Happy Birthday to your Dad, Rob!! Can you explain why you don't scrape off the grass of the top layer around your planting area? Seems like grass will be growing all around your plants...
I think it's great you're not going to till. I garden in Zone 10a, So. Cal, inland. I've been gardening in the same place for 26 years and never tilled, and my plants are thriving. The ground can be very dry here, so one of the things I make sure to do when I am planting new areas is to always soak the hole first. In some instances, I do it the evening before, especially when it's hot. I think that has really helped get my plants off to a good start.
I recommend you start a planting/type/area/date/dairy on your computer or a journal book. And add soil condition and weather the day you planted. Time flies and memory gets fuzzy when you are so busy!
Yes! Create a DPWR Garden Journal - Janey’s Masterpiece - a true work of garden art! Would be so cool to keep a record of dates when things were planted, make notes on soil conditions or amendments in specific areas - as well as for the unfortunate situations when any plants may perish or need to be replaced! Would be a treasure to look back on years down the road and even see before/after pics of how things have changed over the years, as her garden grows and becomes more beautiful over time!
@@MaryLynne2 That would be a great keepsake for her girls. Maybe plant a small tree and take a picture of the girls next to it, and every year to see the progress!
Great idea or just print a large poster size still shot of the drone footage, use pins or flags and create a planting map/gardening legend; mount it on the wall in the office and update it whenever something new is planted; and it could be replaced whenever any large construction projects or phases are completed.👩🏼🌾🗺️🌻🪻🌹😁
Just remember that you have to access the area around the fruit trees so you can pick the fruit. Might be a good idea to get the orchard path in before you get too many plants in.
You may have already, but it might be a good idea to get you septic/leech field/lateral lines completely inspected. They normally last for decades, however everything has a life span. If you need any maintenance or replacement now would be the time, before you plant up the island. Also, the propane company may not want to run underground lines over your leech field. I’m loving your journey!!
Yes! I'd put the propane tank next to the gate because that bed is narrow, so servicing it won't damage any plants. You can screen it from view from inside the property, or just start your podocarpus right after it. It will seem invisible, even if it isn't quite.
We’ve lived in our home for 37 years and the garden is jammed packed! So… I love watching you plan and complete your new property! And, of all I watch, I LOVE that you focus on the West!!!
Our ground here in Northwest Arkansas is pretty rocky. Over the years we have added compost and mulch. The soil is really good! I think that compost in large amounts yearly and of course mulch will give you the result you want. And way easier than tilling. That way you will get some beautiful worms and other beneficial things.
Just wanted to say, your enthusiasm, your pretty smile and happy music, they all make my day ! Just so you don't think I am a creeper, I am a 66 year old mom of 2 daughters and grandma to 5. I love to garden too. I watch your videos when I am on my treadmill in the morning. It is how I start my day❤
Janey and the crowbar - you go girl! 😁 If your clay pan is a bit too much, you could try giving it a sprinkle of gypsum about every six months. Can’t wait to see that rose settle in.
Yes! I live in Colorado and have very hard clay and did that in a garden area. I tilled in gypsum (I know people are anti-till) and compost when I moved in and covered with cardboard and woodchips and let it over winter. When I planted in the spring was real soil. I love idea of no till but soil was virtually dead dry rock to start and this gave me a running start. I had worms, booming plants after that and from then on did chop and drop and garden is gorgeous. Planted a ton of bulbs in the next fall which breaks up soil in the spring when they grow.
Now you can see the Willow tree!! Robbie will be so happy.💖🌲 I never realized that you can grow oakleaf hydrangeas in California. It will be wonderful watching it grow. Great job Janey!
In the Spring, the weeds are going to go crazy and be a huge struggle around your plants. Everytime you plant, I would water, then weed that spot and put a 6 inch layer of compost on the ground and then plant into it. Then, at least once a week, pull any new weeds that sprouted in your compost. I do no dig and deep compost with no cardboard works the best for me. It's so dry here the cardboard doesn't break down and the roots get stuck on top. The thicker the compost the less maintenance you have to do as far as watering and weeding. You don't have to do the compost everywhere all at once. Just do manageable sections, even if it takes a few years.
