0:00:00.000,0:00:03.254 Good day everybody! Today is the third day 0:00:03.254,0:00:06.286 of my YouTube lives, and the purpose of 0:00:06.286,0:00:08.693 being here is just to help you through 0:00:08.693,0:00:10.929 this time, and not just make it through 0:00:10.929,0:00:13.786 this time, but actually come out of this 0:00:13.786,0:00:17.072 time better off than when we went into it. 0:00:17.072,0:00:19.325 My hope is to be here of service, to help 0:00:19.325,0:00:22.799 you think critically, think rationally, 0:00:22.799,0:00:26.374 think differently about the world, and my 0:00:26.374,0:00:29.106 hope is to really reconnect you with the 0:00:29.106,0:00:31.514 basics of life, and try to live in a way 0:00:31.514,0:00:35.079 that is more fulfilling, full of happiness, 0:00:35.079,0:00:37.253 health, and living in a way that is more 0:00:37.253,0:00:39.336 environmentally friendly and less 0:00:39.336,0:00:41.340 environmentally destructive, and today we 0:00:41.340,0:00:44.143 are talking about gardening! 0:00:44.143,0:00:46.983 A lot of you probably saw my project 0:00:46.983,0:00:49.364 where I spent a year growing and foraging 0:00:49.364,0:00:52.130 100% of my food. No grocery stores, no 0:00:52.130,0:00:53.704 restaurants, nothing packaged or 0:00:53.704,0:00:56.201 processed, nothing shipped long-distance, 0:00:56.201,0:00:58.209 literally everything that I ate for an 0:00:58.209,0:01:00.601 entire year came from my gardens, and the 0:01:00.601,0:01:03.243 idea of that was not to get any of you to 0:01:03.243,0:01:05.802 grow and forage 100% of your food. 0:01:05.802,0:01:09.748 The idea was to get you to rethink your 0:01:09.748,0:01:13.738 food, question your food, and grow a 0:01:13.738,0:01:16.113 little bit of your own food, even if it is 0:01:16.113,0:01:18.321 just some tomatoes on your balcony, or 0:01:18.321,0:01:21.966 some herbs on your windowsill, or joining 0:01:21.966,0:01:23.683 a community garden, or going and 0:01:23.683,0:01:26.374 volunteering at a farm, my goal through 0:01:26.374,0:01:27.810 this project and through all of these 0:01:27.810,0:01:29.813 projects is to reconnect you with your 0:01:29.813,0:01:33.883 food. But you have to start where you are! 0:01:33.883,0:01:35.362 Today we are going to go through some 0:01:35.362,0:01:38.386 basics, and give tips on helping you to 0:01:38.386,0:01:40.825 get started, so this is really geared 0:01:40.825,0:01:43.443 towards beginner gardening. However, some 0:01:43.443,0:01:45.005 of the things that we are going to discuss 0:01:45.005,0:01:47.250 today are going to be useful for people 0:01:47.250,0:01:48.857 who have already been gardening for some 0:01:48.857,0:01:52.663 time as well, and I am going to go through 0:01:52.663,0:01:55.846 maybe 15 or 20 minutes of some suggestions 0:01:55.846,0:01:59.049 and some tips, and then I am going to take 0:01:59.049,0:02:02.268 questions, and I might take some questions 0:02:02.268,0:02:04.623 throughout as well, but mostly I will take 0:02:04.623,0:02:07.585 the questions towards the end. So I am 0:02:07.585,0:02:09.684 going to go ahead and get started. First, 0:02:09.684,0:02:12.821 one of my number one suggestions to 0:02:12.821,0:02:16.090 beginner gardeners is "start small". 0:02:16.090,0:02:18.199 Now, some of you 0:02:18.199,0:02:20.882 (drinking) 0:02:20.882,0:02:23.078 are going to want to start really big, you 0:02:23.078,0:02:25.067 want to change life drastically, you want 0:02:25.067,0:02:26.847 to want to be done with the grocery 0:02:26.847,0:02:28.810 stores, you want to grow all of your own 0:02:28.810,0:02:31.012 food, that is great! And if you feel 0:02:31.012,0:02:34.019 confident that you can do that, go for it! 0:02:34.019,0:02:37.780 But, if you are worried, if you feel like 0:02:37.780,0:02:40.235 you have a black thumb, and everything 0:02:40.235,0:02:44.710 dies, and you just feel overwhelmed, 0:02:44.710,0:02:47.289 maybe lost, one of my number 0:02:47.289,0:02:52.350 one tips is to start small. It takes time 0:02:52.350,0:02:55.611 to learn, and in some ways gardening is 0:02:55.611,0:02:57.867 easy, but in some ways it is also very 0:02:57.867,0:03:00.496 challenging, especially compared to just 0:03:00.496,0:03:02.690 going to the grocery store and buying all 0:03:02.690,0:03:05.184 of your food. So what I really recommend 0:03:05.184,0:03:08.486 is starting small. Don't feel like you 0:03:08.486,0:03:12.860 are not being successful if you just have 0:03:12.860,0:03:15.555 some pots on your balcony, or you have a 0:03:15.555,0:03:18.088 small raised bed that is just 3 feet by 0:03:18.088,0:03:20.788 4 feet in your front or backyard. Start 0:03:20.788,0:03:24.359 small, and then as you have success, then 0:03:24.359,0:03:27.076 you can expand, and each season or each 0:03:27.076,0:03:30.121 year, you can grow and you can grow more 0:03:30.121,0:03:34.499 and more and more. So start small, and 0:03:34.499,0:03:36.659 along the lines off starting small I 0:03:36.659,0:03:39.267 recommend making a plan. 0:03:39.267,0:03:42.122 With most things in life, if you make 0:03:42.122,0:03:44.590 somewhat of a plan, you are more likely 0:03:44.590,0:03:49.868 to be successful with it. If you know what 0:03:49.868,0:03:53.298 you are doing going into it. So before 0:03:53.298,0:04:00.006 jumping into it, have a plan, make a plan! 0:04:00.006,0:04:02.245 The next thing to go along with starting 0:04:02.245,0:04:06.804 small is to keep a journal. A lot of 0:04:06.804,0:04:09.872 things in gardening, if you know when you 0:04:09.872,0:04:11.724 planted something, or when you 0:04:11.724,0:04:14.228 transplanted it, it is going to help you 0:04:14.228,0:04:17.085 be a lot more organized and a lot more 0:04:17.085,0:04:20.557 successful in gardening. Just, in your 0:04:20.557,0:04:22.721 garden journal, just keeping track of the 0:04:22.721,0:04:24.436 basic things, like when you planted 0:04:24.436,0:04:26.739 something, when you transplanted it, you 0:04:26.739,0:04:28.725 can keep track of weather, and this is 0:04:28.725,0:04:30.852 also a beautiful way to connect as well, 0:04:30.852,0:04:32.821 to be able to go back and look at things, 0:04:32.821,0:04:34.798 and in future years, this can help you as 0:04:34.798,0:04:37.674 well. So, making a plan and keeping a 0:04:37.674,0:04:40.006 garden journal are just some basics to go 0:04:40.006,0:04:42.388 along with starting small. Now, one of my 0:04:42.388,0:04:45.469 big things is, it is really about seeking 0:04:45.469,0:04:47.717 local resources. A lot of people, when 0:04:47.717,0:04:50.842 they first start to garden, their thought 0:04:50.842,0:04:53.345 is to go to the big box store, like 0:04:53.345,0:04:55.611 Home Depot or Walmart, and buy their seeds 0:04:55.611,0:04:58.816 or buy their plants, but that is not my 0:04:58.816,0:05:01.180 suggestion. My suggestion is to seek out 0:05:01.180,0:05:05.319 local resources if you can. You might think 0:05:05.319,0:05:07.776 that your Walmart or your Home Depot is 0:05:07.776,0:05:09.739 local, because it is in your city, but it 0:05:09.739,0:05:12.450 is not local, because those materials are 0:05:12.450,0:05:15.080 being shipped in from elsewhere and it is 0:05:15.080,0:05:18.266 not really focused on your particular 0:05:18.266,0:05:21.546 region. In permaculture, one of the basic 0:05:21.546,0:05:24.143 ideas is to work with the earth rather 0:05:24.143,0:05:26.204 than against it, and working with the 0:05:26.204,0:05:28.988 earth means working within the region 0:05:28.988,0:05:31.229 around you, not the entire earth. 