I love this guy energy to help people grow their greens.. who cares if he is yelling.. please just focus on the message. Thanks for taking the time to make this videos :)
thats right just a bunch of winers complaining about free informative content, nobody ever complains when Samuel L. Jackson yells because we love it. we expect it,
While I appreciate your comments, in my videos, im simply being ME. In life, I talk loud to people and have a loud voice. If this bothers you simply, turn down the volume. If you are unable to handle it, please do not watch... and yes, I AM a SALESMAN. Im selling the concept of each person growing their own food. If this is a message you do not agree with, please find other videos on youtube that you would rather watch without my approach. Most gardening channels do not have my approach.
My Mother always taught me if you have nothing nice to say say nothing at all,why do people always put down those that are just trying to help others? I mean really what are u doing with your time besides putting someone else down? And John thank you your videos are very helpful
Julie Dupras you are so right Julie, constructive criticism is cool, but don't be destructive with it. The man is good to be willing to share such information that is basic for life.
I give you a huge amount of credit for gardening in Houston. I lived in North rural Houston for 5 yrs too many. Tried my novice hand at growing a few things. The weather made it horrid. Example: corn was growing beautifully, until the typical torrential rains came. Tried to straighten up the stalks. Red ants were eating me up with my feet in the mud. When corn matured it was pretty rotten. Fighting the heat to grow a load of pumpkins became a lost battle. Oh and I just loved NOT the huge spiders, array of snakes, and not to forget the mosquitoes. I was successful only at growing multi branched sunflowers which gave me joy. Wishing you continued good luck. Enjoyed your videos. Great job.
I'm here in Houston and have converted half my back yard into a garden and I love it! I watch a lot of your videos and appreciate all the advice. It's my own little Paradise.
Excellent channel, it's refreshing that you wish to help others learn to garden. I'm comfortable subbing here, unlike another grower's channel that blocks postings and has like/dislike disabled. That guy wasn't too friendly, whereas John really wants to inspire people into growing and learning about the plants --- Thanks much, John, for 'being a friendly gardener' and wanting share your enthusiasm.
So genius and so simple. This video proves that John can make a garden almost anywhere. I grow a lot in boxes and they are handy for their ability to move around the yard. Plus their drainage help "dial in" the earth below. Stay cool John, don't let any idiots get you down. You are a gardening master. Peace
John, I really like and appreciate your videos. This year I used rock dust religiously on everything I planted and it really seems to have made a big difference in the health of my plants.
Hey John, I have been doing this for 2 years now and I would like to suggest you line the inside walls with cardboard it will help the soil to stay in the box and you can then add soil to the top instead of having to stay under the hand holes.
I like your ideas of recycling and reusing in gardening. I don't think that many people, of which I am, know just how creative a person can be in the garden and still be successful.
hi John, thanks for the video! I do like your long videos and I enjoy listening to all the information you have to share. I must admit, you are inspiring me to grow my own little garden! it truly does make sense. especially in this world full of GMOs and pricey veggies and spices! I love your excitement and the knowledge you're passing on to us! please make more start to finish planting videos! I love the idea of these crates, going to see if I can find some. looking forward to next video. Darlene
I like that you were detailed and completely honest about the poor service at the soil company. If they had listened to you in the first place and dumped it on your crate lined tarp, they could have saved themselves a lot of angst and you a lot of time! Building a raised bed garden will have it's glitches and I suppose this is one of them. Thanks for clueing us in to the good AND the not so good. You're real time tutorial is great!
Ty for sharing with me how to build this raised bed. I have been having a hard time dieciding how I was gonna accomplish making a bed and now I wont have to. I'm a senior citizen and can't pick up that much so this is perfect.
Hey John, I'm so glad to see your passion it really inspires me to be better informed and I would like to start my own garden. I'm in fl. it gets so warm here I believe it would just dry up plus the water here is not so good. I know your a busy guy and you still do these videos to educate us. Just wanted to say Thank you so much and your appreciated. keep it up!
When I planted my first square foot garden - a 3x3 -I bought all 5 ingredients Mel mentions in his SFG book, in bags. I used a kiddie swimming pool and a giant "mixing bowl' to get the right proportions and then 'stirred' it up really well. Then I just shoveled and 'poured' the dirt into the bed, and that worked out fabulously.
It sounds like they just mixed up the soil in the pool. If using for a garden...I would put holes in, but maybe a couple inches above the bottom, on the sides.
I am soo lucky our small town has a compost pile behind the soccer field. They are pretty good about only putting leaves and sticks in it. When everybody rakes their yard, the city has a dump truck that picks it up and takes it to the compost pile. Somebody is gonna say they don't trust town compost, but I just get it in the fall, strain any stray garbage out, and mix in our horse and chicken compost and some other minerals. Mostly free. Small towns rock!! Thank you very much for your advice on minerals. My choices could be updated.
You're an excellent speaker and teacher. This was very informative and you explain things detailed and was very helpful for us beginner gardeners. Thank you for your time that you gave to us at no cost!
only problem for me is the length of the videos. I don't have time to sit through such long videos. This one isn't too bad but some are movie length lol
Way to go John for another FREE informative video!!!! Keep up the great work! I have learned so much from all your videos and think you are a wonderful person for providing such an informative service to others. I for one greatly appreciate it!!!!!!
I'm not sure if it's been mentioned...but in our town, the Municipal dump also offers mulch and compost material at a very low cost. I bought Terragrow - for $20 per cubic yard - that's a lot of dirt mix! And I live in Woodbine NJ - the town takes all the branches, and cuttings from the residents and then process for mulch, compost, topsoil. This is a great way for a town or city to offer to residents.
moving to houston soon i can not wait to meet this guy so he can show me i am traying to do organic life style awsome man strong too that is how you you should spend your life live to the fullest instead of behind the computer 24 hours he so hard working respect this people like him
***** Ok! where ever you live in USA-UK-- there are County extension offices full of; State paid employees,____ (you pay them_via taxes_) They should be able to answer your questions, tell you of classes, give you printed lists or web sites. They can test your water/soil samples, & recommend how you can improve your own food-life, without BUYing--artificial store bought industrial-WASTE___slop. They should be listed in your local phone directory. Be sure to ask about Fee's, as they have begin~~ to double dip, from their tax paying Employer's. As our government offices are managed by:___ "New age Barbarians"
dear john, i am setting up some raised beds with my mom tomorrow, using all your tips and tricks. thank you for all the hard work you do to put out all those videos and information, the value is unimaginable! greetings from germany!
