Wild Gardening - How I deal with rabbits, deer and more

[@frederickanderson8778]

What a true delight. I cannot believe this is your morning every day. You have done something wonderful. Legacy indeed.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Thank you so kindly.

[@t.grimes9973]

It was a mink;) What a beautiful and natural way to garden! Thanks for posting.

[@pixiebeen]

Beautiful. We are so detached for the simple fact that we ARE Nature. There is no division. Thank you for putting this out there to share. Magical.

[@brishen443]

I'm 23 years old - a college student from Viet Nam, I'm new to horticulture, your video is a fact that gives me more information and strength to firmly follow this path, wish you good health and happiness. Thank you!!

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Fantastic Brishen. Keep on the path and you will find so much happiness and purpose in your life.

[@millennialhmong7121]

What a beautiful show of nature. Love listening to your peace and joyfulness

[@coarsegoldguy7414]

Sean & Sasha from Edible Acres guided me here and I love their channel. You are growing on me every day. Love your content. Thanks for sharing.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Thanks for subbing! Sean is probably the person who was mostly responsible for me doing this. His videos made me go "alright that's it, this is my new life" and I just started planting.

[@darcyschneider8525]

This video is a little view of paradise -- your philosophy is much appreciated. Sharing life with the wild others! I can't imagine the loneliness of being without them. A way of life to be cherished. Thank you for sharing your beautiful video.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

I knew you'd like this one 😀 I couldn't agree more!

[@Kay-xi9kv]

Best video ever. You are sowing wisdom and I thank you for it a thousand times.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

So kind thank you so very much.

[@georgemarkham8971]

I appreciate your attitude toward sharing with the animals. We are seeing a Marsh Hawk (new last year) and Coyotes in our area. They are doing their best to control the Vole population that "shares" with our conventional garden. Interestingly there are no observable Voles in our early-stages food forest. Maybe this is another benefit of the biodiversity in the food forest.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Balance is always the best way.

[@verjiggawich]

Hi, I've recently (re)discovered my interest for permaculture and I just wanted to say your videos are such a delight. You being so curious and interested in what's happening around you makes me so happy--it's the way I feel as well when learning about plants and nature. I didn't really have fertile soil growing up, but seeing you enjoy what you're doing reinforces my feeling that I need to pursue this kind of lifestyle. So thank you!

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Wonderful, thank you!

[@rahneclark1902]

It's awesome thank you for the video 😊

[@peterson.associates]

Thanks for sharing your garden with us!

[@tff40]

A little late but I believe that was a black Marten, which is native to ON.

[@marcogallazzi9049]

I think you did deal with the rabbits, just not in the usual way. You established a resilient system that can sustain them, and other wildlife as well, so they are part of the equation now. This is so good to see, thank you!!

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

I hope so!

[@bohorustica8545]

I love your gardening philosophy it is the same as mine but I have a much smaller property. I worked for quite a few years in the oil & gas industry so my 1/2 acre gardens went wild and only the strongest survived the neglect. The self seeders ( especially Phlox) ran rampant but in the spring became great swathes of wonderfully scented shades of purple and white which the bees loved. Masses of dandelions to pick flowers and leaves for drying and early greens to eat. I am making comfrey tea as they fall over and using as mulch around plants then covering with 3 year old bark mulch as an experiment to see if they will be a complete fertilizer for my garden (read this somewhere ). Somehow I have become a gardener for the insect life and seem now to notice everything through them. Thanks for sharing it is most inspiring.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Fantastic! They need people like you. Thanks for being awesome.

