Three months of growing food for my family - Spring

A few months in my garden here in Central Portugal, getting ready for the summer.
Buy our olive oil here: www.hortavelha.com/
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Music: Epidemic Sound
New here? My name is Lea and I live with my partner Maarten, our daughter Puck and toddler Bo on our land in Central Portugal. We left the rat race in the Netherlands in 2018 and moved south in our old campervan. Two years ago we bought land in Portugal that had been abandoned for several decades. After lots of hard work we now live in a beautiful yurt and keep ourselves busy growing our own vegetables as well as producing olive oil, wine and honey on a small scale. This channel documents all the different jobs we have to do, and sometimes some nice footage of this beautiful country we now call home.
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Chapters:
0:00 first sowing of the year
1:52 Supporting my fava beans
2:50 Building a raised bed in my greenhouse
5:12 Filling the new bed with compost
6:36 Planting the first tomatoes
7:47 Getting the garden ready for planting
8:56 Seeding pumpkins
11:02 Potting on seedlings
11:57 Prepping the beds
13:48 Digging irrigation channels
16:00 Simple trellis building
17:13 Planting seedlings outside
19:10 Fava bean harvest
21:16 Final remarks
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[@katiadp2145]

Have been missing you guys!!!!!There is something special that you radiate when you work in the garden❤❤❤❤🇬🇷 🇬🇷

[@DomaineSauvage]

Great video, will use the labelling out of yoghurt tip 😅 🙏!

[@destino2portugal]

I needed this, some lovely wholesome content to escape, momentarily the horrors of the world. Bo and Puck are adorable kids, so chilled and patient. Also, loved the blue skirt, you rocked it 🔥

[@luisaleonardi666]

Bo and Pick are so cute, growing fast and happy sharing all the beauty around them. Lovely care in the sowing is proving better and better. Enjoy all the best of the seasons and the joys of your wonderful family ❤❤❤

[@janenewley1014]

Goodness…Bo has grown up so much over the months of this video…😀😀😀

[@oakolive]

Watching this while having two wool pullovers and knitted socks on in May is a bit surreal.

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

For real, it’s so cold 😤

[@user-ih7zg4tf1w]

It's a lot of work and organization and than you create a wonderful garden and food. Lovely children. Thank you for sharing this video.

[@beeheart6324]

Beautiful video! Thank you! It's interesting to know that the weather is quite cold this year in other countries as well. We live in Ireland and it's still so cold, we hardly had any sunshine and we are waiting for it now. I love watching your videos, they have that special energy and the authenticity is something I love very much. ;-)

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

I’ve heard similar things from all over the world! Weather really is upside down this year

[@thizizliz]

Yeah, weird weather makes things more difficult. I hope you get great harvests. So much hard work!!!

[@lizwilson6633]

Loved this video, how well your garden has done over the last few months. The children have grown so much, feels like just yesterday he was a babe in arms, look at him now. Puck's hair is stunning, the colour is just gorgeous, she has grown so tall. Look forward to seeing your summer garden when in full bloom. Hope you are preparing for the hot summer xxxxxxx

[@daffs0]

Absolutely wonderful Your doing an amazing job things are looking so good Looking forward to the next video Thank you for sharing your beautiful family and your awesome land 😁

[@Tubroos_Bz]

What an enjoyable video... A (very familiar to me!) slice of life on a small farm.

[@AnneHeyns]

Your vegetables plants looks good like they do every year.

[@eduardoHMYT]

It would be interesting to innoculate those trees with morels And truffles

[@janicedelp2775]

Hi, Lea! I'm happy to see you and your family again. All your gardens are looking fabulous. I love how you come up with neat ideas like using yogurt containers to make labels for your trays and using the greenhouse frame to tie the strings to. You do a great job making your bed frames, too. It's so sweet how Puck and Bo are thrilled to help. We are trying to get our garden planted but have had lots of rain which have delayed setting out the tomatoes and peppers or planting squash and okra. I planted onions, radishes, greens, and lettuce early, but heavy rains have been rough on the more tender plants. I will plant more if I can get in my garden. I keep a calendar every year with each planting recorded and the same thing happened last year. We still had good crops eventually, I just get impatient. Your flowers are beautiful! I always plant wildflowers at one side of the garden and love how cheerful they are as I harvest and weed. Take care and many blessings to all of you! Janice from Arkansas USA

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

We’re almost 4 weeks behind compared to previous weeks 🥲 But the flowers have done really well, so that makes up for something!

[@irmafernandez2887]

I am really happy to see your new vlog and your gardening practices to feed your family.

