3 Ways to Build Soil Health💛
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- čas přidán 22. 05. 2024
- Look after your soil and your soil will look after you! Healthy soil means healthy plants and NOW is the time to show your soil some love before winter sets in.
In this week's episode, Ben shows us how to protect, feed and nurture your soil with these three simple techniques. Get ready to get on down and get your hands dirty!
For our video on collecting and using leaves, see:
• Nature Builds Soil Thi...
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I live in Namibia. It's super dry here because I litterly live in a Desert and because of that I never tried gardening. But because of your videos I managed to amend my soil. I just started growing some kale and cabbages and carrots and they all seem to be doing really well.
That's wonderful - well done on getting such great progress already!
That's wonderful
Amazing! Well done man. Hope your growing is still going well ❤
I think you should start with native plants that just need good cover. This reduces water evaporation and increases the top layer of biomass followed by shade trees. You see, the secret to a healthy tree is the microbiome, so any shade-bearing plant is a good choice.
@@hautran9959 yep a good way to have good soil is to take notes from nature like forests and jungles etc
This man should have is own BBC garden shown on a Sunday morning. Down to earth and bad ass knowledge and experience that is shared.
It’s true! His energy is so upbeat and pleasant. Good info too. Plus he gets his hands dirty! ☺️
Agree! He's wonderful!!
Guys - stop, stop! You'll have my blushing! But thank you anyway, it's appreciated. :-)
@@GrowVeg 😊
I’m pretty sure he was the face of the Farmers Almanac CZcams site.
I laughed so hard at “this really is the 💩.” I was not expecting that from you 🤣😂🤣
I would pay actual money to hear him read out NWA lyrics in his accent.
Straight outta Compton, crazy mother f... etc... ;-)
Thanks so much for sharing your method there - that's really comprehensive and appreciated. I didn't know that about apple leaves, so you've taught me something new today, thank you.
@@GrowVeg oh, pls don't spoil it!
OMG!! Thanks to your comment I was prepared for it, but ... I still wasn't prepared for it 😂
You couldn't have said it better. Give back to soil for ALL that the soil has given us. Amen !
The soil needs some love back Jackie, it really does. :-)
I take all my table scraps and pulverize them in a blender then pour them into my garden beds.
I just have to say THANK YOU Ben for providing me with much-needed therapy! You are cheerful and sweet and just what we need now in this crazy, often mean-spirited, self-absorbed world. If I've had a day full of mean and nasties, I just come home from work and soak in your kindness and warmth. My garden thanks you too for your inspiring ideas.
That is so kind of you to say Beth, thank you. We're a team here and together work hard to come up with useful but friendly content, and receiving feedback like this really makes all that hard work worth it. :-)
the no shame beater car earned you a sub, loved the video!
Haha - cheers so much! And a very warm welcome to the channel! :-)
Other that adding compost in the spring and summer in the fall after most everything is done. I layer a mixture of leaves, straw, and grass clippings. By the spring there rotted down enough to turn them into the soil and ready for me to plant
Ben -- I am SO HAPPY to hear you spreading the word about composting directly in your planting beds. I have been doing this for years around the entire yard, and everything is thriving beyond my wildest expectations. Cheers from Albuquerque, New Mexico!
Nice work. Yes, it's great isn't it!
This was my 3rd year on my sandy garden (re-claimed lake bed). Each year I've increased my production of homemade compost and leaf mold, and this year I was able to cover almost all my garden beds with one or the other! It's exciting! The soil had almost no nutrients in 2019, but it's gotten better each year.
How satisfying to see it gradually increase like that. It will be unrecognisable in a few more years I'm sure - those gradual additions of organic matter make such a dramatic difference after a few years.
Me too! Started out in 2018 with weeds sandy gravel / rocks & boulders. First half-decent harvest this year.
