June 8, 2024

VIDEO: GGC – 67 – Expanding Our Permaculture Garden… With A Backhoe!


It’s time to build some new hugelkultur mounds in our garden so that they’ll be ready for planting in the spring. But after constructing the first one entirely by hand with shovels and rakes, I promised Paula that we’d rent a backhoe for the next ones. And my goodness was it ever fun! 🙂

29 thoughts on “VIDEO: GGC – 67 – Expanding Our Permaculture Garden… With A Backhoe!

  1. BACKHOE USE HINT : to save getting off the tractor every time you need to back up to move to dig more with the back hoe…….get a broom stick and after lifting the stabilizers …..use the stick to push the pedal for forward movement . this is a real time saver when digging long straight trenches. i own two Kubota's like the one you had and used this method many times.

  2. Should be renamed 'girl and a guy' figure out how to get on the property ladder by milking the camper van theme… Gotta luv those none productive internet people …. they always find a way !

  3. You said you didn't want any animals. First of all you should have a good guard dog. Your out and away from anywhere, what happens when she has to be there alone at night. Guard Dog. A cow will give fresh milk, poop for your garden, and in pasture they will clean your land of unwanted brush. Goats, about the same as cow just smaller amouts. Ducks, great poop for garden, eggs, will eat anything green you dont want in your yard or garden. Or a goose, they make a great guard dog, eggs. You should think about these, no said you have to eat them, keep them as pets. Good job on the farm, there are so many things you can do there. Good luck.

  4. no offense but in my opinion you went to extremes on your extra unnecessary work. I've been gardening for over 35 years and you just remove the best soil which contains most of the nutrients. just get you a good tiller and turn it under and hill it up.

  5. get you a couple of dogs that will help keep critters away. My garden is twice that size.
    you are going to have to carry all that vegetables a long way to the house.

  6. Very interesting. Just a few questions. First of all, you started the digging with the loader and then deeper you continued with the backhoe. Would you be able to do all just with the loader? The reason I ask is that where I live (Thailand), you can't get backhoes attached to tractors. In about 2 weeks, I will get a tractor with a loader though.
    Further, I see that you first dig of the topsoil and then the dirt, but you put it back in the opposite order. First the top soil then the dirt. Is that to avoid the weeds coming up?

    Thanks for all the videos. Really interesting.

    One more thing, do you already have the video on comparing your different beds like Hugelkultur and Ruth Stout. Also the different mulches and the different experiences with companion crops? If not, all would be very interesting.

    Thanks again

  7. Love the quick fix for the lever. Do you know how many people would have given up, wasted their weekend and wanted their money back? It's been a couple of years now and I'd be interested in which growing method do you prefer? This or the Ruth method. Now that the old trees have had more time to become compost, do they provide more nutrients over Ruth's method? Does hugelkultur allow for growing the same crop repeatedly – like your garlic?

  8. I love your experimental approach; we can all learn lots, especially if results are shared. However, I'm not sure how 'permaculture' using an internal combustion backhoe is for construction…inputs into the cultivation should be renewable/sustainable, which oil is not. Wasn't essential, just the lazier way to do it.

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