[@vickiwalker3486]

Peace☺️

[@54alko]

Good to see you back. I enjoy your simple lifestyle and approach to making videos. Watching your children growing up is a joy, Thank you

[@kwanhowkwantiman650]

I've been waiting for your video , I know it's a lot of work Thank you

[@portugaldreamzzz920]

Love seeing your video's. You are so knowledgeable🥒🍓🫑💐🌶

[@janenewley1014]

Lovely aerial shots…they really help to show the lie of your land. Thank you. 😀

[@suepittel426]

It's a;ways so nice to see you and your family. Your garden is really shaping up. I love it that you plant flowers along with your splendid veggies. Thank you.

[@joyguthrie964]

Loved seeing you back in the garden! Hoping you are lucky with your pumpkins.

[@ciprianoneves7246]

Your children are learning the basics of Life which will enrich their lives in the future.

[@nadinehedican5677]

Wonderful ! You inspire me to get busy with the garden. Thank you !

[@cazicature]

We love you videos, thankyou for sharing, best wishes to you and yours 💐

[@Stormy-14-]

Thank you for another beautiful video 👍👍❤️❤️

[@joeykottnitz4831]

Hi Lea, I'am glad to see your videos again. Yes, the children grow so fast. Your garden looks fabulous. Good luck with your pumkins, I were not so lucky this last year. I will try this year again. Good luck with your veggie garden. Joey Walvis Bay Namibia.

[@jarbassatiro4609]

Congratulations. I live in Brazil, i like to see your felicity.

[@LindaSchreiber]

So lovely to see you all. Thanks!

[@nessuno1948]

Children's education at it's best.

[@Bennie32831]

The bee's have been doing there job and the place is looking great looking like you are getting the hang of the place ✌️👍👏

[@ChristineKelly1000]

Puk has gotten so big God bless her.😊❤

[@destino2portugal]

Dwight Schrute would be proud ❤

[@billiegutierrez2506]

Glad to see your back I love watching you garden and your videos. That Bo is sure getting big.

[@morganleticia2316]

Bo has gotten taller 😊 /like always you do an amazing job with your planting I hope this year to do better see you on your next one have a great week

[@joketendam5806]

Puk wat heb je een hoop boontjes geplukt. Mange tout. (eet alles) heerlijk. Wat ben je toch gegroit. 💌😘🤗

[@manuelteixeira1155]

God bless your familia

[@joketendam5806]

good to zee you back.

[@juanitakauffman6336]

It is a great video. Love seeing the flowers and progress in the gardens.

[@robynclarke5274]

Hi, nice to see you again in your garden. I love the way you are growing your pumpkins. You should do well. In Australia we grow pumpkins, watermelons and zucchini on mounds. I often bury scraps with leaves etc until I have a nice mound. I then leave it until it's time to plant pumpkins. I love to experiment in my garden with different methods etc. Good luck to you. Lovely to see the children in the garden learning about growing their food, so helpful.

[@punjabseth260]

Nice👍👌

[@rachelfrees1268]

So glad to see you and family.🎉

[@odiliapereira7043]

Hi Léa, i happy to see you back

[@elisabethbenders-hyde5286]

Did I hear Bo start to count? Een, twee fava beans. The weather where I live in Massachusetts, USA, has been all over the place as well. Still haven't planted my beans since I learned last year they don't like cold feet and all the seeds rotted in the ground. Peas are about 2 inches tall. Looks like you are well on the way with your garden, here is hoping the weather doesn't take another plunge.

[@metamud8686]

Yay! Another video 🙂

[@skaraborgcraft]

Spring is late to Sweden. I have decided it is almost better to watch you gardening with your music, with a glass of wine, than get compost under my fingernails. :) Love beets, hope they survived and prosper!

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

I can only imagine your frustration! I’m hoping to grow enough beets to do some pickling again 🤞

[@lidijafichtner7080]

Thank You for sharing 👍

[@ciprianoneves7246]

Beautiful life …serenity, peace and good views. Today is MAY 21 here in the States and i still have not planted my tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. However, today was 86 F ….and the temps are looking up. LAUGG Stay happy.

[@samanthalouise2929]

I rarely comment on KZbin videos but just wanted to say I love watching you pottering about in your garden :) I am hoping to relocate to Portugal soon and grow a lot of my own food so it's really interesting to see your methods and learn a bit more about growing veggies in a different climate. I also have a toddler who is my garden companion so it's lovely to see your little ones by your side, sometimes takes longer to get things done but I wouldn't have it any other way!