[@stephaniefgeary]

"It's not a race man, slow down" haha

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Haha glad someone enjoyed that

[@bbtruth2161]

Good stuff. I pick my battles with the critters always with the purpose of doing as little damage as possible. Many times my days are like yours with wildlife all over. I over plant my garden and make dummy gardens so I can keep the critters from eating everything in site. You learn to live with them and enjoy their presence. There are plenty of tricks to keep them from ruining your work, but some times you lose a few. Oh well. Those little guys have to eat too. Seems my environment here in MN is similar to yours. I think I'm in a slightly cooler zone at 4a. I love the harmony with which you commune with nature. I do have to go with semi dwarf trees and let them get tall because of all kinds of deer. Good to know on the artichokes. I have plenty of wild grown crazy spots. Nature is balance. I own a couple acre peninsula that goes out into the lake that I can't wait to start with some plantings. About half way on my new orchard, then maybe I will move on to that. Just did a good size wildflower planting, can't wait for that to spring to life. I wish all people could live in this kind place to know real peace and beauty.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Wonderful!

[@IS-217]

Oh wow! Looks like the predators are moving in for sure. That looked like a Fisher for sure. They are carnivores. They will eat some berries etc but they prefer rabbits, squirrels, rodents, reptiles etc. They have even been known to kill and eat house cats!! Keep an eye on that one it might start a fight with your little pups. Looks like Lucy should be able to scare it off, she's getting big quick. "Guard dogs" lol Everything looking great man! Love the wildlife. Always enjoy a little walk through tour. Cheers Happy gardening!

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Indeed!

[@saraholden5213]

Hi, I was noticing in one of your videos from last year your dog was digging in your new garden bed. What I do is cut berry vines or anything prickery and I lay the branches in my garden. When the garden starts to really fill out I remove those branches. This also works for rabbits and deer.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

That's a pretty good idea 💡

[@jrmikulec]

The hummingbird may have been doing a mating dance where the male flies high and dives in a U shape. At the bottom of the dive their tail feathers make a high-pitched sound because of how fast the air is moving past them. I think the sound is usually pretty unique to the species too. I've never seen it in person before!

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

That's exactly what he was doing. So cool!

[@maandpa]

Great opening 🤣🤣

[@martybartfast1]

One of the many reasons I love your work is the 'honesty'. As a teacher/instructor I find the best way to help others 'learn' is to 'show', then get them to 'copy'. 'Demonstration, then copy', in a relaxed format of 'faliure tollerance', 'get up and try', is the best way. As indeed is the permaculture way that you demonstrate so well. I can't thank you enough, but I will give thanks and gratitutes and hope they return some 'truth' and 'honesty' back your way. Peace and Love Sir! m

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Thanks so much, I appreciate it. Indeed, I work in the nuclear industry, and the best way to get someone to retain information longterm is the "Learn, do, teach" method. Each one improves understanding. Sometimes actually it's not even until we start teaching something that we TRULY understand it. I follow that methodology even with my kids. I'll teach them how to do it. Then get them to show me them doing it. Then I'll get them to teach ME how to do it. I actually think that last step is really impactful.

[@martybartfast1]

@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy With you on all counts, Sir. I saw a youtube vid about an american teacher; whose catch phrase, so to speak; was "Don't tell me; show me." Then, the getting them 'to being able to teach', get it wrong, try again, learn; and find the solution, I have found to be a very successful stratergy, even if it is; in my case, getting the students who were on time, to show the late comers how to put on the safety gear... under supervision of course.. It brings ownership and deeper understanding to problem solving the later issues, as they arise. Admirations and respect to you. m

[@brianberg3624]

Hi I would say by the size and color and because it was by your pond that that was a mink you saw Your fish may go missing but like you said you have to live with nature. Cool to see!!!

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Indeed, that could be what got one of them. Cycle of life. We did design places for the fish to hide, hopefully that gives them a fighting chance.

[@blessildajoy]

My husband's telling me to make my planting more wild!🤣

[@allonesame6467]

I totally love your management style and decisions. @11:45 the hummingbird male does mating dance to attract and impress females.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

So cool, never saw that before. They love drinking from our waterfalls.

[@Greentrees60]

It is one of my favourite things! My dad's obsessed and has loads of feeders and humming bird friendly plants, so in the city and at the cottage we always have between 3 and 5 around (in the summer). I always think it looks like a metronome!

