We Tried Chaos Gardening and Were SHOCKED at The Results

[@LaurieH57]

I was very successful with my very first garden when I knew nothing! It’s been downhill ever since! :D

[@koicaine1230]

Same 😂

[@LaurieH57]

@@koicaine1230 However, I am working on getting better at it. :)

[@lilolmecj]

I am 63 and have been around gardening my entire life. My parents, primarily my Papa Bear, always had one, and I have rarely had a year that I didn’t at least try. The potted tomatoes in New Orleans in my tiny mostly concrete patio didn’t do well, just too much sun. But here is the thing…not everything is going to go well. Some years are just not as good weather wise, sometimes plants just don’t thrive for unknown reasons. Just keep going. This summer was very cold till almost July, then it was very hot and dry for about six weeks, but the nights were cold even with hot days. I began to think I would not get even a handful of ripe tomatoes. But the last two weeks everything has shifted , and I have a lot, am kind of struggling to keep up. I usually buy established tomato and pepper plants due to my fairly short growing season. Next year plant a few pumpkin seeds, choose an area with a lot of sun and space and be prepared to support them , I use old busted aluminum ladders I have gathered through the years.

[@reshelleconnelly1620]

Truth😂

[@outsidestuff4867]

I find the less effort I put into the garden the better 🤣🤣🤣 and I have lots of food growing! Maybe I should actually try next year? 🤔

[@CraftTeaLady]

Last year, I couldn't hardly walk outside without help (brain tumor was discovered;12 hour surgery, doing great now) and barely got a thing in the ground/didn't water... And yet, I got a harvest. Not a huge harvest, but some and I was truly grateful. Thanks for the vid. ❤️

[@maghurt]

Glad you've made a recovery, good for you!

[@klee88029]

🎉 I am SO HAPPY for you GINA, @CraftTeaLady 👍For your health and surprise gifts from Mother🦋 Nature 🧓1952 Boomer🧓+🦮🐕🐩🐶🐕‍🦺Retired nurse living contently on 20 acres in the NW Chihuahuan Desert area in the USA

[@emkn1479]

I see the beginnings of a program where sacks of mixed seeds are given to community gardens and local gardeners to chaos garden themselves. How fun would that be?!

[@lorib5323]

I am way too lazy to take care of a compost pile, but I throw everything off my back deck as far as I can throw towards the back of my property in the tall grass where the deer graze. stuff it growing all over the place! Absolutely no pests or powdery mildew. 🤣

[@Undercoverbooks]

My garden ends up chaotic regardless of how it starts out. I use weeds as rabbit deterrents. I also let a lot of plants re-seed wherever they want to, so I have volunteers popping up all over the place, which always seem healthier than the things I intentionally plant. For example, my butternut squash all died, but the one squash that sprouted voluntarily from the compost pile produced about 14 lovely butternut squash.

[@JJLom777]

Nice!

[@ambry99]

My compost squash was a beast this year too! Love that for you. 😊

[@Undercoverbooks]

@@ambry99 Thanks! You too.

[@freedomlover2358]

My volunteers did better this year than the ones I planted intentionally. I've decided next year I'm going to have a volunteer garden

[@MEHDI_GREEN]

Try to use natural fertilizers when planting a vegetable plant, and after its growth, use natural fertilizers around the plant to prevent the growth of weeds.

[@modernvikinghomestead367]

I always plan my plantings so I know there is space and the crops will be rotated. But then, a small very devious and obviously chaotic part of me, just needs to take a seed packet and sprinkle it all over the perfectly neat beds I just spent so much energy preparing and sowing and planting and weeding, and now there is the most beautifull pink flowers in between all my vegetables😂 I apparently cannot stay away from a bit of chaos, just now learned it is an actual thing😅

[@victoriabaker4400]

Flowers planted among vegetables is a great way to bring pollinators and build in pest resistance.

[@StormWarningMom]

It's not devious, it's fun ☺️

[@forsuchatimeasthis2267]

Reminds me of my now cottage garden, I fell n And fractured my knee had surgery so i totally missed planting season and was not able to. My grandbabies planted cucumbers and squash , watermelon 🍉 😮 Carrots and mustard greens. Omg talk about beautiful chaos every thing is healthy no pests in between tomatoes came up on their own. So i got to have a garden.no weeding. Every morning the grandbabies 4 and 6 go harvesting and watch 😮 tothe new blooms develop.😊it has Been rewarding watching 😂garden grow! Even though i had full brace & walker we had delightful success!😂❤🎉love your video thanks for sharing 😊 Margret and grandbabies.

