save money filling tall garden beds 

I did something similar with a "soaking tub" (basically a shorter, very deep bathtub) we rescued from an alley. Drilled a lot of holes in the bottom, then logs, then sticks/brush, walked on it to pack it down, some leaves, more walking, and then a mix of spent compost from containers, garden soil, and my own compost for the top 10-12 inches or so. Two years of productivity so far

One way to make it better would be adding a cup of red worms to process all that dead matter into worm castings

And he has his kids learning too!

​@@pauljohnston9446

​@@that_auntceleste5848 9

Yuh

My mom looked a me like crazy but now she doing her self🤷🏻‍♀️

lol gud job

Sounds like your neighbors don’t exist, and this story was made up

Neighbor's not too bright, eh?

Lmao

But pigeons dont grow fast?

​@@harrymonk6they grow as hell bro, first day you will see a very little chick, and with in 4 to 5 days, it will look like a meat loaf.

@@harrymonk6😂😂😂

​@@harrymonk6so is he wrong?

Can it work with recently cut tree's? Im using leaves and branches of ficus I really hoped not to be doing anything wrong

​@@oldchild527 Im not the best for this, but I don't see how it could be bad, they will just decompose a bit later is all.

​@@oldchild527Yeah that's fine. It actually has more nitrogen if it's fresh cut. But it will take longer to break down so it will hold the nitrogen for longer. You have to make sure to add a lot of leaves/grass/manure and anything else with nitrogen to ensure that the carbon materials are not stealing nitrogen from your soil. But any nitrogen in there will be released eventually. So it's more of a long term benefit. You just have to be careful that it doesn't cause a short term problem.

@@oldchild527 Yes, will just take longer. You can also just add a couple of dead wood. Or some soil from a forrest. Just make shure your putting the bacteria at exactly the same height, if you swap soil. Just like you have worms for above, topsoil and deep earth worms. Bacteria and fungus also have there height or depth. But do not worry, it's always there. It just needs more time to take fully over the new area. Just add a bird feeder from a large cut stem. Drill a lot of holes in it for easy acces from bateria and fungus. And above ground insects can use these wholes. Screw a bird bath and feeder on top and let the stupid thing rot away. Leaving a good hiding place, to start your composting process with.

This is so brilliant! I'll definitely have to remember this when I set up our new raised beds next spring

What an excellent idea that I'll remember for the spring planting. Thank you 😃

thanx for the tip

That's what I had to do. It frustrated to gophers so much I was able to trap them running around the surface.

My garden isn’t big enough for these. I don’t get much wildlife in my garden. A few foxes that’s it

Good suggestion 👍🏻

Also it will settle eventually like all raised beds. You'll have to fill part of it again after a while.

Free range Guinea fowl, will eat ticks, bugs from your garden and not your plants, snakes, rodents, alert when predators are near, they are loud like a guard dog, chasing predator birds. So need more space then a backyard garden with neighbors close by. 🤣 We have small black jumping scorpions in Florida they enjoy, thank goodness. They protect chickens and other animals if you have them, brave little characters.

Good idea from your experience.

​​@@the_garden_is_growing Can you do an update in 6months just to show the condition of the soil?. I feel weird about putting soil on top because how does the composting layer get oxygen? And then you left the soil uncovered so it's getting blasted with uv.

😅

😂😂😂

Time for bed buddy lol

I read that when cover-cropping with a legume (field peas, hairy Vetch, buckwheat, soy, etc) if you just flatten the plants before it goes to seed, the nitrogen is then pulled from the air, and held in the roots. When you flatten them, they start to die, and that's when the roots release the nitrogen. I don't know if large scale farmers do this, but i wish they would. I was SO disappointed when reading online to learn how much to sow in my home garden, when the directions go into how to stop the growth of the cover crop so it can be tilled in: they advise (University Ag Schools!!) to spray ROUND-UP (!!!) at such-n-such rate per acre; at this many wks growth, etc. 😳😳😳 We will never get our waterways safe for fish and sea plants again, until farmers start BUILDING THE SOIL, and QUIT USING FERTILIZERS! I heard someone say recently that "even Organic fertilizers run off into waterways, and pollute like synthetic fertilizers do." I suppose testing NPK before each crop would help keep from overusing fertilizer. Planting super heavy feeders like tomatoes, melons, corn, and squash/pumpkins might mitigate the problem of leftover N runoff into streams. But I can't believe University still teaches use of chemical poisons like RoundUp has a place in our Food Stream. 🙄