I just started using these after a coworker told me one of his family members gets tons of these. When they're empty of produce they get thrown out. These are also designed to stack pretty well so I can raise my beds up to waist level (like I'm doing for my herbs). The crates he shows in the video are almost a foot tall and about 20 inches in length. Soil doesn't fall out of mine at all, but I'm not using anything very sandy.
You can use landscape fabric. This is not only milk crates garden it's also air pruning - which makes your plants roots grow 3 times faster. Air pruning makes the roots go to the side wall of your crates, breathes, dies off and urges the plants to create new ones - contributes to your plant growth. This is what I'm doing now.
I hope this makes business owners teach their staff to be personable and helpful at all times. These people have jobs (which in an economy that is still lagging is important)....and they should treat other people in a manner in which they would like to be treated. This company probably lost some business...used to be that "word of mouth" was how businesses were made or broken....now-a-days you never know where a video about YOUR company might show up.
given how john was taking up a lot of space and a lot of time instead of coming with a truck like nearly everyone else does, I guessing they were patient with him to point. And blaming the soil folks for the rocks, maybe they were there from when he was scooping dirt from the soil he shovelling into the tarp in the loading parking lot?
You should be able to be angry if you want to be angry. There was nothing that suggested to me that they were bullies, they only looked tired in my opinion. I might have missed something, but you should not try to tell another man how to be.
John, I enjoyed your video. First, after hearing about plastic leaching is this really a worry? Second, I like the way you talk fast. I get so bored when instructors drone on slowly. If I don't catch something, I back the video up. Duh people. Third, thanks for the alternative idea in container gardening. A fan from Ohio.
Agreed I would like to hear what if any are the dangers of using plastic for such. From what I have heard such harmful chemicals that may leach out of plastics only do so when a liquid is in contact with the plastic at either freezing or near boiling temperatures and then contaminates the water. Guessing that since these conditions wouldn't be present when gardening in normal plastic planting containers it would be presumably ok but would like to know if any studies have been done on this that anyone reading this knows of any creditable research on such a question please comment below. thank you
I work an injection plastics molding company and we make thousands of those crates and others... with modern plastic additives I wouldn’t worry about plastic leaching especially anything plastic in the black color... now some old plastics did have lead in them but this was years ago...
Please keep making videos!!! I've just started my own garden this year thanks to you and your awesome videos!!! Really can't understand why someone would bother complaining about your videos... easier to just find another channel.
This has great information, thank you for sharing your ideas. I raise Bonsai trees in from seeds, cuttings and air layering to collecting Yamadori in the mountains. I like your ideas on buying soil, the amendments in bulk.
I'm so glad to have found your videos, John. I watch several of them a day because I'm learning just so much I have never heard before. I live in Nw PA where organic gardening just is not here. We have very few places with any of the things you recommend. So we started our own FB page to educate others on organic gardening in our area. And I appreciate your loudness. I hate watching CZcams videos where you jack up the sound and you still can barely hear the person. If it's too loud, you just turn it down. But I'd rather be able to hear you. You just keep being you.
Here is a tip I learned for tomatoes. Take your seedling, the size like the one in your video. Take off most of the leaves, up to the top cluster. Dig a shallow trench, about 6-10cm deep and as long as the plant up to the last leaf cluster you left on. Then plant the tomato horizontally in the trench up to the cluster of leaves. Cover it with soil like you normally would. The tomato will grow roots along the entire length of the buried stem and will be much more vigorous.
Thank you John! Your videos are what I watch/listen to while cooking. Unless you literally grow all your own food you get way worse things in your store bought foods than the small amount of whatever may leech out of this plastic FOOD bin. I love that people are starting to grow their own food! Keep up the good work!
John, a note about the marigold: Rodale's did some testing and found that marigolds are alleopathic and tend to stunt the growth of many other plants. Unless they are the Mexican marigolds they don't really help with nematodes.
I'm surprised you don't wear lung protection when handling fertilizers .... I live in a similar climate (Western Australia..Perth) We are all warned on the dangers of inhaling fertilizer moulds and other nasties that can ruin your health, especially when first opening the bags .... Worm poo is my favourite too... I have my own domestic size composting worm farm, and recycle all edible waste for the worms to enjoy.... I enjoy all your video's ....Thanks again John !!
I just found a whole bunch of these I used some of them last year in my garden now we are starting a community garden we got the soil for free and the amendment for free and we always use these crates thank you for the idea you are awesome Jon
John, is there any concern about BPA with growing in these plastic bins or milk crates? I LOVE this idea and saw this done on a larger scale in NYC at Riverpark Farm where they use milk crates lined with landscaping fabric. I think this is totally do-able in my suburban environment; however, I don't want to introduce any BPA and compromise the quality of my home grown food after working so hard to keep in healthy. Know what I mean? Just wondering.... Totally understand if you don't have time to reply... Thanks for all you do! Nancy
As far as I know, it's okay. This is also recycle and saving earth. My veggie planted in that way and we never got problem or sick after eat it. Especially when we grow it ourself, we could really sure that is 'organic' one.
John, the stones and concrete rocks that you found in bed mix probably came from the parking lot where you got it. I could hear your shovel scraping the rocks when you were shoveling all that good mix onto your trap. I love your energy and excitement when teaching us about gardening. Thank you.
I am a raised bed fan but would love to own my own land & expand. Just starting out this year here in GA. With my family jayden gossett, Adrienne Jaramillo. Thanks so much for all of the great information here. Jayden definitely we have to do this with our new garden ASAP. What I loved most was the information you give on what each plant can be helpful for & the types of over all benefits they provide. That is really the most valuable information. Love your video's subbed a long time ago but just now started really watching. I have missed so much good content. Do you provide lists of the products & plant benefits as well somewhere. {Loved the part where you said that one of the plants was good for your eye's & then explained about the taste of the plant.}
Hi John! U are my favorite gardening guru. Ur detail oriented & very informative. I have to commend u on ur videos. I have to say I appreciate ur gardening approach & ur loud voice! There are channels that I will not subscribe to simply because u can't hear what is being said. Although I live in Houston I had no idea that there is a compost yard in the area, so thanks for that tip. Let us know when u will be visiting Houston again. Thanks for all u do!