[@NextStopThailand]

You got this! Def been a tough spring for my seedlings😊

[@lieuwina]

Puk and Bo have grown since I last saw them. So nice to see you back Leah and Martin. Your vegetable garden is booming and looks lovely. Leah I love your skirt you were wearing at the end of the video. Till the next video take care, till then. Fijne dag, tot ziens.

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

Thanks! It’s my new favorite skirt 😊

[@fionaworrell4535]

I also had to plant things out,much earlier than I felt it was good to do so,I was having a huge problem with slugs and snails and ants in the greenhouse,so pretty much as soon as plants germinated,I put them out under plastic cups..I lost a lot less plants outside than in. Though many have struggled most are growing well now.

[@HomesteadInFrance]

Lovely to see your veggie garden getting into shape. You are doing a great job. A no dig garden is not always possible, and i think if you do a combination and evolve to using more and more compost and manure it will become enriched. We are starting with our veggie garden for the first time after moving to France from the Netherlands, so it also will take some time to get it into shape 😀One step at a time. Oh and yes, even here it has been cold last month, so no go to put any of the plants outside. Are you using only store buy seeds or also seeds from last year? We want to save our own seeds eventually, but have to look into if that is possible with all seeds. Good luck with the garden, nice to see a video update of it!

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

Good luck getting your new garden going! For now I’m not organized enough to save seeds, so I just buy them 😊

[@escapetoruralwales]

Whenever I hear fava beans I think of Hannibal Lecter. I love your vlogs. I wish mine were as creative as yours. Much love. Escape to rural Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 ❤

[@hannahtheherb]

Got some good tips there. Thank you. :)

[@mikeunum]

Ahww, de kleine jong grooit snel zeg. Lief de kleine kerel.

[@srenloe43]

A diary as to what works in the garden and what doesn’t helps over the years. The raised bed looks more Dutch and with the drip system will be a winner. Water conservation is a must in the garden. I personally don’t buy the no-till but advocate that the soil needs continued rejuvenation. Good work Lea.

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

These videos are my diary so far 😊. My hope with cover cropping is a built in mulch system so that we don’t have to buy that anymore. Either way we always add organic matter when tilling, so I don’t feel too bad about it.

[@Sillie69]

Zo gaaf om te zien, het zal soms bloed, zweet en tranen kosten maar om je land te bewerken, te voeden zodat het jullie ook voeding teruggeeft... Zo mooi! Het duurt hier allemaal wat langer om richting Portugal te komen maar juni staat de reis op de planning. Ik hoop jullie dan te zien! 🧡

[@coppertone711]

I am glad to see you all out in the garden working hard with the children. Time goes so quickly. Almost three years ago I started to move the garden here from the city. I drew a quick plan and started while still working. The grass in the garden area I covered with tarps and cardboard to find my way to beds. I am covering them in fall trying to keep the grass away. My biggest funny moment as I put the greenhouse on top of an old trees root area unknown to me. You can imagine the mess as the tree roots have composted away and left a hole in the greenhouse floor. I have the seed starts shelf tied to the walls and braced with the boards to stop the fall. Now I will empty the greenhouse and fix the big sink hole. Hoping you have many tomatoes and a pumpkin success this year.

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

Good luck getting your greenhouse fixed 😊

[@savortunes6038]

Wow! Thanks for sharing this interesting video, your very very hard working, very well shown aand explain, super out come, beautiful place👍👍👍❤❤❤ Big like and support 👍👍👍❤❤❤ Take care and God bless!

[@Jaantoenen]

Here in California I plant gas and collard greens every year. Cheers

[@MoonOverHomelessness]

Hi, Guys! Do you cook your Fava pods? I saw on Positano Diaries, where the Italians cook them up like Spinach and/or Mustard Greens. Olive oil with chopped onion and garlic until pale. Add the pods. Salt over the top of them. Add water to the top of the pods and let it cook down. Add more water to cook down again, if needed, until they're tender like Spinach. Best cooked in a deep skillet! I love seeing all those flowers mixed in everywhere, as well as all the native flowers. So beautiful!

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

Hi! No at this stage I don't cook the shell, just the beans. The shell is quite tough at this size, might be nice when they're younger. I have cooked the tops of the plant as spinach, added them to a tomato soup which was lovely :) I'll show some more cooking in the next video.

[@joketendam5806]

@@ourportuguesehomestead in turkey they kook fava beens with shels but only the first crop. When you break them in half they should not be woody. Chek zeytinyagli bacla lovely

[@Alfablue227]

Here in Portugal we stew them with chouriço...quite delish...