[@kittycat3312]

I fence up my "traditional" garden in the spring/summer, but the bunnies have clover outside of the fence. I let them in in late fall so that they can eat the leftovers and spread manure.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

This is a great balance.

[@AyshasFoodStudio]

Beautiful place very nice video

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Thank you 😊

[@djmoulton1558]

Your little black mustelid buddy at 3:10 is a mink.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Cheers

[@insidethegardenwall22]

Wish I could have such philosophical approach. In my small suburban garden, each day I wake up to

[@insidethegardenwall22]

new devastation and mess. Torn branches and half eaten fruits would have to be picked up and removed. New shoots never had a chance and it’s disheartening to see bite marks on food that was meant to feed my family. Then you worry about diseases or simply not a fan of animals touching the soft fruits. Love nature just like everyone else, I would share but not them.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Indeed small suburban places are harder to have this approach because you are only controlling such a small fraction of the lands around you. Even if you did feed the wildlife, the other 98% of the people only have shingles, driveways and asphalt for them to eat.

[@annburge291]

Magical video... notice that your wild pack know the family members of your immediate family...dogs aren't a real threat when they have trouble squeezing through bushy plants. Notice that the rabbit preferences for strawberry leaves rather than the ripe fruit. Really liked how your Jerusalem artichokes keep your deer down near the wilder parts of your garden. My dog pack is a bit chaotic. They spend hours chasing anything that moves including the neighbours' cats. When the neighbours till around their pecans, their squirrels, voles and snakes move into our place. I leave pipes lying around so they have hiding places while harmony can be established.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Nice. We do the same with some old "Big-O" pipe.

[@simplelifetv484]

i like Rabbits😍 I'm feel good when i see Rabbits

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Absolutely

[@samanthamariah7625]

When you put music to videos, such as this one, my heart almost stops….so it’s a good thing you didn’t 🤣 Absolutely love your natural food forest and seeing the critters makes it extra special . . . I’m in love with it all 😊 I’m excited to watch ours grow up as the years move along. We just moved here 2 months ago and are spending our days planting. The house….well it still needs to be unpacked 🤣 Priorities 🤣

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Lol priorities. I can't wait to see it, if you do make a video for viewer vids.

[@ramthian]

Morning 👍👍

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Good morning Ram

[@jenniferfrederick2456]

Jerusalem artichoke!! That's the deer crack🤣.

[@nmnate]

With our new neighborhood, we're just starting to see some more predators re-appear on our street. Mostly just snakes, coyote and the seldom raptor (owls and hawks). Without them, the rabbits just explode in numbers. Last year we had a huge rabbit population until some hemorrhagic disease cleaned them out in the summer. I'm hoping that as my trees get larger the raptors will be more likely to come visit. I'll give some thought to trying some groundcovers for rabbits, I might be able to do white prairie clovers without much water. Gotta find the balance point where everything just sorts itself out. That martin (mink?) footage was a treat! I'd love to have mustelids in our yard. I've seen short tailed weasels and I think we also have long tailed weasels, too. Voracious predators. Might feel differently if I had poultry...ha. :)

[@krismatthieu8767]

That was awesome! I can totally identify. We sit every night and watch the deer and bunnies. I was wondering why my Jerusalem artichokes haven’t grown very high! 😂. My wild animals are very spoiled. Let’s get back to Eden 💜

[@FaveWasteOfTime]

the garden I want - loved the video

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Thank you so much.

[@MartinaSchoppe]

I sowed clover (for nitrogen fixation and for the bees) but maybe rabbits will find my garden, too, haha.

[@acebilbo]

We had a great time too. Lots of rain in SW Washington until today. Sunny and warm. Looking at continuing my cardboard, trash wool, and wood chip mulching the 3-5' high grass in a quarter acre field. The rain made the grass heavy so it lay down nicely. Haven't mowed for 2 years. The roots are going deeper. Experimentation. Lots to plant. Variety is the spice of life! ✨🌾🌾🌻👍🤗

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Wonderful!

