Useful Gardening Links and Info
A list of videos and articles that I have been learning from, ranging from composting, to garden innovations, survival gardening, and more.
SURVIVAL GARDENING / KEY CROPS TO GROW
"Crisis Gardening: Growing enough food to feed your family"
https://permacultureapprentice.com/crisis-gardening-planning/
A succinct, but clear and structured overview of how to set up a crisis (survival) garden, and what kind of crops to plant. Doesn't go into specifics, and the crops referred to are temperate, but it is a good introduction to the topic. Also includes a free 'crisis garden planning' spreadsheet, for those who are spreadsheet-inclined.
"Leaves to live by: Perennial Leaf Vegetables"
https://agroforestry.org/images/pdfs/Leaves_to_Live_By-Elevitch.pdf
Perennials, or plants that keep on growing instead of dying off after a season, are important to grow for survival gardening due to their longevity. This short article talks about why and how to grow (and eat !!) perennial vegetables, including short lists of tropical, subtropical, and temperate perennials.
SOIL
“The 5 Principles of Soil Health” by Utah Conservation Districts
So you’re telling me that - you watched hours of videos about soil, and this is the one you’re recommending in the end? A self-deprecating, rather endearing lil’ man whose first line is a joke about himself as the ‘opening act’ of a concert (conservation workshops are equally adrenaline-fueled, right?), and a high school-esque powerpoint slide about soil? Well, yes. I even sat through one where soil was compared to ‘yin and yang’ by a white dude who styled himself a ‘soil nerd’. This video is nothing fancy and 18 minutes is a bit daunting (you can skip some bits), but it’s informative and easy to understand. It’s the kind of video that you learn your basics from, which makes it easier to learn the cool stuff later on. Take notes and then go off, sis.
“Kitchen Garden Rebuild - Soil Building” by Geoff Lawton
Okay, this one needs a bit of context. What he’s doing is a clever combination of two methods of soil improvement for growing stuff (he’s mulching too, but that’s a given). Level 2 (‘intermediate’) is sowing a cover crop, a low-value, fast-growing nitrogen fixer (in the tropics, sunn hemp is a great one as well as others mentioned in the video); which is later cut down to return nitrogen and other nutrients to the soil (a method called ‘chop and drop’). And level 2 (‘advanced’) is to integrate instead of separating the steps of chop and drop, and growing your actual produce. So you grow everything at the same time (or only briefly staggered), and only cut down the cover crops. But as he mentions later in the video, doing that requires patience and knowledge on the gardener’s part, who must be careful not to chop the crops they actually want to keep.
COMPOSTING
“Understanding Compost” by Garden Magic.
A 15-minute video that explains some of the basics of compost, including the science behind it, how to do it, and benefits. Good for people who like to know the principles behind how things work. Doesn’t go into detail on how to make a compost pile. Helped me understand composting a lot better and why it is important for gardeners and farmers.
"No Rules Compost" by RED Gardens.
A great take on a lot of common composting 'rules' such as 'don't add meats, oils, diseased plants, weeds' etc., through an experiment on 'no rules compost'. Debunks some 'myths' and/or explains why these rules exist. Also talks through some problems experienced by OP which are good to learn from.
GARDEN INNOVATIONS
"Hose & Wicking water to plants: Trial and Results"
http://www.providentliving.org.nz/irrigation-using-rope/
A simple wicking bed (passive watering) experiment by a family in New Zealand. Cute boy in thumbnail. Worth checking out the whole website. Not an entirely successful experiment, but tries out some good models of wicking beds for people who live in the city, who aren't mobile, or don't have time to water their plants all the time. Good 'foundations' to improvise upon yourself. Clear explanations, many pictures.
PLANT-SPECIFIC TIPS
“3 Tips to Prune Basil in 2 Min” by Daisy Creek Farms with Jag Singh
Isn’t the dream to have a lush, bushy (lushy?) basil plant like the plastic ones sold at IKEA? I’ve watched a few short and sweet basil-pruning videos (this is also really good!), and I liked this one because it addresses the question of what happens when basil produces flowers. From experience, the good thing about basil is that it self-seeds; when the seeds dry up and burst, they regrow around the same spot. Would suggest pruning back a few plants and letting maybe 20-30% go to seed, so you have a continuous supply of basil without having to sow the seeds yourself.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFO
Stuff that I find worth watching/reading, because it’s cool or gives you even more fundamental knowledge about certain topics, but isn’t necessary information.
“PHC Film: Soil is a living organism” by Plant Health Cure BV
Okay, this one’s a bit nerdy. I thought it was great in debunking the myths around the ‘productivity’ of industrial farming and related practices (plowing/tilling the land, fertiliser and pesticide usage), and bringing us back to why healthy, living soil is ultimately the source of life and health for your plants. If you build soil, you will improve your harvest year after year. It touches on some interesting stuff like root formation, the role of mycorrhiza (fungi) and rhizomes in plant growth, and humus (decaying matter) as part of soil. If you’ve got 12 minutes to spare, I highly recommend this video.