0:05:31.229,0:05:33.192 Once you start working with plants, you 0:05:33.192,0:05:34.982 have to work with the plants that are 0:05:34.982,0:05:37.829 growing in your area. So, seeking out 0:05:37.829,0:05:41.632 local resources. One big one is joining a 0:05:41.632,0:05:44.595 community garden. If you especially are 0:05:44.595,0:05:46.502 really just getting started and you are 0:05:46.502,0:05:49.303 not feeling confident, joining a community 0:05:49.303,0:05:52.126 garden is one of the most beautiful things 0:05:52.126,0:05:54.478 and most helpful things you can do, 0:05:54.478,0:05:56.506 because you will be surrounded by 0:05:56.506,0:05:59.056 community. Most community gardens have 0:05:59.056,0:06:01.574 veteran gardeners there that you can 0:06:01.574,0:06:03.728 learn from, that can share resources, 0:06:03.728,0:06:05.679 you can see what is growing well in other 0:06:05.679,0:06:07.473 people's plots and you can just feel 0:06:07.473,0:06:10.174 supported. So join a community garden. 0:06:10.174,0:06:13.032 Along with that, find other gardeners. You 0:06:13.032,0:06:15.564 don't have to feel lost. Everywhere you go 0:06:15.564,0:06:17.871 around the United States, around the 0:06:17.871,0:06:20.167 world, there are people growing food. 0:06:20.167,0:06:22.330 You might not know if because you have not 0:06:22.330,0:06:24.327 been paying attention, but once you start 0:06:24.327,0:06:26.232 to open your eyes you see that there is 0:06:26.232,0:06:28.294 people growing food all over. So one way 0:06:28.294,0:06:31.192 to do this is, ride a bicycle, walk, drive 0:06:31.192,0:06:33.480 around your community and find gardens, 0:06:33.480,0:06:35.545 and don't be afraid to just knock on that 0:06:35.545,0:06:37.816 front door and say, "Hey, I see you are 0:06:37.816,0:06:40.642 growing vegetables and fruits, and I so 0:06:40.642,0:06:43.346 badly want to learn, could I volunteer 0:06:43.346,0:06:45.325 with you in your garden and help with 0:06:45.325,0:06:48.715 weeding, in exchange for you taking me 0:06:48.715,0:06:51.131 under your wing a little bit, and teaching[br]me?" 0:06:51.131,0:06:53.729 This is a great way to get involved and 0:06:53.729,0:06:56.089 learn from someone who is local and has 0:06:56.089,0:06:59.301 local knowledge. Another way to do this 0:06:59.301,0:07:04.314 is to go to a local nursery. Most local 0:07:04.314,0:07:06.531 nurseries are run by people who love 0:07:06.531,0:07:08.791 plants, have been gardening for, a lot of 0:07:08.791,0:07:11.430 the times, decades! So local nurseries can 0:07:11.430,0:07:13.703 be a really great resource. 0:07:13.703,0:07:15.558 And then, finding local classes. 0:07:15.558,0:07:17.936 University extension programs can be a 0:07:17.936,0:07:19.854 really great introduction to beginner 0:07:19.854,0:07:21.864 gardening, so find out if your local 0:07:21.864,0:07:26.645 university has an extension program. This 0:07:26.645,0:07:28.497 exists in all 50 states across the 0:07:28.497,0:07:30.461 United States, that is what I am 0:07:30.461,0:07:33.748 particularly referring to with this, but 0:07:33.748,0:07:36.616 there are many ways to find classes. Check 0:07:36.616,0:07:38.758 to see if there are classes in your area 0:07:38.758,0:07:41.653 that focus on local. 0:07:41.653,0:07:45.570 Another great thing to do is volunteer in 0:07:45.570,0:07:49.210 local farms. So many small farms need help 0:07:49.210,0:07:51.970 and are also passionate about teaching as 0:07:51.970,0:07:54.638 well. See if there is any farms in your 0:07:54.638,0:07:56.493 area that you can go to, you can 0:07:56.493,0:07:59.326 volunteer, you can learn how to grow food 0:07:59.326,0:08:02.005 organically at these organic farms, and 0:08:02.005,0:08:04.180 you can get involved in the community. 0:08:04.180,0:08:05.911 A great way to do that is through 0:08:05.911,0:08:08.179 WWOOFING, worldwide opportunities on 0:08:08.179,0:08:13.299 organic farms at WWOOF.net, and you could 0:08:13.299,0:08:16.732 do this in your area, or you can go all 0:08:16.732,0:08:19.817 over the world! How it works is, in 0:08:19.817,0:08:23.063 exchange for you working on the farm, 0:08:23.063,0:08:25.465 generally it is about 5 days a week for 0:08:25.465,0:08:28.382 5 hours, so 25 hours a week and you get 0:08:28.382,0:08:30.754 your lodging covered, and you get your 0:08:30.754,0:08:33.868 food covered, and you get to learn how to 0:08:33.868,0:08:35.879 grow food, so this could be a really 0:08:35.879,0:08:37.876 great experience if you have the time and 0:08:37.876,0:08:39.928 the energy and the flexibility to be able 0:08:39.928,0:08:41.358 to go do that. 0:08:41.358,0:08:43.924 And then also, local books. When I lived 0:08:43.924,0:08:48.596 in Florida, when I started gardening in 0:08:48.596,0:08:50.483 Florida to do my year of growing and 0:08:50.483,0:08:52.359 growing an foraging all my food, I was 0:08:52.359,0:08:54.319 pretty clueless, I had grown very 0:08:54.319,0:08:56.612 little food before, I didn't know how 0:08:56.612,0:08:58.712 much water a carrot needed, how much sun 0:08:58.712,0:09:01.169 I needed in my garden, I didn't know any 0:09:01.169,0:09:06.891 of these things, so I was feeling pretty 0:09:06.891,0:09:09.565 lost, and what I did is I went to the 0:09:09.565,0:09:11.709 internet and I was just searching every 0:09:11.709,0:09:16.077 question I had. How much water per carrot, 0:09:16.077,0:09:19.470 how far apart do you plant carrots, how 0:09:19.470,0:09:21.846 much sun does my garden need. I was 0:09:21.846,0:09:25.445 looking up all these individual questions, 0:09:25.445,0:09:27.679 and after a few weeks, I found a book that 0:09:27.679,0:09:30.292 was written by someone who lived in 0:09:30.292,0:09:32.594 Florida, I think it was called Fruit and 0:09:32.594,0:09:34.735 Vegetable Gardening in Central Florida, 0:09:34.735,0:09:40.385 it is by Robert Bowden. He was a 25 year 0:09:40.385,0:09:42.938 veteran of growing food, and it had all of 0:09:42.938,0:09:45.469 the information that I needed, 0:09:45.469,0:09:47.906 not just for growing food, but for growing 0:09:47.906,0:09:52.842 food in my region! So seek out books that 0:09:52.842,0:09:54.904 are written for your region, and if you 0:09:54.904,0:09:57.133 can't find one written for your particular 0:09:57.133,0:09:59.494 area, find books that are written for the 0:09:59.494,0:10:01.503 greater region. For example, if you are 0:10:01.503,0:10:03.602 in New Hampshire, maybe you can't find one 0:10:03.602,0:10:05.690 for New Hampshire, but there is definitely 0:10:05.690,0:10:08.380 books that are focused on the north east. 0:10:08.380,0:10:12.333 These books can be your absolute best 0:10:12.333,0:10:14.416 friend in the garden, because when it 0:10:14.416,0:10:17.330 comes to beginner gardening, these books 0:10:17.330,0:10:21.160 can answer most of your questions. Today 0:10:21.160,0:10:25.234 I will not be able to go over 99% of what 0:10:25.234,0:10:28.466 you want to know, but these books can have 0:10:28.466,0:10:31.708 all of that, right there, in one place. 0:10:31.708,0:10:34.064 So, seeking out books. And the library is 0:10:34.064,0:10:36.662 a great place to check, check your library 0:10:36.662,0:10:38.422 whether it is at the public library, 0:10:38.422,0:10:40.764 school libraries, see if there are books 0:10:40.764,0:10:43.513 there that you can check out. 0:10:43.513,0:10:45.583 I want to talk a little bit about where 0:10:45.583,0:10:50.536 to place your garden. Where do you put it? 0:10:50.536,0:10:53.102 If you have very minimal space, don't let 0:10:53.102,0:10:55.486 that deter you. If you just have a 0:10:55.486,0:10:58.729 balcony, you can put pots on there, you 0:10:58.729,0:11:01.734 can use 5-gallon buckets, any container 0:11:01.734,0:11:05.067 that can hold soil can be used to grow 0:11:05.067,0:11:07.485 food on your balconies, and I have seen 0:11:07.485,0:11:09.820 some very impressive balconies producing 0:11:09.820,0:11:12.196 tomatoes, and peppers, and all sorts of 0:11:12.196,0:11:15.251 herbs and greens and eggplants. You can 0:11:15.251,0:11:19.283 grow a lot on a balcony. You can grow on 0:11:19.283,0:11:22.594 your windowsill if you have neither of 0:11:22.594,0:11:25.318 those, or you have a roof that is flat, 0:11:25.318,0:11:28.249 you can grow a lot of food on your roof, 0:11:28.249,0:11:30.852 for example in apartment complexes. 