I ORIGINALLY did tell them the plan, to lay down the tarp, and put the bins ontop and dump the load on top. THEY said it would be better to hand load.. which was NOT MY IDEA in the first place. I do state this in the video.
You're doing a great job John, keep up the good work, don't be discouraged buy comments that are negative, or seem to be negative. It's like the nose thing everybody has one they are just opinions. And some can be helpful.
To make life easier, rent / borrow a truck, buy an unloaded from Harbour Freight for $40, have compost dumped in truck, then wind the compost off truck into your bins. You should not expect workers to shovel the compost into your bins for the same price you pay for compost only.
This guy is spot on, the raised bed can be temporary or permanent depending on how long you want it. More people should be looking to grow their own food - advantage you control what is going into your body, no nasty pesticides like is on a lot of shop bought stuff.
John, instead of yelling to be heard by the on-camera microphone, why not invest in a wireless microphone? Add to that a windscreen or what filmmakers call a "dead cat" which will eliminate noise caused by wind blowing on the microphone. A microphone on your body will also cut out most of the sounds of nearby airplanes, helicopters or vehicular traffic.
I just want to thank you for your videos, I feel like I've really learned from you, you make an excellent teacher. I also love the healthy sustainable messages you're putting out there it's great stuff!
Maybe, along with teaching people to be independent of vegetables at the grocery store by making their own gardens, maybe, get them independent of expensive compost that is bought at the store... by manufacturing their own compost.
John does just that over and over again in a great many videos and mentions in practically every other video, that you should make your own truly organic compost out of products you know have been raised without any sort of unnatural fertilizers or pesticides. But if you can't do that, then he teaches how to buy the best soil or compost you can find, for a reasonable price.
Those crates don't get thrown out. They get put outside because restaurants don't have storage space for empty crates. The produce delivery company (is supposed to) picks them back up on next delivery. You basically stole them from the restaurants assuming they are being thrown out.
Yes I never steal and u do end up seeing crates that people have outside their trash cans on garbage pickup day. Also I get huge pots and cartons/containers as well. Only next to trash cans, in junk yards, etc. I even find tons of containers and 5 gallon buckets on the side of the road with as much people litter. Sometimes they are cracked but still usable for a while. Why not I say. Grocery stores is another thing. That shouldn't be taken unless asked like he said.
I always encourage people to grow in the most natural materials possible. I prefer growing in wood, stone, or concrete over plastic. That being said, its far better to GROW your own food than to purchase food from the store, as my friend in this video was doing before he starting growing his own food with this garden with the FREE crates.
thank you for this video, i dont even have a grass type yard here where i rent, i love being able to go in my yard and snack, grab dinner for free. buta im hella poor/cheap whatever
OMG, I so enjoy all your videos and to tell you the truth I watch a lot of different types of growing topics a wide range of different types of plants that produce fruits, vegetables, and all types of herbs being Canadian our have lighten up on being able to grow canabis legally now,well I guess what I'm trying to say in so many words is thx for sharing your information with regard to growing canabis if you are not sure you share valuable information from your talented friends in the business I trust your information more than many others because your only doing it for wanting to help others even though it is not your thing. Ps thx u for sharing your talent and your work..
Too loud or just enthusiastic? Remember Crocodile Hunter? Worked well for him. Or perhaps y'all would prefer something more monotone and boring? Too long? Consider it an exercise in increasing cyber attention span. Yeah, yeah, y'all like your information quick, concise, and short. Boom, boom, boom, next site. But I do have one recommendation. I would disable comments. Only a few add anything to the videos.
Great video. I agree with you. When you purchase a product and ask that they dump it in a specific place, they should do just that. Great idea. An idea with the supplemental stuff you added would have been to add it while it was still in the tractor. Take a rake or shovel and work it all in. I love the portable idea! I'm not sure where I want everything to be because this is my first garden, so it would let me move things around--especially if I realize something isn't getting enough sun.
PlanetRigo The crates he's showing are used to hold produce, so they were likely not containing anything that might be toxic. Seems logical to me, use something designed to hold something you're going to grow!
PlanetRigo If you're planning on using them for 450 years or more (the amount of time it takes for the plastics to break down and leach chemicals), then there is a definite concern. Human beings with normal lifespans don't need to worry about it.
Everything is plastic even in the garden nurseries - where seeds are sowed. Milk create carry milk and milk are packaged in plastic bags and plastic jugs. I prefer plastic than raised bed made of wood - insects live in the wooden garden beds. Plastic you can also move indoor and outdoor garden for your seasonal plants. What's you're point? You seem lost.
PlanetRigo Yes, you should always avoid ANY kind of plastics or synthetics where food is involved - I do for both food and flowers. For food based plants use a combination of wood for raised beds and terra cotta for planters. They have significant advantages in many areas over plastics. We all need to be cutting petrochemicals out of our lives where possible.
Thank you so much, this information is just what we need, We moved to Houston (Harris county) from SF bay area, California, i miss growing so much, and you are right, here in Houston people do not grow food...
oh, and wanted to say too bad about the experience you had at that soil plant. I really feel there's no excuse for being rude or unfriendly to customers ever. no excuses. if they were too busy with too many customers, they should have explained to you in a nice way that I'm so sorry we cannot help you further because we have customers waiting that we need to get to. so many workers get lazy. Its really wrong and they should not be working there. if that were my company and they were my workers, they would be written up for sure. -Darlene D.
I feel the exact same way. I don't understand the few comments on here saying it was his fault for asking for the soil to be dumped in bins. He is a CUSTOMER. And every customer should be accommodated. Not every body has a truck. One comment said he was tying up his front end loader? Wtf? He paid for the soil. And if he wanted to sit with a teaspoon and put it in sandwich bags that's his business. The soil company should have a small area on the side where customers with special request can go and be waited on in whatever way they need. The customer is the reason they are in business. I guess that concept is hard for some employees to understand. The customer is the boss. I would have gotten my money back after speaking to the managers about the attitude.
