Hey ya’ll, I’m Jess from Roots & Refuge Farm
Welcome to a place that feels like home. A small farm with a big family. We hope you’ll pull up a chair, grab some coffee and visit awhile.
There was a time that all I wanted in the world was a little farm where I could raise my family and grow our food. Now, that is exactly what exists outside my door. In watching it unfold, a new dream was formed in my heart – to share this beautiful life with others and teach them the lessons we’ve learned along the way. Welcome to our journey, friend. I am so glad you’re here.
*********************
WHERE TO FIND US (Some of the links here are affiliate links. If you purchase through our links we’ll receive a small commission but the price remains the same – OR BETTER – for you! Be sure to check for any mentioned discount codes.)
– Our Website: https://rootsandrefuge.com
– Sign up for our newsletter: https://rootsandrefuge.com/yt-signup
– Abundance+ (Grab a FREE 7-day trial): https://rootsandrefuge.com/yt-wilder-still
– Shop our Stickers & Shirts: https://rootsandrefuge.com/yt-shop
– Order my book First Time Gardener: https://rootsandrefuge.com/yt-ftgbook
– Growing Gardeners Course: https://rootsandrefuge.com/yt-ggcourse
– Instagram: www.instagram.com/roots_and_refuge
– Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rootsandrefuge/
– Email Us: rootsandrefuge@yahoo.com
– To drop us a line:
PO Box 4239
Leesville SC 29070
– To have a gift sent to our house from our Amazon wishlist: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/SFA0IZHZRCOZ?ref_=wl_share
– To support us through PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/jessicasowards
**********************
PRODUCTS WE LOVE – You’ve probably heard me talk about these things a million times, so here’s where you can order them (and get a discount with my code!):
– Greenstalk Vertical Gardens (Use code “ROOTS10” for $10 off your order): https://rootsandrefuge.com/yt-greenstalk
– Squizito Tasting Room (Use code “ROOTS” for 10% off your order): https://rootsandrefuge.com/yt-squizito
– ButcherBox: https://rootsandrefuge.com/butcherbox
#
girl…. it is coming together so nicely!! so excited for you!
@6:00 Have y'all pulled a soil test yet? When I see rocks I think high mineral content… Just my thoughts. Y'all are doing great! Keep up the hard work
@rootsandrefuge Where do you get your cardboard? We are wanting to go organic no till so keeping the cardboard more clean is a must! Thanks!
You're my favorite speaker.
Awesome video
Got love the John deere !! And the smell fresh tilled dirt
If there is no compost or wood chips available where you are, you can still build a no dig garden from scrounged organic matter. Geoff Lawnton and David the Good both have vids about how to source low-cost and free materials to build instant garden beds 🙂
Czxx
You are so fun to watch and I love your love for growing. You make me laugh and you have created a beautiful family. I’ve been binging on your channel catching up. You are motivating me to do what I love which I’ve not made time to do…growing.
That’s what I am doing is starting my no till garden and with the prices of wood I had to use cardboard boxes in my second greenhouse as planter boxes until we can get the wood. I have triple my garden this year and I started a forest garden that I have planted wild foods that I can harvest from for years to come and thank you Jess for everything that you have taught us and we bless you until next time.
I was just looking at books about the No-till method, written by the man you talked about! Talk about perfect timing! Thanks!
Yay!! I’m so excited to see everything coming together!! I wondered where you were this week. I will say I was able to put cardboard down when we moved here in October for a very little part of my garden. My husband said that the part that I was able to do that with was way easier to lightly till today! Always learning so much from you! Thank you!!❤️
This is my favorite!!
I did new bed this year just like you did here. All my smallest seedlings got a nitrogen deficiency because of the quality of the compost. It was our municipal compost and didn't have much fertility for some reason. Since your starting with healthy plants of a good size they should do well but I would suggest using things like fertilizer teas or manure occasionally while things are getting going. I took a sharp shovel and pierced the cardboard like you said with my latest plantings and can tell a significant difference. I also noticed in the beds that I put my kitchen scraps under the cardboard layer that the worms are way more active and happy.
Looking to connect with homesteaders in NC, west of Charlotte (LKN area and westward) Really searching for a connection to people who have like mind goals and starting a network!
Our native soil tends to be gray clay. It seems to turn quicker than some of the red clay I've seen on utube but only with an adequate amount of agitation to mix organic matter in. We have both native and naturalized vegetation or normal weeds with roots that can go down 2'-3'. EX) The function of the native, big leafed plantain is to penetrate the hard pan beneath the clay and while listed as a biennial, it can live several years; it only takes a broken tip of the tap root or 1/4" of root to create a whole new plant. If layering compost or organic matter on top of native soil, we layer at a depth of 6"-18" and depending upon the moisture, the ground and surface temperatures, how scratched up the surface of the ground is, and how hungry the soil is – that 6"-18" of top dressing can be reduced to between nothing and 2" in 4 to 6 weeks. If turned or tilled in progressively deeper depths, you can get upto 4 applications of 12-18" of top dressed organic matter between early May and October; generally, each app.icatiin takes longer to dissappear but then we have a very arid drought for 6 plus weeks starting sometime after the 4th of July.
What are the pretty yellow flowers growing all over your farm?
Strange how many people are working in the background and you never are. Mike
Can anyone speak to no-dig styles in climates where we get long hard freezes over the winter? Would that affect our abilities to no-dig? Everyone where I live seems to till voraciously, but I'd like to find a way not to do that in my gardens.
Looking good. I have to wonder how you will process all of what you are growing. Canning, freezing, dehydrating or just giving a lot away?
Jess I have followed Charles along with you for nearly 7yrs- just fabulous (Both of you xx)
My dad put small hole hardware cloth stapled to a wood frame and we would dump shovel fulls of dirt through and rocks stayed on top, the dirt filled wheelbarrow. That was a small yard. I can’t imagine how you get the rocks out of such big areas.
Awesome