This Gardening Method Changed My Life

Рет қаралды 194,081

3 жыл бұрын

High intensity gardening changed my life. What is it, how did it come about, and what does it do for the garden? All these questions and more we answered in this extra-long episode intended to inspire and encourage you to try this amazing method.
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Пікірлер: 823

@PharMamaUSA 3 жыл бұрын

Not only are you providing 200+ lbs of veggies in your garden, you are growing millions of pounds all over the world due to your videos. Watched so many of your videos winter/spring/summer of 19/20 and my high intensity garden was gorgeous. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us. I certainly share your excitement and passion for growing big or going home

@dooodette8950 2 жыл бұрын

Here here! 🌞🙏🫂

@stewpendousgrowth4 2 жыл бұрын

2nd.

@angelaburrell-lewis2955 2 жыл бұрын

3rd.

@kaylynnr8003 2 жыл бұрын

Onward to Beartaria!

@chuckcatlin28 3 жыл бұрын

Last year, I grew zucchini vertically at the spacing Luke described. I pruned all leaves that were below the flowers. By mid-summer, I had what looked like little zucchini trees and had room to plant stuff under the zucchini.

@petecilione4166 2 жыл бұрын

May I ask what did you plant under the Zucchini trees?

@kristinatidwell6563 2 жыл бұрын

@@petecilione4166 Luke went over this video but I forgot to write down the title, but the format said: *Beans (Midnight Black turtle Beans in MI) *Peppers 2x at August puts 3rd flushes at October = 30 to 40 peppers from just 1 bell pepper. He did it with all different colors. *Zuchinni grows really fast. 35 peppers in just 1 year. *Leafy Herbs i.e. mint, basil, oregano, sage, thyme, parseley we need to clip flowers to stop the growth. *Cucumbers You can look for the video. The next video talked about growing different items too. *Mint *Chives *Oregano *Dill *Strawberries *Raspberries *Camomile tea All of which I would love to get it started.

@petecilione4166 2 жыл бұрын

@@kristinatidwell6563 thank you. I certainly appreciate it.

@chadleeds4169 Жыл бұрын

I started doing the same thing. Incredible

@stupidloopinfinite4768 Жыл бұрын

Yes! I did that too and funny you call them zuchinni trees, that's what I called mine. An Amish guy came by, in his buggy and I heard him say, what the ****. I was laughing so hard and still do, every time I remember that.

@ronaldscott5786 3 жыл бұрын

During WWII, they were called Victory Gardens. The idea that civilians in the US would be self-sufficient so that the results of large ag could be sent to the troops overseas.

@MIgardener 3 жыл бұрын

Correct!

@barbaralong1642 3 жыл бұрын

My grandmother had a victory garden. I have pictures of her in the garden

@kellydowns6203 3 жыл бұрын

My Granpap started his Victory Garden during WWII then kept it going until he passed away at 98yrs! I was inspired to Garden at 7yrs and some of my best childhood memories were spent with my Grandparents gardening and canning.

@patrickmcgraw3435 3 жыл бұрын

Nowadays they seem to want the opposite.

@classicrocklover5615 3 жыл бұрын

@@patrickmcgraw3435 Because those people are traitors and have become entangled with nations who are our enemies and do not want to see America succeed

@jirik2435 3 жыл бұрын

I like it that you are a certified Master Gardener and yet are able to think differently rather than simply regurgitate what you were taught.

@wraith313 3 жыл бұрын

If the Master Gardener program where he is is much like the one where I live, it's a bunch of people who like sitting around talking rather than actually trying to go do anything. Nothing against them, but I have never seen so many "gardeners" complain about everything to do with gardening.

@lauriedavis4045 3 жыл бұрын

I couldn't agree more. I see too many "Master Gardeners" with a (seemingly) authoritarian attitude, chipped shoulders, and can't be taught anything new. Pretty sad, really, and makes me wonder if the certification program itself isn't due for a major upgrade. There's just something wrong with this picture.

@montanaliving4769 3 жыл бұрын

I have gardenedfor 40 years. I always for some reason plated like 3 times more in an area then others. I began hearing my friends comment that I had hardly any weeds or other problems they had. My reasoning was I dont like to waste space anywhere. I have harvested 50 quarts of green beans from a 2x16 space. My husband questioned the potatoes planting this year. Since his biggest hobbie as well, I said you can do whatever you like hon. He came back within an hour and said he decided they were fine as he didn't want to use up more space for them. Our harvest is larger because of it. Weeds are controlled by it. The only downfall is disease. One plant gets it and you lose many more. Just a risk. I would not garden any other way. I have no idea why I ever planted this way to start with except I may be somewhat of a rebel lol

@tusharsharma728 3 жыл бұрын

kzfaq.info/get/bejne/iJqVp9GKtbvWlqs.html

@maxstrength2963 2 жыл бұрын

I like the way you plant your garden

@ohno248 Жыл бұрын

I was thinking about how there will be less air circulation around plants because of how close they will be to one another. That could cause disease. Also, won't less water reach the soil when it rains? I suppose that would be balanced out by how the shaded soil loses so much less water to evaporation.

