NO TILL GARDENING~How I Did It & So Can You!

So how did I create a large no till garden space once we moved up to our mountain top farmstead? Easy. I tell you how and
you can do it, too! Enjoy & thanks for watching! xo
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[claraelliott]

The no till garden looks, fantastic. My new favorite way to garden. My yard is hard as a rock.

[heavymechanic]

Two years ago, I used 4 mil black plastic (doubled) and the grass was still growing. I turned it with a shovel down about 3-4 inches and mixed in some organic material. The neighbors were amazed at how much stuff I was growing because it was hard pan clay under the grass. The second year was even better by adding more organic material and some used potting mix... Just bought a house and will start a new garden plot over the winter.

[tylorwallen]

Holy cow I know this videos from like 5 years ago but I've watched I can't tell you how many of your videos and this is literally the most yard that I've ever seen in any of your video since I started watching you got an absolutely beautiful view

[thepreppersgarden]

(I love your positive attitude and respectful manner. Thank you for not just a "clean" channel but for setting such a good example.)
My conversation with my 3 year old son today:
Me: What would you like to watch while I cut your hair?
Son: Miss Patara
Me: Miss Patara?
Son: Yes. I like her.
Me: Yeah, I like her too. She's very nice.

[vickieweik]

Thank you Patera, I have been following you for a while silently. The information you put forth is priceless! I do live on the Washington coast. My conditions are very different. Besides, I live in the middle of a tiny town. My goal is to tear up this grass and have raised garden beds.

[marlenejones]

Waking up to Patera, what a blessing in my life you are.
You ARE my motivation.
Thank God I found you, and thank you again for all of your genuine knowledge, it will certainly be passed on to my grandchildren and hopefully theirs as well. Your very informative, Please continue and be mindful some of us are newbies to all that your teaching.
Much love, to you and your family.
Friend from Michigan

[farmergirlofchickens]

Girl! Are you shaking that " Momma Finger " at me again ?! I love how excited and expressive you are.

[bzz]

Just found your channel, and really like your enthusiasm. I've also been doing the black plastic all over to start a new garden area that was totally wild with weeds and english ivy. Next year my soil will finally be improved enough to have a garden. It's been a two year project just to get it all started. Black plastic is the way to go. I occasionally remove it where we are going to garden to add coffee grounds and compost, let it rain on it for a few days and then put it back. The worms are moving in and improving the soil.

Looking forward to your channel!

[roerinaci]

Patara you have such a beautiful garden & your view is gorgeous !!

[sweetlorikeet]

This is how my Mama always cleared areas for gardening when I was a kid! Thick black plastic. Worked a treat every time.

[betsyoman]

Hi Patera, I thought I'd tell you what I did: We got some heavy plastic from a local farm, maybe other folks could do this too. I'm sure it's at least nine ml. Here in our area, some of the farmers store their silage, or winter feed for the animals, in a huge heavy tube in the fields. It looks like a giant white snake or something. It's probably a big enough tube that you could drive a small car in it. The inside of the plastic is black. So when we went for a load of manure, the farmer also gave us this plastic. Here's what I did with it. I laid it down on a patch of grass and piled my weeds that I was taking out of my garden on top of it. (Yes I had tons of weeds, tisk, tisk.) Anyway, the weight of the weed pile, which has stayed wet and muddy, weighed down the plastic, killing most of the grass (more weeds) underneath. I lifted up the corner as far as I could with the heavy stuff on top. There is not a sign of anything green or even brown. THERE ARE ROOTS though!!! There are long white roots that are the size of spagetti noodles. Everywhere they can, they will put out a new plant every inch or so. So when I get around to it (someday), I'll move the stuff on top and take a garden rake and it will be a much easier job to rake out those roots. That's what I'm thinking.

Incidentally, the plastic by itself didn't kill anything when we just weighed down the edges. I think the weight of the stuff on top helped to smother everything. It might work better in the south where the sun is hotter.

As for cardboard under my BTE wood chips, It doesn't kill the weeds like the plastic does. But if you're not in a hurry, earth worms LOVE cardboard--I'm told. And I think it slows the weeds down better than the chips alone. Personally I would never use the chips without cardboard. I've also done a heavy, heavy layer of newspaper under the chips, but that requires sorting and organizing paper.

