Best 10 TIPS Back to Eden Gardening 101 Method with Wood Chips VS Leaves Composting Series #6
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- Опубліковано 4 жов 2024
- Best 10 TIPS + 12 PRO'S or CON'S. Part 6 of 12 Part garden channel Series that will help you understand the PRO'S & CON'S of Back to Eden organic deep mulch gardening method 101 with wood chips to composting just Fall leaves. Great start for beginners Tour our secrets for organic soil & growing gardening vegetables 101 documentary with pest control. Looking into soil food web & soil health in a no till organic garden. diy garden. Organic gardening and farming.
Mycorrhizal list : www.rootnatural...
I love this channel and seeing the results of the experiments! I use 4 inches of oak leaves with 2 inches of mulch on top (to keep the leaves from blowing away). I live in zone 8b and we've gone a month without rain (with most days about 97+ degrees Fahrenheit during that month). At the end of that month, I dug down into the ground to see how dry it was and was amazed by how damp the soil still was. I didn't even water during that time. It amazes me what a moisture barrier this technique provides.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR SHARING..That is very kind of you.
hi thanks for the info. .tht is what I'm thinking about doing also! the leaves first then wood chips on top.. Do the vegetables like ths combination?
Hard to say exactly why but your vids are highly watchable, interesting, coherent and clear. I expected to only spot check this vid but enjoyed the whole thing.
THANK YOU so very much.
We free range our chickens. Every fall we cover our garden beds with leaves at least 6 inches deep. In the spring (April and May) we move the chicken fence around the garden. The chickens find worms, bugs, grubs and their regular scratching helps break down the leaves. Our chickens are happiest when they are busy. This gives them something to do and gives us fertilizer.
PERFECT...THANK YOU for sharing this information.
Love it! Great video.
I love using both wood chips and fall leaves.
I love layering them. I love mulching with them. I love using them with my animals (chicken & rabbit manure added with ease).
I do find that oak leaves in general have a very tough time breaking down and retaining moisture like other leaves, even with chipping them.
Great tip on the weed management. We always want to pull them don't we? I bet the weeds offered a bit of shelter from birds, for that fruit.
Not sure if it was asked but, how do you get your leaves and chips. I have asked (almost begged) as well as called local tree services and landscapers to give them permission to dump chips and leaves on our property. Almost all laughed at me. Most refused. Some heard me out but after months, I have yet to get anything. I usually have to go to the municipality and get them myself....boy is that hard work! We also asked to have some limbs chipped after taking some trees down. But it was hardly anything. And I pick up leaves that people are throwing out. But, strangely some people don't like that. They would rather those bags go to the dump. SMH.
I would love to see some more information on using manure or not using it. We don't use horse or cow but have chickens and rabbits. I thought I was doing good by using it.
Love your dedication to using cover crops.
I was once accused of stealing on our neighborhood "watch" channel when I was collecting bags of leaves put out for collection by the city.
Even when I tried to explain to the original accuser I was using them in my gardens--- HE just did not understand. Oh well. I have great soil and appreciate all these city people bagging them for me!
Thank you for taking so much time and sharing your knowledge. I'm learning so many powerful stuff from each and every one of your videos.
Can't tell you how amazing it is to watch and learn from a true expert.
Thanks Again
THANK YOU, very much..
Thnx Mark! You've helped me to look back at mother nature, she does all the work.👍🏻💪🏽🌱
Mother nature is the best to listen too.
Yer Joisy accent is just precious! My first husband wuz a Joisy boy and you East Coast boyz are just fine in my book!
Thank You..
I prefer woodchips over leaves for mulching the garden because i found stinkbugs hiding in the leaves. I raked out the leaves and put in woodchips instead.
I am finding lots less stinkbugs on my plants now.
GOOD to Know... THANKS
Great Video! Both Elaine Ingham and Paul Gautschi would be proud of thjs!
They are BOTH KIND & SMART Individuals THAT WANT TO HELP OTHERS. Thank You.
I allow weeds to grow throughout my garden because I learned a long time ago. That they are part of the chain that benefit the soil and so it benefits the plant. I simply control their size.
I fully agree with you, THANKS for sharing..
yes! I'm actually doing that this year. I read about it before and I was concerned about my tiny baby carrot sprouts letting lost in the weeds. But I stumbled on it again tjis year,when we had all that rain and I simply could not stop the incredible proliferation of weeds daily.
I didnt want to pull out my fragile baby carrot sprouts up with the weeds.
So I didn't. I didn't pull up anything until my carrot sprouts were tougher and bigger! And guess what? Its ok! :)
so im being pretty liberal with my weeds.