@crystalwelch2471 3 жыл бұрын

Sounds like me , when someone tells me that I can’t do something or not supposed to do my garden a certain way , I’m like watch me and watch it be fantastic.😂😂

@Estertje93 3 жыл бұрын

Yes!! I do the same hahaha. People are all like, hay you cant grow tomatoes here without protecting them from rain! And, you shouldnt prune pepper plants! EUHM my huge harvest of tomatoes and I would like to disagree! (nd the peppers I made a different mistake on so they failed anyway hahahaha)

@theoverworkedgardener5648 3 жыл бұрын

By far my favorite food growing channel. I've learned a lot over the years watching your channel. No real question just really appreciate your work it's a lot to put into this channels.

@markwalker9107 3 жыл бұрын

And don't forget awesome seeds.

@theoverworkedgardener5648 3 жыл бұрын

@@markwalker9107 very true now stop talking to yourself 🤣 didn't realize that I was commenting form my personal account on here. Haven't quite got that all figured out.

@heavymetalbassist5 3 жыл бұрын

@@theoverworkedgardener5648 lol been there done that, but your channel is way better than mine with 2 videos up lol

@theoverworkedgardener5648 3 жыл бұрын

@@heavymetalbassist5 just keep on going at it. Everything gets better . Like everything it takes some time. I still have tons of learning and work to be done. I'm going to go check out your channel

@jennyzimmer2224 3 жыл бұрын

Same here! Fav food growing channel!

@pumacatD 3 жыл бұрын

Truth drop: “..because we don’t challenge the status quo”! I like your thinking Luke!😺🙌✨

@homelife8597 3 жыл бұрын

I always thought I was stingy with my garden spacing. I never knew I was doing high intensity gardening/spacing until I started watching Luke.

@jamesniebel4843 3 жыл бұрын

If people don’t know.IT’S GARDENING SEASON. The best time of the year.

@carolgibson-wilson4354 3 жыл бұрын

I planted red and green pepper plants with English thyme in a large tub pot today. This is a first for me, because I can no longer get down even to a raised bed and lack the $ to build raised beds up 3-4 feet and fill them with soil. I figure the peppers will shade the thyme. Guess I'll find out.

@budfahnestock2418 3 жыл бұрын

i had some extra packets of seeds this year after doing my starting and just threw them into my "catchall" garden to see what would happen, i have never harvested so much lettuce in my life, i came back from a week of vacation and it looks like a jungle of deliciousness

@renatehaeckler9843 3 жыл бұрын

Yeah I loved Luke's videos from when he did that! I did the same thing with a bunch of radish, lettuce, and cilantro seeds and I have a patch of deliciousness now in a fallow area, and the ones I didn't pick are starting to bloom and feed the bees.

@joeschmoe5170 3 жыл бұрын

Wonderful. The joy of gardening is timeless. I wish the best tasting and healthiest vegetables for you and your family

@TaureanDreams 3 жыл бұрын

Omg I have a catch all garden bed too!!!!! That bed is doing the best out of all of my beds!

@Lochness19 3 жыл бұрын

Also, you shouldn't plant things like lettuce and radish in dedicated beds imo. Just plant them in the beds meant for larger crops that reach full size later in the season, and harvest the small, fast growing, early season crops as the season progresses to make way for the growth of the bigger crops. For example, what you could try is to haveyour zucchini plants 2 ft apart, but also have a few pea plants, and hundreds of radish and lettuce plants in between those zucchinis that you can pull out over the next month or so to make way for the zucchini's growth. The radishes are closest to the zucchini since they'll be the ones that can be harvested first, lettuce are a bit further and can probably hang out under the edges of the zucchini leaves as it grows, and the peas are closest to the midpoint between the zucchinis since they're the tallest plants. The radishes need to be harvested after about a month anyways, so not like they'll go to waste, the lettuce, even if they're cut-and-come-again aren't going to be doing that well in the full sun of mid-summer anyways, so they'll probably be okay under the leaves, and if they stop growing and you just harvest them, no big deal, just sow some more lettuce seeds under the zucchini leaves, and by the time the next crop of lettuces sprout, the zucchini will be done producing and can be cut back.

@ohno248 Жыл бұрын

Wow. ...so practical and efficient.

@DawaLhamo Жыл бұрын

Radishes are beneficial companions to zucchini anyway. They help deter pests.

@Lochness19 Жыл бұрын

@@DawaLhamo As a revision to this though, I've been finding that the zucchini can sometimes grow too quickly and smother the radishes before they're ready to harvest. So maybe a smaller slower to harvest plant to intercrop with, such as peppers, would work better. Or sow the seeds for radish, lettuce, etc a few weeks before you plant the zucchini, ex plant the zucchini 2 weeks after your last frost date, and sow the seeds of radish and lettuce 2-4 weeks before your last frost date.