For lining your bins, you can use screen from holey screens that you are redoing around the house. I have some that I have used as the base for tire planters.
you say people shouldn't steal milk crates? what do you think you are doing with those produce crates? those produce crates "laying around" behind the grocery stores and restaurants aren't being thrown away. they're waiting to be picked up by the vendor who sells the produce (and owns the crates). the business where you are getting them is paying a substantial cash deposit on them, and when you take them they are losing that deposit. you can also be arrested and fined in many areas for taking them.
random eddie I had a feeling about that. I just called my local grocery store to ask for some, and the manager said they don't throw them away, they send them back to the shippers. oh, well. It was too good to be true.
random eddie there's all sorts of different stores, restaurants that do indeed throw away containers. You simply have to put some elbow grease in calling around.
shakaama it doesn't matter what store or resaurant you ask, absolutely nobody throws these types of crates away on purpose. sometimes the deposit on the crate is actually more money than the profit the store makes on the produce it contains.
***** make sure you talk to the store owner and not just some random employee. milk crates are something else that get counted and returned for credit (even broken ones).
I decided to expand my raised bed garden to four 4x8 beds and was short on soil. Thanks to Hurricane Sandy I had 2 trees taken down and the stumps ground down. I thought the ground stump would be good mulch, I dug it up last week and found that most of it decomposed into really nice compost - almost two yards worth full of worms/ I'd say it was free but the tree removal cost $2000. I'm going to use it this year and we'll see how it works.
Exactly my words on comments on another of his video I saw. lol. He neeeeeds to slow down, show us what he means step by step and lower his enrgy and arms swinging. He needs a Quaalude or a slap. He needs to breathe and pause between sentences. Ahhhh!
dude, I love to learn, but I find it hard to learn anything from you, you love to hear yourself talk!... if your going to be doing these videos plz write down what you want to say b4 you start, and DON'T ramble... keep it on point... if your trying to teach people TEACH THEM, if you want to make them laugh make a funny video... you can mix and match a little but throwing in useless info like what a stoop is... really? keep in on point dude, your wasting your viewers time, and they'll find someone else to watch for it... I know I am moving on, as this is the 2nd video of yours I've watched and it's the last.
For someone who doesn't post any videos of their own....you sure are large on critique of others. If you don't like his videos....move along. In the meantime...there are those of us who do not suffer from electronic addictions induced ADD...and many of us are able to enjoy a full presentation, with complete information, appealing energy, and pleasant but appropriate banter interspersed. I prefer to read books instead of cliff notes, see a full movie instead of a bunch of trailers and clips, and I like opportunities to learn where the conversation is enriched with interesting "asides" and extra comments another person might not make if they feel they are being constrained. I saw how long this video was....and chose to watch it. You could have selected a different video as well. I would suggest you work on your attention span and self-entitled attitude.....and not impose your own personal limitations on the rest of us.
Love ur vids n i like how u explain what can be done. Ur one of a kind guy n ur knowledge is amazing. Wish more guys n gals had this knowledge to give to the next generations to come. Keep up the vids. Hugs n love, dmoon72
I am growing in 25 gallon plastic pots which when spaced out allow plants room to grow and are somewhat easy to move-$6. used from local Florida nursery (another nursery charges$12 for same. But these packing crates are awesome-I would line them with heavy plastic with smaller holes. I would also space them 2 feet apart for better air circulation. The 25 gal pots I now use allow for 3 full grown Kale plants to spread far outside the pot
glad i found this vid. Where i live the soil is so poor that i need bulk compost to deal with it. these guys look like they ship in supersacks which is exactly what i need to get them in my country. with this, i can final take steps to start my garden.
John, you are great man ! I learned a lot from you . Now I can have organic garden in back yard even I live in a renting house . If I want to move to new place, I will plant grass before I move 4 months. But I did not destroy all grasses in the yard because I need grass for making compost too. But before I plant some things, I will ask the owner first .
I love your videos, I watch your videos every night while am juicing. I learn something new every day when I watch your videos. Thanks for posting another informative video.
I love this guy energy to help people grow their greens.. who cares if he is yelling.. please just focus on the message. Thanks for taking the time to make this videos :)
thats right just a bunch of winers complaining about free informative content, nobody ever complains when Samuel L. Jackson yells because we love it. we expect it,
I'd rather he speak loudly so I can hear him over all the outside noise (which is unavoidable)
🤣 his enthusiasm is contagious
While I appreciate your comments, in my videos, im simply being ME. In life, I talk loud to people and have a loud voice. If this bothers you simply, turn down the volume. If you are unable to handle it, please do not watch... and yes, I AM a SALESMAN. Im selling the concept of each person growing their own food. If this is a message you do not agree with, please find other videos on youtube that you would rather watch without my approach. Most gardening channels do not have my approach.
Learn Organic Gardening at GrowingYourGreens Be you man you got me hype!!
Haha - talking fast? I speed up every video I watch, INCLUDING yours!
Great video - thanks!
I like it. I can here what you are saying without straining to hear.
God bless! Stay strong and keep being you!
I like your style. You speak from your heart.
My Mother always taught me if you have nothing nice to say say nothing at all,why do people always put down those that are just trying to help others? I mean really what are u doing with your time besides putting someone else down? And John thank you your videos are very helpful
Julie Dupras you are so right Julie, constructive criticism is cool, but don't be destructive with it. The man is good to be willing to share such information that is basic for life.
I appreciate the is offering advice but doesn't he waffle a bit? I'm not saying he's a bad person but I just wish he would get to the point.
Your mother’s words are golden. My mother always told me that only I knew what was right for me.
I am with you John to help spread the word and grow more food at home!
I give you a huge amount of credit for gardening in Houston. I lived in North rural Houston for 5 yrs too many. Tried my novice hand at growing a few things. The weather made it horrid. Example: corn was growing beautifully, until the typical torrential rains came. Tried to straighten up the stalks. Red ants were eating me up with my feet in the mud. When corn matured it was pretty rotten. Fighting the heat to grow a load of pumpkins became a lost battle. Oh and I just loved NOT the huge spiders, array of snakes, and not to forget the mosquitoes. I was successful only at growing multi branched sunflowers which gave me joy. Wishing you continued good luck. Enjoyed your videos. Great job.
I'm here in Houston and have converted half my back yard into a garden and I love it! I watch a lot of your videos and appreciate all the advice. It's my own little Paradise.
I don't have a garden but I will. I love your passion and your sharing of knowledge. Thank you, thank you.
Please see the 8 month update to this garden at
FREE Plastic Crate Raised Bed Garden Update and Irrigation Install
Tell sherelle at Walmart watupp
Excellent channel, it's refreshing that you wish to help others learn to garden. I'm comfortable subbing here, unlike another grower's channel that blocks postings and has like/dislike disabled. That guy wasn't too friendly, whereas John really wants to inspire people into growing and learning about the plants --- Thanks much, John, for 'being a friendly gardener' and wanting share your enthusiasm.
