Starting Plants in Cold Climate - Sweden

[@edwardortman2593]

LOL.... That is why we bring our hoses in the house and hang them from a rafter a few feet from the wood stove. Nothing more frustrating than having to clear ice from the hoses every morning to get the animal and plant watering done. P.S.. I had never seen or heard of "soil blocks" before. Had to go check those out, quite cool.. I took a few minutes and made a small unit for making some blocks myself. Four blocks seeded now for a first test, thanks for the exposure to a new idea.

[@Ticdaniel]

"thanks for watching"?? NO simeon.... thanks for sharing👏👏

[@ranger9248]

'the right' way to heat that thing is to dig a deeper hole and fill it with manure and then a layer of soil on top of it where you plant the seeds. ;) The old way. My new favorite channel. Thanks.

[@lyndawilliams8434]

Simeon.. Take some solid vegetable fat, (in britain its called Trex, I think in america its Crisco?) Melt it and pour it into a jar, and stand a long candle in it and allow to cool. Place bricks on the ground, put the jar on it, and place bricks around the jar. It will burn for about five days solid, and keep the temperature above freezing, and provide carbon dioxide for the plants. Its a lot cheaper than the electric, and if youre off grid, electric is an issue. Your plants are looking fab tho. Thanks for all the info.

[@andrewboddy2791]

"Ister" in Swedish... interesting idea, I will try it.

[@simeonandalex]

Thanks. That sounds interesting.

[@xenonram]

Why "let it cool"? It's all going to melt back to liquid, and the candle will fall over, anyways.

[@georgeapplegate3535]

Probably simpler and better to buy a really thick wick (or multiple wicks) and make one giant candle. The correct wick size to prevent the wick from burning down or drowning depends on the candles size and fuel melting point. It may take some experimentation. The increased CO2 will make a huge difference provided there is enough light to allow the plants to use it. The plastic and condensation is blocking some of the light. Perhaps some LED grow lights would help the seedlings use the CO2. If the frame is well sealed, the plants will otherwise be starved of CO2.

[@Theorimlig]

Ister is lard, for the record!

[@martijnheeroma5492]

Iceblocks and soilblocks Simeon is the blockMeister. ;) I'm still seeding in the cheap 2-season black 70x70 pots 25/tray. Thanks for showing how much more efficient you can work with the blocks on handy wooden planks. Love the easy opening cold frame.

[@holisticadvocate7882]

You are an inspiration. I am moving to a northern area of the US and will be using some of your methods to garden. Hopefully I will be able to show my grandchildren how to grow their own food in a cold climate.

[@simeonandalex]

Awesome.

[@petruzzovichi]

The excitement and patronage of your channel is the result of YOU Simeon and your wholesome, sound attitude. You and your family are wonderful and refreshing and that's why so many of us eagerly await your videos.May God bless you and your family,Peter

[@zametki_sibirychki]

Hello Simeon. My name is Luba and I live in Siberia, near Baikal, I accidentally saw your videos. Very interesting, You have a very similar nature, the whole forest looks exactly like us, even it seems that the shooting near my site :). Sorry for not very good English, I write through the translator (and looked with Russian subtitles). I grow on my site a variety of vegetables and your greenhouse - just super, I really liked it. I also grow many vegetables seedlings, tomatoes, peppers, watermelons, corn. Only I have cups ready, plastic, for seedlings of different sizes. By the way, we sometimes do in greenhouses "warm floor", this is a film with a heating cable, and on top of the ground, then the roots of the seedlings are warm, if the earth is not yet warmed. And perimeter can place plastic bottles of water, they ha day heat and night heat the greenhouse. My respect is Luba.

[@carlmerkey9370]

Glad you started this channel been gardening for a lot of years,but I can always learn new things Thanks ,Carl from Michigan in the U.S.

[@simeonandalex]

Glad to hear that. I am still learning a ton myself...

[@PANTTERA1959]

Nice cold frame,beautiful plants. I like the plywood under the soil blocks. Keeps blocks from falling apart in transport.

[@hickoryhomes6838]

Really helpful - the cold frame is brilliant. Thanks for sharing. Please keep going as I learn a lot from your videos and your experiences.

[@RaphJoli]

LoL! Thanks for splash of water 💦 love watching your videos! Always excited in learning something new. Keep up the great work!