[@geirkselim2697]

I let my babies plant the radishes and peas and the spacing was off but they came in fine.

[@Vixxiegurl]

I love this, thanks for sharing.

[@EmpressG]

Isn't this just like most people's compost pile? Throw out the kitchen scraps, throw in the potting soil with seeds that never germinated etc. Then all of a sudden...BOOM! Volunteer Central 🤣

[@HealthyHabitsGrow]

My volunteers is what I harvested the most this spring...

[@gigiartstudiowithartistvir3919]

@@HealthyHabitsGrow Yes same here. It was my tomatoes that all came up on their own about 10 plants and different varieties. I've been picking about 500 tomatoes every 3 or 4 days. I didn't nothing.

[@oligoyoutube]

a healthy compost should produce enough heat to kill off seeds.

[@EmpressG]

@@oligoyoutube We're probably all operating with sub-optimal composts 😆 but boy are the results delicious! 😋 Speaking from personal experience...I operate a midden style compost which for other people is a heap. I have a sort of natural depression/ trench along a fence wall where we throw our kitchen scraps and then cover it over with a couple of coconut branches (I'm gardening in Trinidad &Tobago). I don't turn anything or actually use it anymore as compost (just a general kitchen scraps dump) so stuff sometimes grows out of there...a few date palm seeds, some tomatoes, pumpkin, watermelon seeds etc. I found that the coconut trees in that section are super happy with it. Sooo....I've moved on to composting in place where I use 'soft' kitchen scraps in holes and trenches in and around my veggie beds and fruit trees. 'Soft' scraps are no rinds or stems which take too long to break down, and no roots or seeds which may lead to inadvertent germination. Those go to the general trench. I save up the soft scraps in a bucket and bury them once every 2 weeks - coffee grounds, tea bags, veggie peelings, old salad leaves, garlic and onion papers, mushrooms growing out of the lawn etc. We don't have rats, mice, or any digging pests so my worms get a treat fairly regularly and my plants are thriving. 🤗

[@darthtaiter]

I started a wonderful Chaos Garden in a pair of baby pools, it was glorious. Beans, tomatoes, okra, peppers, sweet peppers, carrots, beets and more. it was a sight to behold. The the DEERPOCALYPSE happened, everything was eaten to the ground over night. I am now building a deer fence and a simple greenhouse for next year. Lol, my fault putting a salad bar in the deer's backyard. XD

[@CarolaBlecher]

Deers also visit my garden regularly. I lost some young trees, mangel, pepper plants and more. Not, the trees and some plants are protected. And I love most of the animals visiting our garden, but not the common slugs. Only the leopard slugs and large garden snail are welcome.

[@kimyoonmisurnamefirst7061]

You can build a green fence for the deer rather than putting up plastic, etc so the deer eat that first before your crops. Growing things like bamboo, fast growing trees such as Honey Locust, Thuja Green Giant, Carolina Sapphire Cypress, Juniper, Holly, Yew. Or you could grow in the perimeter: Rhubarb, Asparagus (pay extra for larger "crowns" in deer-prone areas to get them established.), Turkish Rocket, Sweet Rocket, Blood-veined sorrel, French Sorrel, Marshmallow, Garlic, Ground Nut (Apios Americana), Hops, Oregano, Thyme, Smallage, Endive, Jerusalem artichokes or even berry plants with thorns. This way you have a planted fence. You could, in this way use permaculture to keep them off the plants you want while enjoying a little more for yourself in years to come.

[@Patic234]

Use a scarecrow and a sensor hooked to a recording of you yelling

[@darthtaiter]

@@kimyoonmisurnamefirst7061 wonderful idea, love it.

[@oloplyflapdar7384]

While i have separated the deer from my most valuable garden, the groundhog has become a miniature deer and decapitated my sickly Brussel sprout *shakes fist* .

[@amysinger2201]

chaos gardening is also accessible to disabled folks. If you have fatigue are just can't get into the garden every day or use tools, Chaos gardening is still accessible! AND IT IS AFFORDABLE!

