My video presentation for the Mother Earth News Online Summit a few months back was quite a success. It was voted one of the top 5 presentations by viewers. That was gratifying, as I filmed the entire presentation in a cast.

Maybe they were pity votes.

A couple of days ago I decided to make the video available as a standalone download. You can get it for $4.99 here.

Since I didn’t have a ton of gardening projects to show off when I was recording, I instead shared my philosophy of gardening – a philosophy that has paid off big over the years.

Once you lose your fear of failure, you are free to start experimenting and exploring. If you keep your eyes open, hat experimentation and exploration will reveal what works well and what doesn’t.

I’ve tried splatter planting cantaloupes and hot peppers.

This worked with cantaloupes but the peppers were almost a complete wash. Maybe three peppers came up. But I harvested plenty of cantaloupes!

Often when I’m doing something strange or unconventional in a video, it’s not necessarily me instructing viewers to do it that way. Instead, it’s just another experiment which may or may not work.

During the decade of research that went into writing Compost Everything: The Good Guide to Extreme Composting, I discovered a few new methods of composting which have changed the way I garden completely.

One notable example was anaerobic compost tea:

The funny thing is that when I think I’ve come up with something new, it’s in fact old. There’s nothing new under the sun, as King Solomon said.

Other composting tests were total failures. Like making my own compost tumbler. I also drowned a bunch of composting worms once by throwing a watermelon into their bin and going on vacation for a week.

“Remember the great watermelon flood of 2006, Grandpa Wiggly?”

Grandpa Wiggly looked off into the distance, pain in his eyes. Which was strange, since he didn’t have any eyes.

Anyhow, I think you’ll enjoy Better Gardening Through Experimentation. It’s $4.99 for the download and runs at just under 40 minutes in length.

*          *          *

One more thing before I go: I read an article the other day by Jon Morrow, a successful entrepreneur who also has muscular dystrophy.

A recent article on how he pushed onward and found success actually brought a tear to my eye. Serious endurance and fortitude.

Read 7 Life Lessons from a Man Who Can’t Move Anything But His Face if you get a chance.

Amazing. Harsh at points, but powerful.