University of New Hampshire 2019 - 'Pine needles themselves are acidic but do not have the capacity to appreciably lower the soil pH. As pine needles break down and are incorporated into the soil, decomposing organisms gradually neutralize them. Thus, there is no harm in using pine needles to mulch shrub borders, flower beds and vegetable gardens. Even a 2 to 3 inch layer of pine mulch will not change the soil pH enough to measure.'
@mosart7025 4 years in a barn is different than4 years in the sun. Unless the tree is like 2 ft in diameter or bigger (and even then it might be fine) than all the sap should be gone. All depends on airflow and temperature.
@@DouglasDrake-o8e I live in the same and do the same. I think the rumor comes from the fact that pines like growing in acidic soil to begin with. It's not them that makes the soil acidic, but the the soil that encourages pine growth. Pine logs should be fine. It's soft wood and decomposes quickly. Sap is just part of the tree and has nutrients also.
I haven't done a bed like this in about 2 decades. The one thing I did differently was to burn the wood and debris down until it began to charcoal. The one thing I've learned in my 60 years is to find a method that works for you and stick with it. So go with what works and improve where needed.
@@jt.633 The carbon is good for the soil long term, it helps the good microbes survive as it's a food source for them. There is a really good documentary (sorry I do not remember the name) that looked at these man made islands in South America. After decades of research they realized that the structures they found were kilns to make charcoal. As the research went on they found that the majority of the soil was charcoal based. They then found signs that they were used for crops, and testing the soil they found a very high concentration of the "good" microbes. Not sure how they determined this but they said those microbes were a strain that had been colonizing for centuries and matched the dates of the kilns. (sorry for going on an on). There is another documentary called "The Charcoal People", it used to be free online but you now have to buy it unfortunately. It's not specifically about the subject I just talked about but it does touch on it.
For anyone who watches this, dont toss in logs that are fully intact like that. Those logs arent going to properly break down for 20-30 years and will constantly sap the nitrogen levels of this bed. Simply put, they are a detriment to the bed.
If they are not breaking down, it means they are not decomposing, which means they are not sapping the nitrogen from the soil to break down. The whole point of the logs was to take up space saving use of expensive soil to line the bottom of beds.
I personally use a little bit of pine needles too and never had any sort of issue. I feel like I have however noticed more bugs like my beds more since I started using it.
Wood products that arent decomposed actually take Nitrogen to decompose, thus taking nitrogen thats available for the plants, away from them, locking up nutrients until they are thoroughly broken down. Much of what nitrogen that the compost was gonna provide your crop/garden, will now be used elsewhere, and can actually cause a nitrogen deficiency in your desired flora.
I like to put unfinished compost in with my branches and logs so there is plenty of nitrogen to feed the breakdown and then i put my soil mix on top of that
I find so interesting the beams holding together raised bed is typically flush on the bottom but not flush on the top. I made mine flush on the top so I could add a cap to sit on and stand on and eventually a door hinge canopy
Have you ever thought of using your food scraps to add to beds? (zero meat/animal products) You will need very little new soil; this soil will eventually become what us garden farmers here call 'black gold.' Due to physical issues we have dozens of raised beds & we use hugelkutur plus lasagne layering methods with compost scraps in there mixed around different layers, plus a lovely slimline compost 'basket' within each of them in the centre(s), the soil under the topsoil is the best there is 😊
@@mahafouad9322 Our ground is pure sand. With a raised bed I can mix potting soil, garden soil, & compost. Some of my pants and veggies do much better that way.
I just started gardening this year and have had much success, but there is much left for me to learn. If you have any suggestions for me I'd be interested (?)
I don't recommend putting logs, branches. I did it a few years ago and I had a horrific yellowish beige fungus that took over and coated the roots and stems of my perennials. It also attached itself to my new wood borders. I went to the effort of removing the logs, replaced borders planks, contaminated dirt. It all went back to normal. You never know what fungus, diseases you can get.
Armillaria probably. I wouldn't bury food scraps or logs because they will take nitrogen out of the soil in order to decompose. It's better to let it decompose or compost and then add it to your soil.