0:11:30.852,0:11:34.171 But some basic tips on where to place your 0:11:34.171,0:11:36.489 garden. First of all, where it is easily 0:11:36.489,0:11:38.991 accessible. Where you are easily able to 0:11:38.991,0:11:41.108 get through. If your garden is ten miles 0:11:41.108,0:11:43.209 away and there is all these obstacles to 0:11:43.209,0:11:45.221 get to it, it is unlikely you will get to it 0:11:45.221,0:11:47.210 and it will not get the care it needs. 0:11:47.210,0:11:49.267 If it is located in a place that is really 0:11:49.267,0:11:52.555 obscure on your property, far away, 0:11:52.555,0:11:54.865 if you have a larger property, probably 0:11:54.865,0:11:56.959 you are not going to get to it. The key is 0:11:56.959,0:11:58.963 to put it in the most easily accessible 0:11:58.963,0:12:01.929 place, ideally where you walk past it, so 0:12:01.929,0:12:04.571 that even when you are not thinking about 0:12:04.571,0:12:06.369 it, you see it, and you know that you 0:12:06.369,0:12:08.788 should get in it. So, an easily accessible 0:12:08.788,0:12:11.323 place. Also, where there is easy water. 0:12:11.323,0:12:14.227 Whatever gardening you are doing, there 0:12:14.227,0:12:16.475 needs to be water, so having easy access 0:12:16.475,0:12:18.538 to water. And then, especially for 0:12:18.538,0:12:21.510 beginners, full sun. Again, when I started 0:12:21.510,0:12:23.842 I did not know the basics of how much sun 0:12:23.842,0:12:26.025 and things like that, but generally you 0:12:26.025,0:12:29.225 want to have full sun, and in colder 0:12:29.225,0:12:32.444 climates, like the northeast or the 0:12:32.444,0:12:35.527 Great Lakes region, most of these areas, 0:12:35.527,0:12:39.279 you want full sun as 6 to 8 hours of sun 0:12:39.279,0:12:42.452 per day on your garden location. 0:12:42.452,0:12:44.710 In Orlando, Florida, where I lived, 0:12:44.710,0:12:46.743 where it was really hot, we could do with 0:12:46.743,0:12:48.569 less than that, we would do with maybe 0:12:48.569,0:12:51.574 5 hours of sun per day. So you do want 0:12:51.574,0:12:54.940 full sun especially with beginner 0:12:54.940,0:12:57.287 gardening. The more experience you get, 0:12:57.287,0:12:59.183 there are plants you can work with that 0:12:59.183,0:13:01.286 don't need full sun but for beginner 0:13:01.286,0:13:06.175 gardening I would recommend full sun. 0:13:06.931,0:13:10.426 Let's see, one of my biggest tips is to 0:13:10.426,0:13:13.664 start with the foods that grow really 0:13:13.664,0:13:16.551 easily. What I don't recommend doing 0:13:16.551,0:13:19.243 is walking down the grocery store aisle 0:13:19.243,0:13:21.579 and say, "oh I love pasta so I am going to 0:13:21.579,0:13:24.074 grow wheat, and I love strawberries, 0:13:24.074,0:13:26.740 and I love blueberries and I love 0:13:26.740,0:13:29.913 mangoes". Don't think about what it is 0:13:29.913,0:13:32.735 that you love the most. Instead, figure 0:13:32.735,0:13:36.190 out what grows so easily in your area that 0:13:36.190,0:13:39.179 even somebody with a "black thumb" would 0:13:39.179,0:13:41.057 be successful. Talk to those local 0:13:41.057,0:13:43.654 gardeners and ask them, "what is the most 0:13:43.654,0:13:45.764 successful crop, what grows well every 0:13:45.764,0:13:48.088 year, what produces so much that you can 0:13:48.088,0:13:52.523 never eat all of it?". For example, I see 0:13:52.523,0:13:56.896 this with zucchini. It is so common, these 0:13:56.896,0:13:59.718 giant zucchinis, and I remember when I was 0:13:59.718,0:14:01.992 in port towns in Washington, there were 0:14:01.992,0:14:05.825 jokes about how people would have to leave 0:14:05.825,0:14:08.115 zucchinis on other people's doors to try 0:14:08.115,0:14:10.330 to get rid of them, but nobody wanted them 0:14:10.330,0:14:12.637 because they all had so much! 0:14:12.637,0:14:14.719 Some beginner plants to start with: 0:14:14.719,0:14:17.538 radishes are one of the easiest ones, and 0:14:17.538,0:14:20.133 they also produce the fastest. A lot of 0:14:20.133,0:14:23.724 radishes produce in just 30 days, so it 0:14:23.724,0:14:25.752 really can be beneficial to have some of 0:14:25.752,0:14:27.790 these faster producing ones to give you 0:14:27.790,0:14:31.198 that boosted energy and that feeling of 0:14:31.198,0:14:35.461 success. Greens can be very easy. Kale 0:14:35.461,0:14:38.907 and collards and lettuces... greens can be 0:14:38.907,0:14:41.067 a really easy place to start and they are 0:14:41.067,0:14:43.302 very nutrient-dense, so I highly recommend 0:14:43.302,0:14:47.049 starting with greens. Peppers are also an 0:14:47.049,0:14:51.168 often considered beginner plant to grow. 0:14:51.168,0:14:54.847 I have had easier time with hot peppers 0:14:54.847,0:14:57.303 than bell peppers, but peppers can be a 0:14:57.303,0:14:59.674 really easy one. And then, herbs. 0:14:59.674,0:15:02.916 An easy way to start is actually buying 0:15:02.916,0:15:07.020 herbs in the small pots at the store and 0:15:07.020,0:15:09.510 then planting those and letting them grow 0:15:09.510,0:15:12.875 much larger. Some herbs can be hard to 0:15:12.875,0:15:16.622 start from seed, but some are very easy to 0:15:16.622,0:15:19.003 start from seed. Cilantro, for example, is 0:15:19.003,0:15:21.872 an easy one to start from seed, but herbs 0:15:21.872,0:15:23.857 can be very easy to grow, you can use 0:15:23.857,0:15:26.171 them at every single meal, they can add 0:15:26.171,0:15:29.375 a lot of value to your life. So my 0:15:29.375,0:15:32.013 best suggestions for starting are greens, 0:15:32.013,0:15:36.414 herbs, peppers and then tomatoes. But 0:15:36.414,0:15:38.967 there is always differences depending on 0:15:38.967,0:15:41.726 where you are. As I read earlier, the 0:15:41.726,0:15:43.604 people watching this right now, you are 0:15:43.604,0:15:45.700 all tuning in from all over the world, 0:15:45.700,0:15:48.144 and all across the United States, so it 0:15:48.144,0:15:49.943 is going to be different in different 0:15:49.943,0:15:52.908 areas. In Florida, where I grew, for 0:15:52.908,0:15:54.941 example, large tomatoes did not grow well 0:15:54.941,0:15:56.884 because it was so hot and so humid that 0:15:56.884,0:16:02.584 they were more likely to get blight or 0:16:02.584,0:16:05.765 pests, so we had to grow really small 0:16:05.765,0:16:07.801 tomatoes, and the variety that I grew in 0:16:07.801,0:16:09.529 central Florida is called everglade 0:16:09.529,0:16:12.891 tomatoes, and they did extremely well. 0:16:15.851,0:16:18.582 The next tip is to plant at the right 0:16:18.582,0:16:22.354 time. What you can do is you can find a 0:16:22.354,0:16:27.253 regional planting schedule, and you might 0:16:27.253,0:16:29.572 have the questions like... Oh and I just 0:16:29.572,0:16:31.542 want to say, the other really ones is 0:16:31.542,0:16:34.342 radishes, and I grew daikon radishes, 0:16:34.342,0:16:36.639 which get really big. Zucchinis can be 0:16:36.639,0:16:39.095 really easy as well. These are just a 0:16:39.095,0:16:43.029 handful of the easier plants. So the big 0:16:43.029,0:16:45.503 one is to plant at the right time. If you 0:16:45.503,0:16:48.466 plant kale in the middle of the winter, 0:16:48.466,0:16:50.629 you are going to get a hard time with it. 0:16:50.629,0:16:52.892 In Florida, if you plant kale in July, 0:16:52.892,0:16:54.940 when it is so hot, you are going to have 0:16:54.940,0:16:57.065 problems with it, so the key is to plant 0:16:57.065,0:16:59.883 things at the right time, and the simplest 0:16:59.883,0:17:02.757 way to do this is to find a regional 0:17:02.757,0:17:05.379 planting schedule, and if you find one of 0:17:05.379,0:17:07.343 these local books, they actually have a 0:17:07.343,0:17:10.349 schedule that will tell you. For example, 0:17:10.349,0:17:15.018 in Wisconsin you will probably want to 0:17:15.018,0:17:23.168 plant your tomatoes in... you might put 0:17:23.168,0:17:25.462 them into seeds in April, get them into 0:17:25.462,0:17:27.835 the ground in late May or June, if I had 0:17:27.835,0:17:30.244 to guess, I have not planted there. 