3 Reasons to Stop Gardening with Fertilizer (and What to Do Instead)

Тәжірибелік нұсқаулар және стиль

You don't have to douse your plants in Miracle-Gro to grow an abundant and beautiful garden. You don't even have to use fertilizer at all. (I don't!)
Now, I'm not talking about natural minerals or animal products. I'm talking about synthetic materials. Here's why I think you should stop using fertilizer in your garden and what to do to nourish your veggies instead.
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Пікірлер: 462

  • @johnnamaravelis4093
    @johnnamaravelis4093Ай бұрын

    I just retired & am starting an organic container vegetable garden on my porch & sidewalk utilizing companion planting methods. I’ve been composting for many years. You reinforced why this is such a great idea. Garden the way God does naturally. Thank-you!

  • @sufficientgrace1692

    @sufficientgrace1692

    Ай бұрын

    AMEN!!!

  • @Peoplespilates
    @PeoplespilatesАй бұрын

    I'm from India, thank you so much. Love your video. I stopped buying fertilizer and soil!! I grow everything in homemade compost from kitchen scraps and leaves. It works excellently. I don't spray any pesticides and do lose some strawberries, beans, tomatoes, green chillies, grapes squash,muskmelon,watermelon, malabar spinach, (moringa) drum stick, passion fruit, herbs, phalsa, guava, blackberries, karvanda and flowers, roses, to pests.😊 It's not too bad at all. I'm OK with some pests too. It's a well balanced garden with the good and bad of everything.I don't stress at all. I'm hoping to grow bananas😁 Enjoying every minute!!

  • @deborahpacheco2799

    @deborahpacheco2799

    Ай бұрын

    Put birdhouses on either side of your garden. They will eat the pests. Plant dill and carrots and let them bloom. They will attract good insects such as lady bugs which will eat the bad bugs.

  • @pattiannepascual

    @pattiannepascual

    Ай бұрын

    ❤​@@deborahpacheco2799

  • @cynthiacollins2668

    @cynthiacollins2668

    Ай бұрын

    That's one reason I plant sunflowers! Places for birds 🐦 to watch for bugs 🐛 to dine on.

  • @xaviercruz4763

    @xaviercruz4763

    Ай бұрын

    What’s karvanda and phalsa?

  • @SouthFloridaSunshine

    @SouthFloridaSunshine

    Ай бұрын

    @@xaviercruz4763I want to know what those are used for too. I grow mulberries though instead of blackberries, less seeds and no thorns. Everbearing dwarf gives me like two gallons every year for fresh eating, and freezing for recipes, great for jams and jellies too.

  • @sufficientgrace1692
    @sufficientgrace1692Ай бұрын

    One thing I’ve been conflicted about, that you have straightened out for me, is what to do with compost. I used to mix it into the soil every spring but then I learned about no-till gardening, which is more like how nature does it. But then I didn’t know what to do with the compost. I realize that in nature, the compost is always added to the top. This makes lots of sense, as the water runs through it, and as it breaks down, the good stuff runs down into the soil and roots. I can’t believe I was so resistant to top dressing with compost but so happy I’ve overcome!

  • @CarrieTraversie
    @CarrieTraversieАй бұрын

    I never fertilize anything in my garden, no one is running around fertilizing things in nature. What a scam. I do focus on soil building.

  • @venpeddapalli7189

    @venpeddapalli7189

    Ай бұрын

    You unlocked the key! Keep it up!

  • @Trakehner20

    @Trakehner20

    Ай бұрын

    How o you build the soil? I'm interested in this method. Im tooo cheap tones t to buy all that fertilizer haha.

  • @venpeddapalli7189

    @venpeddapalli7189

    Ай бұрын

    @@Trakehner20 Building soil takes time and patience something commercial growers don't have hence the use of fertilizers. How to build? Nature does it in many ways. You start by adding organic material - anything that you can find for free. Woodchips, cardboard, leaves, veg matter etc. Layer by layer and in a year, you are ready to plant your first tomatoes.

  • @CarrieTraversie

    @CarrieTraversie

    Ай бұрын

    @@Trakehner20 use lots of natural mulch…. Wood chips/leaves/grass clippings/other plant material let it break down on top of your soil. (Don’t dig it in.) The mulch helps retain moisture, and protect the soil life. As it breaks down, it feeds all the micro-life in the soil, and your soil gets better and better every year.

  • @TracyMcDowell
    @TracyMcDowellАй бұрын

    "Trust nature," and that is the miracle. I love it

  • @fayepreuss5180
    @fayepreuss5180Ай бұрын

    To be honest I didn’t want to listen to this video because it was just after fertilizing all of my fruit trees. I’m glad that I did and will reconsider my methods

  • @FM-ij7iu
    @FM-ij7iu2 күн бұрын

    Love that you are exposing these crappy garden products filled with chemicals.

  • @rillo806
    @rillo806Ай бұрын

    Honest opinion....... speaking from 26 years of experience (take that for what its worth to you) its ok to use fertilizer. Its also ok to not use it. Everyones area has a different quality of soil, different climates, and different animals/pest. I mean the list goes on. My suggestion is do what any scientist does. Find out for yourself. Try every method you can try and figure out what works best for your particular situation. Ive tried direct sowing, tried raised beds, tried containers, tried elevated beds (6ft in the air), tried hanging containers, tried greenhouses, cold frames, hydroponics, aquaponics, full sun, full shade, all seasons, ive literally tried it all and have combos with every method and have found certain plants like different methods and u can do more than one at a time. There is no absolute answer in gardening. Thats what makes it fun.

