Am I the only one who’s going to comment on how amazing that soil looks with all the roots in it?! That alone made me want to grow a green manure.
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
It was really wonderful to feel the soil with all those roots in it!
@JordanBeagle
5 жыл бұрын
I can't express how much I love the look of the green manure though, like a mini jungle! Love your videos!
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
It was so beautiful! I would almost grow it again just for the aesthetics. I think one of the reasons I wanted to do a second video about this was to show more footage of the growth ;)
@fabiantucker7992
2 жыл бұрын
i realize it's kind of randomly asking but does anyone know a good site to stream newly released tv shows online?
@zaynarcher9793
2 жыл бұрын
@Fabian Tucker flixportal
@fabiantucker7992
2 жыл бұрын
@Zayn Archer thanks, I signed up and it seems like they got a lot of movies there :D Appreciate it!!
@zaynarcher9793
2 жыл бұрын
@Fabian Tucker No problem xD
@pardotkynes1
5 жыл бұрын
that last point sold me. A way to improve the soil and control the weeds in a bed I don't have time to fool with. what a good idea
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
Yeah, it is a big one.
@benvoliothefirst
2 жыл бұрын
@@REDGardens 100%!
@18deadmonkeys
5 жыл бұрын
Amazing content. You've really put in the work and crunched the numbers on something that's been chewing away at the back of my brain. I just became a Patron at sprout level. I'll probably up it soon just because this info is so valuable.
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
Wow, thanks for the support!
@MinesanityServer
5 жыл бұрын
RED Gardens You should introduce worms, isopods, springtails, and millipedes to your polytunnel to help break down all that green manure and to keep your soil fertile over time. They self regulate after breaking everything down too. I would love to see a polytunnel full of decomposers! They make great pets too :) Also having a container where you breed all said decomposers, and showing their growing numbers overtime would be interesting and entertaining to the viewers. Thanks for all your hard work!
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
@@MinesanityServer Sounds interesting, though a bit more than I can manage at the moment.
@MarcdeRuyter
5 жыл бұрын
Thanks. I really like how you try to "do the math". That really goes beyond "this is so great and that is so good". In the end, it has to make sense in energy in (money, work) and output (improved fertility, yield, less work etc) out.
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
Thanks, glad you appreciate the approach I took with this.
@jamiet9132
5 жыл бұрын
very interesting... i would feed that green manure to my rabbits and they would create the cool compost for me, cutting out the 6-8weeks of composting time.
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
that would probably work well.
@Toasty_Britches
5 жыл бұрын
Need more time-lapse videos of you scything grasses. Also 10/10 content, been learning a lot from you.
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
Glad you like the time lapse - and my content!
@catbeans3257
5 жыл бұрын
You are a scientist
@NicoTheBeast88
5 жыл бұрын
Keep uploading. Your narration is hypnotizing and very interesting!!
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
Cool!
@codyhaynes0
5 жыл бұрын
One thing I think is missing is that hot compost loses about 66 percent of volume whole cold compost can lose less that 40. And cover crops are cold compost
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
Good point.
@trockodile
5 жыл бұрын
An exceptional follow up video, thank you for taking the time and effort to not only fully consider all you've learned from this interesting experiment, but to document both your results and ponderances upon the topic. I could not agree more that putting any space to purposeful growth is an excellent use of time, money, resources and effort. I regularly crop small side areas of pasture and other mixed cover crops to fuel my compost making, keep my poultry happy, feed to livestock who I could not risk releasing directly onto those areas for fear of mishap. Anything which is left over from the livestock not eating it is added to the compost pile, anything deposited by the livestock in the way of manure is likewise added. Bare soil is quickly covered by nature presumably for good reason, even within the protected environment of the tunnel I think your experiment was very worthwhile and so thank you for taking the time to document and share it! 👍🏴
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
Thanks. I appreciate your feedback. makes my efforts seem more worthwhile.
@ashleyhavoc1940
5 жыл бұрын
Appreciate the imperial conversion. Liked and comment for algorithm.
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
Thanks. I figure it makes sense given that there are so many people who aren't familiar with the metric system.
@vivigesso3756
5 жыл бұрын
I've only discovered your channel a week ago and have already learned so much. Thanks for the uploads and future uploads! :D
@-Rickster-
5 жыл бұрын
A KZitem hidden gem to be sure!
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
Thanks!
@mediaman129trol
5 жыл бұрын
Fantastic cost benefit analysis and well presented information, thank you.
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
Glad you appreciate it.
@EastMesaUrbanHomestead
5 жыл бұрын
Dude, your knowledge surpasses me in the first two Minuit your videos. One must have a real grasp of soils and farming to understand. Your highly intelligent 🤓
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
Thanks, though I still feel ignorant of so much!
@hermesthegreek5247
5 жыл бұрын
The true inteligent people are the ones that are aware of their ignorance. Keep it up!
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
@@hermesthegreek5247 :)
@Ckhpo
5 жыл бұрын
I appreciate your well thought out experiments and am benefited by hearing the results. Thank you for the efforts! Keep up the good work!
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
Thanks!
@Logiwonk
4 жыл бұрын
As always, a very thoughtful and educational reflection on growing. Thanks!