So genius and so simple. This video proves that John can make a garden almost anywhere. I grow a lot in boxes and they are handy for their ability to move around the yard. Plus their drainage help "dial in" the earth below. Stay cool John, don't let any idiots get you down. You are a gardening master. Peace
I like when he criticized the workers. Honesty is the best policy. I know what to expect when I use their services. thank you for doing this👍
John, I really like and appreciate your videos. This year I used rock dust religiously on everything I planted and it really seems to have made a big difference in the health of my plants.
Hey John, I have been doing this for 2 years now and I would like to suggest you line the inside walls with cardboard it will help the soil to stay in the box and you can then add soil to the top instead of having to stay under the hand holes.
I like your ideas of recycling and reusing in gardening. I don't think that many people, of which I am, know just how creative a person can be in the garden and still be successful.
hi John, thanks for the video! I do like your long videos and I enjoy listening to all the information you have to share.
I must admit, you are inspiring me to grow my own little garden! it truly does make sense. especially in this world full of GMOs and pricey veggies and spices!
I love your excitement and the knowledge you're passing on to us! please make more start to finish planting videos! I love the idea of these crates, going to see if I can find some.
looking forward to next video.
Darlene
I like that you were detailed and completely honest about the poor service at the soil company. If they had listened to you in the first place and dumped it on your crate lined tarp, they could have saved themselves a lot of angst and you a lot of time! Building a raised bed garden will have it's glitches and I suppose this is one of them. Thanks for clueing us in to the good AND the not so good. You're real time tutorial is great!
Ty for sharing with me how to build this raised bed. I have been having a hard time dieciding how I was gonna accomplish making a bed and now I wont have to. I'm a senior citizen and can't pick up that much so this is perfect.
Hey John, I'm so glad to see your passion it really inspires me to be better informed and I would like to start my own garden. I'm in fl. it gets so warm here I believe it would just dry up plus the water here is not so good. I know your a busy guy and you still do these videos to educate us. Just wanted to say Thank you so much and your appreciated. keep it up!
When I planted my first square foot garden - a 3x3 -I bought all 5 ingredients Mel mentions in his SFG book, in bags. I used a kiddie swimming pool and a giant "mixing bowl' to get the right proportions and then 'stirred' it up really well. Then I just shoveled and 'poured' the dirt into the bed, and that worked out fabulously.
I wanna do it with a kiddie pool. Did you drill drainage holes?
It sounds like they just mixed up the soil in the pool. If using for a garden...I would put holes in, but maybe a couple inches above the bottom, on the sides.
I am soo lucky our small town has a compost pile behind the soccer field. They are pretty good about only putting leaves and sticks in it. When everybody rakes their yard, the city has a dump truck that picks it up and takes it to the compost pile. Somebody is gonna say they don't trust town compost, but I just get it in the fall, strain any stray garbage out, and mix in our horse and chicken compost and some other minerals. Mostly free. Small towns rock!! Thank you very much for your advice on minerals. My choices could be updated.
You're an excellent speaker and teacher. This was very informative and you explain things detailed and was very helpful for us beginner gardeners. Thank you for your time that you gave to us at no cost!
only problem for me is the length of the videos. I don't have time to sit through such long videos. This one isn't too bad but some are movie length lol
Way to go John for another FREE informative video!!!! Keep up the great work! I have learned so much from all your videos and think you are a wonderful person for providing such an informative service to others. I for one greatly appreciate it!!!!!!
I'm not sure if it's been mentioned...but in our town, the Municipal dump also offers mulch and compost material at a very low cost. I bought Terragrow - for $20 per cubic yard - that's a lot of dirt mix! And I live in Woodbine NJ - the town takes all the branches, and cuttings from the residents and then process for mulch, compost, topsoil. This is a great way for a town or city to offer to residents.
Those are fantastic crates John. They look like they are the ideal depth for most cropping plants.
a modern day hero. Thank you, sir!
moving to houston soon i can not wait to meet this guy so he can show me i am traying to do organic life style awsome man strong too that is how you you should spend your life live to the fullest instead of behind the computer 24 hours he so hard working respect this people like him
If you live in Houston area, the compost I now recommend is available at
Best Organic Compost in Texas Made with Trees and Leaves
why?
not bob!
***** Ok! where ever you live in USA-UK-- there are County extension offices full of; State paid employees,____ (you pay them_via taxes_)
They should be able to answer your questions, tell you of classes, give you printed lists or web sites. They can test your water/soil samples, & recommend how you can improve your own food-life, without BUYing--artificial store bought industrial-WASTE___slop.
They should be listed in your local phone directory. Be sure to ask about Fee's, as they have begin~~ to double dip, from their tax paying Employer's. As our government offices are managed by:___ "New age Barbarians"
erin averyt
Valentina Novichenko
dear john, i am setting up some raised beds with my mom tomorrow, using all your tips and tricks. thank you for all the hard work you do to put out all those videos and information, the value is unimaginable! greetings from germany!
I just started using these after a coworker told me one of his family members gets tons of these. When they're empty of produce they get thrown out. These are also designed to stack pretty well so I can raise my beds up to waist level (like I'm doing for my herbs). The crates he shows in the video are almost a foot tall and about 20 inches in length. Soil doesn't fall out of mine at all, but I'm not using anything very sandy.
John Tullos It takes about 1.2 cubic feet to fill each of them.
John Tullos I stack mine as well so i don't need to bend!
You can use landscape fabric. This is not only milk crates garden it's also air pruning - which makes your plants roots grow 3 times faster.
Air pruning makes the roots go to the side wall of your crates, breathes, dies off and urges the plants to create new ones - contributes to your plant growth. This is what I'm doing now.
This guy is really thorough. I like it. Will watch more of his videos.
I love how this guy calls the employees out too. Customer service is important
Yes, me too! They work for people after all, so they could be a little friendlier as John said.
Yes, I also appreciated that. It was brave of him. They looked like a bunch of bullies.
I hope this makes business owners teach their staff to be personable and helpful at all times. These people have jobs (which in an economy that is still lagging is important)....and they should treat other people in a manner in which they would like to be treated. This company probably lost some business...used to be that "word of mouth" was how businesses were made or broken....now-a-days you never know where a video about YOUR company might show up.
given how john was taking up a lot of space and a lot of time instead of coming with a truck like nearly everyone else does, I guessing they were patient with him to point. And blaming the soil folks for the rocks, maybe they were there from when he was scooping dirt from the soil he shovelling into the tarp in the loading parking lot?