I AM ORGANIC GARDENING since watching your videos I started trimming my spent annual plants, instead of digging out the whole plant at the end of my growing season here in Michigan. I also have plenty of perennial flowers within my garden. Would these rooted plants help build the soil web in my flower beds? I sincerely like to thank you for all the valuable information that you provide on your channel.
@@mahidikarif2123.
Hi Mark! First thank you so much for the wealth of knowledge you are sharing with us for free. I'm amazed at how much I'm learning. My brain is soaking it all in! You're so well informed.
That is so very kind of you .. Feel free to asks any question. I wish you to have fun gardening and grow nutrient dense food.
WOW It's official, I'm an amateur! That's a few squash. "99 pots of sqash on the wall, take one down plant it in the ground, 98 pots of squash on the wall.::) Great idea and sunchokes are tasty!
I will have to sing that when I harvest...lol
I just came in on part 6, but now have to go watch 1-5. This was so well said and organized,. Excellent video.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH...
Each and every episode excites a re-born home gardener like me. I must thank Paul Gautschi for bringing back BE method and yourself for explaining the wisdom and science behind it. As per my remark to a past video, I have noticed the life around grass roots compare to bare soil.
Q: should I grow asparagus in my 400 sq ft raised beds, leave a few sets of shallot or perennial flowers like lupine to have living roots?
Comment: I have noticed radish seeds survive out in -30F -30C. I will be going to leave daikon radish, peas and carrot seeds for early germination next year to activate soil at the begging of the season.
I like the Idea about the Lupine the the BEST. But better would be a little pine tree...THANK YOU
+I AM NJ ORGANIC:farm:garden I went with lupins. Some are direct sow along with a north facing wall (4-5 hours of sun during the late afternoon) and other seeds in containers for later transplant.
VERY NICE. It is going to look amazing..
I absolutely loved this video I have just found our channel and cant wait to watch more episodes! (I am going to restrict myself to 1 a night though other wise it will be total piggery. It inspired me to ping out of my lazy chair and get out in the garden to do some work! I can honestly say that I have not been so inspired since watching every single video about Paul Gauchi. Thank you this video is brilliant and I learned a lot from it - WOW you are a really amazing person for taking the time to share all this valuable information. Thank you!
THANK YOU. That is very kind of you. Paul has a great way about him. His films are fantastic.
Agreed.
You deserve way more subscribers. It will come soon anyway.
I am very happy that you found the channel and the others so far. THANK YOU.
Love your videos... watched most all of them now... Been doing back to eden for years myself..learned a lot more about it and why it works..Thank you so much for sharing...
And THANK YOU for watching....
Great information, thanks for this. Clear and coherent explanation of how to build the soil web.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH. The soil is the key to our health..
Thank you. Just thank you! I could go on raveing but it's all been said by others. I am subscribing!
I appreciate you making this video series. I've been going with the leaves since they are abundant in the fall on my property (therefore, making the garden project self-sustaining!), but have wondered if I should have went with getting wood chips. You're answering all of my questions. Thank you! ☺️
And THANK YOU for watching and writing in. You will love using all those leaves..ENJOY
Thank you. Trying to start up a family farm and loved your bounty of knowledge. Keep up the good work and happy gardening
That is great news.. Film it a post it on UA-cam if you wish.. THANK YOU.
I've found that dropping cattle panels on top of leaves holds them down fairly well .. and since I'm using the panels for trellising later on, its convenient
That is a GREAT idea. THANK YOU for sharing...
Great episode Mark! Thanks for all the explanaition, I really learned a lot from it again. :) I have a little tip for keeping the leaves in place. I always use branches and cuttings from my fruittrees and old vegetation from the beds to lay on top of the layer of leaves. This will prevent the leaves from blowing allover the place. This you can Always plant new seedlings in between those sticks and most of the leaves will stay in place. I live in the Netherlands and we get quite a bit of wind here (There are many windmills here for electricity).
THAT IS A GREAT TIP. My grandfather was from Holland. He exported tulips bulbs with his brothers. He was a breeder on the first white tulip in a certain classification.
+I AM NJ ORGANIC:farm:garden Oh really? Holland is famous about her tulips :)
Very good explanation and inspiration! One question: Since You've been mulching intensively like this, especially with fall leafs, did You face an increase in slug population.
If so, how do You handle this? ( We live in Hamburg, Germany, zone 8, high humidity all year round.). Thanks and please go on with that series of videos!
I have not even seen one slug yet. I think the other way, if there is a good place for good bugs and frogs to live in the mulch they eat the slugs...
This is so interesting! Thank you for the comparison.
THANK YOU, I am learning a lot about this myself in a fun way...