@REDGardens
4 жыл бұрын
:)
@JonDaye07
11 ай бұрын
Such a dense and thorough video without being bloated. Truly thankful for such amazing content.
@REDGardens
11 ай бұрын
Thanks!
@popsfarm916
5 жыл бұрын
Thank you for the massive amount of time you put into this. The green manure crops are something I have not tried yet. So far I am only using chicken and pig manure and small amounts of compost, as I do not have alot of complete compost ready this year.
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
Glad you found it useful.
@williamhall3933
5 жыл бұрын
This channel is absolutely fascinating. I adore your videos!!
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
Thanks.
@antlombaard
5 жыл бұрын
I really enjoy your videos Bruce. Thank you for sharing your knowledge, especially your analytical approach to gardening.
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
You are welcome. I am really glad that you and so many others like the approach that i take with all of this.
@sheikfrankicechibu1827
5 жыл бұрын
learn another totally awesome gardening skill I wont put to use - check hypnotized relaxed and ready for sleep - check night night lol
@oldtimetinfoilhatwearer
5 жыл бұрын
Night night :3
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
lol
@leonardopab5
5 жыл бұрын
Saame! Night night
@pconn062
5 жыл бұрын
Hi Bruce, just wanted to say I thoroughly enjoy your videos and I have learnt a great deal from them and I enjoy your thorough analytical style. I am in my first year of establishing a vegetable garden here on the east coast in County Louth, a reaction I suppose to something that you have mentioned before about our rapidly changing world and an uncertain food future. I can really relate to your struggles and successes in this sometimes tricky climate. Hope you're season is going well and keep up the good work. I will joining as a patron to support your work from next month. Patrick.
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
Thanks for commenting Patrick, and thanks for even considering becoming a Patron! It can be a tough climate to grow in , but so important to figure out how to do it. Best of luck with your garden.
@goredgord
5 жыл бұрын
Great video, it's great to see a deeper look at this
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
Thanks.
@JamieR2077
5 жыл бұрын
Smart and simple way to determine the amount of organic matter! Excellent experiment!!!!
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
Thanks.
@stretch8390
3 жыл бұрын
I'm a long way behind in your videos (only just discovered your channel) but loving the content. Agricultural extensions have done alot of good work analysing cover crops and their impact on soil and I think you might enjoy reading their findings re. Bacterial vs Fungal dominated soils and corresponding levels of organic matter!
@kegelcompare
5 жыл бұрын
Nice analysis. Soil that always has something growing in it is a goal to strive for. Scale and timings in the garden are things I'm constantly trying to figure out. We have really cost effective OMRI certified compost available in bulk here, so that helps. Your soil looks really great!
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
Thanks. I have come to realise how important it is to always try to have something growing, and appropriate timing is still a struggle for me. Here in Ireland, good quality compost is still a relatively difficult and expensive thing to get.
@samuelclark1095
11 ай бұрын
Your research is impossible to put a price on, your an amazing asset and teacher, I've learned so much from your experiences. I live in mid west america and plan to implement nearly all of your methods for most of my up coming projects. For what you explain in great detail my local information center on agriculture charges by the hour to consult a professional. Thank you so much for all of the amazing insights of your trials and results. My garden and farm land will prosper.
@REDGardens
11 ай бұрын
Wow, thank you!
@annlyder8657
3 жыл бұрын
Great analysis thank you
@Munnraibe
5 жыл бұрын
ahh this analytical approach has a soothing effect on me. good info. its like your perspective is both achievements and anticipation for creating better ways at the same time. so as with one(?) of the greenhouses, this content sharing way is also scalable in a nice way :)
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
Thanks for that comment. A really nice way to describe my approach to these videos, and my work.
@deew412
5 жыл бұрын
Fantastic information. Appreciate your honesty
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
Glad you appreciate my approach.
@robertjeffery3237
5 жыл бұрын
What a great thought! Thank you
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
:)
@benjachristopher
3 жыл бұрын
I definitely support your use of green manure and currently opt for Hungarian rye over the winter season. I probably create more work for myself by cutting down the rye, trenching it and place Cow manure on top. However the purpose is to improve the fertility and micro organisms in the soil and can say a year later it has done this. I have noticed a increase in the amount of worms and the structure of the top soil is a lot more manageable.
@jessicaz5512
5 жыл бұрын
The backdrops of your narration are always so beautiful
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
I love them too!
@aloramyst
5 жыл бұрын
I have been watching your videos for awhile and just wanted to say thank you for sharing them... I have meant to comment in the past but alas life keeps me busy... so just wanted to say "thank you" ... I live in Canada and have been trying some of the methods you are using in Ireland ... on a smaller scale and they work fabulously :)
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
Thank you for commenting. It is so good to hear from people who watch my videos, and try stuff out! Where in Canada are you based - I am originally from Caledon, Ontario.
@idahogardengirl942
5 жыл бұрын
Very interesting!
@BolaML4Yeshua
4 жыл бұрын
Love your videos, cover crop is the real deal. It only gets better my friend so keep doing cover crop. subbed to your channel... happy gardening 🙂
@REDGardens
4 жыл бұрын
Thanks! I agree with you about the benefit of continual cropping.