[@NaturesCadenceFarm]

For some reason...the hose spewing the perfect size ice cubes made me laugh!! They would fit just right into my water bottle!!! 👍

[@ThePlantBasedHomestead]

Love the cold frame and the nozzle at the end of your hose. I'm going to have to check our gardening store and see if I can find something like it. The seedlings look very healthy!

[@martynelson8858]

great garden plants.....everything looks really beautiful......and so organized......

[@shanahtovah3247]

Ice hose TUBE CUBES!FANTASTIC COLD FRAME!

[@ceciliachang4947]

Thank you for easy to make cold frame by the house wall. Amazing.. I can make it myself.. thank you very much..we(gardeners at heart can put heads together grow food for our family and community. thank you for wonderful idea. you are the smart gardener.

[@greymanzink6118]

Tomatoes are doing really well, so are your leeks. Good luck with your transplanting.

[@danielmcardle3476]

I am fighting that same battle right now, starting 35 trays of flowers and vegetables as the snow keeps piling up outside. Using window sills, mini-tents, a basement, and a greenhouse but still losing quite a few plants along the way. Thanks for sharing that neat idea. I am going to build one tomorrow!

[@craigculver9978]

Great video Simeon, Your young plants look very good. Happy planting.

[@OldesouthFarm]

Bless your heart. It is hot here in Alabama and I have lettuce bolting... My citrus trees are going to town... Have a new batch of lettuce planted and will shade cover it to not bolt... I grew up in Michigan and a climate same as yours. I hated it... Alabama summers are brutal, but the winters mild and so love it... You have taught me so much... Thank you...

[@simeonandalex]

Thanks for sharing. Sometimes I wish I lived in a different climate but the summers here are so beautiful most of the time. But so short too...

[@sunflowersnbluebirds7362]

Yeah, your soil blocks are way better than mine. I haven't quite gotten the hang of it yet. Great video Simeon!

[@tim.wilson839]

Another great video! Just love the way you do your cold frame. I have tried it Here in the states with very little success, it's good to yours succeeding. Looking forward to the next one.

[@simeonandalex]

What do you think caused yours to not work?

[@tim.wilson839]

Swedish Homestead. It wasn't built as good and air tight as yours.

[@garywylie2231]

now that I see the plants growing in the soil blocks I will do that next year! that is awesome! I also did not realize how many plants you could get in your cold frame. Hopefully you will show some of your vegetable gardens later this year.

[@simeonandalex]

I will show lots I hope...

[@hart796]

What a great greenhouse. I want to build one when i move to my new home with more land

[@adelalukacova7982]

All your plants look very healthy and happy, the soil block are doing good job. I am happy you plant the same types of plants as we do in Slovakia. Urugula is for us better to seed as autumn plants, in the spring it is significantly eaten by insect pests, -striped flea beetle (Phyllotreta striolata)-. I also like to call lettuce with the name -salad-. In German language -salat-, in Slovak salat. Well, easier then lettuce. :-)

[@simeonandalex]

Haha, I know. I always forget to say lettuce.

[@raymondhodge3979]

Look like the cold frame is doing a great job, all your plants are doing really good. Can't wait to see you put together the new greenhouse, you will need to try different ways of heating it on the cheap, I have watched a lot of video showing different ways maybe one would work for you. Great video as always.

[@ZrubekFamily]

Simion, have you looked into capillary mat watering? I am using it for my tomato and pepper starts and it saves me so much time. You don't have to buy capillary matting either, you can use old bath towels or fiberfill batting.

[@jackicomber8534]

Hopefully you will film transplanting? Such beautiful seedlings!

[@marilyngodfrey868]

Your videos are very good...tutorials! Thank you!

[@seth197725]

Loving the cold frame!

[@Flexaret]

All your plants/seedlings are coming on very well, I have a small greenhouse but apart from a few tomato plants in it and some rogue parsnips from last year growing outside I haven't planted anything yet, mid May is about right for outside here.

[@simeonandalex]

Do you have it below freezing at night where you live?

[@Flexaret]

No, the temperature is above freezing but it's mainly very wet and cloudy, still the chance of hail and even light snow a couple of weeks ago.