@BSGSV 3 жыл бұрын

Luke actually starts talking about his cool gardening method and how he arrived at it at 7:26.

@billbsnapshot220 3 жыл бұрын

Yes Good information but he repeats himself some many times do a little background and get to the point.

@BSGSV 3 жыл бұрын

@@billbsnapshot220 Yes. I have made the point that he rambles and repeats himself before but he hasn't changed. If anything he has become worse over the years. It really isn't a matter of style, but communication effectiveness. I wonder how many people try his videos but just tune out after 5 to 10 minutes because he just hasn't gotten to the point yet. It is too bad because he has great information and a nice style.

@billbsnapshot220 3 жыл бұрын

@@BSGSV Yes very nice guy knows his stuff well. I have to fast forward a lot. I purchased many seeds from him this year and everything is growing well.

@TheCoolCookieKitchen 3 жыл бұрын

As somebody who lives on a farm I really never thought about it. But when I take a look at my father-in-law driving these big pieces of machinery they need so much space in order to be able to drive through the rows of the plants so that they don't damage them so maybe that's also where spacing has come from.

@charmainewills3673 3 жыл бұрын

Hey hey sweetie, your my go to guy because your passion for gardening is phenomenal and inspiring. I’ve been watching your videos for a while now and this year I added five more 4’x8’ beds to grow and can more food for my family! Thank you for always being so excited about gardening, you inspire this 67 year old Nana to keep challenging myself to grow bigger than last year! 👩‍🌾👵🏻

@kristyp711 3 жыл бұрын

I have really enjoyed your channel for years and your spacing techniques, especially growing tomatoes up poles, were game changers. I live in town with a small lot and have several fenced in raised beds (so my dogs don't "help") and have learned to grow more than people with larger yards using the techniques you have taught :) thanks for sharing!

@MrBooradley11 3 жыл бұрын

I started watching recently, and am binging the old episodes like Luke mentioned at the start of the video. Thanks for being so sincere, you can feel the love you have for your plants and your family through every video. I did my first high intensity planting of some kale and spinach this spring and was surprised by just how much it produced with 1/2 the spacing. Definitely more than 2x what I had the year before with 'normal' spacing. I'm now able to actually cut into my grocery budget and share any extras with friends and family!

@Nan-Elle 3 жыл бұрын

I'm glad to hear this. This year I am really increasing the amount of plants closer together in my garden, simply because I grew so much from seed, and wanted to plant everything.

@glendawalsh4440 3 жыл бұрын

Haha! Same here I grew about 3 dozen peppers from seeds of last year's harvest and I'm worried where in my veggie garden can I all plant them but thanks to this info I'll try to plant them closer together than what's recommended and see what happens! :)

@ericadamson5880 3 жыл бұрын

For a few years I've pushed spacing closer and closer, but I still hesitated with certain plants or going "too close." Your videos gave me confidence and the results last year were great. I'm stoked for the yield this year! I have a small-ish garden, but I'll be able to feed my family and still give away tons of great produce to my friends and neighbors, which makes me very happy. Good stuff, Luke.

@ericadamson5880 3 жыл бұрын

My beds were planned with the “zero crawling” method. Lol. Every thing is an arms length away.

@theresacurrin6395 3 жыл бұрын

Excellent video! My parents and grandparents always had a garden and it was a lot of work. I never thought to question plant spacing because it was always done the old way. I’m excited to grow in my first raised bed garden this year (with no back braking weeding)! Thanks for all you do and share 👏👏👏♥️

@maryjane-vx4dd 3 жыл бұрын

I usually use How to Grow More Vegetables by John Jeavons for suggestions on spacing. It's a modified French intensive method

@alexalvarado479 3 жыл бұрын

This is the first time my family and I have attempted to start a garden of our own. We binge watch a lot of videos and your channel has really helped ! Thanks a bunch!

@peterobrien290 3 жыл бұрын

Same

@austenhead5303 2 жыл бұрын

Definitely check out Charles Dowding as well, if you haven't already. He's brilliant.

@CraftEccentricity Жыл бұрын

I'm glad you discovered this. I have been growing like this for years. Nature dictates when a plant goes to seed that the majority fall near the Mother plant. It makes natural sense for plants to grow close together.

@09bclement 3 жыл бұрын

Doing high intensity gardening in my 15x18 ft garden this year. I was able to fit so much in my garden! Before I planted my seedlings I mapped out my garden on graphing paper to get a idea where everything will go. So glad I sketched it out few times before planting day!

@urbanhomesteadingchannel1813 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for this! I've been doing high intensity planting for about 3 yrs. Everyone said don't do it! But my gardens have been doing well. I'm glad to see I do know what I'm doing after all 💚

@maggiemanzke7926 3 жыл бұрын

Yes, totally! I can't wait to see my garden later this season when the successions I've been planting for more continuous harvest are all nearing maturity. Edited: you can also get even more plants by using a triangle planting method. 18 plants then turns into 24.

