Gardeners in my last video seemed frustrated and even ready to give up! Don’t Do IT!
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38 Comments
Thank you for all the good info. I am from NNY. I am going to add diluted milk and make a slurry using egg shells.
We have a garden, but it's not doing well at all. We have 2 (5) gallon buckets that we planted tomato plants in and they are doing better than the ones in the garden. The ones in the buckets have still not turned red yet. Just hope nothing comes to eat them.
A lot of people are doing the best they can, still have to go to work etc. We are focused on raising animals and doing dairy. Things like automatic watering and injection fertilizer has been very helpful. You have to prioritize when you are already working 5 am-9pm. There are only so many hours and you have to keep yourself healthy as well. No recliner time around here. Learning takes time, just keep on trying.
I spend time in my garden everyday watering, weeding, and checking for insects, but I have chronic health issues and there was one day my husband watered the garden for me because I just didn't have it in me. Of course, that was the day a bunch of tomato horn worms made their attack on my garden and my husband didn't take the time to check the plants, he just watered them. The insects are horrible this year, I lost one zucchini plant and I'm about to lose another to squash beetles, and they're starting on my pumpkin vines too. The weather has been weird too, half of my lettuce and 2 out of my 3 celery plants bolted when the weather suddenly went hot and dry after an unusually cool and wet spring. I have no intention of giving up because I think this skill will be vital for my family to get by in the days to come, but it is a steep learning curve and I'm feeling really frustrated from all the setbacks. On a positive note, my green beans did well, I just didn't plant enough, but we got enough for two side dishes and a few snacks, and that's better than nothing. I just planted some corn and some more beans hoping to get a late summer harvest, hopefully they will do well too.
I’m retired an this yr the high heat my spring crops went straight to seed so I’ll replant in fall.
Tomatoes are doing ok but the heat is showing in the plants an I’m in Ohio! With this crazy weather an occasional rain it’s trying, plus a bad batch of soil this yr is showing more weeds to remove than normal😳
I will prevail🤣🙏🏻
Im running into those said garden troubles myself. 2nd year growing and i have a lot more to really be successful. Ive lost a LOT of plants so far.
Every year in our garden (we've got a big one) there are some plants that produce amazingly , and others that are a complete failure. And it's not the same plants every year…that's just the way it goes, and we've learned to roll with it. Don't give up!
Yes!!!! Every failure is a learning opportunity. Replant, rebuilt, reconfigure. Think of every year as an experiment and chock up those losses to education! This year has been a real doozy for me (also many failed crops including my first sweet corn and first tomatoes). New homestead. New, untried ground and gardening methods. But I sent a video of the garden to my amazing grandmother who fed our entire family for decades with her incredible green thumb and she said she was proud of me and that I was a “master gardener.” 😭💕 I cast my shadow in the garden daily. Put in the time!
Thanks I needed to hear that, I m in south Texas and this heat has just wiped out my garden and I’ve been going back and forth with myself over giving up till next spring
This year has been a tough year to garden.
If something fails you just gotta try again or move onto the next planting.
Blessings, Linda
Amen to that. Do not give up. What I learned in my many years of gardening is we’re not commercial producers and we don’t produce that much. So we can’t afford to lose any. I will never plant in the open again I had to share my crop with all kinds of animals and birds until this year I designed my harvest protection shelter or harvest protection program. It works perfect nothing can touch my produce besides myself. I love it so much I’m building a second one right now. You can see it on You Tube – Harvest Protection Program. Good luck girls and guys
I’m in Ohio. At the end of August I will buy 25 pound boxes of number 2 tomatoes for 6 dollars a box. I will can 100 quarts. These are from the Amish. I can’t grow this amount that cheap. I have bee doing this for a lot of years
I am currently 8 years in on gardening and boy have I learned a lot, mostly by mistakes. One thing is whatever you grow something else wants to eat it before you do and weeds grow faster than your crops. Fruit trees are another animal altogether. I find raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, elderberry, goji berry and strawberries are worth the effort. Raised beds and weed mat work wonders. Wood chips if you can get them work wonders for your garden. I have consulted with my older brother who has been gardening for 40 years and have received some invaluable advice and tips. Knowing the food soil web and how it functions is key to a better garden and harvest.. I grow apples, peaches, plums, cherries and grapes as well. A wide verity of fruits and berries to complement the vegie garden. Good books and a mentor are the go-to for sound knowledge and practices.
YES, do not give up. Every year is a new experiment. Before I retired, I would work in the garden after work. start small and grow with your garden
It's cheaper and less time consuming for me to bid at the Amish auction on produce then to grow my own garden.
Boy did I need this encouragement. This is my sixth time planting green beans. They have either rotted because of the abnormal storms or the sprouts got fried in the flash droughts. Within one week 1/2 inch cracks in the grass.
It’s tuff I work full time and when I get home I’m in the garden and feeding animals till dark, but I know it’s going to be worth it
MN here and every year there is a new pest, a new disease to attack plants and different weather. Gardening for about 60 years now and have had many problems but I never gave up! A few years ago we finally got my garden all planted, all the plants I spent the winter tending and growing. The very next day a derecho came through and cut them all off at ground level. After touring the garden I waited a few days and went back out to reassess the damage and to my surprise things were making new leaves. When plants are attacked they work harder to come back! That was one of the best most productive gardens I ever had! Had I thrown in the towel and given up and plowed that under I would never have known. Every year you learn so much and after 60 years I am still learning! Never give up! Thanks for this video Zach!
