Josh, just discovered your channel here on UA-cam. Use to have great raised beds & some years ago had three 100 year floods, January, May & September. Disappointing the 2nd 100 year flood took out all my raised beds. It was no more possible to restore, as the land had been shifted with rocks & boulders. I still enjoy eating always fresh frozen steamed veg's 365 days of the year. You present a great package on your program. Look forward to future programs to enjoy. You give great information on Organic Gardening. Take care, always, Tommy🤠
We still have time to start beds too. We have four beds to get ready and a goat space that needs cleaning out. We plan on using fresh plus old compost to get ready. I have some garlic that needs planting as well as we need to get our bare root trees. Plus...chickens are coming, Goddess willing, if the ban is lifted on the disease.
The easiest mulch I have used are OLD ROUND BALES of HAY that have been out in the weather for a year, I use it in the fall and a good part of it has been composted without any work. I also chop and drop in the fall then cover with mulch, love all the info you provide.
Of all the videos I’ve watched and am implementing their methods, including KNF I never thought or heard of leaving the roots in the soil. Next year I will add that. Learning is listening to something that makes since……
In Florida over winter gardening is the most successful! I have never been able to grow anything other than okra and eggplant in the summer it's too hot
Nice video. I'm not a huge gardener...yet, but wondering if a cover crop would be beneficial? Have you done this? If so, why not again, or if not why not? Appreciate hearing your point of view. Thanks
I'm loving those beautiful beds. I had no idea that BCS had chipper attachments! We have a cabinet shop nearby that was delighted when we would come fill used feed bags full of shavings for the chickens etc. All free, and easy to bag. We did try to work around the black walnut layers (toxic to horses, and the juglone might be problematic if in too high a concentration). It was such a boon though. We had so much we would dump it along paths to cut down on mud in the winter. I'm glad you brought up the hay pesticide issue, and not digging in the chips/shavings. Thanks for all the great info! Oh, and a question: Do you guys do any cover crops for the cold? Daikon radishes, etc? Or is it to harsh there?
@Steve Slade Good to know. We are considering options of moving north ( in Va now, where the Daikons can overwinter, this is why I asked). Your point about allelopathy was eye opening. I looked into it more as I didn't realize brassica's had that capacity. Very interesting stuff!
I can get almost unlimited organic mulch from the city street dept where I live. They even bring it to my house and dump it free. So check with your local city officials. It's where they grind up limbs, trees, branches, leaves. The only thing, one day I want to get a chirper/grinder to run it thru a second time, there may be a few pieces that could use it. Now, I just need a good organic dirt type material to add to my soil. Great video, Thank you!
FYI - getchipdrop.com is a sight that you can sign up for to get free chips from local arborists. We live in the country so never got a call. It's more for urban areas. Also, Mike McGrath former editor of Organic Gardening gives a great TED (on UA-cam) presentation on the values of leaf mould. Much of his beliefs are due to how deep the tree roots grow and pick up even the tiniest of minerals. Using the shredded leaves is his go-to organic method of gardening.
Help! Prepping for winter. Last year weed seeds loaded up my raised beds and I did not get to them timely...ugh.. This year I am putting down card board and mulch but how do I protect from weed volunteers? Weed cloth? Is mylch enough?
Thank you. This is so helpful. I was wondering about your tunnels. It looks like cattle panels that are bent with a 1 x 1 attached at the bottom? How do those stay securely bent like that? I didn't see any t-posts. Are they somehow tent pegged into the ground? I'm sorry if I missed an earlier video about this. They look so nice. I was thinking of using t-posts and baling twine which would not look as nice.
Have you considered growing green manure on plots as they become vacant? It generates quite a lot of organic matter to feed the soil and excludes light while it grows so keeps the plot weed free. Oh, one more thing: a packet of seed weighs a lot less than all that wood shaving material.
Check to see if you have Chipdrop available in your area by going to their website. We use it and had 20 yards dumped this spring, luckily for me the neighbor needed some so between his needs and mine the LARGE pile of wood chips disappeared from my front lawn (they will drop where ever you want).
Do you ever need to add minerals to your soil? If so what are good products to use? When it’s time to add more compost next fall will you pull back the much or just add the compost on top of the mulch? Thanks for making informative videos with out to much fluff.
when spring does roll in, according to your last bit there, you pull off the mulch (to compost?) and just plant in the exposed earth, yes? I'm a newB and wishing my grandparents were still alive to learn from.
