In this informal vlog, Victor Justin Rhodes and his family document a hands‑on project to protect a year‑long brassica garden from insects without using any sprays. The team measures, cuts, and overlaps roughly 350 feet of bug‑netting, stakes and weights it with garden pins and fire‑hydrant hoses, and integrates it with their drip‑irrigation system. Along the way they troubleshoot an air‑compressor that powers a shingling tool, juggle a tight schedule due to a horse‑riding lesson, and involve several family members (Lily, Jonah, Randolph, Gideon, Annie, Lucy) in the work. The video mixes practical instructions (how to calculate spacing, overlap net rolls, secure with U‑stakes, add weight) with spontaneous moments of humor, a dance‑off challenge, and community engagement through comments. The overall tone is conversational, enthusiastic, and collaborative, showcasing a DIY, pesticide‑free gardening approach.
Chapters
Brassicas are highly success— susceptible? Is that the right word? Austin, help me! Doing this for our health and we don't want to eat anything that's been sprayed. Not even with organic sprays. Enter the bug net. Hopefully we have enough bug netting. Hopefully this weather holds out. It looks like we're gonna be getting rain any minute. Oh shoot! Did I say 250 feet? We have 350 feet. Bring it over here, leave a— leave room for walking in between.
I'm just wondering where I have room for walking.
8 feet is kind of pulling out a number out of my butt. I was thinking 5 feet, but we don't have enough. He just had the idea to not measure every time, but just count the plants. You didn't finish the other one. This is going really quick. Lily, you want to help us? The project at hand were the only potential obstacles we had. Well, we'd be living in a dream world, wouldn't we? But we're homesteaders, and there's many other things going on. Jonah's calling me. He cannot get the air compressor started and he needs to be shingling. What's going on? I can't get this pressure thing started. There's a tank. All right, well, we ought to be able to figure it out. Looks electrical. Did you plug it in? Yes, I plugged it in. Strong start, reliable in any power condition. Hey, it may be on. You tried it and it didn't go? Nothing. Okay, here's a plug that's for sure working. Maybe the electricians know how to start one. Call Randolph too. Randolph will know.
Hello?
Hey, Randolph.
Hey.
Hey, how do I start your air compressor? There's a switch on the side of it there. Standing there at it, it's on the left bottom down there. Jonah, there's a switch on it. Glad I didn't ask the electrician to make a fool of myself. Can I walk on this gray stuff or is it slippery? You can walk on it. Did you do all this? Is it hard? Yeah, it takes time. He's not finishing there because we got to leave room for the skylights. This cabin was dark. We're gonna brighten it up. I got more, but it's probably half the size that long one was, and that long one wasn't even 100 feet. So let's say it's 50 feet, so that's 200, almost 300 feet, but we need 350 feet. Let's see how far that'll go on that row you're at right there. So hopefully this is longer than this bed. I'm not sure. It's shorter. Hey, where'd you find this? It was in the bag. Whoa, how many more are there? That's bug net. Good job, bud. I'm afraid if the— if— because if the bugs start getting in here, it's too late, because then if you put net over it, you've just captured your bugs. Then Gideon found a roll that might be exactly what we need. That would be crazy. All right, horse girl, let's see if this is a 100-foot net.
You're gonna take me to my lesson?
Yes, yes.
And can you—
that is a constraint, isn't it? What time's your lesson?
Um, we had to leave here at 12:50.
Oh my gosh.
I mean, no, I wish.
12:50, 10:50, that's only 1 hour. Oh my gosh. Okay, well, we gotta crank up the volume here. Please be a 100-foot roll, or if not a 100-foot roll, a 200-foot roll. Looks like we're gonna be at 100 feet. Hot dog! I'm excited. That was more than 100 feet easy. Let's see, Lily, if one of these 50-footers is enough to do our row out there. Okay, look, it is gonna fit. I'm excited. This is shaping up nicely. Weed-free, bug-free, and because we're drip irrigation, we're sort of water-free because there's not much chore in that except turning it on. Turning it off. Let's go do with what we have. It's not going to be perfect. Tie that on there at the end. Stake hole— a, uh, a U-stake. I guess this is a big garden pin. Knotted it so we can pull it taut. This rate, we might actually get it covered. Hey, don't do that! Don't wear that out unnecessarily. Come on. Here, it didn't make it all the way to the end. Hey, cowboy! You here to help us? No. What's your idea?
Using these, if you overlap the, the netting and then use these on this.
Hold on, let's try this. I'm afraid it might leave gaps between pinchers.
Well, let's just see. Well, I'm thinking like we would really overlap it.
Hold it steady. This is actually working, Beck.
I know.
Now wait, we didn't do nothing about that one. Is it— is it pinned, that other one, Lily? Because it can be like that.
Yeah, I'm gonna pin it, but I had to film. You doubted me, but it was a good idea.
It's a real good idea. That's gonna work great mounting those 15-footers together. Beauty came just in time. We were gonna have to come down with this end, come down with that end. It'd be tricky to protect them all. This was really seamless. We just draped it over And then because we draped it past this rib, it hugs this rib, and then the bugs can't get through that. Okay, Lily, we're going to be close enough. We're going to have to finish this before we go to your horses, so we're gonna have to speed it up a little bit here. 2 and a half down, one more to go. Oh look, our potato's got a Zapped. Those volunteer potatoes got frostbit. Notice how the garlic held up just fine. Hey, grab the end, other end of it, and start walking down the line.
There's no way this reaches.
Annie, you might make this possible.
We just in time.
She's— she and I gotta leave in 25 minutes. Okay, if you'll start, let's, let's put hoses on these. Put this end tied down. These are some dirty bug netting. But who cares? That doesn't matter. And we're piecing them together in the middle, but it seems to be no compromise. I told you to get off of that. Park your bike over there, please. Take this metal. You start cleaning up, please. Take that. Take that, uh, take that shovel and these metal posts. See if it makes it. All right, if this makes it, I'm gonna dance a jig. Hey, I owe you a jig.
You're gonna dance jig with me, Lily?
Okay, if we get done with this in time for your horses, you have to dance a jig. Y'all are gonna have to judge in the comments whose dance is better. Here we go. Look, look, look! And it came right to this rib. No more moving ribs. I am so incredibly happy right now, you don't understand. 350 feet, a year's worth of brassicas, some of our favorite vegetables, are covered, ready to go. We still have weights to go. Filling up my fire hydrant hoses to get more weight. These are cool because they give even distribution weight. Is it gonna be too pain to walk on it and set— put it on? It's probably gonna be too much to see whether or not it'd stay underneath. Yeah, just do separate. We nailed it!
I want to see it again.
We got those down.
Can you see it?
We owe them a dance. Okay, you judge the dancers, Annie. Okay, commenters are gonna judge too. We want your mom to weigh in on this. First time commenter.
I've never seen this dance before.
Is your mom a commenter?
No.
This is gonna be her first time.
Look for it.
Make your vote. I'll pin it. I'll pin it. Okay, Lucy, I'm gonna pin it. Lucy will be the tiebreaker.
Okay, ready, ready, set, go.
Wait, okay, go. Who's the best?
I don't know, I think, I think Lily had the most.
Oh, is that—
oh, you had the best face.
I'll give it to her. I forgot the move. I had to look for her for the move. One last time, get your bike out of here.
Remember, it's not the taking that slows him down. It's the asking him to rock back and carry himself, and the offering the hand and giving. The quieter you are with your hands, the quieter he's going to be. La la la la la, let me be free.
