It took less than two generations for us to forget how to feed ourselves. Mark is reintroducing the art. Good on ya brother! Cheers from Wyoming!!

But also, this man is just an absolute gem of a human being

"You may get sick of eating eggs but thats better than starving" Like how you keep it simple,cheers

I really appreciate the advice, "You don't have to be self-sufficient in everything, just something." I easily get obsessive and fall into the cognitive distortion of all-or-nothing thinking, overwhelming myself and halting progress.

"Let me try to do this quickly so you don't get bored" Don't you worry. I could literally listen to you talking about gardening for hours.

Mark needs some kind of international award for being such a great influence on the world.

I thnk having a garden makes people live longer. Not from eating the food, but from the feeling it gives the gardener. It is the most peaceful pursuit. Can be a lot of work, especially in the beginning, but it is peaceful work, the food TASTES better and knowing you grew it is a satisfying feeling. You are a good presenter as well. BB

I’ve just found you and I think you are going to change my life. I retired nearly two years ago and I’m caring for my 97yr mother and have my wonderful 21 yr grandson living with us. He’s just finished building us four quite large raised beds. Seeds have also just arrived and so a new adventure awaits us. I’m relying on you my friend to walk us through this lol. Subscribed😊🇬🇧

In these crazy times... the calm & friendly voice of a dinkum Aussie gardener helping us make good choices for the future is reassuring and infinitely helpful... thank you.

It's the accent, it's the clever one liners, it's the ease of "you can do this" attitude. A wonderful break from the static around us. God bless you

Indiana, USA…This was so well done. I am 68 yrs old and have never really built much but in 2020 have scrounged around for wood, dragged out my dad’s old hand saw and gave it a go. Have constructed 10 or so garden beds and am growing in containers inside many of them. Went to goodwill and bought what canning jars I could, running them through the sanitizing cycle in my dishwasher, asked around among family and friends for canning supplies,etc. I put up an inexpensive greenhouse all by myself. It has all been by myself. By the end of 2021 I have fine-tuned and better organized my efforts, eating my canned goods, etc. I am anxiously looking forward to 2022 as I mulch leaves, break up sticks, add food scraps, shredded paper etc to the two new pallet compost bins I have held together with zip ties! Having a good time creating, getting exercise, growing and eating my foods. I am vegetarian so have not branched out into keeping animals. You stay safe. I appreciate learning so much from you. Thank you.

Mark, your videos helped me get through 2020, now in 2021 my wife and I have a successful homestead started. Many raised garden beds producing tons of veggies, 15 Chickens, 14 ducks and 2 geese! Thank you for showing us the beauty and love of backyard farming. Gardening is so good for your mental health in these hard times.

I feel like your point about how people underestimate their abilities is a super important one. Not only that I think that people almost get blocked by perfectionism and think that cobbling something together is worse than doing nothing which couldn't be further from the truth! If it looks stupid but works, it ain't stupid!

Even when you fail at something, you usually learn something. My first time growing tomatoes, I got nothing. This is my 3rd time and I have dozens of huge beautiful tomatoes. If someone with my brown thumb can learn, so can everyone else.

When I see good videos like this I usually take my time to appreciate the experts who make these videos possible, it's not easy to help a lot of people make money

How can anybody dislike and put thumbs down for this fantastic channel. Mark is uplifting hopeful positive and spreads joy and good cheer. His teachings with great humour benefiting many people who have lost their jobs.

150 bee hives here in Baltimore and more on the way, 8 laying hens, and ZERO lawn converted to all veggies, fruit, and flowers for pollinators

Enthusiasm like this cannot be faked, and is very contagious

I love this guy and his content. He has so much credibility because he's showing what he's already done as opposed to an average youtuber who sticks a seed in the ground and then asks for donations. This property has been transformed for almost two decades. Imagine how many mistakes this man has made, how much he's learned, how many questions he has asked? Support this man, he's teaching you how to live.

mark, my name is bruce. 64 year old american. so glad i found your videos today. i also have 3 acres here in the

"If I can learn to do it, so can you". This is the golden rule.

Not gonna lie, I get way too attached to animals to be able to raise them for meat - luckily for me, eggs are a great source of protein all on their own 👍👍

I started gardening at the age of 20 and have been doing it for almost 2 years now . You have helped me a lot into creating a different lifestyle for my self and future family . Thanks for all your knowledge !!

