The Best Gardening Experiment Ever – LAUNCH TIME!
Today we amend and plant the awesome 12-bed experiment!
Bed #1: Dave's Fetid Swamp Water
Bed #2: Worm castings
Bed #3: Biochar charged with Dyna-Gro
Bed #4: Dyna-GroBed #5: Urine (diluted 6-1)
Bed #6: 10-10-10
Bed #7: ControlBed #8: Steve Solomon's fertilizer mix
Bed #9: Neptune's Harvest Seaweed and Fish
Bed #10: Lasagna garden
Bed #11: Alfalfa
Bed #12: Rye and peas cover crop
This is a side-by side test for a 2020 fall garden through our 2021 spring gardens to see how different amendments work in the garden. Does biochar work? Is 10-10-10 as good as fish emulsion? Does Dyna-Gro work? Is Urine a good fertilizer? Will Steve Solomon's fertilizer mix beat lasagna gardening? You'll have to stay tuned and find out!
Books and resources:
Compost Everything: The Good Guide to Extreme Composting: https://amzn.to/2HtNdFK
Learn Steve Solomon's amendment methods in The Intelligent Gardener: https://amzn.to/3miotiz
Steven Edholm's biochar Q and A: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsvB42bhcqE
Lasagna Gardening by Patricia Lanza: https://amzn.to/3ooub4o
Earthworm Castings: https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/search/worm%20castings?
Dyna-Gro: https://dyna-gro.com/
Alaska Fish and Seaweed Fertilizer: https://www.7springsfarm.com/neptunes-harvest-liquid-fish-seaweed-fertilizer-2-3-1-1-gallon/
Totally Crazy Easy Florida Gardening: https://amzn.to/2VReBlH
Grow or Die: The Good Guide to Survival Gardening: https://amzn.to/2vBI1dh
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesurvivalgardener/
Unauthorized.TV: https://www.unauthorized.tv/categories/david-the-good
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/davidthegood
Start composting today – get David's free booklet: http://www.thesurvivalgardener.com/simple-composting/
David's books: https://amzn.to/2pVbyro
Compost Your Enemies t-shirts: https://www.aardvarktees.com/products/compost-your-enemies
David's daily gardening blog: http://www.thesurvivalgardener.com
I recommend some Cinnamon in the lasagna, here in south Florida ants love to make a home under the cardboard i have found
fire ants are bad in my louisiana garden, too. i just yanked all the cardboard out due to ants.
I vote for whichever square is directly over the Septic Tank.
Here’s what I love about this: try. Try new things. Keep trying. Learn and never stop learning.
dont grow over your septic tank, unless you use absolutely no chemicals i got very sick eating my dandelion greens from my septic field thinking the exact same thing
@sly dankass I hear you brother-dankass! This is why I never use cleaning products. I never clean at all, in fact. (Maybe that’s why I never get my security deposits back.)
Ya mean the drain field, the septic tank is just a container.
@Deborah Grantham Great Galloping Galapagos Tortoises! You are correct!
I! Love! Experiments!
This is so exciting. I want to do exactly this when I move to the next (hopefully last) place.
Do it, Lisa!
Omg your rapper names alone made this worth watching. 🤣
Will be watching for updates. This is extremely interesting to me. Thanks
Thanks, Tammy.
Who’s Anna Robic and why did you compost her Into your swamp water?
😂
Hahahaha!
Awesome experiment, super exciting can’t wait to see the progress on the different beds😎
I just love this! Wish I could fast forward to see the end results. Thank you so much for doing this and sharing!
The journey will be interesting. Maybe at the end I’ll make one, huge video with the whole experiment in highlights.
She called you a dirty rotten tiller
Those no-till sorts can get ugly.
I laughed so much and went around the house showing the clip to my family 😂
@Alejandra Jeldrez I had to replay that part and was like what did she just say?! I’m sure it was just for the show and David asked permission first 🙂
@David The Good That box with the wood bark mix over time will probably be your best box in your experiment.
hmm I thought it was Grand Master Frost. But what do I know, I’m vanilla cent.
I am really excited to see the results! Thanks for doing this, you may have the answers I need for my garden beds here in North Central Florida, 8b-9a.
You will be able to add to your already astonishing garden knowledge, happy experimenting!
Thank you. I am psyched.
Wow I wonder if your back hurts from carrying the entire YouTube garden community with your experiments.
That is funny.
Is it great when everyone pitches in to fill the jug!?
This is a great experiment! And a lot of work. I immediately subscribed.
When I started vegetable gardening many years ago, I fell prey to the “supersize” claims of many “experts”. After several years I tired of all the bother of using different ingredients and making tea concoctions. I switched to compost only in my raised beds. The only thing I’ve changed since that time is to do “no-dig”. The idea intrigued me because I’m lazy. I dedicated two of my 8 raised beds to no dig and found that (after two seasons), there was no substantial difference using “no-dig” – that’s a win for me! All my beds are “no-dig”.
Over the years I’ve devoted a single raised bed to “test” a particular idea and compare against my traditional methods. Very similar, but obviously not as ambitious, as your approach. I guess the significant difference between your trials and mine is that I’m starting with a relatively healthy soil. Nonetheless, it will be interesting and educational to see your results.
Many thanks for your efforts. Cheers.
Excellent work, Captain Ron. Thank you for the field report. I would love to share pictures of your experiment if you have them. Glad you are here.
@David The Good Sorry. Haven’t taken any pics – my last trial was several years ago. I might do something next spring – not sure what. If I do that, I’ll be sure to take pics and send some. Cheers.
All these beds will be mixed together in a couple of years and then this area in particular will be the most fertile square in town.
You’re right!
I’ve been watching you for a long time and I can tell this last move, having to start over, has been hard on you. I see you trying to convince yourself this will be good just as much as us. Thank you for staying positive.
It is tough, but I am having fun again. Deus vult.
@David The Good Sorry, but where did you move to? I haven’t tuned in in a while since we’re remodeling!
“You dirty rotten tiller”? Rachel really didn’t like you lifting her dirt.
It was another woman – even worse!
I love how you have so much fun with growing different things in different mediums & I love your sense of humor! Blessings!
The lasagna bed is looking rich! Of course, it’s hard to stop a Steve.
I love the experiment! We need more of this on youtube…. Wondering if it’s worth running a follow-up at some point, using 50% / 50% blends of the 3 or 4 most productive beds…. The lasagna bed seems to have a lot more diversity, but I’m wondering if it will take longer for materials to break down than some of the others– and whether that holds it back, even with pockets of compost.
I enjoy following your channel (as well as RED) because of the thought, experimenting, and then trying to make sense of it all. God’s work!