FAILED or Not? You Decide. Breaking the #2 RULE in FRESH WOOD CHIPS Gardening Mulch Pt 4. Can I MiX/bury FRESH WOOD CHIPS in my healthy soil.
VIDEO: FAILED or Not? You Decide. Breaking the #2 RULE in FRESH WOOD CHIPS Gardening Mulch, Pt 4
FAILED or Not? You Decide. Breaking the #2 RULE in FRESH WOOD CHIPS Gardening Mulch Pt 4. Can I MiX/bury FRESH WOOD CHIPS in my healthy soil.
Great job mark keep up the videos I am going to try a similar trial with fresh wood chip and a polyculture of Rye millet Peas Sunflower and a few different types of pea all seed saved from last year I was influenced to try by your results
Hi Mark, I'm in Florida, new garden started last winter, newspaper and cardboard, wood chips, lots water every day, winter rye grass. Spring planted tomatoes, mustard greens, banana tree, kale trees, marigolds, Russian comfrey, elderberry. Not watering any more. Everything is growing like they should. The rye grass looks like crispy critter. Feeding and aerating the soil. Today is sooo hot and nothing is wilting. Only thing I see that may be a problem is the mustard leaves aren't as green as they should be.
I noticed some healthy green grass was growing in between the peas. Think the grass is stealing a little N from the next door door neighbor?
Hello Riverside Country Club, If I may give my opinion to you for a moment…..I think you should want to plant in the dirt but hope it's more soil than just dirt (soil has organic matter in it where as dirt not so much). I'm assuming your thinking of the chips in this case as a mulch and not a growing medium such as some understand with the Back to Eden garden method. When using any type of media for mulching purposes then I think we want to find that happy thickness of material to suppress any unwanted plant growth (weeds) but not hinder the ability of our food plants to penetrate the protective mulch if sowing by seed or hinder the plant stalks like some folks do with trees with something like volcano mulching which will cause root wrap and kill the tree. I bring this up because you said you were going to add another 6" of wood mulching. That depth of mulch should be determined by the soil structure you are starting out with. Most people fail with a type of BTE garden because they don't understand the natural principles behind it and what going on. A BTE garden is just another garden plain and simple EXCEPT that the wood chips are providing a protective covering for longer moisture retention by retaining moisture themselves and blocking the wind and direct sunlight from drying out your soil to quickly , help suppress unwanted growth, and the side benefit of decaying and returning organic natural minerals to your soil in the form of compost. The BTE wood chips ON TOP as mulch is just mimicking the wooded or forest floor SURFACE or the heavy grass thatch in a open field or yard. Bottom line is if you have a garden area that you have been growing in and the soil is not sold clay or sand void of organic material then my suggestion is that you don't need 6" of wood chips on top. Your just looking for a protective layer for the ground below just like in nature. If you need to add more organic material to the soil or dirt you have then by all means do it with leaves, partially decomposed wood chips, and anything else that is organic in nature AND THEN worry about the wood chip mulching as a cover. You wood probably fair well with only 2-3" as a cover. I recommend not adding anything that might have seed with it unless you break it down first. It's easier for me to pull and control weeds than it is for unwanted grasses. Just my thoughts bud.
Your on it Mark………I.m gonna try and get my act together so that i can share my garden building with all you folks. Give me time…I'm still a rookie tuber dude. My issue with mine is solid clay and rock in the wooded Ozarks but I'm a believer in nature. I'm just too wet still with the clay and i'm still adding the organic matter as i can. Crazy as it may seem to people….too much water retention is still my battle.
I love these experiments. I think you also need a control for the test, to plant directly in the clay. Other factor can be fungi that could be feeding the plant. Test and go with the results.
So after harvesting the peas, perhapes the winter rye will do will because of the nitrogen left by the peas. Do I have that right? Or am I still missing something?
The video I've been waiting for! Interesting results, Mark. I did somewhat the same thing, only with potatoes. The wood chips were not fresh, however, but were about one and a half years old and had been layered about 8 inches high with grass clippings, coffee grounds, and a few other odds and ends over the course of that time. However, there wasn't much soil to speak of underneath it all.