I recently planted a 40' x 80' cottage-style garden in fertile clay soil that had been a vineyard. I mowed and raked the area last fall and covered it with cardboard and arborist wood chips, planning to use the no til method. BUT, I waited too long to plant during our late, wet spring and the weeds too over (they hadn't read the articles about cardboard & bark preventing them). In desperation, I pulled the big weeds and tilled in the rest, working in compost before planting. What a disaster. Decades of dormant weed seeds were brought to the surface and produced one bumper crop of weeds after another that included bindweed, puncture wine as well as wild radish as well as a whole grove of volunteer elm trees. It looks like a pretty, flower-filled garden now with weekly weeding, another layer of mulch and a bunch of fast-growing annuals and perennials, but but what a battle!
Love watching the progress of your country gardens! You are definitely adding the “romance”❤. Will your paths have curves or basically be a straight shot? Curves always offer so many “opportunities” for planting pockets. Janie, a suggestion for next years’ cutting garden plants would be carrots. Plant them in the fall, do not harvest & let them go to seed. They are absolutely beautiful, long lasting in the vase (up to 3 weeks) & just magical. I planted mine (zone 6) almost a year ago & still have flowers!!! They add a light & airy romantic feel to any arrangement. Happy Gardening😊
It is so exciting to see plants going in the ground! I never heard of a San Angelo stick, but I looked it up, and it looks like a very handy tool. Seems like you have a variety of weights to choose from too. I like your "no till" plan for your property, however I assume you will be adding a ton of compost to it. If you ever saw the film, "The Biggest Little Farm," you can see the magic that happens to soil when you add organic matter. It literally comes to life again! Looking forward to more plantings with you! Now that I am retired, you have reignited my interest in gardening, and am enjoying turning my bedraggled, neglected garden into what I hope will be a thing of beauty. 🥰💐
I will be adding cardboard and a couple inches of compost over the whole property eventually! I'll have to watch that film! Thanks for the suggestion 💗
Love the idea of knowing what plants you have planted where. It would be cool to number different sections with an aerial map of your garden and just update a spreadsheet so you can update as needed since it is a blank canvas. You can also have the map near your desk and just update the list once you have edited the video instead of needing to always do new tags in the garden and also not needing to spend money on tags too.
There’s also a video on Linda Vater’s channel where she suggests using a tiny “Ivy” printer to make 2x3 photo stickers from pictures taken with your phone, and placing them in your garden journal along with any notes you’d like to record. What a great idea!
So with no till you plant in the midst of what we would call grassy weeds - interesting 😊. Have to get past old habits of “clean” weed free garden bed. I like that concept- certainly a lot less work. Can’t wait to see the beauty unfold!🌸🌸🌸
my garden is no where near as big as yours, but i have drawn a quick map of the space and added where i planted everything with a list of them and what it needs every season …. i have to update it if i move things around but i don’t mind as it isn’t very big, you could do it online so it would be easier to delete/add etc ❤
Happy Birthday Rob! Hope your day is the best. Blessings for many more birthdays. We thank you for giving us a wonderful n knowledgeable friend who loves to share with us. It shows the love n care that her parents gave her.
I'm in southern calif and I recently took a workshop sponsored by our water company about water wise gardening and one of the things they stressed was not to till the soil. There were many disadvantages but the most important to me was that it disrupts the native microbiome of the soil. They stressed methods that worked to enhance the native microbes and structure of the soil. So I'm glad you will be showing us some of those methods.
Love your smile and the new property! You do you. It is your garden; however, it is sweet of you to mention you are firm on the no till. When you do till it brings up all the weed seed and fresh soft soil to set seeds. I'm with you and would try the no till method. there is more than one way to reach your goal. Happy gardening! Happy birthday Rob! Hope it is an awesome year for you!
I have not seen land and sea out here in Southern Ca. I have seen garden answer use it a lot and it seems to really do wonders. Online it is pretty expensive, hoping to see it soon in stores here.
