Hey ya’ll, I’m Jess from Roots & Refuge Farm
Welcome to a place that feels like home. A small farm with a big family. We hope you’ll pull up a chair, grab some coffee and visit awhile.
There was a time that all I wanted in the world was a little farm where I could raise my family and grow our food. Now, that is exactly what exists outside my door. In watching it unfold, a new dream was formed in my heart – to share this beautiful life with others and teach them the lessons we’ve learned along the way. Welcome to our journey, friend. I am so glad you’re here.
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WHERE TO FIND US (Some of the links here are affiliate links. If you purchase through our links we’ll receive a small commission but the price remains the same – OR BETTER – for you! Be sure to check for any mentioned discount codes.)
– Our Website: https://rootsandrefuge.com
– Sign up for our newsletter: https://rootsandrefuge.com/yt-signup
– Join our Patreon to get early access to podcasts and other information, plus monthly LIVES with me and Miah: https://patreon.com/rootsandrefuge
– Abundance+ (Grab a FREE 7-day trial): https://rootsandrefuge.com/yt-wilder-still
– Shop our Stickers & Shirts: https://rootsandrefuge.com/yt-shop
– Order my first book, “First Time Gardener”: https://rootsandrefuge.com/yt-ftgbook
– Order my second book, “First Time Homesteader”: https://rootsandrefuge.com/first-time-homesteader-yt
– Instagram: www.instagram.com/roots_and_refuge
– Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rootsandrefugefarm
– Email Us: rootsandrefuge@yahoo.com
– To drop us a line:
PO Box 4239
Leesville SC 29070
– To have a gift sent to our house from our Amazon wishlist: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/SFA0IZHZRCOZ?ref_=wl_share
– To support us through PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/jessicasowards
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PRODUCTS WE LOVE – You’ve probably heard me talk about these things a million times, so here’s where you can order them (and get a discount with my code!):
– Greenstalk Vertical Gardens (Use code “ROOTS10” for $10 off your order): https://rootsandrefuge.com/yt-greenstalk
– Squizito Tasting Room (Use code “ROOTS” for 10% off your order): https://rootsandrefuge.com/yt-squizito
– ButcherBox: https://rootsandrefuge.com/butcherbox
– Growers Solution: https://rootsandrefuge.com/growers-solution
– Neptune’s Harvest Fertilizer: https://rootsandrefuge.com/neptunes-harvest-fertilizer
#rootsandrefuge
50 Comments
Yes, "that smell" is here. Tonight is the first rain for many weeks. I'm so happy and feeling greatly blessed. Thunderstorms off of Lake Michigan come across rather wild at time.
I'm enjoying this video very much 😊
We had way too many cucumbers last year, so I didn't plant any this year. Low and behold I had cucumber plants volunteer and we have harvested two cucumbers so far. I also had tomato plants volunteer from last year, which I transferred successfully and they are now growing like crazy. I love volunteers!
I just said “yup, like cut water… I mean cut grass”. 🤣🤣
That’s so exciting about the high tunnel soil healing! 🙌🏻 way to go! 10:50
All your flowers are just looking beautiful and the potatoes had me cracking up 13:32
So funny I got my first cucumber today also. I had almost given up. I seem to have a pollinator problem. I need more flowers
I smell rain and snow coming, weird.👍🏻
We had a really late start because of all the rain here in California, and the slugs, pill bugs eating all the seedlings. The last two weeks it’s started to warm up and we have managed to get rid of slugs and protect seedlings from the pill bugs. It’s finally rolling and my first cucumber is on the horizon. You are so right Jess, each year is different and you just need to keep at it!
Southern Minnesota zone 4B – I swear we’ve changed weather with so many places. We’ve had such a HOT and DRY spring. Very little rain. Normally it’s cool and rainy here.
Thank you, Jess!
18+ inch's in one day, hasn't helped us down here on the GULF in NW FLA.
I did ground cherries for the first time and everyone fights over them including the granddaughter who hates any type of tomato
First time today I came a crossed your brothers video channel lol was by accident didnt realize who he was until I saw roots and refuge beside his video…Fancy this it was on restocking your pond 🙂 so it has a more sustainable food source … How do you feel this is going with the restock/introduction of the bigger pray fish… maybe 1 year is too soon to tell…. interesting and I hope that goes well…back to finish his video lol.. have to be honest I cried when I heard him bragging about his love for his sister… He sure loves her 😍a whole lot 😉 I am so glad to have come a crossed his video and blessed by his outpouring of love and admiration for YOU my dear … I can certainly say God blessed me in seeing it…. Hope your having a wonderful summer 🙂 hugs and big prayers
Oh yes, it has definitely been challenging this year. I was looking through some old photos and realized that I've actually been gardening, starting in pots and now raised beds everywhere, for at least 12 years, I'm so excited. But with the up-and-down temperatures, and moderate drought conditions until literally yesterday, I'm chalking this year up to a learning experience. And of course will be grateful for anything I get 🙏🏽
Here in Maine we still have not been able to plant our vegetable garden… so much rain… our garden has screen loam, and if we step in it, our feet sink down about 12 inches; don't ask me how I know. 🙂
If you pickle your cucamelons, make sure you do the fridge version. Don't waterbath them. Makes them mushy.