  • @riverunner9978

    @riverunner9978

    Ай бұрын

    Yes indeed !

  • @sandrahamilton8895

    @sandrahamilton8895

    Ай бұрын

    I love how growing organically encourages growth, great soil, less weeds, makes the produce taste sweeter naturally and is better for my body and the economy. My Daddy always had a garden but he used chemical fertilizer. He raised 9 girls and most of us had fibroid tumor. My mother died of cancer. Not saying that was the cause buuut. I use organic fertilizers: rabbit poop, compost from my kitchen, broken down wood chips, worm castings, and I collect soil from broken down leaves from my fence line. Everything grows beautifully. Try God's way. It's better.

  • @rillo806

    @rillo806

    Ай бұрын

    @@sandrahamilton8895 Thats cool. Nothing wrong with using fertilizer, i like organic fertilizer too. I dont use any fertilizer on my veggies though, just use it for ornamentals that i have no intention of eating. I just use em to bring in more pollinators. There are some really good and safe fertilizers out there though. You just have to find them. Maybe not so much back in your day (by your language i assume youre a bit older, if im wrong i apologize).

  • @patriciafisher1170

    @patriciafisher1170

    29 күн бұрын

    I’m with you have been gardening for many years and even in the same area some years are different to others some years I get a mega crop of zucchini and a year or two later get hardly one. Every year has one or two plants that boom and thrive different every year. But I guess that’s why it’s good to preserve each year

  • @Agnes-rq3pi

    @Agnes-rq3pi

    25 күн бұрын

    Best approached

  • @bizzybee852
    @bizzybee852Ай бұрын

    This was great information! The way that God created nature to work and function is always the best way to garden.

  • @honeydew4576

    @honeydew4576

    11 күн бұрын

    Praise The Living God!

  • @OneTakeTuber
    @OneTakeTuberАй бұрын

    I was fortunate enough to have KZread gardeners at teachers when I started gardening during COVID. Every day is a learning day and I wouldn't have it any other way. Thanks Teach! 👍🏾

  • @MarlenevT
    @MarlenevTАй бұрын

    Comfrey is a plant growth stimulator. It grows abundantly if you have the space. Also great for healing broken bones.

  • @LashusJourney

    @LashusJourney

    Ай бұрын

    I used comfrey to make my compost juice 👍

  • @JJchildofYAH

    @JJchildofYAH

    Ай бұрын

    ​@@LashusJourneyplease can you advise how you do this? And how to care for comfrey? Thank you 😊

  • @denisecovelle938

    @denisecovelle938

    Ай бұрын

    I have comfrey in my garden and it’s definitely a game changer 💛

  • @kathleenfairbairn7144

    @kathleenfairbairn7144

    Ай бұрын

    ​@@denisecovelle938where does one get comphrey seeds?

  • @sweetNess856

    @sweetNess856

    Ай бұрын

    I have been successfully growing my comphery in felt grow bags for several years. I'm in zone 5. I do nothing to keep it safe over winter. I harvest all summer long.

  • @Jacq892
    @Jacq892Ай бұрын

    Topped off my raised bed with fresh homemade compost. It was truly beautiful. Im also trying to remove plastics from the garden.

  • @MyFocusVaries

    @MyFocusVaries

    Ай бұрын

    Me too. You might be interested in Regenerative Gardening with Blossom and Branch. That's her mission.

  • @Jacq892

    @Jacq892

    Ай бұрын

    @@MyFocusVaries thanks!

  • @laruebrough4117
    @laruebrough4117Ай бұрын

    I make compost tea with the leaves of various plants and even broadleaf weeds as well as comfrey. It’s stinky, but it works well.

  • @spirit2ual
    @spirit2ualАй бұрын

    This is how I garden. It is nice to be validated!❤

  • @ToddMagnussonWasHere
    @ToddMagnussonWasHereАй бұрын

    Biggest thing I learned over the years: A-C-Y-S -> Always Cover Your Soil. Second biggest thing is the permaculture layering where you focus on canopy trees small trees then bushes/flowers and groundcovers.

  • @smhollanshead
    @smhollansheadАй бұрын

    I agree you need to feed the soil. Organic compost is an essential ingredient for most gardens. Also try cut grass, straw, alfalfa pellets, bone meal, and blood meal.

  • @baneverything5580

    @baneverything5580

    Ай бұрын

    All of my grass clippings go around my fruit trees and in my vegetable garden and I add weeds, pine straw and chopped mowed leaves. I burned some straw, leaves and twigs in a few places before planting and this seemed to help too. I`m having to build soil here though because my yard was once a hill that got flattened and there`s hard red dirt mixed with gravel a couple of inches under the grass. I`ve been hauling in forest soil and leaf mold to build up layers of soil. I dump my garden wagon loads of soil on top of leaves, straw and grass clippings. It`s working though. I`m adding some lime pellets and bone meal so tubers grow better.

  • @MyFocusVaries

    @MyFocusVaries

    Ай бұрын

    I've been hearing more about alfalfa meal lately. Great source of nitrogen, which most soil needs. Look for organic non GMO. Because otherwise it may have been sprayed with persistent herbicides during growing.

  • @honeydew4576
    @honeydew457611 күн бұрын

    We started our garden in the Autumn of 2021. We created three compost bins in our green house, and grew plants in trays on top of the bins. This Spring 2024 there was enough black gold in those bins to fill all our garden beds. This was in just 2 1/2 years. Thank The Lord! Now we are seeing the worms come in and we are focusing on building good soil. Thank you for your videos. I am loving how you present your content and thank you for sharing your knowledge. God bless you.

