Effective Ways to Solve 5 Garden Problems

These challenges are; temperature extremes, shade, slopes and hillsides, wildlife and pests, watering. Product links: Standard Garden Timer: https://amzn.to/3MvJHGh No Pressure Garden Timer: https://amzn.to/3NvlyRy Tiller attachment for trimmer: https://amzn.to/3moT4Nr Solutions for 5 Challenging Garden Problems Like many of you, my property has a LOT of challenges. In this video I’m giving an overview of my top 5, and how I try to solve them. Look for the separate videos that cover some of those solutions in greater detail. So Challenge #1 is temperature extremes. I’m in New England in Zone 6B, and so that comes with its own set of challenges. We tend to have very cold winters, fairly hot summers…and spring and fall can be pretty short. My solution for Challenge #1 (extreme temperatures) was to build a greenhouse with a GAHT. Essentially what this does is it forces the hot air in the top of the greenhouse down into hundreds of feet of 4” perferated pipe that’s buried underneath the greenhouse. This inturn pushes the cool air in those pipes back into the greenhouse. This means it helps keep the greenhouse warm in the winter and cool(er) in the summer. For example this week we have had several days over 90 degrees fahrenheit (or 32 celsius). And generally the greenhouse is within a degree or so of the ambient high temperature. Challenge #2 is that I don’t have full sun on most of my property. I have a lot of trees to contend with, and most of the trees, that cast shadows, aren’t on my property. I have pretty much taken down all of the trees that I can. So while it is nice that my fairly small one-acre property is wedged between two large forested parcels. My property is surrounded by trees that I can’t cut down. These are big old trees, so the canopy level is around 80’. So my little clearing is sort of like living down a well. Shadow in the early morning and later afternoon. So there is a portion of land right in the middle of the floor of the well that gets maybe 8 or 9 hours of full sun a day. But you can move a few feet in either direction and the amount of sun in those areas might only get 4 to 6 hours. My solution for Challenge #2 or the Shade problem is many fold Really the greenhouse is part of the solution, because it helps me make up for lost productivity, by extending the time I can grow certain plants as well as helping me get a jump on the spring by growing seedlings earlier than I could normally, without a greenhouse. I seek out plants that can produce even in partial shade. Challenge #3 steep hillsides As you can see the focal point of the full sun area is a super steep incline. This incline makes up 50 or 60% of my land. So this means I need to terrace as best I can in order to hack out any sort of growing areas, Ok the solution for Challenge #3 sloping hillside…is a lot of work. There isn’t an easy way to deal with this other than making flat spots. For me this means moving a LOT of rock. My trimmer has a tiller attachment that is handy for breaking up soil and roots. But at some point it comes down to a shovel, a pick and a prybar. This also means these spots need stairs connecting them. …and I have to balance this with Challenge #4 One of the best aspects of this property is that there is a ridiculous amount of wildlife. And most of these animals love to eat my plants. I should also mention my chickens at this point, because many of the wild animals that frequent my property would love to eat my chickens and their eggs…or both. …and had to learn the solution for challenge #4 wildlife the hard way…over and over again. I would plant something and then it would get eaten. I had to learn the hard way that it just isn’t possible to grow anything edible on my land without a lot of protection and active management. This means lots of wire and hardware cloth around plant beds. And it means hunting deer, turkey, and squirrel, and traping (things like mice, rats, chipmunks, and raccoons). I try to fix my mistake…close up the oversight in my security. Challenge #5 has to do with setting up an irrigation system on the side of a mountain like this. I like to use drip irrigation connected to my garden hose, however once you try to move the water uphill, it looses the necessary pressure for the drip emitters to work. Challenge #5 Watering UPHILL. My current solution involves a 275 gal (1200l) tote placed halfway up the hill. My hose is capable of enough pressure to keep this tank topped up. So I have a hose timer run for about 20 min every night. I then have a no pressure timer on the tank that runs the watering schedule. I ran hundreds of feet of ½” irrigation tube to most of my beds. I placed quite a bit of it inside electrical conduit so that I don’t accidentally hit it will trimming.