You should be able to be angry if you want to be angry. There was nothing that suggested to me that they were bullies, they only looked tired in my opinion. I might have missed something, but you should not try to tell another man how to be.
I'm a real fan. What I like is that you educate about better food choices as well as unique ways to garden.
John, I enjoyed your video. First, after hearing about plastic leaching is this really a worry? Second, I like the way you talk fast. I get so bored when instructors drone on slowly. If I don't catch something, I back the video up. Duh people. Third, thanks for the alternative idea in container gardening. A fan from Ohio.
Agreed I would like to hear what if any are the dangers of using plastic for such. From what I have heard such harmful chemicals that may leach out of plastics only do so when a liquid is in contact with the plastic at either freezing or near boiling temperatures and then contaminates the water. Guessing that since these conditions wouldn't be present when gardening in normal plastic planting containers it would be presumably ok but would like to know if any studies have been done on this that anyone reading this knows of any creditable research on such a question please comment below. thank you
I work an injection plastics molding company and we make thousands of those crates and others... with modern plastic additives I wouldn’t worry about plastic leaching especially anything plastic in the black color... now some old plastics did have lead in them but this was years ago...
@@7philly5 Wow!! Can I buy some crates from you or your company? What company is it? Thanks.
Please keep making videos!!! I've just started my own garden this year thanks to you and your awesome videos!!! Really can't understand why someone would bother complaining about your videos... easier to just find another channel.
Your videos are absolutely awesome! So helpful! Thank you!!!
"If the soil comes out just put it back in." LOL! Love it. Practical and cuts down on plastic in the landfill. Good job.
This has great information, thank you for sharing your ideas. I raise Bonsai trees in from seeds, cuttings and air layering to collecting Yamadori in the mountains. I like your ideas on buying soil, the amendments in bulk.
I'm so glad to have found your videos, John. I watch several of them a day because I'm learning just so much I have never heard before. I live in Nw PA where organic gardening just is not here. We have very few places with any of the things you recommend. So we started our own FB page to educate others on organic gardening in our area. And I appreciate your loudness. I hate watching CZcams videos where you jack up the sound and you still can barely hear the person. If it's too loud, you just turn it down. But I'd rather be able to hear you. You just keep being you.
Here is a tip I learned for tomatoes. Take your seedling, the size like the one in your video. Take off most of the leaves, up to the top cluster. Dig a shallow trench, about 6-10cm deep and as long as the plant up to the last leaf cluster you left on. Then plant the tomato horizontally in the trench up to the cluster of leaves. Cover it with soil like you normally would. The tomato will grow roots along the entire length of the buried stem and will be much more vigorous.
this is by far the easiest short informative how to video and true results!! thanks for the video and time you put in for everyone! Much appreciated.
Great idea, thanks for sharing! My only concern is the out-gasing of plastic(BPA) into the soil. Any thoughts on that?
Thank you John! Your videos are what I watch/listen to while cooking. Unless you literally grow all your own food you get way worse things in your store bought foods than the small amount of whatever may leech out of this plastic FOOD bin. I love that people are starting to grow their own food! Keep up the good work!
John, a note about the marigold: Rodale's did some testing and found that marigolds are alleopathic and tend to stunt the growth of many other plants. Unless they are the Mexican marigolds they don't really help with nematodes.
I have always heard marigolds are a great way to cut down on pests.
It is true. I had a chilli pepper that just would t grow. The marigolds next to it died and the next week my chilli pepper doubled in size
I live in Houston. I love to watch him and I am learning how to grow a garden in Houston. Thanks.
You crack me up dude! Crap, I'm getting addicted to your vids lol... I need to go to bed!
I think you might be my new go-to for gardening. Go you! And go you for being honest about the customer service!
I'm surprised you don't wear lung protection when handling fertilizers .... I live in a similar climate (Western Australia..Perth) We are all warned on the dangers of inhaling fertilizer moulds and other nasties that can ruin your health, especially when first opening the bags .... Worm poo is my favourite too... I have my own domestic size composting worm farm, and recycle all edible waste for the worms to enjoy.... I enjoy all your video's ....Thanks again John !!
I just found a whole bunch of these I used some of them last year in my garden now we are starting a community garden we got the soil for free and the amendment for free and we always use these crates thank you for the idea you are awesome Jon
Great informal video. I am definitely going with this style of growing!
You know gardening. You also so kind and helpful to fly from ca to tx to help a friend. Two thumbs up for you John.
You forgot nasturium! One of my favorite edible plants. You need to do a video on them.
Best video you have ever made, no tangents (except for the soil people rant) lol , just direct concise and thorough info...
John, is there any concern about BPA with growing in these plastic bins or milk crates? I LOVE this idea and saw this done on a larger scale in NYC at Riverpark Farm where they use milk crates lined with landscaping fabric. I think this is totally do-able in my suburban environment; however, I don't want to introduce any BPA and compromise the quality of my home grown food after working so hard to keep in healthy. Know what I mean? Just wondering....
Totally understand if you don't have time to reply...
Thanks for all you do!
Nancy
As far as I know, it's okay. This is also recycle and saving earth. My veggie planted in that way and we never got problem or sick after eat it. Especially when we grow it ourself, we could really sure that is 'organic' one.
That is a fabulous idea for raised gardening, hindering tunneling rodents. Managable to us old people. I like black plastic nursery containers.
I love you John.
Wish you could come to Canada and share your great knowledge here eh lol
well keep on growing.
Rinda
John, the stones and concrete rocks that you found in bed mix probably came from the parking lot where you got it. I could hear your shovel scraping the rocks when you were shoveling all that good mix onto your trap. I love your energy and excitement when teaching us about gardening. Thank you.