  • @theproperty541
    @theproperty541Ай бұрын

    I use Alaska fish fertilizer and I feel pretty good about it

  • @MyFocusVaries

    @MyFocusVaries

    Ай бұрын

    Organic fertilizer!

  • @SouthFloridaSunshine

    @SouthFloridaSunshine

    Ай бұрын

    You can also bury fish deep like near or under your plants too.

  • @TeaTephiTrumpet777

    @TeaTephiTrumpet777

    Ай бұрын

    Its expensive, use the carcass of leftover fish parts you dont eat.

  • @pencilhead5278
    @pencilhead5278Ай бұрын

    I stay away from that stuff and my garden is doing great! I could not figure out why soil for planters had a child warning on it- kids love digging playing with dirt - but that soil came with a warning- people please ask questions. Thanking you sharing your knowledge.

  • @joycependleton4117

    @joycependleton4117

    Күн бұрын

    Wow! I haven't bought that kind of soil & didn't realize that existed. I agree that kids should be able to get their hands dirty!

  • @GoodThingsEtc
    @GoodThingsEtcАй бұрын

    Thank you so much for sharing your wealth of knowledge with us! After gardening for 7 years mostly in pots, i have learned to stop buying anything with chemical fertilizers! i am now learning to grow from seed, and wow it is teaching patience! Gardening saved my life so now its up to us to care for mother nature the right way!!! You rock girl!!!!

  • @Nocare89
    @Nocare89Ай бұрын

    Blue comes from copper sulfate. Some plants want it and it inhibits some soil pests. Copper and sulfur are both micronutrients provided here beyond the npk. I like natural approach more as well but these synthetic ones have a place too. I can allow nature to let my kale plant die or I can give it an immediate boost and keep it for the whole season. If I'm late a slower fertilizer applied at that time may be too late to save it. More natural slow fertilizers are better. They leech into the water table too though, even compost. So I'm in the camp of using a moderate amount of compost and then only using a fertilizer when the plants clearly need nutrition, and they'll show you. You could test the soil too. Using these in excess is still bad for the environment, and your wallet if your buying it :P I find composting food scraps, yardwork, and garden scraps to be enough to fertilize. You don't need to top your garden with 6 inches of compost. Important note about nitrogen fixing plants. That doesn't even start to become available until that plant dies, goes dry, and the roots rot. So your peas are fertilizing next year's crop and that's fine as long as you just keep doing it. Farmers will grow beans with corn and then cultivate the soil to speed up that whole process. It's not the best for soil health but it is a proven strategy. Still better for the environment than dumping loads of liquid fertilizer. I started my garden in straight up dirt. It was hard to even keep it wet. But I persisted and I fertilized my plants when they turned yellow and sad a couple times. By late summer I mulched everything with my own compost coming from yardwork and the garden that season. By the next spring that patch is doing beautifully. I don't need to do anything to get started with it. Liquid, highly plant-available fertilizers like miracle grow aren't the most desired but they definitely have their place in the toolbox. Apart from that gardeners should be responsible and not pollute with fertilizers. Whether its a box of blue or a truckload of compost that won't be used or will be over-applied. Through experience you'll learn how much slow-release organic stuff you actually need to add, and then unless you are hit with a surprise monsoon you probably won't need any additional boosts :) Sorry that's a wall. I think we let nature lead the way and help her when she needs it. Sometimes we see the bumps far out in the road and sometimes we first trip over them. Either way we use the appropriate tools that exist and work.

  • @stephaniemckown7489

    @stephaniemckown7489

    Ай бұрын

    It is scientifically proven that synthetic fertilizer ruins soil. If immediate results is what you're after then by all means but if a plant is struggling you need to look deeper than the symptom which is what you see with your eye and look at what might be wrong with the soil. Nature does not and has not ever needed our "help" with making things bigger and better. To each their own if they choose fertilizer or not but your advice is awful for a new beginner just starting out. You would be doing yourself a favor by researching what synthetic fertilizer actually does before singing it's praises. Compost is EVERYTHING to a living and active soil and it is very much needed in the garden!

  • @Nocare89

    @Nocare89

    Ай бұрын

    @@stephaniemckown7489 Yes nature doesn't need help to do nature things. But for me to fully benefit in my relationship with nature, I do need to give a steering hand from time to time. Compost is fantastic, ideal even. You need a few cycles to build a healthy soil unless you bring in a bunch of new soil to grow in. I believe establishing your own compost source is the #1 thing even if you're not going to garden. People all over are robbing the soil of their homes by doing yardwork, throwing it in a bin, and giving it away. And then when things die they fertilize that with synthetics they pay for. Big yikes. It doesn't even make economical sense. I had dead, hard dirt. There was a 3 inch mat of grass and moss and I wasted gallons of water just to get it wettable. I added an organic fertilizer based on chicken poo to that dirt after removing the grass and moss. It wasn't cutting it come late spring. Had good results at first. Better than the previous year where I added only seeds to that dirt (smaller experimental patch). But then everything turned yellow. I followed with 2 applications of the blue stuff like 2 months apart and had a great result. At the end of the year I had compost to cover everything with, and the next year I had a very healthy base to plant in with more compost on the way. It's visibly healthier in the yard even in spring when everything is at an early peak, its fantastic. I spent maybe $30 between seeds and fertilizer. I got dozens of salads and planned my expansion. I cleared a property taken over by trees and vines. I established an income of compost. I lost 40lbs too. So for me it was a tool and a stepping stone and I think that's perfectly fine. Tools are not evil, its how you use them. If I could deep mulch 9 months ahead of time or afford to bring in a bunch of soil and compost I'd do that. Its a better but more expensive process. I'm always going to point people in the more economical way to start, especially since there are so many scams and most people think its expensive to get started or be successful.

