#latebloomer #cats #garden ~ Something had to go. I discuss my no-till fail on my terrace garden and ask for suggestions! City girl urban gardener sharing life on my Tennessee homestead with #cats! Subscribe so you won’t miss out!
Music by Epidemic Sound.
SUPPORT THIS CHANNEL:
Botanical Interests: http://shrsl.com/4409l
HOSS TOOLS: http://shrsl.com/41lpu
PLANT CARE products from https://ivorganics.com/, a family-owned U.S company, use KAYE10 for a 10% discount.
HISEA boots (Men and Women!), use code KAYE15 for 15% off any order. http://shrsl.com/3y46x
FORJARS canning lids: https://forjars.co?sca_ref=3214563.UwrQGoxCQp Discount code: KAYE10
FREE ebook”10 Steps to a Great First Garden” Subscribe at http://www.latebloomershow.com
LATE BLOOMER T-shirts! 6 Styles!
https://www.bonfire.com/late-bloomer, https://www.bonfire.com/dirt-person/
GROW LIGHTS from https://grow-it-led.com/a family-owned U.S. company, use LATE BLOOMER for a 5% discount.
Purchase from three SEED COLLECTIONS and receive a 10% discount! Home Garden, Homesteader and Farmer Collections. USE THIS LINK! https://survivalgardenseeds.com/?ref=LATEBLOOMER
Order through our Amazon Affiliate link at no additional cost to you!
https://www.amazon.com/shop/latebloomershow
Become a PATRON! https://www.patreon.com/latebloomershow
Donations help keep this channel producing family friendly inspiring garden and homestead content. https://www.paypal.me/LateBloomerShow
“Late Bloomer” exists to inspire anyone to grow their own food. Kaye’s vlog covers gardening, travel, homesteading, and interesting people. Please share!
Comments welcome. Thanks for all your support! – Kaye
Find Late Bloomer on your favorite social media sites:
https://www.facebook.com/LateBloomerShow
https://www.instagram.com/Late/BloomerShow
Tweets by LateBloomerShow
37 Comments
Maybe make the terrace a pepper and basil and Malabar garden. Maybe add raised beds for other plants?
That's why so many of us have gone to raised beds. As we age, they are more comfortable to work in and much more manageable.
I live in Middle TN. I moved here from Germany 15 years ago. The grass and weeds in Germany are very polite. You remove them once and they stay out. Here in TN, I've had to give up all my grand plans. Ruth Stout, goodbye. Lasagna gardening, goodbye. Love my layers of wood chips, but after one year, the woodchips have broken down to nothing left. This year, I've had to travel a lot. I'm keeping on top of the weeds and invasive grasses with a rice knife and "chop & drop."
Love your videos AND the cicadas. I love cicada summer in TN.
Sorry, you lost your tomatoes, Kaye. I practice a no-dig system. I use compost plastic bags to cover the raised beds, reducing the problem of weeds. I've been doing this for a few years but still get some persistent weeds. I would advise to get a glass house for the tomatoes next year. I bought a little 2nd hand 8×4 glasshouse which you saw. It only cost me £50. Kind regards Patrick xx
Ground cherries are bland raw. However in pie or preserves ? Yum!
Girl nut grass can't be stopped without harsh chemicals. Don't use cedar wood chips it's not a good idea. Plant in containers it's much easier less work once in. Plant fruit trees where you can't garden. Much easier to mow around containers than pull weeds. The hay may have been sprayed with a herbicide.
I also i had to downsize but at leadt we have a beautiful homestead
Just keep giving us inspiration
Kaye we just cannot do or reach all our wonderful dreams but the journey we enjoy is everything
what kind of grapes do you grow? i have 100 %failure with grapes
I would do either blue berries or black berries. It can be an income as well when they get big enough.