[@1991macie]

I like organized chaos gardening, just like my house keeping skills.

[@janew5351]

I think this should be an annual plan for that area. Let's see what grows!

[@andreamaclachlan980]

I did something like this a few months ago, I called it natural gardening. I set one veg bed up in an 'organised', traditional way, didn't think too much of it as I couldn't plant much due to 'spacing'...... The next couple of beds was a race with rain. I wanted to rain in all the seeds, which wonderfully happened, but as the heavens were about to release their bounty, I realised I couldn't fussy plant seeds so I just quickly scattered a variety of companion seeds over the beds, tossed a few handfuls of potting mix over top to cover the seeds and ran inside. Told myself, that's what it would be like in the wild, and is probably the truest companion planting because it's all mixed together 😂! I have never had such amazing success. The kids have loved going out to the veg patch and learning together which plants are what vegetable. Although at times, it is quite the guessing game because I can't remember all that got planted, and I'm not sure which plant has grown from what seed. There is a lot that I've not grown before. It's been awesome. We've just dug up our potatoes. They're mostly smallish, but that's ok. I said, Pretty good for a first go and considering we didn't really know what we're doing. We're going to learn from this and do better next time. Even my hubby, the main eater of potatoes, says they're great. Much better than store potatoes ❤ I think I am winning him over belly first😍🤣

[@tomfarkas9507]

It definitely confuses the heck out of pests. Voles destroy my "nice" garden but when I do a "scatter shot" seeding in a bed just like this, they don't seem to want to be bothered trying to figure out where the good stuff (beans) is and where the yucky stuff is (radishes). If you control for pest, I'll bet the yields are higher (calories per square foot). I also notice the dense planting paradoxically requires less watering. And when the growing season is over, just chop and drop, cover with mulch and let it compost in place. I wouldn't throw in corn but I've seen amaranth do well (plus you can eat the leaves) and it will host pole beans like corn without the fussiness. I started planting winter squash in a wildflower beds to get away from squash bugs/borers and they never found it - have excellent yield this year. Glad you did this video! thanks!

[@gigiartstudiowithartistvir3919]

You just described how I garden. I chop and drop but don't cover it. Yields are great!

[@brooklynnchick]

I loved your post! I’m new to gardening so I’m learning a ton from folks like you!

[@HoboGardenerBen]

Good recommendation with the amaranth. Superior breeding selection processes went into that crop than most. The ancient people of central\south america were fantastic at plant selection over time, much better than modern growers. One tiny amaranth seed become thousands more, each one capable of growing a huge plant. Read an article about the math of refilling the cropland of the USA after a long collapse and amaranth could do it many years faster than other crops.

[@draikairion]

​@gigiartstudiowithartistvir3919 hey newbie gardener here. When you say "chop and drop", do you mean chopping all the spend plants to ground level and leaving the greens in place to compost? Thanks for any info. 😊

[@familiapablanu]

This is tropical Africa. Every corner, every ditch, every unused area looks like this. Seeds drop and they just grow. We on the equator benefit a lot from this, just community gardens popping up naturally everywhere someone threw their rubbish! Thats the Pearl of Africa for you 😁

[@familiapablanu]

We also picked pumpkins from about 15 feet up in a tree, and hanging between a tree and a house 😅

[@Dalcar.avotreestudio]

I absolutely love it. I pray for the day were chaotic gardens are on all pavements between fruiting trees and no one needs to buy produce. Just pick what you need when it's available. Call me a dreamer but all things are possible through God. I currently have over 20 fruit and nut trees and grow a vast array of berries and vegetables in between. Too much to list and all in no more than 500 square metres. God is so good. I'm really curious to see what happens to the 4 different squash and pumpkins growing. Think I could end up with some hybrids. 😂 If you've read this far. Thank you so much. May you be blessed with your own chaos gardens. 🙏

[@Buildingenjoyment]

The plant diversity is the absolute best way to improve and condition your soil. Chaos gardening works incredibly well. Less work more productivity!

