Best EASY Spring Preparation & Planting Back to Eden gardening method 101 channel with wood chips or composting leaves Part 4.
For vegetable growing.
Microscope used : http://www.amscope.com/40x-2500x-led-digital-binocular-compound-microscope-w-3d-stage-3mp-usb-camera.html .
Where do you get the inoculant from?
Always fun to view your videos. Your mentoring methods are extraordinary. Thanks again.
good info my friend
be well
As always Mark, very interesting, Thanks once again.
Frank
Hi Mark – Thanks for another great video! You've de-mystified the use of innocents for me!
My husband and I are learning about Permaculture. We're on 2.5 acres north of Boulder, CO and we're opening up part of our goat pasture so we can grow more food.
We'll be starting a chicken flock to help us spread a huge pile of wood chips and we'll also allow the chickens to free range outside the electric fence to supplement their feed. We've had only 3 goats on that grass pasture so chicken action should help the pasture grass. The fenced area for the chickens will be planted after the birds have been on it for two months or so. Lots of learning curves!
We also plan to build a couple Hugelkultur with a couple fruit trees planted between them. We're still working on the design.
Have you ever tried Hugelkultur?
BTW – Here's an update on my planting directly on top of the wood chips: Three years ago, I piled about a foot of wood chips in rows in another part of our garden and finally last spring I planted lettuce, kale, spinach and radishes. I did not pull the wood chips back before planting. I just sprinkled the seeds right on top of the wood chips.
I watered maybe twice. Nothing happened. I figured it was a failure so I lost track on the progress. I'm not sure when some of those seeds sprouted. Not many of the seeds did sprout, so this would be a waste of seed, BUT some of them DID grow.
I let two of the romaine lettuce plants go to seed. I'll be curious to see if I'll get more lettuce on that spot this year. Just wanted to let you know how that turned out.
It's so fun to experiment and now that we'll have even more garden space, I plan on planting winter rye and Sunflowers everywhere just to get roots in the ground, like you suggested I do. The sunflowers will be great chicken feed, too. But it's WINTER rye… will it be okay to plant it in the next couple weeks?
Sorry for the long post.
Following nature's example. 😉
Great video, thanks.
Will this be the first time you planted like this into the perennially covered area??
I am glad you continue to repeat, "you can never have too many roots in the ground at once". The more I hear it, the more I believe it, because you prove it with stats and logic. Thanks Mark
Hi Mark, I just planted asparagus crowns in a brand new raised bed, so I currently have bare soil with compost on top. Any recommendations for covers with asparagus? I am in zone 7a. Thanks as always
Ok, so Winter rye is not the same as annual rye grass?. Would the annual rye grass be the best cover crop to help bare soil in the spring? Can I get annual rye grass seed from like a Walmart or Menards? What about clover or garden peas to help grow soil in the spring? (I am in zone 5) I have been gardening for almost 10 years…just moved to a new home and the garden is only one year old, but I have been doing it all wrong! No tilling…but I always rip out the old plants and leave the soil bare in the winter and then use a shovel in the spring to 'fluff' up the soil. So many of my fails are making sense ….. since I have been watching your videos. It is unbelievable I ever had any success with the way I have been constantly destroying the soil. Thanks in advance!
great way to build soil. Have a great day
always a pleasure watching your easy to understand videos Mark. I was wondering, could grass be considered a living mulch and plant directly into that?
Mark, when you make mention of "building soil", are you referring to increasing the quality of the actual "soil", or are you referring to increasing the quantity of the "soil" in a particular area?
Soil as defined as the upper layer of earth in which plants grow, a black or dark brown material typically consisting of a mixture of organic remains, clay, and rock particles.
Thanks!
