What Happened to our Food Garden After 5 Weeks Away on Vacation?!

[@Selfsufficientme]

G'day Everyone! I'm back! Sorry for being awol for so long but I guess the video explains why... Thank you for sticking with me and all the best with your growing - get into it! Cheers, Mark :)

[@siobhancrawford7236]

Glad ur back and had a great holiday! Xxx

[@adryawebb2556]

Glad you're back, Mark! No need to apologize! 😊 You gotta take care of yourself, too. So sorry that some people can be so rude here in the comments.

[@stephb9007]

Woo, you are my Aussie Garden Dad! Interested in seeing how you revive your plants 👍🏽

[@kenhandwork]

So happy to see you. The garden did pretty well considering and the work ahead will be for some great videos!

[@whalestwhale8468]

Yikes someone woke up with their cranky pants on

[@akiraguy]

2:19 "we go from green and lush to dry like my sense of humour." i lol.

[@htsandy3136]

akiraguy more like 2:13 but whatever , you do you

[@MylifebelikeOohAah]

I love your shoe cleaning system 😂

[@SexMusicPlants]

I laughed out loud!

[@MickyBellRoberts]

Actually you motivated me to start my own channel. I absolutely love what you do and the knowledge that you pass on to help others. Micky Bell-Roberts I am almost 73 years old but nothing is impossible. Thank you very much.

[@Selfsufficientme]

Thanks Micky and I agree - it's never too late to get into it! Cheers :)

[@Tory-JJ]

good luck!!

[@kimstyles4006]

What's the name of your Channel?

[@kokoslegend4850]

@@kimstyles4006 i think the one he used to reply.

[@bkershaccount]

That’s one heck of a vacation!

[@Zeakthecat]

the benefits of self sufficiency, producing your own water, food and power saves on costs, and promotes healthier eating, work ethic, and more. your needs are with nature, as it should be.

[@abelardopascual6564]

Holiday 🤣😊

[@JKDstocks]

@@Zeakthecat yea not like KZbin passive income money helped at all....

[@andrewjackson9948]

Seriously. I cant imagine the cost incurred taking a 5 week vacation away from home. Hotel/food/flights/car or multiple uber and all otger associated vacation costs

[@italiana626sc]

Your comment on the figs growing so well in Croatia helped me to really understand the phrase, "Look, and see the Earth through Her eyes." Wonderful!

[@smason4794]

As an american I can confirm that we are great. But you sir. Are an outstanding gentleman

[@unafilliatedx2310]

As a Texan I can say I have never met an Aussie I didntl't like

[@okmmauh]

Smason . Yes Americans are great. Thank you from Australia

[@Selfsufficientme]

I meant what I said mate! Cheers :)

[@texasgrayman3492]

@@unafilliatedx2310 I'm a Texan too, and I agree

[@x0thorn0x]

Just a shout out to all you Texans... please stop the replacement of Americans in your state by voting in some better legislators. If you go blue, the country will be lost. Sorry for that polititalk but I love both Texans and Aussies. Want to keep those feisty, unruly, liberty-lovers in existence.

[@Dr.A.Rosenberg]

You are a lucky man that you still have your mum ! I lost mine in 2010 she had a massive heart attack from missing my Dad who had a accidental death the previous year !

[@sharronpettis1486]

Me too 2009 life isn't the same! NOTHING compares to "mother"! Only the loss of one can really teach that!

[@MD_Slaine]

Finally a wholesome youtube channel I can get behind

[@ivancadiz.]

Look what grows naturally in your region and exploit it! Best piece of advise

[@DonnieBrasco-dy9yd]

Yes, then I can starve myself and be bored to death. Good advice, but I think I'll just keep growing whatever I want to.

[@applegal3058]

I'm enjoying the tropical garden and weather by watching your videos! I guess I'm living vicariously through your videos lol Loved seeing your mom. She must be a special lady to have raised such a wonderful son!

[@nightmotherasmr]

Even though this wasn't intentional, it was an interesting experiment to see what happened to the garden when it was left to itself, right? :)

[@Selfsufficientme]

Yes, that's a really positive way to look at it! I have learnt several things about the garden and gardening in general due to this "experiment." Cheers :)

[@lv224]

I love your program. Much better than watching ordinary television any day. You give joy to people thank you for that.