Covering my plot with manure/compost/leaf mould is an ongoing problem of my energy & supply. Im still waiting for my local farmer (just round the corner) to deliver a few tractor bucket loads of manure but they're dealing with a burst mains right in their farmyard!! I just cant make enough compost and the neighbours not making their own wouldnt oblige. Havent the area to mow/chop up leaves to speed up leaf litter & only room for one cage.
Green manure is a help.
@@lsb9073 Sounds like cover crops would be a good idea if your season is long enough to put them in before or after the food crops. If you need to chop leaves, stick a weed-whacker in your cage. It works pretty well. Good luck transforming your gravel!
That's a positive step. I have sandy soil and bought a farm truck that dumps and went to places that had manure (Craig's list) and got it either free or for small amount. Did this for several years and now do as you do; mulch leaves in the fall on the soil and add worm compost on the surface or in trenches before planting on top of it.
My mother buried food scraps all winter in our yard and garden, I'd forgotten about that. Thanks for the reminder, think I'll do that this winter.
Keep them in my raised beds. Feed the worms
Another lovely vid. Had a great laugh at the part about adding kitchen scraps where you say: '...It's important to cover it over, to stop it from being dug up by wild animals' and the face shot of the innocent looking dog right after 🤣
Haha - indeed!
I now do trench composting. I've learnt that I have to add a little of our dogs poo to the top of the pile to deter her from digging up the scraps.
I put down straw over all of my beds. Then plus some organic fertilizer. Just brought home two bales of straw last night after work... and got straw all over the inside of the car 🙂.
Haha - I'm always getting in trouble for a straw-covered car!
Raised rows with mulch in the valleys and compost tea will give you more harvest per square foot than you can handle. I was hired to build a garden for a botanist that was responsible for tripling the yield of the community garden and that was how she designed it. Simply and effective. I used the method to grow some outrageous outdoor oregon reefer 😎
Great job - clearly improved the fertility of the soil in spectacular fashion!
Was the veg planted in the raised rows or the mulched valleys?
Planted on the highest part of the hump. Isn't that how it's done everywhere?
@@jaymzgaetz2006 That's why I'm thinking he meant plant in the mulched valley's.
My kitchen waste I put in a compost bin and add red worms. Then in the spring I have mostly worm castings. When I add it to the raised bed garden there will young red worms and red worm eggs. It’s getting a double treatment.
Oh wow - that sounds great David. We're so lucky to have worms on side like that.
I chopped my banana waste and mulch over my vegetables beds and fruit trees. Earthworms love it and you can easily see them everywhere. Many uses even the root balls can be made into liquid fertilizers.
Great ideas! I used to amend my garden beds mostly with bagged chicken and steer manure because it was the cheapest way to do so when I first got into gardening. Now I have multiple compost bins and a large trash can filled with leaf mold so I don’t have to buy compost very often anymore.
I try to feed my soil from a variety of sources in the hopes of providing many different nutrients for diverse soil life. Home made compost, leaf mold and glass clippings are my most commonly used amendments, and I don’t do any tilling - I just set it on top and let the soil life work it in over time.
It's great to let the soil life do the work for you - and they'll appreciate that too.
Glass clippings? 😂
The element of surprise 😅 “this really is the 💩.” clever addition.
the "lasagna garden" concept really does work .... just layer in grass clippings, leaves, kitchen scraps, cardboard, wood chips, etc. all winter and by planting time, you'll have lovely, plant-ready soil. I have been throwing a bag or three of commercial soil (bought at Lowe's) on top as extra insurance, but I really don't think I need do that anymore. I'm going to try going without next May. Thank you for another informative and fun video!
The lasagna method is great Elizabeth, definitely.
I've done one. Worked great
i do the same, chop and drop, leaves, manure and let it rot down in the winter.
I'm trying this to fill some deep raised beds. I've been struggling with gardening post covid (I had to give up my allotment) so I'm trying to find ways to get fulfilling results using less energy and with less bending down due to vertigo (dizziness.) Buying enough compost would cost far too much, so I'll build up 'lasagne' layers throughout winter then top the beds off in spring to get the plants going.