I'm thinking of moving to rural Tennessee. Where is the best area to grow vegetables and fruit trees? Thank you
Kaye…just have 6-7 tomato plants. I live alone and it’s more than I can handle. I’m giving some away. And I’ve made pints of everything. I feel you don’t need these huge gardens being alone. It’s a lot of work when it’s coming in…my kitchen has been a mess for a week! I’m having fun though
You have done incredible work on your homestead. You work so hard! You are a success Kaye! Your Homestead is beautiful!! Downsizing is smart. Plant 4 raised bed vegetable gardens, and have more flowers!! Ornamental grasses and flower bushes that come back every year.
If you had a lot of water after putting potatoes in they might have rotted.
I'm not as 'goal oriented' as you, but my wife is. Gotta know when to STOP. Work SMART. Not HARD. Forget that old adage, no pain no gain. You'll get more done if you can keep working longer. I phase my work. Horrible and hard work, when I've exhausted myself once or twice, I go on to something easier, etc. all day long. Might just be sharpening tools by dusk, but heh, that's got to get done sometime.
For 'no till'
Thanks for the break from my 2 day battle with my Dr and Insurance Co to prescribe the cheaper of two versions of the same med, the same exact formulation, same dose, just the delivery is a bit diff, one you spray in your mouth while you inhale, the other you suck out of a tube while you inhale. REAL subtle difference eh? One is paid for by insurance, and one costs nearly $400 a mo, guess which one they want me to use?
Mike and I have found that it takes 8 inches of wood chips to kill grass.
I beat myself up too, trying to keep Quack grass, crab grass and Queen Anne’s Lace out. What worked for me was to weed wack, till, cover with silage tarp and plant in the Spring then when the plants were up about 5”, mulch around plants with wood chips.
After harvest either plant a pea or vetch to bring up nitrogen and keep weeds down or throw silage tarp over again to keep weeds out until following Spring again.
Silage tarps work best with time after tilling.
LET IT GO, for obvious reasons!!!
The weeds are NEVER gonna stop!!!
LOL! Well basically, you made a mess 😉 No one from Tennessee gives a thought to western left wing dribble like no till and wood chips. We have been growing abundant food here for hundreds of years and know better! You need to pull those posts and get someone with a front end loader to scrap those terraces back down to the soil and dump that bug laden chip stuff somewhere in the woods. Then you will have to have that soil turned with a turning plow!!! Then cut with a harrow to kill all the bugs and plant eating grubbs. A tiller won't do it, it doesn't reach deep enough. There is a reason the bible said to till the soil!!!!! Then next spring, your tiller will work to prepare for garden planting. Of course you would look good out there with a mule, turning plow and double shovel HEHEHE! Your "Play" gardening. Your not serious or desperate enough to buckle down and really learn how. And you wasted a growing season!!! You got a nursing home near you? Get you a notebook and a voice recorder and go down there and find some old lifelong farmers and start asking real questions!!!! The lunatics with their wood chips have already cost you money and a whole growing season!!!!! Seek council from those that really know and did it for a living!!!!!!
Think I would invest in an already built greenhouse. I did and couldn’t be happier.
If you have nasty grass that comes up through garden mat, try having someone excavate a good layer of sod, roots and all before road mat and two inches of gravel before placing your greenhouse on top.
