Instant Raised Garden Beds by Flipping Sod: Expanding our Garlic Patch
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- čas přidán 8. 09. 2024
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After a long and difficult summer, we're finally ready to give some garden updates. So let's start off with the changes we've been making to our garlic beds, by flipping sod.
The reasons I like your videos: they are concise, to the point and you never complain how difficult the job was 😉.
this is similar to the very old Scottish and Irish way called lazy beds. However instead of rectangles they flip squares onto the bed from each side so there is no squatting to flip the rectangles. They also keep a small strip of soil in the center of the aisle called a bone which gets flipped onto this edge you have grass growing out of. It mounds the bed round and is packed in smooth with the spade or a foot. You could also try tarping before or after flipping to kill grass and speed decomposition. The Scots and Irish would take washed up seaweed and place it on the center sod before being flipped, this is a good place to put your compost as well. You can also put the potatoes there before having the sod flipped. Happy growing.
Was thinking of this exact technique of flipping sod over to convert a lawn backyard into a garden. Glad to see it works! Great minds think alike!
I love how your girl looks at you brother. Know your a blessed man. God bless from Marokko
i thought you said "how your girl looks at YOUR brother." i was confused
@@potato-yo1dv same XD
I need to find me a husband to help me work gardens like you guys..LOL..you 2 make it look fun!!
In Ireland we call these "lazy beds". They've been used to grow potatoes for hundreds of years and you can see the remains of them on now uninhabited islands after centuries!
If you don't enjoy slicing, bending and flipping you could try using a Trencher [buy or hire] to dig your walkways and then shovel the loose soil onto the future raised Beds.
Then if you have access to Woodchips, spread them in the walkways.
This results in drier pathways to walk and kneel on, suppresses weeds and in almost no time the chips will break down and give you rich soil...'win win' all the way.
With an addition of soil and such you could even plant in the upgraded 'virgin' walkways the following year for more yield.
Such a simple concept for creating a raised bed from thick sod! Why haven't I seen this in a video before? Have seen many raised bed/sunken trench videos, but ground was already clear of vegetation.You guys are rocking the garlic! Been gardening for 18 years and just learned how to make garlic scape & basil pesto this year, plus tomato pesto. Making apple butter right now.
Amazing how Paula maintains her figure while avoiding heavy exercise, like changing flat tires.
Loved the line "While Paula watches." Clever lady! :)
They're what's known as Lazy Beds in Ireland and Scotland. excellent for growing potatoes in hilly and boggy areas. They used them here for hundreds of years
Thank you for all the farmers who are posting helping people sharing the way we can get better
I did this to the full width of the back half of my back yard (in town) in 1987. At the same time I totally stopped actively "trying" to make compost, and anything compostable went into the walkways, it broke down super fast being walked on.
Absolutely love every one of your videos and happy to see Paula again.
Great video, well explained and easily copied. I recently did this on my allotment plot in the UK instead of the usual weeks of digging over Al pulling out weeds, me and a friend did the whole plot in 2 visits of 3 hours each. and the results have been great. What I did was put landscape fabric over it and burn holes to plant through it, this almost eliminates weeding. Our season it now coming to an end so most veg has been harvested so what I'm going to do as I live a couple miles from the coast, is go collect seaweed, lay it on the beds and cover it up, let it break down over winter and the worms turn it into very nutritious soil. I may uncover them in spring and throw a layer of homemade compost over the top and cover it up again before I plant into it.
How it worked? (the seaweed thing)? over here some say it saturates the soil.
My two cents: my Lazy Raised Beds (dig out the Paths, flip the turf onto the Beds) are 4 feet wide, the maximum width to reach the middle from either side. There is a wider ratio of "middle to edge" than 2 foot beds, so when the shoulders start sliding into the paths its less of an issue, and a longer interval before having to remake the edges. You would get 50% less path-to-bed turf to pile on, but on the heavy soil here just digging out the paths improves the drainage, let alone piling the turf on top, and even better when some compost is added on top. After several years I got around to affording, and finding the time, to put timber edges on the raised beds, so no longer "lazy raised beds", and that's solved the sloping bed-edges issue.