Mark, I'm in Oklahoma, USA, I couldn't agree more! Your locks on the chicken coup are what my granny had on her chicken coups! To me, that's brilliant and ingenuity. I do love watching your videos!

We've all been taught by society to not know how to do anything. They want us to stay dependent.

Dude. I want you to know I’m eating up every little thing you’re putting out. Especially as an educator, currently not educating due to our quarantine. You’re inspiring me daily.

I found you 50 years to late. There were 12 of us and my parents never really taught us to help grow and cook etc. Too late now. Almost 70 yrs young in mind but not so much in body. I can just watch you and pretend I'm by your side. Thank you for being real and sharing your videos

I am 67 and my grandparents always had gardens, grapes, rhubarb, asparagus, and hunted and fished. Oddly, I do not know how to do much with it all, but, am learning more as I can. I love this channel, and am sharing too!

I asked my grandmother, years ago, how do you know when to slaughter the chicken. She said, " when the kids are hungry enough and the chicken is fat enough" I think if your kids really were hungry, you could do it.

You're right, Mark, Its never too late to start gardening and being self sufficient!

I keep coming back to this inspiring video because of Mark's honesty and simple "you-can-do-it-too" attitude.

Greetings from the US brother. I'm a old Marine and I always work on improving my survivability. My wife is old Army. Together we work as a team to build a sustainable life if things turn south. We've prepped food storage to the roof in our pantry. We know that this food isn't just for us but for our neighbors in that great need time that will be a blessing from God to both us and them. Found your channel and really appreciate your tips. I've bought a fantastic book that has forgotten knowledge of the pioneers that will be very handy in a time which I believe we're heading towards. But this was a great beginning to help with sustained food. Subscribed and looking forward to learning from you as well brother! God bless!

Making self sufficiency accessible to everyone. We live in a 'specialism' driven world where we shouldn't try to do what we are not trained or qualified to do. It's frustrating. Thank you for reminding us that we are capable of so much.

Current events have rekindled my interest in self sufficiency. I've been using the extra time I have at home to start some small projects on my 1/4 acre lot. Happy to have found this channel, much more relatable than some of the "prepper' info out there.

This 71 years young enjoys your videos. I'm a prepper-but it started in my youth from living with relatives that survived the Great Depression in Oklahoma. Everything you say in your videos is spot on. Thanks.

I’m having another bad day and am feeling pretty stressed out right now. This was surprisingly soothing and in a way encouraging. Hope I can do what you’re doing one day, cheers.

This man should have his own show! 😃

Mate, you should do vids to show how to pickle and preserve.

Bought 5 acres last year…..we now have our first 15 chickens. Raised garden beds next. All new to us, but we are taking the steps to move forward

Your peaceful and confident nature helps beginners so much

There are times when I wish my family lived like this. Having your own land and a little garden or farm just seems so cool.

"Need" and "want". Consider these words when shopping, you can save a bundle ;)

I grew up this way back in Colombia, and I thought we were poor 😔. Stupid me now I’m here learning how to live this way again. Thank you for re teaching me.