Thanks a lot for this very clear comparaison, I was wondering about cardboard 😊
I am glad you found it helpful. THANK YOU for watching....
I use a ton of shredded mulch and leafgro to transform our yard into a crazy productive garden. For the last 3 years there has been 10 inches or more added and the amount of mycorrhizae development has been astounding. Please also don't forget to talk about pollinator plantings amount crops...this aspect is OFTEN overlooked and most folks think bees will come if we plant...this is a myth!!!!
I FULLY AGREE, That point is coming up soon. Just that you know I plant at least 2 acres a year just for bees all types.THANK YOU
Your life is a blessing to us. Thank you for sharing us some ideas that inspire us to start with.
THANK YOU for your kind words..
I am going to plant them around the lettece, carrots, Swiss chard, etc I have growing. I noticed things growing slow and think some areas are too wet from the wood chips. I have compact sugar snaps peas I put in a month ago that are doing well. Tomato and squash planted late doing well. I have mixed in some native plants and think I will put in more between the rows like native Hibiscus. So, perhaps more sugar snap peas and raise the dirt level where the carrots and a few others are growing too slowly. Only thing I can think causing the problem is too wet. The sloped areas are doing well. I had added lots of layers like chicken manure, etc. Thanks! Lori
I sure enjoyed the information you provided on soil building.
How do you control moles and gophers? We are located in farm/forest area. Moles tear up the field and gophers move into mole tunnels and pull whole plants down into the tunnels after moles leave. I may have to go to the expense of raised beds with hardware cloth mesh bottoms if there is no better way.
I am also learning about hot composting. I have found that a little well composted matter laced with well composted manure and sprinkled over plantings work great to get new fields going. Established (chip fields) hardly ever need any compost matter. I usually apply this in the Fall to newly chipped fields and let rain and gravity do the work.
Thank you, and thank you! I have learned so much from this! Last year was my first Back to Eden gardening. It turned out good, this will be my 2nd year. Question for you, how do you loosen your soil in your front lawn. I've got lots of perennials in various places in my small front lawn. It's got quite a bit of yarrow, dandelion and other weeds. The lawn/soil is very hard. I understand about layering your leaves or wood chips on your garden, but how do you repair front lawns? I'd appreciate some advice as to how I can correct this problem. Thank you so much.
I'm a new sub who is happy to have found you. You make learning simple and I need simple! We are going to buy farmland in about a year and I have so much to learn about the food web. Thank you for making these show and tell films! I have to catch up with where you are now and it's going to be a delicious process because I love learning these things. Hugs and blessings dear teacher!♡ Sue
THANK YOU, Sue. First I would like to say, HELLO future farm. And if you ever have any question do not hesitate to ask. It can be very simple and the soil will fix and work by itself.. Also Thank You for the kind words and SUB. Enjoy.
I AM ORGANIC GARDENING Thank you for your welcome and encouragement!!
I just finished watching the series, Very Well done, I really enjoyed it. My question is...are you worried about the sun chokes taking over and spreading ? Will the cover crops take over and spread or are do they die with winter? how do you plant in the cover crop? trim to the ground and plant? Thanks
Yes, to the sun chokes. But will harvest ever fall . And leave only one or two alone. The winter rye stays green all winter, field peas will die. Yes, trim ad dig..THANKS FOR ASKING
I layer straw over the leaves - seams to help and it’s stays in place.
Very NIce.. THANKS
Do you have to clear leaf to soil to plant cover crop?
Wonderful informative videos, I'm now going to save my front garden without having it ripped😀. I has had a huge about of fill soil sitting on it for the last 5or so years which we've just had relocated and it's left a very fine dusty clay with little organic matter or stones. I covered it with stick biscuits of lucerne hay and autumn leaves over winter. I really need some help, as I wish to establish a cottage garden and lawn on the front garden thats currently surrounded by beautiful large autumn trees. Up to this point my Gardens been totally neglected as i fractured by spine and have ongoing problems, I want it to look beautiful again. I do have a raised backyard veggie patch.
Is it possible to establish the soil web structure within a raised wicking bed garden? As there is no direct contact with the soil so you'd need to introduce it.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and videos with us.
Thank you.
Glad you found this video.. THANK YOU.
so, so far, what is the points on each side: leaves, wood chips?
Thanks for the info.
THANK FOR ASKING.. Leaves 75 points & Wood Chips 67.
RE: Different types of leaves...
Every fall I drive around town & pick up people's leaves for my garden so I get all kinds too. Then I chop them up with the lawn mower so they rot faster. Love leaf mold!
That is so GREAT to hear..leaf mold is the best. THANK YOU.
Is there a reason, that you could not combine the two types of ground coverings (leaves & wood chips)?? I was just wondering. Thank you for your videos.