This is 2nd time ive got contaminated soil. Pretty sure it was 4 in 1. Not buying that anymore. Sooooo annoying
“Become a gardener” good words! Cheers
Thanks for the encouragement Jess, not just for me but for all who are feeling discouraged in any way. Over this Winter and Spring I have been dealing with hip and knee woes that have made it more difficult to do all that I want. Slow to get the garden prepared and such. You encourage me and others to do what we can. For everyone, even if you cannot have as much garden as you want, you can at least have something on a smaller scale.
Im not highly smell sense but i just feel the air and reading a cloud
Great vlog!!! Very informative Jess…it's too bad they don't require mandatory testing of soils for that herbicide before being sold🤷🏼♀️👊😉
It's 107 heat index in Ms.
I had a load this spring that stuff didn't grow. I have added tea to bring up nitrogen and it has helped.
Our eggplants are struggling
I don’t think I’ve smelled the rain before it comes but I definitely know when there is snow coming because of the smell of the air! I live in New Hampshire.
Do you have any videos on managing pests? Managing different diseases? First time gardener and the pests/diseases are starting to show. I love your videos and knowledge! Thank you!
What good news on the soil healing!!!
Thank you for the encouragement! This is year 11 for me of gardening and has been a scary year because of the Fall like weather. Everything seems stunted, but I am not giving up. You helped me through my stunted tomato seedlings situation with your videos. This is also the first year of growing everything I am going to eat. I have severe allergies (wheat, corn, all grains except rice), preservatives, and anything processed because of cross contamination. I am plant based not by choice, but because of alpha-gal and corn allergies. If a chicken is fed corn, and I eat that chicken, I will have issues. For my allergies, it is year 7. Again, thank you for the encouragement, and guidance. You, Miah, and your family are inspiring!
Hey Jess, just a couple of quick questions. My wife has put out fire ant bait and I don't know where and after I mowed the lawn I want to be able to sweep all the cutting job because I don't have a bagger, will be fire ant bait be bad for the compost pile? And secondly, how soon are we going to be able to buy your coffee? I can't wait just let me know how or let us know how we can order it from you. Thanks for this Garden Tour abbreviation and we are I hope to see you in another video soon.
I’m in Canada Mb and we had the hottest June ever. Garden season started a lot earlier than normal. We have a very short season. With this heat it’s looking like a good year for peppers and tomatoes. But there won’t be much rain I don’t think sadly. 28-35 Celsius with humidex is a big deal for June. Sometimes we still have snow in May. The weather is definitely different and but whacky.
Encouraging. Hope for soil recovery.
Celebrating you and the healing of your land. Goodness I love what you've done and continue to do. Your gardens and everything, you're an inspiration. You teach me so much. Thank you, love ya ❤
You have helped me so much. We decided to expand our garden this year and every bag of soil or compost I got, I planted a bean first!!! All is good in the soil department for us this year!!!
I can smell snow and rain 🙌🏻😂
Can you talk about worm casting and compost teas?
Wow those clusters are just 😍
Awesome video Jess
Not the smell of rain for me, its the joint pain!!
Your garden is beautiful 😍
What is the percentage on the shade cloth you use?
So happy you can educate people about soil!
We had that issue our first year here, and I fear we have the same issue with the last round of soil we got. It’s so discouraging, so I think that we’re going to look for some possibilities of eventually making our own soil with fallen trees, etc, on our own property. But that will take some time.
When is it safe to eat the produce from soil that had grazon when worked with it as you have? I remember when you went through the Grazon heartbreak. I’m so glad things are looking on the up and up! Oh, and I can smell the rain coming too 😊 I think it smells “earthy”.
Your garden is amazing. I wish my tomatoes were looking like yours but they are very small compared to yours. How often should I be fertilizing them as we don’t get any rain that would help. Only what I water. Should I water at night too instead of just early 7:30 in the morning. Any help will be great.
I would love to see some videos on your worm farm! The setup, what it looks like, how you started it and how you maintain it!
Sweet Jess, I've been killing tomato fruit worms, and Chinese beetles on my potato leaves. I'm not letting them get the best of me.😊
The temperature here has been miserable, and I know this has hinder a lot of growth.
Were look at shade cloth to put over the entire garden. This will help a bit with the intense sun.
Your vegetables really look amazing. I can see a difference in the growth in your high tunnel compared to last season.
The sense of smell of water hitting dirt, I believe is both from the core of our Creator having created us from those 2 important ingredients and the sense of water from the womb.
Good soil is so difficult to come across. Even the bag stuff isnt composted well. Hoping companies in general catch up with the demand and can guarantee good quality over quantity soon! I need to fluff my beds and have been hesitant on buying a lot of it. There’s pros and cons to the uprise of the gardening community for sure and I’m looking on the bright side of it all. Mostly. Lol 😂
I learned from you years ago about the black light to find the horn worms. I've had a few lately, but yesterday, my husband and I were walking through the garden and one of my 2 ft tall bell pepper plants was almost totally eaten. VERY few leaves left and I just knew a rabbit had probably came and ate it. But OH MY WORD!!!!! It wasn't a rabbit but a humongous horn worm!!! It also ate half of a whole pepper and was inside of it eating a way! I have never had a horn worm on peppers. The week before, I had a whole shishito pepper ate down to just sticks and only half of a pepper dangling on it. I thought then it was a rabbit, but now I'm thinking horn worm. So now I check all the tomato plants and peppers. Heck, we checked the entire garden last night. I need to get my husband his own black light cause he wouldn't give me a turn. 😂
The rain was ridiculous. We got over 5 inches this week in Charlotte. Also, I would love to watch you grow wheat! It's always something I have been curious to try out
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Which we had some of that rain here in Northwest Arkansas.