@rogerramjet7246
5 жыл бұрын
I think I got a headache from attempting to absorb all that information in just under twelve minutes . Some how I got your point 😳
@dawnmorning
5 жыл бұрын
Thank you for sharing?
@Dollapfin
5 жыл бұрын
Your soil is so FINNNEE! The way you just dug it out like that. My soil is clay and it takes a stomp and a lever to pull a chunk out. I’m working on my soil, but the wet weather seems to destroy anything I do because it drowns the soil.
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
Yeah, it was a nice treat to be able to dig it out in that condition. I haven't grown on clay, but I hear it can be really tough.
@lynnmacro3044
4 жыл бұрын
Having just purchased a load of green manure seeds I think it is still probably worthwhile as my application is for open soil, my intention with the first selection planted this month in southern England, is to cut down the crop in October and leave on the soil over winter. I have other seeds which I will plant in October elsewhere to slowly grow over winter and harvest for silage in the spring. Other space will of course have crops growing over winter. Thank you for your valuable videos, very much appreciated.
@REDGardens
4 жыл бұрын
Sounds like a good plan, especially if it is only part of your growing space. I think green manures work well if you have more space than you need, so that part of the garden is rebuilding fertility, which you grow food on other parts.
@zombesn
5 жыл бұрын
Best wishes to you and other people alike, finding peace in doing hardworking activities for the sake of teaching others.
@jacobdorling6653
5 жыл бұрын
Bet the smell in there when you was cutting was lovely!
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
Yeah, it was lovely
@sarahmpata9763
5 жыл бұрын
This is an exceptional excellent channel
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
Thanks!
@JohnWilliams-iw6oq
5 жыл бұрын
Terrific effort and well worth watching! Scientist tend to dry the vegetable matter before weighing it because some plants have a huge amount of water in them while others have very little. My favourite green manure crop was cow peas but always inoculate the seed before planting and then as soon as you see the first flower you have to put the crop to use. if you don't do this the plants starting using the nitrogen to flower and produce seed and you don't get the benefits.
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
I did take a sample and dried it in my oven to see how much dry matter there was - only about 12.5%. I left that out of the video as it was getting too long, bu might do another video about carbon sequestration.
@WonderingVeteran
5 жыл бұрын
"failure aside," I'm loving the new camera!
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
Cool.
@suebar5177
5 жыл бұрын
Love your informative scientific videos...thanks🌞⭐
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
:)
@salim4800
2 жыл бұрын
i've seen some people successfully growing tomatoes and cucumbers and similar cultures by planting directly in a living constant green manure of perennial clover varieties. keeps the ground covered at all times, is supposed to suppress the weeds, and adds nitrogen and fertility by letting decompose the sometimes mowed clover on the ground. needs more water though and some nutrients for the clover as well. never tried it - yet.
@ryanfullerton2924
5 жыл бұрын
I agree that regarding your conditions, green manure might not have been the best option. I think its main use is for areas where an additional seasonal crop just isn’t viable due to the climate or other factors. I believe most people do cut the crop back and/or turn it under sooner so there’s less biomass to manage and so it can decompose quicker. These strategies are better for people who don’t want to manage the full crop, but can still provide benefits to the soil. Thanks for another thought provoking video!
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
I think you are right. Especially at this scale, the benefits of a green manure are not so much about fertility as other factors.
@portiaholliday8741
5 жыл бұрын
I have grown A LOT of different cover crops bc I have clay slippery and mucky soil. I find that radish grown in the winter and left to winterkill brings a nice tilth to the soil in the spring. The problem with growing solely radish is it does not support the Mycorrhiza SO you HAVE to mix OF CEREAL WITH RADISH. I grew alfalfa hoping that my surface soil would be mellow but it isn't. Alfalfa does relieve compaction deep down below. I grew oats but it was a rat/mouse magnet. I grow Buckwheat bc I have acid soil and it drops hard seed which comes back again. I like Hairy Vetch bc it brings up phosphorous and it knits plants together like David Phlox. It also drops a hard seed and returns so it too is a good investment. It is a wonderful forage for the bumblebee. Now that June has come Hairy Vetch being a cool weather crop has made it's seed pods and all it's purple flowers are gone. It was beautiful when it was fresh and green but now it is dry, brown, and ugly. I planted some mustard seeds just to have yellow color. Dutch White Clover has also gone to seed and it too looks dreadfully dirty. It did not support my raspberries. I found that they require alkaline soil. My Crimson Clover has long gone to seed. It made a light brown fuzzy curled over tail so it doesn't look as bad as Dutch White Clover. I am growing Annual Ryegrass but so far it is just another grass to cut. I tried to grow Phacelia but the slugs ate the seeds, all of them and it requires alkaline soil. There is definitely a learning curve when planting cover crops. I have a wealth of earthworms everywhere.
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
That is a lot of exploration. your descriptions make me realise the ti have so much more to try and learn!
@paulm.7701
5 жыл бұрын
Great Video, thank you very much! I have one question: most of your videos have english subtitles available. Can you keep up with that? As a non native speaker it really helps me to understand the content of your videos better. I havent found a gardening channel even closely as good as yours and I really enjoy it. Keep it up!
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
Thanks. Glad you commented about the subtitles. I always try to get the subtitles up on the videos, though it sometimes takes me a few days after posting. Glad to know that some people find them valuable, so they are worth the effort.
