Hi Green Lovers! My name is Tara and I live in the beautiful Northern California Bay Area (Zone 9B). My goal is to help new gardeners while learning from the best on RU-vid and implementing their techniques in my garden. I believe in learning through doing, and I am always trying new things and conducting little experiments of my own. So you will see both my successes and failures and hopefully learn something from both! I have a shady garden surrounded by beautiful California Oak trees and have very clayey soil which I am trying to improve as naturally as possible. I am learning as I go, and would love to take you along on my gardening journey! And let's build a community where we learn from each other! Live Green and Love your Greens! 💚💚💚 Tara PS: Follow me on Instagram- @greenlove121 Other inquiries, email me at gardenlove09@gmail.com
Some people have asked me what neglecting my GreenStalks means. It just means that I am not going over and above to take care of the plants like I did last year. I have not replenished the soil, I rarely fertilize, and they are on irrigation so they do get forwarded regularly. But that's about it. I've tucked in a few seeds in some empty pockets, but really no strategy this year. I want to see how they grow because not everyone can pay enough attention to their garden. I have friends who bought GreenStalks but are reluctant to set them up because they don't want to take care of them! So this video is for those who worry that GreenStalks nees too much attention! They really don't! #greenstalkverticalplanter
'Tis the season for lots of plums! Have a faster way to do it? Please do share! I have a boatload of plums I need to put. we're making a Plum Mead, and also some plum jam!!
@@trudithomas9677 a high percentage of dragon fruit seedlings seem to do that. Of the 20 or so seedlings that I start off with, I might get 2 to grow to size
What are you suggestions on planting asparagus? Direct sow or seedlings? Plant separately in its own container? Type of Soil? Time of year to plant? I live in Bay Area too. Thanks!
Hi Neighbor!!! I planted mine in early Spring. I started with crowns rather than seeds, for the main reason that it saved me a whole one to two years of waiting. You don't want to harvest asparagus too soon or you will postpone the bigger harvest by years. I would recommend starting with crowns, and get as many as you can afford. I think I started with a dozen, I wish I did two dozen at least! And you really shouldn't be growing in containers. Asparagus lives for 20 years or more, and develops roots that go down several feet. So give it a permanent spot in your garden. I have a 12 ft by 4 ft raised bed dedicated to asparagus. I amended generously with sand, since asparagus grows natively in beachy areas. This year I actually started several from seeds. And I don't mind waiting, since my crowns that I started 4 years ago are generously producing every year. Let me know if you have any other questions!!
I am doing a combination of multiple cultivars of seeds and multiple cultivars of commercially available crowns! So far, I’ve been very impressed by the vigorousness of the seedlings. I’m well aware that I have lost one year alone just by doing the seed method but by seed, you definitely get an awful lot of plants for your money!
I bet nasturtiums would look amazing on the ends so they can drape over the side. You can do the smaller varieties so they didn't get too crazy. I considered buying one of these but wasn't sure how much use I'd get compared to the price point. I have enjoyed my Greenstalk and will eventually be getting the watering system but my Greenstalk is one of the things that pushes me to get out more regularly to check on my plants in the heat. I think it's important to at least do a once over of the spring/summer garden everyday to at least insure that things are getting watered properly. For me, having to water a few plants or areas by hand is a better way to insure I check the areas daily. I still will occasionally miss a day here n there but each gardener needs to find what works best for their lifestyle, garden, plants etc. Your garden is lovely and I enjoy having a local channel to compare notes! You are truly a doll and would love to have you come by to see my garden one day. Our neighbors love that we are gardening in our front yard and we get lots of regular walkers/hikers that go by because I'm right by hiking trails. Cheers and keep up the great videos!
@@naynerboppers5254 ww, Renee, you are so sweet. I would love to come by and visit with you some day! Yes, I think the reason my GreenStalks do so well is because I actually give them quite a bit of attention. I do have automated watering setup, but I give them a once-over with the hose every couple of days. As for the self-watering planter, I got mine for 50 bucks on Nextdoor. I don't think I would pay full price for it otherwise. But just like the GreenStalk, I gave it more attention, and it did very well for me last year!