@mudpiemudpie785 3 жыл бұрын

It would be great if you included high intensity spacing recommendations on your seed packets, Luke.

@CG-mj8tk 3 жыл бұрын

He said he does

@beautyforashes2230 3 жыл бұрын

I learned this method from you several years ago, and yes - it's a total game-changer! Between that, intercropping and not wasting any space, and planting a winter garden, I feed us (and others) year-round. But the main thing was high-intensity gardening.

@mariet4894 3 жыл бұрын

I am trying this this year mostly because I don’t have a garden so I am growing everything in large pots!!

@doloresreynolds8145 3 жыл бұрын

This ought to work great! Just be sure to keep it watered, because any size pot will dry out faster than in ground growing.

@mariet4894 3 жыл бұрын

@@doloresreynolds8145 Thanks! Will do!

@kimzachris5340 3 жыл бұрын

I’ve been growing in pots (20-30 cm diameter) on my balcony for a couple of years now, and the only thing I’ve found that needs to sit alone in a 30 cm pot is tomato (or rather: anything I’ve tried to plant around tomatoes has suffered because the tomato takes it all). Sunflowers, chards, herbs, calendula, sugarsnaps, nasturtiums, lettuce, mustards, chili, nemophila, dianthus, sweetpeas, chives and leafy celery are happy to share. The jury is still out on squash, because I’m uncertain whether it was spacing, a really cold summer or insufficient light that was the problem. I generally oversow and feel bad about thinning out seedlings unless they are truly sick or stunted, so I just end up trying to fit everything I have into the pots and boxes, and it has worked ok. Over time I learn which things want more space, nutrition or sunlight by seeing which ones do well and which ones look like they’re struggling. My balcony only has afternoon sun, but it sets after ten at night in the summer, so I set the plants who like full sun along the railing and the partial shade ones further in. I probably have much punier plants and yields than I would have in a garden, but I do get fresh herbs and some veg and greens throughout the summer. And a wonderful outdoor space to hang out in.

@mariet4894 3 жыл бұрын

@@kimzachris5340 Awesome!! Gives me hope haha!

@lindaedwards9756 3 жыл бұрын

Very well presented. 👍

@spottedsparrowgardens9999 3 жыл бұрын

You are the HIGH DENSITY KING! I wouldn't be gardening again at this point in my life with a bad back without raised beds and high density gardening with the space I am limited to! Been watching you about 4 years now! Thank you for all you do and easy to understand tips. ❤

@megankelley5200 2 жыл бұрын

You should add high-intensity spacing instructions on the back of MI Gardener seed packets! That would be so handy, especially when trying new varieties!

@russellradwanski5771 3 жыл бұрын

This is the sort of quality videos I enjoy, and why I love your channel so much. Thank you for your commitment to helping the gardening community at large Luke. I know you said you don’t put this sort of information out to sell anything to us, but if I’m being honest I’d LOVE to see a “High Intensity Gardening” book produced by you, both with the steps to move towards increasing our food growth via the process you described, but also with an appendix of things you’ve done for specific plants, and the things you’ve encountered and had to adjust for while doing it. I’d buy that in a heart beat!

@kathrynmahler 3 жыл бұрын

Ditto!

@taferntole 3 жыл бұрын

The longer the better with your videos, and the shorter, the better, with the distance between plants! THANK YOU.

@auraelgin4774 3 жыл бұрын

I'm in central Michigan and love your recommendations, I have a small garden with no outside water. I drag a hose from inside my home to water my plants. I am doing well with 24 tomatoes in a 4x25 foot space using single stem on the indeterminate 18-24" apart using the Dice pattern and more half are determinate 3ft tall plants (lots can fit). I have tons tomatoes until Sept.

@trkstatrksta8410 2 жыл бұрын

A plumber should easily be able to install an outside tap for you if you know where your water pipes are

@corithefrugalflower 2 жыл бұрын

Yet another champion for digging (literally) for the Real Truth of the subject and completely debunking the "rules".....Bravo!!👏 Your my new gardening hero!!🤩

@markratte 3 жыл бұрын

Luke, I planted your Dragon Tongue beans and I have to say THEY ARE AMAZING. INCREDIBLY EARLY PRODUCING BUT ALSO BEAUTIFUL LARGE AND PLENTIFUL. I bought 1 pack and I'm picking every other day. THANKS

@sunshine1379 3 жыл бұрын

I like the way you think! I always thought that spacing plants like the packet says was a waste of space. Lol. 😁

@classicrocklover5615 3 жыл бұрын

"My garden is my oasis of happiness". Now THERE'S a t-shirt!

@TheUSMC17 3 жыл бұрын

I've been following Migardener for 3 years now and although I may get discouraged by his success occasionally, im glad to see that im having similar results this year, in fact my radishes are actually bigger than his 🤪 love ya Luke!