[@mattleblanc4459]

Fantastic video. I can see so many strawberries in that strawberry patch that obviously has rabbits in them 24/7. There really can be enough for everyone.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Absolutely. I need to go pick some.

[@JoelKSullivan]

Thanks for sharing the full clip. Definitely worth watching

[@skeletalbassman1028]

You can never totally control rabbit without exclusion anyway. I had them passing my tomato plants up every single day for months then BAAM! One day they took literally all of them. Now I exclude my important vegetables and build rabbit gardens near my hedge to keep the rabbits away. They prefer the hedge over the open ground anyway.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Exactly. I used to have fences around everything (before I started this channel), and ever since I took the fences down but then FED the rabbits what they want (and what I want them eating), my losses to rabbits actually went down. It's so crazy. Plus now I get little patches of rabbit manure constantly ameding my soils. Free labour.

[@MartinaSchoppe]

@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy you are a rabbit exploiter. Bad. SO BAD! ;)

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

I don't even pay them workers compensation or fair wages. Look at me I'm a capitalist!

[@MartinaSchoppe]

@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy I'm writing to armestier* international. Just so you know!!! (*armes Tier = poor animal" ;) ). Will probably even sic PETA on you :P

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

@@MartinaSchoppe lol. And I will write a letter to them about the Mink in this video. I think he wants to eat the fish, and I really think PETA needs to get involved with him.

[@Lochness19]

I see some minks and weasels by the creek in my backyard from time to time. Any tips on how to keep them happy? Anything that'll control the rabbit, chipmunk and vole population is good by me. We do have a good number of coyotes and foxes too.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Yeah, they like any small meaty meal, so anything you can do to feed things that they want to eat. Hazelnut rows would be great to promote squirrels. Clover everywhere is great for rabbits. Jerusalem artichokes, or any other tuber type plant would be great to promote moles/voles. I just say JAs, because they are bullet proof, and will still crop well under heavy mole/vole pressure.

[@Lochness19]

I think I have a decent amount of clover in my yard? But maybe not enough because the rabbits still eat a lot of my umbellifer tops and legumes sprouts. I think I'll still make a chicken wire fence next year to protect my carrots, root & leaf parsley, cilantro and salsify next year though. The rabbits can still eat the clover on my lawn and hang around in the remaining 99% of the yard.

[@ramthian]

So beautiful place xxx.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Thank you

[@ramthian]

You’re so kind.

[@VerucaPumpkin]

I have clover in my front yard. It's perfect. How do I harvest the flowers/seeds/roots whatever to put in my back yard?

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

You have to not cut it after it flowers and let the flower heads turn to seed heads. Then you can pick them.

[@veronicajacobi8779]

THANKS TONSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

[@stephenthompson8506]

Just lovely

[@KarinaJoensen]

Amazing ❤ you're truly an inspiration man! Love your videos! 😊

[@ramthian]

Cool 😎

[@annburge291]

Hummingbirds eat far more knats than flower nectar in our area... that's how they survive the times when there aren't many flowers. They love aloe vera flowers. I watch them through the kitchen window and the sun rays highlight the small insects.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Thanks for sharing, that's interesting to know.

[@Greentrees60]

Also rose of Sharon, which is actually a hearty hibiscus variety! As a hibiscus theoretically part of the flower can be turned into tea, but I still buy mine out of fear that I'll cook the wrong part and make myself sick. It is very tasty though!

[@GardeningintheNorth]

Harry and Max better watch themselves around Lucy 🤣. Thanks Keith!

[@BobSmith-un5mw]

I have a wild area in my food forest as well. My Tomatoes also do best there. I don't do anything to them and the root all over the place until I have a 5x5 bush of Tomatoes that lasts into Winter. I get tons more cherry tomatoes this way.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Thanks for the extra data set. Indeed, I suppose a lot has to do with the soil building that wild places can do with all the varied plants.

[@green_stiller]

I'm in the southern US, but I believe that little furry friend was a mink!