This looks similar to traditional Scottish/Irish "lazy beds" that my neighbour got me onto as a quick way to get potatoes on grassland, which am currently having a go with. I'm flipping 2 half-size clods compared to yours though, from each side of the raised bed so it's easier to pop the potatoes down the crack in the middle.
Glad to know it works well with garlic too! In fact at this rate I might end up trying to use it for most of the new veg plot...
I am fascinated with youtube farmers!
This just helped me I need to make 18 50 ft beds.
The easiest way to flip sod is by using a pitch fork. It cuts, penetrates with ease. Nothing better than a sturdy short handled one. Cuts and flips with on tool
Just moving propertys so we have alot of digging ahead.we use the same idea but fill the walk ways with wood chips.helps stop weeds and after get very good soil and hold water
You guys have some gorgeous native soil. I live on almost pure sand. Seeing what’s under that sod makes me envious. Very nice!
I'm doing a flower farm and couldn't decide how I want the rows, this is definitely the prep I'm going to do. Your video are impressive. Well done!
I didn't know Will Wheaton was a farmer.
This is future Will Wheaton, also just glad someone else saw it too 😂
Have you guys thought of putting wood chips in the garden path? It's excellent for weed suppression and absorbs any water that will collect during a heavy rainfall. This eliminates the muddy boots and provides cushion for the feet. It's awesome! Love your videos!!!
Those wood chips FLOAT away with any kind of rainfall. Yes, they suppress weeds. So does plain old dirt/soil.
@@stormysampson1257 they will NOT Float away, being that they are in trenches, if there were no trenches then your statement would be true, if plain old dirt/soil would work they would not need to apply the spoiled hay for weed suppression now would they. Also if you pay attention to the video their main issue is weeds growing in the trenches, what do you think they put in there? (they didn't put anything in there, it was plain soil/dirt, so the last part of your statement makes absolutely NO sense whatsoever.
@@daytonelliot6681 Weed suppression is the absolute last worry in my gardens, any of my gardens including 100K+ landscapes. If there were trenches those trenches would be cleaned out at least once or twice per year, the soil and 'goodies' thrown back onto the bed. One doesn't want NON decomposed organic material IN THEIR PLANT beds. That truly hampers plants from getting at any available N until those decomposers do their job.
Properly made trenches will direct the water away from the garden, the excess water. If done correctly those paths in between plant beds will NOT BE MUDDY. Even in caliche clays! If you do not have set walking paths of course you will get muddy and you will be ruining the TILTH of your beds.
Not sure what is bothering you about what I've said, I most certainly could have erred in written communication...but listen...I am an expert with plants and soil and water and chemistry...non decomposed matter HAS TO BE decomposed. That is nature's rule. As soon as something dies it is being decomposed! Decomposers use NITROGEN for energy!.
Only when that material is fully decomposed (earthworms are able to use part decomp and part raw organic material including soil ingested for energy) are the soil organisms that NEED THIS STUFF and once decomposed are able to wake from dormancy (while waiting for the decomposers to do their job), hatch from eggs because there is FOOD or FUEL for the soil animals to use.
Meanwhile, worrying about weeds tells me that someone needs more education about this outdoor world and our ARTIFICIAL gardens! The use on non decomposed organic material as well. That stuff goes into the compost pile, to be turned, to have added nitrogen, moistened when necessary and turned whenever possible...covered if there is too much precipitation. THEN that decomposed material is dumped on top of the plant beds, the soil you WANT to improve. Inhibits...weeds...and the macro and micro soil organisms will do the mixing for you. They come up eat this stuff, then dive back down into the soil profile and poop it out making the most incredible soil. Great Tilth...NOT FERTILIZED!
If I've said something confusing, please let me know and I will do my best to communicate better. Shoot, I am a damn expert, I've earned that title and I am just trying to offset the crap this internet gives credence to.
