Should I Cut Down my Tree to Grow a Vegetable Garden?

John from http://www.growingyourgreens.com/ answers the question, Should I cut down the tree on my property to grow a vegetable garden. In this episode, John will share with you his answer which might surprise you…

John will talk about the benefits and drawbacks of having trees on your property and a system for determining if you should remove it or not. After watching this episode you will be better equipped to determine if you should or should not cut down that tree to grow more food for you and your family.

Finally, John will share with you what you should do with your cut down trees to further enrich your garden with the resources you have on your property.

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This video explores some considerations to what you could use as edible wind barriers to help you protect your garden from wind damage if you are in an exposed setting. It also explores why edible wind barriers are so effective as well as what plants we use.
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Should I Cut Down my Tree to Grow a Vegetable Garden?

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38 Comments

  • marie hellman

    I was really hoping this article was going to help when you do have trees you need to plant under. I have a limited space but in it there is a large lemon, fig and pomegranate tree that have been here many, many years. They are both beautiful and good producers. I need to know what to do about the roots and how to treat the soil. It is a battle every year.
    Under the lemon I have raspberries and they are doing great. I thin all the trees to let as much sun in as possible. Thought asparagus would do well but it is not. I could really use help.

  • Eddie Schirmer

    i have an unbelievable amount of leaves… three piles each about 5 feet wide and 5 feet tall at least… and possibly more… i want to compost them, but i feel that they would be better if chopped up and or shredded… do you think a simple compost box would work? I'm thinking something maybe 5-6 feet high, but wide enough for a tractor bucket… and would wood or metal be better as the box material…

  • Patriot Jefferson

    John on my Reasons to Keep the Tree list i hope you'll pay attention to this one.

    *Elegance at night, wrap twinkle lights aroung the trunk & branches or hang lanterns from the branches.  Your yard will have a whimsical ambiance at night.
     "It also looks romantic for having candle light dinners under the tree at night!"

    Your a super nice & attractive PRACTICAL guy, but as far as ROMANTIC????
    I don't know……I saw in your restaurant review video that you have a girlfriend.
    Make her a candle light dinner under the trees & pretty soon you'll be sharing your WEDDING video with us!!!! 😉

  • Patriot Jefferson

    Reasons To KEEP The Tree
    -Shade for your home lowers your electricity bill
    -Shade for entertaining a picnic or table & chairs under the tree
    -Shade for relaxing, sleeping in a hammock under the tree
    -Habitat for Butterflies, Squirrels or Birds
    -Install an Owl box in your tree to kill rodents such as rats & mice that will get into your home or leave their filthy urine & feces on your outdoor produce potentially making you sick!
    -Install a Bat box in your tree to eat up diseased mosquitos(West Nile virus).  
    Bats eat a lot of insects, natural pest control.
    -Trees provide oxygen, filter the air & also filter the ground water. 
    -It's honestly depressing to live in the city or tracks homes, like John does.  Trees help make the crowded life much more enjoyable.  The way the trees smell as well as the sounds of a breeze going through the leaves or birds chirping give much enjoyment & a touch of wilderness.
    -Trees have a special energy that you can feel.  (I'm very serious on this one)
    They're just happy to be living & making clean air for us.
    They don't ask for much except for water & proper trimming
    -Decorate your tree to enjoy the seasons & holidays! 🙂
      Hang all sorts of decorations such as ghosts, ornaments, hearts, ribbons for all the holidays or even every month of the year.
    -Play ground area for your kids.  Build a tree house, hang a swing or have a sand box or play house under the shade of the tree.
    -Elegance at night, wrap twinkle lights aroung the trunk & branches or hang lanterns from the branches.  
    Your yard will have a whimsical ambiance at night.
     It also looks romantic for having candle light dinners under the tree at night.
    -Trees help muffle sound pollution
    -Create privacy
    -Slow water evaporation from your lawn or whatevers below
    -Increase atmospheric moisture
    -Increase property value
    -Trimming your tree is good exercise & very therapeutic.  Sure beats going to the germ filled gym.
    -Save the tree trimmings & after their dry use them in your fire pit.
    Invite your friends over to roast kabobs, marshmallows or drink kombucha & just talk & hang out.
    -Provide food, if you have a fruit tree of course!
    -If chimes relax you then hang some beautiful chimes from your tree.  Its even better if you find some that twirl, because their also relaxing to look at.
    -Bartering, if your tree produces fruit & it's much more than you can eat, can & freeze then trade your produce with a neighbor for either produce or services.  
    Going on vacation & need your neighbor to feed your pets & water your garden?
     If they enjoy the produce you've got, then do a trade
    -Pay attention to the way the shade falls on your yard throughout the year, you may be cuttin half a branch off in exchange for a patch of sun. Remember in hot areas too much sun can be trouble.

  • Nige NZ

    I have just cut out a couple of trees and one of them has a significant root system that I want to remove to enable planting of fruit trees, apologies if you have tackled this later in the video but how can I remove that stump (I feel that digging it out is going to be close to impossible)  Typically before I started gardening organically I would probably just paint the stump with roundup until it rots out and I can rip it out

  • Amanda Greenthumb

    Hey John, Thanks so much I have been watching you for a long time and you totally changed my life!
    From gardening I went back to school to become a Certified Health Coach to change peoples relationships with food, and of course grow more gardens.
    Yesterday I was published on elephant journal for an article about growing food on my balcony, where I build a raised bed!!
    Thanks for the inspiration, I love watching your videos, and tell all my clients (and everyone that will listen) about your channel.
    Here is the article if you are interested in seeing my raised bed balcony garden 🙂 
    http://www.elephantjournal.com/2015/04/how-your-balcony-can-feed-you/
    Warmly,
    Amanda

  • Patty Stine-Billingslea

    John, I'm concerned. I understand that Oleanders are poisonous. Wouldn't they contaminate your compost, and ultimately poison your soil? I have tons of Oleanders, and avoid them because of that.