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Thanks! Sounds about right. He's probably looking for some fish in the pond. Good luck to my koi!

[@bbtruth2161]

Mink might be cute, but they are murderous little bastards. Hope you don't have chickens.

[@dano956]

Love your approach to gardening. I belong to a gardening group on Facebook where the theme seems to be killing and hating things. I sometimes wonder why some people don't choose a different hobby.

[@jenniferfrederick2456]

We have pawpaw here in Pa as well. I have found companies selling grafted pawpaw, but I believe they will not propagate through their root system. Do you have grafted pawpaw or non grafted and where did you purchase the pawpaw? I have also found a company selling dormant, bare root pawpaw. Not sure if they are grafted however

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Most paw paws are grafted from rootstock. I have a few seedling paw paws (which obviously aren't grafted) as well as some named varieties grafted onto rootstock. Paw paws love to sucker and form thickets from underground root spreading. For the grafted varieties, if they spread like this, the trees popping up will be the genetics of the root stock. It doesn't mean they are going to be bad, but they just won't be as good. What I plan on doing with these is digging these up and using these as guerrilla planting material, and trying to restore wild native paw paws up here.

[@jenniferfrederick2456]

@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy That is fantastic your wanting to restore the native population. They are limited here as well which is why I also am interested in getting thicket growing. We have several valleys whicj are covered with pawpaw, I am in the fence about removing 2 or 3 to grow in and spread around the immediate area. I'm wva they have pawpaw festivals as well in Ohio and Pa. There they sell pawpaw.

[@cedarridgeorganics8141]

Hey Keith I cannot get enough of all your videos, and your sharing of knowledge … thank you so much !!! I wanted to ask you a quick question about weevils on your strawberry plants, do you have them, is there any plant that will get rid of these little critters naturally ??

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

I do have them. Really bad in the past. I have been planting more and more flowers to build a stronger predator population, and this year I only saw a couple of them. I think their heads are being ripped off by my security force I have helped establish.

[@cedarridgeorganics8141]

@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy haha that’s fantastic!! I was thinking of adding some broadleaf plantain and some wood sorrel. What type of plants/flowers did you use to fight off these nasty’s ??

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Native wildflower packets are a must, because they will help bring in all sorts of native insects. After that, anything that looks like parsley tends to be a great predator attractor. Yarrow, queen Anne's lace, etc. But honestly just herbs ajd flowers of all kinds. Hundreds of different plants. I did the old shotgun approach. The Sepp Holzer approach. Overseed and let nature sort out who wants to live where.

[@cedarridgeorganics8141]

@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy If I recall correctly you had a video of that where you mixed in all your seeds, What a blast !! In your opinion is it safe to split my 4 month old comfrey during this time of season? I know typically things get divided spring and fall but need to divide the comfrey…. They are growing crazy !

[@cedarridgeorganics8141]

@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy If I recall correctly you had a video of that where you mixed in all your seeds, What a blast !! In your opinion is it safe to split my 4 month old comfrey during this time of season? I know typically things get divided spring and fall but need to divide the comfrey…. They are growing crazy, any advice ??

[@dgraham4966]

Hi Keith, I am struggling with immense deer pressure here, and the night before last they come back to nibble on my newer orchard trees again. One tree is down to a single leaf. What are your thoughts on if it'll survive, and what can I do to facilitate it's rebound if so?! Thanks in advance!

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Impossible to say without seeing it. Also the older a tree is, it can bounce back from being eaten to the ground even. The newer a tree is, the more fragile it is, because it doesn't have an established root system yet to draw energy from. Sometimes when a tree gets really browsed hard, the correct response is actually to REMOVE the leaves so you don't lose more water through transpiration. The tree then shoots back a new branch and it's good to go. See if you can protect the tree with some cattle panel fencing or something similar, to allow it time to regrow without the deer pressure. And ideally figure out where they are coming from and give them food out away from your trees, out in the wilder places. That way they stop pushing further in.