@vishnu_bhatt 3 жыл бұрын

Nice 👍

@ManL02 3 жыл бұрын

I'm gardening for the first time this year and I'm so glad I saw this video so early in the season! Subscribed! 👍🏻🥒

@-hendo- 3 жыл бұрын

Been following ur advice for over a year now and i live in the uk but i take wot applies to me from ur vids and i do plant abit closer than advised on packets and have amazing results 👍🏻

@MIgardener 3 жыл бұрын

We changed the spacing on our packets for high intensity spacing.

@becca22891 2 жыл бұрын

Yes! First time gardening in YEARS and we're going full on square foot gardening, companion and succession planting. our 200sqft is packed and doin fine!

@Ckomon 3 жыл бұрын

I loved the video, and I can’t wait to push my lettuce even close together! But I want to push back on the idea that in the 19th and 20th centuries people gardened based on strict instructions and spacing was accepted as dogma. People have always experimented, they have always broken rules and made their own rules. When it comes to gardening I think people learn from the plants as much as they learn from other people.

@trkstatrksta8410 2 жыл бұрын

Every year your garden teaches you something new

@foxhill1212 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for all of this. I’ve helped my neighbors who have started gardening by my own knowledge from your videos (and Jess from root and refuge), building a community is everything and seeing my friends and family succeed is so rewarding. My potatoes have gone crazy in this past week with sulfur. God Bless Luke.

@laurielyon1892 3 жыл бұрын

I am planting sweet potatoes for the first time and I didn’t worry about spacing. I got 27 slips from one potato and they are all in my 4ft square raised bed. I plant all my things this way anymore. I don’t have a lot of space so I grow all I can in the spaces I have

@mirandap8869 3 жыл бұрын

Love the passion behind this message! It can be applied to everything life right now as well...question everything you are being told to believe, these days especially! As for gardening, I am on my 3rd year growing seriously and have 15 raised beds. Seed saving will be a huge focus this year as well. I pushed my space limits to 3 times as much and this video made me feel a lot better about that choice lol. I have, for example, 10 heirloom tomato plants in 1 6' x 3' bed with lettuce as ground cover! I can't wait for a mid season update from you on how yours is doing!

@JessicaLee.3 3 жыл бұрын

I only had an in ground garden last year, but added 2 raised beds this year. One for strawberries and one for a myriad of other plants to experiment with. After watching you all last year, this year I am changing the spacing of my in ground garden and I have more than double the amount of tomato plants in the same amount of space I used last year. I also was able to add 8 tomatillo plants this year. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us, it really does make a difference to so many people.

@davidniemi6553 3 жыл бұрын

Appreciate the insight! It matches some of what I've experienced. I live in a forested environment, with two small gardens -- not limited by space, but rather what space has enough partial sun to grow anything interesting and can be protected from the voracious deer. I have had success mostly with small to medium-sized peppers (never bells!), green beans, peas, cold-climate / short-season tomatoes, and herbs in pots. Because of very limited space, I plant tall to short plants from north to south, with less than a foot between rows; and tight spacing from east to west (about a foot for tomatoes, 3" for beans and peas, and about 8" for peppers). I've also taken to growing 2 identical pepper plants from one seeding cell if they both look healthy (this does not work for tomatoes, however). Between the shady environment and close spacing, I rarely have to water at all and can grow cool-weather plants much further into the summer. I am limited by the first frost date, but that is more about lack of intense sun than spacing.

@mountainpatriothomestead 3 жыл бұрын

It's great to see someone else who believes in testing the "rules" of gardening. I've done intensive planting for years and never cease to be amazed by the amount that comes out of the harvest.

@BernalilloGirl 3 жыл бұрын

One of your best videos ever! My experience matches yours, as we've continued to grow more and more in our small space. Thank you so much!

@jahootierosenblatt6951 3 жыл бұрын

Love this channel and the great advice and tips.

@davidball2174 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much from West of Edmonton Alberta Canada. I just placed my first specialty order from the MIgardener seed store. I was a plesureful shopping experiance. I can't wait for them to get here. Our gaerden is doing great, and I've incorperated a number of the things that you teach on. Well done young man. One of my three thirty year old sons, Has a beautiful garden because of quality sites like yours. Keep it up and blessings to you and your lovely family.

@markho5627 3 жыл бұрын

I am experimenting planting zucchini in a 3 gallon pot. I will pick to 2 zucchinis about a foot long in two days or so. I also planted two cucumber plants on the 3gal pot. Picked a cucumber yesterday, and another two will be ready in a few days. Hope my eggplant do will also. Experience is more better than advise. The only trick is water more often.

@lindalea8181 3 жыл бұрын

I have been doing this without even realizing it and it does work! Thanks Luke for the video to open our eyes to successful, plentiful gardens!