The pine needles aren't the issue, if you ask me. What will present an issue, however, is the fresh branches they're attached to. Those branches will take ages to break down, and as they do, they will pull nitrogen from your soil. You did okay adding the old logs, although rotting logs is, technically, the goal for the same reason. If I had to make a prediction, I'd guess that your bed will do alright the first year, but in years to come, their production value is going to taper dramatically, and you'll find yourself needing increasing amounts of fertilizer.
Pine will raise the acidic level but some plants love more acidic soil just don't plant like bluebarry. Or raspberry those like the soil more base. Like 8 to 9 But 🍅 are best in acid soil like 5
Have followed and done this kind of hugelkulture, several of them in my garden including papers, leaves, fallen flowers. It makes the garden clean and tidy. I’ve never water the garden during summer.
We used logs in our raised beds and the following year had a horrible maggot problem. Or maybe grubs. Either way my husband was sooo mad at me that we can’t use that method again. 😂
Very good video, just one thing, as far as I know, pine trees do not acidify the soil, I think it is a legend since there is no scientific evidence of such a statement.
I like your ideas of filling the Ed with old logs, but if I'm not mistaking that will attract the dreaded Squash Vine Borers. I have several videos on UA-cam that reveal damages done to my garden by them and the Green Horn Worms at - austinwhitfield2108
Hey there! I just built a bed last weekend and its half full with the cardboard, logs, branches, sticks, bunch of leaves.. Ive heard not to use top soil, and to use "raised gardening bed soil" or "potting soil".. Whats the pros and cons of top soil vs. raised bed soil? I love compost and will be using that mixed in, regardless . :)
Hey! So if I were buying in bags from a store I would opt for raised bed soil since it’s a little higher quality than store bought top soils. The raised bed soil is usually finer & the top soil has larger chunks. But, I am using SO much soil that it makes more sense financially to order in bulk from a landscape company by the dump truck full and they only offer compost & topsoil. So, I’m doing a 50/50 blend and mixing it well. It’ll be just fine! I actually did a mix of raised bed soil & top soil in my beds last year to save money (raised bed soil cost more) and it was just fine!
I was praying to the algorithm to remind whether it's ok to put decaying logs in the bottom of a raised bed. I have Christmas tree clippings too. Now I'll go ahead and try all this
Ok here is the truth! I have planted many raised beds in my life! MANY and never once did I ever experience a weed growing through 2 feet of soil, mulch, compost and wood to cause any problems in my beds! Ever! For goodness sake put cardboard where it belongs , in the recycling bin! With the other man made garbage!
Could have filled those beds with way better stacked and interlocked grass cuttings and plant cuttings and leaves and more layers of cardboard and veg fruit scraps if buried deep enough but not on the edges and twigs and smaller branches and way more green and way more brown materials than you used. Lots of massive air pockets you seemed to make under that new expensive soil on top ….
Yall need to stop with the cardboard it's not made like it was not its full of toxins and micro plastics, Logs breaking down nicely? LOL! that bed will decompose before the logs
I see a lot of people filling their raised beds with cardboard, but most cardboards have a lot of glue (each layer is literally covered with it). That glue is not biodegradable, likely to break down into microplastics. Good that you didn't use that much cardboard, like I saw in other videos.
@@davidevans1723 If you do use biodegradable glue, then I like the company that you are working for 😉. Unfortunately, there are still some companies that use PVA and other polyolefins-/naphtha-based glues. Some of them even in the European Union and I bet also in China, where most of the world's stuff comes from.
@davidevans1723 I wanted to fill my raised garden beds with cardboard as well, until I noticed glue on one of them that looked like acrylic glue. So, I decided to go directly to the wood layer since idk in which cardboard which glue is used. Btw, plantbased does not necessarily mean biodegradable. However, I don't want to start a debate, I just wanted to mention it. 💁♂️
That is still a TON of soil, unless you have a really good deal on soil and maybe you get some free manure like I do. But I still like to stretch my free stuff as much as I can. I just filled up two raised beds with logs, dried sod from another project, sticks, leaves, chicken manure/bedding, weeds, grass clippings, and finally a couple inches of aged horse manure plus mulch
I would have used cuttings to make a more airy soil. Pyralidfree dung world be used too. I have rabbits for this. And then soil mixed with ash or chalk or both.