@h.s.6269
5 жыл бұрын
Very nice breakdown and discussion. I love listening to you work through theories and choices. Do you think if you had cut back the greenmanure halfway if it would've grown noticeably more? If it would've that might have been a game changer in reference to value of the return bioload.
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
Thanks. I think there might have been a significant increase in the amount of biomass produced if I had cut a few times, and it would be interesting explore how often to cut and how short each cut would be in order to maximise this gain.
@flaviusnita6008
5 жыл бұрын
I put chickpeas. A tomato and a chickpea in same place. Until now seems they fill well together!
@fredvanolphen2953
5 жыл бұрын
Flavius Nita - Definitely! A good idea - You might not get as much of a crop as with some other low growing legumes since chick peas don't flower well in part sun. MIGardener just put out a vid on tomato companion planting.
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
Sounds like a good fit.
@jimjim7708
5 жыл бұрын
I love your videos they give a lot to think about. A great idea but maybe not the best use of time and space where a restricted space makes the space so valuable. I soil build with cover crops to break the soil, naturally fix N and add organic matter but I will only yield 2000-5000 lbs of forage a season per acre where if I fertilize and plant a brassica blend (assuming the soil is suitable)or high yeild mixture I can produce 40 000-50 000 lbs of foriage per acre which is left for browse and decomposition. (this is information gathered from food plot for deer research not the results I have achieved yet 3 years in, but looks promising I have 3 test plots) What I'm getting at is maybe an "intensive" non-traditional green manure focused on mass rather than the traditional style of beneficial companion plants might give more value or mass for time.
@REDGardens
4 жыл бұрын
Interesting though. The difference in the numbers you quote are really something. Brassicas are such amazing plants for growing mass.
@coryhyatt2035
5 жыл бұрын
If you are already going to wait for the bio mass to break down. You could also harvest your lawn clippings to add to it. Just a thought. Also you would want to wait for the matter to compost down if you dig it in. As not to borrow the available nitrogen from the crops your trying to grow. But you probably know that. Your hard work sure is something to speak of. Great videos too.
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
Thanks. The option of piling additional material makes a lot of sense.
@vikassm
4 жыл бұрын
For polyhouse try sunn Hemp (Crotalaria Juncea) & pigeon peas along with other locally popular cover crops. They fix nitrogen from as early as 30 days of growth, and generate far more biomass while digging much deeper into the soil bringing minerals to the surface, 5ft-8ft deep in my personal experience! (Although online resources for these cover crops are not very helpful in terms of depth of information)
@VladTheImpalerTepesIII
5 жыл бұрын
8:37 LOL! I thought I had bird shit on my computer screen!
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
Lol - yeah, I only noticed that when I was editing the video!
@janusdraugur
4 жыл бұрын
Hey! thanks for the subs!
@ginabean9434
5 жыл бұрын
Turning the greenmanure into humus is a process that drops the C/N ratio of the organic matter (around 10 I guess). To do so, mushrooms and biology will first acquire available nitrogen in the soil and also capture some right in the air. So the whole process adds net fertility to the soil although it's not available at first. That would explain why you tomatos struggled at the beginning. Once the process is completed, the nitrogens are strongly stocked in the soil instead of being washable by rain (although, as you mentioned, it's a lesser problem under tunel) and the biodiversity is boosted. Also you're building humus in the process of decomposition, where adding compost won't. Once the process is engaged over a couple of seasons, one might be looking at a potential auto-fertile soil with strong biodiversity that will turn green manure into humus faster and faster, while leaving some fertility for your main crops. But that's theory, right :-) It's invaluable to get your practical feedback on this, as I'm trying similar technics on my minuscul garden myself. All the points you've raised resonate with my own experience. Thanks a ton, I'm subscribing right now.
@lukejones1244
4 жыл бұрын
I think there is one thing you left out. The cover crops would have connected to mychorrizal fungi, which would have then connected to your tomato plants. This would extend the root system of the tomato plants significantly and given them more nutrients. There would also be more glucose in the soil from the cover crops' photosynthesis, and would have fed the soil life. So there is more than just the biomas. Compost would create a delay in which the soil life's food would be decreased. And, the network of fungi would be less if you had compost lying on the soil for a period, rather than living roots in the soil.
@flowergrowersmith449
5 жыл бұрын
As a fan of no-dig (thanks in part to my laziness these days), I think I'd pass on green manure. The sight of that tunnel full of plants exhausted me! In my younger days I'd have been giving it a go. Great, well researched vid Bruce.
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
Thanks. I didn'treally mention it in this video, but a big reason for taking this approach was to see if it was possible to mix green manures and a no-dig approach.
@Hoehlenmaensch
5 жыл бұрын
Its very satisfying to watch grass getting cut.
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
:)
@MistressOP
5 жыл бұрын
you need to think about tillage radish. you can also sell part of the radish if you really want to and keep part in the ground to die off. we make and sell kimchi with a part of it and chop and drop the rest.
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
It would be very interesting to try radish.
@leenux1707
5 жыл бұрын
thank you for the metric !!
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
Glad you appreciate it.