Janey, you might try using a Broadfork just to open up the soil, you do not turn it over, . We did this once in our inground demonstration garden, then added compost and mulch. We cover crop in the winter, chop and drop in the spring, add more compost . In 3 years we have changed the soil from light brown, dry hard to beautiful rich soil. This spring after chopping and dropping cover crop we didn’t even add compost. We planted a 3 sisters garden and it is the most beautiful and productive one yet. I like your idea to try to moisten the soil . I would still add compost to build back the soil.
I dont till either as that disrupts the microbiome. But all our master gardeners here recommend digging the hole the same depth and 2x the width of the pot the plant came in. Good luck, great show!
So glad you’re channel is for us in the Southwest!! Your channel is the one I watch first thing in the morning. It’s so exciting that I’ll be watching for many years because you have so many projects. Love your channel 😊
I started a garden journal and described, in detail, what was planted in each area. Janey, your soil is exactly like mine. I'm going to learn so much about how to deal with this soil. ❤
Janey, my soil is about like yours, and I also have a lot, I mean a lot of Rick's, huge, big, med. and small. Me and my husband when I'm kids were growing up we have 2 daughters picked up so many rocks and to this day me and my husband still pick up rocks. We are great grandparents now, so you can imagine how many we picked up. I'm so excited to see your beautiful property exploxe into beautiful colors. Great video. I think I may have commented twice.😂 lol
Good for you, no till! Tilling disturbs the natural microbes and sends weed seeds all over. I know lots of people do it I just feel “ you do you do, and I’ll do me”😃😃😃. Happy planting.
Good morning from Edmonton Alberta Canada. Its 4 am.😅 I was surprised and happy to find your new video on this early, Janey. Love how your property is transforming. Keep up the great work! Happy Birthday to Rob! Have a great day! 🎉
Janey, I have a similar soil to you. I found a heavy duty digging fork helps a lot. I don’t want to till as well, the fork is worth every penny! The Ruth Bancroft garden in Walnut Creek, ca has everything labeled and you really can’t really notice when you view the garden. Also that a great place to visit for CA natives and cacti ideas.
Are you planting into bermuda grass? If so, you might want to put cardboard and mulch around your plants to help suppress it from growing into your new shrubs.
I have labels on one of each species in my garden and use copper labels with a label maker with a nice font. It’s very helpful and I find plants disguise them a bit as they grow but I love having them when people ask what plants they are!
We have clay in our 9b area as well! Using the posthole digger always requires the "breaker bar", that's what we call it anyway! Your constant planting and supplementing as you go will bring your soil to where you want it. Running water into a starter hole on the hardest to dig holes will also make it a little easier. Your soil actually is probably rich, and your plants can handle the rockiness of it, making it better every year!
Totally agree to not till. Not that you asked my permission, as you said it’s not a application that is suitable for all areas, and being out west can see the negative effects it has had. You can definitely build your soil up doing the no dig, cardboard, lasagna layers… which will improve what’s underneath. love the door color too.. looking forward to seeing your garden grow.
Love that you are embracing no till! It is the way to go as it protects soil structure and soil health. But adding lots of organic matter as a top dressing over the heavy clay will yield - over time, richer better draining soil as you plant up this property. Do you have a map or spreadsheet of plant names and where they are getting planted? Have fun and good luck with smothering all that bermuda grass! 🤞😁
Happies of birthdays, Rob! And Janey, look at you go! You look like you are very comfortable with country life! The right tools, and clothes! Good job! Also, I know that a basket of champagne jelly, and rose jelly, along with some homemade french bread makes for a beautiful gift basket! The jelly is absolutely beautiful. Something to think about for your rose! :)
My husband uses the digging bar in our silty soil where there is hard pan. It’s pretty heavy. I use a hand pick and that really works for this 66 year old gardener. It does require getting on my knees 😂
Hi Janey! I garden in San Diego zone 10. I also have the estrellita firebush. Got it 2 yrs ago, planted it in the ground and it didn't do too well in the ground. I recently dug it up and put it in a pot and it's much happier in a container! It is such a pretty mini shrub. Thanks for bringing to attention drought tolerant plantings and native plantings for our higher zones. I'm constantly looking for inspiration from higher zones gardeners.