I am addicted to binge watching all of these videos now since yesterday, which is probably the healthiest addiction I could ever ask for haha. I have already lost count of how many episodes I watched but its amazing how much I have learned already. It is inspiring to see you make this all look so easy Mark. I helped my grandfather with his garden when I was 18 but since then I have only had the opportunity to plant and sprout a bean. I am so excited for when I move to a house in the summer and am going to see what crops will do well in June here in Texas (May have to buy some plants that I can transplant this year if its too late by then to start seed for most things). Hopefully I will have space to plant a small vertical garden or a few patches to get some good variety this year of fresh natural/ organic fruits, herbs, and veggies. If I do not have room to grow spices I will continue to at least buy them whole because they taste so much better also. Making curries and fusing that into even standard dishes such as meatloaf and barbecue chicken is incredible. It also helps me with my chronic pain and inflammation/ gut issues also plus I have been using alot of other spices that are not typical to learn all the different flavors available to see what works. I feel this is an undiscovered art in itself and the more healthy herbs/ spices/ veggies you can sneak into your food without altering the flavor too heavily can really enchance your dishes but if nothing else you get all of the whole plant medicine at its best even if it ends up a bit "wonky" haha. It is a trial and error learning process but I would not have it any other way! All fresh edible plants are truely medicinal in their own unique ways. Its through our deeper understanding of this that we will hopefully rely less on modern medicine, in place of simple time tested remedies that work better for simple things that dont require less appealing drugs (think antibiotics or unnatural drugs that kill all your good/ bad bacteria when there are natural alternatives that only kill the bad stuff while simultaneously promoting growth of healthy bacteria. ) The mycorrhizal network is also so magical and I wish people understood that nature communicates/delivers nutrients to all plants using this network. Without fungus breaking down old life turning it into new life I do not think any life could possibly exist so it is important that we take care of mother nature and "see the world through her eyes as you say". Just as I am empathetic towards others I am also empathetic toward nature. We have to take care of it now to reverse all these horrible side effects from depleting the earths nutrients. This is in part due to over farming low quality food and then wasting it on top of that. Instead of feeding those who need it or preserving it so much just gets thrown out while people starve everyday around the world who would kill even for a bland GMO vegetable over none at all. I wish more people in this world were genuine and optimistic because we can get through this together united if we put our minds to it. I am staying optimistic for the future, with this kind of accelerated learning maybe we can all get more people interested in growing their own food by word of mouth all around the world so they can tune in to watch you do it like a pro. This will not only make us self sufficient but able to feed our neighbors as well like you mentioned. If one person on every street or small block grew a decent size garden "we" as in all the people of the world may never have to worry about a lack of produce. Another good thing is being able to store all this long term so I am definitely going to be investing in pickling jars and probably more than one deep freezer so I can have fresh frozen foods all year round even out of season! I have already rediscovered my love for cooking and this will make my food so much better. I am so tired of all this waxy bland produce at the grocery store. Especially the tomatoes!! They are nothing like the huge tomatoes pee -paw grew on his small farm down by the crick! 😆 Keep up the good work Mark, you are a true inspiration to us all. I aspire to be even a fraction of the positive force in this world as you my friend!

I love second hand materials and the homemade “shoddy” look. I have much more respect for it than say something already made overpriced items in markets. When you try, you learn valuable lessons. You also save the planet by piecing together leftover lumber, etc. As long as it serves its function, you did good! There’s also something beautiful about things handmade that become heavily relied upon.

11:06 Wow, that Aztec corn looks amazingly delicious!!

Just sold our first house. Cashed out and bought a truck. Now we’re hunting for land for homestead. Man I love this channel 🍻

I really love your videos, how down to earth you are, and your humor. Thank you

Summary: • Growing your own food (vegetables & fruits) • Making your own carbohydrates (pasta, bread etc) • Having animals, eating their meat or their eggs and milk (poultry is the best and easiest) • DIY (make your own creations, constructions, pottery, electricity..) • Storing the plants you harvest (pickling them etc)

I watched all the videos, I really enjoy his style, in a year (after my marriage) I'm starting my homestead in North Africa and all thanks to "Self Sufficient Me"!!! Thank you man you're a treasure!! Keep up the good work!!! Cheers 🥂

I learn so much from you Mark all the time. One of my favorite youtubers. Society has kept us so busy with work that people dont have the time to grow their own food. Most have become dependent on the supermarkets and prices keep going up. I think every suburb should have its own community garden specifically run by its own community.

You just totally validated my chicken coop... over-engineered, looks like crap but held up to the brutal winter here in the NE NY US! Bless your heart! 🙂

Thank you for giving these tips in such a positive way. I've temporarily stopped watching some of the other KZfaqrs who are clearly panicked. Keep calm and garden on 👍🌿

Another very charitable approach is "rescue hens" - we got 6 battery hens which were in sort-of okay nick when we got them, but you should see them now! We get 5 eggs a day, not sure why the sixth isn't producing, but hey, that's still seriously totally heaps of eggs! And they are AMAZING!!!

Since 1996 myself. Planted fruit trees, blueberries, and grapevines. 2 garden plots and containers. Each year is improving and learning 😊.