No. In the spring you just move the compost over to expose the soil you want to plant in and after you plant the seeds and the seeds germinate and start to grow, you move the mulch back to the bases of the plants so the soil does not remain exposed and it continues to suppress your weeds. Close planting also helps with weed suppression to keep a more weed-free garden.
After amending my garden with compost for 4 years the soil is still hard, so just today (November 18) I covered the raised beds with 3 inches of homemade compost and then covered with a thick layer of shredded leaves. My question now: how do I plant carrots, beets and greens next spring?
What you instructed at the end is what I was wondering. What do you do with the mulch afterwards, Move it to the pathways or put it in a pile somewhere to reuse somewhere else? Suggestions anyone?
Hi guys from Ontario Canada. Josh Do I need to add more soil to my compost.My garden is new last summer.I added a try soil last summer.This fall I added a pure mushroom compost to my garden about 4 inches .I do not have mulch but I am going to cover it this winter with a tarp. Do I need to add dirt in the spring . Or can I just go ahead and plant in the compost next spring?Also I just made a smaller garden , I followed your technique that you did on the herb garden So far I covered it with cardboard and now I am covering it with compost. And then using some tarp for the winter. But This spring will I need to add soil.Or just finesh with compost and then plant?any help would be helpful. Some say to much compost is not good. ButMy soil last year seemed to be pretty hard.
One question...since I live in GA, our power company and some tree companies will let us have mulch for free, but I'm worried about the % of pine that might be in it. Is that really a problem? In hugelkultur, they say not to use pine, walnut, etc.
Great info, thanks Josh. So I have two questions, #1 whoud you ever mulch inside a greenhous, #2 could you use sawdust for mulch in the same way as the others you mentioned? Thanks. :)
@Kris Jamison: Yes, you can put them through a wood chipper and spread them around or you can dig a new garden and bury them under where you're going to plant. See some videos on Hugelkultur. I did hugelkultur but instead of mounding everything up I just buried them when I started the garden. They break down over time and feed the soil.
Hey Josh! Another great, informative video! I was just thinking of this today. I have some lower back issues going on and plan to do raised beds this year. Would you suggest the same method for raised beds? Also, what is the dark color material in your beds ( your soil?)? You were putting mulch on to of it. Thanks!
Any recommendations on where to get compost? I am working on being self sustained but not there yet and need to get a patch of dirt nourished while waiting for spring.
Team Dishman Hello, I bury kitchen scraps right into my garden beds all summer and just before everything freezes. I also grow veggies we don’t eat in several bins just for compost use. Every fall I rake up and shred a huge amount of leaves and put that on top of the beds . I do this because we live in an Urban area and our soil is “ Builders garbage “ dirt . I hope this helps. Oh... we also keep worm bins in our basement and put kitchen scraps in there all winter long. In the spring we sprinkle Worm castings on the beds.
@@wendysurbanhomestead5011 I did the bury method one year, not sure why I stopped. I think I will have to revisit that again. We just started our first worm bin so hopefully that will work well for us. Thanks for your reply.
Do you have any tips for starting raised beds? We have a very small yard and it’s quite shady, but we have a small area that we want to put in some raised beds. We would have to bring in all the soil.
If you're growing for friuts or roots you need plenty of sunshine. If you're growing for the leaves or stems your plants can tolerate more shade. Plants like kale, collards, cabbage, fennel, asparagus and any salad greens can be grown without full sun.
@Steve Slade I should have worded my post better. About half of our backyard gets enough sun for a garden now. We had a massive elm tree die this Spring that we cut down. Previously, our entire backyard was shade. We will have enough space for a small garden next year. I really want to have at least some of my own veggies!
Can I ask what you would do with a yard that is completely covered in crabgrass? I want to transform my back yard into a garden (the whole thing) but have been battling this grass for the last 3 years :(
This fall mow the grass short as possible and lay down cardboard or thick layers of newspaper where you plan to garden. Wet it down good and cover with a thick layer of compost, then a thick layer of mulch and let it sit til spring. Crabgrass should be dead by then and cardboard decomposed.