This structure can not be found naturally except after a huge catastrophic event such as landslide. So for me better to mimic normal casual natural event. Statistically it has more probability to succed than one that occured occassion
I was taught to line the bottom with "hardware cloth" which is a finely gridded metal, to discourage creatures burrowing up from the bottom. Looking good!
No to the logs, because when the logs are decomposing, up to 60 years, they are stripping your soil of nitrogen and nutrients your garden plants need to grow. I use animal compost, leaves, straw, and or shavings
This bed unfortunately will require loads of watering and nutrients to sustain life. The pine topsoil and logs will not hold enough water. I would recommend more decomposed logs and old maybe 2 yo pine compost this way you get the breakdown, absorbency and non competition for nutrients and the microbes and beneficial organisms will love your bed and help feed whatever your growing. Speaking from experience.
University of New Hampshire 2019 - 'Pine needles themselves are acidic but do not have the capacity to appreciably lower the soil pH. As pine needles break down and are incorporated into the soil, decomposing organisms gradually neutralize them. Thus, there is no harm in using pine needles to mulch shrub borders, flower beds and vegetable gardens. Even a 2 to 3 inch layer of pine mulch will not change the soil pH enough to measure.'
Thanks
I live in a pine woods. My gardens get a lot of needles and they do no harm. They make good mulch.
What about actual pine tree logs? That has been cut for at least 4 years? Is there still sap or resin that will be harmful?
@mosart7025 4 years in a barn is different than4 years in the sun. Unless the tree is like 2 ft in diameter or bigger (and even then it might be fine) than all the sap should be gone. All depends on airflow and temperature.
@@DouglasDrake-o8e I live in the same and do the same. I think the rumor comes from the fact that pines like growing in acidic soil to begin with. It's not them that makes the soil acidic, but the the soil that encourages pine growth.
Pine logs should be fine. It's soft wood and decomposes quickly. Sap is just part of the tree and has nutrients also.
You need to use crushed LEAVES to save money. The leaves will turn to soil in just a few months.
That's what I did for my last bed. Turned out great. 🙂
I haven't done a bed like this in about 2 decades. The one thing I did differently was to burn the wood and debris down until it began to charcoal. The one thing I've learned in my 60 years is to find a method that works for you and stick with it. So go with what works and improve where needed.
whats the benefit of charcoal vs wood? just wondering
@@jt.633 The carbon is good for the soil long term, it helps the good microbes survive as it's a food source for them. There is a really good documentary (sorry I do not remember the name) that looked at these man made islands in South America. After decades of research they realized that the structures they found were kilns to make charcoal. As the research went on they found that the majority of the soil was charcoal based. They then found signs that they were used for crops, and testing the soil they found a very high concentration of the "good" microbes. Not sure how they determined this but they said those microbes were a strain that had been colonizing for centuries and matched the dates of the kilns. (sorry for going on an on). There is another documentary called "The Charcoal People", it used to be free online but you now have to buy it unfortunately. It's not specifically about the subject I just talked about but it does touch on it.
For anyone who watches this, dont toss in logs that are fully intact like that. Those logs arent going to properly break down for 20-30 years and will constantly sap the nitrogen levels of this bed. Simply put, they are a detriment to the bed.
If they are not breaking down, it means they are not decomposing, which means they are not sapping the nitrogen from the soil to break down.
The whole point of the logs was to take up space saving use of expensive soil to line the bottom of beds.
I personally use a little bit of pine needles too and never had any sort of issue. I feel like I have however noticed more bugs like my beds more since I started using it.
Wood products that arent decomposed actually take Nitrogen to decompose, thus taking nitrogen thats available for the plants, away from them, locking up nutrients until they are thoroughly broken down. Much of what nitrogen that the compost was gonna provide your crop/garden, will now be used elsewhere, and can actually cause a nitrogen deficiency in your desired flora.
I like to put unfinished compost in with my branches and logs so there is plenty of nitrogen to feed the breakdown and then i put my soil mix on top of that
The beds will break down long before those logs ever will unless lined with plastic. I know from experience.