Greeting from central Florida USA! I prepare my garden like this all year round. I grow veggies all year round.
Thanks for the help, I should cover my garden with leaves
Does it help if you shred the leaves first? I am thinking of doing this next week 🍁🍁🍁🍂
@@dotnb even better, they will rot faster. Good luck!😊👍
All leaves have fallen here so will be doing this as well this week. 😊😎
@@mariap.894 Thanks! Did it today. Hope things are going well in your garden too! 🍁
@@letii6597 How did you get on? It is so satisfying when it is done!
"This really is the s***"
Haha!
I 10/10 recommend this channel to those who are interested in gardening AND even those who are not. You will learn something about SOMETHING, and get a great healthy laugh from a great loving life guy.
What a great idea to bury scraps directly in the garden. Thanks
The compost pits have been the best method for me since I live in town and have close proximity to my neighbors. Its worked wonderfully for me and it doesn't smell or attract vermin. In the warmer months especially if I dig it back up a month later theres almost no evidence that I ever put anything there.
It's a fantastic and easy way of building soil fertility and health for sure Amanda!
I am trying field beans and peas as green manure this year for the first time. I didn’t realise about not letting them flower or set seed, so thanks for the tip.
Do these "Field Beans" have another name? I'm not sure I have ever heard of them nor seen them in any nursery, garden centre, etc. Would plain, Green Bush Beans do the same thing?
@@kwicsociety9663 they are similar to fava beans
Yes, they may be sold as something else in the US. They are basically a type of fava bean, but sold specifically for cover cropping.
@@kwicsociety9663 try "broad beans" :)
The little pot trench idea is inspired! Feel very privileged that my mums pony and donkey cost her a fortune to feed and I get to enjoy the free manure.... try and reimburse her in home grown veg!
That sounds like a fair deal to me!
‘Pockets of fertility’ … I love it! 💖
I live in dry hot Southern California. It’s awful. Very urban. I have 1 deciduous tree. A solitary silver maple. I blow the fallen leaves down my driveway and into the veg patch weekly. The chickens stir it up and I water as normal all winter to support life in it. I don’t let it sit naked that’s fo’ sho’. LOVE your channel. Sooo helpful and achievable.
Sounds like you're doing all the right things there Karen - and your lovely chickens are doing there bit too.
"wild animals" at 3:55! Hah! I love your sense of humour, guys!
All your videos are the s--- 👍🏼 Thank you!
Cheers matey!
Amazing. Also, your videos are so well made that they are ready to be shown on any TV. Thanks!
A dilute solution applied some time before eating shouldn't leave much of a trace. But you are right to be cautious, and this is perhaps safest used on the parts of the plant you won't be eating.
Collecting leaves 🍂🍁🍂🍁is a must, woodchips and compost are another way to build up soil. We had only sand, now it's humus.
How wonderful to have made such a dramatic change to your soil - it just shows it can be done.
3:27 you know it stinks when even your dog sniffs and then turns away 😂
20 years ago, we rented an old Victorian monstrosity in Portland OR. You could see places where outbuildings had been 150 years ago, but one such outline was the only really tomato-worthy place for sun. I got the soil tested, and it came back as contaminated with heavy metals. Apparently, 150 years ago, what they used for horses for colic or worming or something was mercury compounds (they sold such as "patent medicines" for humans at the time, too).
The sunny patch had been the corral for the stables. I was very sad at the state of the soil. To sow in it, or even above it in a raised bed, it would require excavating and removing a meter down.
I didn't have a garden there, except containers. Sometimes you can't build on a bad foundation of soil at all.
Wow - that really would have been tricky (and dangerous!) soil to work with.
Love the "wild animal" in his garden, wooof!
Thank you for the warning about aminopyralid damage in manure. So many gardeners have lost produce and damaged their soil by using contaminated manure. Even Charles Dowding was affected by it.
