What if you could grow a productive garden in the middle of a drought — without constantly watering your beds?
In this episode of The John Lovell Show, John sits down with Mike Herbert, a regenerative farming expert with 13 years of experience in soil development, organic farming, livestock, homesteading, and drought-proofing land. Mike has built a thriving family homestead using methods that seem almost impossible at first: hugelkultur beds, deep mulch, buried wood, swales, and water-retaining soil systems that help keep the ground moist even during dry conditions.
John visited Mike’s property and was shocked by how much food his family was growing with far fewer inputs, less watering, and less dependence on the normal garden supply chain. From potatoes and ginger to livestock and family food production, Mike explains why many gardeners may be working harder than they need to — and how building soil the right way can make a homestead more resilient.
If you are starting a garden, building a homestead, preparing for drought, or trying to become a better provider for your family, this conversation will challenge the way you think about food, soil, water, and self-reliance.
In this episode:
How Hügelkultur beds help retain moisture
Why buried wood can improve soil over time
How swales slow down and capture water on your property
Why deep mulch can protect soil during drought
How to grow food with fewer outside inputs
What regenerative farming can teach modern homesteaders
Why food security starts at home
How farming can build family culture, work ethic, and generational skills
Mike Herbert is not a full-time farmer living apart from the real world — he is a builder, contractor, husband, father, and homesteader who has learned how to produce food while still living a full and busy life. That makes his approach especially helpful for families who want to grow more food, waste less water, and build practical resilience without turning their entire life upside down.
Topics covered: drought proof garden, Hügelkultur beds, swales, regenerative farming, no water garden, homesteading, organic gardening, food security, soil building, deep mulch gardening, family farming, self-reliance, growing food in drought, sustainable gardening, water retention, permaculture, and how to feed your family in hard times.
Watch the full episode and learn why John says he may have been gardening wrong for years.
Chapters
00:00 Historic Drought, No Water, Tons of Food
01:06 Meet Mike Herbert
01:55 Could You Feed Your Family If the Food Chain Failed?
02:46 Why John Is Frustrated With Normal Gardening
03:52 What Is Hügelkultur?
04:52 Digging Trenches and Burying Wood
05:39 The Underground Water Reservoir
06:18 How to Build a Hügelkultur Bed
07:41 Potatoes, Ginger, and Food Hiding in Plain Sight
09:04 Why Nobody Is Promoting This Method
09:30 Proof That Hügelkultur Works
11:18 Building Black Soil With Mulch
12:04 What Else Can You Grow This Way?
13:16 Is Good Soil Just Bug Crap?
13:29 How Plants Grow Through Thick Mulch
15:19 Moist Soil Even in a Drought
16:32 What Food Is Mike Growing?
17:15 The 100-Year Drought
17:51 How Swales Capture Water
19:14 Using Contour to Drought-Proof the Land
20:52 Why Ground Cover Matters
21:25 Growing Food, Livestock, and Family Resilience
22:35 Building Family Culture Through Farming
25:00 Work Ethic, Ownership, and Raising Capable Kids
26:21 Why Time With Your Kids Matters
27:36 Better Than Life Insurance
28:02 How to Be a Better Provider
29:44 Building, Carrying, and Protecting Life
31:09 Final Thoughts
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37 Comments
I have been waiting for this information for a decade. This knowledge is more valuable than gold.
Came to the video to listen to a seasoned farmer here for all the arm chair farmers whom think they know more than somebody with 50 years experience
If the evil ones get their way, they will even try at any cost to get you off your own land and size it.
These are the end time – of The System.
It is. Collapsing. And so artificial and unnatural, it is destined to fail. They were making us depend on a stupid system.
Time to wake up and do what is inherently correct for us and Mother Earth.
Enjoy his show and YouTube channel!! Comment for the algo!!!
Straight up.
He told you what researchers have know for decades, I myself as a teenager in 1998 working for research CSIRO and university horticulture labs, this is exactly what you need to grow anywhere.
And they seem this in ancient times to. As soon a sbtge land 'dries' up as they say the soil is hard, unworkable and Barron.. it can't grow productive plants…
So hes right. He broke the system that takes all your money and teaches you the DEPENDENCY way of growing food even as a farmer.