I find so interesting the beams holding together raised bed is typically flush on the bottom but not flush on the top. I made mine flush on the top so I could add a cap to sit on and stand on and eventually a door hinge canopy
Have you ever thought of using your food scraps to add to beds? (zero meat/animal products) You will need very little new soil; this soil will eventually become what us garden farmers here call 'black gold.'
Due to physical issues we have dozens of raised beds & we use hugelkutur plus lasagne layering methods with compost scraps in there mixed around different layers, plus a lovely slimline compost 'basket' within each of them in the centre(s), the soil under the topsoil is the best there is 😊
I used a 50/50 mix of soil & compost. Some of the compost is our own from food scraps, yard waste, etc. & some was purchased.
@@MorethanGardening may i ask, why don't you plant directly in the soil ,,what is the need for raised beds?
@@mahafouad9322 Our ground is pure sand. With a raised bed I can mix potting soil, garden soil, & compost. Some of my pants and veggies do much better that way.
@@mahafouad9322 easier to manage. less weeds, less back pain to bend over, total control over the soil.
Dead or fallen pine needles are fine. The acidity is highest when they are green.
You're doing just fine.
The card board comes last. Not first. no weed seed is going to grow thought 20cm to 20 cm of wood and soil.
I just started gardening this year and have had much success, but there is much left for me to learn.
If you have any suggestions for me I'd be interested (?)
Thank you for this 🥰🥰🥰
After you finish this are you ready to plant right away or do you need to wait and let things break down a bit first?
I would probably cover the logs with grass clippings til its a flat layer. Nitrogen would help the wood break down a bit faster
That can cause a soil stomach ache
And some mushrooms. ❤
Looks great I am sure all will work out perfectly. You can test soil after awhile and if to acidic then just neutralize.
I don't recommend putting logs, branches. I did it a few years ago and I had a horrific yellowish beige fungus that took over and coated the roots and stems of my perennials. It also attached itself to my new wood borders. I went to the effort of removing the logs, replaced borders planks, contaminated dirt. It all went back to normal. You never know what fungus, diseases you can get.
Armillaria probably. I wouldn't bury food scraps or logs because they will take nitrogen out of the soil in order to decompose. It's better to let it decompose or compost and then add it to your soil.
And dont forget the rocks at the bottom, for healthy drainage. And cardboard really breaks down well in a raised bed.
Don't need rocks, just takes up space.
Leaves make an awesome base
The pine needles aren't the issue, if you ask me. What will present an issue, however, is the fresh branches they're attached to. Those branches will take ages to break down, and as they do, they will pull nitrogen from your soil. You did okay adding the old logs, although rotting logs is, technically, the goal for the same reason. If I had to make a prediction, I'd guess that your bed will do alright the first year, but in years to come, their production value is going to taper dramatically, and you'll find yourself needing increasing amounts of fertilizer.
Note… some plants like acidic soil… blueberries being one of them.
Pine will raise the acidic level but some plants love more acidic soil just don't plant like bluebarry. Or raspberry those like the soil more base. Like 8 to 9
But 🍅 are best in acid soil like 5
At some point you learned wrong. Blueberries love acidic soil.
Have followed and done this kind of hugelkulture, several of them in my garden including papers, leaves, fallen flowers. It makes the garden clean and tidy. I’ve never water the garden during summer.
We do the same even on our big pots and so far it’s quite a success!❤️🤗
We used logs in our raised beds and the following year had a horrible maggot problem. Or maybe grubs. Either way my husband was sooo mad at me that we can’t use that method again. 😂
Very good video, just one thing, as far as I know, pine trees do not acidify the soil, I think it is a legend since there is no scientific evidence of such a statement.
Not sure why you're building the bed so deep. There's already Earth underneath there too.
If you watch self sufficient me you can turn your raised garden beds into self watering wicking beds
Thanks sharing video
Cool❤ leaves help too. Just throw all ur leaves on top during fall and uncover in spring
Why not make a shorter raised bed planter?
You don't need inside protection for the wood? Like layer of plastic or pain? Won't it degrade with time?
They have done testing that proves the acidity of pine needles is negligible. The same for fir needles.