[pamjones]

I feel ya. I have a riding arena. Stop dreaming make it a reality. Your view is amazing. Great advice. The back to Eden garden is the stuff. Make the garden burst with life. Thank you.

[gacha___cookie]

OH girl we bought a double wide trailer house and when they delivered it in two sections each side was covered with this really thick white plastic, that after they removed it and I told them to leave it here for me. They were surprised but left it for me. Originally I wanted it to cover the greenhouse we had to move out of the way for them to move our home in. Now I am using that plastic like you to smother grass around my property and garden areas. So yup it works well. I do I like cardboard and magazines too. thnx for sharing

[irishguy]

Man I absolutely love you! I just watch justins video and I fell in love with your little patch of heaven! And your great southern hospitality. You've got my support. I've subscribed and I'm gonna like your videos everyday!!!!

[ladycat]

I have used a heavy duty tarpaulin cover tarp will do the same thing when laid out on the ground in the sun, does great job .

[johngritman]

As a young lad I took care of Grandpa's 16 acres complete with just a 1/4 acre vegetable garden, 400' of hedgerow and 250 show homing pigeons.  Well you're right, I got to clean out the pigeon coops every February on a WARM day and spread the spent straw and manure on the garden along with about 500 lbs. of limestone.  Then I turned it over with a garden fork -- pleasant work when Grandpa had been doing it for more than 30 years and cleaned the handles of his tools with OOOO steel wool and boiled linseed oil twice a year - who needs gloves!  In the fall after I raked 2+ acres of leaves, these were piled up on the garden and burned.  Planting was easy, we used a one wheeled "tractor" (one boy powered) with a shovel to create shallow furrows.  In went the onions, potatoes etc. and then move over one row and plow again to cover.  Once more in the summer to hill and that was it.  All the waste went into the compost pile which was about 40 cubic yards and active enough to digest a skunk in six months.  This was the source of my "wood chips".  What the heck nobody chipped wood 60 years ago!Of course then I grew up, got edgicated (it did not include spelling!), married and bought my first house.  And I put in my first garden AFTER I tilled the ground.  Stones, after tobacco, was the largest crop in CT!  I added about a foot of horse manure (nobody told me how inefficient they were with their food) and grew a beautiful garden of weeds!  The second year I added just a foot of straw and occasionally pulled a weed when I felt so inclined.  Now retired with a BIG back and leg problem, I have a 1/10th acre most of which is becoming a flower and rose garden.  2" of wood chips in the spring, 1" in the fall and weeding if I happen to think of it.Not much has really changed - compost with whatever you have.Thanks for the videos.  In three weeks or so my daughter is moving from MS to TN.  Beautiful place to live and we almost moved there to follow my ancestral roots but I have a daughter close to us.  The NE corner of TN is beautiful!

[tystone]

Yes ! From a retired horse trainer that still has horses and a little Tennessee homestead ! Build the arena or a training ring round pen
They have multiple uses : )

[SassyGamma]

Before my recent heart attack (thanks genetics), I tarped (cheapo tarp) my backyard, as I was going to expand and redo my beds this year. Every single time we've done it, even with the cheapo stuff, the weeds went away and the grass came back (not complaining - at all - as the Johnson grass was gone) - thanks bermuda - but we are in the burbs - so it'll work for that.

[tjinnes]

Very good. We use bricks or logs around the edge so that you can have the full depth of mulch right to the edge. It helps stop the weeds creeping in from the outside. They can be easily moved when you want to expand the garden area.

[LoriAvis]

Thank you for the video. Very informative. We just bought another home in VA and since it has no established garden I tried my hand a container gardening, UGH it was a fail. Too much water, not enough water, too much sun, not enough sun blah blah blah blah blah . Up at our home in PA we have been straw bale gardening for the last 6 years. We have had great results every year so I think I will go back to that here in VA next year. However, I will incorporate the use if the 9 mil black plastic, also. I really already miss my garden and can't believe I have to go through a fall and winter till I can plant again. I have never done a winter garden. Not sure really what would grow here (most northern point in VA) but I am thinking on it =) Best Blessings, Lori