0:17:30.244,0:17:32.208 But, you don't have to figure this out, 0:17:32.208,0:17:34.142 because these calendars do that for you, 0:17:34.142,0:17:36.110 and they will basically give you a range 0:17:36.110,0:17:39.119 of time of when you can plant them, so 0:17:39.119,0:17:41.540 these regional planting schedules are 0:17:41.540,0:17:45.623 absolutely key, and there is one at the 0:17:45.623,0:17:53.255 national gardening association. Everything 0:17:53.255,0:17:55.716 that we are going through right now is on 0:17:55.716,0:17:57.376 my guide at 0:17:57.376,0:18:03.647 robgreenfield.org/freeseedprojectguide 0:18:03.647,0:18:05.808 and most of these things will be on there, 0:18:05.808,0:18:08.554 as well as links to resources. That 0:18:08.554,0:18:10.962 information is there so if you miss 0:18:10.962,0:18:13.328 something don't worry about it, there is 0:18:13.328,0:18:15.831 a good chance that it is in that guide. 0:18:15.831,0:18:17.987 The next thing is the question of 0:18:17.987,0:18:20.464 "How far apart do you plant things, how 0:18:20.464,0:18:23.108 deep do you plant things, do you direct 0:18:23.108,0:18:25.434 plant the seed into the ground or should 0:18:25.434,0:18:28.660 you put them in pots first?" And again, 0:18:28.660,0:18:32.146 the best way to decide that is through 0:18:32.146,0:18:34.602 these regional planting, finding 0:18:34.602,0:18:38.744 this local information. For example, kale 0:18:38.744,0:18:41.454 is on average, depending on how you are 0:18:41.454,0:18:44.003 growing it, about 6 to 8 inches, to 12 0:18:44.003,0:18:46.954 inches apart, but you can follow the 0:18:46.954,0:18:50.845 guidelines on seeds. On the seed pack 0:18:50.845,0:18:53.474 it has these informations, and in these 0:18:53.474,0:18:56.251 books , it has this information. There is 0:18:56.251,0:18:58.728 hundreds of different plants, and also, 0:18:58.728,0:19:02.353 on my guide, I give the basic idea. 0:19:02.353,0:19:04.912 There are basic ideas of how far you plant 0:19:04.912,0:19:08.610 things apart. As far as directly planting 0:19:08.610,0:19:11.829 in the ground, or planting in pots and 0:19:11.829,0:19:13.800 then bringing them out, the answer is 0:19:13.800,0:19:15.912 both. It depends on the scenario. 0:19:15.912,0:19:18.968 If you are in the colder climates, if you 0:19:18.968,0:19:21.652 want to get the earliest start possible, 0:19:21.652,0:19:23.743 planting inside can give you a 6-week 0:19:23.743,0:19:26.250 headstart, by getting your plants to be 0:19:26.250,0:19:28.487 large and putting them in the ground 0:19:28.487,0:19:32.811 already 6 weeks ahead of schedule. 0:19:32.811,0:19:34.949 I want to talk a little bit about pests 0:19:34.949,0:19:38.480 now, and I have a big disclaimer here, and 0:19:38.480,0:19:41.873 that is that pest is a human-made concept. 0:19:41.873,0:19:46.149 (drinks water) 0:19:46.149,0:19:50.358 Nothing by nature is a pest. That is just 0:19:50.358,0:19:54.546 a word that we decided to give different 0:19:54.546,0:19:57.947 species and different creatures. So much 0:19:57.947,0:20:01.520 about gardening can be about rethinking 0:20:01.520,0:20:07.589 the way that we think about basic things. 0:20:07.589,0:20:12.491 Some of my absolute keys to reducing 0:20:12.491,0:20:15.687 "pests" and having a healthy garden. 0:20:15.687,0:20:19.614 Number 1, diversity. You have probably 0:20:19.614,0:20:23.349 heard the term monocrop. Monocrop is when 0:20:23.349,0:20:26.596 you plant just one species, for example, 0:20:26.596,0:20:31.598 corn. When you drive past acres of corn or 0:20:31.598,0:20:35.038 soybeans, that is a monocrop. Monocrops 0:20:35.038,0:20:37.549 are very susceptible to pests. Just 0:20:37.549,0:20:39.760 imagine, you have one plant here, one 0:20:39.760,0:20:41.575 plant here, one plant here, one plant 0:20:41.575,0:20:43.803 here, the bugs can do the same thing. 0:20:43.803,0:20:45.775 The pests can just walk from one to the 0:20:45.775,0:20:47.569 next, to the next, to the next. Now 0:20:47.569,0:20:49.523 imagine with diversity. If you have a 0:20:49.523,0:20:51.841 hundred different species, in your garden, 0:20:51.841,0:20:55.362 those different insects want different 0:20:55.362,0:21:01.474 plants, so they can't go out of control 0:21:01.474,0:21:05.799 if they don't have that one specific 0:21:05.799,0:21:09.907 plant, so the more diversity you have, 0:21:09.907,0:21:12.110 the less likely you are to have these 0:21:12.110,0:21:16.048 plagues of insects. The plague of insects 0:21:16.048,0:21:19.372 is the reason we have GMO foods, because 0:21:19.372,0:21:23.883 designed that way, no crops, well, some 0:21:23.883,0:21:29.416 will, but most food crops, especially 0:21:29.416,0:21:33.505 annual crops will not work if you have 0:21:33.505,0:21:38.039 them as monocrop. Having as many species 0:21:38.039,0:21:40.237 as possible in your garden is one of the 0:21:40.237,0:21:43.957 keys to success, and along those same 0:21:43.957,0:21:47.008 lines, imagine if you have one tomato on 0:21:47.008,0:21:49.077 the north side of your garden and one 0:21:49.077,0:21:51.242 tomato plant on the south side, and one 0:21:51.242,0:21:53.441 on the east, and one on the west, what 0:21:53.441,0:21:55.530 happens is that you would be amazed at 0:21:55.530,0:21:57.756 you might get the tomato hornworm on one 0:21:57.756,0:21:59.817 plant, but it does not make it to the 0:21:59.817,0:22:02.051 other ones, whereas if there is one next 0:22:02.051,0:22:03.995 to each other, they will just walk from 0:22:03.995,0:22:06.617 one to the other, so diversity also allows 0:22:06.617,0:22:09.069 you to spread the different plants out, 0:22:09.069,0:22:11.839 so intercropping is a big part of that. 0:22:11.839,0:22:14.104 Planting different species next to each 0:22:14.104,0:22:18.406 other, that can work together and create 0:22:18.406,0:22:22.041 diversity. Another really great thing is 0:22:22.041,0:22:26.875 beneficial insect attractive mix. At 0:22:26.875,0:22:28.912 Johnny's seeds I buy something called 0:22:28.912,0:22:31.179 the beneficial insect attractive mix. This 0:22:31.179,0:22:33.779 is a mixture of about different flowers 0:22:33.779,0:22:37.648 that bring in beneficial insects, and what 0:22:37.648,0:22:40.454 a beneficial insect is, is these are 0:22:40.454,0:22:44.593 insects that eat the other insects that 0:22:44.593,0:22:47.292 you don't want or compete with them to 0:22:47.292,0:22:50.192 keep them out. For example, aphids are 0:22:50.192,0:22:55.973 a problem for a lot of people. Ladybugs 0:22:55.973,0:22:58.552 actually eat aphids, so ladybugs are a 0:22:58.552,0:23:02.308 beneficial insect. A lot of caterpillars 0:23:02.308,0:23:04.971 that eat your plants, one thing you can do 0:23:04.971,0:23:07.687 is, you can bring in wasps that eat those 0:23:07.687,0:23:10.720 caterpillars, or parasitic wasps that lay 0:23:10.720,0:23:13.035 their eggs in those caterpillars so that 0:23:13.035,0:23:16.695 when they hatch they eat these 0:23:16.695,0:23:19.531 caterpillars. So wasps are actually really 0:23:19.531,0:23:21.460 beneficial to have in the garden. 