  • @delyco1

    @delyco1

    Ай бұрын

    ⁠@@Nocare89I’m glad to hear based on your experience you’d do deep mulch; that is the route I’m heading. My husband got arborist wood chips free by stopping and talking with a crew that was doing work around power lines near us. If you have space to drop chips, they’d rather drop locally for free than drive somewhere and pay…

  • @Nocare89

    @Nocare89

    Ай бұрын

    @@delyco1 Services like chipdrop also exist. I don't have the space for it right. I do have enough biomass around to both compost and mulch so that's worked out pretty well. Plus I have small trees I cut down I'm still working on breaking down for compost. We have a cherry tree that spreads like bamboo and was ignored for years.. it's been interesting.

  • @delyco1

    @delyco1

    Ай бұрын

    @@Nocare89I had zero luck in a year with Chipdrop. I think it hasn’t taken off in my area…

  • @Zizzyyzz
    @ZizzyyzzАй бұрын

    "Why is it blue? I don't get it", earned you a 👍🏼😂

  • @goodfriend6428
    @goodfriend6428Ай бұрын

    You are a very good teacher, focused, organized, emphasizing important points through careful repetition. Very effective. Skilled marketer, too.Thank you!

  • @ebradley2306
    @ebradley2306Ай бұрын

    I love Big Bend. Have been there 3 times. On my 1st trip I too was amazed at the variety of plant life. The desert is truly beautiful. While I make compost and have a worm bin, my perennial beds live under a bed of leaves. Due to limitations in my yard, I have been using sunflowers, short and tall, to provide summer shade. ☺️

  • @MannyMaurice5348
    @MannyMaurice5348Ай бұрын

    Always hated miracle grow, and I do have a composting bin and use that soil as an additive in my garden. Love that you made this podcast. It was very imformative.

  • @Gardenary

    @Gardenary

    Ай бұрын

    thanks so much for watching!

  • @rhondajones8678
    @rhondajones86789 күн бұрын

    I agree with you about fertilizer, but getting started, until garden is established, I’m finding that plants do need fertilizer until compost is ready. You actually buy mushroom compost because I saw you taking it from a bag and applying to your plants. I this is my third year gardening on our 5 acre very heavily wooded property. I was able to use my compost this year as it is all a learning process. However, there is an awesome fertilizer called Microlife. It is wonderful, filled with all those naturally occurring organic materials that you mentioned. I have compost bins filled with leaves from my yard, I also pick up mushrooms when we have them and add them to my compost as well as kitchen vegetables and fruit scraps and garden waste. I would like to get to the point where we have enough of our own compost and no longer need the microlife. We plant sweet potatoes throughout our garden which acts as a ground cover and try to companion plant as you mentioned. The green bean trellis climbs over the bell peppers. Happy gardening to everyone. It takes a lot of trial and error to get success.

  • @Godisgracious85
    @Godisgracious85Ай бұрын

    I started my garden this year and I have just been winging it. I figured with companion plants and flowers that help with pest I was sold. Now I watch all these videos and find out I’m on the right track. Thanks for the video ❤

  • @jilltalley4670
    @jilltalley46705 күн бұрын

    We started using alpaca poo tea fertilizer for our garden this year. We have the most beautiful garden we’ve ever had! Love your channel! Just found you this morning!

  • @betterlivingonabudget
    @betterlivingonabudgetАй бұрын

    You are SO right about the natural strategy to backyard gardening! I'm doing patio gardening, and some box planters due to years of pesticides being sprayed on my lawn prior to moving here. I'm pretty sure I've killed many plants from over-fertilizing, and over-crowding containers with the same plants instead of diversified plants in same area/container. Thanks so much for the wake-up!!

  • @dimitraz1
    @dimitraz12 күн бұрын

    It's really difficult not to fertilize (with organic fertilizers but still) when you have a container garden. I compost and mulch but there is no way I can get a decent harvest without fertilizing. But it is true, when I started applying regen gardening practices the soil quality improved so much.

  • @MelyndaVang2023
    @MelyndaVang2023Ай бұрын

    You are so brilliant. I am so glad that I found you. Will totally subscribe. I value intelligent and amazing people like you who are kind enough and generous enough to share your knowledge with the world. Thank you.

  • @sufficientgrace1692
    @sufficientgrace1692Ай бұрын

    I’ve gardened with the same philosophy for several years now. The only thing i disagree with from this video is that the animals eat lower leaves. That is partially true, deer, rabbits, etc love the fresh new growth the best - they eat the tops right off of lots of veggies. This is why I will often harvest the tops off of these types of veggies esp in early summer - 1) I get to eat it instead of the creatures eating it 2) It encourages the plant to bush out and produce even more.

  • @sharondawilliams2469
    @sharondawilliams2469Ай бұрын

    I loved this so much I had to pause and take notes. I will be following your direction for my spring / summer garden.

  • @Gardenary

    @Gardenary

    Ай бұрын

    I'm so glad it was helpful! Thanks for being here!

  • @tuconexionlocal7516
    @tuconexionlocal7516Ай бұрын

    Mushroom compost is the best

  • @Gardenary

    @Gardenary

    Ай бұрын

    love it!