Biltong! Now you're talking mate. I'm South African and spent 5 years in Oz. I made it while living in Dubbo. Back home now and loving it.👍

YES! "Get rid of that grass..." lawn is like the most *USELESS* "crop" to endeavour to cultivate. Fortunately, our chooks love to "mow my lawn" in the back, so my back lawn isn't a total waste of.

10:41...wait for it...10:50...wait for it...10:58 - BAM! That is some gorgeous corn! I was not prepared for that color! Fantastic. That was worth the wait. :)

I learned something new today. You and I were both soldiers. Even more of a fan now. Only those that have served understand those that have served.

That locking system reminds me so much of my dad, he was always building things like that on our little farm! Thank you so much for bringing back that memory of him. He is dearly missed.

I would take "shoddy" looking reused materials over pristine new material any day :-)

g'day from america! :) love all your videos, such an inspiration. keep it up!

this man is so sweet and honestly i'm not breeding anything in my life but i'm so into it right now.

Greetings from Georgia in USA. Best gardening videos on you tube. I have learned so much. Thanks for all your efforts.

OMG - we laughed so hard when you said that you're not a master carpenter, as anyone who's watched you can attest! You have a wonderful dry wit and make very smart suggestions. Thank you for making the video! We've subscribed!

Holy shit I just found the holy grail of KZfaq channels!!!!! Thank you 🙏

Diane from 'Cape Town, SAfrica. Sit for hours learning from you. Our climates are similar. Thank you. Starting to eat more from my potted garden. Please don't stop. 👏

Im from South Africa, and your pronouncement and enjoyment of biltong is spot on

@Self-sufficient Me From your own backyard, you have been planting seeds all across the world by inspiring us, teaching and leading by outstanding examle. The humble, good nature & honest approach to hard work is what makes you a 'bloody legend' in my book Mike. Thank you! Greetings and warm regards from SAfrika

How can we ever thank you enough? I am so brand spanking new to this type of THINKING, yet alone living, and videos like these are such a good place to start! You have so much wisdom and I am so thankful that you share it with us newbies!

You are the Russel Crowe of gardening...love to watch your videos, as I start having a garden life. Best wishes from Europe

I can't express enough how "repurposing things" is so important. Too much is thrown away that's still useful to a degree. My mom, for one, is always keeping various linen scraps, torn linens, etc. She always finds a way to put them to some kind of use rather than toss them. I, too, have been bitten by the "keep it because you can still find a use for it" bug. Sadly I don't have a very inventive mind, so I tend to look online for ideas on what to do with some stuff. Your videos are super helpful for that!

Can't keep pigs on a 3 acre property but big companies are allowed to keep pigs in cages...

I was so surprised when he peeled that corn..😯 red corn😆

Thank you I'm 54 and from papua new guinea, next 20 years left in my life, will do exactly do as you have shown. Really appreciate it .I will subscribe to you channel,

You are my fav gardener, thank you for all your lessons and now that you've mentioned MY HOME, SOUTH AFRICA, you get an extra point. YOU GO MARK

I’d like to get a chunk of land but since we aren’t able, we are trying to build these skills you mention. Love the videos

I love it! It doesn't have to be pretty or perfect. It just needs to function.

We too are horrible at building. But our run is a portable carport with chicken wire around it and a couple used screen doors. A Rick rack coop we keep clean. Free chickens. I use my front lawn as a nice clean place to let them hang out. They run in the garden a little as pest control. LOVING YOUR LOCK. so helpful.

I love the good olé “Guoodaiy” in the beginning. So humble!

I've been watching you for a little while now, and I just had to leave a comment. You present yourself to me, as such an honest, kind, entertaining, passionate, charming, charismatic, intelligent, knowledgeable & inspiring person. You have taught me a great deal in the numerous videos that I've watched now. You can always put a smile on my face, and a few chuckles here, and there. 🥰 I'm not one to comment publicly very often, if at all. However, I really felt the need to Express my feelings, and opinions for you & what you do. You're doing an excellent job, and you're very much a person to look up to. Thanks So Much! P.S.- Bad Nematode infestation on old widespread/farmland property...what can someone do in a situation like that? Where to even start? If you have any knowledge on the subject, or any good resources, I would love to hear! Much Appreciated!! Sincerely, Chelsea

What a wonderful video! Thank you! I live in an apartment in Jordan Amman I had bought while I was working in Iraq. But now that I moved back to Jordan and life is getting more and more expensive, this is exactly my future plan- to sell the apt, buy a big piece of land, a decent size house built in the middle, and a wonderful self-sufficient garden and life.