0:23:21.460,0:23:25.927 Ladybugs, honeybees, all bees. All of 0:23:25.927,0:23:27.906 these are beneficial to have in the 0:23:27.906,0:23:30.066 garden, there are many different creatures 0:23:30.066,0:23:32.373 that are beneficial to have in the garden. 0:23:32.373,0:23:34.687 So, planting beneficial insects attracting 0:23:34.687,0:23:36.773 mix, and also creating evironments to 0:23:36.773,0:23:40.027 bring them in. Along those lines, frogs, 0:23:40.027,0:23:44.462 snakes, lizards, these reptiles or/and 0:23:44.462,0:23:47.764 amphibians are really beneficial as well. 0:23:47.764,0:23:50.980 If you don't want rats in your garden, 0:23:50.980,0:23:53.097 then snakes are great, because they can 0:23:53.097,0:23:55.429 eat the rats and the mice, so these are 0:23:55.429,0:23:57.446 great to have in the garden. A lot of 0:23:57.446,0:24:00.120 people are afraid of snakes and frogs and 0:24:00.120,0:24:02.536 toads, but those are your friends as a 0:24:02.536,0:24:06.388 gardener. The next thing is healthy soil. 0:24:06.388,0:24:10.029 You have to have healthy soil. If you only 0:24:10.029,0:24:12.195 focus on the plants, the plants are less 0:24:12.195,0:24:14.420 likely to be healthy. The key is focusing 0:24:14.420,0:24:16.683 on the soil. Healthy soil creates healthy 0:24:16.683,0:24:18.726 plants. I am not going to go into the 0:24:18.726,0:24:21.635 depths of healthy soil today, but it is 0:24:21.635,0:24:23.560 just something really important to keep 0:24:23.560,0:24:25.754 in mind. Another big thing, and this is 0:24:25.754,0:24:27.717 one of the biggest things in all, is 0:24:27.717,0:24:30.014 perspective, keeping in mind that insects 0:24:30.014,0:24:33.262 deserve to live as well, and I am not 0:24:33.262,0:24:35.941 saying that I don't kill insects. I do, 0:24:35.941,0:24:37.993 and I actually don't have any problem 0:24:37.993,0:24:41.399 killing caterpillars on my tomatoes for 0:24:41.399,0:24:43.462 example, in order to make sure that I have 0:24:43.462,0:24:45.491 food. I believe this is one of the 0:24:45.491,0:24:47.503 standard parts of the circle of life, 0:24:47.503,0:24:49.634 and if we are not doing it, the reality 0:24:49.634,0:24:51.850 is someone else is doing it for us and we 0:24:51.850,0:24:55.645 are just not seeing it, but perspective, 0:24:55.645,0:24:58.329 just realising that the insects, or the 0:24:58.329,0:25:00.645 other species, deserve some of the food 0:25:00.645,0:25:02.810 as well, and it is okay for them to eat 0:25:02.810,0:25:06.712 some. If you plant abundantly, then you 0:25:06.712,0:25:08.855 don't have to worry so much. I remember 0:25:08.855,0:25:11.233 my first time planting, when I had very 0:25:11.233,0:25:13.486 little growing, it was so much bigger of 0:25:13.486,0:25:16.677 a deal to me, when some of my food was 0:25:16.677,0:25:19.528 getting eaten. But by growing abundantly, 0:25:19.528,0:25:21.648 you have enough, and you don't have to 0:25:21.648,0:25:24.062 worry about that. Another thing to keep in 0:25:24.062,0:25:26.632 mind, aphids for example. A lot of times 0:25:26.632,0:25:29.492 aphids are not that damaging to the plant, 0:25:29.492,0:25:31.763 but people just don't like the aphids on 0:25:31.763,0:25:34.955 there. Aphids are basically another 0:25:34.955,0:25:38.441 healthy, well, healthy... you have got 0:25:38.441,0:25:40.818 to listen for another second here, healthy 0:25:40.818,0:25:43.155 extension to the plant, and what I mean is 0:25:43.155,0:25:45.992 healthy to you. Aphids suck the juices out 0:25:45.992,0:25:48.320 of the plants, and then those aphids are 0:25:48.320,0:25:51.106 just as edible and healthy as the plants 0:25:51.106,0:25:53.368 themselves, so don't worry about eating 0:25:53.368,0:25:56.462 some aphids at all, they are plenty 0:25:56.462,0:25:59.341 healthy. I eat aphids almost every single 0:25:59.341,0:26:02.342 day. I ate aphids today because I am 0:26:02.342,0:26:04.571 harvesting stinging nettle in the wild, 0:26:04.571,0:26:07.485 and there are aphids on there. 0:26:07.864,0:26:12.983 Another tip for dealing with pests that 0:26:12.983,0:26:15.497 you don't want in the garden, and this is 0:26:15.497,0:26:17.414 especially if you are trying to keep 0:26:17.414,0:26:19.354 things organic, and that is really 0:26:19.354,0:26:21.321 connecting with your garden and being 0:26:21.321,0:26:23.239 out there every single day. If you go 0:26:23.239,0:26:25.528 through your garden and walk through every 0:26:25.528,0:26:27.589 single day, you will see when problems 0:26:27.589,0:26:29.895 start to arise, and you can deal with them 0:26:29.895,0:26:33.099 early on. Imagine, if there are 10.000 0:26:33.099,0:26:35.408 caterpillars, you are not going to be able 0:26:35.408,0:26:37.772 to deal with that, but if you start to see 0:26:37.772,0:26:40.007 when there is only a handfull on there, 0:26:40.007,0:26:42.046 often you will be able to pick these 0:26:42.046,0:26:44.083 caterpillars off before they start to 0:26:44.083,0:26:48.808 exponentially grow and multiply, using 0:26:48.808,0:26:51.078 your hands. And the beautiful thing is, 0:26:51.078,0:26:52.969 this is just a great way to 0:26:52.969,0:26:55.135 get down in the garden, get down on your 0:26:55.135,0:26:58.834 hands and knees, or your belly, and 0:26:58.834,0:27:01.912 really connect with that. So that is 0:27:01.912,0:27:04.557 another tip with pests. And again, 0:27:04.557,0:27:07.574 healthy plants. The healthier your plants, 0:27:07.574,0:27:11.006 often when there are pests it is not a 0:27:11.006,0:27:13.344 matter of treating the plant, it is a 0:27:13.344,0:27:15.413 matter of figuring out what the problem 0:27:15.413,0:27:17.992 was in the first place. Why are there 0:27:17.992,0:27:20.533 pests on these plants? And often there is 0:27:20.533,0:27:22.506 something to do with them not being 0:27:22.506,0:27:24.877 healthy. For example, are they getting 0:27:24.877,0:27:27.384 enough sun? Think of how we have an 0:27:27.384,0:27:29.456 immune system. If our immune system is 0:27:29.456,0:27:32.104 down, we are more likely for a bacteria or 0:27:32.104,0:27:34.537 a pathogen or a virus to be able to take 0:27:34.537,0:27:36.894 over enough, to make us sick. But if our 0:27:36.894,0:27:39.318 immune system is great, we are able to 0:27:39.318,0:27:41.707 resist that and fend off, and the same 0:27:41.707,0:27:43.715 goes with plants. They don't have immune 0:27:43.715,0:27:46.079 systems but if they are weak, the pests 0:27:46.079,0:27:48.140 are able to take over. If they are strong 0:27:48.140,0:27:50.580 and vigorous, they are more likely 0:27:50.580,0:27:52.583 to continue and fend that off. So healthy 0:27:52.583,0:27:54.961 plants, and that again comes down to 0:27:54.961,0:27:58.179 planting at the right time and planting 0:27:58.179,0:28:00.436 hardy plants, planting plants that are 0:28:00.436,0:28:03.357 are designed for your area. Another one, 0:28:03.357,0:28:05.673 and this is where I am going to end, and 0:28:05.673,0:28:07.571 then we are going to go on to some 0:28:07.571,0:28:09.430 questions, and that is focusing on 0:28:09.430,0:28:13.362 perennials. Perennials are so much easier 0:28:13.362,0:28:15.785 to grow than annuals. Imagine a plant that 0:28:15.785,0:28:17.955 you plant once, and it is there for you 0:28:17.955,0:28:20.775 year, after year, after year. In colder 0:28:20.775,0:28:23.446 climates rhubarb is a perfect example. 