  • @melodymcneil7892

    @melodymcneil7892

    Ай бұрын

    I was just wondering about mushroom compost. Can it be used on both vegetables and flowers?

  • @deassepoesteracademie4261

    @deassepoesteracademie4261

    Ай бұрын

    Yes, a layer of an inch does miracles. It also works as mulch in summer. It contains a lot of magnesium and calcium. Avoid it for plants that prefer acid compost.

  • @aida087

    @aida087

    Ай бұрын

    Is that mushrooms that you just throw in a compost bin by themselves, or do you mix it with something?

  • @MyFocusVaries

    @MyFocusVaries

    Ай бұрын

    I've stopped using mushroom compost because I don't know what the mushroom industry has used in their growing process (for those who don't know, mushroom compost is the used up growing material after a batch of commercial mushrooms has grown). I've never seen organic mushroom compost available, but I would consider that if it were sold. If you do choose mushroom compost, don't use it exclusively. Also use other types of compost or organic amendments like alfalfa meal. Using a single amendment risks overloading your soil with certain components e.g. mushroom compost contains gypsum and is high in salts and is high alkaline. You need balance.

  • @oy-wb8jv
    @oy-wb8jvАй бұрын

    👍 We've put synthetics aside several years ago. Focused on creating a living soil with organic fertilizers & companion plantings, interspaced with ornamentals.

  • @elisabethdemoreaudandoy478
    @elisabethdemoreaudandoy478Ай бұрын

    Nicole, I have the same experience you have. I live in low mountains in an Italian national park. I don't use fertilizers. When the cows of my neighbour farmer are roaming near my place, I give them my water. He gives me mature manure. My small veg garden is in total disorder. No clean rows. The parsley has moved with the salad, the onions and salad with the tomatoes etc. With my preserves, I have enough tomatoes for the whole year. Everything tastes different. When I mow the lawn, trying not to mow the natural orchids as well, I leave the clippings on the spot to feed it.

  • @MarYSoldePuertoRico
    @MarYSoldePuertoRico21 күн бұрын

    I just came across your video and I totally agree! I after 50+ years living in The states have come to my little island. I am so excited because I live in an urbanized neighborhood but treat it like the country. Most people just have grass in the yard. I, on the other hand, started to throw seeds of fruits and anything I can get my hands on and everything grows. I have no training and I didn’t even think about it. I have trees and flowers and Herbs growing all around each other. I always get the skins of the fruits or veggies that I don’t eat or anything that is raw and throw it in the garden under the trees or in the dirt as compost. Another thing I started doing was playing classical music, and I swear the fruit on the trees is growing much larger. There is definitely a connection with just letting things grow naturally and having a good vibration in the air. I just recently acquired four miniature chickens, they’re more like my pets and three baby chicks. Their poop is definitely being used on the ground and I am so excited that everything works together. ❤️💯 I am a tropical country girl for sure!

  • @babystepsgarden6162
    @babystepsgarden6162Ай бұрын

    Hi! New subscriber here. I loved this video. Thank you for teaching, and sharing your knowledge! I began an organic garden 2 years ago. I always wanted a garden. I didn't know if I could make it work. My mom always had a garden and worked extremely hard, but didn't believe in organic gardening. Her life would have been so much easier if only she had known! I am on a learning journey, and I am loving it!

  • @hamsicle
    @hamsicleАй бұрын

    Agreed on compost. Manure is also a great way to get high levels of nitrogen into your soil. But what you're doing is fertilization, you're just accomplishing it organically. You can, absolutely, 100% garden using only synthetic fertilization. I don't necessarily buy that organic is better for the environment. You can also do a mix if you know what you're trying to accomplish. You can start your seedlings with a dilute fertilizer and then transplant them outside into an organic garden.

  • @baneverything5580

    @baneverything5580

    Ай бұрын

    I try to spot feed various plants what they seem to need but I do a little of everything right now because I`m having to build a garden on top of a yard stripped of its topsoil decades ago by a bulldozer by hauling in forest soil in a wagon. But my test plantings in the new soil are doing 10 times better than before and I add all my grass clippings, chopped leaves, pine straw, leaf mold, weeds and whatever easy-to-get soil I can locate in the woods nearby. That has turned out to be a large pile of sandy muddy soil in a wash nearby. I tried to just collect leaf mold and richer soil but it would take too long. Anything is better than the hard packed red dirt with gravel in it that`s here that`s so hard you need a pick axe to plant a fruit tree. I can turn the sandy soil into good dirt after a couple of years.

  • @bjstark5069
    @bjstark5069Ай бұрын

    WOW, I have never heard this explained the way you did, that is just an amazing light bulb moment, and very smart! I love people who think! I have always been more natural minded anyway, and don't like using chemicals, so this is right down my alley. It makes perfect sense, because like you said, in nature, there isn't store bought fertilizers being put on all the plants, and they grow just fine, the way they are supposed to! The plants in nature that grow around and next to each other, have a symbiotic relationship, they all help each other out in different ways....they way people should be too...but aren't. I always say "people could learn so much from animals and nature, but just refuse to".

  • @gailthornbury291
    @gailthornbury291Ай бұрын

    I’m lucky to have a large garden and compost in multiple ways- tumbler compost, pallet compost bins, sheet compost leaf mould, chicken run compost. It’s satisfying. I grow in pots, raised beds and in the ground beds. I’d rather have a lower yield from a home produced and free growing medium than a higher yield from expensively purchased products as it just makes economic sense to me. But of course I have the luxury of space and abundant naturally available resources to do this and it would be harder for some folks to do.