YES, you can.. THANK YOU for asking.
Excellent
THANK YOU kindly. Have a great year ahead.
Another fantastic , in depth video.
That is very Kind of you to say. THANK YOU.
+I AM NJ ORGANIC:farm:garden No problem I like every video you make. It is cool learning from a professional who does this as a living.
THANKS. You will never get rich $ on this type of living. But you will have fun and eat healthy and be rich in a different way.
+I AM NJ ORGANIC:farm:garden I was never in it for the money. I am a bout trying to eat healthier. Sharing plant abundance with family and friends. Also not wasting money at a store.
Wow! Thanks for all the good info.
THANK YOU for watching and your kind words...
hi from nw Wisconsin,thank you so much for sharing!
THANKS for watching...That is very kind of you.
Great video thanks for the info. Hope my garden does as well this year.
I AM SURE IT WILL. Thanks for watching...
What are you doing with the pool blue flex hose? watering the plants. Do you have a video on this I would like to see how you did your system.
The Blue Hose is only used to weight down the drip tap for irrigation and to keep the crows from picking on th e tape under neath to drink water from it. Thanks for asking.
Why do you have a drip tap? I thought water when plants go in and done
Thank you again for sharing another great video. I have some fruit trees with woodchips on them for a couple of years and a vegetable garden area with woodchips on them for a year and a half and fall leaves on top of the woodchips for the last eight months. I did some planting in both areas and noticed a lot more worms about 10 times more in the area where I had the leaves. I was wondering if you are noticing a difference in the worm population in the woodchips to fall leaves areas.
GREAT QUESTION, I am going to revel that at the end of the garden season. Hope you watch. THANKS
Have you considered blending both leaves and wood chips together as an experiment?
It can be wonderful to mix them together, IF it’s FRESH GREEN LEAVES; I had over a dozen loads of free wood chips delivered sometime in middle of July & they were all fresh cut trees, with the leaves that were still green. I noticed the leaves had broken down into a beautiful black first & that was feeding the plants right away, & by the time that was done the wood chips were breaking down & now they are ready to do the feeding of my plants.
I let the wood chip piles sit for about 6-7 months. They sat from the middle of June or July of one year to the middle of Feb of following year. I started to spread them around my trees, & every inch on our yard that I knew I wanted to improve the soil.
I had no idea how long it would be completely broken down. After the 1st year &1/2, it was about 50% broken down. By the end of the 2nd yr, I sifted about 60% - 70% fine soil like compost. Because some of the wood chips were rather large it had to be sifted but I did it because I wanted to use in our new raised beds. Now I need more wood chips, & I love them, nothing on this earth can do what they do, I have not done just leaves or have I used dry leaves, but I’m working on making leaf mold, & I compost everything. I live in the southeast, zone 8-B, hot & humid summers & cold winters. I think they managed to break down so fast because we had a lot of rain the last 2 winters. Nothing seems to compost in the summer season. I think it would try it. Good Luck.
learned a lot. love the channel
THANK YOU so very much..
one thing I found with leaves vs chips is that they both need to be piled for some time to get all parts equi-damp, fall is not really the time to put leaves in your garden, pile them in the fall and put them on the garden in the spring, then the leaves are soaking wet and the do not move and they are likely denser than the chips. I do not have easy access to chips so I have been using leaves for years, if you can get a layer of leaves on your garden 3 inches thick little or no weeds will come through the leaves, if you only have 3 inches of chips in spots you will get weeds, if I had access to lots of chips I would not have this issue but life is life. I have not perfected this yet but to me it is looking like about 3 inches of leaves first and about 3 inches of chips on top of the leaves once they are soaked and settled it is working good so far. This is a very interesting experiment, and I am wondering to myself how come no one else has done this there are many southern universities with farm programs why is this not already been done and passed on, onward hoe!
I AGREE WITH YOU. THANK YOU, VERY MUCH..
So you were saying that if there is manure added to the soil then it will create a smaller root system? I found that to be highly in accurate due to the fact that compost will work its way into the soil if it is added the season before planting
Mark, do you have a favorite method of producing worm castings? You mention that you use them for potting. Is there a book about vermicomposting that you recommend?
THANK YOU FOR ASKING..Keep it simple and start small, I use a tower method. 2 trays, fill one and let them eat. when you see the food is gone put the 2 tray on top with hole in the bottom and they pass though. Also buy a led light bulb and keep in on 24 hrs a day so the worms stay in the trays> There are so many videos on UA-cam that will help you about this...THANKS
Hi Mark Thank you for for great detailed explenation. I am starting this fall by putting wood chips,
my question to you is... How Do you plant seeds into the woodchips like parsley, cellery etc?