[@dgraham4966]

@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy Thanks! Fingers crossed. I'm in the process of fencing this area, but they are faster than me and always find the holes. After 15 years of losing 90% of all my berries and apples, I'm not as keen on sharing! I had another related question and you may have insight. In observing I have begun to notice quite a few things... When some pests like slugs, deer or rabbits browse the food do you suppose they have instinctual purposes to help the overall eco system? (Besides fertilizing...haha) IE: Do they know that one lupine is no good and eat it down to the ground while the other next to it isn't touched. The yarrow that was munched by slugs has rebounded 10 fold in lusciousness, making it a stronger overall plant. And the strawberries browsed by deer sent out runners within a few days to multiply. Some apple trees were just bitten, and others were completely defoliated. It seems to me they may have purpose in their ways, but I have yet to understand them fully, or to compensate and get the resistant plants or varieties.....

[@dgraham4966]

And PS - There will be some plants I will plant on the outside of the fenced area... they just will be treated like toddlers with safety gates. ;-)

[@mathsvideoshis5701]

@@dgraham4966 Yes and yes! Great observations. Of course, sometimes the animals are just hungry and eat whatever they find, but every creature has its role in the ecosystem. This year I planted groups of fava beans all over the garden. It was interesting to observe which plants and groups developed problems and which ones didn't. In a row of 12 plants, exactly two were attacked by aphids. The rest were left alone. My guess is they were planted a little too crowded, so nature tried to fix the problem. (In my first year, I lost all my fava beans to aphids. I didn't get a single bean!) Another example: I used to lose a lot to snails. Then I learned that snails are important in a garden. They eat dead matter and weeds and clean up weak and dying plants. But they can't tell the difference between a small, stressed transplant and a dying plant. Or between a small seedling and a weed. This understanding changed the way I approached things. I never plant a row of lettuce anymore. The lettuce is now dotted all over the garden. I lose some plants, but still get enough for us to eat. I'm starting to recognize when damage from creatures in my garden points me to a flaw in my design. The explanations are not always obvious. Nature builds a lot of redundancy in and there is randomness involved too, making it complicated. But it's an exciting journey. In general, the healthier your system becomes, the fewer problems you will have.

[@dgraham4966]

@@mathsvideoshis5701 Yes! Thank you. All such valid points, and fascinatingly I observed my favas also covered in aphids. For me their purpose was to fix nitrogen, so having the aphids there instead of elsewhere was totally fine. ;) There was also a bug that managed to eat the tips, releasing the seeds and self sowing the fava seeds for the future. That was cool to see! I guess I was just hoping to learn a few specific permaculture-ish tips to foster natural processes quicker, but then again maybe just observations and learning to watch the natural processes over time can show us what is needed in our own spaces. Thanks for the feedback I appreciate it!

[@enadimi]

Enjoyed your beautiful garden Immensely, thanks for sharing. Does your strawberries survive your cold winters, or do you have to replant annually.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

They are very cold hardy. They have survived -40 degree winters no problem. I planted these 4 years ago and haven't done a thing since except eat form the patch, and dig some plants up to transplant or sell to people. They spread every year on their own and refresh the patch. Each plant lives 7 years, but will split into 4 or so each year.

[@enadimi]

@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy that is great👍💕

[@bennywalsh2038]

Is your comfrey the sterile Bocking varieties?

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

It's all bocking 14, yes.

[@moamoa7067]

Been a long time sub,and still can't believe that you don't have atleast 100 000 to 300 000 subscribers...it's insane what people in the northern hemisphere miss out on! You're a treasure trove of knowledge 🌱🔥maybe put some focus on the thumbnails so you get that exposure?😉

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Thanks! Any ideas? I'm trying, but not very artistic like that.