Wish I could send a picture of properly made raised beds without any wood or concrete...with trenches. These beds are a minimum of 3 feet wide up to 6 feet in width. Compacted paths from which to work and not walk on the beds. These beds are made by double digging down at least a foot, piling the soil and working from one end to the other. Raked flat, heavy piece of plywood on top of bed, lots of jumping up and down to COMPACT the newly disturbed soil for proper seed/root/soil contact. Then the trenches are dug, that soil going on top of the new bed. These trenches are only 6 X 6 inches, sloped to direct the water out of the garden. when watering, water deep deep deep and allow to dry out. Never just a little every day. No matter what type of soil one has that soil is GREAT SOIL. One simply needs to know how to manage their type of soil. No SOIL has the chemistry (gag, nutrients) plants have to have. Especially all the plants we need to PRODUCE!
And I ALWAYS use the sod from the sod cutter to make NEW BEDS. But it is tricky to plant and control the chemistry...to plant like NOW. Ideally that bed should decompose for a year. I add extra nitrogen and at least 4" of topsoil over the freshly turned over sod. Definitely decent trenches or one will have stinky anaerobic decomposition in their yards...I hate carrying away great soil and organic matter from a site. 'Cut/Fill'...keeping the site's goodies ON SITE is great for the soil, the gardens and the customer.
I've planted substantial trees in the newly made with sod beds. Planted them high enough so that more decomposed mulch can be added without harming the bark of the trees...no soil, no mulch, no rock and no weeds should touch the bark of any woody perennial. That will cause girdling by bacteria and a slow sure death. 4 to 6 inches of soil goes over that sod...and that will stop any growth of the live sod available.
Hi. I've been looking for you two for a while. Glad to see you both are back. I enjoy your videos. I did notice you all know a lot more than before. Which is great. I planted My first garlic last week. I checked today and some were on top of the ground laying sideways. I just buried them again. Thanks for the tip on covering them for winter. Oh by the way I know less about gardening than you two. God Bless you both. Have an awesome day
Glad to see you both back, and WOW that looks GREAT. Have done similar but the grass growing back was horrible. Mulched the mound heavily this year so fingers crossed. Is nice to see how WELL yours worked. So will keep plugging away at things. Have you ever thought of adding woodchips to the trench between your rows? Should help hold moisture and build a bit more compost too.
That was great thinking on the rows 👍 Big crop too, wow. I'm impressed. Good things are slowing down some for you both. Happy to see you doing something you like. 😊👍
Très bonne idée et cela ne dérange pas trop les habitants du sol. Ça donne vraiment envie de voir la suite. Merci et bon courage.
I’m so glad you made one of these videos! You have a really fantastic channel and I really appreciate your style of teaching. Thanks again, looking forward to the next one!!
Paula (Here!) floating on handles pretty much made my morning! Discovered you have to get to the dumps before 9 if you want the good (and free) mulch. So I'm watching videos and warming up the back for laying out a trailer full of mulch!
We used to do this with turning plow by going down one way and then going back other way instead of going same direction like most people do because we get 60 plus inches of rain a year really works good
Thanks for the video tutorial, I linked it in the description of my scheduled video in an hour.
OMG! That was hilarious! Paula is an absolute hoot! I love all of your videos. They are so informative, and I enjoy the learning process you take us through by sharing your wins as well as losses. Keep up the good work, and savor the garlic.
You are such an excellent narrator. Every one of your videos I've watched have been great. Keep up the good work and thank you for this good information.
Very informative content, I love it.
I have some spring wet soil and was trying to figure out how to raise the land and still be able to use it. You have given me a foundational idea that I will use with bringing in bark from the saw mills to fit in between. Thank you so much.
I did this method this spring here in Finland, thanks to your video. It took me about 13 hours so far, and it is quite large. I used this method for circular beds, each spaced 1 metre apart and each bed 1 metre wide. The only thing I’m seeing as a bit of a hassle now is the weeds/grass are growing out the side. There was a ton of left over wood in the yard when we bought the house, I'm thinking of placing boards on those areas and try to block them out. I’m also finding in some areas of the bed the dandelions are breaking through. I should have put cardboard down in between.