@@meesho2194 I know it's been awhile but I wanted to help answer your question. What I am going to do is rake back the wood chips then plant fruit trees first then cover crops and then you can plant your seeds or better yet get a vegey plant already started, as celery is very very difficult to grow from seed, at least for me it is. If no trees at least plant cover crops, rake away the chips till you see soil and then put the seeds in and maybe find some leaves that you can put over the seeds. Once they are sprouting then you can rake the chips back in. I am going to do this soon on my channel. Previously I had put in a parsley plant into the sand after raking back some wood chips, it took awhile but it is doing well especially after watering since we have had no rain in a month. Let me know what you ended up doing. Thanks
@@iamorganicgardening First time I’ve read someone mention an LED light. That makes a lot of sense tho. 👵🏻👩🌾❣️
Do you think this style of mulching, etc will work well in south florida where it is hot, humid and rainy during 6 months of the year?
Yes,, I have seen other garden channels do it.. THANK YOU for asking.
Hi Mark,
I've been reading about using lactobacillus as a beneficial soil probiotic. Apparently, it's very easy to culture using rice and milk. Do you have any experience or thoughts on using lactobacillus ?
Hi Mark… I have to ask…. What is the blue hose (?) you have running down your rows?
Thank you for explaining so one can understand 👵🏻👩🌾❣️
It is a to protect the 1 inch drip line irrigation underneath from the crows that like to punch holes in it to get water if I have a drought.
@@iamorganicgardening
Funny but not funny…. I have ground squirrels 🐿 that do the same thing 😤🤪. I have trees planted around our fenced property line & we had to rig it up pvc on the fence with drip lines running off. We’ll see how it goes . Dang critters lol
Thank you for the explanation 👵🏻👩🌾❣️
Put leaves down and wood chips on top and give them both a 10. Thanks
I agree, That works as a 10... THANK YOU.
I'm a fellow NJ resident and I was wondering if you do tours of your farm?.. I recently had 5 acres given to my family in Franklinville, and would love to pick your brain for tips on getting started on the best crops for our region!...
SORRY, I do not. Since I lost my wife to cancer and have to care for my autistic son there is very little time. There is even a huge difference in what i grow and what you should grow. best to go to a more local farmer. THANKS
I'm sorry for your loss... and thank you for writing me back. I will start to look a little closer to my area, thanks again.. and keep the videos coming sir...
So chop and drop the weeds (before seeds)? I think I've been doing that, letting the weed flower for the bees and butterflies then as I see the flowers dwindling I pull them. I should just chop n drop?
Great info
THANK YOU so very Much..
I have always heard that walnut (especially black walnut) leaves and/or wood chips are NOT good to grow in... Can you comment on that?
In the last 8 years i have received more than 80,000 cubic yards of leaves with pine needles and lots of black walnut leaves. They are the first trucks loads i get every year.. And I always grow tomatoes plants in then the following spring and all is OK.. But I hear from other garden channels that this is a problem.. My answer is always test on a small scale first yourself and see. THANK YOU.
I see you're just trimming the weeds instead of pulling them, what about crab grass, would you trim it or try to pull it out? Thanks for your videos, very informative.
I would trim everything. Crab grass does not grow root again just reseeds itself.
@@iamorganicgardening Sorry, I meant bermuda grass, would you pull or trim it?
What do you think about using cardboard then fall leaves and wood chips on top? I’m doing that to try and build soil for next Spring.
I think cardboard can slow thing down or be hard to grow throw.
Mark,
Thanks for your detailed information. I have wood chips in 4 places of my back yard some chips older some newer. Some with higher carbon ratio some with less. I have potatoes planted in two places reds and russets in both places. Store bought in one place and certified seed potatoes in the other. Store bought were planted last fall of last year the russets seem to have great growth but the reds got some frost bite and look like they have some blight.
The certified potatoes are definitely in the high carbon ratio chips. I planted them this spring. All the plants look great now the whites were slow to form leaf growth, but are catching up now. I added fish fertilizer to the whites. I watched on a channel that it is good to put wood ash in with the potatoes so I added wood ash last fall. I put about 2 1/2 gallons of ash on certified potato bed and there is more shade in this bed as well. My question is; Is the wood ash helping or is it the certified seed potatoes? Not knowing what the harvest will actually be the certified potatoes seem to be winning out.
Thanks
Steve
There is two types of certified potatoes. All potatoes must be certified seed potatoes before planting. Then second there is certified organic potatoes ( grown organically from start to finish ). Most likely the variety of the potato & wood ash is helping some. Hard to say with out seeing it, sorry. THANKS.
could you explain in difference between sunflowers/sunchokes as to #9/#10 building soil and the main crop such as squash? Do the former are substitute for trees as to exchanging sugars for nutrients with the soil life through their roots and the less woody plants just don't do that?
