I A LOT of wood chip from a tree trimming company. I only wanted a few loads, but my wife insisted on getting about 60 loads. Each load was 6 foot tall, 10 foot long and 8 foot wide... I wont be in need of wood chips for at least 5 or more years.
I'm new to using hay as mulch and was frustrated with the macdaddy picker weeds still popping through, but your videos helped explain that even deep mulching won't eliminate this problem. I agree with you that it has made it much easier to either pull them or cover over them. It has also reduced the amount of them. I'm eager to plant my potatoes, squashes, and melons there next year. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Our food forest is fairly young, and I find it’s all very positive mulching. We have over 1000 mulch plants growing, so be great not to be relying on bring mulch in next season.
We currently manage 11 acres in Puerto Rico where were changing a degraded hillside into a food yielding Garden. Most of the area we just chop and drop around our trees, and then use slash mulch in a dedicated produce garden with all mulch produced on site from support trees and weeds.
When collecting seeds from the garden cress, there were tons of different kinds of tiny critters in with the seeds, as we like to grow the garden beds into a canopy, which does a lot of the things a good layer of mulch does, but since we direct sow everything into the garden, we keep the mulch layer very light, so the seeds can grow through it.
We found this to be very helpful and balanced! Our garden is on a rocky ridge with very thin soil so we are using a lot of mulch (mostly woodchips but also some spent hay with a bit of manure in it) to try and build the soil up. It is early days but seems to be working!
Great informative video. One additional con, tied to the soil taking longer to warm up in the spring, is the soil taking longer to dry out. I live very close to the Chesapeake Bay with a high water table and typically my challenge in the spring is wet soil. Where I’ve mulched is much worse. So Lately I’ve been pulling the mulch off in the spring, letting the soil dry out, and then pulling the mulch back. It’s a fair amount of work but beats weeding in 95F! I’ve also turned to raised beds for the early spring crops.
For issues with waterlogged deep mulch systems: 1. Thoroughly break up dirt/soil 2. Put a 2" layer of rocks, stones, and pebbles of different coarseness 3. Put a thin layer of vermiculite, perlite, pumice, and lava sand 4. Put a thin layer of peat moss, coco coir, worm castings, azomite, blood meal, and bone meal 5. Place a bunch of logs and scattered rocks 6. Put a thin layer of manure and unfinished compost 7. Begin mulching on top of that, apply fungal inoculants 8. In 2 seasons it will be ready to grow anything you want. Fertilize individual plants sparingly 9. Continuously add mulch 10. In 3-5 years, do it all again from step 1, adding on top of the now sunken deep mulch bed
I love your common sense approach and like yourself I mulch like nature...I don't make compost heap everything goes straight on the garden...the only thing I do differently is with my kitchen scrap as I live in suburbia and have attracted rodents in the past so now my kitchen scraps go into a "worm tower"...I have managed to create a magnificent garden in one year with massive mulching...so I know it works...thank you again for the sharing...
Great idea! I can't wait to move and begin my new larger beds layer so I can be more productive for my family. I pack it in with what I have on this little acre, but its not enough for me to be happy! Ill be sharing this with friends as well. Thanks for sharing!
Me thinks that's chicory, i have a few on my allotment, too. Another tall thing i love is Malva/Althaea cannabina; similar spread as chicory, but dainty pink mallow flowers. They do interbreed with mallows (Malva moschata) so you get seedlings of varying heights and sadly less dainty flowers, but hey 😊. I must plant some M cannabina with Malva sylvestris (purple), see if they interbreed... might give interesting results 🤔 🌳🕊💚
Love the information. This is only my second year of the deep mulch. But the butterflies are killing my cabbage plants and squash right now. The wasp are eating the caterpillars but not fast enough, so I had to harvest the cabbage plants early this year and just hoping some of the brussel sprouts survive. I broke down and used 7 dust on my last 4 squash plants and the raccoons ate all of the raspberries. I love not having to water but the pest around here are driving me crazy. I even have a groundhog pulling up my potato sprouts. lol
I am moving my garden to the backyard were the dogs can chase the groundhogs and raccoons off. But no more cabbage plants for me. Dogs don't chase butterflies. lol
I just put native soil on top of my mulch thick enough that the seeds have room to grow roots and soil can hold enough water. still get weeds but my soil temps are fine and the plants grow right away from seed.
I saw recently other than natural organic mulch, this thing has also been synthesised with plastic mulch. In India, where mulch hasn't been used and known by people other than Southern regions, synthetic mulch has already been introduced. If talking with locality they'll understand mulch as the plastic sheet
I like your video - my home has been invaded by little centipedes - the deep mulch garden is FULL of them - but the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages. What predators will I be looking for in the future to eat the centipedes?