0:28:23.446,0:28:26.279 this can live for 25 years! You plant it, 0:28:26.279,0:28:28.473 and every year it will come back. The 0:28:28.473,0:28:30.592 snow and the ice go away, your faithful 0:28:30.592,0:28:33.638 rhubarb comes back. Strawberries, 0:28:33.638,0:28:35.873 raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, 0:28:35.873,0:28:38.221 these are all perennials. Fruit trees like 0:28:38.221,0:28:41.523 apples and pears and plums, or down south 0:28:41.523,0:28:46.677 mangoes and seagrapes and white sapote, 0:28:46.677,0:28:50.689 black sapote and mamey sapote. Fruit trees 0:28:50.689,0:28:54.185 are all perennials. Most of fruit bushes 0:28:54.185,0:28:56.394 are perennials, but there aree is also a 0:28:56.394,0:29:00.414 lot of perennial greens. If you watch my 0:29:00.414,0:29:03.849 video I released this week on foraging, 0:29:03.849,0:29:07.433 most of these are perennial greens. You 0:29:07.433,0:29:11.473 can grow perennial greens and you can grow 0:29:11.473,0:29:13.778 self-seeding annual greens that just keep 0:29:13.778,0:29:16.297 coming back year, after year and this 0:29:16.297,0:29:18.038 drastically reduces your work. 0:29:18.038,0:29:21.180 The thing about perennials is that they 0:29:21.180,0:29:23.825 are generally more resilient to pests, and 0:29:23.825,0:29:25.903 often they need less nutrients, they 0:29:25.903,0:29:28.287 don't need the tilling of the soil, so I 0:29:28.287,0:29:31.067 really recommend perennials, and one 0:29:31.067,0:29:33.109 video that is very helpful that I released 0:29:33.109,0:29:35.803 recently is "How to turn your yard into 0:29:35.803,0:29:37.770 a garden and it is right here on my 0:29:37.770,0:29:40.643 youtube channel, and you can watch that. 0:29:40.643,0:29:42.092 If you go to 0:29:42.092,0:29:48.845 robgreenfield.org/freeseedprojectguide 0:29:48.845,0:29:52.446 that has a lot of these resources. Also, 0:29:52.446,0:29:56.182 if you go to robgreenfield.org/grow, 0:29:56.182,0:29:58.568 that guide is specifically for central 0:29:58.568,0:30:00.668 Florida, where I did my year of growing 0:30:00.668,0:30:02.780 and foraging all of my food, but also has 0:30:02.780,0:30:05.815 a lot of great information and resources. 0:30:05.815,0:30:08.858 I did not go through a lot of the basics 0:30:08.858,0:30:10.970 because there is so much that we could 0:30:10.970,0:30:13.225 go through, but there are amazing channels 0:30:13.225,0:30:16.521 for that. I really like Epic Gardening 0:30:16.521,0:30:20.777 Kevin, and Niki Jabbour. She is actually 0:30:20.777,0:30:23.802 in the colder climates. She is a great 0:30:23.802,0:30:26.824 resource. Kevin is in San Diego, California 0:30:26.824,0:30:29.064 but he is a great resource for across the 0:30:29.064,0:30:31.482 country. There is hundreds of amazing 0:30:31.482,0:30:35.889 gardening channels on youtube, on social 0:30:35.889,0:30:39.890 media, websites, books, so find great 0:30:39.890,0:30:43.019 resources because this has the information 0:30:43.019,0:30:45.934 and you can have it right there at hand. 0:30:45.934,0:30:48.975 Those are some of my tips for beginner 0:30:48.975,0:30:51.701 gardeners to really help you get started. 0:30:51.701,0:30:54.886 Again, remember that starting small is 0:30:54.886,0:30:57.215 great. You don't have to feel bad about 0:30:57.215,0:30:59.422 starting small, or growing just a little 0:30:59.422,0:31:01.588 bit of food. A little bit is a lot more 0:31:01.588,0:31:04.209 meaningful than none. Remember, this is 0:31:04.209,0:31:06.384 about community, it does not have to be 0:31:06.384,0:31:08.382 alone. Connecting with other people, 0:31:08.382,0:31:11.092 volunteering at farms, volunteering with 0:31:11.092,0:31:13.380 other local gardeners. One of the best 0:31:13.380,0:31:15.747 ways to make friends with a gardener is to 0:31:15.747,0:31:17.725 pull their weeds, because almost all 0:31:17.725,0:31:19.968 gardeners need help pulling their weeds. 0:31:19.968,0:31:22.698 Do this with community, seek out local 0:31:22.698,0:31:24.922 resources and enjoy this! 0:31:24.922,0:31:29.241 Gardening is work, but if you love it, if 0:31:29.241,0:31:31.408 you are passionate about it, if it is 0:31:31.408,0:31:33.455 making you healthier, it is getting you 0:31:33.455,0:31:35.553 outside, it is connecting you to your 0:31:35.553,0:31:37.769 community, sure it is work, but it is also 0:31:37.769,0:31:41.494 life. It is living the life that you want. 0:31:41.494,0:31:43.517 So I am going to take a handful of 0:31:43.517,0:31:45.871 questions, and you can ask questions that 0:31:45.871,0:31:48.707 are more exact, and I will see if I have 0:31:48.707,0:31:51.432 an answer to them, or more general. 0:31:51.432,0:31:55.674 I will say that I have grown quite a bit 0:31:55.674,0:31:59.038 of food now, but there is so much that I 0:31:59.038,0:32:01.493 have not done, so there are a lot of 0:32:01.493,0:32:03.491 questions that I will not be able to 0:32:03.491,0:32:05.663 answer with exact things. My experience 0:32:05.663,0:32:07.479 is limited to the few places where I 0:32:07.479,0:32:10.175 have grown food, but ask questions away 0:32:10.175,0:32:15.216 and I am going to answer some of them. 0:32:17.887,0:32:22.734 Okay, let's see. 0:32:38.165,0:32:41.014 Melissa says, "Are seeds that are about to 0:32:41.014,0:32:44.271 expire still okay?" Yes. Absolutely 0:32:44.271,0:32:47.726 A lot of seed packs will 0:32:47.726,0:32:50.496 have an expiration date on them. There is 0:32:50.496,0:32:52.661 nothing that says that the seeds are bad 0:32:52.661,0:32:54.778 after that, it is just that some of the 0:32:54.778,0:32:59.037 seeds will not sprout, they are not viable 0:32:59.037,0:33:02.141 anymore. But generally when you buy seed 0:33:02.141,0:33:04.109 packs, the idea is they want to have a 0:33:04.109,0:33:07.467 viability rate of, say, 90%. But each year 0:33:07.467,0:33:11.928 all that happens is that some of the seeds 0:33:11.928,0:33:15.120 become not viable anymore. One second, 0:33:15.120,0:33:17.270 there is a dog that wants to come outside 0:33:17.270,0:33:19.611 and I want to make sure it does not so it 0:33:19.611,0:33:22.263 does not make noise. 0:33:25.326,0:33:30.350 [birds chirping] 0:33:33.458,0:33:35.754 Okay, so yes you can absolutely use those 0:33:35.754,0:33:38.231 seed packs, and what happens is, if the 0:33:38.231,0:33:41.493 viability rate is down 50%, it just means 0:33:41.493,0:33:43.797 that you need to plant about twice as many 0:33:43.797,0:33:48.303 seeds. Or, you can check the viability by 0:33:48.303,0:33:51.123 putting them in a wet paper towel and 0:33:51.123,0:33:53.115 letting them sprout, and seeing what 0:33:53.115,0:33:55.268 percentage of them sprout or just planting 0:33:55.268,0:33:57.256 them and see what percentage of them come 0:33:57.256,0:33:59.561 out. So absolutely, you can use those 0:33:59.561,0:34:01.667 older seeds, a lot of times they will 0:34:01.667,0:34:04.943 still be good 3, 4 years past those dates. 0:34:08.093,0:34:10.038 Let's see. 0:34:20.027,0:34:22.864 One thing I want to say when I am looking 0:34:22.864,0:34:25.258 through these questions is, don't feel bad 0:34:25.258,0:34:27.532 if some things die. If you have not killed 0:34:27.532,0:34:30.293 anything, you have not grown anything. 0:34:30.293,0:34:34.185 It is part of life. Don't worry about some 0:34:34.185,0:34:36.624 failure, don't worry about things dying, 0:34:36.624,0:34:39.708 but also, realize that even if you do the 0:34:39.708,0:34:42.854 right thing, plants are going to die, that 0:34:42.854,0:34:46.378 is how it works, so don't be overly 0:34:46.378,0:34:48.606 worried and overwhelmed all the time with 0:34:48.606,0:34:50.540 plants dying, it is just a part of 0:34:50.540,0:34:53.043 gardening. Plants are going to die in 0:34:53.043,0:34:55.296 order to have plants that are living. 0:35:01.617,0:35:03.602 Okay. 0:35:06.081,0:35:08.322 "What herbs are good to grow at gome, I 0:35:08.322,0:35:10.534 don't have a balcony or a garden". 