I think it's affected so many gardeners - a real cautionary tale.
I came here for the enthusiasm and positivity !
Great video. Thanks. I compost and create leaf mold
Nice presentation of soil treatment. Thank you for sharing this with everyone.
I'm fortunate to live near the sea, so I harvest seaweed that's washed up on the beach. Leave it out in the rain for a couple of weeks to wash off any excess salt, then chop it up with a lawnmower, together with dried leaves, grass clippings, shredded cardboard or anything similar. Makes a great mulch.
I bet you have the best soil ever with seaweed in your mix - beautiful stuff!
This guy has a nice style. He could easily be on TV.
Again, another great video! I like the idea about planting the beans to provide nitrogen. I have always planted buckwheat late summer for the bees and soil.
I have lately practiced growing chickens and I noticed they do great job to the fertility of the soil. they bring eggs and also fertilize the soil for better larger crops.
They’re a great addition to the garden!
All being said, we just have to do it! There are many beneficial methods of composting and the outcome is practically the same. When I was a little boy I remember my neighbour used to trench compost every Fall. He had gardens that were the envy of the neighbourhood.
I'm not sure if it was the fact you just haul manure in your car "this really is the shi+ comment," or Rosie's semi interested look, then sniff, and final walk off shaking her head as if to say, "um...yeah, no, not for me." and "What in the name of Charles Dowding are you dumping in my garden Man!" when you dumped the kitchen scraps bin in the hole. LOL. Love it Rosie!
Haha - yes, Rosie always has everything under close supervision.
I was collecting pea straw and the nursery suggested an old duvet cover to line your car boot it's a great idea. I got a black one. From an op. Shop. Enjoy your humor and wild animal!
What a great idea. :-)
Fantastic. I’ll be putting my dead leaves on my garden tomorrow
Instead of raking up all the leaves on my lawn I run over them with the lawnmower. The grass catcher fills up with a light mixture of chopped up leaves and grass, which I spread thickly on my raised veg beds.
I will be doing this, now thanks. I will place them on raspberry and blackberry bush as well. 😊😁
Another great video, thank you Ben. It’s always important to know about your soil and what we can do to enrich it ready for the new growing season. I really love the way you present your videos, you are always so enthusiastic and encouraging. Kind regards. Gary
That's very kind of you to say Gary, thank you. And thank you for watching. :-)
Thanks, I can smell the gold in your video! There's this giant lime tree outside our house that the council has ignored pleas to trim. For 2-3 years I've just collected all the leaves and lay them over the raised flower beds now and mixing in kitchen scraps. Love seeing those WORMS.
You know you're a true gardener when your heart sings at the sight of lots of worms. :-)
Hi I'm an absolute novice, could you tell me if you gathered your leaves up and rotted them or did you just spread them on the garden as soon as they fell? Thank you.
@@mariannedarrow7227 I put them on the flower beds and just cover them with a little bit of soil. I also have a tumbling composter where I put leaves in mixed with kitchen. scraps. I also store some in large bags and I line larger containers with them before putting soil in - then they won't leak out. Have fun :)
Outstanding!
Great stuff!
Beginners grow vegetables. Masters grow soil ;-)
Love your soil and the rest is easy Travis.
Love your videos!
Cheered me up! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼✅
"Wild animals?" Cute pup. Good video. 🇺🇸⚔🇬🇪
Thanks so much. :-)
Nice to see your cockapoo enjoys the garden, they can be mud monkeys :)
Haha - they certainly can. Rosie's a cavapoo. I find it hard to tell them apart though - always mixing them up with cockapoos. Both lovely dogs though!
@@GrowVeg How interesting, they are incredibly close in looks. We have a cockapoo and would you believe her name is also Rosie :)
Thank you Mr Ben : )
Thank you, Ben.