[@moamoa7067]

@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy worked and done graphics and such so i would just recommend looking and copying channels that have successful content. look at channels or your own content, what vidoes have gone "viral" and what hasn't? Does that thumbnail differ from their usual content? Can people read my titles on phones? just spend an extra 30 min to test and play around,the more you work,copy and copy good exempels,you will get better👍 If you have the money to invest in the channel, I would recommend hiring someone that have experience in graphics for YT. Would offer but kind of busy with design for the environmental movement 🌱😅

[@moamoa7067]

Some real feedback I can offer is looking over your titles on the thumbnail, as simple and legible fonts as possible. You text is a tad skinny or not as big as you want to have. You want to easily read both the picture and text in a couple seconds, so you don't strain your eyes to read it. Just check from your phone before uploading that you can easily read the text on the thumbnail and easily understand what the picture is containing. A blur of green can easily be adjusted with contrasts and in general picking photos that look readable and nice.

[@Greentrees60]

I have read that thumbnails with faces do better... maybe that would help? Since the camera isn't on you that much, maybe put a mink face? 😋

[@kayspitzmueller7544]

@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy you never ask people to subscribe. Of course, I immediately did. Might up your #s

[@FragrantlyOdious]

Heaven.

[@verahofmann5987]

Great video! Do you have bears in your area? We live in a mature boreal forest in zone 3 and have lots of wildlife. So far so good and we haven’t fenced yet, but I’m not yet sure how to protect my trees from the destructive bears. Any thoughts?

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

We have bears but not many. I wouldn't want to give advice as I'm not an expert. I would say to plant berries for them far away from your property to discourge them from coming anywhere near your land.

[@verahofmann5987]

Thank you for the reply! Good idea.

[@KASA0828]

Can I just buy Jerusalem artichokes at Whole Foods and plant them? Will they grow? Deer ate the tops of my indeterminate tomatoes this morning! I’m pissed. First time garden and they are not playing nice at all! I wanted to cry !

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

They should yes.

[@kescah]

No link to Amazon anymore? Your book links are gone.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Oh thanks I will see what happened.

[@rahneclark1902]

What do all of the animal's like the best for foods please and thank you 😊. You naked some

[@rahneclark1902]

Named sry autocorrect changed it

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Oaks are one of the best for insects. Serviceberries are great for birds. If you look at my "guilds" comprehensive guide, I mention many many plants that we plant here. Almost all are great got animals and insects.

[@paperm2023]

Do you visit r/collapse?

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

That place is full of depressing doomers. I did visit it before, but decided I wanted not only to be informed about the collapse we are facing but actually act against it, instead of just sitting pining away. I find the people in there almost WANT the collapse to come. I can't stand that place anymore.

[@bobburkinshaw6418]

In one sense I agree with you fully re the rabbits, Keith, but I also have a problem. We are overrun with rabbits! We can look outside and see up to half a dozen at any given moment anywhere on our lawn or in the garden. They are not too much of a problem in the summer because I have planted as much white clover as possible and they mostly eat that. But this past winter they almost destroyed our whole raspberry patch, cutting down to the ground most of the canes which would have fruited this summer. Several dozen of our shrubs and trees were also badly damaged. We don't have dogs or cats so perhaps that is a part of the problem. We had hoped that natural predators such as coyotes, foxes and owls would help control the numbers in this rural location but we haven't seen evidence of that and the rabbit population boom has been going on for several years and seems to be getting worse. Perhaps this fall we will need to resort to live trapping and removal from this area to a more remote area not far away. Bob

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Yeah, I completely understand it's different for everyone. We have lots of land, lots of wild areas around us (owls, hawks, foxes, wolves, etc), ajd we have 3 dogs who are outside more than they are inside. I can definitely afford to be more relaxed about rabbit pressure.

[@Lauradicus]

Tell Poppy he can grow some parsley for the bunnies, they love it more than lettuce and it’s not clover.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

He already does have some parsley, so maybe I can convince him to spread it. I heard him the other day tell my Sister in Law to keep her dandelions out for the bees. He's definitely slowly pulling towards permaculture. Today I was talking about clover in the garden and he said he'd try it around the border of the garden. This is a man who a few years ago was spraying broad leaf herbicide to kill clover in his lawn. So him thinking of sowing clover into the garden/lawn edge is a massive step.

