. Highly prized for making cocktails and mocktails, and honestly just any sort of lemonade or flavored carbonated water. If all the sugar doesn't dissolve add just enough of the juice and heat until it does. It's impractical to make it if you're buying in fruit for it, as it takes a lot of peels to get just a little oil, but once you have a harvest to go through, all of a sudden you have loads. Now, I'm no food safety expert, but traditionally oleo saccharum was stored at room temperature, as it was a way to preserve citrus flavor before refrigeration and global shipping chains, when fresh citrus would only come once a year. It is true that sugar in such high quantities reduces the water activity available to microbes, and citrus is both acidic and citrus oils have minor antimicrobial activity. But that's a decision for you and your family to make, how and for how long you'd like to store it. Any extra peels you don't use for oleo saccharum, you can candy or make into marmalade. Keep the juice and pips if you make marmalade. Personally I prefer marmalades made with the citrus juice, not just water. It needs the acid to balance out the sweet and bitter from the pith. The pips/seeds can be added to a muslin bag and boiled in the marmalade or any other jam you're making. They contain a lot of natural pectin, so can help low-pectin jams and homemade jellies to set better.

[@typorter-pp6lh]

There are many old grapefruit trees in my Northern California town, probably planted 40 years ago. Problem is grapefruit doesn’t work well with many medications, so the older population here are now stuck with fruit trees they no longer use. I have a mature pomelo/eureka lemon 2-in-1 but I cut back the pomelo sections to get more lemons. Cheers!

[@vindictivetiger]

Hey, when are you going to plant some catnip for Bobka? Also look into how/if the grapefruit can be harvested for essential oil production.

[@epichomesteading]

Need to!

[@this-name-is-fake]

An idea for you guys could be to save one of the grapefruit seeds and start a grown from seed series, you could use it as a fun way to teach people who like to grow fruit trees from seed (obviously not recommended but it could be a fun side series)

[@meredithmashburn1317]

Mmm maybe some mixed drinks with the grapefruit, basil, and lemongrass 😋

[@lalasha19]

Make curd! You can juice and zest the grapefruits now, freeze both, and then when your chickens start laying heavily you can make curd from the juice, zest, and eggs.

[@minersproduct]

Loved the editing on this vid! Super good job on the recent content.

[@epichomesteading]

Appreciate it!

[@kelrune]

summer time tip for hot hose, run that hot water on the weeds you wanna kill or porch you need to clean off

[@skynet40433]

Love the saw boys. RIP mystery citrus. 😎

[@jmkupihea7630]

Cut a grapefruit in half and use it as a body scrub in the shower after you soap and rinse the first time. It does a great job exfoliating and you smell like summertime even after you rinse off!

[@wendyburston3132]

Boil then skin and all with some lemons and freezer it in an ice cube tray. They make great refreshing drinks. Just add boiling water to a few ice cubes.

[@shamancarmichael5305]

I love the attempts to look 'cool! at the beginning! 😎🤦

[@melinda3196]

I literally FAINTED when u pulled the nasturtiums out! I'm in Georgia waiting for mine to germinate....

[@wootershooter]

that caterpillar was a woolly bear! the myth around them is that the longer the orange band, the more mild the winter. they grow into the isabella tiger moth which is super pretty yellows and pinks!

[@hanastolhand8494]

I have a couple of questions .... as you asked whether the chickens will eat something, I was wondering if you have ever set up your compost pile or if you've given up on that. You seem to give a lot of stuff to the chickens, but never mention that something would be great in the compost bin. My second question ... Do you still have your grow bag area?? I have a mix of grow bags (not raised beds) and in-ground, but you don't seem to have any grow bag content on your channels any longer. Thanks!!

[@Imjetta7]

Always a good day when you two are uploading your antics. Thanks for the tips and the fun!