I am a raised bed fan but would love to own my own land & expand. Just starting out this year here in GA. With my family jayden gossett, Adrienne Jaramillo. Thanks so much for all of the great information here. Jayden definitely we have to do this with our new garden ASAP. What I loved most was the information you give on what each plant can be helpful for & the types of over all benefits they provide. That is really the most valuable information. Love your video's subbed a long time ago but just now started really watching. I have missed so much good content. Do you provide lists of the products & plant benefits as well somewhere. {Loved the part where you said that one of the plants was good for your eye's & then explained about the taste of the plant.}
Hi John! U are my favorite gardening guru. Ur detail oriented & very informative. I have to commend u on ur videos. I have to say I appreciate ur gardening approach & ur loud voice! There are channels that I will not subscribe to simply because u can't hear what is being said. Although I live in Houston I had no idea that there is a compost yard in the area, so thanks for that tip. Let us know when u will be visiting Houston again. Thanks for all u do!
I ORIGINALLY did tell them the plan, to lay down the tarp, and put the bins ontop and dump the load on top. THEY said it would be better to hand load.. which was NOT MY IDEA in the first place. I do state this in the video.
Learn Organic Gardening at GrowingYourGreens herb🤗
You're doing a great job John, keep up the good work, don't be discouraged buy comments that are negative, or seem to be negative. It's like the nose thing everybody has one they are just opinions. And some can be helpful.
To make life easier, rent / borrow a truck, buy an unloaded from Harbour Freight for $40, have compost dumped in truck, then wind the compost off truck into your bins. You should not expect workers to shovel the compost into your bins for the same price you pay for compost only.
This guy is spot on, the raised bed can be temporary or permanent depending on how long you want it. More people should be looking to grow their own food - advantage you control what is going into your body, no nasty pesticides like is on a lot of shop bought stuff.
John, instead of yelling to be heard by the on-camera microphone, why not invest in a wireless microphone? Add to that a windscreen or what filmmakers call a "dead cat" which will eliminate noise caused by wind blowing on the microphone.
A microphone on your body will also cut out most of the sounds of nearby airplanes, helicopters or vehicular traffic.
+ Terry Thomas Absolutely,His voice sounds like yelling.
+Terry Thomas
Just turn your volume down if you think he's too loud...
+SokemRokemRobot exactly! Plus, I think he is just enthusiastic and generally has a louder voice
you can always chip in.
Michelle Muskeyn
I just want to thank you for your videos, I feel like I've really learned from you, you make an excellent teacher. I also love the healthy sustainable messages you're putting out there it's great stuff!
"Stoop kid's afraid to leave his stoop!"
another great idea.
I have seen those things a million times and never thought to use one
Maybe, along with teaching people to be independent of vegetables at the grocery store by making their own gardens, maybe, get them independent of expensive compost that is bought at the store... by manufacturing their own compost.
John does just that over and over again in a great many videos and mentions in practically every other video, that you should make your own truly organic compost out of products you know have been raised without any sort of unnatural fertilizers or pesticides. But if you can't do that, then he teaches how to buy the best soil or compost you can find, for a reasonable price.
I discovered the Cuban Oregano last year and am a convert!! I love it!!
Great lessons! So glad I discovered your site!!
Those crates don't get thrown out. They get put outside because restaurants don't have storage space for empty crates. The produce delivery company (is supposed to) picks them back up on next delivery. You basically stole them from the restaurants assuming they are being thrown out.
If you paid attention he said do not steal them, but to ask for them or buy them.
Yes I never steal and u do end up seeing crates that people have outside their trash cans on garbage pickup day. Also I get huge pots and cartons/containers as well. Only next to trash cans, in junk yards, etc. I even find tons of containers and 5 gallon buckets on the side of the road with as much people litter. Sometimes they are cracked but still usable for a while. Why not I say. Grocery stores is another thing. That shouldn't be taken unless asked like he said.
I always encourage people to grow in the most natural materials possible. I prefer growing in wood, stone, or concrete over plastic. That being said, its far better to GROW your own food than to purchase food from the store, as my friend in this video was doing before he starting growing his own food with this garden with the FREE crates.
"Like sex on the beach!" hahaha, awesome, John.
Thank you for your generosity in sharing your knowledge of gardening!👍 You're helping so many people!
thank you for this video, i dont even have a grass type yard here where i rent, i love being able to go in my yard and snack, grab dinner for free. buta im hella poor/cheap whatever
Your videos are the best! You cover just about everything someone like me needs to know. Its all relevant!
I say free.99 too lol
OMG, I so enjoy all your videos and to tell you the truth I watch a lot of different types of growing topics a wide range of different types of plants that produce fruits, vegetables, and all types of herbs being Canadian our have lighten up on being able to grow canabis legally now,well I guess what I'm trying to say in so many words is thx for sharing your information with regard to growing canabis if you are not sure you share valuable information from your talented friends in the business I trust your information more than many others because your only doing it for wanting to help others even though it is not your thing. Ps thx u for sharing your talent and your work..
Too loud or just enthusiastic? Remember Crocodile Hunter? Worked well for him. Or perhaps y'all would prefer something more monotone and boring?
Too long? Consider it an exercise in increasing cyber attention span. Yeah, yeah, y'all like your information quick, concise, and short. Boom, boom, boom, next site.
But I do have one recommendation. I would disable comments. Only a few add anything to the videos.
Great video. I agree with you. When you purchase a product and ask that they dump it in a specific place, they should do just that. Great idea. An idea with the supplemental stuff you added would have been to add it while it was still in the tractor. Take a rake or shovel and work it all in. I love the portable idea! I'm not sure where I want everything to be because this is my first garden, so it would let me move things around--especially if I realize something isn't getting enough sun.
Wouldn't you be worried about the chemicals in the plastic leeching into your soil? Just a thought.
PlanetRigo The crates he's showing are used to hold produce, so they were likely not containing anything that might be toxic. Seems logical to me, use something designed to hold something you're going to grow!
PlanetRigo If you're planning on using them for 450 years or more (the amount of time it takes for the plastics to break down and leach chemicals), then there is a definite concern. Human beings with normal lifespans don't need to worry about it.
Everything is plastic even in the garden nurseries - where seeds are sowed. Milk create carry milk and milk are packaged in plastic bags and plastic jugs.
I prefer plastic than raised bed made of wood - insects live in the wooden garden beds. Plastic you can also move indoor and outdoor garden for your seasonal plants.
What's you're point? You seem lost.
PlanetRigo liberals. geez.
PlanetRigo Yes, you should always avoid ANY kind of plastics or synthetics where food is involved - I do for both food and flowers. For food based plants use a combination of wood for raised beds and terra cotta for planters. They have significant advantages in many areas over plastics. We all need to be cutting petrochemicals out of our lives where possible.