I didn’t know one kultur had ownership on how to do things. “Proper” term. 👍🏼

@You're Soaking In It Yes its absolutely aweful that farmers still rely so heavily on herbicides & pesticides and still grow giant monoculture. I know many farmers now do a lot to mitigate runoff because runoff also takes their increasingly expensive fertilizers with it. Farmers will never get rid of runoff completely especially when using giant sprayers that can cause overspray and drift into roadways, ditches, and surrounding lands. Until we completely move away from the patented, genetically modified, pesticide & herbicide resistant seeds and change the techniques for growing food on a large scale farmers are going to be forced to continue using herbicides, pesticides and chemical fertilizers in order to be able to get enough yield to make their farms even close to profitable. The way large scale farming equipment is designed is also part of the need for all the chemicals. Combines & harvesters can't handle the high volumes of "weed" foliage that naturally exist when growing in more environmentally ways such as permaculture techniques. It also doesn't help that wholesalers, retailers & consumers have been conditioned to not desire grain with any amount of "contaimination" from other plant types or "imperfect," discolored, or misshapen produce. As you can see the chemical use issue is much more systemic which makes it so hard to get people to change their ways

@filmsvic The documented history of this specific technique is attributed to one specific group, so in prescriptive historical terms, it definitely came from somewhere identifiable before being adopted by permaculturalists. This technique was used and perfected for hundreds of years by farmers in Germany & eastern Europe before first being written about in a German gardening book by Herrman Andrä. I'm a big permaculture history & technique nerd so I like sharing with others the interesting history of all the cool techniques that are now widely used by people doing "alternative" and organic growing. I think knowing this history definitely brings some added context and knowledge to these techniques while in no way restricting their spread, use, and alteration

@@youresoakinginit2113 Define overuse of organic fertilizers please. If you follow the carbon to nitrogen ration of 30:1 there won't be any runoff. Leftover N will be consumed by the logs in that feed trough.

Where can we buy this metal bed? ... I am from India

My family knows a small scale farmer down the road from us, and we help him remove his manure pile every spring. Pigs, Geese, cows, chickens, dogs, turkeys. Lots of manure with straw bedding and leftover hay & feed.

You are sure right

You funny!! Lol

No, the proper word I use is FRUGAL

Me too!

You ain't cheap. That's smart

This is similar to hydroponics !!

Construction cloth has smaller holes.

Dogs help too 😊

@@blakegreenawalt3949 No they don’t. You’ll need plants like Marigolds or Aloe vera to release terpenes that pests dislike.

also planting garlic and other herbs bugs hate in between tomatoes, etc. - marigolds all along the edge not only deters pests, they look beautiful!

Marigolds don’t work

True of any raised bed.

Not Styrofoam.

Who the hell are you listening to that told you styrofoam? Jesus lol

Styrofoam was a crazy idea.

OMG… styrofoam?!!! NOOOOOOO!!!!!

Please don’t use peat moss. Peat bogs are endangered, and the harvesting is very sad for the environment. A great substitute is coconut coir! Maybe for next time?

Its great they want to be involved! We are planning for each of them to have their own garden bed this year, they are getting excited to plan it!

Setting up a garden from scratch is so much work, but even more rewarding! Have fun :D

Thanks! Appreciate the kind words

I call it lasagna gardening bc of a book that calls it that,also lasagna

Nope

Not if you have a good layer of ready to use soil on top. I've read 4-6 inches should be enough. I have already planted garlic in this bed. We will see how it goes :D

Now I just wanna do this so I can say I have a lasagna garden

I disagree about cardboard. It's treated with chemicals I wouldn't want under my produce

Personally I'd avoid this if possible, if there's a chance it could contain asbestos from a demolition.

Congratulations you have a brain and this guy didn't tell anyone so he could.look cool instead of.telling people this is called " " so they could.look up variations

Hope it goes well! I planted garlic in this bed last fall and we are just now harvesting. It did great!

@@the_garden_is_growing thank you! Wow, it must've been a huge harvest!😁🙏

Thanks!

Me, too! East Tennessee.

Love that! Are you able to start a garden this year?

Agreed, there are of course other options. I grow a lot directly in the ground but our soil is rocks and clay so raised beds get much better yields.

Go online and search for examples of gardeners who built their own beds. It doesn't have to be expensive!

​@@the_garden_is_growing Don't you have to add nitrogen though as over time when decomposing, the takes away nitrogen from the soil? I think some wood doesn't do this though, cedar maybe?

​@@goldenarrow3

pot ash is one of THEE best fertilizers out there'

Yes…though it does depend on where you live. I’m in Perth, Australia and mulch is absolutely mandatory. Even good quality home made compost dries out in 35C dry heat.

It's the best

Wood will be decomposed in two to three years. Its a complete ecosystem

Hope it works great for you!

Hi Dawn. What are plastic tots? If they are plastic, do you worry about that material in your garden?

I think she meant plastic totes. They work very well, by the way.

Drill lots and lots of holes. Then a few more holes after that.

​@@larryadams458 It doesn't bother the soil or food. Drill holes in the bottom, for drainage. It works really well. I'm growing onions, cabbage and beets, this year. Last year, I grew cabbage, okra rosemary, collards and green onions. I refill it with fresh soil and organic fertilizer (ground egg shells, spoiled milk, Epsom salts and banana peels).

We agree!

Great suggestions! but I don't think its the only way. The mesh is great if you have issues with gophers or moles. I'd agree the fall is the best time to prep, but I don't want that to discourage someone from starting now if they are ready :D