Janey, can you explain more about your planting strategy? Once you start watering your new plants by the orange trees won't the grass start growing and choke out the plants?
Have a nice day Madam. Planting Oaklife hydrangea, Bouvardia, Flavorful Rose. I hope the tree grows well. I am from Indonesia appretiate for your activity n hobby.
In my last home I had very compacted soil. I was beginning with a cut flower project and I didn’t tilled. It was a lot of work since I did all of the beds with compost but the soil in those areas turned out beautiful. It takes time but it’s worth it. One thing to consider though sometimes compost can be hydrophobic so the seedlings might need a little bit more water. Anyways, I can’t wait to see these transformation. It’s so exciting.
If you think you are going to have garden tours, labels are very helpful! I am totally amazed by the progress you’re making. Glad to see the plums go. Love the Oakleaf hydrangea. The deer eat mine, so I’m always spraying repellent. I agree with no tilling. You are only stirring up weed seeds and creating more work for yourself if you don’t immediately plant flowers.
Happy birthday! And I wanted to say great for the no till I think that’s super important for the biome, of course. I am creating a junk journal of junk mail and some digital’s and scrapbook paper with some graph paper. They are old slight in photo books so they’re pretty big but I’m going to be as I have been in years past stapling the labels or glue with a little bit of washy tape so they can flip over and I can see the tag, but I’m putting them anything like transplant like that in the garden. Look like that FYI.
Just a question as I saw that your planting is right under the tree, which will continue to grow. Harvesting the fruit from the tree could be easier if the plants are out of the footpath or the ladder's needed territory for harvest. Just something that I noticed. It's your property and your plan, but I know I sometimes need a second pair of eyes to see some possible conflicts. I enjoy watching your gardening journey. '
I just love everything you are doing and i look forward to seeing you every morning on your channel when i get off work .helps me relax after a long night as a nurse in a rehab center
I've found that keeping a log of plants based on my irrigation zones has worked for me! So helpful in dialing in certain water needs for each plant too!
Happy Birthday Dad Rob. I like your practical ideas, Dad. Janey - I love your channel and watch it regularly now along with Laura at GA and Erin (the Impatient...) and of course Monty Don. I agree with @gaildavidson about leaving access to fruit trees for harvest, and with @lindalittrell about the leach field. Does the leach field take up that whole center island or only part of it? Maybe you could plant shrubs or small trees if they are 20 ft away from the leach field. Will you mark out areas in the center where that pavilion or gazebo will go and where the paths and dry creek bed will go so you know where you can plant? It will be beautiful! I also do a lot of cardboard and mulch.
Hi Janie - just wondering why you don't skim the grass off the area you are planting out? If you remove the grass and make an edge you will have a clean slate to plant in. I do this, then cover with thick newspaper (which breaks down), then I apply heaps of bark and compost, then plant. It just gives you a breather from weeding for a couple of years - you just get to do the fun stuff! Plant plant, plant. Anyway, loving this journey. We moved from a tiny section several years ago to just over 1 Acre. We love it. You will too.
Another awesome video! I am surprised the oakleaf hydrangea can grow in your zone! I'm in zone 6a and I have to water mine twice a day in Summer humid heat as it tends to wilt. It's great you have a drip watering system for your plants. It can take me 2 hours to go round my whole garden to water but I enjoy it. I find it helps me to notice any problems with my plants and address it before it gets out of hand. It also keeps me active! I had never heard of no till before and I am so curious and open to learning about this and so grateful you are doing this for those of us that have no experience with this type of gardening and can learn from you.
