Are you making your garden harder than it needs to be?
A lot of gardeners fall into the same trap—adding more products, more steps, and more “systems”… and somehow getting worse results. It starts to feel expensive, time-consuming, and frustrating. Like you’re putting in all this effort just to grow a $2 tomato.
But it doesn’t have to be that way.
In this video, I break down what actually matters in a garden—and what you can completely ignore. From soil and watering to crop rotation and “gardening hacks,” you’ll see how simplifying your approach can lead to better results with less time, less effort, and a lot less money.
If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed trying to do everything “right”… this will help you cut through the noise and get back to what works.
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WATCH NEXT
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CHAPTERS
00:00 The $500 Tomato Problem
00:30 Why Gardening Feels So Hard
00:39 Stop Adding So Many Products
01:51 Why It’s Costing You More
02:30 You Don’t Need Perfect Soil
04:06 Watering Is Simpler Than You Think
06:04 Crop Rotation Is Overrated
07:42 A Better Approach: Companion Planting
08:13 Why Gardening “Hacks” Fail
09:25 What Actually Matters (Simple System)
10:50 Simple vs Complicated (The Truth)
11:05 How to Stop Wasting Time & Money
11:29 See the Full Garden at SkyRidge
11:44 Start Here (Beginner Basics)
22 Comments
Well, when it stops snowing here I can put this advice to good use 😂
I view most of the input into my garden as an investment rather than expecting an immediate payoff. Plus there are tons of ways to get very cheap/free inputs into a garden.
Thank you for this reality check, Brian. I've been guilty of chasing improvement over consistency to the point that I became discouraged about my ability to be a good gardener. I decided to get back to enjoying my garden by keeping it simple and not feeling as though I have to grow everything or use all the tips and tricks I see online.
Hmmm…I think I needed to hear this, thank you. 😕
Thank you Brian. 🌷💚🙃
Best video I’ve seen in a while! Great job
Excellent gardening wisdom, Brian. Thank you!
Its another great video, Brian thank you. Do you have time for a question, please? I really picked up on your bit about deep watering here. I have 9 containers, different sizes and shapes, so its a small garden. They last few years I've used and old restaurant water pitcher to water everything and it seems to work. I pour it out right at the base of my plants. If we get rain I don't water. Are you familiar with this kind of irrigation? I might read one time that some Native American folks irrigated this way. What do you know about it? Thank you, as always.
David
I mostly garden for therapy,it saves money that way😅
That's an impressive amount of spinach
I have a garden…not trying to save money…but to get my lazy backside out of the house. Sunshine…touching grass…Vitamin D… exercise…and you can't beat the taste of home grown produce. Even if it costs me $5 for each tomato.
This is very much appreciated. This year, I decided to simplify to get more enjoyment from gardening. Thank you!
Thank you for this info. Im new to gardening, and all I hear is get soil, get this planter, get this, get that. And I'm like, geez. I shouldn't have to buy all that to get started. I just want to keep it simple.
Then people complain about how expensive gardening is,,,I see why😂
I have city water. I'm concerned about the chemicals in the water leeching into my veggies. Also stunting the growth or other problems. Anybody have suggestions/ideas/similar stituation?
I just wish you were my next door neighbor bc gardening/canning takes a lot of time and r food supply is being squelched. People will HAVE to garden. I live in the North Minnesota Woods and snow grows really well here. Thank you for your excellent, excellent, excellent info. I'm hoping if I listen to enough of them I will finally get gardening…. 💛🌿
Great book! ❤ I use it often & have gifted it to my friends as they learn about companion planting too. Thanks for sharing great info, your channel is a go to for me!!🎉
Just missing one comment – sunshine, which happens to be my problem as tree branches continue to grow over my garden. I don't want to prune the oaks. Oh well.
I'm on year four of growing my own plants from seed for the garden. Every year I consume so much information that I end up more confused than ever. Soils, water, ferilizing, light height. I check my seedlings many times a day. I have tried way too many quick fixes and in the end I have no idea what worked and what didn't. I swear every year I'm just going to go buy the already grown plants and then the next spring I start the punishment again. I guess I like the challenge. Thanks for your very informative videos.
I am so sore the garden is whipping my but…today I did some companion planting…onions and tomatoes…thanks for telling me I can make a mess🤣🤣🤣
Most people just want to be told what to do. They want to follow a recipe that someone else has already done.
They are to mentally lazy to learn over time. People want to follow, rather than investing in themselves to be their own leader through patience, practical knowledge, and experience.
You are so correct!