@brianmorris364 2 жыл бұрын

I put a lasagna garden in this year with an old refrigerator box. In a 4x7 garden I have a 3 zucchini, 2 cucumber, 3 eggplant, 15 peppers, 3 rows of radishes, one row of mini romaine, one row of carrots, and a row of redskin potatoes. And a grape vine is growing up my fence from the corner of it lol. I may even crowd some purple kohlrabi in amongst everything if there is any soil exposed to sunshine left lol My container garden next to the lasagna bed is already all waist-high and thriving, even here in Ohio where spring gave us a late start.i got at it early and covered plants to avoid frost and got lucky. I'm already harvesting parsley, basil, garlic, oregano, and soon blackberries and Rosemary. My potatoes and tomatoes in containers are huge and already beginning to form veggies. Onions are close to harvest also but I spooned them and am waiting for them to fatten up a little more. Even the peppers are covered in flowers now. The sunflowers are growing almost 6 inches per week. I hear doom and gloom about gardens everywhere this year but I'm not seeing it here. Quite the opposite. I wish everyone a garden like mine. Feed, mulch, and water, then hope for the best! 🤞

@margaretdavis5695 3 жыл бұрын

In 1981, a book on intensive planting called "Square Foot Gardening" by Mel Bartholomew, was published. It advocated intensive planting methods, and became my 'garden bible." My family had always used the old, labor intensive and "spread out" form of gardening with single rows spaced far enough apart to run a garden tractor in-between, and lots of hoeing around individual plants. What a revelation this method was! They still sell later editions of this original work on Amazon, et. al. if anyone is interested.

@CraftyGrower 2 жыл бұрын

Yes! I agree. I have been doing container gardening the last 3 years and placed the plants in 'my spacing' and they worked just fine!

@pinnaclepottery635 3 жыл бұрын

Love your channel!. I’ve been a Gardner for decades. And now I’m learning so much from you. I do not rototill my vegetable garden. I hand dig it with a shovel to just lightly turn it over.A well tended garden space is like a blank artist canvas that I can create a beautiful edible painting on every year. ❤️

@nazaraki 2 жыл бұрын

I absolutely adore this advice. I'll admit, I've often shrugged off recommended plant spacing, largely because I have limited space but big garden aspirations, but a part of me has always wondered if maybe I was screwing up my plants long-term by crowding the plants too much. I'm not only relieved, but excited to implement your advice in my garden.

@ConnecttheDotsBaby 2 жыл бұрын

2 years ago I started pot gardening and bought 4 different varieties of hot peppers for 4 pots. I had to buy 4 plants per pot, because they came that way. I had no idea how it would turn out and I had tones of peppers. I had so many peppers I'm set for life. I had 15" pots with 4 pepper plants and 2 marigolds each.

@beckymartinez9926 Жыл бұрын

I see this video is 2 years old. Do you still grow 3x as much food or has your opinion changed since then? This information is incredible! The truth shall set you free!! Thank you so much. 🌿

@crisdonlon 3 жыл бұрын

Would love to hear more about the differences between high intensity spacing and the square foot gardening method!

@karens.chesny2343 3 жыл бұрын

Yes!!

@lauriedavis4045 3 жыл бұрын

They're basically the same thing. I just veer off the "strict" rules of SFG, use common sense, giving tons of nutritional support for growing plants... interplant... experiment and push the limits. It works!

@joeboodestiny6503 3 жыл бұрын

You are absolutely full of wonderful knowledge i come here if i have any questions. Great Vid man

@NSNorfolk 2 жыл бұрын

Excellent video! I had some 10 X 10' raised bed and in one, planted bush beans. We kept track of the harvests and ended up getting 40 pounds of beans out of a single 10 X 10!

@valerieellison2483 3 жыл бұрын

I like planting my squashes and pumpkins on the corners of my raised beds. Then they can trail into the walkways which are lined with weed fabric. That way I can plant more root veggies and vertical plant variety in the middle of the beds.

@bluedogsurvive6501 3 жыл бұрын

Excellent, just put in a 260 square foot garden and now I see I can grow WAY!! More then I thought I could! Thank you

@mariadurrence6508 3 жыл бұрын

A few years ago my tomatoes seedlings died, I had to start over, since I was late in the season I decided to plant them with only 3 sets of leaves and a foot of distance of each other, the result were amazing I had the best harvest at that time, since then I plant my tomatoes and peppers only a foot a part of each other and same size, usually my tomatoes reaches 10’-12’ tall and my peppers 2’-5’, with lots of production, the only down side is harvest takes more time due to spacing, I have to add, I don’t use raised beds, my garden is on the ground and I use the not dig method by Charles Downing

@cindypope4238 Жыл бұрын

God bless you for sharing this life changing advice. You are a generous young man to be so passionate to help others have better food at a much lower price. And so rewarding to see such a wonderful harvest!