Thank you, I have a question? When spring planting time comes, do you remove any remaining compost material and put it in a pile some where for next year, so that it can be reused along with any new compost pile you are creating.? Thank you finestplanet1
@Finestplanet 1: In the spring you just move aside some of the mulch just enough to make a spot to plant your seeds or seedlings. Leave the mulch right there and when the seedlings come up and get a little taller than the mulch just push it back around the base of the plants. The mulch helps to retain moisture so you don't need to water as much and it keeps the weeds from growing so you don't have to weed nearly as much. It also keeps the soil at a more even temperature. Just leave the mulch where it is and keep adding to it every year. Let it rot right in the garden, it will break down and becomes compost.
Josh, just discovered your channel here on UA-cam. Use to have great raised beds & some years ago had three 100 year floods, January, May & September. Disappointing the 2nd 100 year flood took out all my raised beds. It was no more possible to restore, as the land had been shifted with rocks & boulders. I still enjoy eating always fresh frozen steamed veg's 365 days of the year. You present a great package on your program. Look forward to future programs to enjoy. You give great information on Organic Gardening. Take care, always, Tommy🤠
I use all my fall leaves as well as the neighbors leaves as mulch for free!!!! No cost. Just mowed it with the mover with the bagger on it.
We still have time to start beds too. We have four beds to get ready and a goat space that needs cleaning out. We plan on using fresh plus old compost to get ready. I have some garlic that needs planting as well as we need to get our bare root trees. Plus...chickens are coming, Goddess willing, if the ban is lifted on the disease.
The easiest mulch I have used are OLD ROUND BALES of HAY that have been out in the weather for a year, I use it in the fall and a good part of it has been composted without any work. I also chop and drop in the fall then cover with mulch, love all the info you provide.
Of all the videos I’ve watched and am implementing their methods, including KNF I never thought or heard of leaving the roots in the soil. Next year I will add that. Learning is listening to something that makes since……
Very sensible using the resources you’ve got. Composting and mulching is so important. You can trust the compost that is created on your own grounds.
Thank you, this is very interesting and i will definitely do so in my favorite garden.
In Florida over winter gardening is the most successful! I have never been able to grow anything other than okra and eggplant in the summer it's too hot
Nice video. I'm not a huge gardener...yet, but wondering if a cover crop would be beneficial? Have you done this? If so, why not again, or if not why not? Appreciate hearing your point of view. Thanks
What brand of shredder chopper do you use? Suggestion for when I buy one
I'm loving those beautiful beds. I had no idea that BCS had chipper attachments! We have a cabinet shop nearby that was delighted when we would come fill used feed bags full of shavings for the chickens etc. All free, and easy to bag. We did try to work around the black walnut layers (toxic to horses, and the juglone might be problematic if in too high a concentration). It was such a boon though. We had so much we would dump it along paths to cut down on mud in the winter. I'm glad you brought up the hay pesticide issue, and not digging in the chips/shavings. Thanks for all the great info!
Oh, and a question: Do you guys do any cover crops for the cold? Daikon radishes, etc? Or is it to harsh there?
@Steve Slade Good to know. We are considering options of moving north ( in Va now, where the Daikons can overwinter, this is why I asked). Your point about allelopathy was eye opening. I looked into it more as I didn't realize brassica's had that capacity. Very interesting stuff!
Can I use pine shavings or sawdust in my garden?. I have a wonderful source for this but wonder what the effect it will have on my garden.
I can get almost unlimited organic mulch from the city street dept where I live. They even bring it to my house and dump it free. So check with your local city officials. It's where they grind up limbs, trees, branches, leaves. The only thing, one day I want to get a chirper/grinder to run it thru a second time, there may be a few pieces that could use it. Now, I just need a good organic dirt type material to add to my soil. Great video, Thank you!
FYI - getchipdrop.com is a sight that you can sign up for to get free chips from local arborists. We live in the country so never got a call. It's more for urban areas. Also, Mike McGrath former editor of Organic Gardening gives a great TED (on UA-cam) presentation on the values of leaf mould. Much of his beliefs are due to how deep the tree roots grow and pick up even the tiniest of minerals. Using the shredded leaves is his go-to organic method of gardening.
Just got 10 yards for $40. Which is basically veer money for the driver.
Great video. Love seeing your garden. Please show it often.
Help! Prepping for winter. Last year weed seeds loaded up my raised beds and I did not get to them timely...ugh.. This year I am putting down card board and mulch but how do I protect from weed volunteers? Weed cloth? Is mylch enough?