Your little doggie 🐶 is the cutest wild animal 😅
I reckon so. :-)
You’ve just reminded me to sow my winter green manure for digging in late Spring.
Perfect timing! I had planned on doing this today :)
Great video great information
I started planting winter cover crops a few years ago. Very pleased with the results.
great video, thanks.
Awesome 👌 tutorial 👌
Thanks, Ben. Very educational as always!
Thanks friend for information
Thanks 😊
Love your stuff kick on love it
Thanks Stewart!
Excellent video. Very important information.
Love this guy! So sensible and easy to listen to. Makes me excited to grow my veg!
Thanks so much! :-)
This video was very useful, and very enjoyable!
Ha, ha, ha!! The car bit had me laughing aloud! Great garden my friend. :)
Thank you!
Bed I use we rotted horse manure and chopped leaf mulch which I leave for a year. Also home made compost I make at the alloment.
One I like to say bed about woodchip you carnt put pine chippings in beds as it will stop growth of things you plant pi e has within its self to stop anything growing. Any other chippings are fine.
Great vid always look forward to the next one all the best.
Thanks for the tip there John, that's appreciated.
great video!!😁
I dump stall cleanings (from the horse, goats, and chickens) directly onto the garden all winter long, stopping in early March. The heavy rains in our Maritime climate (helped by chickens foraging through the garden in winter) break everything down so it's ready for planting in Spring. I make sure to include stall bedding (urine-soaked wood pulp) as well as manure. The native soil here is gravel-over-clay, so amending it is vital to even move a shovel around in it.
I bet your soil is superb for all the extra organic matter your adding - great stuff!
Great video! I’m particularly fond of using compost and worm castings.
Hello 👋 new subscriber and love your content already. You're so smart. Thanks for your wonderful teaching 😘 😊 ❤ 😀 💕
Bless you for subscribing, thank you! Really great to have you on board. :-)
Love this video
So please do you have enjoyed this. :-)
Great video Ben.
Absolutely right that now is the time to get working on improving the soil👍
Get digging out and spreading Mark, true that!
2:25 😊felt good
Dig up the neighborhood cemetery and put them in my garden 🪴 they make my garden grow wonderfully
That's one way of doing it!
Very good video. Thank you
This year I have tilled everything into the garden. Then we added a layer of mown leaves and I tilled them in. Now we are adding another layer of the mown leaves as a cover. This way they are not too thick to till in when spring cones. Our Niece raises show rabbits and once a month I get her rabbit poop All winter long I add another layer of rabbit poop over the leaves, often between layers of snow, eventually covering the whole garden. Which when the snow melts and Spring comes i till it in with the compost from our bins. All summer long I use grass clippings as a mulch so that is some of what I tilled in this fall
my daughter has four rabbits and I do the same thing!
A great use of rabbit poop - don't let anything go to waste. :-)
Great episode again. Enjoy it very much. We're in Aus and I am using a worm farm to recycle about half of our composting material - the other half goes in to traditional compost bins.
I absolutely love your channel
Thank you so much Melinda, that's very kind of you to say. :-)
Thank you
I love this channel so much.
We love you too!
Excellent video. I’m adding ashes and sand right now.
I love this guy! So down to earth, (pun intended) passionate about gardening, helpful! Love watching!
Cheers Chris!
Thank you so much 🌻
Thank you for watching Amer.
Thank you, I think I can do this!
Go do it Jim, top man!
I love making compost! So very satisfying : )
Definitely! :-)
I'm a big user of cover crops ... I like winter rye and hairy vetch best. The winter rye just looks like grass, but does a great job crowding out weeds, and is easy to mow down and turn back into the soil in spring. The vetch is pretty, and also easy to till in once I am ready to use that space.
Ben you’re a breath of fresh air. Love your site
Thanks for watching Paul, it's appreciated. :-)
You say "wild animals" and show your cute dog 😄
Totally fabulous - normal and unpretentious delivery
Great tips bro....regards from India