[@fawnjenkins7266]

Love the "since Australia is so far away from the rest of the world, I am still getting over jetlag" complete with the nap under the tree and the lullaby! 😁🤣🤣

[@Igneshto]

"That was my fault and my lesson learned". That's what's missing in today's world.

[@raraavis5604]

Exactly!

[@yee9222]

@Wischmopps stfu dumbass

[@yee9222]

@Wischmopps what's ironic in ur comment??

[@yee9222]

@Wischmopps Oh lmao sorry brother kinda hard to imagine someone else's irony lol 😃

[@jjo5375]

What a real pleasure it must be to walk amongst your attractive raised bins! Even if the elements played havoc with them, I'm sure your tlc will bring 'em back quickly. Hope your vacation is just what the doctor ordered! Fare thee well, Gardener! : )

[@Selfsufficientme]

Thank you! Yes, I must admit vacations are great but I do (did) miss our garden. Sometimes I just walk around the patch (for no reason) looking and pulling the odd weed and it uplifts me for the rest of the day. Cheers :)

[@MickyBellRoberts]

If you asked I would have come over and taken care of your garden. 😍

[@asrafyana6206]

I know right ,dont mind doing that

[@WJTFilm]

Love your videos! Getting better and better. Love the funny editing and little jokes you throw in! Not only do I learn how to garden, gets a good laugh as well :)

[@janetskene3413]

5 weeks is a very long time to leave during productive time. Oh well, live and learn. It wasn't that bad considering many things were naturally coming to their end. The pumpkins are lovely. Put lots of it to bed before. The citrus is gorgeous. Thanks for sharing

[@Selfsufficientme]

@@janetskene3413 Not the best time at all to go away - so true! But this collective 50 birthdays holiday was planned for years with several friends (9 couples) so we didn't have much choice as far as when to travel since this was the better time regarding weather conditions to go where we did. Cheers :)

[@samuelmarquez4501]

i think it'd be beautiful to see the vacation vids, culture, foods, life, foods. glad to see you back 👍

[@helennelson3120]

Missed you. Glad your home. My daughter [39] will be glad to see you again also. We were just conversing about gardening last night and you cropped up in our convo. Be Blessed.

[@Selfsufficientme]

Thank you Helen! As good as our holiday was, I'm really happy to be back in the garden and creating videos again. Blessings to you and your family. :)

[@helennelson3120]

@@Selfsufficientme 😊 I'm a Dorothy too..............there's no place like home.

[@wildchook745]

Welcome back you two. You have been missed :) Mum did a fab job. Kids are fed. Chooks are fed. Tomatoes got watered. House still intact. So, yaaaay Mum :)

[@Selfsufficientme]

Thanks Mary! Yes, mum sure did a great job alright... She's pretty amazing. Cheers :)

[@akahsisk]

Randomly found your channel and started watching the 2+ year old videos. Watching this intro to your most recent videos made me realise how far you've come in terms of video editing. Great job all around and thank you for all the great info.

[@Selfsufficientme]

I've learnt a LOT Ryan over the past few years and I still need to improve more regarding editing and probably everything really lol... But I do enjoy creating videos probably as much as gardening so it helps to improve when one enjoys it so much. Thanks mate :)

[@NoxNitro10]

I would actually love to see some footage of your vacations here in Europe, I hope you had a pleasant holiday here. And stay positive about your garden, it's good to learn from mistakes. Keep up the good work!

[@Selfsufficientme]

Hi Nicholas, I will be incorporating plenty of experiences from our holiday in Europe in future videos - that was one of my main reasons for travelling overseas. Yes, we had a great time people, food and the scenery were incredible! Cheers :)

[@ltlbnsgarden]

So glad you guys had fun! The garden did so good for 5 weeks on its own. Truly enjoyed the vid! Your mom is so pretty 😊

[@repliedreplied5552]

" I'm not gonna show footage of my vacation, I don't have time for that " Proceeds to show footage of his epic holiday*

[@broskiblue726]

I literally said the same thing 🤣

[@SneakyNuts]

That's the joke...

[@holly_kay5570]

5 weeks, WOW! See the earth through her eyes--love that!

[@Krakatoa78]

As the old timers say. (Never to old to learn something new) Love the videos you put out... Keep up the good work! And thanks for what happens when you leave mother nature to tend to your veggie garden...