  • Vanessa Lum

    You realize that you are talking about oleander, a tree that can actually kill you. I can think of a whole bunch of trees with pretty flowers that are NOT poisonous, lol!

  • Growing Better Gardens

    Follow up comment… My HOA requires a tree in the front yard. Well… Everyone has a tree! But I went ahead and ripped out a maple tree, and replaced it with an apple tree. Cause and effect? I now have a tree in the front yard which is required, but I get to harvest fruit off it every year. Still creates an ecology for birds, even feeds them! Its more beneficial to have fruit trees than any other tree… Their leaves can be used for compost too, and they make shade just as well, if not better!

  • Growing Better Gardens

    Yes!!! Cut it down!!! Cut them all down!!! Only keep trees or replace them with ones that bear fruit… Otherwise decorative and or shade tree are a waste. Produce something with your trees man!!!

  • Brian Farley

    It was my understanding that oleander leaves are also poisonous which is why I keep it away from my dogs.  Would you want to use that mulch in your garden?

  • Marianne Doe

    no!!! keep that tree! what about when you are gone from the property and the tree still stands!  if you need more veggie growing space, why not try a renting a community gardening space? or a neighbours or friends house?

  • Phoenix Kincaid

    Im a new subscriber and really enjoy your videos. I am excited to get my garden ready for spring planting . When is best time to plant potatoes? Thank you dear friend.

  • Anna at the Farm

    Helpful video. I'm working on layout for 2 (660ft property lines) .. Ill be growing Service berry, black & rasp berry, some dwarf fruit trees. The property is a portion of old grain farm, so this wind brake info is very helpful.

  • Alberta Urban Garden Simple Organic and Sustainable

    I have the benefit of residential fences to break the wind but I certainly have needed to add more trees to help eat the remaining wind!

  • Ross FigurepaintingCoUK

    Very interesting as usual.
    I have a similar wind problem. My concern is that the wind comes from the same direction as most of the light (South West) and I am worried about putting my plot into shade and effecting the growth. Any thoughts on this?
    Nice to see your plums 🙂

  • Kelvin Kersey

    hi Huw, my problem hasn't been wind so much as water. This year I've buried soaker hose in the beds and rigged up a water cooler bottle on a stand. I can fill it in the evening and it has emptied by next day, I can add fertilizer, which you can't do using a butt or the mains, and move the stand on to the next bed. Of course I've not needed it this year as there's been so much rain, but just thought I'd share. I can send a photo if you like. Best wishes

  • aix2379

    Thanks for the video Huw! It has sparked an idea for me on how to return a bit of privacy to my front yard. I live in a busy suburb just a few steps away from a small community park. My neighbors, between me and the park, just cut down 3 very large oak trees and various shrubs from their yard. With all of that foliage gone, we have direct line of sight from our home to the park (and vice versa) in addition to a significant increase in noise from the park – my husband says he feels "exposed". It has been my plan to plant some berry bushes at some point, but with a more pressing reason to plant, I now know exactly where to place them.

  • allotment life

    I found jostaberries to make superb windbreaks, .quick to grow,  easy to train, and easy to produce more stock from cuttings. they produce so much fruit that even after a blackbird attack, there is enough fruit left for myself.

  • jvrt64

    Very interesting video thanks Hew, my allotment is extremely exposed but I'm limited for space but some great ideas. You mentioned gooseberries well I have a question…..
    I was given a couple of small gooseberry bushes last year and had a good crop although the when I picked it was brown in colour but very sweet. The fruit I have now is green and bitter which is how I remember them when I was a kid, so I was wondering if I was too late picking them last year hence they were brown or should I pick them soon while they are green and quite bitter?
    Cheers Hew, John

  • SandyMoth

    Hi Hew, very interesting video, but I'm keen to know how come the Victorians used to build brick walled gardens and we no longer do so ?. I'm aware bricks are not cheep now, but I guess they were also very expensive and more so in days gone by, plus it wouldn't have been for the average working person to have one for sure.. Surely a brick walled garden is the way to go for our diverse seasons here in the UK. Have you any calculations that would indicate the cost right now for a set sized walled garden ?, as that would be very interesting to see and work on. Thank you.

  • Mamma Anka

    This was very helpfull, I've wondered what to do for a wind barrier to my patio/veranda.
    I have a blackberry plant and a raspberry plant, they will make a lovely wind barrier along with my honeysuckle plant. 🙂 Thank you!!
    (I'm from Sweden so my english might not be the best…)

  • melovescoffee

    You have just given me some excellent ideas for my loganberries! Thank you. I would like to warn you about the hops though. Imagine chouch-grass… times 100. It climbs 10 meters into anything it can grab. It propagates itself by finger thick, meters long underground runners that are impossible to weed out, almost impossible to cut other than with a sharp pruning saw that will be useless for anything else afterwards because of the sand blunting it and it seeds itself out like mad. I assure you, you will be crying in frustration in about 5 years. (i didn't plant mine, someone else did) Mine wandered through an area as large as 100 square meters, ruined all my hedges, trees, grapes, pavement, fencing and i will never get rid of it. It is a constant battle to try to mow it down and grow anything at all in that space. I'm afraid i will have to cover the entire area with weed fabric for a number of years and then it will still come back because it rambled all over the wooded area and trees next door.