---
title: 'Growing Food is Just Like a Video Game...'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=xXxqsST3mbg'
video_id: 'xXxqsST3mbg'
date: 2026-08-09
duration_sec: 1133
---

# Growing Food is Just Like a Video Game...

> Source: [Growing Food is Just Like a Video Game...](https://youtube.com/watch?v=xXxqsST3mbg)

## Summary

The video presents a personal journey of building a self-sufficient homestead, structured as a 20-level 'game of ultimate abundance.' The creator details each system implemented, from initial garden beds to advanced irrigation and a high tunnel, emphasizing the incremental improvements that boost productivity and efficiency.

### Key Points

- **Starting the Game: Level 1 Garden Beds** [00:08] — The journey began with cleaning up a neglected yard and establishing in-ground, no-till garden beds with compost and wood, marking the first step in improving soil health.
- **Level 2: Planting a Fruit Orchard** [01:14] — Bare root fruit trees were ordered online and planted in the sunniest spot, requiring patience and education on pruning and care for long-term rewards, eventually growing to over a hundred trees.
- **Level 3: Setting Up Compost Systems** [02:09] — Started with a simple prefabricated cedar compost kit, later upgrading to heavy-duty bins. The goal is to become self-sufficient in compost, though outside compost is still needed.
- **Level 4: Removing a Walnut Tree** [03:17] — A leaning walnut tree threatening the house was removed, milled into planks for furniture, and freed up space and sunlight, allowing for planting about 25 new trees.
- **Level 5: Creating a Preservation Room** [04:23] — A basement storage room was converted into a preservation area with floating shelves, essential for storing fermented and preserved foods throughout the year.
- **Level 6: Investing in Seed Starting** [05:05] — To avoid the high cost of buying seedlings, a basic three-rack grow light system with fans was installed, enabling early seed starting and saving money.
- **Level 7: Building a Deer Fence** [05:45] — An 8-foot tall permanent deer fence was installed to protect the garden from deer, which could wipe it out in one night. This was the biggest investment but has paid off, increasing growing space by 30% by using the fence as a trellis.
- **Level 8: Constructing Raised Beds** [06:25] — After tree removal damaged the area, five raised beds were built from 2x6 cedar planks (4x8 feet, 12 inches high), which have been highly productive for four years.
- **Level 9: Raising Chickens** [07:03] — Inherited chickens from previous owners, then learned to raise chicks from day one, which became a favorite activity. A separate video covers the entire process.
- **Level 10: Building a Secure Chicken Coop** [08:08] — A new, predator-proof coop and run were built with hardware mesh buried a foot deep and bird netting to protect from hawks, ensuring chicken safety and better egg quality.
- **Sponsor: Good Egg Egg Brush** [09:03] — Good Egg's Egg Brush, made of food-grade silicone with 700 scrubbing nubs, cleans eggs effectively, extending their shelf life seven times longer without losing nutritional value. Use code MikeG15 for 15% off.
- **Level 11: Automated Chicken Watering System** [10:37] — A 100% automated watering system collects rainwater, filters it, and uses a pump to circulate water through PVC pipes with pecking valves, preventing freezing in winter.
- **Level 12: Chicken Compost** [11:18] — Chicken manure mixed with hay is collected weekly and added to a compost bin via a convenient door, breaking down into rich fertilizer due to the nitrogen-carbon balance.
- **Level 13: Garden Pathway** [12:13] — A wild area was professionally paved with an organic winding pathway, improving access and aesthetics.
- **Level 16: Trellising for Efficiency** [14:23] — A trellis system with 4x4 cedar posts and 9-gauge galvanized wire was installed, boosting efficiency for vining plants like grapes, peas, and cucumbers.
- **Level 17: Water Capture System** [15:02] — Rainwater is harvested in 1,000-gallon barrels and pumped to the greenhouse and garden beds via underground pipes, aiming for full self-sufficiency in watering.
- **Level 18: Cold Frame for Season Extension** [16:06] — A simple cold frame extends the growing season by 1.5 to 2 months on each end, allowing for nearly year-round salad greens in zone 7B.
- **Level 19: High Tunnel Greenhouse** [16:34] — A high tunnel with inflated double plastic and roll-up sidewalls was installed, growing three times as much food as the same bed space outside, with better disease control.
- **Level 20: Outdoor Wash Station** [17:40] — A new outdoor wash station with a commercial dishwashing head and a drain that routes water to the garden was built, solving the problem of dirty produce in the kitchen.
- **Level 21 Sneak Peek: Beehives** [18:33] — The next level involves building a structure for beehives, hinting at future expansion of the homestead.