[@mandywinter8871]

My garden confidence went way up when I realized that plants just want to grow

[@meleaayers237]

That was put so lovely, thank you! I even screenshot it haha

[@freedomlover2358]

Jess, from roots and refuge says that all the time

[@Stretchnrest]

Ur excitement was the highlight

[@mercurybard9794]

Chaos gardening appeals to me as a disabled gardener. Plus, I have a huge section of my yard (about the size of a 2-car garage) that can't be mowed or tiled due to people dumping rocks, concrete, and gravel there for decades. I tarped half of it last year and then planted Daikin radishes to break up the soil and add organic matter and then sprinkled wildflower seeds across it and let it run wild. And wild it is! I'll probably plant squash and maybe sun flowers there next year. The other half is current tarped, and I plan to repeat the radishes + wildflowers on that side next year.

[@nateauld]

I think there's a really interesting middle of the road option. Chaos garden with maintained paths/access. Throw seeds, leave and then prune what you want when you want.

[@macallaire4528]

Thats basically what my garden is

[@nateauld]

@@macallaire4528 I'm gonna try this next year and some in this fall garden. Any tricks you learned so far?

[@tristinchristenson6349]

Yes!

[@timan2039]

This has been how my lettuce patch grows. I seeded once 4 years ago and they have taken care of themselves since. I thin early as fresh greens and later it’s cut and come again.

[@Gkrissy]

@@macallaire4528same I let my kale grow as perennials and onions. I just cut the pathways enough to walk but I don’t have super neat rows like youtubers. Trim the weeds around my beds but I let nature plant 6 hibiscus plants.

[@cobysmith3179]

I recently got two new raised beds and just threw all my winter crop seeds in a jar and dumped them in there together. We’ll see what happens😂. I’m in Georgia so I have some time left in my season.

[@davesalkeld9741]

Doesn't everyone garden like this?? Beats hard work!! And you always get pleasant surprises........

[@LovingLiberty76]

What’s your experience with pests? Based on the garden I cultivate, where it’s a constant battle (e.g., strawberries half-eaten by bugs), I can’t imagine that his experience of not having everything eaten by pests would be the experience I would have.

[@emkn1479]

@@davesalkeld9741 you need regular rain. Not everyone has that.

[@davesalkeld9741]

@@LovingLiberty76 I just share. Up here (NW WA) we have slugs and snails everywhere, rabbits, squirrels and deer. I do overplant for this reason. They let me have a few........

[@Silverstar2000]

@@emkn1479True, where I live the summers are usually 100+ and everything starts becoming dry and crispy. That said, the random kitchen-scrap seeds my mom threw under the trees that we regularly water have taken off

[@cindatribble1495]

I think I will do my salad bed this way next year! Spinach, lettuces, kale, onions, radishes, and carrots.

[@mmai1267]

My chaos garden came into existence this year, when I decided to throw all my expired leftover seed into 3 beds at the end of winter. They were a mix of herbs, flowers & veg seeds. It was pretty cool to see what did germinate & how the pigeons left those beds alone. Will definitely try it again.

[@gigiartstudiowithartistvir3919]

My best gardens have been chaos gardens. I let it all do what it knows how to do. My soil is great. I particularly love how the tomatoes and melons find each other and seem to have some kind of benefit to both plants. I think they kinda disguise each other and the watermelon shaded the tomatoes. By the way, I never prune anything. I don't pinch out suckers, etc. I don't stake things off the ground either. It's a jungle for sure but it produces like CRAZY. I don't get much insect pressure which is nice. Also the plants shade the ground and serve as a built in mulch. When it's all done, it gets chopped and dropped for the next season. I think this is a great way to garden for those who want to produce a ton of food and don't care as much how it looks. Plants know what to do if you let them do it.

[@kathyritscher9459]

This year is my chaos year. I had to spend much of the Summer caring for my Mom in town. The weeds, and volunteers have taken over. I don’t have enough to put up anything. However. We have picked enough produce to keep us in veggies for most of our meals. Even though the lambsquarter and morning glories got ahead of us, the peppers, squash, beans and herbs are doing great. And we did eat much of the lambsquarter during the Spring.

[@gigiartstudiowithartistvir3919]

I am so curious how the lambsquarters taste. We have pastures full of it but I've never been brave enough to eat it.

[@kathyritscher9459]

Lambsquarter is milder than spinach. Trick is to pick when young. Leaves are larger and tender.

[@kathleensnyder7784]

Some of my best tomatoes came from volunteers from the year before that I just let grow.

