Growing Food Vlog - Day 1 - Installing a Compost Container

[Sheila6325]

Make sure there are holes in the bottom of that composter. If you put too much water on it, it will go bad and boy is that terrible. The largest items in a compost pile are dried up leaves from trees, and grass. The grass gets hot and cooks the leaves and they both turn into dark rich soil. Kitchen scraps are great, egg shells, coffee grinds, bananna peels, orange peels, etc. Nothing Greasy, or Oily, or anything that is not GROWN.

No need to add much soil, your going for light and fluffy.

[rickvanman]

Thanks for the tips. I have since emptied most of the soil out of the composter and regularly add kitchen scraps etc. The remaining soil in the bottom, I dig a spade full from beneath and add it on top of the kitchen scraps etc each time I add more. Hopefully it will all work out over time.

[Sheila6325]

Sounds like you already have it down pat! Your going to just love it when you see how it makes your plantings grow. You can use a lot less water in the summer too. Compost is just great, and thank you for getting me started on my gardening, you sure perked me up to get busy. Good luck, and bless.

[MrHorsetail]

I compost every year. It's a great hobby. It won't cook in the winter, but when spring comes throw something containing nitrogen in it like your hydro solution, green stuff, coffee grounds. I compost mostly grass clippings from my anyone who wants to get rid of them. You need to throw fresh green grass in because the nitrogen dissipates and then the grass turns brown. You need to keep it stirred up and don't throw anything but plant material in it because it will stink and harbor diseases.

[s0s0bad]

Great stuff, I've just moved home and have a micro garden. Will be knocking up raised beds soon. Might even set up a bee hive while I'm at it. Keep up the vids, they're a great inspiration.

[RJL738]

I'm glad to see you making video about what you are doing with your garden.

[55022RSG]

Great Video Rick =D

[ZZReptiles]

reminded me of The Big Comfy Couch haha. that old American tele show

[niallswand]

Great! What about a few time lapse videos with your great music behind it...?

[lillith886]

what an exciting project. can't wait to see how much you get from your 'no longer low maintainance' garden. we just dug over the polytunnel ready for our first seeds. we did it in t-shirts and got too warm in there!! lol!! we use old tyres for our composters. we're going to relocate them into the polytunnel so that they don't stop working in the winter months and the leachate from the bottom can feed the plants in there.

[mujawooja]

Hi Rick hope it' s a bumper year in the garden.I grow fruit and vegetables at work at the hospice with the kids, as well as our own little film company Living Films that I run.

Bernie

[Zeamus634]

Get some Dendrobaenas, we used to farm them for fishing and composting.

[Domingo0022]

Favorited!!

[johnny102marvin]

I was watching SQUARE FOOT GARDENING on YouTube. How deep is the soil suppose to be. I like this square foot gardening concept better than I do container gardening.

[rickvanman]

I understand it to be between 6 - 8 inches deep. I've just built my first square foot bed - hope to build another as soon as the rain stops!

[MrSmallButBrave]

Rick!

do you have an emailadres?

i'd like to ask you some questions, and i'd rather do them on your emailadres... no idea why ;p

[rickvanman]

Thank you. Yes the GB weather can be a pain, but I will muddle on nonetheless!

[garryentropy]

throw in a couple of cups of hornshavings bonemeal or dried blood to accelarate the composting process

[rickvanman]

Thanks for the tip :o)

[FenderGibsonWashburn]

Now I understand how you can accomplish so much in a day. Once you get going you are fast. LOL I've sent you an email containing some of my experiences with container gardening. I hope you find it helpful.

[rickvanman]

LOL - about 900 times faster than the average Human!

Thanks for the e-mail - have reponded.

Cheers

Rick

[johnny102marvin]

WORMS....Rick add worms to your compost heap.  The worms will break everything down in a hurry. Get some good earth worms.

[rickvanman]

Added 10 earth worms this morning! LOL! Will buy more when I pass the tackle shop

[justjoemusic]

Got a good idea here... Iv been meaning to get something sorted by either stocking up on food that does not perish too quickly and storing it or growing my own food and stocking up on seeds and so on, wanted to do this incase something bad happens between now and 2012 or after. Will keep checking back for any updates... haha I need my haircut too, was going for a mohican but my woman wont let me arrgh LOL!