[@simplifygardening]

OMG mate we could have done a collab I made this exact video about 3 weeks ago. you couldnt write this stuff . Great video

[@Selfsufficientme]

LOL I'm watching your vid now... kzbin.info/www/bejne/h3y1c4esnqySp6s

[@Sssmaug]

Hi Mark - always a pleasure. I love that you remind us to "look & see the earth through her eyes". Best advice ever! 🤗

[@kokoslegend4850]

@Oshe Shango nope

[@AraceaeFanatics]

You know your followers would love to see that video of your trip.

[@mike1968442]

Thats what you get for not asking me to come and water the garden. Lol

[@MickyBellRoberts]

At least you folk had a great vacation. Your garden will come back again.😀

[@catlover47842]

What a lovely mum 😊 The tomatoes and citrus fruits looked very yummy!!! LOVE the in-built shoe cleaning system 😂😂❤

[@becool365]

Lol, you are right about the figs. I am from Bulgaria and if it is thorny it grows there. It is why we have a rose industry! I am glad you enjoyed your vacation, and the damage is not too bad. It is an opportunity to grow more!

[@levyp.5399]

Oh man , Sorry to heard that !! Just happened to me last week . We had terrible hot temperatures and humidity and came back from a two week on New York and fond exactly the same picture . Love your videos you’re my mentor 😅🙂keep up the good work , I’m definitely learning a lot from you . Greetings from America

[@Inanna08]

Try soaking the salad greens in warm water for 10 minutes before serving. It works to remove the bitterness from store bought raddicho; this is an old German trick I learned from my husband's grand mother!

[@cw4608]

You are adorable and what a good son you are! Lucky mom.

[@isabellaabruzzi9611]

Your mum is ADORABLE!

[@bevonviechweg7891]

Omg you hurt my heart watching the plants I am so happy you came back and working on things

[@Lumino3]

I'd happily be your apprentice and come over there to care for your garden when you go on holiday!

[@FionaRyanTIFFINbitesized]

Who knew, when you made this, that we were going to have our worst summer (weather wise) ever, followed by a pandemic? I’m glad you could have some down time and enjoy travel whilst you could.

[@lindaluersen9810]

I know it’s an old video but still Love your encouraging words .

[@bobmcglone6825]

Just getting on to watch this video - thanks for walking us through you garden to see what had happened.

[@J1Bigtime]

I’ve sowed a bunch of seed and am getting things underway for spring in the small amount of space I have. We’re getting some rain down here in NSW, very welcome but it also tends to hold things up a bit! Good to see you back! 😁

[@jadealexander5659]

Kinda upset you didn’t take us along on your vacation! Us gardeners love a good video about food, especially in those culinary amazing countries and by you! Next time? That veggie stand looked amazing!!

[@jakeed09090]

Very interesting how you took an unfortunate situation and made an interesting video about it! Also, very information dense. I appreciate it!

[@mariaisabelducreux6172]

Me ha gustado muchísimo la receta de salsa de tomate, buenísima. Gracias por compartir sus conocimientos y proyectar tanto entusiasmo y respeto a la naturaleza y a la vida.

[@zoheire.6706]

Hi Mike Nice video ! Your abandoned garden isn't that terrible after five week vacation. Thanks so much.

[@gman8138]

i love the chickens eating the seeds off your shoes! 😂

[@kolapyellow7631]

"Look and see the earth through her eyes "and heart"...." like that idea.

[@MrGizmoRogers]

Munich is a good time, hope you all enjoyed it!

[@elexandriayeats241]

So glad you and your beautiful wife had a wonderful vacay! But it is great to have you back!

[@madsingh]

your mum looks so sweet!

[@franzinauen8443]

I hope you have good memories to Europe, also under these circumstances! Greetings from switzerland!

[@thumbalina1568]

Your sister in law ! Haha oh she looks a GEM! 💚

[@BushImports]

I hope you guys enjoyed your vacation, sorry your garden suffered but at least it was not all wiped out. You can do a video just about your vacation if you like, I doubt if anyone will complain. You guys take care.

[@JustineDodd]

This was around the time the fires began that eventually became Black Summer, starting in Bees Nest, near Dorrigo, the fires were accompanied by extreme hot winds. Those fires continued for 2 months, burning hundreds of thousands of hectares of land, right through until, in November, they traveled in one day, the equivalent of a 60 minute drive, and ate my home and my community. Every time the heat got up the wind was there to fan it, and we all know what happened from December onwards. My point being that this video and your holiday coincided with the tail end of the driest drought, the winds were full-on, and every day was a hot one. I'm amazed that anything survived in your garden while you were away!