@timobreumelhof88
4 жыл бұрын
Great video (as usual). Using a Scythe above those watering hoses would definitely scare me of cutting to them ;-)
@mortonsfarm652
5 жыл бұрын
Great video as always. Interesting numbers on how much mass was yielded. You have data on water requirement for the green manure crop? I am considering assigning acreage specifically for organic matter compost, appreciated the 2x garden size ballpark.
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
Thanks. I don't have any data about water requirement.
@reliefquinn7504
5 жыл бұрын
You need to bake the cover crop and dry it down. Then you weigh to get the dry pounds and you get an accurate quantity. Wet weights vary with moisture content. Thanks for a great video!
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
Yes, I did dry a sample and found it to 87.5% water and only 12.5% dry matter. I didn't include this in the video as it was getting too long and I didn't know how to make a comparison between this and the amount of compost i would be equivalent to. Wet material comparison made more sense to me as i use it to make compost in other areas.
@reliefquinn7504
5 жыл бұрын
@@REDGardens have you considered growing the cover crop on a larger scale and then composting it? I do a version on this: I use the silage refusals from our heifer herd as mulch. I theorize that this gives the soil beneficial microbes as well as some npk ang organic material. Have you tried this?
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
@@reliefquinn7504 I haven't tried that. Having finished this videos and read a lot fo the comments (including yours) I realise I really should be investing the time to grow more cover crops specifically for composting, over a large area.
@SteveRichards27
5 жыл бұрын
I grew field beans as a green manure. I harvested the growing tips as a spinach substitute from December until April, left the roots/nodules in to feed the brassicas and chopped up the tops to feed the squash : all the best - Steve
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
Sounds like a good approach. green manure and a bit of harvesting.
@SteveRichards27
5 жыл бұрын
@@REDGardens more than 'a bit' of harvesting Bruce, field beans are amazingly productive harvested this way, we met the spinach needs of 6 families all through winter and early spring from 20 m2 patch. : All the best - Steve
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
@@SteveRichards27 Very cool! I will have to try that out.
@tri339090
5 жыл бұрын
Great video, I'm glad you took the time to show the calculations around this experiment with growing a green manure in a poly tunnel. However green manures are better suited for an outdoor conventional growing space where heavy tillage between growing seasons is practiced and runoff & errosion are factors. A better option for building soil fertility is to use permiculture techniques such as adding leaf mold to the soil surface as well as biochar inoculated with vermicompost tea. Your poly tunnel has the ability to keep the soil temps higher in the winter so use that time to grow valuable crops while keeping soil microbial activity high. Also not turning in that compost should produce better yields as earthworms will work their way into that fresh material and incorporate it naturally. If you have access to animals that produce valuable manures allowing them to process down your green manure should in effect be way more valuable then just chop and drop alone as you produce meat, eggs if you use chickens and compostable manures all at the same time. I hope my ramblings make sense.
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
Thanks. Yep they make sense, and I think I agree with most of what you say.
@nickstraw1952
5 жыл бұрын
Thanks for yet another stimulating video. Your conclusions match our experience pretty closely. We tried green manure at a previous garden and the "clean up" can be quite hard work, and it is not growing you food. We now have roughly 6 times the area down to grass compared to food. This can make enough compost for our Charles Doding-esque no dig. Except we need to import far more brown carbonaceous material. Woodchips work well if not too coarse. A few straw bales go quite a long way too. We usually end up with two bins, 2mx2mx0.75m in total. If spread out on a need-to-sow basis, then we just about manage. I have a few binliners left, that goes round the sweetcorn etc, The sub ground biomass would have been invaluable and totally worth the time and effort in certain soil conditions, like a previous garden on very dense and heavy cold wet clay. Thanks again for the video.
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
Thanks. It sounds like you have a good balance between fertility building space and growing space. The point about the underground root systems being especially valuable in clay soils is interesting, as I have never grown in heavy soils like that.
@nickstraw1952
5 жыл бұрын
@@REDGardens Much of the English Midlands has heavy clay, so if you want the experience... Digging is an experience, a spit about 3"x3"x the width of the spade is about all you can lift and turn after a while. Most villages had their own brick works, with back streets called Claypit Lane, or something to do with bricks. Quite a few pubs called Brickmakers Arms too. Once our predecessors had chopped down all the trees, bricks became the only available permanent building material. But in the garden, thing many will take for granted, weeding is a real chore, every weed has to be dug out - pulling gets you a handful of leaves. Same with your crops too, and many crops don't like the cold wet in spring at sowing time which changes to a concrete texture in summer. Pickaxe gardening just to plant out seedlings. The one advantage is clay is supposed to have good fertility and mineralisation, and some plant do like heavy soil - easy to get brassicas firmly rooted.
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
@@nickstraw1952 Yeah, that would be a radically different experience to what I have had so far.
@allonesame6467
5 жыл бұрын
Perhaps soil scientist Dr. Elaine Ingham might have some root zone data and evidence of improvement other than tilth using green manures. Just a thought. Nice work. Love your observations and thoughtfullness, but above all, your sharing is cherished. Thank you!
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
No doubt Elaine would have a lot of really useful input on this. I would love to be in the position to be able to explore the microscopic world within the soil a lot more, especially for comparisons like this. Thanks for your support, and encouragement.
