yt:channel:VQCQJyZQcIioTDQ4SACvZQ VQCQJyZQcIioTDQ4SACvZQ Back To Reality https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVQCQJyZQcIioTDQ4SACvZQ 2015-05-14T03:37:15+00:00 yt:video:NZ5bwkYUM_4 NZ5bwkYUM_4 UCVQCQJyZQcIioTDQ4SACvZQ Back To Reality https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVQCQJyZQcIioTDQ4SACvZQ 2024-10-05T14:27:37+00:00 2024-10-09T07:58:26+00:00 The goldenrod gall fly This is a goldenrod gall, a ball-like growth in the stem of a goldenrod plant. The plant forms this gall in response to chemicals secreted by the larva of the goldenrod gall fly. Now, the gall protects the larva from predators and weather, but it also provides an invaluable food source. You see, adult gall flies have no mouthparts, and so they can’t eat or drink. Meaning that all the nutrition this creature will ever ingest comes from within this single plant. Because, by late summer, the larva burrows a tiny escape hatch at the edge of the gall, leaving only a thin wall for protection over winter. Then in early spring, the now adult gall fly emerges, with the sole purpose of finding a mate. Within several weeks, the female gall flies will lay their eggs on a batch of new plants, and then, having depleted their energy stores, all of the adults will die. But in turn, a new larva will burrow into the stem of a new plant, and encourage the growth of a new gall. yt:video:qWnd6lUdx_c qWnd6lUdx_c UCVQCQJyZQcIioTDQ4SACvZQ Back To Reality https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVQCQJyZQcIioTDQ4SACvZQ 2024-07-18T20:24:08+00:00 2024-09-26T06:02:36+00:00 Why a daisy is not a flower This is a daisy, but despite appearances, a daisy is not actually a flower. And likewise, this is a black-eyed Susan, but it’s not a flower either. However, these are flowers. Let me explain. You see, daisies, black-eyed susans, and even sunflowers are all part of a group called composite flowers. What looks like a single flower is actually a collection of many tiny flowers all clustered together. The large "petals" you see around the outside are actually "ray flowers", and the center is made up of even tinier "disk flowers". But importantly, each of these is a complete flower all on its own, with its own reproductive parts. So when you look at a daisy, a black-eyed susan, or a sunflower, you're actually seeing a whole collection of tiny flowers all working together. This unique structure helps attract pollinators and ensures the plant's reproduction. But it also means that this isn't a flower; it's an entire bouquet. yt:video:RSMxnzswQK0 RSMxnzswQK0 UCVQCQJyZQcIioTDQ4SACvZQ Back To Reality https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVQCQJyZQcIioTDQ4SACvZQ 2024-04-07T21:47:56+00:00 2024-10-16T14:15:27+00:00 Gardening is fun. The final winter harvest of carrots, potatoes, and onions that we planted nearly a year ago. Plus some spring garden observations, and even an upcoming mini-experiment. RELATED VIDEOS / PLAYLISTS Winter Harvesting Potatoes and Carrots... IN CANADA (-15C / 5F) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qsrYm4KfX0 All our Ruth Stout Method videos https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLR0R_IpM9UrbLrZnIy6JEUzV9iHf4sDVc All our garlic videos https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLR0R_IpM9Urbq9mj7U00B4bABdaDydbE_ All our potato videos https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLR0R_IpM9Urbzoi4cC6bvfp4WEVPRpGbI Is Kale an Annual or a Perennial? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euWoPyrYSJM yt:video:4qsrYm4KfX0 4qsrYm4KfX0 UCVQCQJyZQcIioTDQ4SACvZQ Back To Reality https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVQCQJyZQcIioTDQ4SACvZQ 2024-01-31T21:25:12+00:00 2024-08-24T06:08:06+00:00 Winter Harvesting Potatoes and Carrots... IN CANADA (-15C / 5F) Since we had such great luck with winter sowing last year... This year, we've decided to try winter harvesting our carrots, onions, and potatoes. And now that we’re officially about a month into winter, and nearly 4 months past our usual harvest time, I thought I’d tell you how it’s been working out. Winter Sowing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uV-xWofq1ys&list=PLR0R_IpM9UrZSMvEe3u1hl6mLpxDr9FqV Ruth Stout Method: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrAJbE0ZTA8&list=PLR0R_IpM9UrbLrZnIy6JEUzV9iHf4sDVc Table of Contents: 0:00 - Intro 2:52 - How we grow our veggies 5:23 - Winter harvesting (Jan 3) 8:41 - How do they look in the kitchen? 