Growing in sand are not without issues #startingseeds

 Why do I feel like a new parent continually discovering something new with these plants? 😂

I decided to outwit the fungas gnats this go round and try growing in sand. The learning curve is interesting considering you have to pay attention on the moisture of the sand. The first batch didn't germinate. They most likely were not viable seeds, considering I bought them a few years ago. So I decided to purchase new seeds and they hatched! 😅 Here's to not giving up on the first few tries... or 100 #growinsand #seedstarts #germinatingseeds

The 2024 Polar Vortex Frost Got the Greenhouse Garden...

I had to make a quick decision to just chop and drop the plants, so I can make room with whats germinating. I will break them down more tomorrow. I definitely plan to get more plastic soon, Lord willing. This really gave me something to think about when it comes to raising animals outdoors. #greenhouse #gardening #lessonlearned

Growing Potatoes & Sweet Potatoes in Winter Garden | Trying to Grow Potatoes in Wood Chip Mulch

 

So I'm testing out some ideas about growing potatoes and sweet potatoes during the winter. Not only do I want to see if I can jump start them, but also see if I can get them to grow partially in soil with mostly wood chips. They've been in bins outside already. The only cover the other containers had were broken down cardboard boxes to stop the frozen from sinking too far into the soil to injure the crops. I Thank the Lord that so far so good. The potatoes even sprouts with stems and roots. This has truly encouraged me to keep going and take it a step further with the thick plastic covering. If tropical plants can survive winter with the right circumstances and protection, I'm thinking these guys can do the same as well. I hope you join me to see what happens.

Greenhouse Solar Fan to Help Prevent Mold & Create Airflow

 

Airflow has been one of the biggest struggles in this greenhouse since this summer. I finally took the plunge to get a solar fan, since I'm investing more time in gardening. **See link for Amazon fan below** Amazon 8" Solar Powered Fan, 20W Solar Panel Power Fans: https://amzn.to/3RSvPL4 I had to get up early every morning to open the greenhouse door and window, which I will still do during once the weather warms up. But now that it's winter, the humidity is really high in the greenhouse due to all the insulation I added over and inside the greenhouse, along with the containers of water. As I was doing my research, I kept running across the importance of air flow with plants, whether in the soil or above ground. I look forward to coming back with an update video of how things improved in the greenhouse, God willing. Thanks for watching!

Grow Lavender from Seeds: NO Stratifying in Fridge! Grow Dollar Tree Seedlings in 8-9 Days

This by far is the easiest method to germinate Lavender seeds. In the past, I was never successful with germinating Lavender seeds, regardless of how many packs I purchased. I can't wait to grow more and transfer to pots soon!

If you love what I’m sharing, please help to support my channel by clicking on the links below. This will allow me to test out new theories and more seeds in the future, as I share them here on YouTube. Thank you for your support!

Products I use to combat Fungus Gnats: Katchy Fungus Gnat Trap https://amzn.to/2MouxtF Earthworm Castings from Home Depot http://thd.co/3tcXqcM Diatomaceous Earth (Food Grade) https://amzn.to/3tcXNEc Seedling Germination Heating Pad https://amzn.to/36u11JA

How Pruning Tomato Plants Is NO DIFFERENT Than How God Prunes Us

I got inspired to do this video after I finished pruning my tomato plants, again. Those things grow so fast, always sprouting up new limps. After attempting to grow a garden for the past 3.5 years, I've learned some very valuable and hard lessons along the way. This year I've been more successful due to all my previous failures of "what not to do'. This is the first year I've had an abundance of fruit or any harvest for that matter. I've learned you've got to do your research, and don't stop trying just because one or two things didn't work. Hence, this year, I finally have tomatoes growing, along with pest, but that's not going to stop me. Frustrate me, probably so, but I didn't come this far to just give up.

Part of growing tomatoes is pruning. At first I thought, "why cut it if it was meant grow?", but just because it can, doesn't me it should. Growing more branches or splitting off into multiple large branches can slow down a plants harvest. But as I'm discovering, it depends if you are growing determinant or indeterminant tomatoes. At one point, I thought this was too much information to learn and retain, but surprisingly, the more I practice what I learn, the more I understand what to leave alone and what to let grow. From my understanding, determinant tomatoes have a certain height they will grow, but they tend to be BUSHY..., which I actually think I prefer over the Indeterminant tomatoes that grow more as a vine. The reason I'm not crazy about the vine is you will need to setup a structure that will support not only it's continuous growth of 8 to 10 feet, but also it's weight when it begins to produce tomatoes. Trust me, I've already learned that you can't just certain materials to support the weight, like jute. I will use jute to stop branches from falling to the ground, but not to support the weight of the plant itself in a hedge. A hedge is one of the 3 methods I'm testing when it comes to growing and supporting tomatoes. The other 2 are a canvas netting materials, and the other are wooden post that are CLEARLY not high enough. But you live and you learn. Hence when my blog is called "learning urban homesteading."

I hope this video encourages someone out there, whether you're gardening or not, to not feel discourage because it appears like different places in your life are being cut back. If you do happen to have tomatoes, you will know exactly what I mean. 

Thanks for watching!

2 Year Old Grapevine I Purchased from Grocery Store FINALLY GROWING FRUIT

So I've been traveling with this grapevine for over the past 2 years. I planted this when it was cold outside this winter, just because I wanted to get it out of the pot. To my surprise, I noticed over 2 weeks ago it started growing these purplish bud-like leaves, and now there are tiny baby grapes fruits growing. I'm so excited! I hope this message encourages someone out there.