@ud1976
5 жыл бұрын
To your point around 9:00 --- you could also try to find a seed mix for plants that that grow more material in the time available (more carbon material for soil/compost). There may be a tradeoff of water usage/nitrogen fixing.
@ud1976
5 жыл бұрын
As you are covering with a heavy sheet anyway, you don't have to worry (much) about aggressive growers.
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
I think the mix could definitely have been refined some more, especially with the protected microclimate. The mix I used was developed to do well in typical wet and windy weather, and i am sure other plants could do better.
@jayleaver728
3 жыл бұрын
I think you should dig one last time and turn your grow area into a Hugelkulture mound to build your soil's water retention and to make nutrients more readily available seeing as the wood in hugelkulture is a sponge that will keep you from having to water as much if ever at all
@slaplapdog
5 жыл бұрын
Great information and analysis. I am going to build high tunnels on my property, and managing fertility will be important. I keep chickens, and I find them to be very little trouble, so planting something like Austrian winter peas or fava beans in a tunnel, harvesting the crops for human use and then running the birds through for fast nutrient cycling seems like a win. Outside inputs will always be welcome, but I will probably run them through the chickens first. Right now,my 7 birds can keep up with the all the free feedstocks that I could acquire, so paying for finished compost would really bother me.
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
Thanks. The combination of peas/beans and chickens sounds like a good system.
@DavinStewart
5 жыл бұрын
One aspect to consider is nutrient accumulation in the soil. In my area (North Carolina, USA) we have clay soil which significantly retains nutrients to the degree that adding compost year after year can allow potassium and phosphorous to build up to unhealthy levels. A green manure helps to add organic matter to the soil without contributing to nutrient buildup, which can be a big plus in situations like mine. Not sure if this is applicable to you but at some point you may notice your soil is topping out in its capacity for nutrients.
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
that is a really good point. We need to be careful about what we bring into the gardens. And you are right about the benefits of a green manure in this regard. I have this idea that a strong green manure will soak out and make available the nutrients that are in shorter supply, and make them more available to the following crops, but don't really know the extent to which it would/can happen.
@Kuchenmischung
5 жыл бұрын
Thanks for another nice video! Somewhat offtopic, but I'm curious whether you've considered to make a video about tracking information related to your garden. I'd be really interested what kind of things you usually write down and what kind of tool you use to do that. I suspect you have something like an excel-sheet for yields, since you have shown nice graphs in videos. I've also seen some gardening-apps, but I'm somewhat sceptical whether they're worth using. I'm asking from the perspective of someone who will hopefully get a garden soon. And I really organizing and writing down stuff, but it's hard to not overdo it. Otherwise, information is outdated or inconsistent. Also, from my experience, you need some tricks to make it easy to write down what happenned. Or maybe you just remember most of the information? I hope you get the gist of what I'm wondering! Thanks for reading ;)
@OwlMoovement
5 жыл бұрын
Looking at your experience with this, I suppose a good recommendation to someone asking about it would be to use their greenhouse to grow overwinter crops while growing cover crops outside where they can more meaningfully protect the soil and suppress weeds; It could be mown or threshed high several times for multiple yields of biomass; the farmer can focus their labour on what they can grow indoors; the cover doesn't tie up greenhouse nutrients; and, assuming their open-air space is larger than their greenhouse, they can get a better yield out of it all. Perhaps a deep-rooting rye could be grown in the greenhouse once to establish some root biomass in deeper soil layers.
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
Yes, I think that would be a good recommendation.
@trish3580
2 жыл бұрын
Thank you so much for this - and all your videos - I'm new to the channel and am not sure if you will look at comments like mine this far back in time. In my situation, I don't have access to manure - some prepackaged potting mixes are all that are available. I live on a small island and choose to live very simply (aka low funds) so although I would buy finished compost after watching this video I don't have that option. I have tried a number of the things you showed in the video - but not as intensely so will try that. I really would like to have a minimally-tilled garden - for the earth, for the worms and for my ageing body and my time - and after your video now I realize why I've failed at growing right after tilling...and I even removed some of the green manures with roots into a pile thinking there was benefit still...now after your video I realize what I did compounded my problem of low fertility! I now see a number of errors (aka learning opportunities :) ) I made and why I got the results I did over the years. I am going to try some green manures again and incorporate some of the helpful info you've mentioned here. Thank you so much!
@REDGardens
2 жыл бұрын
Hi there, thanks for the comment, and glad you found and appreciate my channel! The idea that removing a cover crop for composting also removes the fertility (for a while), is an interesting one. One of those things that once you realise it, it makes sense, but not something many of us would think before hand.
@hellomeoww
2 жыл бұрын
Awesome video. So impressed with your content! Are you scything your cover crop as your main "mowing" method? Do you prefer doing it by hand rather than with a mower (like a walk-behind) or is it a matter of just not having access to a mower?
@REDGardens
2 жыл бұрын
I have access to a mower, but not something powerful enough for this. And I prefer to use a scythe.
@DovidM
5 жыл бұрын
I have found that planting green manure species in their own rows or blocks has some advantages. One is that the difference in seed size requires different planting depths, and better germination can be obtained by planting one species per row. The second is that the species don’t have identical growth rates, and segregating them to their own row or block means that they are not directly competing for light and moisture.