As always: An enlightening pleasure, watching your Videos! Is it possible that you let us know what kind of microscope equippment you use? If I rememer you mentioned it partially in one Video and if memory is right, it's more on the budget side. I am looking for a microscope, but did hesitate because I found the quality ones pricey and hesitated to buy something in the lower price area bacause I was not sure if the optics are good enought for what we wish to see…
When doing a soil test, what kind do you go for? As I look at a list for my extension office it has many options of course 15$ at least each.. What would you suggest. https://ag.tennessee.edu/spp/Forms%20and%20Information%20Sheets/Soil%2c%20Plant%20and%20Pest%20Center%20Fee%20Schedule2017.pdf
Mark, another great video. I've been behind on video watching, but caught up with this one this morning. Going to follow your guidance this afternoon. We'll let you know how things go! Thanks as always and God bless!
Mark, I have to say I love your videos. Yours are the most informative and easy to understand. You explain what to do then back it up with why it works. Your "Back to Eden" gardening is better than Paul G. Because you explain and show why it works, and when it doesn't work you show why. The one thing you don't do that I wish you would is to have more face time. You really should have 100 times more subscribers. Others who make gardening videos that are not as informative, but they are more personal have many more subscribers. You mentioned in one of your videos about your wife's death and your son who is Downs and how that helped bring you to be an organic farmer. I want to learn what you know, but I also want to know the person behind the video. And if there is a way for your son to participate you would be an example and inspiration to thousands of other who are facing similar difficulties in their lives. God bless you and Thank You for the wonderful videos. Tom
HI Mark;
I still can't figure out based on what you explained in the video how to plant 10'x10'parsley from seeds in a winter rye bed . if you could explain it a little better, I would appreciate it. THANKS
Mark could you please give me some advice on converting a pasture that is mostly bluegrass into a garden area? It is about an acre.
My thoughts are:
1. Lightly til and sow rows of spring cover crop of hairy vetch, field peas and oats. Plant veggie starts on south side of cover crop rows.
2. Sheet mulch and delay veggie garden til 2018.
Appreciate your help as I am going in circles at present.
Okay! This makes sense… use the grass as a cover crop. Just to clarify, I should plant my spring cover crop in the mound, and later my
Veggie starts, correct? Thanks SO much for your help!
Hi Mark. Do you have a video showing how you plant starts/plants and potatoes without disturbing the root system if your cover crops? Thanks!
Hi. I have watched a few of your (wonderful!) videos and have a few questions regarding planting out the desired vegetables. For example, let's say I wanted to grow a row of spinach, lettuce and silverbeet, but I currently have a cover crop of winter rye growing in the soil. Won't the soil be full of roots from the winter rye so where will the new roots of the desired vegetables go as the soil will be packed with rye roots and there won't be any room left? If it's fine to have all those rye roots and somehow the new vegetable roots will fit in around them, why do you recommend cutting down the rye on top before seeding with the new vegetables? Is the cutting down of the rye just so there will be room for the seeds to catch some sunlight? Does the cutting down of the rye grass kill the rye grass or will it keep growing from the roots? What happens to the rye roots when the rye is cut down? Do they die? If so, is their usefulness for keeping the soil alive finished? I hope you or someone else reading can provide some answers. Many thanks!
Hello Mark one of your recent videos talked about Sorrel as clay buster you liked to grow for tap root.Would you please kindly check if there is any Mycorrhizal population signs or decline around? Just curious as i thought sorrel do not support Mycorrhizae.Thank you for your videos..
Sorry if i confused you.You mentioned Dock &comfrey .I called it as sorrel .
Appreciate your reply.Thanks for your time and answer.
Whole area is bare untilled "lawn" 6"wood chips, then rows of 12" leaves planted with covers?
I have "yard" that is really unproductive. Cutting, cleaning for aesthetic is bothering me and wasting my time. I'm leaning on repurposing a portion for food production.
Maybe chipping up the leaves to speed up decoposition?
Plus I dont want them blowing about before I can establish a cover to hold them in place.
Can I put seed into leaves right away or do they need the time decomposing first….you may have done all these questions in vids…we get distracted…
thanks for sharing
What kind of grass is that? How tall will they grow ?
brilliant and simple strategy!! love this!!