[@JRCHomesteadTexas]

I've named my winter squash Audrey, as in Little Shop of Horrors. Planted 6 seeds, all germinated and just keep expanding their area 😳💕

[@timan2039]

In third grade, decades ago, each student planted three pumpkin seeds in a milk carton. My three came up, I took them home where my mom allowed me to plant them. Planted under the entrances of a row of beehives they flourished. Mom was not thrilled about loosing a huge chunk of the yard and we didn’t want pumpkin anything for sometime.

[@kthearcher3357]

❤

[@gabriellagaraffa892]

I called my first pumpkin Audrey 2 as well!

[@MarshaShelley-t3n]

This shows that seeds want to grow and if given a tiny chance will do so!

[@gigiartstudiowithartistvir3919]

and the bonus of the plants acclimating to where they decided to grow can't be overstated.

[@shirleyn4677]

Actually you did do something…throwing out seeds. My parsley goes to seed every year and rather than pulling it up I let it go to seed. This year fresh parsley seeds threw themselves several feet from the plant and rooted. Bigger than the ones I sowed and transplanted.😊

[@denisebrady6858]

Sorry nothing to do with this video but I have just tried your Sifting Bag of Potting Mix here in Australia & you are a genius it works beautifully- I added some vermiculite & warm castings & WOW WOW. Thank You so much I will never pay for Seed Raising Mix ever again. Cheers Denise - Australia

[@poppyblue1512]

How is it not aesthetic lmao? I LOVE the way chaotic gardens look like, I just adore that wild, untamed look. That spot you had there looked gorgeous to me.

[@stellaluuk2713]

I love chaos gardening, every time it is a new experiment and you learn something new.

[@Aelanna]

This summer out of the blue a single stalk of corn started growing in my sister's front yard under the canopy of her weeping willow. She left it alone to do whatever and it actually produced a single small cob of corn!

[@benmoffitt7524]

I LOVE THIS. Thanks for sharing this with us! I have had the same results with pumpkins (accidentally). Apparently they cross-pollinated with my neighbors zucchini and they've created a "pumpkini" hybrid. Taste good too!

[@LeveledUpMom]

I hope you'll save those pumpkini seeds and see if they fruit next season!

[@benmoffitt7524]

@@LeveledUpMom Absolutely!

[@freedomlover2358]

I had that happen last year. We named them zumpkins. Lol

[@benmoffitt7524]

@@freedomlover2358 love it! Zumpkin is easier to say!

[@evada4144]

Watch out! Squash can become giftig when you save seeds. Learned that after vomiting for hours...

[@kathryncolton4423]

Chaos gardening is my jam 😂 anyone who looks at my garden from afar would think it’s mostly weeds. A lot of it is clover, prickly lettuce, and bindweed 😅 but we still got a lot of tomatoes, summer squash, green beans, strawberries, and herbs. And the sunflowers always re-seed themselves and provide food for the birds who would otherwise eat my crops

[@Mightbeaninterestingguy]

I let my 3 year old daughter dictate where I planted things in the garden this year and it looks pretty similar! I’ve been stunned by how much we’ve produced in a 10’x25’ area though! Peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, sweet corn, Swiss chard, and a ton of squash. Super fun

[@wayne1559]

Luke your awesome man, I've been doing this for 20 years and it works!

[@Wendy-ir6ww]

I overall love the aesthetic of chaos gardens but until I'm experienced enough to easily & quickly discern what plant is what, at least at most growth phases, I'll likely continue to at least mostly keep things in rows & marking specific placements. As a disabled gardener/homesteader, my goal set is mainly ease of maintenance within every task set, so even if I loose a trifle in productivity rate, if overall I net a gain with work relieved- it's a sensible thing. For now I've just got my Egyptian Walking Onions that in this that is their 4th year are starting to take a few steps & somehow this past spring/late winter I noticed a few of my daphodills taking a stroll themselves (down the side of my house from near the front to back porch)😂. In time I'm sure potatoes & herbs will likely do similar. As long as I recognize them & I've the space to add whatever I'm planning nearby, I'll never fight/argue with such a volunteer, rather I'll just let things gradually fill themselves in. After I get my aquaponics system built to it's final size, I might fight some volunteers but even that's questionable. It isn't to say I'm working on never adding another layer of aged composted chicken manure to a bed again, but that's as much a part of my low maintenance system build as my perennial plants.