[@darciisabella]

This was great! Thank you for the motivation to make my own cold frames. I've been meaning to do it for years and now seeing your simple design, I know I can do it. Thank you again Simeon! Happy Easter week!

[@simeonandalex]

Awesome. Same to you.

[@Sterase94]

The ice from the hose was really interesting! Haven't seen that before xD

[@beckydauphinee9411]

love all your videos. your seasons are so much I here in NS, Canada

[@mamabear8590]

Ha ha 🚿 water came out unexpectedly. Cold frame is awesome 👏🏼

[@finpainter1]

nice start

[@megan5475]

lol the moment you sprayed water in our faces was the best

[@rmack48]

Two things, In my opinion, I would move those heaters out until I was finished watering, and second I would put those watering hoses inside or at least drain them thoroughly at the end of each day that they are used. I reside in the same type of climate as you do and I don't really trust things will not freeze until at least May.

[@davidodom6127]

Have you thought of rainwater harvesting? My 700 gal off my shop roof keeps my garden watered all season. Going to expand capacity to 2000 gal to include wife's flower. Garden is gravity fed. U are most sensible homesteads on the tube. Live long and prosper.

[@Ed19601]

I think I heard him say 'I have got a Lake'

[@Darmel94]

Great videos!

[@SolaceRadioMeanderRadioNetwork]

Thank you so much for this information. I know the perfect place to build one like yours! Blessings.

[@charlymaher3361]

Looking good...

[@cloverdoll1228]

Brand new to your channel & I love this. Just an idea though, if you're not able to use black buckets of water for thermal mass heat, you could prop up some unglazed terra cotta tile against the house for the same affect but using less space.

[@pammurphy8843]

Simeon, I'm very interested in your indoor block apparatus. Are the blocks in trays or on something easy to lift out of their spots in the shelving? Are there places to catch the water drainage so the wood lasts longer? Is it on wheels? This might make an interesting video. You know I'll watch it! I have metal shelving in my living room with photographic developing trays beneath them. I use 4 foot overhead lights to provide enough light. Even by the southern window, there isn't enough light. Do show us how you made your shelving. It really looks wonderful! Many thanks for a great information. Pam

[@karengarza7104]

Thank you for sharing this with us! I'm glad that the soil block are holding up. I thought they would fall apart when you water them.

[@simeonandalex]

At first it is the moisture that keeps them together and later it is the roots.

[@WhistleThicket]

This cold frame rocks! Exactly what I'm going to build next fall. How cold is it at your farm this time of year?

[@MrCOUNTRYCANNON]

We tried using 8" of green manure in the bottom of our cold frames to generate heat. I enjoy your attitude, shows in your gift to gardening. Do you Hulg culturel?

[@dorascott8286]

The Best, Thank You.....

[@maehay4065]

I've never seen ice cubes coming out of a garden hose! It's really really cold there where you are living. Thanks for mist😂 I think your plants are looking really great! What type of celery did you say taste great in mashed potatoes? I've not tried this before? Thank you for sharing your video👍🙏🏡

[@lancesurgeon7614]

MAE HAY - I think that is called a Swedish ice maker. LOL!!!

[@greinhart88]

Thanks for the info, I'm really enjoying your videos!

[@apolloaiello8025]

Thanks man!

[@friendlyfoodforest8033]

We may do a cold frame because it is cold in Michigan USA because it's always cold in spring. Joshua Zieba channel if you want to check it out a cold climate permaculture food forest in year two.

[@354133]

Now that was interesting, ice cubes from the water hose.

[@BarnGeek]

Alternative Title "How to Make Swedish Ice Cubes"

[@pammurphy8843]

Yes, it was really exciting to see the cubes come out. Water on the camera may have been an accident, but it was exciting!

[@simeonandalex]

Haha. Yes.

[@seek2find]

I giggled till my stomach hurt.

[@ChicagoCFH]

keep em coming man. your channel has blown up for sure!

[@TTimeConscious]

I love your videos!! Thank you 🙏✨✨✨✨✨

[@RVBadlands2015]

Where did you get the soil block maker.

[@zezo1975]

i love your work , keep up

[@kkg02122]

that a an awesome cold frame. Did you show how to build it on an earlier vlog?