[@Lauradicus]

@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy Good things come to those who wait!

[@adz5bneweng589]

I think the black animal is a fisher cat.

[@sheilayagodzinski5747]

That's probably a mink, fisher cats are huge compared to that little critter, saw one at our lake house once sunning on a rock ( the mink ,) also saw a Fisher cat at a wild life exhibit at a fair by the fish and game dept.

[@saltriverorchards4190]

I’ve been trying very hard to change how I think about deer but every time I think maybe they’re ok and I can live with the damage they do, another fruit tree suffers extensive damage that it cannot recover from. I have resorted to electric fencing. I told my wife it’s like they are literally starving to death around here, even though there are huge corn and soybean fields all around me. I intend to start planting other food sources away from the apple trees. At this point in time deer are in fact my enemy. They are their own food source’s enemy and they won’t even allow it to grow long enough to be a future source of food. Hopefully it won’t always be this way. My rabbits are perfectly fine and do very very little damage and I have plenty of wild predators to keep their population in check. Maybe I need to start keeping and breeding wolves and Pumas to keep the deer in check. Lol

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Yes, a lot of this stuff requires massive coordination on a large scale to bring balance back. A big problem with deer is that their predators have all been hunted to near extinction due to the fact that they also eat farmer's livestock. A good solution to a really big deer problem is a rifle and a deep freezer. Unfortunately when there's no natural predators for them, humans need to take over that role. So it's re-introduce wolves to an area, or allow more hunting. In areas with few hunters but many farmers killing wolves, there's tremendous imbalance.

[@catlovernat]

Wait. Is the friend you found within two minutes of the video a wild Ferrate? Like a lemur?

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

It's a mink. Murderous little dudes. Definitely eyeing the fish in the pond. I also have to be very careful with my smaller dogs.

[@Greentrees60]

They also eat pests like mice and rats, which is good!

[@PaleGhost69]

Lucy was doing her job. She's hearding the rabbits. The one she killed was only a show of authority so they would listen.

[@bbtruth2161]

Lucy a australian shepard?

[@PaleGhost69]

@@bbtruth2161 Yup

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Indeed!

[@fluffow2675]

Do you have killer snails where you live? They ruin everything for us here in Sweden

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

No just the regular snails, although the strawberries may say they share killer snails.

[@lowkeyarjuna2808]

Mink was the animal in your pond if no one else told you which they probably did.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

They did but thanks 😊

[@lowkeyarjuna2808]

@@CanadianPermacultureLegacy also love your videos sir. It cost me a couple hours on home work last night but im glad because you've given me more hope

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Haha! Best of luck. Get your homework done ✔

[@MsCaterific]

❤️

[@NashvilleMonkey1000]

Show the dogs the video and point out the rabbits, it's what olympic trainers do. You can even teach them vocal directions so they go to where the rabbits are.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Lucy maybe, Ginny maybe, but Harry and Max are dumb as a bag of rocks.

[@ramthian]

❤️❤️❤️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@banksarenotyourfriends]

My dog would clear your property of (living) rabbits in minutes, but she would also cause a lot more damage in the process than what the rabbits are doing 😂 I think your dogs have probably got the balance just right!

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Yeah my dogs definitely cause the most amount of damage. When people walk by the road they run back and forth like a typewriter, right through the gardens.

[@macsmenteinmune]

Yeah deer crack.

[@jessicalandi6750]

That rabbit was totally watching you, acting like he was innocently grazing from the food forest buffet. Mark my words...he was spying you out...going back to the rabbit league and reporting that you appear to be a friendly, interesting human. You'll have the rabbit nation eating out of your hand in a relatively short period of time. Ha!

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Lol

[@pixiebeen]

Beautiful. We are so detached for the simple fact that we ARE Nature. There is no division. Thank you for putting this out there to share. Magical.

[@CanadianPermacultureLegacy]

Yes we are!