### Conclusion

The video concludes with the creator reaching level 20 and teasing level 21 with beehives, emphasizing that the journey of building systems for abundance is ongoing and ever-evolving.

## Transcript

Ready? Here we go. So, when I first started gardening, I thought all of the joy was going to be in the actual growing part and the harvesting and the preserving and of course the cooking of this delicious fresh bounty. But it
turns out that that is just half of the fun. The other half was building out different systems in my garden that made the growing more productive and much Welcome to the game of ultimate abundance where every single system that
is built that improves your garden or your homestead gets you to the next level. And we're starting with level one, my first garden beds. Now, it doesn't look like it now, but when I first got here, it was completely
just an open yard, except for this spot right here, which was the only place the previous owners were actually gardening. But the garden was completely neglected. So, I had to clean things up. I brought in a bunch of compost, a bunch of wood
small animals out and just dove in with an ingground, no till garden bed approach. And to be completely honest, months before winter. But, of course, I
had to start somewhere. I had to start learning and improving the soil. Level two, fruit orchard. The saying goes, the best time to plant a fruit tree is obsessed with fruit. So, if I was
anxious to get the garden beds going, I was even more excited to get some fruit did right away. I ordered a bunch of bare root fruit trees online. I was shopping at local nurseries for fruit trees. And I picked this spot right in
sunniest spots to plant a little mini fruit orchard. And really from that point on, it was all about patience and education. You don't just plant a fruit tree and then you instantly get a bunch of fruit. These are long-term
prune them, how to care for them so you can reap the rewards. And every year, more fruit trees. I'm probably over a hundred at this point. I just started going to put in the greenhouse. And if you want fruit quickly, plant different
fruit that first season. These fruit trees I haven't gotten that much yet, but I know it's coming. Level three, compost. So, of course, no garden or homestead is complete without some type of compost
system, which is one of the first systems I put in. And since I had no idea what I was doing at the time, I started simple with a prefabricated cedar compost kit that just snaps together very easily. And this is where
I put in any organic scraps from the garden, branches, veggies, weeds, wood chips. And then over here, I've got these heavy duty bins. Now, I started of my veggie scraps to protect them from animals, which they didn't, and they
upgraded to these heavy duty ones, which have been great. Now, I am not completely self-sufficient yet on my own compost. I do need to pay for outside compost to get what I actually need to feed the garden. As you can see right
delivered. And the ultimate goal is to build a much bigger and more efficient system up there. So this is more of like an education compost system as I gain the knowledge and the confidence to build something much better. Level four,
currently standing, believe it or not, was a big walnut tree. Now this tree was leaning towards the house, which means it was a threat to the house. It also was blocking a lot of sun in this main area of the garden over here. So I
it removed and then I had a local carpenter come over who had a mill and he milled up the wood into live edge planks which took about 2 years to dry out. And my dad, who is a very skilled woodworking hobbyist, has been turning
that walnut into beautiful furniture that you probably see in the background of different shots around the studio. And tree removal early on in your garden or homestead can be a very integral step to take because you could be freeing up
the potential of a lot more growing space and a lot more sun like I did right here which means yes removing a healthy tree. But of course in this case sacrificing this tree made the house safer and I was able to plant like 25
trees in its place and we're using the wood for furniture so it all works out in the end. Level five, preservation room. And now, of course, if I'm trying to increase my self-sufficiency and abundance, I knew I would need a
fermentation and preservation. You know that you've watched the channel. So, basement, which was just an empty storage room, I knew it'd be perfect to that's what I did. I designed some of these floating shelves and I had a
handyman help me install them. And at first, it really was just a storage room because I wasn't producing that much food. Over time, as I increased production on the homestead, this thing started to fill up. But because this