Thank you. This is so helpful. I was wondering about your tunnels. It looks like cattle panels that are bent with a 1 x 1 attached at the bottom? How do those stay securely bent like that? I didn't see any t-posts. Are they somehow tent pegged into the ground? I'm sorry if I missed an earlier video about this. They look so nice. I was thinking of using t-posts and baling twine which would not look as nice.
Have you considered growing green manure on plots as they become vacant?
It generates quite a lot of organic matter to feed the soil and excludes light while it grows so keeps the plot weed free. Oh, one more thing: a packet of seed weighs a lot less than all that wood shaving material.
Thanks.
Check to see if you have Chipdrop available in your area by going to their website. We use it and had 20 yards dumped this spring, luckily for me the neighbor needed some so between his needs and mine the LARGE pile of wood chips disappeared from my front lawn (they will drop where ever you want).
Do you put your wood ashes on your compost pile ,or maybe your garden beds ?
Wondering how you put your perennial plants to bed for winter? Berries, grapes, etc.
Do you ever need to add minerals to your soil? If so what are good products to use? When it’s time to add more compost next fall will you pull back the much or just add the compost on top of the mulch? Thanks for making informative videos with out to much fluff.
Some wonderful information thanks so much for sharing!!
Do you mulch your tomato plants or compost?
New subscriber, found you by searching bee wraps, then saw you had gardening videos too, can not wait to look through your others
when spring does roll in, according to your last bit there, you pull off the mulch (to compost?) and just plant in the exposed earth, yes? I'm a newB and wishing my grandparents were still alive to learn from.
No. In the spring you just move the compost over to expose the soil you want to plant in and after you plant the seeds and the seeds germinate and start to grow, you move the mulch back to the bases of the plants so the soil does not remain exposed and it continues to suppress your weeds. Close planting also helps with weed suppression to keep a more weed-free garden.
@Jennifer: There's a lot of gramma and grampa types on UA-cam to learn from. Welcome to gardening! Lots of auntie and uncle types too, LOL.
@@sylmarie6494 thank you, Marie 💗
@@Inkdraft yeah, I'm sure! I just miss my grandfolks greenhouse and yard-size garden...they were masters to me 😉
After amending my garden with compost for 4 years the soil is still hard, so just today (November 18) I covered the raised beds with 3 inches of homemade compost and then covered with a thick layer of shredded leaves. My question now: how do I plant carrots, beets and greens next spring?
Do you have a link for this chipper/shredder?
Will everything break down in the spring?
What you instructed at the end is what I was wondering. What do you do with the mulch afterwards, Move it to the pathways or put it in a pile somewhere to reuse somewhere else? Suggestions anyone?
Okay I got my questioned answered down a few replys...thanks.
Do you rotate your crops in your permanent beds or plant the same annuals in the same rows every year?
Hi Josh, new to your channel 🙂...Would you remove the mulch in the spring to plant, or plant your seeds right into it? ..Thanks 🙂
If you only put leaves on top for the winter, is it ok to till them in come spring?
How do you keep your mulch from blowing away on the windy days in Idaho
Awesome
Are you concerned about glues from plywood in the cabinet shop shavings?
Hi guys from Ontario Canada. Josh Do I need to add more soil to my compost.My garden is new last summer.I added a try soil last summer.This fall I added a pure mushroom compost to my garden about 4 inches .I do not have mulch but I am going to cover it this winter with a tarp. Do I need to add dirt in the spring . Or can I just go ahead and plant in the compost next spring?Also I just made a smaller garden , I followed your technique that you did on the herb garden So far I covered it with cardboard and now I am covering it with compost. And then using some tarp for the winter. But This spring will I need to add soil.Or just finesh with compost and then plant?any help would be helpful. Some say to much compost is not good. ButMy soil last year seemed to be pretty hard.
One question...since I live in GA, our power company and some tree companies will let us have mulch for free, but I'm worried about the % of pine that might be in it. Is that really a problem? In hugelkultur, they say not to use pine, walnut, etc.
Would sawdust provide any benefit for mulching and composting ? In my woodshop I create and collect sawdust from projects.
Great info! Thank you!
Have you ever heard of or even tried Horgikulture gardening???
maybe i missed it on your other videos. what size paneling are you using for your hoop house? thanks
They are cattle panels. About 4' tall by 16' long.
@@HomesteadingFamily thank you for the response.