[@jettyeddie_m9130]

Pissing off the Tree huggers 🤙🤣

[@justinbukoski1]

Perfect for Greyhound Cocktails

[@viedmond]

You probably should have grafted the variety you wanted on the old grape fruit that way it grows and fruits faster. Love the channel

[@MrRKWRIGHT]

Hello everyone. With all the ongoing food shortages, I'm finding it practical to not mow my lawn this year and neither are my neighbors- or use Roundup on the weeds with all the wild garlic and onions and dandelions - food all around us, edible plants aplenty. I'll bet at least some of those weeds would make a nice salad - accompanied by some nice pan roasted sunflower seeds . Plus, by not running a lawn mower, or using pesticides, I'm contributing less to the waste stream helping to preserve our precious planet. We're also leaving a couple of vacant abandoned houses alone - so that we can forage from those yards as well.

[@cynthiaarmstronghopefulhom9672]

Thanks for the antics today guys, I really needed it.🤗

[@drheidi2010]

My chickens always LOVED nasturtium!

[@boothgoodies6348]

Short term pain, long term gain. I need this on a gym shirt

[@ivelisse0709]

Just in time and the right length so that i can watch it before work 😅

[@PorscheCaymanB]

Man he's just chopping down everything! Plants are so resilient.

[@michellerodgers7790]

You could make jelly with the grapefruit!

[@adelineparinduri]

Your videos are just getting better and better! So funny and easy to enjoy. Cheers to the team 🍷

[@epichomesteading]

Means a lot - we're trying!

[@chrisburke92]

What an intro LOL quality laughs! Appreciate ya!

[@stephaniehanuman-dale6279]

I would make cocktails 🍸Paloma, Greyhound, or a Salty Dog🤤

[@BirdsongCrochet]

Fun episode~ your skeleton gloves are perfect for this one as you are the grim reaper of the old tree & some of those spent herbs! ;)

[@nabhillaschaos580]

Grapefruit jam ✨

[@Mandiikinz]

Gosh I love you two together!!!

[@noramaegomez197]

I had a tree cut down and they grinded the stump pretty far down and it still came back ! I should’ve burned the trunk! And give your chickens Your nasturtium plants that you pulled out they can eat those and they will love them.they can eat A lot of the leafy greens !🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱

[@conniewynyard1067]

I sometimes put my excess seedlings on my curb or excess eggs. The go fast.

[@MMuraseofSandvich]

The last time I saw a stump chewer (I know that's not the name, but my brain piped up with that and I like it) was when Roger Cook was battling a huge stump. "So who won?" "The stump."

[@hilaryoncesaid]

I love the skeleton gloves!

[@froissart1]

Do they smell good? Could you distill them or make grapefruit oil?

[@epichomesteading]

Should try, yes!

[@kwong6884]

If i had all that grapefruit, i would want to make marmalade, grapefruit curd (for cakes), dried grapefruit peels, grapefruit & basil gin liqueur, also pickled grapefruit (in the same way as pickled lemon)

[@vlong7112]

Kevin, you're the best! The knowledge.. the humor.. *chef's kiss*

[@CommonGroundGardens]

Juice them and make Salty Dogs. Delicious. Its vodka and grapefruit juice and simple syrup with salt on the rim

[@shawnamuschamp8972]

If you have a juicer definitely make grapefruit juice with your choice of sweet apples added to taste. No sugar or water needed. It's so delicious.

[@evanthompson3727]

I have well water, and I use orange or citrus peels to make a rinse aid! Seems to make a big difference vs not using rinse aid with soft water. All those citrus peels will make lots!

[@designermelinda1]

On the cuttings you can use Root tone then set it in water

[@preuph]

M\You should make limoncello with the grapefruit and lemons you harvested.

[@clszabo1s]

Sorbet is always a good option for citrus IMO

[@HealthyGMom]

I Love it 🥰

[@jenniferrosario1489]

Here in Puerto Rico we gather all the oregano into a bunch and trim it completely from the top. It forms a little "topiary". It comes back bushier and stronger.

[@craigchingren-hamann9700]

Grapefruit jam! If you make it I want a jar!

[@joshuabaughn3734]

I don't like lemongrass, whenever I touch it, I break out in hives! But I'd like to see you grow a bay tree. The Bay Laurel is where Bay Leaves come from.

[@abyssal_phoenix]

My first thought was to make the grapefruit in a jam or marmelade maybe Or maybe dehydrate it so it can be stored for longer

[@catsbooksandaxes7631]

I was scrolling through looking for a comment like this. :) Grapefruit-ginger marmelade FTW! You can even make it in an Instant Pot, and it saves a ton of the work.