[@aya8319]

Very moving words... "you dont have to be self sufficient in everything, but self sufficient on something".

[@johnryan941]

I love this channel such a nice escape into the beautiful world of yours. Thank you so much.

[@zerxilk8169]

just catching up on missed videos. They are all great.

[@KYKAYAKER274ey1]

Your mom is awesome

[@robinhahn6987]

Welcome back from Europe, Mark - that would have been an amazing trip! One of the things I find so awesome about Aussies: they're world-aware, unlike us Yanks (well, I've been here in SE QLD for the past 19 years, but I'm still only a "permanent resident", so I still figure I'm a Yank-certainly sound like one. :-/ ) Been watching your channel and Geoff Lawton's and Morag Gamble's and have been inspired not just to garden, but to change how we live, how we think. The "War on Waste" on the ABC helped with that, too. In the back of my mind I'm thinking possibly starting a KZbin channel myself, but as opposed to being a "Do This To Reap Massive Rewards", it'll be a more of a "Well, here's how we went trying this, some good, some less so - we'll just soldier on, anyway..." which might have some very marginal appeal. No one wants to see "Fails", but they're real life, aren't they? Anyway, besides the incredible inspiration your channel provided, I've also found what Geoff did in Jordan among the ROCKS and salty dirt simply magical. Yeah, we have dry spells, but those folks have shocking conditions, and yet look at what they grew. So, in the back of our covenant nature strip property shaded by massive gumtrees - NOTHING grows under gumtrees, right? - we're going to put in a Food Forest, complete with swales to capture runoff. Our neighbour was clearing his yard and gave us - seriously! - at least a good 5 cubic squares of "topsoil", which at best can be described as "dirt". Our goal is to build up this "dirt" and turn it into a vibrant, living soil growing tons of plants and food (comfrey and composting). It'll be a long slow journey, but at least we have the Council onboard - made good contact with a council member, who is quite enthused with what we're doing, which involves collecting kitchen scraps from neighbours for composting and getting a buy-in generally from the neighbourhood to make this endeavour work: Seabrae Permaculture Centre. :) Thanks, Mark, for your inspiration!

[@Selfsufficientme]

G'day Robin, you sould like a fair-dinkum Aussie to me mate :) I wish you the best with your local food growing project! These ventures can take quite a bit of coordination to get moving and keep going but with persistence and determination, they reap great rewards (many unintended benefits also) so keep pushing on and have fun. I would encourage you to start a KZbin channel, especially if you can make the time because it's a great way to reach people or publically document projects and you never know where it might lead. Cheers :)

[@lawrencecole6527]

Awe mom and dog together

[@lleok]

Hi Mark, Lisa from mid north coast NSW here, I just came home after a week on the fraser coast..... I didn't have as much in the ground yet as its still a bit chilly down here at night but WOW, the drought and wind hit it hard! I rushed in desperately watering and managed to save some things. had some RAIN last yesterday so the stress has subsided for now. Hope some is headed your way :)

[@TheTrock121]

I can't believe your Mustard didn't bolt, ours does at the first sign of hot weather. I'm growing Kohlrabi for the first time this Fall and I love the leaves in stir fries. Can't wait to try the bulbs. Wonder if it would grow in your Winter.

[@abyssal_phoenix]

Garlic, potato and walnuts grow like weeds and without care over here in the Netherlands. They all aren’t native and you need to plant them yourself. But when sowed or planted they grow like nobodies business

[@margaritaiglesias348]

Thankyou so much fir sharing!.. I admire your videos, even I only live in a small flat in the city!.,is wonderful to feel that respect and passion for nature!!

[@obadiahscave]

"Dont look after the garden, it'll take care of itself "....😂😂😂😂

[@kokoslegend4850]

Not really. The plants could damage or die due to drought for example.

[@sweepingtime]

Mom's amazing. Perhaps without her watering the garden would have fared worse.

[@abyssal_phoenix]

Funnily enough, always when I go on vacation we have beautifull weather and at our house we get colder and wet weather. Last year we even had too much rain

[@realisticminecraftsteve4308]

Im from croatia nice to hear you visited

[@stormyjellybean2925]

The garden may need some TLC, but at least you've made some memories to make up for it. If anyone can whip things back into shape, we know you're the one to do it!

[@amberamodei484]

I love your sense of humour.

[@yogininamaste]

You cracking me up! Such a amazing channel. Love your passion ❤

[@aaron2709]

Garden still looks good. I'm excited for the blueberries.