So, I planted russets and a few Yukon gold potatoes right in the wood chips. Some were left in 90 days, most only 78 days, but I needed the space to plant sweet potatoes, so I pulled the russets early. Got a nice harvest, perhaps a bit modest in size with a lot of baby potatoes. But, they grew just fine right there in the wood chips. I did hill a couple of the plants with top soil once, and they were the oldest plants, so I can't say whether it made any difference. The funny things is, the Yukon golds are just now starting to come up. They've been in the ground for three months. I checked on them several times to make sure they weren't rotting in the ground, but they were fine. Just waiting for their "moment," I guess.
Finally, the soil underneath. When I planted, there was no sign of soil, now there is, along with tons of beautiful earthworms and all. But, I guess it's actually compost, right? Whatever it is, it's much easier to plant in and appears to be much more fertile and forgiving towards roots. I'll update at the end of season, if I remember, on how the sweet potatoes fared. I've never grown them before, but understand that they will grow anywhere, so my expectations are pretty high. Right now, they're a little wilted from being transplanted, but I'm hopeful.
Sorry for such a long comment. Thanks very much for continuing to share your experiments with us. Yours is one of the few truly informative, educational, and inspiring channels on YT, and you deserve a million subscribers. May God bless you and yours. ~ Lisa
Happy Father's Day – good info again
Hey Mark. I wonder if you try and add some mushrooms into that pile it they will break the wood chips down fast enough to make the nutrients more available. I know inoculator a wood chip pile with mushrooms will speed up the break down so not sure if it would help but might be worth a try.
Mark, you said the you are not an expert, this might be the first time that I will disagree with you :). Issac Newton explained way a apple falls, but you are the Professor on how the apple tree grows.
Thank you Mark for another excellent experimental video. Do you have any problems with slugs in your leaf mold gardens? Or any suggestions on how to get rid of my slugs problem in my leaf mold beds?
Thank you for your scientific work. You are documenting and educating an entire generation. Growing is so much fun!
Thanks for sharing!
Mark don't know how you can grow any thing on ur property with that sun face you have on the barn, is that for keeping the barn owls out. lol lol hahaah
Mark: What do you think about using fresh green grass clippings as garden mulch?
THE GREAT IDEA IT WAS TO PLANT THE LEGUMES In the Second Mound WAS .. Southpaw Davey Urban Farm _ Channel. PLEASE take a moment and say HELLO…. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbiADGmgvP-h3bBKyYF_4Gg
This really was informative. Thank you. My sugar snap peas wasn't all it could've been. But with this knowledge I will know how to do better next year. Have an awesome day
instead of snap peas maybe hairy vetch? Redo this again. I am so pump by this. Next year I'm doing this.
I wonder if there's a deep growing N annual crop. Shift the clay, broad fork under it add a THICK THICK mat of fall leaves mix the clay and woodchips together dump it on top of the wood chips. transplant alfalfa or deep growing N crop. then next plant interplant after a few months rye crop. stupid thick matt of rye — fertilize. — that could be the first year. Next year do mostly transplants thick layer of compost/cardboard/ or maybe fall leaves? It would be like skipping 3 or 5 years in organic matter. maybe Daikon radish starts in the 2-year winter crop. this could actually be a very huge system for farmers who don't need to farm an area within the first year. Technically it could still be harvest for N rich crops. as long as air and water from deep-rooted crops go down. It will break it down over time. If you're in a wet area possibly even faster. I wouldn't do this in say a California central valley. Arid but say… somewhere with rain and water. Like most dairy farms are located in areas of decent rainfall could be huge.
If I was doing this in say a California. I'd use a spoil round bail which you can get almost for free. Since they stink and they are rotted. The process would be just a guess mind you.
this should be done in winter in Cali. highest chances for water.