@will8154 3 жыл бұрын

Hi! I’m a pretty new gardener and this season I’m growing some watermelons and I was wondering if you could do a vid about how to grow a watermelon in containers 😁

@melissasullivan1658 3 жыл бұрын

I believe CaliKim has a video on that if you want to go search. She does about 50% container gardening and I believe she does sugar babies every year.

@will8154 3 жыл бұрын

@@melissasullivan1658 ok I’ll go check her out thank you!

@cindyskillman544 3 жыл бұрын

People even grow watermelons on trellises. You have to put the melons in a sling. Pretty cool!

@pamholland7005 3 жыл бұрын

You might want to check out Christa's Garden, in addition to CaliKim. Christa's got great info on growing watermelons.

@therealz360z7 3 жыл бұрын

I would worry about watermelon drying out cause with grow bags everything needs alot more water as long as you stay on top of the watering there's no reason you couldn't grow watermelons.

@lidip8700 Жыл бұрын

I've always pushed the envelope with spacing. Now I feel better about doing it. I would be very helpful to make a video showing which vegetables to plant together, sharing raised beds...to help their growth and utilize spacing too. Thank you for all your excellent informative videos!! I love watching them & I suggest to others to watch as well.

@Claire-f 3 жыл бұрын

I’ve planted all my plants this year using your method. Thanks for the great info!

@charliehoos9773 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for sharing your beautiful garden and knowledge with us! I’ve always been told I plant too closely, but I love pruning as my time to myself.

@theoroadracer 3 жыл бұрын

Great channel, bought the square foot gardening book 30 years ago to get started in raised beds.

@MadameM. 3 жыл бұрын

It’s a great book!!!

@willsolarski8550 3 жыл бұрын

I've learned a lot from this channel, and what's more, it's information that can be put into practice. You keep making videos Luke, I'll keep watching them.

@JenniferGermain-rb2xg Ай бұрын

This just came up on my feed, I am sure I saw this when you published it. I have been doing it for years, think about what is shallow rooting veg and deeper rooting ones, you can plant them so much closer than you though. I have a small back yard, limited area with good sun, old neighborhood with a lot of very mature trees. It literally works so well thank you Luke

@pennylaur7687 3 жыл бұрын

Im doing this, this summer. Since my garlic n onions really have nothing up top I planted my tomatos n peppers between them. Put my cucumbers on one side to grow up a fence n my snap peas on the outside of the bed to also grow up a fence on the other side. I only have one raised bed 8' x 4' so, I have herbs on one end, easy to reach , and strawberries on the other end. We will see how it grows.

@pennylaur7687 3 жыл бұрын

A tip. If you have an aphid problem? Try planting alliums. Chives, garlic, onions seem to repel them. Im moving some of my chives next to my roses this year, an experiment.

@DavidSavon 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for pushing me to grow big!! I’ve been gardening for many years. I learned everything from my dad. He did things “old school “ so I’ve learned a lot from you! My biggest question would be do you prune lower leaves or thin out leaves like on cabbage or cauliflower to get more airflow. My big concern is not enough air flow and then getting disease. I’m in NE Ohio I think our weather is similar. Your spacing is definitely taking me out of my comfort zone, but I want to try it! I did a little last year and I will do more this year!

@kellystiner1005 3 жыл бұрын

I have to wonder if we are afraid of questioning out of fear… fear of failure… so what you have done is show us how it can be successful and then we become less fearful and for that I thank you!

@meemo32086 3 жыл бұрын

I think we don't question out of laziness. Thanks Luke for making it easy or easier for us all!!

@shirleyturlington2343 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for the great advise,its true we don't question what we have always done or were told to do, you have given me food for thought and I'm going to put it to the test.

@amieerollins5271 3 жыл бұрын

I would like your thoughts on square foot gardening

@skittles9970 3 жыл бұрын

Your garden is looking fabulous! I plant my tomatoes 1 foot apart and I built a lower-and-lean trellis last year and it is awesome! One lesson I did learn with this trellis though is that you need to choose varieties that grow at a similar rate, so this year should be even better! I love high intensity gardening! Thanks, Luke!!!

@Happytriggertime 3 жыл бұрын

This explains why MIgardener seed packets don’t list spacing (and force me to look at my square ft gardening book). This really helps reduce weeding when not using mulch.

@przybyla420 3 жыл бұрын

The “what IS going on” gets me every time. Trying to be nerdy 🤓 in a hilarious way, or just super-duper nerdy naturally? In non-nerdspeak one would say “what’s going on.”

@TheOtivid 3 жыл бұрын

My spring crops are all high intensity planted and I’m excited to see how well my summer crops do when I get them in the ground. The amount of lettuce I’ve harvested this year alone is ridiculous.

@sandykerr6381 3 жыл бұрын

I just planted my garden, I'm definitely adding more! Thank you for this video which is just in time!