@@GreenLove1 Anytime you know you'll be closer to my side of the East Bay (near Garin Park), my garden is open to come visit! I've been considering joining some garden groups or events to join forces with others that would love to do more community building efforts that relate to the garden. I'd love to be able to hold intimate workshops (free or small supply donation) for all ages and abilities....so until I get a bit more of my garden fully finished and cleaned up, I practice by teaching those that stop by while I'm out there working.
I really appreciate this update with your purple passion. There’s so much content on RU-vid showing the same thing over and over about how to grow them, but there’s very little videos on actual results!
I'm so glad that we are having a bit of lower temps in the Bay Area but def looking forward to when it'll be even lower in a few days! Minimal damage despite not getting the shade cloth up but I do have trees that offer some breaks in direct sun at different parts of the day. Having most things on drip that runs for 15 min (4x a day) plus heavy mulching in the areas that get the most sun....has gotten the plants through and they are doing pretty good, if not very good. Your garden is looking lovely and I'm sure the damaged plants will come back!
Great video! This is the sort of motivation I want! Thanks for the vid! Over 160 asparagus plants in across many cultivars including purple passion, jersey giant, mary washington, viking and Guelph Eclipse. But i can’t taste anything till next year 🫤
Oh wow, now way! That's awesome. I remember clearly when I first planted those crown, thinking, geez, I can't wait that long! And in the blink of an eye, it's year 4 and I have harvested at leasta dozen super delicious spears this year...and shared with friends who came for garden tours,they were all so impressed!!
@@GreenLove1 I would really appreciate it if you were to make an update showing what your spears and the purple passion look like now? There’s very very little content on those! I’d watch it!
@@WRS_WatchReviews the amount of vinegar that I use is plenty to make sure it's safe. Between that and the boiling of the jelly, no chance of botulism surviving. I do refrigerate after opening.
🐉Dragon fruit - Biggest NEWBIE mistake! Not knowing the TYPE! Especially if you have only a single plant! 🐉Dragon fruit comes in SELF-STERILE and SELF-POLLINATING, and the self-sterile varieties need another different variety in the garden so that they can be cross-pollinated. So don't make my newbie mistake from 2 years ago, and end up with a random from Home Depot, which turned out to a self sterile variety. 🌼The blooms are lovely, but it would be so nice to get fruit... They are delicious, and expensive$$$!!! Fortunately I have three more varieties to plant, and I have a brand new dragon fruit rolling planter from @vego_garden , which I will be planting up this week. ❄️Many dragon fruit varieties of frost tender, and the rolling planter But let me move it into my greenhouse for the winter, or into the shade when we have a heat wave🔥 So maybe fruit next year? These are one of the fastest growing cactus I have ever seen! Are you growing dragon fruit?
Forty years ago, I lived in the Bay area (Hayward). I remember we had a week of 85° and everyone I knew was complaining, it was not normal. I wasn't having any problems being from the south. Temperature over a hundred in the Bay area, you must be miserable. No one that I knew had AC in their homes, it wasn't needed.
Oh wow, the temperatures have really risen since then, haven't they! I am originally from India,so used to the warm weather, but this has been too much even for me. Looking forward to it cooling off next week!!!
You could get a couple of pieces of angle iron or an old Craigslist bedframes for sturdier support and better separate casters so you can safely move it around.
Don’t use a brick because you’re blocking sunlight from the plant. Keep the basket in place by using those cheap wooden skewers - just push 2 or 3 of them through a wire slot and into the ground.
👀 How to find the Consumer Reports FULL ARTICLE ⬇️ 🔍 Simply do a internet search for "consumer reports spices". The article was published in November 2021. I started becoming concerned about heavy metals and spices when I recently heard that my favorite local Indian grocery stores where removing certain spice products from their shelves, many from very popular brands that I commonly use. On digging a little further, I realized that it was not just Indian spices, but spices that were available in most grocery stores that had heavy metal contamination. It had to do with the growing conditions, and the fact that heavy metals present in water can be absorbed by plants. 💚Do read the full Consumer Reports article, it will be well worth your time. And also check out my easy Herb Garden playlist. ru-vid.com/group/PLEpWw78qMngSr7Vqzph_YBxw8H_U1OU48&si=48sqWYkUPBzQqYCB
🫐 My first time propagating BLUEBERRIES from cuttings! 🫐 I read somewhere that it can take up to 2 years for blueberries that are propagated with the LAYERING technique that my mom taught me when I was little. 🫐Sounds excessive, but it might have to do with the time of year and other factors like the age of the plant or the thickness of the cutting. Anyway, let's just say it can take a while! But I have hope!🤞 Now in all fairness to Mom, she never tried propagating blueberries, but did have success with other plants! 🫐I just started another batch of cuttings today by just sticking them in some sand in a little tote. I will post updates if that starts to look promising. What's your favorite way to propagate plants? And have you tried propagating blueberries? Any tips?