Dig out the area's dirt
keyline plow / broad fork
leaves mixed spoiled hay rolled out — possibly multiple layers (if like me you have spent mushroom spawn (goods gift to the gardener chop it and use it)
then mixing leaves (extra leaves) woodchips mixed / topsoil and subsoil (more spent mushroom spawn blocks chop up if you have it)
then a thick mat of straight woodchip as a cap. (1 FT deep) If you have rye seeds I'd use them as seed balls. mix into this layer. They aren't meant to be a wonderful crop. They are just there to
sprout and push down a mat of roots. if you have more spent mushroom spawn add it.
push back woodchips top later cap. transplant in deep-rooted annual nitrogen crop
the second year maybe a radish. dunno. I think there are tons of plant choices these days to make the area of the beds very productive for you. my guess the same first-year crop selection of a basic lasagna garden. If you have access to liquid manure it becomes even more effective. I got a solid waste of fish manures in my aquaponic system when we overfeed.
This would be the same idea as simple lasagna beds except it think it would actually break down richer. Since these are all waste stream inputs. Might come out ahead.
Then when you are ready to put all these beds into real crazy production. Just dump a load of leaves on top of them then sow into the mulch to maybe walk into a normal system?
Our biggest problem with wood mulch is we don't get enough rain for it to break down. What happens is it dries out and blows away when you're trying to convert into an Eden garden. (they don't tell you that) lol
You start out with 2 ft deep age woodchips. you end up with about a quarter of it blowing away in cali. If you are already in an eden it doesn't have the same effect. It's because the sponge part is already working. it's why we started mixing the styles with something that can at least hold water fast in those first big rains and break down fast. All that cheap rotted hay
I can't get over what a good idea this is. If you have the right crops this is a fast way to expand with a lot less people it takes to expand. The idea is very sideways.
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Mark thank you for all you do with all your experiments. And sharing them with us. I am starting a Back to Eden Garden this end of summer my wood chips are 1 load 3 months old four loads 2 weeks old. This is all done in my grassy yard. I would like to plant cover crop in it.
I cannot do raised beds the way that you have no tractor. My land slopes enough I don't think water pooling will be a concern. My plan is to plant in wood chips using some compost around the plant or seed. I am in zone 7 in Western North Carolina. What cover crop and how should I plant it can I use for this winter? I am very much hoping to be able to grow a good Garden in it in the spring.
I think I have watched about everything that you have published about Back to Eden Garden. Very much appreciate your Channel. I am very curious about your success in growing in the wood chips? Can you do and updated video of how it is working for you now?
Mark I just found your channel and I have learned so much…Thank You for sharing your knowledge.
Need advise…I planted some Apple trees about 1 1/2 years ago and put about a 6 inch cover of wood chips.
I have sandy soil. What would you recommend to do as far as a cover crop under and around the trees for
helping to grow the soil and help the trees. I am in Texas zone 8/9…I am on the divided line.
Sorely underrated channel, videos could quite possibly be more fertile with knowledge for humans than his organic soil is fertile with nutrients for his plants! lol
Mark did you inoculate the sugar snap peas before planting? I'm confused about when that is necessary. (Is it just for beans?) Thanks! Great info, love it!
I have a few asparagus crowns that need to go into the ground, right now. I'm going to mix my hard, rocky soil with some very old wood mulch and old cedar ribbons on a raised bed and just add some hi nitrogen food when I plant. Hope it works. I also have access to a lot of leaf mold. Yay. Living in the country is the best!
Once again, your energy and enthusiasm is inspiring. Please keep sharing and experimenting, everyone else seems to appreciate it as much as I do!
Hello Mark, I live in Poland and already went through almost all your films. I've started from watching Back to Eden and by some suggestion from YT came to your channel. As many othersI am really full of admiration for the professionalism and passion you put into your films. Me myself I have around 1000m2 of garden with some couple years old trees already but the soil is really hard to break. I've ordered one truck of wooden chips for the start. Once applied 2-3 inches I plan to seed some legumes in those chips – I assume that it will start growing in them without mixing wooden chips with the soil – the roots should in my opinion reach the soil, what do you think? Greetings from Poland
Question for you what if I just got two loads of fresh wood chips today, and in them there are green leaves and pine needles? Can I use them in my garden now as a mulch top dressing and not to chill in? The bed that I am referring to put them in is a pumpkin bed.
Are you sure those knots aren't root knot nematode? Idk much but I've had horrible tomatoe plant this last year…