[@abyssal_phoenix]

@@catsbooksandaxes7631 see, you speak my language! Grapefruit-ginger marmelade is one of my fav marmelades And yeah the instant pot makes it way easier and faster!!

[@kikiinthegarden]

This entire vlog was hilarioussss!! Love how everything turned out 💛

[@tericamcginnis5848]

You could always offer the grapefruit to care centers, food banks, soup kitchens, shelters.... Fun video! Did you amend the soil while resetting? I didn't notice. Happy Friday! 😎

[@JulianJP21]

Great vid as always Kevin 👍🤙

[@MrYal-gh9yj]

That's cool

[@catiepower3550]

🤣 you two are so much fun

[@latvian_homestead]

Wanted to share my experience and experiment 😂 last year we tried to grow in short season - garlic. Put in ground few cloves and we did harvest them. Wasn’t best / bet little bit did get. Bed was tilted and this year I couldn’t get any cloves for growing - wanted so much. Today I went into garden and guess what - my garlic was popping and did lot more plants then last year (50 together). But I needed this space for greenhouse and they needed to go. They would die anyway - so I made my first raised bed and replanted them. I few month time - we will see it that’s works 😂

[@latvian_homestead]

I know it’s different video, but found channel because off garlic video 😂 just sharing my this years experiment and experience with volunteer garlic 😂

[@owen_d7783]

I love the intro😂😂the editing even made it more scenery ♥️😂😂

[@conniemcgehee2851]

on my african blue basil, i just cut off the flowers when they are past their prime. it reguvenates the plant with many more blooms that the bees love.

[@ellenkuang8853]

Grapefruit-lemon curd/bars sound really good. I just made kumquat-lemon bars with the 15lbs of kumquats my labmate gave me. 😅

[@epichomesteading]

Sounds so good!

[@c0ldlight1]

maybe candy the peels of all those grapefruit? it'll last forever and be a delicious snack.

[@ktpieallen]

Epic gloves to go with your epic herb bed! 🧤 🌱

[@reedjenda119]

Eenmaal volwassen worden de bloempluimen wit. Hydrangea paniculata 'Limelight' is een andere soort die ook soortgelijke bloemen geeft; limoengroene bloemhoofdjes worden bij rijping roomwit.

[@elyserhyne243]

There's a much much easier way of propagating blackberries. Take the canes and bend them over. Bury the last 4 inches of the cane in a pot of soil. Within a couple weeks you'll have a whole new plant ready for transplant. Only then cut ot off. Nearly 100% success rate due to still being attached to the mother plant.

[@ChefIsaac925]

Make Korean natural farming fermented fruit juice!! Feed to plant that are going into fruiting stage!! Nice vid Kevin! You dudes are funny lol

[@Lifeofwiley]

I’d like you to grow some lemon verbena. Great lemon flavour, and I read it’s sterile, so I’m curious about propagation

[@elizabethard3620]

Grapefruit margaritas? I love grapefruit granita.

[@zaretnavarro]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 that's all I can say. Great episode🤣😍

[@GrowingOrganicTvShow]

Try making lemon grass tea. It is so good and healthy.

[@naegwut]

Epic kitty!

[@Ebonyraeful]

No idea if this is good, but its what I would do. Make grape fruit kombucha, and grapefruit vinegar. I hear home made fruity vinegars are awesome. Pro home cooks has a video on how to make them.

[@trojanmen21]

Your gloves made me think of the Karate Kid more than Halloween.

[@tammybinfl4755]

Great video as always. Need to video herb drying the info would be great for all how to dry rosemary, thyme, oregano and so on.. Thanks so much just a thought..

[@rockoutblackout9835]

Pretty sure this is what heavens like. :D

[@davidgeorge4784]

That is one manly chainsaw

[@anyelina8051]

Hi Epic gardeners, in the case of the african blue basil (12:50), why not just take the seeds from the flowers, since the plant already looks very developed/old and therfore the seeds in the flowers might already be viable at this point. I have prev successfully grown a chinese/thai basil from the seeds from an old plat i used to have using this method indoors and with very little knowledge about plants back then, so im pretty sure you wouldnt have any trouble with it.