HI BJ Darling x Hi Kaye x hope you and the Cats are well x 16:45
Hi Kaye, Here is my feed back. Get woven cloth. Burn 12 holes in it with those little butane torches at walmart or any gas station. Its like a Bic lighter with a handle but has butane in it. 6". Plant only 12 tomato plants. Why in the world would you need so many tomato plants?? I planted 12 plants and I have already processed 80 lbs of tomatoes. I have tons more still on my plants. 12 plants gives me enough for tomato juice, spaghetti sauce, sloppy joe and I can it all. Enough for a year. If I were you I would get two cattle panels, set them up about 2" off the ground and set them up HORIZONTALLY. Weave the plants through as they grow. Fun and simple and does not take time. I did it myself and I am your age. I would buy a 3' x100' roll. Or you could buy it in 50 ft rolls. I use the plastic zip ties to secure the cattle panels to the posts. NO WEEDING at all. Water still goes through the cloth. Do not put mulch on top of it! I think you are fighting a losing battle trying the Ruth Stout in the South. I tried it and the mulch killed my garden. The following year the fill that I got murdered my plants. Also start composting in place and till and then cover in the fall. Helps worm growth and builds soil. In my opinion you need to till in the South. I have tons of Basil also and made the best basil pesto and froze it. Now I am drying basil because it sure is great to have tomato basil soup. Be very careful with the straw you got too. If you notice the wheat is still on the straw in the south. In the north they use a combine to remove the wheat. (remove the wheat seeds) and you just get the straw. In the South you get the whole enchilada and the end result is the seeds from the wheat starts growing. For the life of me I don't understand why they don't use a combine to remove the wheat. Such a waste of wheat!!!! I wouldn't garden if I had to weed like you are doing. I use the woven cloth and I can enjoy my garden in the morning with my coffee and just enjoy picking and enjoying my coffee or just sitting there looking at it and enjoying it. Think about it…. Is $70.00 or $140 worth having the ability to not weed? Think of the money you paid out for help. Seventy something will give you a 300 ft roll. Mine has lasted me 3 years. I am in heavy snow Wisconsin. I would much rather roll it up at the end of the season than weed like a mad woman. Lol. I will be rolling mine up next time. I wait for a cool fall day to do it. I am ordering new cloth for next year and I will roll it up to make it last a few more years than just 3 years. Either way it was so worth it. Then it gets easier next years to come because the holes are already burned in. I would put the T posts in first. That way you can leave those in the ground. Burn a slit for the T posts so that the cloth can overlap on each side of the posts. Lay a 50 foot section on each side of the T posts but over lap. That is where the slits will come in so you can have the cloth on both sides of the posts. Hope this makes sense. I just hate to see you working so darn hard. Gardening is not suppose to be so much work that you can't enjoy it. It is the preserving that is the work and planting in spring and putting it to bed in the fall. Today I put up 7 more quarts of tomato juice, I shrink wrapped in scalding water my 29 meat birds and started cleaning out one of my small barns. Tommorrow I might just give myself a pajama day to relax. Lol. Hope you consider this option and I totally agree you need to down size. Just put up what you are going to eat for a year. Ohhh one more thing…I am going to make use of the MASSIVE amounts of leaves and start a huge leaf pile. My main crops are tomatoes and potatoes. I will be hilling with leaves. Saw it on one of my other channels I follow. Great results. Most people aren't blessed with an abundance of leaves. Years past I have cussed at how many I have in the fall. Now I am looking forward to it. God Bless
My garden and yard is all weeds. My garden has to be rescued. It is partially done but I need to get out there. Most is raised bed but some is in the ground. I have to get back to it! I do have Aunt Molly’s ground cherries. They turn a yellowish color when they are ripe.
70 tomato plants! That's a lot! I usually plant a dozen indeterminate tomato plants, 4 determinate plants, and 4 cherry tomato plants and it's always enough for the three of us. I had great success this year with a block of 30 corn plants, in a 4' x 10' raised bed. (Varieties: Bolt & Wild Violet) 10 pepper plants in another raised bed, and many other herbs and veggies, all in raised beds. I agree with some of the other suggestions. There's nothing wrong with downsizing and raised bed gardening is the easiest. You can still grow most of what you want and need without the excessive labor, and then support other local farmers by purchasing from them, what you don't raise or grow yourself. It's a win-win!
Yep ,l did the same thing with wood chips but one yr later all that work is gone because the weeds are soooo bad .l think l need to sale my property and move to something smaller.
What type of weed cloth did you use- the kind that nurseries use to walk on for aisles is better than what you get at a big box store. Something to consider for the borders around the terraces.