They are the same.. Both are in the sunflower family that grows a lot of mycorrhizal fungi on in roots than other plants. The only difference is on is a seed you plant every year. Sunchoke is let's say a tuber. THANKS.
is it helpful to put hay under the woodchips?
All organic covering is helpful..THANKS
Question about types of leaves... we had a bout of leaf spot on our pepper plants this year (not sure if fungal or bacterial) and everything I've read says to keep them out of the garden, as the fungus/bacteria can overwinter in the soil. Does that logic still apply when using the leaf composting method here? Some have already begun to decay into the soil... I'd like to think that everything will eventually balance itself out, but not sure. Thoughts from anyone out there? Thanks for all the videos! Super helpful!!
THANKS, I was told the same thing. If you watch this video I made you will see the all the tomatoes were grown in leaves. Click this link: ua-cam.com/video/ROLsTE2clfo/v-deo.html If the plant is soil is healthy the plant will be healthy to..
jessica3643 I would not worry about it. I am not an expert but I think everything will even itself out over time.
Does back to eden really require 10 - 12 inches of chips? Seems a heck thick to me. I usually mulch max 2 - 3 inches...non back to eden though.
There is no set Rule just guidelines... It is what you feel is right that you can work with easily... THANKS FOR ASKING...
Are there any smaller plants I can substitute the sunflower with for help promote fungal growth? Preferably something non invasive?
You said to stay away from large pieces of bark but is it o.k for me to use shredded bark??
Yes.
I live in the city and in my back yard I put the Back to Eden gardening method into place. I put thick wood chips around my fruit trees and garden area. In the garden area I also added chicken manure, etc. My winter garden is planted and coming up. I like the idea of adding a cover crop in with my vegetables however I'm concerned that some of the grasses used as a cover crop might spread seed all over the yard. I am leaving large areas just as wood chips and then the vegetable garden for my plants. Are there any short cover crops to intermix my planting with?
Please look into a these clovers named..Medium Red Clover & New Zealand White Clover. And let me know what you think.. Just google the name and add: for sale .. at the end..THANKS
Thank you! I will check into it after work. All the best and thanks for your great videos!
Apologies if this came twice; but, can you use something like an earthway seeder in your deep mulch for direct seeding?
YES, but you will have to move the mulch away first...THANKS
Do you have problems with pill bugs eating the tender small plants
No, Maybe a cut worm or 2. Thanks
would it make sense to do a bottom half layer of leaves and the top half wood chips?
That would work.
Subscribed and bring watched!
THANK YOU for the sub...
@@iamorganicgardening you earned it... you confirmed my suspicion and saved us some time with the back to eden experiment you did. Still rocking the back to eden, just with a few adjustments.
You mentioned mice eating a few of your seeds. How do you keep them from eating what is planted?
Instead of clover what would be good edible plants to fix nitrogen that I could plant with my lettece, Swiss chard, etc over the winter. I was thinking perhaps favs and peas? Any herbs or other ideas? I am in the bay area in CA so the climate is pretty moderate. Thanks!
YOU are on the right track them, since you are in CA. Sorry, no herbs I Know of are legumes that fix nitrogen, This is fenugreek a spice you can use..than does... You might use sugar snap peas if it is still OK to plant now.. THIS grows tall but will fall over so it does not block the sun from other plants. Favs are very big plants.. Are you planting them by themselves or are you going to mix them in right next to other things in the garden as ground cover..? THANKS
I may also do the sunflowers and some small native grasses that don't get out of control and stay small. Thank you for your help. I never considered cover mixed in with existing vegetables. Just having an option for flowers, etc is good as I don't want it looking like weeds but have have options. Awesome!
@ Lori Deal, Austrian Winter Sweet Peas. The white flowered ones are not bitter. The leaves and peas are edible with both types. Fenugreek and Comfrey are herbs and Pigeon Peas is a low growing ground cover. All these are perennials except the winter sweet peas. All of these nitrogen fixing plants should work in your moderate climate. I am in zone 8 in Georgia and have successfully used the Austrian Winter Sweet Peas even with light snow on the ground. The Comfrey dies back if it gets too cold, then resprouts as soon as it gets warm again.
Mark, do you have any thoughts about Pine Needles? I am in Arizona and have access to lots of needles from our mountain place - they are all brown, but don;t seem to break down fast. If worthwhile, should I bother to shred them before application or just use to cover. I am also using wood chips.