consistently stays cooler throughout the year, it's an essential spot for all of my preservation projects, which keeps me and my family eating delicious, fresh, and preserved things from the garden throughout the entire year. Level six,
learned very early on is that the easiest way to financially get crushed when you're growing food is to buy seedlings from nurseries, which I was relying on in the beginning before I was starting my own seeds and it was a big
waste of money. So, I invested in a pretty basic three rack growite system. I've installed some fans and this has worked decently well over the years. enough to get me up and running. We also have this nice little seed starting
station here for me in my climate is very important to get those seeds started nice and early. Plus, I can start seeds down here when it's really start seeds down here when it's really hot in the summer. Level seven fencing.
gardening I was doing in that first few months, I realized that I had a serious problem which were deer. For me, I knew I needed to stop the deer because they could wipe out my garden in one night. So, I ended up investing in a permanent
solution with a proper 8-ft tall deer fence, which is a fortress. The deer cannot get in. Now, still to this day, it's been my biggest investment in the garden, which was very scary at first, but not a day has gone by where I have
regretted investing in this deer fence. Fencing, I have found creates a really nice sense of dimension and aesthetic boundaries around your garden. and it's increased my growing space by around 30% because I can use the entire fence line
as a trellis, which I'm growing a ton of different berries and different vegetables. Level eight raised beds. So, when that tree was taken down, well, it did a lot of damage to this area. Plus, the trucks that were taking the tree
down ripped up all the grass. So, instead of just growing grass again and having that, I decided to build a bunch of wooden garden beds and bring in wood you have right here. In total, I built
five beds out of 2x6 cedar planks stacked to 12 in high. And they are 4x 8t in dimension, which I think is the perfect size for a garden bed. And these things have been absolutely pumping out food over the last 4
food over the last 4 years. Level 9 chickens. So, level 9 was homestead. Technically, it happened at level one because I actually inherited chickens from the past owners. They had
they were very concerned at the time that they were going to have to get rid of their chickens. But I happily adopted them and I was off to the races. But they were laying less eggs. So I knew at some point I was going to have to raise
chicks. And for a suburban boy like me, I was a bit intimidated by that. But I just hopped in. I went for it. I made some mistakes early on, but I got the hang of it. And honestly, raising chicks has become one of my favorite things to
do in the whole homesteading system. And I actually put out an entire video of raising chicks which covers all of the equipment needed and follows the journey from day one to integration into the coupe. So, if you're serious about
raising these girls from babies, you can check out that video check out that video below. Which takes me to level 10, a new raising chicks, you're going to need a place for them to live, which is the
chicken coop and this run area where they can move around. Now, like I said, I inherited an original setup from the past owners, but unfortunately, there were some flaws in that system, and it led to me losing a few chickens. But
many lessons were learned, and I put all of that knowledge into a completely new setup here, which is basically Fort Knox. And security is the key to raising predator that lives in your area is going to want to eat your chickens. So,
where they sleep and they lay their eggs in the back, which there's a bunch right framed out this run area which has hardware mesh that goes into the ground about a foot to protect from ground predators from digging under. And then
aerial predators. And I even took it a step further. I created an area that's completely protected by bird netting because the hawks are so bad in this room. They can live a better life. And of course they're getting more balanced
diet from all the bugs they're snatching up which leads to better quality eggs. Which brings me to the sponsor of today's video, Good Egg, which is the using since it basically hit the market. So, since both the chicken's eggs and
digestive waste come out of the same spot, this makes chicken eggs rather is something called the bloom. Chickens put this coating on fertilized eggs. They also put it on unfertilized eggs.