Here is an idea for raised beds.
https://youtu.be/-ApZYwq1uJ8
I just found your channel I am in North Georgia not far from you. I heard somebody say Georgia and Tennessee is the worst weed states in the usa.. the bad news is I see a lot of Bermuda in around your veggies, that's going to be tough to eradicate. I really like your trellis system, I may try that as a shade cloth support
I would pull up the stakes and cover it with your silage tarp. Plan for spring next year! I could not keep up with my garden this year and that’s the plan for mine. Cover and start fresh in the spring.
Too much hay will rot what’s underneath. My husband has done that a few times. I have to go back over and pull some off. I have lost what was under the hay if I don’t. 3 inches is as thick as it needs to be.
I took out the two cucumbers and only have one that is a pickling cuke plant and it is in a 20" round pot in my front yard garden (I have three Sunny places so that is why three gardens). Harvested some nice carrots and will still have a chance for crookneck squash. Happy to say it has finally finally fruited! Planted in late March from seed and the Zucchini already gave me five fruits but no crookneck until now – still tiny but growing. Sorry about your tomato garden. Next year… By the way, happy to tell you no storm damage and very slight storm here from the TS Hilary.
I wish I had some good advice for you, but what I have found is that every garden area is or can be very different. And, despite many "general" tips that work "most of the time," it really boils down to what works where you are. Your channel and efforts are very impressive but like all gardeners, you have great success and sad disappointments walking hand in hand.
I had to till my rows initially because I had clay soil, but I have not tilled since. I keep forking and adding compost and other amendments since and the truth is, it takes TIME to BUILD good soil. I wish I had your land area to play in, but again, the days have only so many hours in them, and as the years go by, energy and strength come at a premium. I was out pulling some raised beds today to prepare them for the fall plantings and it was so hot I folded like a deck of cards after a few hours. Really enjoy you and your channel – keep up the good work. A pleasure to watch…
Oh Kate! My body hurts just watching this! I have 3ft high raised beds! It has saved my back! So much easier to maintain.
hi Kaye you have the strength of giant,,, the patience of a saint ,,,,, i feel for you but and its a big big but you are your own boss ,,, praise to you ,,,, love you videos you are film maker extraordinaire,,,, entertaining from start to finish,,,
help is expensive but a little at a time
crossed m mind ,,,, down-size your plot
ie section off part off the plot ,, easy to access and to work??
repeat your garden you had in LA compact,,,,, really yo produced,,,,, more from sooooo little space
do it again my princess ,,,,, i think it would work,,
god if i were closer id love to work and learn from you
heaven on earth,,,,,,,, see you later babe
ive been bitten by a rattlesnake ,,it didnt use its rattle bent own to pick up a harness between straw bales and wop it struck biting my wrist my fault ,,,,, couldn't kill it Chico took it out into the desert an released it,,,, Edwin xxxx
When we moved from a little ranch-style house in the country to a larger home in the country with a woods, I thought my cat would get lost or eaten! But she hung out on my kitchen windowsill for a few weeks, and then she was fine. Plenty of prey around here for a cat. You have had amazing harvests! You've had plenty of disappointment, too. And so have I. But I've found that when I'm thankful for what the Lord has given me, He blesses me, and it's always enough! Two years ago, we noticed that we were all being blessed with abundance, and we all were sharing the overflow with others. It was an amazing summer! I got free fruits and veggies from others, and blessed them with what I had. It just always seems to even out. I have never gone without!❤
We do till Some so you can’t tell you about no till. My husband is a fanatic about weeds. Our garden area is covered in black plastic then gravel for pathways. It’s worked great no grass. It’s very neat and easy to walk on. I do pull an occasional weed but it comes out easy. We have it down for 2 years. The orchard has deep wood chips but the grass is coming up in it. He uses salt and vinegar on it which helps somewhat. It’s always a battle to make our lives easier in the garden.
Keep the place mowed and let it go to grass…too much upkeep. Thanks for posting this because it's helping me to realize I can't overdo either which I usually do. I am 68 years old and have back problems.