Pine Needles are great to... They do the same job as all other things. The KEY is keep the soil cover 24/7- 365 days a year. PLUS have a live root in the soil all the time. LIKE perennials. You never have to shred anything. We shred things so it is easy to move them or place them in the garden area. THANK YOU for asking.
Can you do one as a horticulture bed and combine all 3 to see the result?
Yes you can.. THANKS
can you add more info to the plant you are adding to the squash, it sounded like "asturgeon" and it is to help protect from squash bugs, do you mean the black fleas that eat the pithy part of the squash leaves? Thanks!
SORRY about that. They are call Nasturtium. it has a Edible flower, with a pepper taste, As in Salt & pepper. Thanks
The flower mask the smell of the squash To REDUCE all pest. But will not stop them fully..
Do I need to buy mychorrizal fungi to incorporate into the soil or just planting a tree would suffice to get the mycos spreading?
If you just take a hand fill of soil unbroken by digging a clump will a small shovel from a area that has some type of perennial. That would do a much better job for you and your tree.
So you don't push the leaves or the wood chips back around the seedlings?....Wouldn't it save the soil from drying out with the mulch back on?
When the plant becomes taller and stronger you sure can place the mulch back on the soil.. THANK YOU for asking.
I'm trying to work it our for Australian conditions...we all apply mulch to our gardens here because of our climate...our soil is really poor -high clay content where I am. It is raining today for the first time in 3 months...we just started our spring and have already had days in the 90's..so we are taught to mulch to help plant stay hydrated..
Since you mentioned at the end of your last video, if you have any comments, I do.
I am constantly landfilling an area in my back yard with wood chips to level the ground.
It's approximately 70 ft by 170 ft area and the wood chips are 5 feet in depth. The area I am raising has always been a weed haven. Do you have any suggestions for me as to what I can do on top of 5 feet of wood chips to prohibit weed growth. I can't dig down to the soil depth. Is there some kind of desirable seeds I could spread on top of the 5 ft pile of chips that would discourage nasty weeds in the future? How long will it take for a wood chip pile this depth to become good top soil? Should I put topsoil on top of the wood chips, throw some seeds and hope for the best. I really prefer to have something growing there besides nasty prickers. do you have any suggestions what I can do on top of my 5 foot deep wood chip pile?
Thanks for any information you may have
You can reach me at safettree@gmail.com
Yes, Seeds like buck wheat... is a great start to plant. it will grow 2-3 feet tall and have lots of white flowers..Just place on top of the wood chips and try to get them an 1 inch below the top.. THANKS.
My "soil" is pure clay on top of limestone bedrock. I wonder how long it might take to create a "growable" layer of new soil on top of the clay able to support growth if I used several years of deep layers of leaves and wood chips?
Hi, if you make row of mounds 3 feet wide of your clay soil mix with fall leaves at least 8 inch tall and plant a cover crop on top of the whole row/mound you call plant and grow into into. You can never till again or leave any soil bare at any spot for the whole year, including winter. THE SOIL FOOD WEB is the answer to build soil with a living root in it all the time. NOT what you are to it.. please watch this link: ua-cam.com/video/-O_Y-qN8EzQ/v-deo.html ...THANKS
What is the best way to get free or make the proper kind of bark chips?
Just call your town first it they cut chips. Or a local tree trimming service near you. THANK YOU.
Fresh sawdust it's not good, it can cause nitrogen deficiency. How about old sawdust, about 6-12 months old? And not mixed in the soil , just on top of the soil. What do you think? Thanks
You said there's no bad type of leaves or chips. Wouldn't walnut with it's juglone content be counterproductive?
THANKS FOR ASKING but NO, they would not. Walnut leaves can be composted because the juglone toxin breaks down when exposed to air, water and bacteria. The toxic effect can be degraded in two to four weeks. In the soil, breakdown may take up to two months after the living walnut tree has been removed. Mulch or woodchips from black walnut are not recommended for plants sensitive to juglone. However, composting the woodchips for a minimum of six months allows the chemical to break down to a safe level even for plants sensitive to juglone..THERE is only 5 vegetable garden plants that do not like it. But in the end all is well. They are more worried about you planting a garden near A LIVING WALNUT TREE. Plus if you applied them in the fall you would NEVER se any problems..
why is bark bad?
Ok i am slightly confused about building soil. I thought as the leaves and or wood chips break down they are helping to build up the soil. Can you explain what you mean about them not building soil. I am looking at over the long haul.
he refers to creating soil pores and creating an ecosystem to grow strong organic crops. ua-cam.com/video/CXAShw_JICM/v-deo.html
hi, how about using hay or straws
You won't slow down centipede grass unless you put down cardboard. I use contractors paper which also works well. Just roll it out and cover.