you collect eggs from your coupe, because of this protective layer, they for up to a few weeks. Now, this was very beneficial before refrigeration was invented, but up to 5% of backyard eggs actually test positive for Salmonella
and 15% for E.coli on the shell, meaning crosscontamination is definitely still a practice to clean your eggs off, pop actually last seven times longer without losing any nutritional value from the
cooling. So Amy and Bryce, the founders of Good Egg, had a backyard flock and with sponges, which weren't very efficient. So they created the Egg Brush, which is made of 100% foodg gradede silicone with over 700 little
scrubbing nubs that wrap your egg, giving them the perfect wash, which also eggs, which works great for your veggies as well. And they also sell this enzyme wash that is made of 100% plant-based enzymes that get distributed through a
foaming head that help clean your eggs and neutralize any bad bacteria without adding any harmful cleaning chemicals. So if you have a backyard flock, this product is a no-brainer. So for 15% off your first order, click the link below
your first order, click the link below and use code Mike G15. Level 11 automatic chicken watering system. You can see them pecking at this system right now. This system is 100% automated, meaning I never have to
change the water for my chickens. What I did was install a little mini roof above my run, which collects water that gets filtered through a leaf eater and drains here, which has an electric pump that pushes the water through this PVC pipe
chickens can peck at to get their water. Then that water continuously flows back into the rain barrel, creating a constantly moving system to keep that heater that goes on when the temperatures get too cold. And because
that water is moving, it never freezes up in this pipe. Now, that's how you make your life easier on the homestead. Level 12, chicken compost. So, most people think you get chickens for beautiful eggs, which is the main reason
to have chickens. But the second best reason is the beautiful fertilizer that deep composting system in your coupe, this is unnecessary. But I have to clean all this out pretty much every week. So, all I have to do is take a dust pan,
scoop this up. This is just hay mixed in with the manure. And then I come right over here and I installed this nifty little door, which makes this very convenient. Close that door. And I build it so you can take away or add bores as
here with a shovel. Mix this up every now and then. And between the nitrogen and the carbon in the hay, this breaks down into beautiful compost. Level 13 garden pathway. So this entire area originally was just
wild flowers. There were some stepping stones across to get through, but it was very wild. So over time, I started to really revamp it. I had it professionally paved in this nice sort of organic winding flow. And I cleaned
things up a bit. I planted new perennials, took out a bunch of weeds, garden, but also pollination. And I'm walking along this path every single day, multiple times a day. And I even added this section right here just a few
weeks ago because I realized that was my lunch that this was another natural path I was taking every single day, but I was trampling over all types of flowers. So, it got a little upgraded. Level 14 outdoor seed starting station. All
right. So, this was a really simple structure I built out of 2x4s and 4x4 legs and just hardware cloth right across the top, which gives me the across the top, which gives me the ability to water my seedlings, and all
of the water drips down right into the soil, which is why this is an outdoor on wheels because I used to have it over in that area of the garden, and I would just move it depending on how much sun I wanted the seedlings to get. But now, in
this greenhouse, it's found its official home. It doesn't move. Now, this has made seed starting outdoors so much easier, so much more efficient, and I can bring seeds that I start inside, and I can lay the trays on these tables to
start hardening them off and getting them used to being outside. So, it's just a great storage area as well. Level 15, irrigation. So, once you've set up your garden beds, it's so important to have passive irrigation systems to make
your life easier. Less time watering, more time planting and harvesting. So, right here is the hub of my system. These are drip lines hooked up to an automatic timer that I set for certain times. Opens the drip line system. For
the garden beds, I have this cool squareoot gardening grid system that drips and waters the plants. I've got onions and garlic growing right now. And then if we come over to the ingground beds, I just have regular drip line that