Thank you so much, this information is just what we need, We moved to Houston (Harris county) from SF bay area, California, i miss growing so much, and you are right, here in Houston people do not grow food...
oh, and wanted to say too bad about the experience you had at that soil plant.
I really feel there's no excuse for being rude or unfriendly to customers ever. no excuses. if they were too busy with too many customers, they should have explained to you in a nice way that I'm so sorry we cannot help you further because we have customers waiting that we need to get to.
so many workers get lazy. Its really wrong and they should not be working there. if that were my company and they were my workers, they would be written up for sure.
-Darlene D.
I feel the exact same way. I don't understand the few comments on here saying it was his fault for asking for the soil to be dumped in bins. He is a CUSTOMER. And every customer should be accommodated. Not every body has a truck. One comment said he was tying up his front end loader? Wtf? He paid for the soil. And if he wanted to sit with a teaspoon and put it in sandwich bags that's his business. The soil company should have a small area on the side where customers with special request can go and be waited on in whatever way they need. The customer is the reason they are in business. I guess that concept is hard for some employees to understand. The customer is the boss. I would have gotten my money back after speaking to the managers about the attitude.
For lining your bins, you can use screen from holey screens that you are redoing around the house. I have some that I have used as the base for tire planters.
you say people shouldn't steal milk crates? what do you think you are doing with those produce crates?
those produce crates "laying around" behind the grocery stores and restaurants aren't being thrown away. they're waiting to be picked up by the vendor who sells the produce (and owns the crates). the business where you are getting them is paying a substantial cash deposit on them, and when you take them they are losing that deposit. you can also be arrested and fined in many areas for taking them.
random eddie I had a feeling about that. I just called my local grocery store to ask for some, and the manager said they don't throw them away, they send them back to the shippers. oh, well. It was too good to be true.
random eddie there's all sorts of different stores, restaurants that do indeed throw away containers. You simply have to put some elbow grease in calling around.
shakaama it doesn't matter what store or resaurant you ask, absolutely nobody throws these types of crates away on purpose. sometimes the deposit on the crate is actually more money than the profit the store makes on the produce it contains.
Just talked to they guy at the corner store. Hes doing to give me some milk crates! Yay! Now, I have to buy some weed blockers to line them with.
***** make sure you talk to the store owner and not just some random employee. milk crates are something else that get counted and returned for credit (even broken ones).
I decided to expand my raised bed garden to four 4x8 beds and was short on soil. Thanks to Hurricane Sandy I had 2 trees taken down and the stumps ground down. I thought the ground stump would be good mulch, I dug it up last week and found that most of it decomposed into really nice compost - almost two yards worth full of worms/ I'd say it was free but the tree removal cost $2000. I'm going to use it this year and we'll see how it works.
blah blah blah.. Please get to the point.
This is a great idea for saving space, I’ll be using this in my garden. Thanks!
You could've done the video 10 minutes length. Too much talka ta talka.
Exactly my words on comments on another of his video I saw. lol. He neeeeeds to slow down, show us what he means step by step and lower his enrgy and arms swinging. He needs a Quaalude or a slap. He needs to breathe and pause between sentences. Ahhhh!
Steve Carpenter Or perhaps you can just stop watching HIS video's and find someone else suitable to your liking, and not complain.
John you are a genius when it comes to gardening. Thank you for the pointers.
dude, I love to learn, but I find it hard to learn anything from you, you love to hear yourself talk!... if your going to be doing these videos plz write down what you want to say b4 you start, and DON'T ramble... keep it on point... if your trying to teach people TEACH THEM, if you want to make them laugh make a funny video... you can mix and match a little but throwing in useless info like what a stoop is... really? keep in on point dude, your wasting your viewers time, and they'll find someone else to watch for it... I know I am moving on, as this is the 2nd video of yours I've watched and it's the last.
For someone who doesn't post any videos of their own....you sure are large on critique of others. If you don't like his videos....move along. In the meantime...there are those of us who do not suffer from electronic addictions induced ADD...and many of us are able to enjoy a full presentation, with complete information, appealing energy, and pleasant but appropriate banter interspersed. I prefer to read books instead of cliff notes, see a full movie instead of a bunch of trailers and clips, and I like opportunities to learn where the conversation is enriched with interesting "asides" and extra comments another person might not make if they feel they are being constrained. I saw how long this video was....and chose to watch it. You could have selected a different video as well. I would suggest you work on your attention span and self-entitled attitude.....and not impose your own personal limitations on the rest of us.
+Mobie Nut gtfo this man volunteers his time for the benefit of others you have no place to argue, watch or don't watch your say is pointless
Love ur vids n i like how u explain what can be done. Ur one of a kind guy n ur knowledge is amazing. Wish more guys n gals had this knowledge to give to the next generations to come. Keep up the vids. Hugs n love, dmoon72
Woe, John go easy on the coffee...
Yes, I have. There are TWO kinds of Okinawan spinach a purple and green kind. Check my past videos at Centrose Nursery where I talk about them.
This is a great idea! I use pots for planting but I like the idea of the neatness of these crates.
I'm a new subscriber - enjoying you videos alot.
I never thought of this, but I looked on our local site and there they were at 75 cents a piece ! Thanks for the idea !
I am growing in 25 gallon plastic pots which when spaced out allow plants room to grow and are somewhat easy to move-$6. used from local Florida nursery (another nursery charges$12 for same. But these packing crates are awesome-I would line them with heavy plastic with smaller holes. I would also space them 2 feet apart for better air circulation. The 25 gal pots I now use allow for 3 full grown Kale plants to spread far outside the pot
I'm so glad I discovered your videos. I'm a beginner in this gardening stuff, so thanks for sharing your knowledge with us!!
WOW! I just googled "how to make milk crate garden" and you popped up! I live in Houston too! So perfect! Thank you!
glad i found this vid. Where i live the soil is so poor that i need bulk compost to deal with it. these guys look like they ship in supersacks which is exactly what i need to get them in my country. with this, i can final take steps to start my garden.
John, you are great man ! I learned a lot from you . Now I can have organic garden in back yard even I live in a renting house . If I want to move to new place, I will plant grass before I move 4 months.
But I did not destroy all grasses in the yard because I need grass for making compost too.
But before I plant some things, I will ask the owner first .
This is an intense guy. Full of knowledge.
I love your videos, I watch your videos every night while am juicing. I learn something new every day when I watch your videos.
Thanks for posting another informative video.