I like your ideas of filling the Ed with old logs, but if I'm not mistaking that will attract the dreaded Squash Vine Borers. I have several videos on UA-cam that reveal damages done to my garden by them and the Green Horn Worms at -
austinwhitfield2108
Hey there!
I just built a bed last weekend and its half full with the cardboard, logs, branches, sticks, bunch of leaves..
Ive heard not to use top soil, and to use "raised gardening bed soil" or "potting soil"..
Whats the pros and cons of top soil vs. raised bed soil?
I love compost and will be using that mixed in, regardless . :)
Hey! So if I were buying in bags from a store I would opt for raised bed soil since it’s a little higher quality than store bought top soils. The raised bed soil is usually finer & the top soil has larger chunks. But, I am using SO much soil that it makes more sense financially to order in bulk from a landscape company by the dump truck full and they only offer compost & topsoil. So, I’m doing a 50/50 blend and mixing it well. It’ll be just fine! I actually did a mix of raised bed soil & top soil in my beds last year to save money (raised bed soil cost more) and it was just fine!
Cheaper, that's all.
I was praying to the algorithm to remind whether it's ok to put decaying logs in the bottom of a raised bed. I have Christmas tree clippings too. Now I'll go ahead and try all this
Ok here is the truth! I have planted many raised beds in my life! MANY and never once did I ever experience a weed growing through 2 feet of soil, mulch, compost and wood to cause any problems in my beds! Ever! For goodness sake put cardboard where it belongs , in the recycling bin! With the other man made garbage!
Great beds
I did this 4 years ago no I've got two beds but give me asparagus
Good deal. I do the same.
What about leaves? Do they do harm?
Kein Nadelholz verwenden. Laubholz zersetzt sich viel schneller.
is this all necessary? I just filled the beds with soil...
Curious, why did you put mesh at the bottom of your bed?
To keep critters from digging up into it
What will you plant?
Could have filled those beds with way better stacked and interlocked grass cuttings and plant cuttings and leaves and more layers of cardboard and veg fruit scraps if buried deep enough but not on the edges and twigs and smaller branches and way more green and way more brown materials than you used. Lots of massive air pockets you seemed to make under that new expensive soil on top ….
Your husband is blessed to have a Green thumb partner !
Looks like a pain in the back to plant and harvest and weed that bed
How long to be compos?
years
yeah pine needles WILL NOT make the ground acidic.
I soak the logs in blood and bone and water for a long time.
Doesn’t look like you’re using cedar. It’s not affected by the elements as much as
Thank you
Где листовой опад? Где скошеная трава??
Yall need to stop with the cardboard it's not made like it was not its full of toxins and micro plastics, Logs breaking down nicely? LOL! that bed will decompose before the logs
А я бы распылила бревна и перекладывала сорняками травой и ветки тоже измельчила
Could you also have put rocks and or pebbles on the bottom?
Yes. I just didn’t have any
No don't need it.
Everyone doesn't live in a forest filled with logs.
I see you put chicken wire down first. Nobody talks about moles and other varmits that can undermine your raised garden bed.
I literally thought this was a joke video before the comments confirmed it wasn’t. lmao imagine #fried
Meh. Pine needles aren’t acidic. Common myth.
Not good ..cardboard usually has glues and additives that aren't safe for consumption. That stuff ends up in your plants
Why build them so deep?
listen to the video?
I dont want to have to bend over too much to tend to them & I want control over the soil
WEEDS WILL GROW RIGHT THROUGH! PS USE THICK PLASTIC WITH ONE SIDE DRAIN HOLE ON TILTED, SIDE TO MONITOR WEED ENTERING.
Weeds won't grow from so deep, they'll be smothered. Putting plastic at the bottom is the worst thing you could do.
DONT KID U R SELF!!! I AM AN AUSSIE FARMER. ONLY TIME WILL TELL!!!
@@kavitha4925 WELL GOOD FOR YOU!
I'm an Aussie ex landscape gardener, on a farm, with raised beds and have NEVER used plastic in a garden bed.
U DINT HAVE KOOCH!?
Why do you build the bed so deep! It wastes a lot of money!😢😢😢😢
Because she saw this on the internet. Like the raised bed. Do not think she sits in a wheelchair.