[@SarahZeeb]

Do it again next year and see what happens. I love the raised bed chaos video. From July on I just left my garden alone, I was just busy and tired. Things went boom and started really going faster, I thought it was just the cooler weather. Lol!

[@JaniceMartin-fd8mr]

This works! Several times in my life, I've not been able to plant or care for my garden, but I had harvest nonetheless. Ditto, this year. I am still harvesting salad greens and tomatillas, amongst 18" grass weeds. But atrial valve replacement at end of August has made a huge difference, so this week, finally I was able to start weeding. I am finding all kinds of peppers, kale, beet greens and swiss chard hiding in the tomatilla weed bed!

[@melissaschloneger9902]

I had one raised bed this year with many different veg growing it it - they seemed to complement each other well. I am planning on chaos gardening with the things that I want to eat: beets, carrots, onions. Deer like to munch in my garden, so I have to cover with different types of fabric. Seems to protect from the insects as well…

[@bdwon]

I do this! Sometimes! But I was persecuted by an obsessive-compulsive high school teacher who was volunteering at a community garden where I once had a plot! Had I only had your video to show them back then as a sort of justification for my gardening method, I might have continued my commitment to that community garden.

[@tristinchristenson6349]

This is a cool concept for a community garden. Treat the soil once and just let it go.

[@scoobydoo5447]

I threw a few pumpkins in my compost pile last fall. 4 vines started growing this past spring and I just left them alone to do their thing. They now cover 1/3 of my back yard. Chaos gardening is nice because I don’t have to mow as much grass. 😆

[@AMKB01]

I'm reminded of something we learned, when we were still homeschooling my daughters and looking into Metis history. The Metis had their cabins, but only lived in them in the winter. In the spring they would plant their gardens, then leave for buffalo hunts, trading along the Pemmican Trail, etc. They'd come back on the fall, harvest their gardens, and be set for the winter.

[@Lemarchelesa]

I covered a half acre with wood chips and then started randomly adding perennials. I find that plants thrive without help where conditions are right for them. I have thrown a pound of turnip seeds randomly for the deer for the winter. Notjing so far but we will see. Do have some random sorghum and millet growing, also meant for the deer for the winter. Do get random pumpkin and squash growing well but dont have fencing so the deer and the local groundhog make short work of them, at the moment, just planting ranfomly to see what grows well where, and seeing what they look like in different seasons. I have managed to design to a small degree but still learning and watching. Chamomile serves as a groundcover and predatory wasp attractor while fruit trees are blooming and producing fruit.

[@infinitelyblessed359]

I did chaos planting this year and I liked it :) I got more vegies by doing this and I got a bunch of things growing where I didn't plant anything. I also didnt weed my garden...It was nice :)

[@mercedesprice6595]

Love this! I feel like this is a great approach when you just need to get started! Like, lemme throw down some seeds just so the seedlings will inspire me to do more.

[@LisaSimplified]

Thanks for making a video on this topic. I didn't know there was a name for this kind of garden mess. True confession: This is my method and I love the surprises. I use heirloom seeds and noticed many varieties might not grow year 1 but they show up year 2 and so on. It's always new and different and that makes it fun.

[@smiller6925]

It's a testament to your seeds- even the discards- can grow in a ditch!!

[@TrinaMadeIt]

I love chaos gardening. I think it’s beautiful, I love the diversity and watching what thrives and it’s beautiful.

[@kayezelinski1275]

Love to see a 3 sisters video.

[@justinallen3037]

It's my preferred way as a brand new gardener. Everything I tried to tend to didn't do as well as other scraps and seeds/cuttings I just threw in 😅. I've gotten two huge ube's from my neighbors plant that was growing under the fence. Stuck it in the ground and didn't think anything of it. They were massive compared to my potatos I was babying 😂. Okra and pole beans performed better when we went on vacation. So now this is my preferred method for year 2.

[@jenjohnson5200]

Chaos gardening is fun. It’s always a surprise to see what happens.

[@TralynnBerry]

I love this!!!! I have always told my friends you just need soil, light and water...Nature will do it's thing!

[@wreynnwood4097]

I love this! Have considered trying closer to the river and woods after cucumber and pumpkin selfseeded in garden from forgotten fruit.