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
that is an interest gin approach. I hadn't though about sowing drills or blocks rather than broadcast sowing. the roots of the plants will completely intermingle anyway.
@getlost3094
5 жыл бұрын
Time vs effectiveness. Plants most lot water so it wouldn’t be enough imo vs the efficiency of adding a composted manure
@Tomhohenadel
5 жыл бұрын
If you fed this green manure to rabbits or other critters, then added the animal manure to your beds. You could have meat production in addition to vegetables. How much time would you lose in production if you let the animals in the tunnel and deposit their manure naturally. Just a thought
@18deadmonkeys
5 жыл бұрын
This is an interesting idea. Would take some planning to keep the animals fed on a daily basis if they required fresh greens. Maybe alfalfa for alpacas if you have the space for both... lots to think about.
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
Introducing animals could shifted the balance. I didn't mention it in the video, but i was thinking of putting in my flock of hens to eat the biomass, but a fox or other predator killed them before I had a chance.
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
It would be interesting to figure out how to manage the hens or other animals, to give them only part of the green manure at any one time.
@eggcluck
5 жыл бұрын
I tried a winter mix last year with various types of mulches. It would seem green manure and mulches doe not go together well, especially wood chips, it can just not penetrate them the way that some weeds can.
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
That is interesting.
@TizonaAmanthia
5 жыл бұрын
those splops on your lens...I literally wiped at my monitor. gotta remember to keep the lens clean, but this is good information, I commend your curiosity, and fact checking. do your own research, etc. kudos.
@babybalrog
Жыл бұрын
I just heard about this book and thought it fit your paradigm of the new garden. completely self sufficient. I need to compare and contrast it with the "three fields" system. The Clifton Park System of Farming and laying down land to grass a guide to landlords, tenants and land legislators by Robert H. Elliot
@REDGardens
Жыл бұрын
Thanks for the recommendation. Sounds interesting.
@athaclanor
5 жыл бұрын
The polytunnel is a good space to do biochar trials of different percentages, helping to both solve fertility issues and see firsthand the fabled effects of biochar. I would advise growing a nitrogen fixing plant for such trials, being that they are not so affected by the early absorption of available nitrogen by the bio char in the initial seasons.
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
It would-be a good place for a trial.
@jeffdustin
5 жыл бұрын
I'd add that the medieval practice of allowing the soil to remain fallow probably allows soil biota disturbed by plowing time to re-establish their habitat in your garden. So maybe that's an additional benefit of cover cropping?
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
Makes sense.
@TubersAndPotatoes
5 жыл бұрын
Looks like a fast growing and high biomass plant like SunnHemp would yield a lot more green manure. But if you're to grow something like that in the field and the bring it into your greenhouse, you won't get the benefit of the deep roots decomposing underneath in the soil.
@Green.Country.Agroforestry
5 жыл бұрын
Yes, Bruce, the above ground biomass would have been significantly less: at 1430 pounds at 60 percent moisture converting to finished compost at 40 percent moisture, and 80 pounds per cubic foot of finished compost, the result would be about 14.3 cubic feet of finished compost (not counting any additional materials added during the process). Multiple cuttings and composting in place would provide somewhere in the vicinity of 25 cubic feet, which is not even half of the amount that you are wanting to add for high intensity growing. Given the economic advantage of keeping your polytunnel in production, growing green manure in it does not seem like the best use of the space. A site set aside for growing clover, vetch, and ryegrass with an area of 2.5 - 3 times that of the tunnel, with regular cutting and bin or pile composting to feed the tunnel might work better, if you can find the space for that. Comparing your results with the system that I have been working on, it is clear to me that I will be accumulating a carbon deficit over time, unless I make some modifications to allow for additional composting space. This is going to save me from a large hit to the pocketbook in a few years, so thank you very much!
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
Thanks for the comment and the calculations - very useful. I think I agree with everything you have said. Basically, don't try to build organic matter in an intensive growing space using green manures - grow the carbon elsewhere. But green manures can serve other purposes, with a bit of extra organic matter being a bonus.
@martinengelbrecht5384
2 жыл бұрын
I am sure you have seen in America growing cover crops to supplement the use for fertilizer
@mrdelta432
5 жыл бұрын
Any tips on where to start learning the skills required to manage a successful garden? I recently started getting into gardening. I enjoy watching the interesting videos you and others provide but as a beginner I found myself quickly overwhelmed by all the available information. Where to start? Where to go from there? Is there anything like a reasonable "progression" aspiring new gardeners should go through? Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for all the wonderful work you are doing.
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
Oh, very interesting questions, something I have been thinking lot about. I have come up with a number of different ideas that may be of help (essentially different paths). 1/ Find one book that that is relevant to the climate you are in and follow the advice and ignore all the other information out there until you are feeling more confident. Your success will depend on how good the one book is. 2/ Grow one new crop each year. Prepare one garden bed and grow one crop in it for the first season - I recommend garlic (assuming you like it and it grows well in your climate). The next season prepare a second bed for growing garlic and ground second crop in your first bed. Continue adding a new bed and a new crop util you have filled your space. It will take a number of years but you will get there. 3/ Grow only carrots, several batches a season, with different varieties and methods, for as many seasons as it takes to be able to consistently produce a good crop of carrots. If you can produce good carrots, then you will have developed skills in variety selection, bed preparation, sowing, appropriate density, thinning, weeding, preventing pest damage, harvesting - all of which will be useful with other crops. 4/ Start small, really small. Start growing microgreens, as they have a 2-3 week turnover, and with such a shot cycle between start and finish it is much rapid learning cycle, and you get things to eat right away. After you feel that you have becomecomfortable with microgreens, start growing baby leaf salad crops, then after that grow fast growing root crops (radish, turnip, beetroot), and only start growing the longer growing crops when you feel comfortable. Hope those help. Good luck with the growing!
