Starting a Garden: Soil Preparation, Biochar, Compost & More

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Where to buy the BioCharlie: http://amzn.to/2aq0SYo Learn more about biochar: https://fbit.co/1fKR Enjoy our videos? Want to see more? Learn how to support our channel here: http://purelivingforlife.com/support/ We just moved to our off grid property and now that spring has arrived, we are feeling eager to grow our own food! While we may not have a large, thriving garden this year, we'd at least like to start the gardening process by amending our soil. In this video we'll share what we're doing to give ourselves the foundation of a healthy garden including use of compost, biochar and a few other special things you will find out about. If you enjoy this video, be sure to subscribe to our channel and off grid homesteading blog (http://purelivingforlife.com) to stay posted on our progress! POSTS YOU MAY ENJOY Month three of our off grid homesteading journey: http://purelivingforlife.com/month-three-roundup/ The emotional day we moved to our property: http://purelivingforlife.com/moving-to-our-property/ Our must-have homesteading tools: http://purelivingforlife.com/homestead-tools/ How we make our own lumber with an Alaskan chainsaw mill: http://purelivingforlife.com/making-lumber-with-alaskan-chainsaw-mill/ Frozen Parody: Do You Want to Start a Homestead? http://purelivingforlife.com/do-you-want-to-start-a-homestead/ ENJOY THIS VIDEO? SUPPORT US WITHOUT PAYING A DIME! It takes us 40+ hours a week to document our journey on both our blog and our YouTube channel. If you enjoy watching our videos and want to help us to produce more of them, learn how you can help us without spending a dime! http://purelivingforlife.com/support/ GET SOCIAL Follow us as we build our off grid homestead 100% from scratch! We post a lot of stuff to both our blog and our other social media channels that don't make it to YouTube, so be sure to follow us there for the full scoop of what we're working on! Blog: http://purelivingforlife.com Instagram: http://instagram.com/purelivingforlife Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/purelivingforlife Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/purlivforlif Twitter: https://twitter.com/pureliving4life EQUIPMENT USED TO PRODUCE THIS VIDEO Camera #1: http://amzn.to/2aykTf8 Camera #2: http://amzn.to/2aCddvP Tripod: http://amzn.to/2aShOL4 Macbook Pro: http://amzn.to/2aCdGhy Editing software: http://bit.ly/1oTH5av FTC DISCLOSURE The Biocharlie was provided to us to use by American Sequesters CO2 but all opinions are our own. Other keywords: amending clay soil organic gardening garden soil organic gardening for beginners gardening tips organic gardening tips garden soil preparation biochar making biochar biochar soil amendment compost composting vegetable garden home garden gardening ideas clay soil starting a garden

Comments

this is interesting

WOW great start and man lots of rocks, should look at using the rocks to build terraces UP that great slop and that should help catch and slow down rain water so can soak into ground and also increase your available planting area with out spending a lot on digging hauling and buying materials.

aerated compost tea is great.

You gave tons of trees. Burying trees is a great base for any long term garden

Wow well done. Great research you did, using char cloth techniques to create garden supplements is genius! Just be careful not to grow root crops as your raised beds are very short and ground too hard.

As for your compost bin, it looks like mine but I've got 3 bays. Some helpful advice is you don't have nearly enough green materials in there and all that pine is acidic. I'd suggest collecting either grass clippings from your neighbors or bags of coffee grounds from Starbucks. Yes you have grounds yourself but with all those browns you need massive amounts of greens. I've found a 2/3 green to brown mixture is best. You know you did it right if it heats up within 12 hours and steams. Even relatively small piles do that in the winter. I had neighborhood cats sleep on mine. Hope that helps.

Great work on starting the garden. Let me know how I can help.

You two should do a google on "back to eden" gardening

Hi, maybe you could try something like this for the garden --- https://vimeo.com/28055108 --- Back To Eden OFFICIAL FILM

There's the bodies at 3:21. 0_o Great idea though I never thought of burning old bones for biomass.

I get mine from my stove sift the ashes and ya get a good bit of char

I love your ideas!!! Great videos!!!

if you get a watering can and a bucket, Pee in the bucket and fill it up with water and pour it in your watering can. Water your veggies with it, it's so good for your soil. And undiluted Pee us great on your compost, it speeds it up . I swear, Google it.

Watch Justin Rhodes vlogs. His ideas could really help you!

hi new subbie here :) I learned from one of other utubers that adding pines on the compost isn't good because they're acidic. :( I don't do it just for safety measure. But I don't know, maybe you want to check as well. hehe. Love what both of you are doing!!! Good luck and God bless!!:)

Soil Improvement? Instead of spending your hard earned money on a septic tank, just go out at night armed with a shovel, just bury them all over your hillside to decompose. Dig Swales (shallow trenches) across your hillside on the contour lines and fill the trenches with organic matter. This will gradually stop the water that would otherwise just come racing down your hill and into the river, the organic matter will gradually decompose into compost. Are you looking at getting compost worms to turn your food waste into worm wee and vermicompost?

make sure those bones arent humans lol

dont use pine needles. (use those for bio char) pine needles have acid in them that well kill plants, it well ruin the value of your compost.

Reminded me of the Idle Theory Bus! Nice. Congrats and thanks.

Wow, sounds like a great, well planned, organic, sustainable, very cost efficient garden.. You two should excavate that hill and make it a multi level garden, like a rice paddy..!! Would that work..!?!? That would be AWESOME..!!