[@jeanettefrancis6473]

I think the raised bed turned out well as the side boards can go in between the posts and be more secure. Good progress with the planting. How do you cook the fava beans?. Not everyone's favourite to eat. Good idea to cover ground with cover crops for the winter. Might be less weeding in the Spring and more organic matter. You just do what you think best in your situation.

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

I’ll share some cooking in the next video :)

[@mariestar1823]

Great video

💚💚💚💚💚

[@joketendam5806]

fava beans when you break them in half and they are not woody you can cook them with the whole pod. Check zeytinyagli bacla, delicius cold with yogert. When I but favas I always check to zee which ones I van use for this.

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

Thanks! I might try that if we still have some small ones 😊

[@assuncaomeireles198]

Olá minha querida senhora já há muito tempo que nao via os seus vidios . Gosto muito de ver a trabalhar na horta na companhia dos seus adoraveis meninos. Desejo-lhe uma optima semana a si e à sua adoravel familia 🦋🦋🦋🦋🫶

[@eleanorsplace-alternativel9896]

So nice to see you again. Miss your vlogs. Looks like you have been kept guessing with those temperatures. In the UK it's been a really cold and wet early Spring so our season is late too. Those fava beans look good. Do you make hummus with them? Keep posting I love to watch. 😊

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

I’ve meant to try making fava hummus, but haven’t yet. I love them in salads or cooked with sausage, will share more in the next video 😊

[@tammythompson3562]

😎

[@carlosvictor8679]

bom regresso 🙂

[@kitty90451]

Hi. Ich habe gerade euren Kanal gefunden. Wow !! was hast du für super grosse dicke Bohnen !! Ich hatte in Deutschland vor 2 Jahren welche gesät, aber nur vereinzelt welche rausbekommen und nur 30 cm hoch ..

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

Thanks! I’m very proud of the fava beans this year ☺️

[@portugal1969]

❤

[@hoangthidinh96]

Chúc bạn sức khỏe

[@johnbilinski6830]

Thank you for sharing your gardening adventures. I am dying of curiosity however, what is the status of your excavator? Did you manage to repair it?

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

I wish 😭 We bought a few different sets of new injectors, but none of them fit. We’re now looking at getting some re-worked…

[@johnbilinski6830]

@@ourportuguesehomestead You are lucky that you and your husband are mechanically inclined and can diagnose the problem. My wife and I live on 5 acres in Canada and are retired. Although we truly enjoy the country life, we are not as adventurous as you. We have been to Portugal at least 20 times and love the country and the people. Best of luck and continue producing your excellent episodes.

[@JasonLockwood87]

You are so ridiculously gorgeous ❤

[@evangelinamunroe6745]

👍❤️👍❤️👍❤️

[@lifevorce]

Like your blue skirt

[@coby6417]

🌟👏👍🍀💐

[@blankslate6393]

Godd video, specially naming the wild plants and aerial views which are real improvements. Your growing method though, still leaves a lot to be desired. I guess the husband is seating around smoking joint most of the times, otherwise he could do better helping out to make a more tidy garden.

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

Little weird that you think it’s normal to be so rude about my husband 🤨

[@Pernilleisinthehouse]

You are really killing your soil unfortunately. I know you dont want to do no tilling, but i strongly suggest that you read more up on it and experiment. YYou can try just an area: cover it with compost and cardboard so its ready in a few month to plant in. Collect and dry your own grass clippings and any plant material to cover your soil. A nd try do at least cover your soil with cardbord or anything over winter so it doesnt dissapear in grass - it will save you so much hard labour and improve your soil

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

Thanks, I’m aware of no-dig gospel, I’m not new to gardening. But buying large amounts of compost is not an option for us, nor do I think it’s ideal for our climate because it tends to go hydrophobic. As I said, I’ll be trying cover cropping again in the fall. But for now we need to grow food and we know this works in our situation.

[@Pernilleisinthehouse]

@@ourportuguesehomestead Yes, sorry for bringing this up again, i just see you working so hard and i know how much it hurts my back etc. (: I make my own compost from our kithcen scraps and that seems to be ok. Over the years your soil will improve when adding different types of organic matter that you find around on your property, so no need to buy anything (: My soil is VERY heavy with clay, but i can see improvements from year to year (:

[@ourportuguesehomestead]

@@Pernilleisinthehouse we don’t make enough compost for the size garden we have. And gathering that much material from around the land would also be a lot of work. Plus you have to remember we don’t have a lot of deciduous trees on our land, so an easy resource like leaf mulch is not a possibility for us. Every situation is different, better not to judge so quickly.

[@Pernilleisinthehouse]

@@ourportuguesehomestead My attemmpt was not to judge. I am sorry it came out that way