Welcome back to Yard to Table Appalachian Homesteading! In today’s episode, we are diving deep into the real-world ups and downs of starting a garden, from battling a sudden aphid infestation to learning from some major mulching mistakes. Join John and Mary as they share their journey of planting over 140 pepper seeds and managing a growing collection of indoor seedlings.
You will see exactly how we identify and treat aphids using a simple household solution and why keeping your soil temperature warm is the secret to happy pepper plants. We also talk about the importance of using the right lighting spectrum and why we are moving away from certain types of seed starters that did not perform as expected.
Later in the video, we head outside to the raised beds to show you a lesson we learned the hard way about using non-sterilized straw mulch. If you have ever struggled with grass taking over your garden beds, you will want to see what happened here. We also discuss our plans for cattle panel trellises and how we are designing the homestead to be both productive and beautiful. Whether you are a seasoned gardener or just starting with a single pot on your porch, there is something here for everyone.
🌱 Chapters
0:00 Intro to Yard to Table
2:15 Identifying the Aphid Infestation
5:40 Treating Aphids with Dish Soap
10:15 Why You Should Pinch Pepper Buds
14:50 Using Smartphone Magnifiers for Pests
19:30 Planting Fresh Pepper Seeds
24:10 Germination Tips and Soil Temperature
28:45 Proper Seed Storage in Paper Envelopes
33:20 Setting Up Grow Lights and Shelving
38:15 The Difference Between Dirt and Soil
43:00 Homesteading Philosophy and Future Pheasants
48:10 Garden Update: Lettuce and Zucchini
53:25 My Biggest Mistake: The Straw Mulch Disaster
58:40 Cattle Panel Trellis and Garden Layout
1:02:50 Encouragement to Start Your Own Garden
1:05:00 Final Thoughts and Subscriber Goal
If you enjoyed this update, please hit the subscribe button to help us reach our goal of 2,500 subscribers! Follow us on Facebook at Yard to Table Appalachian Homesteading and share what you are growing in the comments below.
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John Ward
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#theappalachianchannel
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#homesteading #gardeningtips #pepperplants #raisedbeds #appalachia
28 Comments
John and Mary are doing a great job🙂!
Sorry you got the aphids .
Very interesting info , and the info that popped up on the screen👍
Glad you got some good information and Nipping it in the bud 💕
It's a learning process👍💕.
Well it'll be fun To see what you get from your surprise peppers🙂.
John thanks for all the info. I made the mistake of planting peppers and tomato plants too soon. I planted them yesterday but Im taking them out and bringing back inside. And will look for aphids.
I enjoy hearing your neighbor's Rooster😁.
Love it…"DIRTY word"😃.
I always grow several kinds of squash. Yellow summer squash is my favorite, I do grow zucchini for some other family members And it is super productive I also enjoy playing spaghetti squash, and acorn squash along with a cup of butternut squash. I plant Anything that I have seeds too, and that's a lot. I can always find somebody to eat surplus. All of my mentioned Ones Are my favorites I have to have all kinds of peppers , all shapes sizes and colors of tomatoes and eggplant. These are a must in my garden which is All container gardening now.
Good to see you Mary🙂💚!
Pepper plants look great John you and Mary are great gardeners!
I don't know what your weather or seasons are like I'm in Indiana.
When we had gardens , At the end of garden season, the kale would last through the colder weather, it would be even sweeter💕.
nice job you two thank you
Good Evening Mr John and Ms Mary, I’m so excited following ya’lls Gardening Journey and wish you both a Bountiful Harvest this season.
Each year in gardening is challenging from weather conditions, bugs, and struggles; but yet so rewarding as well.
Ms Mary – you look beautiful in that color blue Ma’am. 🌷🪴
How about lady bugs.
Mr John, plant from the outside of your hoops for climbing plants, plant semi shade loving plants to the inside. Bug deteriorate plants like Marigolds will do good being planted to the inside as well as – squash loves semi shade, so will do great planting inside the hoop, It’s a learning curve; but very exciting to watch you both grow . 🪴
Hey John, Mary, Dustin and Angel. I put marigolds in with my tomatoes today. My five plants. Lol. I’m excited about them though. Y’all doing a good job. We’re all living and learning and making memories along the way.
I would take the whole tray outside and spray all of them and then bring them back inside instead of wasting your time looking for him treat them all
With tomato plants and pepper plants what you do wanna do is suck at the bottoms which is those little Stamps that go out there so you don’t want any stems sitting in the dirt you wanna sucker but I’m calling sucker you just wanna snap them off up until they don’t sit into the dirt
Those are ready to go in the ground right now ram with the detergent and then sprinkle them wash them off it won’t hurt anything
If you plant tomato plants in your beds you can put egg shells and sometimes you can pour milk on in it when you’re planting and it helps with blossom and rot
lol I have many kinds of surprise plants that come up because I have no idea what I planted since my stroke
I have had a very successful sprouting from using seeds from your fresh vegetables at home that I dried out they grow exceptionally well for me
I put my seeds in those takeout containers that you get with condiments and let them sit in my sunroom and it works great
Infestations occur when you have plants that go inside and out, even your clothing or hands can bring an infestation inside because indoors there is no predator bugs. You can buy predator mites etc to put on your plants. So basically indoor plants under lights need a sterile environment.
All you need is an LED light nothing else matters I know that for a fact hate to tell you I grew a little bit of marijuana many years ago you don’t need those lights
With aphids you can just use your watering sprayer head and wash them away, then get yourself some whole milk and mix it 50/50 with water and spray really good on the upper and underside of your plants it will get rid of them also. They mostly love peppers and tomatoes. So I would spray them all and then you will need to do a follow up in a few days to make sure you got them and their eggs. The spray you are using won't hurt your plants as long as you don't do it in the sun and heat it can kill you plant. It does not hurt to water at night especially during the heat of summer it helps to cool the plants down, after all it rains at night, LOL. I plant my tomatoes and peppers when the over nights stay 60 degrees over night for a while.
Plant some marigolds. They deter bugs.
Gardening is good therapy. LOL
You guys have done a great job! I really like that garden setup. Looks great!
Just found out some pepper info. Peppers with 3 nubs on the bottom are better to cook with they are female peppers. Peppers with 4 nubs on the bottom are male and better eaten fresh.