SHE Grows POUNDS of Food on a Deck, EVERY WEEK! Summer Garden Harvest

[Music] foreign [Music] just start growing your own food in your backyard but what if you don't have a backyard and what's not getting enough attention is that folks like you and me that just have a deck or a patio or truly just a few square feet can actually rival what in-ground gardeners can produce maybe I don't have a single blade of grass out back but that still hasn't stopped me from growing pounds of food on just a deck for years now I'm in my fourth year of getting results like this yeah you're a clever somebody I can tell you already picked up on a feature of my garden yeah it's that I exclusively grow in vertical Planters and that's because growing vertically is how a small garden competes with any other it takes the reaction others have when they see your garden to oh that's cute too whoa you're serious oh I am very serious vertical gardening has given me the healthiest and most successful Gardens I've ever had Since switching to my green stalks four years ago who needs land when you could use the air instead of growing horizontally the ability to stack your growing space and create vertical real estate literally out of thin air makes vertical gardening the answer to your gardening dreams so from one small space grower to another in this video I'm going to share how I consistently grow over 150 different crops including herbs flowers fruits and vegetables exclusively on a townhouse deck throughout the seasons explain why this system of gardening is cheaper than using five gallon buckets or containers show you how to set up a green stock planter in minutes which doesn't require tools or much time and let you see how I'm able to significantly reduce my grocery budget and have substantial Harvest using a planter designed for all ages and stages of gardeners just a little caveat before we get started here that um the way my garden continues to look year after year is a shock to even me which is why I need to let you know that you're listening to an intermediate beginner Gardener okay I have no real gardening credentials and I don't keep a complicated routine these Planters and how you maintain what you're growing in them is embarrassingly simple all gardeners face three obstacles that can sabotage your success but green stalks help you manage pest pressure watering and fertilizing leaving little room for error take a look grab your morning cup of coffee because with a green stock Garden you can enjoy a cup of joe in one hand with your watering holes in the other there's no watering guesswork because all you have to do is fill the top water reservoir which is what you see me doing here unlike other stackable Planters a green stock has a series of basins that deliver fresh water to each tier at the same time the gray discs then starts dripping fresh water into each pocket keep filling the top water reservoir until water drips out from the bottom hose you can then stop filling the top and know that the bottom tier is getting water the results are more consistent watering and you're not over saturating some tears to bring water to others fertilizing is just as simple I make my own fertilizers but regardless of what you use you can deliver nutrients directly to individual plant pockets and also with any water-soluble or granular fertilizers with the green stocks watering system by elevating plants off the ground vertical Gardens minimize direct contact with the soil which is where many ground-dwelling pests such as slugs or snails Thrive and access your crops you'll also experience better air circulation around plants compared to traditional in-ground Gardens which will deter pests that are attracted to damp environments when pest pressure is at its worst you'll love using green socks insect protection covers green stock excels at Boutique packaging and I'm going to repurpose that beautiful ribbon the insect protection covers work well with all sizes of green stock Planters and is multi-purpose because it can be used for shrubs and small trees this Innovative material was specifically designed to block white flies aphids Leaf Miners and thripes just throw it on and zip it up you'll appreciate that it zips from the bottom for easy Harvest and allows 80 of sunlight through if you have a green stalk with plant supports for your Vining fruits and veggies like I do your cover still provides protection it's sewn with UV stable threading and binding a watertight zipper and five-year warranty these covers give you your very own Greenhouse right on a deck a healthier Garden produces a higher yield which is why I'm able to harvest a variety of herbs from mid-spring to late fall every year and offset nearly all of our fresh grain needs nothing beats adding fresh herbs to any home-cooked meal but whoa the price you'll pay for barely a handful of them at the grocery store is shocking one of my green stocks is entirely filled with herbs I harvest nearly every day you'll regularly gather Bunches of Rosemary marjoram oregano Sage Thyme and parsley that will never spoil on you in the fridge like the overpriced store packs well because you just Harvest when you need it you can densely pack these Planters too I grow lettuce the size of my hand dark leafy kale chard microgreens and spinach all without land I've got half the fixings for a salad on demand that's the feature I love most about growing my greens outdoor Refrigeration eliminates waste and has better taste I even grow celery celery all since I don't have lots of pest pressure my lettuces are healthy and cut and come again in a previous video I shared how much we love taking a bowl of feta cheese crumbles Craisins and glazed walnuts to the Garden to make these Savory crunchy juicy lettuce wraps are you starting to see how you can regularly offset your grocery alliance with just even one planter or how much you could grow with several from flowers to herbs root vegetables eggplant and squash what can't you grow in a green stock and the best part vertical gardening is downright convenient you don't have to bend down or get on your knees to get to your plants whether you're watering or pruning or harvesting everything is right there at eye level green stock has made it that easy honey do you hear what I'm saying you're going to get more plants and less space that's extremely accessible and convenient if you're a small space grower I already consider us to be gardening friends no matter what you decide to grow in so maybe one of these Planters will be something that you'll add to your existing gardening situation or if you're in a highly restrictive or landless situation like me you