I agree with you it will slow it down, but not kill it..THANK YOU.
If it wasn’t for your channel I wud never start my garden ! Every other channel fertilizes with bunch of so call “organic” 💩 !!!!!
God bless you 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
Wow, thank you!
Would it not be easier brother to use a weed eater
How do you go about planting into an old alfalfa stand
You can always broadcast seed.. Cut alfalfa to about 5 inch tall first. Nature does it all the time. THANK YOU for asking.
This year covered my 50' x 50' garden with wood chips 6" thick and 80% of my heirloom watermelons have been massacred by bugs. It's a complete disaster. Last year without wood chips I had ZERO problem with bugs eating the watermelon leaves so my first guess is that I introduced them with the wood chips. I've planted the seedlings into a cleared area 2' in diameter but it doesn't matter. This is horrible and I'm just trying to save what's left now. I guess I'll try neem oil. Will this happen again next year? Any suggestions?
I am so sorry to hear that. Your bug problem is due to the weather. lack of sunny days and quick high day temps in the 90's. That is stressful to the plants and the bad bugs sense that and eats them. Neem is ok. But crop netting is better, 24 hr protection. If we have the sane type of weather next year it will happen again.
I AM NJ ORGANIC:farm:garden
Thanks Mark, that makes sense and makes me feel better. So much to learn, and your channel has taught me so much. I've got another group of soldiers about ready to go out in the next few days. Because of the cold May I had to keep the first group of seedlings inside much longer than I wanted to which I'm sure weakened them as I know watermelons don't recover well from being root bound. I had a few beautiful heirloom orangeglo last year and I'm not giving up so easy!
This is my first year ever I am using insect netting to keep the the bad bugs off certain crops on my farm, They are killing my radish and Pac choy.
Save me a couple slices! lol good luck!
There ARE bad wood chips/leaves. I get My chips from a service that clears power lines. You have to be patient. Sometimes they have a waiting list. But in general they clear healthy trees.
My friend got her chips from a company that services homes (against my advice). The service had removed/chipped some diseased trees and her 2+ acres of gardens were quickly over run with fungal rust. She lost 60% of the flowers she'd been growing for 10+ years. She had to resort to chemicals to salvage what she could.
Don't just pick up any leaves. Ask the people if they use any lawn service or chemicals on their lawns. Those chemicals are absorbed by the trees too.
Yes , we should always check the source that they are from,, THANKS
We’re in australia out wood chips will be gum is this still ok
Yes. The microbes will eat the gum. Enjoy
Why are bark chips a negative imput?
They hold back very little moisture in the soil. And take a very long time to brake down to hold that moisture in. THANKS
Correct me if I am wrong, but did you say in your video that the leaves and the wood chips do not help to build soil fertility when they decompose?
Neither one builds soil. You need mycorrhizal fungi to open up the soil pores to build it and glomalin to keep it open for the soil food web. water & air. The fall leaves and wood chips only feeds the soil bacteria and fungi. Example: you eat food so you can build your house ( the soil is the house ). The bacteria and fungus eats the leaves and wood chips to get some minerals, but most of them are release from the clay, rocks and sand. Plus Liquid carbon from living plants increase carbon for the humus..Thanks
I thought decomposing leaves release their fertility back into the soil. So if they wood chips and leaves don't put fertility back into your soil, then how do you get N, P, K and all the other elements into your soil to keep a healthy organic soil?
I have been doing a bit of research into this technique of organic farming where a cover crop is planted in the fall. In the spring they crimp the cover crop using a row crimper attached to the front of their tractor. Then on the back end of the tractor a colter cuts the soil and a seed is dropped in directly into the freshly knocked down cover crop. Have you seen this and what are your thoughts?
The answer to your question is called the nutrient cycle. It is a long answer to explain. But, this is why you do not till the soil ever. You kill off that cycle. Plants need all minerals/elements in the chart not just N,P,K. All this can be found in rocks and clay & sand . The bacteria & fungus eats/dissolves that material. Then nematodes eat them, And their pooh feeds the plants roots.
WORKS GREAT. There are lots of farms that do that on large field crops and never add N P or K ever. Or spray anything.
With all due respect, a scythe or even sharp rice knife would work far more quickly and efficiently (and without the use of "power") to chop and drop your weeds than that device you used for that. Just sayin...
I fully agree...I do use both of those items on my farm.. Still up in the air which I like better. THANKS
There are at least 2 kinds of leaves you should not use--black walnut and eucalyptus. They are natural herbicides.
I have used them in large volumes and never had a problem. 10 to 15 , 30 cubic yards trucks full on my 22 acre farm.