Truth!
I learn something new with every seed. Every seed every season is a chance to gain valuable experience. Gardening is something anyone can do but some are more naturally gifted at it. If it's not your gift that means you have to work harder at it. Now is for sure not the time to give up!
It's handy to set a routine and stick to it. If you have to work 8+ hours a day, set aside 30-60m each morning and another 30-60m each evening, and COMMIT. Design a watering schedule and stick to. Use helps … drip irrigation and/or soaker hoses.
You might be able to save harvests in the fridge and preserve them during your days off. Or maybe you know someone who'd love to do the preserving for half the harvest?
We "invest" in our garden…this year, health problems so we are doing a lot of container garden type things. Anything is better than nothing! Agreed, this is food for your family! 🙂 Good job on your video! 🙂 Shalom! Dawn @ Rich & Dawn in MN 🙂
My garden isn't doing well this year at all. It's very frustrating when it's very critical to grow food!
For now I am focused on meat chickens, and laying hens. 400 meat birds a per year. 200 dozen eggs per year. With eggs and meat birds I can barter for all the vegetables, honey or whatever.
You sow what you reap!
Do you use a meat band saw when you butcher your sheep and if so, can you recommend a good meat band saw that is not too terribly expensive?
NE Texas here and we are in a bad drought. I can't harvest a drop for a garden because there is not a drop falling on my roof. I am ready to give up on these 3 acres that I just moved to just 6 months ago and go back to north of Phoenix. They are getting something at least. This is the worse move I have ever made. Seriously, how is Phoenix getting more rain than NE Texas??? 50 inches a year my butt. In 6 months we have received maybe 3 inches.
Thank you for the encouragement. I'm in way South Texas. The temperatures have been down right abusive. My squash and cucumbers are fried. I'm going to keep moving forward.
Is it only mid July? 😩. This has been the longest gardening season ever. Or should I say watering season? Whew.
I am so ready to give up. I have been trying here to garden and every year has been a huge failure. I had a better garden when I was a weekend warrior and after work gardener.
Funny how gardeners are really struggling this year (a shmitah) even though we are not in the land, we should practice as the whole Eretz is his.
Nevertheless, keep a diary what works what doesn't. Study it, don't just dive in…
Oh and nevermind the name, its to fool the AI.
I am such a procrastinator! Please pray for me I want to garden but my fear of bugs is killing me! My husband told me I NEED to get over that…I need a huge push on this. 😭 I've never gardened before am I the only one here?
It’s all about the journey
Cut your tomato and chili plants. Put them in water to re-root them inside. Use kratky hydroponics. Grow a tomato tree for Christmas. You have your tomatoes, Chili, indoors. Then cut off and put into cups to have a head start for next summer. Tomato plants and chili plants can last for years if frost doesn't get to them. Tomatoes don't produce tomatoes if it doesn't get below eighty degrees at night. Just water them. In September, you will get tomatoes when temperature drops at night.
Ive been gardening for decades and its not easy most times. I had one year where everthing grew like gangbusters and I filled and entire upright freezer with veggies after eating them all year long. I still had that much left over. But now its getting harder and harder with the heat and the drought. Everything grows good until the heat shows up and I live in very hot and arid climate as it is. Ive lost a lot of fruit trees and animals due to the heat. Im always watering something everyday even in the ground. Best thing to do I think right now is to hold off on planting a garden and focus in the fruit trees to get them established better and just keep the veggie seeds cool and dry until the heat wave goes away and wait until fall to really ramp it up. For the animals its just too hot for the summer here and I plan on moving up to my northern acreage to raise them there. Whether youre growing a garden yet or not focus on building your soil with as much animal manure, green leaves and dead brown brush or wood chips as you can. Its harder to grow in nutrient barren soil and it take years to build it up and get those microorganisms that makes the nutrients available to your garden. Build that soil and keep on building it even if you aren't growing right now. You will need it in the future for sure. Plants that dont get enough nutrients and soil with good water retention will stress out attracting pests that will spread plant diseases. During hard hot times like this good soil is crucial for the health of your plants. Makes sure to rotate where you plant your annual crops to prevent death and disease as well. Tomatos for example start to deteriorate each passing year if planted in the same spot. Also build yourself a quality greenhouse they really make all the difference and they are necessary. Try Ana White for free plans, you can buy all the supplies at HD or Lowes, much cheaper to buold yourself with better quality than buying a ready made chinese greenhouse that will fall apart.and cost your more. .
My time is always divided between work, taking care of my grandson and fixing things that break. My wife's vehicle has broken again and wiped out our checking account. I can't afford to stop growing food now. We have a lot of food canned, that I grew all fall and winter but we're having to eat some of it now that the economy is in free fall. So I continue to grow what works, which currently are things that thrive in our ridiculous heat. Cow peas, okra, eggplant and other hot season legumes. There are a few tomato varieties that do well also, such as cherry and yellow pear.
This year has been hard with gardening. The only thing that's giving me anything is my tomatoes!
We have a bigger garden this year & I was unable to tend to it after my heart attack, but I’m not a quitter so we have lots of string beans, bell peppers, cucumbers & squash. Had success growing butternut squash for the first time, made great soup…love your thoughts & videos, keep it up 👍