11:55 - Adding more mulch 12:12 - Harvesting in snow (Jan 9) 13:55 - Harvesting in extreme cold (Jan 23) 16:18 - Conclusion 17:36 - Bonus :) yt:video:1BZzj_vcUoU 1BZzj_vcUoU UCVQCQJyZQcIioTDQ4SACvZQ Back To Reality https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVQCQJyZQcIioTDQ4SACvZQ 2023-12-06T18:28:27+00:00 2024-10-15T20:58:58+00:00 Does Windchill affect plants? Does the windchill factor affect outdoor plants? Well to answer that question, we first need to understand exactly what windchill is. Because, despite appearances, it’s not a temperature. It’s actually just telling us how quickly people and other warm blooded animals will cool down, if exposed to the elements. You see, since we produce our own body heat, we also lose some of that heat to the winter air. But as the wind blows, it takes that warmer air with it, causing us to give up even more body heat over and over again. So the faster the wind, the more quickly we cool down. Now, when we feel cold, that’s not our body sensing the temperature, but rather how quickly we’re giving away that heat. Which is why the weather report says the temperature is cold, but with the windchill it feels much colder. And since outdoor plants don’t produce their own heat, they’re already the same temperature as the air anyway, and no amount of wind will make them colder than that. So if you’re worried about your garden plants, it’s the temperature, not the windchill, that matters. yt:video:BZp5lV1sgrc BZp5lV1sgrc UCVQCQJyZQcIioTDQ4SACvZQ Back To Reality https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVQCQJyZQcIioTDQ4SACvZQ 2023-11-24T19:25:10+00:00 2024-09-21T10:42:48+00:00 Know your garden mulch: Hay vs Straw Hay vs Straw. In this video, I’d like to quickly explain what each of these mulches are, how they’re different, and why we use one over the other. Plus, and perhaps most importantly, I’ll also go over some quick disclaimers and safety considerations about their use. Table of Contents 0:00 - Intro 1:03 - The difference between hay and straw 4:06 - Hay and straw as garden mulch 7:55 - Disclaimers and Safety considerations yt:video:FiL-lKQ2EDU FiL-lKQ2EDU UCVQCQJyZQcIioTDQ4SACvZQ Back To Reality https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVQCQJyZQcIioTDQ4SACvZQ 2023-09-22T19:03:13+00:00 2024-10-16T06:58:27+00:00 Keep an eye out for Baby Turtles at this time of year Every September for the past four of five years, we always keep an eye out for baby turtles, like this one, in our lawn. You see, behind our house we have a sandy hill which earlier in the spring seems to be a preferred location for adult turtles to lay their eggs. This is likely due to the fact that at the bottom of this hill, we have a small pond, but unfortunately for the nest, our property is also home to many raccoons and other animals that think of eggs as an irresistible treat. So once mom is finished doing her thing, usually late into the evening, we head out with flashlights and add some extra security in the form of a wooden frame and some hardware cloth. And then, 3 or 4 months later, if we’re we’re lucky, one of the eggs will hatch, and an adorable new arrival will head off into the world. But for more information about how and why we protect the nests, a bit about turtle lifecycles and why turtle parents aren’t quite as negligent as they may seem, be sure to check out the full length video we posted a few years ago. yt:video:q7GPC_fQITw q7GPC_fQITw UCVQCQJyZQcIioTDQ4SACvZQ Back To Reality https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVQCQJyZQcIioTDQ4SACvZQ 2023-09-11T18:40:59+00:00 2024-10-08T06:50:53+00:00 Growing tomatoes: Expectation vs Reality Before we started growing our own tomatoes, we imagined a fresh tomato sandwich ever day all summer. But in reality, it's more like 100 tomato sandwiches per day, for a week straight, every September. yt:video:5xCMGTkrM8g 5xCMGTkrM8g UCVQCQJyZQcIioTDQ4SACvZQ Back To Reality https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVQCQJyZQcIioTDQ4SACvZQ 2023-08-28T17:50:58+00:00 2024-08-29T03:45:43+00:00 Corn Smut: The weirdest edible thing in our garden This has got to be the weirdest thing we’ve ever found in our garden. But I also think this has been our best corn season to date. All of our plants grew to over 6 feet tall and each produced 1 to two ears of large juicy peaches and cream. But that’s not all they grew. You see, one of our plants seems to have produced a cob that’s extra wide in the middle. But when we looked behind it, we found this alienesque growth bulging from within the husk, and it appears to be what’s called corn smut, also known as “Huitlacoche”, or more simply corn fungus. Now, despite our initial horror, from what I’ve read, corn smut is perfectly safe to eat, apparently delicious, and in some places, even considered a delicacy. Now look, I’m all for trying new things, and we generally really appreciate the volunteer plants that show up in our garden. But for now, I think this one will remain in our nightmares, rather than in our kitchen. However, I’m curious to hear what you guys think. Would you try it? And what’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever found in your garden? yt:video:nPEgGV04lPI nPEgGV04lPI UCVQCQJyZQcIioTDQ4SACvZQ Back To Reality https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVQCQJyZQcIioTDQ4SACvZQ 2023-08-22T18:22:12+00:00 2024-10-07T13:40:29+00:00 Strawberries aren't what you think... Is the strawberry a fruit or a berry? Well, a berry is actually just a type of fruit, but technically, a strawberry is neither. You see, according to botanists what we usually think of as the strawberry fruit is actually considered a “pseudocarp” or “false fruit”. Because real fruit always carry their seeds on the inside and are formed entirely from the ovary. Whereas the strawberry has the seeds on the outside and is formed from both the ovary and other parts of the strawberry flower. And interestingly, the actual strawberry fruit, also known as achenes have extremely thin flesh, and are each wrapped around a solitary seed. Which means that the average strawberry can actually contain up to 200 strawberry fruit. And thanks to all of those seeds, a cup of strawberries can contain as much fiber as a slice of whole wheat bread. yt:video:DCbmoJu6yO0 DCbmoJu6yO0 UCVQCQJyZQcIioTDQ4SACvZQ Back To Reality https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVQCQJyZQcIioTDQ4SACvZQ 2023-08-16T17:41:55+00:00 2024-08-30T01:09:08+00:00 Early Results: Hay vs Straw. Which mulch has more weeds? Previous (part 1): https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ypCH0rNABr0 Earlier this summer, I built 5 identical raised garden beds, and began a bit of an experiment to see if hay as mulch actually results in more weeds than straw. To do this, we covered one of the raised beds with hay that had been stored inside, we covered the second with hay that had gotten wet and moldy, and for the third, we mixed the same amount of hay into the soil to simulate tilling. Finally, we covered the 4th bed with dry straw, and as our control, we left the 5th bed completely bare. And now, about a month later, let’s see the early results. As has the bed with the hay mixed in. And while the two beds with old and new hay HAVE sprouted a few grass plants around the edges, so has the bed with straw. Which means that so far, when it comes to weeds, hay and straw as mulch, have performed exactly the same. But there’s also plenty of time left in the season, so stayed tuned for the final results. yt:video:ewXLycD-sxA ewXLycD-sxA UCVQCQJyZQcIioTDQ4SACvZQ Back To Reality https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVQCQJyZQcIioTDQ4SACvZQ 