[@winterfae5403]

Nice to see your family.

[@julieannabaca5403]

Sooo sorry about your crops that suffered but look at the bright side ..you had a great vacation 😁oh and you have a Russel Crow kinda charm going on ..❤️❤️❤️

[@Selfsufficientme]

Thank you, if only I could act as good as Russel lol... Cheers :)

[@rachellee5797]

Your mum is so cute omg precious

[@v.6205]

Well I want to see the awesome holiday pictures.

[@Jreichh]

Wow mustard plants grow huge!

[@angelinaspain5705]

Love the sign off on this one, so very true

[@randombuilds8486]

American here if you have maul berry tree that size and with a decent root system you will have a lot of berries also since the branches are flexible you can put a tarp under the branches and shake them it’s the best method my family has used

[@valentinneacsu7115]

Omg dude! at 10:07 you have "Dude"! that is fking awesome! i did not know they grow there too! Here in our country they grow on the side of the road, we use them mainly for moonshine and treat our farm animals. Keep up the good work, you are a big inspiration to us.

[@busgeeth-ilemaurice6642]

Hello Mark. Good to see you back. I hope u n family had a lovely holiday. Of course, we'd like to see videos n pics of your holiday. Ty. Stay blessed. 🙏 Asha from Mauritius.

[@Selfsufficientme]

Thank you Asha 🙂👍

[@busgeeth-ilemaurice6642]

@@Selfsufficientme You are welcome dear.

[@WeekendWarriorBBQ]

I wondered where you've been! I really enjoy your videos. Welcome back :)

[@sherri1508]

I had thought it had felt like a while since a new video from you. I live in your region so your gardening videos are really helpful. Glad to have you back :)

[@Selfsufficientme]

Great to be back Sherri! Thank you :)

[@Natashajb]

awwwww bless your mum

[@sentwistle4325]

I really like how you're showing us your gardening mistakes. We've all made them, myself included! Love your videos! Cheers.

[@2percent153]

Welcome back Mark. I wondered where you went. So glad you're back. I've passed my time watching your older videos, was so happy when i saw this new one. :)

[@candaceaustin4258]

In another video you spoke of galvanized raised beds. I've found them at Home Depot in US plus Amazon. For everyone who's looking.

[@TruWzrdTexas]

Candace Austin You read my mind.

[@kmw4359]

Yes but if you buy from Mark or Kevin from Epic Gardening in the US, you can also benefit Mark. (Mark gets a cut of Kevin’s sales under a specific deal ... can’t remember the video, but they talked about it.)

[@wimtits3546]

hi Mark, i hope you enjoyed Europe. but im sure you'll be happy to be back in your garden again too! well.. take my word that at least I am happy that you're back... HA! due to renovation inside my house i neglected my garden also... but many plants will survive.. if not this year, then probably next year! take care mate! regards from Belgium, Europe wim

[@Selfsufficientme]

Thanks Wim! Belgium is another country on my bucket list... All the best with your garden once the renos are done! Cheers mate :)

[@yoruburiram880]

Lovely mom😍

[@Mr2012Drum]

H i Mark, Greetings from Munich...well you look like you appreciate the German beer.Glad you’re back.Regards Anthony

[@Selfsufficientme]

G'day Anthony and thanks mate! Yes, I certainly do appreciate a good German beer (never tasted a bad one yet). Cheers :)

[@manoyski3555]

We went to Europe too in mid July and when we return I have a forest of moringa trees. We went to Germany, France, the Benelux countries, Czech, Austria, Switzerland but I am not sharing my videos.

[@dmitryandrosenko3885]

Thank you from Spain !!

[@user-yi7tb5vm5r]

Hello from Aegina island! Huge fan! I am sorry you didn’t visit Greece!! Your videos make us happy!!

[@Selfsufficientme]

We didn't get to Greece this time but a food and sightseeing tour in your country is a must in my opinion and I can't wait to get there sometime in the future! Thank you :)

[@simplewesternandasianmenu532]

Wow very nice place new friend here from Hongkong thank you for visiting my kitchen God bless you and your family new friend

[@someonesaid2632]

Im from croasia and live in munic an i saw you thare

[@keeksputels1851]

Hope you and your wife had a lovely time, you deserve a good vacation

[@thumbalina1568]

Yes you went to Croatia! I’d love to Go there too with my partner! ❤️