Man ever time I watch or rewatch your videos I am always getting little nuggets of gold. Always appreciate it. Cheers from the PNW of the 🇺🇸

Great vid mate. We started our self sufficient adventure a few years ago and are getting there slowly. Cheers for the tips.

Thanks for the great content!! Everyone, take care of one another. ❤

thanks for all your hard work making these videos, its appreciated more than you'll ever know.

I’m learning so much from you. When I watch one of your videos, I feel like I really can tackle these projects. I appreciate your gift of teaching, your humility, and the joy you show when you’re gardening.

Mate you are Man with honor, please keep you channel up and running. Thank you. Dennis-Michael.

Love your philosophy: functionality over appearance, self-sufficiency in whatever possible, doing the best you can, conserving rather than wasting, & making do. Thank you, & best wishes 👍

Thank you for stating the difference between storing in vinegar and true fermenting. True fermented good, without vinegar, are probiotic foods containing trillions of colony-forming units (cfu's), and are highly beneficial to gut health. Thank you for your site. I'm really learning a lot👍

Your buildings dont look shotty, they are full of life. Reusing old materials gives it meaning and character. well done

Small farmer from Washington state. Love the channel.

All I can hear in my head: "Bodgy Builder can he fix it? Bodgy Builder, yes he can!" Lol! I completed Geoff Lawton's permaculture design course about 6 years ago and due to life circumstances didn't really keep up. Getting inspired again. Loving the content mate, thank you!

Love this episode. I built my own greenhouse/ wood shop over 20 years ago, no power tools. I built raised beds and now am focusing on mason bees and Monarch butterflies. I planted every tree on my property. I really enjoy your videos because I need to be with like minded folks. My husband and son could care less. Interesting that now we are quarantined, they realize there is food, medicine and N95 masks in my stash! Go figure.

Love you brother!!! Keep it up. Your doing a service for humanity.

I've had so many pipe dreams growing up. I was sure I'd be living in Japan by now but Covid woke me up out of that slumber and now my new dream is to get into carpentry so that i can learn how to build my own tiny home on a plot of land and start a garden. I long for the old ways of doing things so bad now. Thanks Mark for making videos and inspiring us.

I really loved the 'build' portion of this, it is totally about ANYONE being capable of putting some type of structure together if they need to! And I loved that he didn't get stuck on 'pushing organic rice' purchases, which I'm sure he would personally prefer! Just buy and store some rice, you can't make it yourself! Some things have to be PURCHASED during a crisis. It will depend on your situation and your WANT TO. Some of our newly minted 'gardeners' will stop after the crisis has passed. Not everyone is truly interested or SUITED to be a veggie gardener or Homesteader. (or real Farmer).

I'm reclaiming and replanting my veg garden which has been fallow for two years. Being isolated at home has motivated me. Thank you, Mark. Your videos have been inspiring!

I really like your way of explaining things and the pace of your speech... everything seems simple and perfectly possible !!

One of your best and most inspiring videos Mark... I also try to produce around my 1 acre yard, in repurposed containers.. 3/4 of the land are with trees off course. Repurposing, composting and using seeds from store bought plants or previous crops.. This year we produced (more than enough for two families) olive oil, wine, grapes, pomegranes, figs, lemons, peppers, squash, tomatoes, cherries, greens.,.. Also some onions and potatoes, eggplants, some oranges and mandarines... Didnt' do too well with corn or zuchinni... Bottom line, this is the fourth or fifth year, and every year is better and more interesting than the previous one.. Not too much work, we let nature take its course, no expenses (apart from watering the plants).. I would say that most work is in the phase of collecting and preserving or donating the crops (which also is the most satisfying part).. I totally agree that ONE DOES NOT NEED TO STRIVE FOR EXCELLENCE.. Also, from experience, prepare and plant many plants.. If you go for 5 tomato plants and you loose half of them, it's a failure.. If you start with 20, you can still be sufficient with the remaining ones..