@at1the1beginning
4 жыл бұрын
A benefit you might have overlooked and does help your crops down the line: keeping mycorrhizal fungi alive and well
@REDGardens
4 жыл бұрын
A definite possible benefit, and one I don't know enough about yet!
@doggert1
4 жыл бұрын
Brilliant. Have you consideres planting nettle in that tunnell and using that as compost the same way? Best regards from Norway,
@REDGardens
4 жыл бұрын
I have loads of nettles in the areas around the gardens, so not keen on growing them in the polytunnel as well.
@mmccrownus2406
4 жыл бұрын
if you brought in planters to be placed over the ground cover after plasticking off the ground cover crop, you could take a year to kill all the ground cover crop, still grow in the greenhouse, and you wouldn't need to dig up/till the dead ground cover, which breaks up the micro organisms in the soil.
@thenitpicker911
5 жыл бұрын
Another factor is all the root left in the soil will help the soil to be less compacted. If you have clay soil, it's the best solution to grow cover crops
@joaquinlanza3423
5 жыл бұрын
It's true, clay soil with a reasonable amount of compost addition doesn't seem to work fine at the end. In a long rainy day I've noticed it turns into cob anyway.
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
I have heard about the roots helping with the compacted soil, though I have quite open sandy soil.
@rafiki270
3 жыл бұрын
Was he using a scythe in a polytunnel at the end?! :D holy shit, balls of steel!
@REDGardens
3 жыл бұрын
Haha, I went very carefully beside the plastic, and didn't damage it, but nicked a few drip line pipes though!
@emperorscorpiousii9675
5 жыл бұрын
Have you considered growing green manure in the space between your individual gardens? Since the soil there would be designated for only green manure to harvest and move to the adjacent garden beds, it wouldn't need as much attention as the soil for vegetables. Or perhaps delving into planting flowers that attract pollinators and beneficial insects.
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
That is a possibility, and I do that in a way by mowing the grass around the gardens.
@jeffdustin
5 жыл бұрын
Seems like the green manure's dry matter will be a deciding factor in how much fertility you are actually adding to the soil. That dry matter would be hard to measure except for the aboveground portion. The roots add something special. Biodrilling, possible more nutritious matter for soil biota than the stalks and leaves, and possible nitrogen fixing. You could grow a calorie and compost crop like fava beans or the like. That might make it more worth doing.
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
I did dry a sample for determining dry matter, and found that it was only 12.5% dry matter. I didn't include it in this video - mainly as it was getting too long, and I think it would be more interesting to include it in a video about the amount of carbon captured.
@kristofferammitzbll1811
5 жыл бұрын
i think the cover crops combined with animals is where the magic really happens - chickens or ducks could fit in the polytunnel. They will add alot of microbial life and nutrients to the soil through their droppings and speed up the process of soil building. Ofcourse having animals adds more work, but also more potential yields in meat and eggs.
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
They would add a another layer of benefit. I had been hoping to put in my flock of laying hens but a fox had other ideas!
@j.odonnell9925
5 жыл бұрын
One of the biggest benefits would actually be the fact that you built a mycelium network underground. This will help your plants capture micronutrients from your soil without needing to add additional soil amendments such as manure as well as providing some food for beneficial microorganisms living underground. This, along with pest control, along with building an extensive root structure may actually be enough as others have mentioned. What i would have done however is to mow and plant the seedlings on the very same day. Mycelium can quickly die off once the host plant dies, so if there is an overlap where you plant directly into the minimally tilled soil your seedlings could have been jumpstarted by piggybacking on the existing fungal network. If you are interested in learning more, take a look at the books by Paul Stamets. Check out _Mycelium_Running_ at your local library and focus on the first few chapters on mycorrhiza fungi. Finally, there is another KZitem-er i would like to recommend - @iamnjorganic kzitem.info. He is a commercial farmer in New Jersey who runs a 100% organic farm without adding soil amendments (other than wood chips or compost). Years ago I had a chance to meet Paul Stamets so I've been employing even some of his fungal spores optimized for gardens prior to hearing about I Am Organic - but I found his feedback just as valuable as yours!
@happyjohn2035
5 жыл бұрын
Agreed i also plant a small perennial every six feet such as a fruit cordon or comfrey or a nitrogen fixer like broom so that there are always living roots year round. This joins up vegatable beds with forest gardening. I do this outside and in the greenhouse.
@REDGardens
5 жыл бұрын
Yes, I think you are right - I didn't mention that specifically as I have limited knowledge, but my hope was that a combination of a diverse green manure combined with a general no-dig approach will really help with creating a mycelium network. I need to read Mycelium Running again. Thanks for the link.
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