[@toniatalley1977]

I went out the other day and threw out cabbage seeds and broccoli and cauliflower and kale and bok chop and just a whole bunch of other seeds. They're coming up now and I'm so excited

[@lindawisner3525]

I have a bunch of old seeds I'm planning to do that with next year

[@user-yv7kw1nr2q]

I have a Whatever garden, at year end if I have seeds in my freezer or old seeds that haven't been planted, I throw them in a certain area and whatever grows - bonus 😀

[@patsmith7911]

I loved your Seedman Video, very funny. I'm going to try a chaos garden in the Spring, I have the perfect spot!

[@jaycee157]

Very interesting. Just goes to show that mother nature can take care of herself. Thanks for sharing.

[@JackiesOasis]

This method is great for some, but I agree with you when it comes down to the fact that I like seeing my garden all nice lol. Like this style though, might consider doing this on maybe one small side of my garden just to see what happens lol.

[@gigiartstudiowithartistvir3919]

Ooo do it! I bet you will love it.

[@denisebrady6858]

I am similar to you I have to be organised especially in my garden but I can see the value in a tiny Chaos Garden just to see what would happen. Cheers Denise- Australia

[@123WorryFreeGardening]

We like this in areas like he mentions - just sorta "not gardened" areas. You do get a decent result most years with adequate rain.

[@dwadams5367]

In our summer of drought, my neighbor just left his tomatoes. Didn't weed, didn't water. Now he's struggling to deal with his amazing crop! I'm benefiting as my tended ones struggled! Thanks

[@daviddevine2753]

How about offering a chaos seed pack. It sounds interesting.

[@FindingGreenOS]

I have a couple of areas in my garden I can't do much in, I'm going to do this with my old seeds!!

[@kated3165]

It's allowing for natural selection to run its course... and its the best way to start a line of strong, healthy plants that will be perfectly adapted to that specific location!

[@emkn1479]

I love this idea, but you’ve gotta have regular-ish rain for this to work. We did not. I’m even watering my cover crops to make sure they don’t die 🫠 Meg from Meg Grow Plants does this all the time and it works really well for her too!

[@elizabethlane8690]

We have had no water here in Ohio. Everything is dead except the containers near the house.

[@ShannansShenanigans]

Some of our best plants that end up growing in our garden,,, have been volunteers from seeds fallen from the season before.

[@marybillups4822]

There's a couple of Facebook groups that I know of that are about Chaos Gardening.

[@wintersthe3rd725]

I think this is a great long term project. Let’s see how much comes back next year. Plus a year over year production when it’s not fertilized, watered, etc.

[@ProfessorAV]

I mostly chaos garden, with the exception of my garlic patch. I do try to toss the climbers along a fence somewhere and I don't bother with corn way up here in Quebec. We have planted lots of berry varieties, have indigenous butternut trees, and have added some hazelnuts and apples. And no, we don't till, unless you count turning over my garlic bed. Spend less time, sow a few more seeds, pick varieties that have a growing season appropriate to your location, and voilà, food.

[@Defender_messenger]

Squash is the best for Chaos gardening. I’ve always had volunteer pumpkin and squash that pop up and do AMAZING

[@curvingfyre6810]

The work of establishing top dressings and the like is work nature does for you with "weeds"

[@michele_1_L]

It’s my favorite style of gardening. I have a big haul every year

[@Kay-xi9kv]

Seems like a great way to get seeds ideal for your area too

[@gerrymarmee3054]

Children would have a GREAT time exploring your chaos garden. It would be worth it just to let kids do this.

[@stephaniehanuman-dale6279]

I’m glad to have a name for my style of garden 😂 I started out organized but so my things reseed themselves or end up in unexpected places due to birds and squirrels 😊

[@gloriasmith5764]

I truly believe this chaos garden works better. My grandson just so happened to throw some cucumber seeds in the backyard. We didn't use that area often and rarely cut the grass. When my husband did finally go to the back to cut it , we were all amazed! Hugh vines of foot long or more of cucumbers! That was a true bumper crop! So for the past three years, I've been trying to grow cucumbers in pots, or up a lattice to hardly any sucess. I'm going to now leave it up to nature, and I'm just going to throw seeds broad cast out in an area next year, and que sera, sera!

[@lcm0578]

Shows how great MIGardener seeds are!! Also a bit insulting after your pumpkin patch experiment.