  • @TRUTHRULES777
    @TRUTHRULES77716 күн бұрын

    We also have the Spanish olive several ornamental trees, a fig, an Italian, prune and many different berries and everything‘s doing well. I just got lazy and I said I’m using what we have. We have tons of leaves breakdown and it has been the best thing, and I never take all the leaves out of my flowering trees and, pretty areas around the yard where ornamental bushes. I let them sit because I’ve heard that that’s a good place. We’re a little frogs and things live throughout the cold months and we have tons of frogs a lot of different bugs that come around sometimes big bugs but everything seems to be doing well. And I just think it really goes back to using what you have and learning about, saving leaves and when you squished down leaves, you can just put it out in your garden beds are in your yard because it’s dark. It’s pretty it looks from a distance like bark or something but it’s much more natural and it’s what grows in your area. I’m sorry I’m rambling on, but it’s, just discovery that comes overtime of being a gardener not necessarily reading but just learning as you go.

  • @kathleenfairbairn7144
    @kathleenfairbairn7144Ай бұрын

    Adding compost in the garden is giving back what nature has given you.....a symbiotic relationship.

  • @Electrictheater9
    @Electrictheater912 күн бұрын

    Glad this information is being put out there. Loyal to the soil!

  • @derwynmdockenjr
    @derwynmdockenjrАй бұрын

    This video made me cry tears of Joy 😊 Thank you so much!

  • @BB-gu9kx
    @BB-gu9kxАй бұрын

    I live in the country. There is fertilizer everywhere. But there is a little work involved. LoL 🤣

  • @user-yq4rv9ox1s
    @user-yq4rv9ox1sАй бұрын

    You truly are amazing!! I’m going to follow your advice!! Blessings from Kentucky 🙌🏻🙌🏻🤗🙏🏻

  • @Sryker
    @SrykerКүн бұрын

    As a geoscience major, we learn about the environmental costs of fertilizer and pesticide use. The run off enters our tributaries and pollutes them. It is especially bad in the Mississippi River and has created a very large 3000 sq mile hypoxic zone (dead zone) that sucks all the oxygen out and makes it uninhabitable for sea life. Its responsible for mass casualties in ocean and stream wildlife.

  • @sundayadebayo8901
    @sundayadebayo890129 күн бұрын

    God bless your wisdom and sincerity Ma'm.

  • @DianeS2002
    @DianeS2002Ай бұрын

    Very inspiring. I'm an indoor, apartment gardener and always try to grow everything from seeds (preferably seed saved from last season as they are adapted to the micro-climate of my pots) and with natural fertilizers like wormcast compost. Never thought about the distribution of plants though. I will surely try it this season !

  • @marisolverdejo1733
    @marisolverdejo1733Ай бұрын

    Thank you for the advice for a better gardening. I will fallow all your recommendations. I am very sure that all natural is best for the plants and people.

  • @terencepearson3884
    @terencepearson3884Ай бұрын

    Fantastic ,, Much Gratitude . I am still learning to get out of the matrix

  • @TRUTHRULES777
    @TRUTHRULES77716 күн бұрын

    I have a lot of trees, large trees and I let their leaves fall. We rake them down to a lower bark area, which is no longer bark and it’s beautiful because it’s all the leaves just end up turning into soil overtime when I go out and dig that and put that in my pots. I’m never been a big fertilizer person. I’ve used it, but I’ve used it very sparingly, I don’t spray plants. I have fruit trees don’t spray them. I have a few fruit trees, 3 lemon and a lime tree in greenhouse.. a lot of different types of trees and plants but I just think it’s best to use what we have and what we have is a lot of leaves turn them over sometimes put them at the bottom of the pots and they’re full of worms and dried leaves. Add them in pots again in summer. We use what we have. No waste.

  • @BLVRZ
    @BLVRZ26 күн бұрын

    Thank you for the wise input. Gonna get rid of my garden rows and do more companion and “no empty spaces” gardening 👍 blessings!

  • @kastlight59
    @kastlight59Ай бұрын

    Best explanation I've heard. Thank you!

  • @ibrahimjuma4806
    @ibrahimjuma48063 күн бұрын

    I learnt quite a lot. However I stopped growing in raised beds due to slugs. I therefore just grow in pots tomatoes, bell peppers and Chillies which require liquid tomato feed.

  • @shayb1701
    @shayb1701Ай бұрын

    Thank you so much. This was very encouraging and inspiring. First time watching and I love it.

  • @sherrywebster1675
    @sherrywebster1675Ай бұрын

    I began raising compost worms , and their castings are called ' black gold'[ for very good reason ... ALL plants LOVE the castings and the liquid ' worm juice' made from the compost process and /or soaking the castings. Nothing beats it as goodness for the plants and for the soils. My yard was barren when I arrived, and nothing grew beneath certain trees also. Now it's a lush jungle witha huge variety of veges and other plants . In 18 months .

  • @caroljones9908
    @caroljones9908Ай бұрын

    I have plant pot vegetables and feed with himalayan salt in the water for the minerals..i have vompost worms in every pot too and i plant plants together and try and put the dead leaves back into the same pot to put back in what the plant took out the compost..great video, thanks..

  • @saviolacollaco4826
    @saviolacollaco4826Ай бұрын

    Superb!!! That's how I do it my friend.❤❤❤❤

  • @tinathrower284
    @tinathrower28425 күн бұрын

    Fantastic show today, love the miracle of nature.