It was great to see Paula too! =) That's a whole lotta garlic you have there. You guys have green thumbs!
New to your channel but really enjoying the videos! Super glad it popped up in my feed. And man, garlic is arguably the most important crop we grow. Not most profitable, but neither my wife or I would want to farm without it!
What's more profitable?
@@CB-so8xd There are a number of factors that determine profitability of course, but lettuce, kale, radishes, tomatoes, spinach, carrots--lots of stuff. Basically anything that doesn't 150 to 200 days to grow. That said, garlic can be more profitable than say potatoes. Again, though, loads of factors.
@@notillgrowers Of course it's situational! But thanks for replying with some suggestions/examples.
@@CB-so8xd you bet!
I just love your videos! You could live stream you guys digging/working the garlic beds & I’d tune in. Hahahaha thanks for the awesome animated visuals too! Incredibly helpful!
Nice done this in last garden to keep above floods.nice method
Great to see you both back, and gardening.
Like the idea. I've done a similar thing, except filled the path with wood chip. Clean path that breaks down. And when I change my mind that beds are to be 75cm wide rather than 90cm, to make better use of insect mesh, well I have a bit of compost too.
Hope life has settled for you.
Good luck.
Insect mesh?
So what do you think the wood chips when they break down on your paths will benefit? That is like watering and fertilizing the soil of your paths?! You shall have weeds!
Insect mesh? I am sure you are talking about Reemay. Not only for insects for certain genus of plants such as the brassicas but more importantly for temperature mitigation.
When plants of the brassicas and mustards are flowering and needing pollination are you doing it manually? You aren't allowing the insects to do their thing pollinating, right? There are windows of time to prevent insects such as the flies and moths that lay their eggs at the base of the cabbages, broccoli...the larvae eat those roots and kill those plants, but that is only a month window. How about flea beetles that love the mustards? Do you know about 'trap' crops? That Reemay comes off after the window of reproduction of a particular insect is over...right?
And make no mistake, compost is NOT fertilizer not at all and compost is NEVER a soil substitute. Compost has to be DECOMPOSED COMPLETELY to be a powerful soil life builder.
@@Odiseo012 The insect mesh is a 2mm square mesh, that prevents insects such as carrot fly, leek moth butterflies that like to lay their eggs on brassica plants. These are pest issues in the UK
@@stormysampson1257 I am in the UK and am faced with a different insect pressure than you suggest.
As we are eating roots, stems, leaves and Flower buds not seeds, we do not need the plants to be pollinated. The fine mesh, with about 2mm square holes protects plants. It is used commercially by farmers here to protect broccoli, cabbages, carrots, leeks from insect pests. I use a product called Wondermesh or Enviromesh which is widely available here.
Just as in the Ruth Stout method employed by Derek and Paul, adding extra woodchips helps to smother weeds before they become a problem. As for fertilising the paths, yes no doubt I am, but the wood breaks down and adds humus to the soil, improving the soil of the whole plot, for the benefit of future gardeners of my bit of growing space.
Holy shit, that's so smart!
Wow what a great method
Awesome.what a flipping video
very brilliant ideas!!! I like to see your experiment!!!
I did your method on 100’x4’ - cover crop - tilled - garlic planted end of Oct. looks good so far! Thank you for the ideas!
Seriously, you two should have rented a sod cutter! The exercise is oh so good for you (if you are exercising your back muscles and hamstrings to stay balanced with you tough pecs and biceps)...
Now THAT was clever. AND, it WORKED! Well done.
Brilliant. This is how we traditionally grew potatoes in Ireland.
I wonder if I would learn as quickly as you guys seem to. Man, you are really all in. A bunch of good ideas for us. Thanks!
Just discovered your channel. Nice vdo!
I made these kind of lazy beds last year and although it worked pretty well the amount of weeds is just incredible.
Ill stay tuned to see how it goes for you :) Greetings from Portugal
A pretty novel and creative flip sod concept.
That was cute and very helpful.
Aww what a lovely couple! I can't wait to use this method!