Joe

[rickvanman]

It's always a good thing to do Joe, if nothing else it makes for a great hobby.

Got the hair cut this morning and it's SHORT! LOL!

[justjoemusic]

Yes will start cleaning the garden out Sunday, want to start sooner but iv a camerajib to make first lol... I found some cheap books about food growing, gardening and composting and so on so will purchase those tomorrow. LOL @ the hair, didnt get mine done today.

[24602400]

look up square foot gardening. it might help.

[rickvanman]

Thanks, i hope to employ square foot gardening as one of the methods I'll be using

[troglodyte3344]

Yeah you could tell he was still drunk on plum wine at the start. haha

[MokuPueo]

cut grass is really good for kickstarting it., Also, anything fresh and green along with water so the decomposing heat can begin to work its magic even in the winter its like an oven.

[Cytacon]

The best natural (and free!) accelerator to get a compost heap breaking down is urine, I know it sounds a bit disgusting, but it works. Blood and bone meal (available at garden supply stores) is also a good additive to speed up the process. Also add carbon to your compost (in the form of cardboard, newspaper, dead leaves etc) and if you can get some horse or cow manure that would add a lot of the necessary bacteria for breakdown.

[nkey01]

Watering, I dont know if you are going to use some kind of system to water or do it by hand.

I do it buy hand, it takes times but you get to see and check your plants.

In my experience, I find that its good to water first thing in the morning and then again in the evening, 6-7pm. I try not to over water or let the soil dry out. My Toms dont split.

[nkey01]

typo, I mean by hand....

[jinjaboy1]

Looks good Rick,

I like your videos about film-making,

when will you be making another one.

or do you let camcorderbandits cover that?

[Domingo0022]

Nice work Rick! I'm trying out the new video player option as I watch this! Thumbs up!

[nkey01]

Great stuff, looking forward to your Container garden.

I would watch out for pots toppling over. With things like tomatoes it happens because they get top heavy.

When building support for plants, remember they have to support both the plant and all its veg/fruit. So make sure they are strong.

[SelfSufficientEire]

The best thing to get compost going is chicken sh1t. It's really acid and breaks it down. Not sure if there is something else. Oh and remember you pee on your compost heap. It's also very good for it.

[SelfSufficientEire]

you need square pots, throw the round ones away they waste space :-)

[rickvanman]

@c0ngunction Cheers - i'll be checking eBay in the morning!

[SelfSufficientEire]

The best thing to grow is broad beans. They are the most calorific food with the least attention. You need to plant them next month. If you want some heirloom ones let me know and i'll post some to you. They're 3rd generation now.

[TheMusicMark]

Cool video rick!

[MZMStudios]

I can't wait to get settled into my new place so that I can start a garden!! =)

[rickvanman]

@MZMStudios Hope it has a good south-facing position :o)

[MZMStudios]

It does, actually. =)

[rickvanman]

Nice!

[GuildF40]

lol day zero

great idea I am considering the same but ..... no idea what to grow that would be cost effective against buying same or effort for same. Area needed to sustain a human for a year would be a great vid lol

[rickvanman]

@GuildF40 For me, this is not so much about cost effectiveness as learning & gaining valuable experience & Knowledge.

A lot of the point of this exercise is to learn the skills, and to see whether it can be done in such a small space, to determine whether I am covered for any potential times where buying food is not an option, or becomes less available.

I hope to be "space" effective though - choosing plants to give maximum quantity & yields will be high on my agenda.

[GuildF40]

cheers I shall enjoy watching this/you & learning ;o)

I am a dab hand at sweet peas mind you lol

thanks

[rickvanman]

I might have to pick your brains if I grow any then ;o)

[fergfergferg123]

i like this idea, we do have a few veg oatched in our farm yard

[rickvanman]

@fergfergferg123 Ah! What I would give to have a farm yard!

[goodagofilms]

cool grow your own, but grow cost affective foods.