Gardening Archives - Grow Your Heirlooms

How To Make Your Own Grow Bags

After many requests from my video “How To Make Your Own Grow Bags” I decided to lay out the gallon sizes and dimensions for the fabric needed to make them. You can make these in any size you desire. In the first video, I explain the process of making them. In the second video, I … Read more

How To Grow Garlic

I usually get my fall garlic in the ground around Halloween or the first week of November. I’m running a little late this year. But in Zone 7b, I can actually plant anytime before the new year as long as the ground does not freeze. In this video I am planting in my newly cultivated … Read more

Make Your Own Soil-less Seed Starting Mix

I typically like to start my seeds in a soil-less mix. Especially if I’m germinating seeds that take a long time to sprout. Even so, it’s a good practice to start everything in this mix. The mix I use is 1 Part Perlite and 1 Part Coconut Coir. There are many reasons for using this … Read more

Compost Tea, Help or Hype?

Is compost tea helpful in the garden? In this video I give six reasons for not making or using it. There is no evidence to support the use of compost tea as beneficial to your garden. Here I will explain why.

Growing Goji Berry or Wolfberry Plants From Seeds

I bought my first goji plant 5 years ago as a small 10″ seedling. The bush is now 5′ tall and taking over the grow box I built to contain it. They grow fast, produce prolifically and provide some of the most nutrient dense berries on the planet.

The health benefits of Goji Berries:

Goji are members of the nightshade family and native to the Himalayan mountains of Tibet and Mongolia. Goji berries have been used medicinally in Chinese medicine for thousands of years.
They have the highest concentration of protein of any other fruit and more carotenoids of any food.
Loaded with vitamin C, high in fiber and 21 trace minerals, Goji berries have 10-15 times the iron found in spinach. They also contain zinc, calcium and selenium.
People are starting to realize the benefits of eating this super fruit and are scrambling to buy the berries fresh, dried or frozen.

Finding Good Carbon Sources For Your Compost Pile

The art of composting consists of adding both nitrogen and carbon to a large pile and letting it break down over time. However, the rate at which it turns into compost, is greatly affected by the nitrogen to carbon ratio. Typically, I add about 25% carbon to 75% nitrogen. Although this recipe varies greatly. To … Read more

Carolina Reaper/Banana Pepper Taste Test

The results are in (maybe not). Is it genetically possible for two distinct varieties of peppers to grow on the same plant? People have been patiently waiting for me to bite into the morphed red runt. I’ve grown the yellow banana for years and decided to cross it with the extremely hot Carolina Reaper. I … Read more

Dealing With Difficult Soil & Why Are My Tomato Skins Tough?

In this video, I will answer the following questions:

1. Are snow peas the same as Mange Tout
2. How to improve bad soil
3. Why are my tomato skins tough
4. You shouldn’t degrade people. Two wrongs don’t make a right
5. You must till in the compost to make it work
6. Will you send me some seeds Read More

Fertilizing My Plants and Pelleted Seeds Q&A

Today I will answer the following questions: 1. When it comes to large scale farming, you can only really plant in soil, right? 2. What’s the difference between soil and potting mix? 3. What are pelleted seeds? 4. What ever happened to your potatoes in the bucket I looked for a harvest video and I … Read more

Soil vs Compost, What’s the Difference?

I was watching a discussion on a popular garden forum between two well known seasoned gardeners. They were discussing the difference between “soil” and “compost”. One gentleman said that “soil” was anything consisting of decomposed matter. The other gentleman argued that “soil” was rocks and minerals. Well, for arguments sake, I’ll have to disagree with … Read more