automatically waters all of these beds. And then I can always take a hose and manually water the garden if needed. I am constantly tinkering and upgrading my efficient over time. Level 16 trellising. So, as things were
growing in the garden, one thing that was becoming very apparent was how much trellising was boosting efficiency. So, I took this spot right here, which was trellis system with 4x4 cedar posts, then 2x4s on top to stabilize them.
autotightening anchors and strung up some 9 gauge galvanized wire across. Now, it doesn't look like much now, but I planted grape vines here. And then while that was growing out, I did a whole three sisters bed here that was so
efficient and grew so much food. And since this system increased efficiency so much, I added another one right here this winter. Same exact system. I already have peas growing and I plan on growing cucumbers and melons, all types
growing cucumbers and melons, all types of vining plants on here. Level 17 water capture. So it rains a lot here on Long Island. So I wanted to take advantage of that and harvest that water, which is this whole system right here. I started
a few years ago with this 1,000galon barrel and I just added another one because I needed more rain water and I still need more rain water. I want to be completely self-sufficient on rain water to water my garden one day. At least
really easy to set up. I just put out a short video all about this. And then I have it hooked up to this pump right here which I turn on. There's an irrigation pipe that goes underground to the greenhouse. And since it doesn't
rain in here, I need to bring in that rain which is being pumped in from those rain barrels. And then I have this great little hose right here where if I turn that on, that rain water gets piped into drip irrigation all throughout these
beds. Or I can turn this on through this switch. Rain water through the hose. Level 18 cold frame. So before I invested in my bigger greenhouse, I still wanted to experiment with season extension. And one of the easiest ways
to do that is to build a simple cold frame, which is basically just a smaller doors are off on this right now, but it's just a simple 2x4 seater frame with some greenhouse plastic attached. And just this very simple structure here in
zone 7B extends my growing season by about a month and a half to two months on each end. Honestly, just this one bed could pump out salad greens for my could pump out salad greens for my family nearly all year long. Level 19
wanted a bigger indoor growing space, understand where it was going to go. But once I pinpointed the best position for grass. And then I worked with High Tunnel Vision to install this high
tunnel, which has inflated double plastic for a little better insulation. It has rollup sidewalls for ventilation. I've added some shelving for tools and organization. I've got a seat in here to hang out. I've got compost. Now, if you
look out there, I'm growing just a little bit of garlic at this point. Whereas in here, we're full on beautiful lettuce, spinach, arugula, tons of things seated like these carrots. If you've watched my videos, you've seen me
in here a lot. This high tunnel alone, I would estimate can grow three times as much food with this covering. There's the same amount of bed space planted outside. I mean, the saying goes that pretty much everything grows better when
wind. The sun gets diffused a little bit. you can control the watering so there's less disease. So if you have the space, any type of greenhouse or high tunnel structure is going to greatly increase efficiency in your garden or on
your homestead. Level 20 outdoor wash station. So this is my most recent I've been wanting for a while. I was bringing in all this dirty produce to the sink in my kitchen, which of course is just a mess. It can clog drains. It's
not ideal. So, I built basically the same exact structure as the outdoor seed starting station, but I just framed out a spot for a sink to go in. And then I worked with a professional landscaper to rip this area up and add in a drain that
collects all of the water that goes out to my garden. I installed one of these high-owered commercial dishwashing heads and I can clean veggies right here or I all of my veggies in here. And then the water drains down into there, which has
a pipe that goes under here and comes out right here, which I've connected to a hose so that water can hit certain spots in my garden. And that's it, my friends. I've made it to level 20 in the game of ultimate abundance. How many
levels till I complete the game? You'll just have to tune in and find out. Or Maybe you're always striving for more abundance in the garden. But sneak preview, level 21 right here. I'm building this structure. There are some
beehives coming in, which is very exciting.