@chrispysadventures1071 3 жыл бұрын

I did exactly as you mentioned high intensity growing in my beds all the plants are growing like weeds minus the weeds lol I have been growing in beds for years but I do have to say they are doing much better this year thanks so much keep up with the videos I never miss one and always look forward to the next thanks again peace ☮️

@user-bi6eg1lo7v 2 жыл бұрын

I've done vegetable gardening for one year in a new place I moved to and probably broke all rules of plant spacing. I treated my first year as one big experiment and took on the perspective of "what happens if I planted these densely?" I also reasoned that seeds could be planted closely together as long as the plants have enough nutrients within that space. Look at permaculture!--Planting is very dense. Why couldn't vegetable gardening be as well? But how close for each type of plant? I'll continue to experiment and find my own solutions. Questioning the status quo is very important with respect to gardening. Thanks for this informative video!

@nicidevine6670 2 жыл бұрын

We are only 2 people in our family so we don’t need that much food to grow in our garden, but we are going to grow as much as we can !!!

@noneyabusiness1302 2 жыл бұрын

As a single person. I am compelled to grow as much as possible, but I have no plan what to do with it!! (Besides learning to can)

@Sharon-kp7lc 4 ай бұрын

This episode is so liberating, thank you so much Luke. I’m planning out my raised bed right now. It’s so helpful to learn this spacing knowledge from you ❤❤❤

@kirkberryleo3307 3 жыл бұрын

Luke, the reason I trust and love your channel is 1st you are so geographically close to me, second is you don’t just promote sales. Having said that I did just order from you and I’m so happy to see what happens in my garden. Thanks brother

@bobbycarrell5050 3 жыл бұрын

I enjoyed your gardening method video, I have started using the square foot method which is intensive growing and the Mittlierder method which has been very productive for me. I am in my 70ies and started back in the seventies doing organic gardening I am still learning so much from you all here on KZfaq. I started taking the Organic Magizine in the seventies and learned a lot of my garden knowledge. Tried mounding the soil up and wide rows and grow the biggest turnups I had ever seen, that was early eighties., great garden that summer. Using compost and worm castings are the best.

@Jordan-uj7nl 3 жыл бұрын

I just started my first garden and have been watching a few of these videos, a few weeks ago when I started planting I was questioning the spacing as well! I decided to experiment with it and push the limits as well. So far so good but we'll see how it goes!

@sharimottram8266 Жыл бұрын

Getting ready for spring planting my first garden in over15 yrs, and trying to figure out the best spot to avoid shade, in my not downtown yard. I'm learning lots from our videos. Thanks.

@diann546 Жыл бұрын

Love your content. I have been doing “Square Foot Gardening,” by Mel Bartholomew for over 40 years. It is the only way to go. Two years ago, I thought I would give my okra a little more room. Instead of 16 in a 4’ square, I planted 9. My crop was much less. It still blocked weeds, but apparently they like to be closer together!

@nattierags 8 ай бұрын

Hi Luke. This is great information. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience so willingly and freely. I have to tell you I watched a garden "workshop" today. The facilitator went over some revolutionary gardening methods that would change my garden esthetics, productivity and other bold claims all for a steal of a deal $495..$295 if I enrolled now. She touched on this topic. I'm not spending that much to learn to be a better gardener. She said you could watch hundreds of KZfaq videos or learn it all from her. Which reminded me..yeah, I could watch MIGardener. So thanks again for your wisdom and endless enthusiasm. I promise to order seeds and maybe your books. 😊

@kittiew260 3 жыл бұрын

Love it! Actually how I planted some beds this year. Others did normal. Nice part have a live experiment to try out & side by side comparison. Another amazing video Luke! I have always grown a garden for food for my family & somewhat ignore seed packets. Especially when it comes to peas & beans.

@Sue-ec6un 3 жыл бұрын

Every year I experiment... I’m a bad record keeper so adding more plants helps a lot with yield.

@kirkmuffie7542 2 жыл бұрын

I love the better taste and the fact you know what went into what you are eating. The therapy is great. My 5 year old son helping out... I love gardening! 😃

@kennaoconnor4633 3 жыл бұрын

I tried this method after Luke did his first video on it and he's absolutely made a huge difference in how much food you get. Especially with zucchini and tomatoes. Trimming the leaves is key. I completely changed zones moving a few months ago. My Homestead has about an acre of farmable land. Unfortunately right now it's covered in black berries. The other 75% is under Cedar trees. So, I'm doing seed starts differently this year. Zucchini, tomatoes, and mostly herbs and putting them in grow bags so I can move them around. Selling the herbs. Microgreens later this summer, but they stay in the basement. Luke is my go too for garden advice. 🙏🙏🙏

@stephaniecraig696 3 жыл бұрын

I love how humble Luke always is! He’s gives me so much confidence to tackle my own garden. Thank you for all you do! Stay humble and kind. 🎶 🎸

@tobenrn 3 жыл бұрын

Hi Luke, thanks so much for so many great tutorials. I learn something every time I watch them! I am trying square foot gardening this year which I think is similar to your high intensity gardening. I love the idea of less watering and less weeding.