How Old Farm Knowledge can help you in your Backyard Organic Garden

farm | food | videos | price | information | history

3862View

4m 29sLenght

128Rating

On a recent trip to visit family I spoke to my grandparents in different capacities about their gardens. What struck me was the value of the old knowledge and methods often handed down often from their grandparents to them and now from them to me. This knowledge is invaluable as in recent generations gardening has been dominated by methods that tend not to be organic and are centered around commercially available products. So why are we re-learning these methods? Following the First and Second World Wars there was an agricultural revolution with the introduction of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and mechanical advances. These advances lead to the large scale agriculture techniques we see all over the world being applied to home gardens. Unfortunately organic gardening suffered further as interest in home gardens in North America declined following the Second World War in conjunction with the new methods promised higher yields with less effort. Fortunately today organic gardening is gaining popularity and we find ourselves relearning some of the traditional garden knowledge and methods. I feel one of the most interesting take away message from my grandparents is not just the methods and practices themselves but how they approach gardening as a whole. I have found I am drawn to the concepts of treating the whole garden experience as an experiment with lots of trial and error and the using what you have available to grow more food. Today I thought I would talk quickly about how I have implemented this concept in my garden. Formal Experimentation Citizen Science: Immediately as a scientist I think about how I can set up formal experiments in the garden. Generally speaking when doing experiments at home they fall under the title of Citizen Science. Citizen science is a really powerful tool to evaluate methods, practices and products in the garden. Trials like the Rock Dust and Biochar home garden field trials were set up to provide evidence to support or refute claims product claims. Through the use of the scientific method supported by a study design and lab results we are generating results we can apply to these claims. Check us out on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/stephenlegaree14 Webpage: www.albertaurbangarden.ca Google +: google.com/+StephenLegaree Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlbertaUrbanGarden Twitter: https://twitter.com/northern1485 Pintrest: http://www.pinterest.com/ABurbanGarden/

Comments

I always go organic can not imagine using chemicals to go my veg...why would you spend all that money on chemical when you can compost or go to the local farm and get it right from the animals them self's so to speak....HAPPY GARDENING...

Hello Stephen (please excuse me if it's spelled wrong)!
I live in AB too and I started my first garden this year, I was wondering if you have ever year-rounded plants. Ie having peppers in pots and brining them in until conditions are favorable? I think that would be so much fun to try, having greens in the winter with the benefit of the fruit! Have a good day!

Awesome little video Stephen! thanks for posting! we have defiantly grown in number over the years for sure =)

Another very fine video Stephen! I love the fact that you're not a product pusher like some "green growers" we know. Your scientific testing is very valuable to gardeners. I certainly appreciate your work!

I've learned a lot about organic gardening from my dad, the ''green revolution'' made a lot of these valuable knowledge lost! Are you going to make a video with your grandparents?

The only problem I find with these age old wisdoms is that there are other wisdoms that conflict (tilling the soil is a prime example). It's always interesting to hear what other gardeners do and then apply some of the more compelling wisdom. It's pretty ambitious to test their effectiveness and I am always interested to hear your results. Cheers stephen.

Centered...ON
Centered...ON

Something cannot be CENTERED around another thing

...

Also Steve, I always think your new intro is an ad. The old suited you a lot better.

...

Also, apart from that, great information

Hey Stephen! Do you think you can do a video on the "Back To Eden garden method" in it's entirety? It appears to be incredibly basic and beyond easy. The whole concept is simply to mimic nature. So essentially all you use is compost/manure and woodchips. Some organic material to feed your plants, and the a covering to protect the soil. Paul Gautschi has been popularizing this method and from what I've gathered from watching his videos, it appears to be the most superior and nature way of gardening. If you haven't seen the Back To Eden film, I recommend you watch it. I found it to be pretty educational and eye opening. It would be great if you can put this method of gardening to the test! Thanks!

I can't wait to see what you have planned for us! I have never learnt from my grandparents as growing food had never been in our family until my parents learnt.

Looking forward to seeing videos on this subject! I have a book called " 1,001 Old-Time Garden Tips. A very interesting book with tips from the late 1800's-1900's.

I have gathered some of my best information and procedures on organic gardening by talking to Old Timer's who have farmed all their life. This encyclopedia of knowledge will soon be gone for ever. Thanks Stephen for bringing a little science into how I think about my garden!

As usual Stephen your knowledge is imparted selfishly and is of great help to us Gardeners.. Thank for that.

Did your grandparents say much about specific crops or varieties that worked well for them? I think a lot of garden success is also about finding the things that are well-matched to the local soil and climate. It's always interesting to hear about regional differences that way.

It's great that you are able to talk with your grandparents about their gardening experience. I learned so much about gardening from my grandparents and other older relatives. I found that as they got older and didn't garden as much, they really appreciated getting produce from my gardens, fresh and canned. When one grandmother was in her 90s, home canned tomatoes were always her request when anyone asked what she wanted.

I'm new to gardening but like trying different methods I see on YouTube. I have 2 raised beds, 1 in the front of my backyard in partial shade and one in the back in full sun. Also in full sun I have 2 IBC wicking beds and 1 IBC bed using the Kratky method. To compare what system works best they all have the same variety of vegetables and were put together with the same bagged garden soil only. The front raised bed has terrific growth while the back raised bed and wicking beds are barely surviving. The Kratky bed however is working perfectly in the same sunny location. I water the beds the same even adding surface water to the wicking beds. I can't make heads or tails out of what's happening.

What gardening practices from your grandparents are you going to test?

Excellent video as always. I love the idea of exploring traditional farming methods. Looking forward to more.

End result what do you think about Epsom salt.

Stephen, Didn't your grandparents teach you not to play with your pickle when the camera is rolling. Childish - I know! :-)

" I spoke to my grandparents in different capacities about their gardens" What, You or they drunk.

Ok, I will go away. Keep up the great videos Stephen.

that was a very encouraging video. I keep hearing how easy this or than is to grow and then when it fails for me well ... It's just good to hear that others have the same learning curve.