might want to only use green stalks the thing you'll absolutely love about your green stock planter is that it doesn't require any tools or much time to put one together it's part of the reason these Planters are so addictive you'll get free shipping with the purchase of a planter and it'll arrive in a marked box with handling instructions green stock excels at packaging your items with care oh don't miss the order details that they tuck on the inside flap of your box I always start by removing the items from the box because my plan is to break down the box and repurpose it to cover my deck so that as I fill the planter with potty mix things stay clean foreign ER contains one top Reservoir which is the initial watering filling point that dispenses water to the lower level tiers in your planter you'll also receive individual gray watering discs which drip fresh water into each pocket The Leaf planter comes with seven planters that have six pockets for a total of 42 planter Pockets 7 inches deep these are food grade UV resistant BPA BPS and PVC free plastic this family-owned company always includes a card showing the employee that packed your box thanks Dustin yay it's a green stock goodie bag which everyone gets for any order no way I couldn't believe this sticker which was a picture of coleus because I had the exact same flowers already on my patio table ready to be planted in my green stock the seed packet stickers are cute too I also got a free packet of their butter crunch lettuce which I'm already growing I love this variety it holds up its texture and crunch well into the hot humid summer listen as always the Peterson Family sends you a thank you card for choosing their tennessee-based family-owned company you'll love your green stock manual and instructional foldable which shows you what you can plant in your full-size original or Leaf planter with beautiful illustrations and three simple steps to assembly you're on your way to a garden in minutes once assembled your planter will sit on a planter base I selected the spinner base which allows you to smoothly rotate your planter but is also a universal base for other containers you may have the bottom of the base has holes for the six wheels three non-locking and another three that are locking so that you can secure the planter Wheels in place or unlock them for easy rolling around on your deck patio or pavement instructions for use are printed right on the bag oh here's where we'll insert the drainage tube later you only want to use a high quality potting mix this is a brand I picked up from my local Nursery try to Source something that is organic and for outdoor use here's a trick take the bag for your wheels and use it to cover the hole on your planter that way you won't waste any of the potting mix we're about to pour in or create a clog all right go ahead and pour in your potty mix to the marked fill line labeled on the inside of each planter I'm adding some worm castings to give my new plants a nutrient boost y'all the other day when I picked up my potting mix my Nursery marked down their four pack annuals to a dollar each so I went a little crazy I'm often asked how I determine what to plant in each tier so here's my rationale I prefer my top tier planter to act quite literally as a crown of florals I think it really draws the eye and gives the flowers access to full sun without being shaded by other leafy plants I have some Sky High dahlias and one of my Planters and drooping honeysuckles in another to create a little drama you'll notice that I tuck two flowers in each pocket which can be done with varieties that aren't going to double or triple in size throughout the season I pretty much just play around and see what I like and you should too each year it changes and I love that about my garden once your planter is filled remove the baggie you simply repeat these steps with your subsequent Planters but let me show you how you can use a combination of direct sewing and homegrown starts in your planter for the second tier I've decided I'm going to plant dwarf cherry tomato plants and basil which are excellent companion plants Tomatoes love calcium which prevents Blossom and rot and I dehydrate and Crush our eggshells to make my own shelf stable calcium powder I'm sprinkling that at the Midway point of the potting mix then taking some tomato plants I picked up for my farmer's market removing some of the soil from around the roots and replanting them in my Planters I've grown some of my own basil so I'm again adding two plants per pocket before we continue I want to tell you something what do I wish that I would have just started in a grain stock instead of using five gallon buckets and containers which I thought would be cheaper but they ended up costing me more than a green stock I um I just couldn't see it at the time probably like most folks when they first started gardening I initially used a combination of five gallon buckets and clay and plastic and cloth pods because they're easy enough to find on clearance or at the thrift store let's use Easy numbers and I'll even be a bit conservative on cost but let's say each container costs you five bucks and of course you'll pay just a little bit more if you're using food grade or biodegradable materials initially I lined my deck with 20 containers but of course you catch the gardening bug and you can't stop there before I knew it I was up to 40 containers and there was another problem my husband well to clarify he pointed out the problem the drainage holes from those pots were leaving stubborn deck stains that needed to be power washed at least twice during the growing season and no one wants to move around 40 pots on their weekends so then I figure that I get trays to avoid the situation but whoa that's another cost times 40 for each container it might give you a pretty picture but let me tell you individual containers of different sizes and materials are high maintenance your clay and cloth pots need to be watered more frequently than your non-porous pots like plastic cloth pots will start to break down on you after three to four seasons and will need to be replaced if I wanted to Chase or avoid the sun there I was moving around those pots every day so then I thought about getting planter caddies for each of my pots but y'all those caddies cost more than the pots themselves and I'd need about 15 of them we didn't even talk about how you still need to buy trellises for your tomato and your pepper plants so they're still that cost now if you're in a smaller home you already know how much you cherish your square feet but because I had started to line my pots two rows deep around the