Great video and what a super great idea about the raised beds! I did my garlic in containers last fall and picked them all a few weeks ago, but they were so tiny!! When I have a real garden going, I'm hoping they get bigger! Nice to see you both back! :) Happy Thanksgiving! :)
Looking at this again today, it's almost exactly the irish potato method used for centuries.
Nicely presented information.
Hey really cool method, ill be employing this method this spring. Subscribed.
You should mulch your paths too! It makes working and harvesting so much nicer and keeps weeds away...now outside the garden for grass clippings! I've always munched the paths, too and I can walk in there barefoot and even when its very wet without getting muddy at all
simple and brilliant
hey guys. wonderful garlic raised bed idea. i will try to follow the same. thanks and best of luck for the next year's crop. take care.
Hey there! I’m new to your channel and can honestly say I love it. Eric from “Garden fork” made a recommendation about you guys. As a fellow Ontarian it’s really nice to follow and support local. Thank you for sharing, and best wishes and many successes
What a really neat concept,. Might try it for a few beds.
Great video! I've actually been planning this out for my new house when we're ready to move. It's looks like a great alternative to buying truck loads of soil. Thanks for sharing
They did this in Ireland last century 😁Great work!!! You guys r cute!
Interesting idea! I’m looking forward to the planting video for sure.
You guys are sooooo cool 😎 😎😎😎😎 I always love 💕 & learn from your videos. 😀😀😀👋🏾👍🏼😁
Fantastic videos. Going to try garlic using your methods in about a months time. Thanks for the great information.
Nice idea. 16”.
Love this idea
Say whaaaaat? Oh yeah I’m gonna do it!
Nearly identical to how I setup my garden; flip and layer the sod. Word of caution; certain grasses Will refuse to die. I recommend spraying with straight vinegar at least twice in one week to defoliate the lawn before flipping the sod. Otherwise you'll be jerking up new grass in three months. I also laid hay betwixt the rows, instead of on top. It acts as a sponge to hold water to the roots during drought conditions, and it doesn't gets cold enough here (south MS) to need insulation on the roots.
Thank you for the tricks, very clever and simple.With irrigation system u can grow everything in here
Newly found you folks and great idea. I watch Justin Rhodes, The Elliot Farmstead, Fouch Family and others. I think this may be my new binge watch. :)
Damn I really love these methods of gardening you post
You guys are so cute! :) I really enjoy watching your channel. I like this method, although my property doesn't have and grass to content, (desert) we have some weeds.. and where i want my garden is on a gentle slope. I was thinking of doing this type of swale/raised bed method down the hill and it was fun to see your success. I just beed to figure out where to get hay and wood chips!
Hi, just came across your channel 😁🇿🇦
What a brilliant idea, just wish I had good top soil so I could do this.
I know exactly what you mean . We have clay sandy soil here. I'm always adding fresh soil of my own on top.
What a genius solution. I may try this. Thanks for sharing this idea.
Lucky man to have such wife
You two love your garlic.
Wow!!! Long time no see you guys,I’m glad see you guys,.lol,.take care GOD BLESS
Thank you!
So good to see you two on CZcams again. I missed you! Well done on the garlic beds!
What a perfect couple👍💕
Great video!
Love how you guys roll..
That's an awesome strategy. Thx for sharing!
Instructional video with animation!? You're my fav youtuber! 😃
You didn't think of that, she did!
Really nice, thanks
Awesome garden now watching all the videos in your channel and really i have a lot of ideas now..sorry for my grammar 🤣
Good to see the both of you back. Missed your great videos
you have some nice looking soil .If it where me I'd try growing garlic with the kratky method less labor intensive .
i love this idea!
Well, that worked out great! Very nice video.
Here's an idea. How about putting down a layer of tree trunks and branches before you flip the sod on top of it? You'd be creating a Hugelkultur at the same time..
Actually, you would first have to cover the wood with a thin layer of compost or soil, but that should be doable I guess.
LOVE it!!!
So glad I've found your channel! thank you!
This is genius! Wow. I can’t wait to try this method out this spring!
That's awesome..
Brilliant!
You guy's are so inspirational!