Monstero will be mad foreva if you follow this bloke 😂
Mexico still uses floating beds that work similar to this guys, but there’s is better, because it doubles as a fish farm, and Mexico didn’t start it the myans did, and they been going since them lol.. The things are called chinampas.
Input free , would also mean no $100000 tractors , gas ,,,
What about in summer desert conditions? Eastern Washington state have long dry summers.
Okay he's a gardener not a farmer
I love growing. My 3 yr. Old grandson wanted to help me plant corn. It took what seemed like forever to come poking up but it was so exciting. He got so excited as well. And I can't even explain how satisfying it was to eat that corn with him. I saw his pride he felt so empowered. What an awesome feeling that was. He's 6 yrs. Old now and still wanted to help dig soil and weeds. The raspberries will be coming in. We both get so excited to pick and eat them. Finding the first one is so exciting.
He could hold classes and charge a fee just on farming at home techniques. When you’re not retired, trying to have and maintain a garden (weeding and particularly watering) is difficult and often the outcome is less than what was desired.
En español se les llama terrazas a esos muros que retienen el agua de lluvia en las pendientes. Se diseñan en base a las curvas de nivel del suelo
Its so bone dry here in northern NM, i meaan, hardly any rain or snow for going on 2 yrs, and never was very wet before that too. I think mulch is very important, but when the soil is so dry and rain is maybe 1/4" if we're lucky, how does rain get thru all tthat hay/ straw on top? I wish i could just dig trenches ect but Id have to pay someone and I dont have $$$ for that but Im glad you are doing so good!
Wished I had heard this 50 years ago.
I was hoping for a tip on how to keep a garden thriving without much rain. Instead I get this theatric post apocalyptic goofball bs. Cool
What about snails and slugs while using hay or straw?
Our ground is mostly clay! Would we need to add more top soil onto the clay soil after digging the 3feet deep trench, beside adding the hay?
I am absorbing this interview like a sponge. Pun intended.
My ancestors were dry land farmers in Texas. They used to hold a Branch Arbor Revival where the people in the area prayed for rain!!!
I ran across a video on youtube about HugelKultur mound and now this one!
John Lovell are you watering with city processed water? Chlorine, flouride- lovely thongs we drink too. How safe is anyone in the U S
Is it ok to slice rounds in half if they’re 2+ ft across? Or should we just dig a deeper hole?
YouTube not letting me share this vide
I can’t save it either
What about moles and voles dont they kill your plants
How do you deal with gophers, voles and groundhogs? The varmints seem to love my garden soil.
I hate government and financial institutions. Society is a joke, we used to live truly free lives and somewhere along the way we gon conned into this financial slavery system. When are we gonna revolt, slaughter the wicked and go back to living free lives? Will it ever happen or are people too pathetically complacent in this system of tyranny and financial slavery?
This is amazing!!! Thank you!!!
Amazing man of God with a beautiful family
Now I love this guy. I have been playing around with this hugelkultur but not to this extent. but I think I am going to get more into this since watching this video. I live in Alabama so we have the same issues. hard red clay, drought, etc. He is such an inspiration.
Maybe an ignorant question, but…don’t ask, don’t learn!
Do these reservoirs where the water collects not get mosquito laden?
I've been studying this for years it started out I was just trying to find ways to grow food for deer and turkeys to make my hunting better then it evolved into an entire new way of doing things on my land and trying to grow things for me to without having to mo down the whole forest
John you need to watch the Back to Eden garden documentary that will get you started then you need to look up a man named Gabe Brown then look up a guy named Mark Shepard restoration agriculture restoration
Terraces or terracing is what your contour gardening is sometimes called
It would be great to know how to mix in fertilizer while following this process. Such as how to mix it in the soil? Would he have to removee the layer of hay the re-apply it?
Looking forward to seeing the new setup using this buried huegal culture method in your farm!
Hugelkultur gardening for growing food effectively even with poor surrounding soil, is hard to beat! Self-irrigation and making use of waste timber products are just 2 of the advantages of this system. Great video highlighting a guy who 'walks the walk' and is experiencing the advantages of Hugelkultur gardening first hand.