This is the first time in 4 years since i got cancer that i have been able to put out a garden and i am happy with the progress i have made keeping up with it. The previous attempts post-chemo & radiation treatments ended in frustration with the weeds taking over and frustration in myself to not have the energy level to keep up with it. I have learned a very important lesson which although i mentioned it in my "homesteading, self sufficiency, path to being debt free" video series i recorded when i knew i had cancer but hadn't made it public yet, i found i wasn't actually practicing what i was preaching. In that video i mentioned, if you were married you should keep in mind that someone could become ill or have an extended illness where the remaining family will have to pull their weight and that you should never have a homestead lifestyle where the family members would be unable to keep up in the event that happened. Well, with me, its only me. Its been mostly that way from the beginning. Heck, i don't even have time to think about dating let alone to actually have time to go on dates. Before i got cancer, my life consisted of running from 1 fire to the next on this homestead, doing all the work myself. But this year i have made some progress in my energy levels. I have actually got some 4-years-standing tasks done on my to-do list that was important but lower priority (fixing my ATV, grading the driveway, keeping up with bees, keeping up with garden, fixing my garden hose faucet that froze up winter 2020-2021, set up the hot tub this year). Anyways, in this video i go over the Florida weave method of growing tomato plants and also a quick overview of my garden this year (which i am growing slightly different than previous years because in 2023 i started running out of canned and frozen goods i created before i got cancer and had to purchase a few vegetables recently that were store bought and that reminded me why i grow my own food to begin with. I honestly don't know how you guys eat that store bought crap, its tasteless, tiny, and I'm sure full of all kinds of chemicals and preservatives so it looks pretty on store shelves longer). So this years garden is to grow what i eat the most of, in 1 shot, and next year hopefully i can return to my other method of gardening which is grow 1 thing in abundance so i don't have to grow it every year, and each additional thing i grow just enough to get by for 12 months. As an example, i might plant a huge crop of beans and grow enough to last 2-3 years but grow only enough of others to last 6-12 months. Then the next year i don't need to grow beans, i can grow a lot of corn. The next year i don't need beans or corn, i can grow a lot of tomatoes. Make sense?) This method allows me to make the most out of the space i have and only focus on growing 1 item really well each year, so it over-produces and lasts a few years.
This is the twine I use in this video for the Florida weave, very strong stuff: amzn.to/4bdeKmZ
You need to use strong cast-iron metal fence t-posts for the Florida weave method, you can get them at your local tractor supply, rural king, or farm supply store. I was going to link to some on amazon but all of the ones I see on amazon look flimsy so buy them locally or take your own risks they will collapse under weight of tomatoes. I'm not going to link to any of them since I don't have personal experience with them. My reputation in recommending high quality things is more important to me than the 10 cents I would make from you purchasing something that might be junk. And this attitude is exactly why I don't have people beating my door down for product reviews, I tell it exactly how it is. If I recommend something in my videos, its because I know its good quality.
2 окт 2024