perimeter of the deck and even had some of my containers on the little built-in benches my husband said okay so the plants have a place to sit but where do the people go darn it he was right and I didn't have a good answer for that I mean we really couldn't enjoy our deck space because my container garden was quickly encroaching on our our walking and sitting space and somehow I had to reconcile that I wanted to be a high density ambitious grower while I have dreams of having a small Homestead one day the reality is that our current place is what we will call home for at least the next four years and that's valuable time that I could be using to learn about the facets of gardening seed starting harvesting making my own fertilizers and well making the most of what I have right now I mean take a look at my current growing space with the green stalks and imagine if each of those green stock planter Pockets were pots that I had to spread across my deck instead I've reclaimed my deck as a space for retreat and entertainment and have a garden that adds to the space rather than intrudes upon it if this is our first time meeting hi I'm Cassandra from the Vlog becoming a farmgirl.com and I'm here to help you live a farm fresh life without land or livestock in a small space and in your spare time I teach food preservation and small space gardening skills for those of us that are well becoming farm girls when you decide the time is right for you you can use my code be a farm girl to take ten dollars off your green stock order okay let's get to our next tier but first I need to lay down some more cardboard in case you were wondering each original tier holds about eight gallons of potting mix while each Leaf planter featured here holds about six gallons remember any high quality lightweight potty mix works well you absolutely want to avoid using topsoil raised bed soil or garden soil because those mixes simply aren't formulated to work well with the drainage system and can lead to disappointing results in the next mid-level tiers I'm going to plant my Vining veggies like eggplant and green beans which I've started from seed at this level they'll have a few feet to grow up and wrap around the Snap-on plant supports that I'll add as they grow larger I'll link my seed haul video but I enjoy growing fast growing made for container varieties and hybrids now since I know these varieties are going to get sizable I'm planting just one egg plant per pocket but two pole bean plants per pocket your green stock brochure provides a general guide as to how many plants you can put in each pocket suggesting that you can put two to three plants of non-hetting lettuce radishes carrots bush beans cilantro beets spinach snap peas or herbs in just a single pocket but stick with just one plant per pocket if you're planting tomatoes potatoes eggplant broccoli kale Peppers cabbage cucumbers corn strawberries onions cauliflower collards squash or zucchini don't be shy to plant directly from seed in your green stock I'm succession planting so I'm starting another tier of beans from seed and I'm going to plant some Swiss chard which holds up excellent in the summer heat on the bottom tier so that it's shaded by the growing leafy green beans now these aren't hard and fast rules do whatever works for you some people like their plants more crowded because it gives their Planters a more full look and others want the max yield per plant so they give them more space all right here are seven tiers fully planted and just in time before a summer downpour started your green stocks are a perfect match for strong wind and rain you can confidently leave them out all year in any weather now during your initial setup you'll want to thoroughly water each tier until the soil is watered throughout aha it's a few days later and we have both bean sprouts and swiss chard sprouting to stack your planter you'll need to start with the planter base remember your wheel kit comes with three locking and three non-locking wheels to assemble you're going to use firm pressure to pop the wheels into place alternating the Locking and non-locking wheels around the ultimate spitter base you can add the drain hose if desired the spinner base has grooves that secure the feet of your planter to the base place it on top you'll fill the grooves connect next place one gray disc on top of the tear lining up the holes with each pocket then you'll stack each tier making sure the Planter's feet interlock with the planter below the green stock pieces fit snugly together once the weight of the potting mix is added so you won't experience any shaking or wobbling it's crucial you check and see that the planter feet are actually interlocked rather than stacked on top you don't want this you want this continue alternating placing a gray watering disc on each tier and oh listen for this sound as a guarantee that your Planter's feet are secure congrats my friend you've just planted at least 40 plants in less than two square feet lastly take your top water reservoir and snap its feet to your top planter I needed a simple way to keep track of how and what I've planted in my green stock Planters throughout the changing seasons and the green stock Journal provides durable pages and an excellent layout that doesn't over complicate things and makes recording fast and easy the journal features an undated calendar a guide to what to plant and more alright now it's time for me to situate my Planters on my deck can you believe I'm moving around over 40 plants on each planter nearly 120 crops just on the right side of my deck with another 80 on the left side insane but you can do it too green stock recently launched a magazine that features seasonal tips delicious recipes and other green stock gardeners from around the country whoa look at her garden earlier I share that I'm not a gardening expert so don't be alarmed when you receive your green stock box and find my picture and gardening story featured this was my garden from last year these Planters have allowed me to experience the joy that is gardening and will do the same for you want to learn more about what I plant and how I fertilize my green stock Gardens for free click on the video on your screen I'll see you in my kitchen or garden soon take care friends [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause]

Channel: Becoming a Farm Girl

Views: 509,230

Keywords: greenstalk, vertical planter, verticalgardening, smallhomestead, balconygardening, balconygarden, deckgarden, patiogarden, growfoodinasmallspace, smallspacegardening

Id: E5nV_AS89P8

Length: 19min 18sec (1158 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 28 2023