[@EC-rd9ys]

Sadly in North Texas it's hard enough to keep your plants alive with the scorching sun. But if i were still east of the Mississippi, I'd totally try this.

[@lizhaydon2250]

I'm doing this next year. I have so many old packets of seeds, why not.

[@jeannamcgregor9967]

You need to store some taller junk back there to grow the pole beans on! Got any old pallets? That would never work in my garden in CA...no summer water. 😕

[@selecttravelvacations7472]

Yeah, we had a lot of triple digits this year. Without some care, my chaos garden would’ve never survived but it is cool that his did survive and produce so much. That’s some major mildew on that squash though.

[@carolynkaufman2668]

I love to see how nature works without human intervention. Think it’s important to get away from controlled, micromanaging gardening at times, or the visions of the perfect garden we have. Let nature teach us how it wants to work.

[@EChord1]

ime- beans do way better when growing in a crowded poly culture. I think it helps them hide from pests and I think they like the heat relief as well.

[@margaretedwards4157]

I love this video. It certainly pushes some buttons, though, for those of us who are trying to “do it right,“ and don’t have half the produce growing wild in your chaos garden!

[@pamelamercado6902]

For years I always just throw out the old seeds I don't cover them with soil and whatever grows Sometimes I'm amazed. I'm in Arizona so in the summer when I think about it now and then I will water them In the winter there on there own

[@amandanickel977]

Related but unrelated, this year I interplanted radishes with my squash and did not harvest them as squash vine borer deterrents and it worked! This is the only year my plants haven't been decimated. I didn't get overrun by squash bugs either. I would harvest some of the greens early on for eating, but not enough to harm the growth. Thought I would share after seeing the radishes intertwined in your pumpkins and butternuts.

[@marcidevries5515]

My chickens plant their own chaos garden just outside their run. They're messy eaters and throw seeds out into the well fertilized area!

[@jmkupihea7630]

My pigeon would do the same thing! Lentils, corn, millet, sunflowers, safflowers, flax, I don’t know what all came up!

[@deesfineart]

I just planted some of this stuff. Lettuce, arugula, shallots, some onions to overwinter, and leeks! Pacific Northwest 8b. I would love to see how you grow stuff indoors.

[@helenmcclellan452]

Will you go ahead and remove the grass and till to continue the chaos garden next year? I think you should! 😊

[@PalmettoParatrooper]

I always do that with perennials when I get a new property. Just throw trees and bushes at the dirt and see what sticks. Then plant more of what stuck.

[@thriftymomshop]

I sort of have a chaos garden. I have an adhd garden , I guess lol. I plant and forget and then spend the summer camping and barely caring for anything but somehow we always have an amazingly abundant harvest for our balcony garden and front flower bed garden. I figure , it all grew on its own at one point with no human assistance or interference.

[@CobraMeliss]

I tried chaos gardening this year. I put areas of plants but not in rows. It’s not what I’d do again. It’s like Twister meets gardening. I’m having to get into weird positions to harvest veggies and not step on the other plants. 🤪🤪🤪 I only weeded it once when the plants were small so there’s that. 🤷🏼‍♀️

[@onetrick.pony1]

Good stuff! Chaotic good alignment tends to keep things interesting and productive ;)

[@ryano2714]

NERD! .... what kind of campaigns are you into?

[@camicri4263]

That's awesome Luke! Thanks! Blessings 🙏🏻 I just ordered garlic and seeds from you. I don't know why I got more seeds, I have so many....😅

[@Gary-wh7ce]

Sure takes the stress off using a chaos method and would be a useful method on areas that are difficult to maintain the yard. We did something similar using a 1 foot by 40 ft slice of ground along the driveway and chain link fence using tomatoes and cucumbers and it worked out ok this year.

[@tompatchak8706]

At the beginning of the year, I’m taking care of it and pruning and doing all that stuff but by the beginning and then even the end of September, I’m letting anything go to see what happens just like this. I don’t have. It’s not like crazy productive or anything like that it’s kind of fun to see the plants. Do whatever they want.

[@mandandi]

It looks like my garden. I plant seeds all over the place, without order. I have been harvesting a fair bit since 2021. I don't intend to stop anytime soon. The space is for gardening, but there are no hard and fast rules for planting things in a row. In fact, in many cases i cluster most things around a tree base so I water everything around the tree. Easy chaos does it.