My Lazy Food Forest: How I’m Growing Tropicals Without the Work

Welcome back to the food forest! It’s the end of August, and while I’ve only mowed the grass three times this year, the backyard has been working overtime. In this late-summer tour, we are taking a look at how crazy the yard has gotten with zero inputs and zero fertilizer. The sweet potato vines are climbing like gangbusters, the taro is towering, and we’ve even got awapuhi (shampoo ginger) squeezing out that amazing-smelling gooey goodness! We’re also checking in on the citrus (including the Owari satsuma), the Olympia and Miss Figgy figs, the Bell of Georgia peach, and a surprise potato patch hiding near the bamboo. Plus, I’ll give you a quick peek at the "maintenance area" where I'm currently turning a lawnmower into a front loader and a hot rod tractor! Big changes are coming! I’m officially sick of grass. The plan is to expand the arborist wood chips across the entire yard, bringing out more tropicals, bamboo, and rare fruit trees to turn this space into a true jungle. With that in mind, it might be time for a channel name change. "Yard to Jungle"? "Ben's Backyard Adventure"? Drop your best name suggestions in the comments below! ***Some of my favorite tools and gardening items*** Japanese KAKURI Hoe Cultivator Combo Hand Tiller https://amzn.to/3PGzP0T Radius Garden ”Root Slayer” Shovel https://amzn.to/41GjPRq Kukri Design Machete https://amzn.to/3uUx593 3 Pack Leather Work Gloves (hydrahyde) WelllsLamont size Large https://amzn.to/48vqH6Z Fiskars Bypass Pruning Shears https://amzn.to/41DMbvJ Corona SodPLUGGER, Rd https://amzn.to/47cZTXy Edward Tools Hoe and Cultivator Hand Tiller https://amzn.to/3NJXgFI True Temper 6-Tine Pitchfork https://amzn.to/4bzHdEO Located in Summerville, SC, where the line of Zone 8B and 9A goes nearly straight across my property. So what to do? I'm going to try growing anything I can get away with from zone 9 and maybe zone 10! Might be getting some guava, citrus, papaya, and even mango’s to try to get them to grow and thrive in my little food forest. I have watched days to weeks worth of YouTube videos on Back to Eden Gardening, wood chip gardening, permaculture, planting guilds and many other styles of gardening. I’m doing my own thing but still following what I’ve learned from all of these great youtube teachers, as well as grow a regenerative and organic garden. But seriously, a big thank you to all the creators I’ve been watching that have been outstanding at teaching me. I can only hope my videos continue to assist others and show that anyone with the willingness to try this, you can do it too! Clicking on these links is part of the amazon associates program. It costs you nothing, but supports this channel whenever you buy something you were probably already going to buy anyway. It doesn’t even have to be one of these items. Buy whatever you want, it helps support this channel. All proceeds go straight back into the channel content to make more videos for you. Thank you! #BackyardFoodForest #YardToJungle #ZeroInputGardening #Permaculture #Awapuhi #FruitTrees #NoTillGardening #SouthCarolinaGardening #GrowingFigs #TaroPlant