S. Texas new tomato gardener. Adding mulch helped lower the soil temperature AND I started praying for my plant to flower. Then…God spoke to me in flowers. 🛐 thanks for your encouraging videos!
I’m new to your channel, so I didn’t know you grow saffron! I was looking into trying it here in middle Tennessee/7b, shopping for corms just a few days ago. Off to go watch your other video now!
Thanks for checking out my video. Note that I grow in a Mediterranean climate here in California Zone 9B. We have very hot dry summers and saffron bulbs need to be kept away from rain during that time. Not sure what your climate is, so you might want to do a bit of research into growing saffron in Tennessee. Fortunately your winters should be mild enough so you won't need to dig up the corms should you decide to plant in the ground! Good luck and have fun! It's a rewarding experience for sure, even if you only grow enough for 1 paella!! 😂
@@GreenLove1mmm, paella! Important detail I left out - I’d be growing in a high tunnel, so while it’ll still be humid I can at least control the watering. I’m thinking of committing just 1 raised bed to see how it goes. Especially since they are a bit expensive to get started! May I ask where you got your starter bulbs?
🪻SAFFRON, the world's most expensive spice, is easy to grow! BUT IS IT REALLY WORTH IT?! For me, it has been well worth it, because it's more than just the spice: ❤️It's the beautiful scented flower (that smells nothing like saffron you may be familiar with!!) 💜It's the experience of growing it ❤️It's the magic of harvesting that delicate stigma ❤️It's the totally unexpected development of the famous perfume over the course of a couple of weeks 💜All these things, that you'd never know unless you grew it yourself! 💰But still, is it worth it? Those bulbs are not cheap! I break it down for you in a video that I have linked in this Short as well As in the description. Check it out! ⁉️Have you grown saffron? Was it worth it for you?
You certainly not wasting water. at times, viz., once in a fortnight or depending upon the temparature, one shud water the soil deeply. 2ndly, all the 5 points are most important in a natural garden and show results over a period of time. Of course, Gardening is not an instant coffee or a "2minute dish" One has to have lot of patience. You are definitely doing a very good job. Keep doing andn sharing as well.
Agree 💯! I have been working on my soil for the past 5 years. And only now I feel confident to back off on fertilizer and other additives, because my soil has gotten too great point, and now I just need to keep it going. Thanks for calling it out, that's really important!
There are insects that are good, for gardening, but there are also bad insects. Fertilizing plants is not done with bugs. Bugs, and fertilization are 2 different gardening topics. Professional gardeners talk about both of these topics separately on the internet! Liquid fertilizer is what professional gardeners use to fertilize their plants. Pollinators are not needed, so they do not have to be attracted for further plant development. Plants can be pollinated with human involvement if pollinators cannot be attracted! In my opinion I think she has done a BAD job managing pests on the video. Plant roots is where her critters go, and are. The roots maybe can get damaged from allowing critters to be there, and burrowing in the soil. If plant roots get damaged then this can make it difficult, for plants to grow. Plant roots take up water, and nutrients from the soil, so by allowing critters to be there then they can prevent plants from getting water, and nutrients, so this could lead to plant death. If her critters eat then this can create another problem, for plants!
Hi.. Do you think is it a good idea to mulch with pure compost, can it maybe "burn" the plant stems etc? And does the nutrients seep into the soil when you water it? Thanks a million.