0:35:10.534,0:35:18.719 Well, an important thing I have to point 0:35:18.719,0:35:23.160 out is, all the plants need light. These 0:35:23.160,0:35:26.734 plants photosynthesize so they need to 0:35:26.734,0:35:29.127 have sun. If you don't have sun you need 0:35:29.127,0:35:31.667 to have artificial lighting. I don't have 0:35:31.667,0:35:33.859 any experience with artificial lighting, 0:35:33.859,0:35:35.919 I know some people do that, but I only 0:35:35.919,0:35:38.140 have grown food with sun, so if you are 0:35:38.140,0:35:41.375 going to grow herbs at home, they need to 0:35:41.375,0:35:44.244 have sun. What herbs are easy to grow? 0:35:44.244,0:35:46.324 Some herbs that are very easy to grow 0:35:46.324,0:35:51.807 would be rosemary, cilantro, thyme, dill, 0:35:51.807,0:35:57.040 basil, those are just a few that come to 0:35:57.040,0:36:02.858 mind, but there is way more than that. 0:36:02.858,0:36:06.730 Also, you get past these popular herbs 0:36:06.730,0:36:08.620 and there is actually thousands of 0:36:08.620,0:36:13.691 different herbs out there. Jaypee lip 0:36:13.691,0:36:15.955 says, "What are your thoughts on growing 0:36:15.955,0:36:18.152 in the southwest?", my thoughts are find 0:36:18.152,0:36:20.430 local resources for the southwest. I don't 0:36:20.430,0:36:23.622 have experience for the southwest. I did 0:36:23.622,0:36:25.934 grow a little bit of food in San Diego, if 0:36:25.934,0:36:28.089 you want to call that the southwest, I am 0:36:28.089,0:36:30.161 thinking more like Arizona, New Mexico, 0:36:30.161,0:36:32.205 things like that, but my thoughts for the 0:36:32.205,0:36:34.750 southwest are that plenty of people grow 0:36:34.750,0:36:37.805 a lot of food, seek out local resources 0:36:37.805,0:36:40.176 and you will find out how to do it in your 0:36:40.176,0:36:45.587 area. Bruno asks "Can you speak a little 0:36:45.587,0:36:47.324 bit of French?" 0:36:47.324,0:36:50.907 No, not really, my French has been majorly 0:36:50.907,0:36:55.041 unused. But, I am going to do a French 0:36:55.041,0:36:59.106 live video with Christophe, who I am 0:36:59.106,0:37:01.292 staying with, and he is going to 0:37:01.292,0:37:03.871 translate, so we are going to do that. 0:37:07.786,0:37:10.250 Noah says "Rob, how did you get this 0:37:10.250,0:37:12.658 natural background from a green screen?" 0:37:12.658,0:37:14.830 This is not a green screen, this is the 0:37:14.830,0:37:17.951 real world. Okay, Anna Lopez says, "Do 0:37:17.951,0:37:19.864 you know of any online permaculture 0:37:19.864,0:37:21.721 classes you recommend taking?". 0:37:21.721,0:37:24.073 Geoff Lawton is an amazing online 0:37:24.073,0:37:26.004 permaculture class. If you go to 0:37:26.004,0:37:30.217 permaculture.org.uk, I believe it is 0:37:30.217,0:37:33.987 one of the best permaculture sources that 0:37:33.987,0:37:38.593 exists out there. That is focused on the 0:37:38.593,0:37:41.469 UK but it is really their permaculture 0:37:41.469,0:37:48.593 across the world, and if you go to 0:37:48.593,0:37:54.361 robgreenfield.org/coronatips, one of my 0:37:54.361,0:37:57.287 tips in there was to take a permaculture 0:37:57.287,0:37:59.746 design course, and that is in there. There 0:37:59.746,0:38:01.833 are so many permaculture designs 0:38:01.833,0:38:04.127 certificates though, and so many of them 0:38:04.127,0:38:07.171 are absolutely wonderful, but those are 0:38:07.171,0:38:10.379 just a few resources. I also really like 0:38:10.379,0:38:12.631 permaculturewomen.com 0:38:12.631,0:38:17.044 That is a great resource, it is a 0:38:17.044,0:38:20.886 wonderful group, a wonderful organisation 0:38:20.886,0:38:23.700 run by women and designed for women in 0:38:23.700,0:38:25.911 permaculture. 0:38:29.921,0:38:31.046 Okay. 0:38:33.873,0:38:36.339 So the question is "Is it okay to grow 0:38:36.339,0:38:38.548 hydroponically if you don't have land to 0:38:38.548,0:38:40.669 plant on?", Is it okay to plan grow 0:38:40.669,0:38:43.319 hydroponically? Of course! If you want 0:38:43.319,0:38:46.952 to grow hydroponically, go for it. 0:38:46.952,0:38:50.138 It is not my choice, I prefer land, and if 0:38:50.138,0:38:52.498 I don't own land, which I don't, then 0:38:52.498,0:38:55.723 finding land that I can grow on, talking 0:38:55.723,0:39:00.343 to a neighbor, finding an unused lot, 0:39:00.343,0:39:02.642 joining a community garden, figuring out 0:39:02.642,0:39:04.896 a way to grow on land. That is for me. 0:39:04.896,0:39:06.956 I don't have experience with growing with 0:39:06.956,0:39:08.995 hydroponics, so I can't give any 0:39:08.995,0:39:11.129 experience there, but there is plenty of 0:39:11.129,0:39:13.119 people who do grow with hydroponics, 0:39:13.119,0:39:14.677 it is not my choice. 0:39:16.662,0:39:18.942 Mike Jordan says "Did you ever have issues 0:39:18.942,0:39:21.913 with voles in Florida?", I did not have 0:39:21.913,0:39:24.535 issues with voles in Florida, so I don't 0:39:24.535,0:39:31.778 have experience there. Brandon says "Hi 0:39:31.778,0:39:34.093 Rob, I am starting a garden and I have 2 0:39:34.093,0:39:38.117 pallets and a cherry tomato plant I have 0:39:38.117,0:39:41.124 started composting, now what do I do?" 0:39:41.124,0:39:45.404 Now what you do is listen to this last 0:39:45.404,0:39:48.279 half hour of advice and go to that guide. 0:39:48.279,0:39:51.433 Now what do you do? You have got to start 0:39:51.433,0:39:56.556 a garden. I don't know if I can give a 0:39:56.556,0:39:58.514 good answer to that. 0:40:02.230,0:40:04.530 "Rob, do you have any good tips for 0:40:04.530,0:40:06.713 having a garden while there are pets that 0:40:06.713,0:40:08.812 might dig it up? I have a dog that I am 0:40:08.812,0:40:10.744 afraid would mess up my garden and 0:40:10.744,0:40:12.296 raised beds seem wasteful." 0:40:12.296,0:40:14.724 Yes, keep the pets out. Building a fence 0:40:14.724,0:40:16.752 around it, whatever you have to do 0:40:16.752,0:40:19.021 to keep them out. You have got to keep 0:40:19.021,0:40:21.039 them out if they are going to be digging 0:40:21.039,0:40:23.328 it up, and they can be a nuisance. I have 0:40:23.328,0:40:25.944 friends whose dogs run freely around the 0:40:25.944,0:40:28.594 garden. It depends on your garden. 0:40:28.594,0:40:31.190 I don't think raised beds are wasteful, 0:40:31.190,0:40:33.717 there are many ways to build raised beds 0:40:33.717,0:40:36.104 out of secondhand materials. You can find 0:40:36.104,0:40:40.315 fences, brick walls that are falling down, 0:40:40.315,0:40:42.432 a lot of urban environments have whole 0:40:42.432,0:40:44.456 brick buildings that are falling down, 0:40:44.456,0:40:46.678 you can make raised beds out of that. You 0:40:46.678,0:40:49.081 can find wood, you can take old logs and 0:40:49.081,0:40:52.022 just make raised beds out of that. There 0:40:52.022,0:40:54.249 is plenty of ways to build raised beds out 0:40:54.249,0:40:56.681 of secondhand materials. 0:41:00.230,0:41:02.222 Kathleen says, "How long after grass 0:41:02.222,0:41:04.392 killer is applied can I use the ground to 0:41:04.392,0:41:06.632 replant edible food to be safe? Killed my 0:41:06.632,0:41:08.954 pineapple chives, onions and radishes with 0:41:08.954,0:41:12.697 grass killer. The answer is that there is 0:41:12.697,0:41:17.599 no definitive answer to this, but you have 0:41:17.599,0:41:20.318 to also question the food that you are 0:41:20.318,0:41:22.233 buying at the grocery store or the 0:41:22.233,0:41:24.306 restaurant. Do you think that there has 0:41:24.306,0:41:26.538 been no pesticides used there whatsoever? 