[@northernninjarunner5506]

Can you show us the recipe for the celery in mash please Simeon thank you

[@jefffreeman4918]

Yes plese

[@andrewboddy2791]

Rotselleri (sv) is celeriac (en) ... so a root vegetable. HTH.

[@simeonandalex]

Maybe some day.... ;)

[@northernninjarunner5506]

Swedish Homestead Homestead Home Recipes 😉

[@yedon68]

I love to grow tomatoes & strawberries...

[@catcook3324]

I love when the hose shoots cylindrical ice cubes.

[@petermueller7407]

How many soil blocks do fit in max?

[@heavenscenthomestead4242]

Love your cold frame! It is good to see how others garden in a cold climate like I live in. I have put heating cables into the sand below the trays. Trouble is that they are expensive and they are not very durable. Do you like the wood trays or the plastic ones better?

[@danielmcardle3476]

My spray heads always bust when they freeze. Probably because I buy cheap ones! What brand is that you are using to water with?

[@calhoun1968]

Simeon, I laughed loudly when you got the screen wet. The guy who invented "Morse" code, Samuel L. Morse, also invented a passive solar heater. I think an adaptation of that would heat the cold frame and hold a bit more heat to release at night. Secure Slate, or some kind of dark stone, hopefully freely sourced, to the back leaving a half inch approximately. Do this in vertical strips with the wood spacing strips. Leave it open at the top (about two hand spans under the top support at the rear of the cold frame. Find something you can use at the top of each of these slate heaters to baffle, or redirect the air back into the cold frame with a gentle curve. We don't want any warmed air escaping through the top without an attempt to recirculate that air. Leave the opening at the bottom, one or two hand spans from the floor to allow for the air to begin circulating by convection.. Also, if you don't mind reusing most of the soil blocks from the leeks, you can prepare the bed you are going to plant them in by poking holes with a marked dowel. Mark it about nine inches up from the the "Bottom" and use that as your guide. When you have all the holes "drilled" very carefully crumble the soil blocks from around the leek seedlings and drop the seedling down into the hole carefully. When it gets watered and just grows on its own, the soil will naturally fill in and you will have leeks that have been naturally bleached nine inches of eatable leek without mounding soil around them as they grow. This advice came from Eliot Coleman from his book Four Season Harvest, I believe it was that one. I tried it last year and got excellent results. Your friend, Kelly

[@simeonandalex]

Hey there. Thanks for sharing. I saw Eliot Coleman demonstrating this on a youtube video earlier this year and wanted to try that with the leeks..

[@syahrul9521]

Nice video...

[@gardenstate732]

I would spin those pepper plants to the front they need a lot of light but seem to be doing ok

[@gregor2853]

Don't the soil block fall apart when you spray water on them?

[@simeonandalex]

You can't shoot water at them but it works great with soft sprinklers.

[@davidschwartz2398]

I've never seen such hard water coming out from a hose. Lol!

[@mrsmagandelatour]

what about manure hot beds

[@charlesburkhart800]

Nice looking plants! What do you use all the leeks for? Thanks, Ohio

[@simeonandalex]

We are going to freeze a bunch but are also selling vegetables.

[@gerrymarmee3054]

You have probably mentioned this, but what kind of soil do you use for the starter soil mix? Can you make your own? I really enjoy seeing what you do.

[@simeonandalex]

I just used organic planting soil. Eliot Coleman has a video on youtube where he mixes his own. Just search it.

[@llewietuttle3105]

What is celery root?

[@brettjacobs242]

I've never seen the compression attachment you used to add a sprayer to your hose. What's the brand name so I can find one?

[@101life9]

Awesome, thumbs up 😊😊

[@SebastianUnterberg]

So nice to see you having success with the channel. I'm moving to south Sweden in late summer this year with my family to start a more independent lifestyle. It would be great to know if you are located in south Sweden, as it's still "brown" there in mid April? Good luck and more successful videos. Good job.

[@simeonandalex]

We are in the Tiveden area.

[@normamason3185]

Simeon, what variety of tomato plants are those? They don't look like any that I have seen here in the US.

[@simeonandalex]

One of them is 'Alaskan Fancy' another one is called 'Black Sweet Cherry'. Have to look up the other 2.

[@betsytraughber1870]

I really like your spray nozzle, the mist setting is great! Where did you get it and how much did it cost?