If your compost is primarily hot (not yet decomposed) green material (including things like chicken manure etc), Yes it can certainly burn. However if it's mostly decomposed, it is great to put on top of your soil. Just be aware that compost breaks down fairly quickly And so using it as a mulch might not be ideal unless you replenish frequently. As for nutrients seeping into the soil, absolutely. That's what Nature does. To drops organic material on the top. The soil microorganisms will work on it and take it down into the soil as well in plant absorbable form. Hope this helps! 💚
I am mulching thicker (in some areas as a test) this year as well and am seeing the improvements, esp in my grow bags. I am planting more densely in other areas to test out the theory I learned on Gardenary's YT videos/free workshops). I'm seeing less powdery mildew and bugs on the "zucchini" bed that is densely planted. For fertilizer, I add some as I put in the plant/seed (since I'm still building my soil's microbial life) and then doing spot fertilizing. Tomatoes and peppers tho I will be doing fertilizer a tad more but less than half of what I was doing (mostly because I grow them in grow bags and some is lost with watering). I haven't done compost tea yet (so busy) but that has been one of the best and easiest ways to fertilize my whole yard in one go. Cover crops are the one thing that saved my soil from getting hydrophobic this year. I don't mind that (in my grow bags I tested it on esp) alfalfa is still sprouting up because the tomatoes in those bags seem to be doing better. I think there's something to the nitrogen fixing aspect so I will leave a few alfalfa plants to grow and trim it when it's above 6"+ (down to 3") and then tuck the cuttings under the mulch to decompose. I also think that the chopped mustard being tilled into the top 4"-6" of the soil helped the areas I tested it out on. Again, less bugs and powdery mildew (even the beds that have moderate mulch). I'm just trying things out and I'm different ways to find what works best for my own yard. I look forward to a few years down the road when I've truly gotten my soil health in good balance. I've heard it takes 2-4 years to really get "new" soil beds in state that requires minimal to no fertilizer. We built our beds a year and a half ago. I still need to put up my Birdie's bed but it focus has been on getting our first ever drip irrigation set up to 50+ grow bags/containers and 5 raised beds.....all while doing the usual soil prepping, seed starting, planting, and maintaining the garden. It's the best full time job I've had but I go at my own pace and take breaks.
Wow, looks like you're doing all the right things. It's so much fun experimenting in the garden, and also breaking some of the rules! Yep, I am certainly breaking spacing rules quite a bit. And my plants seem to be doing quite well for it! Stay cool! Big Heat Wave coming!
Oh...I'm also trying to increase the variety of plants, including currently trying to source some native and keystone native seeds to add into parts of my yard/garden.
Thanks Tara, I've been guilty of just tossing a few inches of straw on top of my beds and wondering why my plants don't do so well (without a lot of fertilizer). I do bring a couple of Toyota truckloads of horse manure to my compost bin each year. I think it might act much like wood chips since it's mostly composed of wood shavings so, maybe, I'll top my beds with it after only a brief stay in the compost bin to allow it to cool down a bit. Whaddya think?
I think that's a really excellent idea. I got my Master Gardener certification this year, and probably one of the biggest takeaways was we home gardeners don't typically mulch the way we should. The mulch layer needs to be quite thick and not break down very easily. That's why regular leaf compost is not a very good mulch, but those horse manure shavings sound like they'll be pretty awesome!
@@GreenLove1 They're hot and steamy when I get them, so not ready for prime time, but there's enough manure to begin breaking down the cellulose in the shavings. I've been composting them for months, but I think I could use them sooner as the kind of mulch.you're recommending. Thanks for this post.
@@terrellhillard3018 it totally was for me. Btw, have you observed any issues at any point with the horse manure that you have been using? I hear so much about these persistent herbicide risks in horse manure that I have been reluctant to try it too much!
@@GreenLove1 I have not noticed any ill effects from chemicals in stabled h-h-h-horse manure, though hon-hon-honestly, I wouldn't know what to look for. I've taken solace from Contra Costa Sustainable Farm (Aglantis) just down the road from me. Behtallyn Black supervised the creation of their first beds using wood chips and horse manure sourced from local stables. They also get their water from the county sewage treatment plant, so: do-do-double jeopardy.
How do you store the powder? I see you put it in a mason jar but does it need to be refrigerated and about how long can you store it before it loses its flavor? Thanks for the idea.
As long as you completely dehydrate it, and don't let any moisture get into it while you use it,it can store a year easily. I do pop some of those food grade moisture absorbing packs into the jars, just in case