2023-08-04T16:06:20+00:00 2024-08-27T10:07:00+00:00 Easier Potatoes: How and Why we Hill with Mulch Instead of Soil As you guys know, we’ve been growing potatoes exclusively under mulch for about 5 or 6 years at this point. But today, I’d like to focus on one specific part of the potato growing process: how and why we hill our potatoes using mulch instead of soil. Playlist - Growing potatoes under mulch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewXLycD-sxA&list=PLR0R_IpM9Urbzoi4cC6bvfp4WEVPRpGbI yt:video:ypCH0rNABr0 ypCH0rNABr0 UCVQCQJyZQcIioTDQ4SACvZQ Back To Reality https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVQCQJyZQcIioTDQ4SACvZQ 2023-06-27T15:11:43+00:00 2024-10-14T12:15:24+00:00 I built 5 raised garden beds in hopes that NOTHING would grow Update (part 2): https://www.youtube.com/shorts/DCbmoJu6yO0 People are usually surprised to hear that we use hay as mulch on our garden, and ask if we actually mean straw. You see, unlike straw, hay often contains a lot of weed seeds that can sprout up amongst your veggies. But in our experience, this has never actually been a problem, as long as the mulch layer is thick enough and we never till it in. Any seeds that do germinate, usually do so on the surface and die off long before actually taking root in the soil below. Now, we have had plenty of well documented struggles with quackgrass, but we’re pretty confident that those weeds came from seeds already present in our natural soil or crept in from outside the fence. But just to be sure, I’ve recently constructed 5 raised beds and throughout the season, we’ll be conducting a bit of an experiment to see if hay actually results in more weeds than straw. yt:video:O6m54vv1kfI O6m54vv1kfI UCVQCQJyZQcIioTDQ4SACvZQ Back To Reality https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVQCQJyZQcIioTDQ4SACvZQ 2023-06-09T15:08:49+00:00 2024-10-16T00:28:46+00:00 Why QUACKGRASS is such a huge pain in the… garden. And here’s another perfect example of why rhizomatous grass, like the quackgrass we’ve been battling for the past few years, is such a huge pain in the garden. This is a rhizome, one those tough underground stems that quackgrass uses to start new daughter plants where you least expect them. You see, each rhizome has the potential to sprout new leaves every couple of inches along its length. But you may be thinking, it’s just a little underground stem, how bad could this really get? Well, here I am carefully digging up an infestation that came in from just outside our fence. And all of this came from one single rhizome over the course of just a week or so. It breached our defenses, silently crept along under our mulch, and then by the time we noticed it, it was already too late. Plus rhizomes are also storage organs. And so, if I were to accidentally miss even a tiny piece, it would have all the energy it needs to get the whole process started all over again. But this time, from inside the fence. yt:video:3-Rbyj7iau0 3-Rbyj7iau0 UCVQCQJyZQcIioTDQ4SACvZQ Back To Reality https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVQCQJyZQcIioTDQ4SACvZQ 2023-05-15T18:23:41+00:00 2024-08-22T05:57:57+00:00 Why Quack Grass is Such a HUGE Problem in the Garden Here’s a perfect example of why rhizomatous grass, like the quackgrass we’ve been battling for the past few years, is such a worthy contender in the garden. This is a piece of rhizome, those tough underground stems that grass plants use to propagate new daughter plants where you least expect them. Now this one was accidentally left on the surface after pulling it last fall. It dried out in the sun, then froze solid all winter, thawed out and froze again, over and over until spring finally arrived. And then it just woke up, and used its stored nutrients to begin sprouting new leaves all over again. So if this piece was able to survive under the worst of conditions, you can imagine how easy it is for it to thrive when we inevitably miss a piece in the nutrient rich soil. Nature may not always be on our side, but my goodness, it sure deserves our respect.