My brother introduced the digging bar to me as a "biggie bar!" I don't know what the origin of that nomenclature is; we live in Southeastern New England. Don't feel too badly though about your hard soil. I ended up using a literal jack hammer to dig some of the planting holes in my beds and the plants are thriving!! 😊😂❤😊
Well Janey…I just placed my PW order for their Gatsby Pink Oakleaf Hydrangea and Blue My Mind Dwarf evolvus! The hydrangea will be an experiment in my zone 10b I’ll plant in dappled sun/shade. The Evolvus is amazing as I have it bordering beds in my entire garden. On sale and free shipping! Thanks for your Best of the West plantings♥️
Can’t wait until I have the time to pour over your “PLANTlist” to dream of what we can use in our garden remodel! I’m in 9a, a couple hours south of you, so watching your videos is a highlight of my day! So fun to see all you’re doing!
All the colors! I love it. I had all colors except red because I thought I didn't like red. Then I fell in love with red turks cap and flame acanthus. I have several of each and I can only hope the turks cap takes over. I have heard it is invasive here in north central Texas. It is edible, the whole thing, so win, win if it does.
Hi Janey. I too, have bad soil. Actually, no soil, All sand in Fl. What we did, that works wonders, is place cardboard down (as you did in the back) and placed good soil on top. Then cut holes in the cardboard where we planted a plant. Mix a little dirt into the hole, but basically planted mostly on top of the ground. That way, the new plant grows in good soil and as the roots grow, they find their way into the ground. The decomposing cardboard draws earthworms, which in turn, helps breakup the compressed dirt as well as add worm castings. Who would have thought there were earthworms in Florida sand! There are, down deep. Now they are in our plant beds, too! We just put down cardboard and soil in the area we were planting in at that moment. Then watered in and mulched. A bit at a time, as you are doing. 😉Love everything you have done so far!
Keeping a garden journal of all the plant names and location they are planted would be helpful..... Especially if you plant bulbs in the direct ground. (I prefer to plant bulbs in pots) so that I don't accidently chop them with shovel.
Hi Janey, Nice to see you planting! My soil is similar to yours, but with tons of rock in it... good luck. I keep a garden journal with the different zones and plant names in it + the date I planted them ( don't want to have labels in my garden) Also, you may not want to plant to closely to your fruit Trees, harvesting will be difficult over time.😅
The orange trees look good.. ours are usually perfect in late January 😊 I never new oranges we’re a winter fruit before we moved to this house! 😂 the neighbors say wait until a really cold snap, that makes them sweeter!
If you keep a map/diagram of your property and list the plants in the area, it may help you remember what is planted and where. 😊 if it is on your computer you can update and make changes as time goes on. We use that bar here in Davis along with a post hole digger. Really helped with the hard pan. Also, I agree with adding gypsum to the soil, others mentioned this idea. Love your channel and enthusiasm! Thank you!
🎉🎉🎉Happy Birthday, Rob! I love your daughter's channel! I totally agree with Janie's decision of going with the no-till garden. Layers of cardboard and mulch improves the soil and radically decreases weeds. I love gorgeous color combo of peachy pink, apricot, and purple.💗💜🧡
Janie you could start by putting labels by your plants. I have them and when the plant grows and flushes out I don't really notice them. Labeling helps me to learn the name of a new plant. I also do a garden map of my plants with the names and on another tablet I write the name and specs of the plant and when and where I bought it.
Janie I Bought a garden journal on Amazon and I write what new plant I planted and have named my zones South garden , fairy garden etc I love my journal I can go back and review the name of plants ❤
Hi Janey…. I agree not to till…. I have clay soil…It was bad… I would drill and then drop a hand full of compose down the hole and drill again. So far so good. I know your not to amend the soul when you plant but I felt a need to do that and use some bio-tone…… wishing you the best!!!!🌺🦋🐞🐝
Janey , Im enjoying watching all your videos so much. Such a breath of fresh air. Even though we are zones apart, its still so interesting to see what works in your zone and maybe can also work in my zone 5A I really like how you show in the screen the zones listed for each thing you are planting. Gives me lots of ideas to see how maybe I can incorporate those plants
Yeah! Plants in! This may seem basic... but couldn't you have a map on your computer and every time you plant something, you add it to your map? That way.... no tags in the ground. Just a thought!