0:41:26.538,0:41:30.383 If it is USDA organic, it is about as 0:41:30.383,0:41:33.014 little of a guarantee as you can hope for. 0:41:33.014,0:41:36.329 You know who runs USDA, the current 0:41:36.329,0:41:39.190 administration does, and who ran it before 0:41:39.190,0:41:42.120 that? Other administrations. Not organic 0:41:42.120,0:41:47.294 gardeners. If you are worried about 0:41:47.294,0:41:49.670 something in your yard, I would think 0:41:49.670,0:41:51.908 deeper about the food that you are eating 0:41:51.908,0:41:54.569 as well. For me, personally, if there was 0:41:54.569,0:41:57.365 some chemical sprayed in my yard, and I 0:41:57.365,0:41:59.755 wanted to start my garden, I would start 0:41:59.755,0:42:02.149 my garden, absolutely. The chemicals in 0:42:02.149,0:42:04.423 there are gonna be probably minimal 0:42:04.423,0:42:06.552 compared to food that youare buying at 0:42:06.552,0:42:09.693 the store, and I just don't try to avoid 0:42:09.693,0:42:12.233 all chemicals, because the reality is 0:42:12.233,0:42:14.787 this. When I ride my bike down the street, 0:42:14.787,0:42:18.443 I am breathing toxic fumes from cars. 0:42:18.443,0:42:20.703 So many things that we are doing, we are 0:42:20.703,0:42:22.957 exposed to it. I don't worry about that 0:42:22.957,0:42:26.965 very deeply, and plants don't accumulate 0:42:26.965,0:42:30.470 tons of this. It is just a thought on 0:42:30.470,0:42:32.022 that. 0:42:34.952,0:42:38.409 Gaia says "Where can I find heirloom 0:42:38.409,0:42:41.659 tomato seeds? In Ecuador the tomatoes are 0:42:41.659,0:42:43.444 very unflavored." 0:42:43.444,0:42:45.489 I don't know how you can find them in 0:42:45.489,0:42:47.818 Ecuador, but local seed companies. If you 0:42:47.818,0:42:50.443 go to my Instagram page, just a few days 0:42:50.443,0:42:53.627 ago I did a post all about local seed 0:42:53.627,0:42:56.357 companies, and on my website at 0:42:56.357,0:42:59.859 robgreenfield.org/freeseedprojectguide 0:42:59.859,0:43:01.993 I list some local seed companies, so 0:43:01.993,0:43:04.038 find local seed companies. Go to the 0:43:04.038,0:43:06.874 internet, and type in "heirloom seeds in 0:43:06.874,0:43:09.708 Ecuador" on a web search. Search for 0:43:09.708,0:43:12.410 Facebook gruops, find local gardeners, 0:43:12.410,0:43:15.437 find community gardens. Seek out local 0:43:15.437,0:43:19.513 seed cmopanies, seek out local nurseries. 0:43:19.513,0:43:21.972 Find gardeners in your area that will be 0:43:21.972,0:43:24.613 able to share seeds with you. 0:43:30.504,0:43:32.703 Michael says, "Do you know of any less 0:43:32.703,0:43:35.083 popular plants that are worth trying out?" 0:43:35.083,0:43:38.115 It depends on where in the world you are, 0:43:38.115,0:43:40.137 the key is growing what grows in your 0:43:40.137,0:43:43.392 area. So absolutely yes, but it really 0:43:43.392,0:43:45.716 depends on where in the world one would 0:43:45.716,0:43:47.297 be. 0:43:48.771,0:43:50.885 Let's see, I am going to answer two more 0:43:50.885,0:43:54.887 questions, and then I have to get going. 0:43:56.559,0:44:00.090 Lauren says "Can anyone eat 100% out of a 0:44:00.090,0:44:02.907 garden, because of pasta, bread, we need 0:44:02.907,0:44:05.324 cereals so it is hard to do it by itself". 0:44:05.324,0:44:07.437 Well, you know what pasta and bread are 0:44:07.437,0:44:09.914 made of, they are made out of grains, and 0:44:09.914,0:44:12.151 many people grow their own grains. You can 0:44:12.151,0:44:14.204 also make pasta and bread out of 0:44:14.204,0:44:18.586 dehydrating tubers like potato and 0:44:18.586,0:44:21.357 yamm, and yuca and making that. All foods 0:44:21.357,0:44:25.231 are made from a food from the earth, so, 0:44:25.231,0:44:28.816 yes that is possible, absolutely. I did 0:44:28.816,0:44:31.650 live 100% for a year of food that I grew 0:44:31.650,0:44:34.430 and foraged so that shows that it is 0:44:34.430,0:44:36.601 possible. It was not just from the garden 0:44:36.601,0:44:39.700 but yes, absolutely possible. 0:44:46.145,0:44:48.396 Kay Malvin says, "I appreciate the content 0:44:48.396,0:44:50.606 and questions, is it possible to have a 0:44:50.606,0:44:53.372 home vertical garden or greenhouse in the 0:44:53.372,0:44:55.476 north and grow tropical fruits?" 0:44:55.476,0:44:57.738 I would highly, highly recommend against 0:44:57.738,0:45:01.192 that. It is just really difficult and the 0:45:01.192,0:45:03.679 odds of getting much are slim. You are 0:45:03.679,0:45:05.961 much better off growing blueberries and 0:45:05.961,0:45:08.093 blackberries and raspberries, and there 0:45:08.093,0:45:11.557 is papas, and pears, and plums, and 0:45:11.557,0:45:14.453 nectarines, and peaches, and apples, 0:45:14.453,0:45:17.035 cherries, there is so much to grow in the 0:45:17.035,0:45:18.918 northern climates that grows really 0:45:18.918,0:45:20.920 really well. I highly advise against 0:45:20.920,0:45:23.095 trying to grow things that are extremely 0:45:23.095,0:45:25.910 difficult, in areas, especially as this is 0:45:25.910,0:45:28.968 focused on beginner gardeners. 0:45:30.791,0:45:33.092 Peter says, "What is the most abundant food 0:45:33.092,0:45:35.762 in cold climates?", Hundreds! 0:45:35.762,0:45:37.673 Hundreds of different things. Everything 0:45:37.673,0:45:39.688 is abundant in cold climates except the 0:45:39.688,0:45:41.702 things that don't grow there, and the same 0:45:41.702,0:45:43.749 goes for tropical climates. The things 0:45:43.749,0:45:45.822 that are abundant in cold climates don't 0:45:45.822,0:45:48.105 grow there, so there is so much that grows 0:45:48.105,0:45:51.394 in cold climates. Any idea that any of you 0:45:51.394,0:45:53.715 have that food does not grow in cold 0:45:53.715,0:45:56.917 climates, get that out of your head. Get 0:45:56.917,0:46:00.441 it out of your head now! Food grows in 0:46:00.441,0:46:03.762 true abundance in cold climates, it just 0:46:03.762,0:46:06.545 has to grow during the growing season. 0:46:06.545,0:46:08.825 You don't grow it when there is 4 feet of 0:46:08.825,0:46:10.914 snow on the ground, you grow it during 0:46:10.914,0:46:13.035 the summer, and for people that live in 0:46:13.035,0:46:14.978 the colder climates, you have to grow it 0:46:14.978,0:46:16.714 during the summer, harvest it and 0:46:16.714,0:46:18.912 preserve it through the winter. So any 0:46:18.912,0:46:20.905 idea that food does not grow in cold 0:46:20.905,0:46:24.662 climates, I don't know how it is so deeply 0:46:24.662,0:46:27.768 so many people's minds, but it is wildly 0:46:27.768,0:46:30.249 incorrect. There are thousands of species 0:46:30.249,0:46:33.250 of foods growing in cold climates, and I 0:46:33.250,0:46:35.273 really do like to focus on the bigger 0:46:35.273,0:46:37.486 philosophy. There are lots of gardeners 0:46:37.486,0:46:39.767 out there that go through the details that 0:46:39.767,0:46:42.036 can help you with that. For me, my biggest 0:46:42.036,0:46:44.855 benefit that I can have to you is just 0:46:44.855,0:46:48.720 to rethink your food, get out of these 0:46:48.720,0:46:51.954 social constructs and these boxed ways 0:46:51.954,0:46:53.958 of thinking and just see that it is 0:46:53.958,0:46:56.522 possible. Connect with your local 0:46:56.522,0:46:59.923 resources, connect with your community, 0:46:59.923,0:47:03.637 use these basic tenets and ideas, and 0:47:03.637,0:47:08.543 start! Start growing some food. Starting 0:47:08.543,0:47:11.149 some is a lot better than doing nothing. 0:47:11.149,0:47:13.194 Some is going to die, remember that that 0:47:13.194,0:47:15.654 is okay, that is part of becoming a 0:47:15.654,0:47:18.365 gardener. When you become a gardener, you 0:47:18.365,0:47:20.915 become a part of death and a part of life 0:47:20.915,0:47:23.313 and that is the way that it is. 0:47:23.313,0:47:28.143 I love you all very much, I really enjoyed 0:47:28.143,0:47:30.339 this time here with you, and I hope that 0:47:30.339,0:47:32.559 this was meaningful to you, I am going to 0:47:32.559,0:47:38.527 do five deep breaths to end this, and you 0:47:38.527,0:47:43.211 are welcome to join me, or watch, or just 0:47:43.211,0:47:46.265 get right into that garden, or do your 0:47:46.265,0:47:48.418 five deep breaths in the garden, or the 0:47:48.418,0:47:50.419 woods if you can. 0:47:52.456,0:48:34.455 [Breathing deeply] 0:48:38.502,0:48:39.981 Alright, I love you all!