Great info, thanks Josh. So I have two questions, #1 whoud you ever mulch inside a greenhous, #2 could you use sawdust for mulch in the same way as the others you mentioned? Thanks. :)
Liked and commented for algorithm.
Can you add burned tree branches to your garden?
@Kris Jamison: Yes, you can put them through a wood chipper and spread them around or you can dig a new garden and bury them under where you're going to plant. See some videos on Hugelkultur. I did hugelkultur but instead of mounding everything up I just buried them when I started the garden. They break down over time and feed the soil.
Hey Josh! Another great, informative video! I was just thinking of this today. I have some lower back issues going on and plan to do raised beds this year. Would you suggest the same method for raised beds? Also, what is the dark color material in your beds ( your soil?)? You were putting mulch on to of it. Thanks!
Any recommendations on where to get compost? I am working on being self sustained but not there yet and need to get a patch of dirt nourished while waiting for spring.
Team Dishman Hello, I bury kitchen scraps right into my garden beds all summer and just before everything freezes.
I also grow veggies we don’t eat in several bins just for compost use.
Every fall I rake up and shred a huge amount of leaves and put that on top of the beds .
I do this because we live in an Urban area and our soil is “ Builders garbage “ dirt .
I hope this helps.
Oh... we also keep worm bins in our basement and put kitchen scraps in there all winter long.
In the spring we sprinkle Worm castings on the beds.
Does your city have a green waste dump that turns it into compost to sell? If not I’d buy it at Home Depot.
@@wendysurbanhomestead5011 I did the bury method one year, not sure why I stopped. I think I will have to revisit that again. We just started our first worm bin so hopefully that will work well for us. Thanks for your reply.
I subscribed your channel now!
Great information as usual. Your garden looks great even without all the veggies growing.
Can you use chipped pine tree mulch in a food garden?
Are you in the US or Canada? What part?
Do I see sunflower stalks in your mulch pile?
Do you have any tips for starting raised beds? We have a very small yard and it’s quite shady, but we have a small area that we want to put in some raised beds. We would have to bring in all the soil.
If you're growing for friuts or roots you need plenty of sunshine. If you're growing for the leaves or stems your plants can tolerate more shade. Plants like kale, collards, cabbage, fennel, asparagus and any salad greens can be grown without full sun.
@Steve Slade I should have worded my post better. About half of our backyard gets enough sun for a garden now. We had a massive elm tree die this Spring that we cut down. Previously, our entire backyard was shade. We will have enough space for a small garden next year. I really want to have at least some of my own veggies!
@Steve Slade I'm in Manitoba, Canada! So very much colder than the Deep South.
You may want to look up Self Sufficient Me on You Tube for raised bed info.
Can I ask what you would do with a yard that is completely covered in crabgrass? I want to transform my back yard into a garden (the whole thing) but have been battling this grass for the last 3 years :(
This fall mow the grass short as possible and lay down cardboard or thick layers of newspaper where you plan to garden. Wet it down good and cover with a thick layer of compost, then a thick layer of mulch and let it sit til spring. Crabgrass should be dead by then and cardboard decomposed.
Thank you, I have a question?
When spring planting time comes, do you remove any remaining compost material and put it in a pile some where for next year, so that it can be reused along with any new compost pile you are creating.?
Thank you
finestplanet1
@Finestplanet 1: In the spring you just move aside some of the mulch just enough to make a spot to plant your seeds or seedlings. Leave the mulch right there and when the seedlings come up and get a little taller than the mulch just push it back around the base of the plants. The mulch helps to retain moisture so you don't need to water as much and it keeps the weeds from growing so you don't have to weed nearly as much. It also keeps the soil at a more even temperature. Just leave the mulch where it is and keep adding to it every year. Let it rot right in the garden, it will break down and becomes compost.
@@Inkdraft thank you💐👍
What about blight?
So what you're say, the amish has it wrong. They till. I have amish friends and they say tilln' is very important
👍👍👍👌👍😊
We found out using wood chips here in the east coast of Virginia was causing us a bad termite problem.
Wouldn't the glues in the cardboard be bad?
Not to mention that cardboard mostly comes from China... you have no idea what's in there.
@@DT-vc7hd Seriously -- great point!
How about sawdust? got a free source. Tree People make furniture.
Ask your Power Company who trims trees from power lines Consumer Power uses Utility Tree Service
Check out Dr. Elaine Ingham, she is awesome and would fit directly into your way of growing crops.
Zzzzzzz