  • @cougarxs1977
    @cougarxs1977Ай бұрын

    I use this method and love this video and the way you explain I have shared it with all my friends thank you ❤

  • @Gardenary

    @Gardenary

    Ай бұрын

    Thanks for sharing!

  • @loved_by_above
    @loved_by_aboveАй бұрын

    Compost (self-made knowing what's in it)and good soil....and flowers and plants to assist in pest control!😊 It makes me feel so good and blessed to growing successfully without taking in harmful chemicals for my family and myself. Thank you, for this post of truth. (Only occasion of coffee ground water or banana peel water...only here and there, but not dependent.)

  • @JameyReads
    @JameyReadsАй бұрын

    So informative. Thank you, Nicole.

  • @Gardenary

    @Gardenary

    Ай бұрын

    thanks so much for watching!

  • @bridgettestokesconner9401
    @bridgettestokesconner9401Ай бұрын

    Thank you for encouraging us to get back to nature

  • @HadassahHaman
    @HadassahHamanАй бұрын

    Excellent video. Thank you!❤

  • @user-uj9cy2wj1j
    @user-uj9cy2wj1jАй бұрын

    I learned a lot of value in this video. Subscribed. 🎉👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽💣💯⚘ I plan to use your tips. The content makes sense. Thank you.

  • @MarretaGaming
    @MarretaGamingАй бұрын

    Yes , i dont use quimical fertilizer anymore !! i have start to learn jadam natural fertilizer and how to integrated in the gardem and its working great 👍 Greetings from Portugal and keep the good work

  • @realchrisma

    @realchrisma

    Ай бұрын

    JADAM works for me in Hawaii. Good luck.

  • @monicali2608

    @monicali2608

    Ай бұрын

    Me too, from Germany.

  • @MarretaGaming

    @MarretaGaming

    Ай бұрын

    @@realchrisma yes its make a big diffrence besides the food taste better in my opinion , take care

  • @MarretaGaming

    @MarretaGaming

    Ай бұрын

    @@monicali2608 its a learning curve but its working great

  • @realchrisma

    @realchrisma

    Ай бұрын

    @@MarretaGamingmy papaya is at least 3x bigger, but I can’t comment on taste because it hasn’t ripened yet.

  • @Berdie-if4yb
    @Berdie-if4ybАй бұрын

    Excellent and helpful input.Thank you!

  • @marlenemercer4205
    @marlenemercer4205Ай бұрын

    You are absolutely fantastic. Thank you for sharing all this with people

  • @marlenemercer4205

    @marlenemercer4205

    Ай бұрын

    My best Garden was when I had chickens and used chicken manure in my garden

  • @becca.carroll
    @becca.carroll5 күн бұрын

    So glad I found you!!! 😘

  • @mssavedin92
    @mssavedin92Ай бұрын

    4;25 minute mark...made me happy that I'm doing the square foot gardening method this year. The plants are absolutely packed in, shading the soil and each other and they are all companions. Natural soil food I use in containers etc is Gaia 4-4-4.

  • @abbibrannan333
    @abbibrannan333Ай бұрын

    About 2 days ago I bought a small 4x4x10" box of Miracle Grow to use once every week or 2 weeks on my plants. Now I watch this podcast of you aying NOT to buy Miracle Grow, darn! Only 5 minutes in so back to watching/listening and learning. Thank YOU!

  • @thelazynortherngardener7607
    @thelazynortherngardener7607Ай бұрын

    I ❤ this, Nicole. Brilliant! I've shared with my people.

  • @Gardenary

    @Gardenary

    Ай бұрын

    Tammy, thank you for being part of Gardenary for all these years!

  • @thelazynortherngardener7607

    @thelazynortherngardener7607

    Ай бұрын

    @Gardenary thank you for sharing so much knowledge and training and coaching us along the way ❤️

  • @CBReal1290
    @CBReal129025 күн бұрын

    Not convinced but confirmed that I'm on the right path.Thank you

  • @artgarza5470
    @artgarza5470Ай бұрын

    Very true doing the right thing for our garden soil to have natural normal vegetables and not huge over grown vegtables. The thing is growing food not how big I can grow my plants.

  • @305tricia
    @305tricia26 күн бұрын

    I spent years in the Caribbean, we had so much trees growing healthy around us with little to no effort. My mom would just throw seeds out the window and stuff grew lol she did intentionally plant a few different plants, but many of the fruits and vegetables plants were neglected yet grew very well lol the soil in a low populated, less polluted area makes gardening easy. I bought property in Florida a few weeks ago and the weather is great for gardening so I’m going to start a kitchen garden and see how it goes. I hope the natural soil is as good as the Caribbean 😆

  • @mamtajaya6457
    @mamtajaya6457Ай бұрын

    Wonderful information. Love it ❤

  • @michaelanger1392
    @michaelanger1392Ай бұрын

    Your right on!!! Watch Back to Eden grow food God’s way I use wood chips I put them down in the fall and then plant my seeds under the wood chips. The wood chips are a covering my garden grows like crazy

  • @sabrinaruth4858

    @sabrinaruth4858

    Ай бұрын

    I use wood chips too. They also hold moisture and keep your garden moist underneath. Also, I put a thick layer of wood chips in my paths and over the years they break down into wonderful amendments for your plants along the path. I will dig up the path and put on top of my ‘lasagna layers’ and then add new wood chips in the path.

  • @ChavezDIY
    @ChavezDIYАй бұрын

    I subbed within the first three minutes. Thank you for making this video!