[@michaelchristie1942]

I live in the states, and I have never seen that attachment you have on the end of your garden hose, did you cut off the end to put that on or is that just how hoses come in Sweden?

[@Ticdaniel]

Michael Christie. maybe this link works. there you see what evry house and farm use in sweden www.gardena.com/se/water-management/hose-connectors/

[@michaelchristie1942]

Thanks for the link, that site is very informative.

[@charcar78]

Those are standard attachments in Sweden, they simply and quickly snap onto our standard outdoor taps. Most hoses come with them on but you can buy them and the hoses separately if you prefer. Looks like Simeon took the attachment off so that the ice could flush out and then reattached it. It's very quickly done. Edit: Sorry for some reason I couldn't see that someone already answered your question.

[@andrewyek]

hii simeon, this is andrew from germany. here at where i am Neuss, germany, we are expecting minus degree C these few days.. it is already 17 april, still the temperature dipped.. and if i can't do something to the blossomed fruit tree, we won;t be having any fruit this year on pear and apricot even peach this year, again. your video is very informative, just one thing i hope you will tell me, how much is the bill for the electric heater that you put in the seedling cold frame a week ? did you put a meter to record the KWH of your seedling heating bill ? i guess should be expansive, because i use propane tank and thermo regulated green house propane heater.. and i have to replace the tank quite often, depending how much i adjust the temperature .. keep up the good work. thanks andrew

[@simeonandalex]

Hey Andrew. Hope you won't loose your fruit harvest. It is a big bummer when weather goes like that... I calculated the cost for the heater roughly to 0,5€ / day right now. It is running about 20% of the time during night.

[@danielschneider1504]

2:14- 2:19: a demonstration of a Swedish ice cube maker. :-D

[@kentuckycowboy2]

What variety of tomato plants do you grow? I saw the beautiful crop and yield in one of the green house videos prior. I really love Beef steak and the Cherokee Purple variety here but have limited success.

[@simeonandalex]

This year we are trying a few different ones. We use 'Black Sweet Cherry' which is an incredible variety and a couple different big ones. 'Alaskan Fancy' is the name of one. Have to look into the others....

[@kentuckycowboy2]

Thank you I'll look at the Alaskan Fancy also I've never saw it around here.

[@MetaView7]

don't ever think you have no room for water tanks in your cold frame. YOu can get some 5 gallon buckets and bury them in the soil. Or have some of them half-buried, then put the seedlings on top of the half-buried buckets. The water will regulate the temperature and save you some energy.

[@NaturesCadenceFarm]

MetaView7 some medium sized boulders might help too.

[@RTSchock]

Good job. :)

[@colleenrodamer6230]

At least u have ice water

[@acanadianineurope814]

Hi Simeon I wanted to ask if you are self sufficient with vegetables ? Lots of veg, but still doesn't seem enough for 5 people for a year.

[@simeonandalex]

We are selling certain varieties of vegetables and have been self sufficient on potatoes, garlic, onion, strawberries. We'll see how it will go this year. I am planning on selling a bunch. We seed a bunch directly and will seed lettuce plants every 2 weeks.

[@johncraftenworth7847]

SIMEON! Don't simply plant one seed of onions or leeks per soil block for transplanting. Plant 4-7 seeds (depending on the size of the plant, for leeks I suggest planting 4-5 seeds per soil block, with the idea that in many plots if you plant 5, only 4 will likely come up). Then, instead of spacing them out at 6 inches, try spacing them out at 10 inches apart to give the roots some room to grow. This saves a TON of work when transplanting, the labor on transplanting and harvesting/cleaning onions is out of control as it is, planting only one seed per soil block would make me faint as I must fill in two beds 30 inches wide and 75 feet long!

[@bobbiwilhite5860]

🙌

[@noeraldinkabam]

My sprayer froze and it split open...

[@simeonandalex]

The package on mine said it was frost safe... So far it has been.

[@northernninjarunner5506]

Slush puppy hose pipe maker

[@vincegordon6830]

👏👏👏✌️

[@dakaloka]

Pappers should get a little more sun, becouse they are sheaded by tomatos. Try tu put them on more sunnier location a little away from tomatos if possible.

[@mick3805]

You wet us. 😂😂😂😂😂😂