Those nearby trees will put their roots into those beds, sucking all moisture away….a layer of black plastic under the cardboard is needed
I see a lot of people filling their raised beds with cardboard, but most cardboards have a lot of glue (each layer is literally covered with it). That glue is not biodegradable, likely to break down into microplastics. Good that you didn't use that much cardboard, like I saw in other videos.
The glue is biodegradable I worked at a corrugation company
@@davidevans1723
If you do use biodegradable glue, then I like the company that you are working for 😉.
Unfortunately, there are still some companies that use PVA and other polyolefins-/naphtha-based glues. Some of them even in the European Union and I bet also in China, where most of the world's stuff comes from.
@@michaelliebel2503 oh well I didn't realize we were so hoity toity lmao
@@michaelliebel2503 it does seem like the standard is plant based tho
@davidevans1723
I wanted to fill my raised garden beds with cardboard as well, until I noticed glue on one of them that looked like acrylic glue. So, I decided to go directly to the wood layer since idk in which cardboard which glue is used.
Btw, plantbased does not necessarily mean biodegradable. However, I don't want to start a debate, I just wanted to mention it. 💁♂️
Pressure treated wood is A no go in My opinion...Not sure if that's what You used or not...
Anything to avoid bending over. Silly stretchers
Dont get me going about those rowdy Acidic pineneedle debates, those mass debates always get out of hand at the end.
What kind if wood is the bed, is it treated with chemicals.
Mulch, leaves or a mix of both after the logs.
I did that in a couple other beds. I ran out though 😅
That is still a TON of soil, unless you have a really good deal on soil and maybe you get some free manure like I do. But I still like to stretch my free stuff as much as I can. I just filled up two raised beds with logs, dried sod from another project, sticks, leaves, chicken manure/bedding, weeds, grass clippings, and finally a couple inches of aged horse manure plus mulch
do not use soil logs as thet take at least 10 years to break down. grass for mulching , not at bottom.😢
I would have used cuttings to make a more airy soil. Pyralidfree dung world be used too. I have rabbits for this. And then soil mixed with ash or chalk or both.
Should have put pine tree trimmings on the bottom
I have the same . Best regards from POLAND 🇵🇱 ❤
I would not use cardboard. But a tight mesh ...multi layer netting instead..... Smaller tree limbs maybe too.
I'm still wondering why have such deep raised beds?
Easier to tend too. Also I have total control of the soil this way.
Talking like she knows what she’s doing. Worst advise for a garden bed.
you prob should break those branches up just a bit lol
You could have made half the height. So silly and wasteful
Should have charred the inside of planter to prolong life
Do something new same shit on repeat
This structure can not be found naturally except after a huge catastrophic event such as landslide. So for me better to mimic normal casual natural event. Statistically it has more probability to succed than one that occured occassion
If your growing blueberries throw pine bark from dead trees in there, they thrive, makes more acidic
Damn sucks having to sift through these till i feel like i find one who actually knows what they are doing. This one aint it
the wood is to hold moisture not save money.
it's called hugel culture.
alas....
Great job. Glad you down the chicken wire to stop nyrrowing critters.
If the logs are breaking down then the wood the bed is made out of will probably be broken down too
Thanks for sharing
You demonstrated this perfectly
Was ist mit Mäuse Schutz?
Seems pretty good
I was taught to line the bottom with "hardware cloth" which is a finely gridded metal, to discourage creatures burrowing up from the bottom. Looking good!
We have 1/4” hardware cloth on the bottom of every raised bed 🤠 it’s working great!
No to the logs, because when the logs are decomposing, up to 60 years, they are stripping your soil of nitrogen and nutrients your garden plants need to grow. I use animal compost, leaves, straw, and or shavings
Just put big rocks in the bottom and fill at least 16 inches with dirt.
I didn’t have any big rocks laying around. I had decaying logs & tree trimmings laying around. Just using what I have to take up space.
This bed unfortunately will require loads of watering and nutrients to sustain life. The pine topsoil and logs will not hold enough water. I would recommend more decomposed logs and old maybe 2 yo pine compost this way you get the breakdown, absorbency and non competition for nutrients and the microbes and beneficial organisms will love your bed and help feed whatever your growing. Speaking from experience.