  • @Gardenary

    @Gardenary

    Ай бұрын

    Thanks for subscribing!

  • @tbean2124
    @tbean2124Ай бұрын

    Amen. I've never used fertilizer on my garden or house plants...partly bc I can't afford it, but also bc it's never jibed well with me that the plants NEED it or they won't grow...totally not true. I used miracle grow soil with my first 5 house plants...after that I realized miracle grow soil is crap. Dollar general soil is better than miracle grow! (Go ahead...ask me how I know 😅) So glad to see this video. I've been on the fence about doing permaculture gardening...this seals the deal for me, thanks! P.s...pesticides are TERRIBLE & totally unnecessary as well!!

  • @Gardenary

    @Gardenary

    Ай бұрын

    I hope this helps! I have loved trusting nature and leaning into natural processes.

  • @sovereignsoul
    @sovereignsoulАй бұрын

    You make some good points about learning from nature, but in effect you are fertilizing. The fertilizer you use is simply natural rather than synthetic. At least I consider compost, slash and drop, and worm castings fertilizer.

  • @Gardenary

    @Gardenary

    Ай бұрын

    I would use the word 'amending,' not fertilizing for what I do. I think the broadly understood definition of 'fertilizing' is speeding up the growing process by making the soil or plants more fertile. So you could argue that adding compost is fertilizing but from my perspective, it's building nutrients and soil naturally.

  • @dionprather3589
    @dionprather3589Ай бұрын

    I agree ...no fertilizer it hasn't worked for me......love your information about nature....you've given me a push to start a garden.....thank you

  • @Salama-si9mr
    @Salama-si9mrАй бұрын

    Thank you for making this video ❤❤❤❤❤

  • @freedomward7332
    @freedomward733219 күн бұрын

    Compost, worm casting and pond water is all I’ve ever felt comfortable using. Oh and compost tea!!😬

  • @JubileeHomesteading
    @JubileeHomesteadingАй бұрын

    This has been my absolute favorite video of yours. You seem so relaxed and happy and share very valuable information! I am curious, do you recommend using fish and seaweed emulsion? Do tomatoes require calcium to keep from suffering in the garden from things like blossom end rot? Thanks so much!

  • @Gardenary

    @Gardenary

    Ай бұрын

    thank you! I have used fish emulsion in the past but didn't see a big result from it.

  • @lindaspino4089
    @lindaspino4089Ай бұрын

    I've been looking to do this for years. I'm mostly there but still working on it.

  • @krazmokramer
    @krazmokramerАй бұрын

    I started my first vegetable garden ever, last month. 3.5' x 6.5' raised bed filled with organic raised bed mix (branches, sticks, leaves, grass the bottom 5" and the ORBM the remaining 12"). I already planned "no fertilizer" before I watched this because I want to see if I can grow these vegetables instead of Miracle grow growing these vegetables. I planted in 1' squares, but I am intrigued by your technique. Your method seems similar to the way I planted my perennial flower beds years ago. I'm curious how you mix these different plants if they require different amounts of water. ie. tomatoes next to basil. I'm going to have to search your video library for answers. Thank you for this video!!

  • @katrinagarland5219
    @katrinagarland5219Ай бұрын

    You convinced me... thanks so much!

  • @fixingstuff8117
    @fixingstuff8117Ай бұрын

    Thanks for saying this. There is too many videos out there with different formulas of what to add when to grow plants. You have got it. Do what nature does and stop interfering.

  • @Nancy-zk9dj
    @Nancy-zk9djАй бұрын

    I've never used fertilizer in my garden, I get great yields. It’s no-till, all made with cardboard and leaves. Each fall the leaves get thrown on. Works for me! 🌼

  • @ggonzalez435
    @ggonzalez43516 күн бұрын

    I learned the hard way. No mas Miracle Grow! No mas colored mulch.

  • @YasChosenChild_70
    @YasChosenChild_70Ай бұрын

    Same exact thing happened to me& the first time it didn’t, it was PERFECT!! Not even 1 bug bug!!❤

  • @lorraineann5956
    @lorraineann5956Ай бұрын

    Leave the leaves is my motto and I don't pull up weeds, these are my native plants. The bees and other pollinators love them. I compost all my kitchen scraps as well. I will use some fish emulsion from time to time. My garden is thriving and if something is not I remove it, compost it and try it again.

  • @rawreen
    @rawreenАй бұрын

    Great video!! Nature knows best!

  • @robertawestbrooks9531
    @robertawestbrooks9531Ай бұрын

    I like chicken manue, it's been a great fertilizer for all my plants.

  • @ryanhopps7966
    @ryanhopps7966Ай бұрын

    Great video, thank you!

  • @shauneilscott
    @shauneilscott10 күн бұрын

    I liked your way of gardening. I am choosing to run with people who I feel can help me to shift in thinking and that I do not feel worried about. A lot of people's media team use me. I am worried about going through that again. I apologize that not following might look ridiculously mean; your info is amazing but I need to make sure I protect myself. I cannot solve how this country interacts with me. I just choose to avoid the same cycle again.

  • @geldokasirasirasirasir2894
    @geldokasirasirasirasir289416 күн бұрын

    Good idea, and thanks for share it 👍🏻

  • @Daniel-hr5qj
    @Daniel-hr5qjАй бұрын

    Glad to see this video....been gardening like this for years. Always works. Watch nature.....she knows what she is doing!!

  • @Gardenary

    @Gardenary

    Ай бұрын

    right? I love that we can lean into that and not stress.

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