Centipedes or millipedes? Millipedes are more likely what you're looking at, and they can break down up to three times as much organic matter per day than worms do! Truly power houses. Centipedes are fast moving predators that kinda look similar to millipedes. They'll actually be one of the predators to millipedes. Others will include other predatory insects and arthropods like spiders and predatory beetles. Otherwise there's also macro predators such as toads, salamanders, and the like. But also realize that there's predation beyond our eyes and knowledge. Viruses, Bacteria, fungi, nematodes, and a whole host of microbes also exist and are predators in the soil biome. These too work in natural systems to monitor and control populations of species. So keep a look out, but also realize that if you never directly see any predators, that doesn't mean that there isn't anything going on behind the scenes :)
@@frenchiepowell yes you are right - they are millipedes - what are their natural predators - I have a HUGE population of them - and my garden is just 8 ft from the house
Just found your videos love the your videos this just might be the way to go for me I am in Florida having such a hard time growing vegetables I do get good tomatoes I am new at this but all the reaching I did just didn’t find the right thing till I came across your videos maybe you can help me about growing potatoes in Florida like when is the right time to plant them I would greatly appreciate the help
Hey Maureen! Glad the videos have been a great help :) I actually got my start in Florida in the St Pete area. I love the potential Florida has for growing produce. As a wonderful resource I'd look up Rob Greenfield's videos on producing his own food. As for potatoes, if you're in South Florida, they say go for planting over winter and starting in September. If in North florida you could start planting them January to March.
Hi Frenchie, do you know how to plant sunflower seeds in a deep hay mulch garden? We only have 6-8 weeks between when we cover a grassy area with deep mulch to when the seeds need to be planted. Any advice?
ad-rock, thanks for the question. Sunflower seeds can be planted the same way most seeds are in deep mulch. Just pull back the mulch in either a row or section, push the seed point first into the soil, then DON'T cover it back up. Once it sprouts and grows a little, tuck it back in with the mulch and you'll be good to go :)
@@frenchiepowell Agreed. My raspberries are insane. Great to expand transplants, but these are ridiculously thick to where I have to thin for better productivity.
Strawberries spread somewhat overly well, too, but they're easy to pull out or use to replace the three/four-year-old ones when they get less productive or succumb to that red-blotch blight. Trouble is slugs, birds and mice alike lóve strawberries... 🌳🕊💚
Hi Frenchie. Hoping all is well with you. I wanted to pick your brain. I have weeds in my garden that have overgrown and have seed heads. I'm going to put down cardboard and thick mulch at the end of the season. Can I drop the weeds, cover them with cardboard and then mulch without those seeds sprouting back up next season?
I'd absolutely just leave them and mulch over them. With a deep enough mulch the seeds won't have enough energy to sprout through, so you should be fine. Definitely a good time to be cutting the weeds though before any perennial weeds send their energy to the roots for the winter.
@@frenchiepowell Thx so much Frenchie. Ive been putting vines and such out for the township to take but the yard has really overgrown this year. My thought is to mulch heavily and container garden next season as I have quite a large area. I had an app to have tree services drop off free wood chips but didn't get one response. Time to let my fingers do the walking on my cell phone. Thanks for the great service that you provide to the gardening community! Kelli
It probably depends what type of wood chips you have...the one I use is the one with branches leaves the whole tree not just the trunks...we call it "forest mulch" or "arborist mulch" here in Australia and that one took one season to break down...on my pathways I put only wood chips so it last longer...
Also depends on how dry/damp they get, and will take longer if you use a weed control fabric under them. Not recommended in this kind of gardening. 🌳🕊💚
I A LOT of wood chip from a tree trimming company. I only wanted a few loads, but my wife insisted on getting about 60 loads. Each load was 6 foot tall, 10 foot long and 8 foot wide... I wont be in need of wood chips for at least 5 or more years.
Lucky you!!! here in Australia where I live the trimming companies are starting to charge for mulch!!!
Your garden looks wonderful. Sure wish I could take a garden tour.
Another great video. God bless you brother for sharing your knowledge.
Thanks again brother.
Glad you're enjoying the content!
Have a blessed day!
Very useful info!
I liked it!
I'm new to using hay as mulch and was frustrated with the macdaddy picker weeds still popping through, but your videos helped explain that even deep mulching won't eliminate this problem. I agree with you that it has made it much easier to either pull them or cover over them. It has also reduced the amount of them. I'm eager to plant my potatoes, squashes, and melons there next year. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Cool Video, I like that "work aroundable"!
Here on the cold and arid northern plains with lots of wind. There is no problem with slugs. Hay is readily available. Love deep mulch
Our food forest is fairly young, and I find it’s all very positive mulching. We have over 1000 mulch plants growing, so be great not to be relying on bring mulch in next season.
We currently manage 11 acres in Puerto Rico where were changing a degraded hillside into a food yielding Garden. Most of the area we just chop and drop around our trees, and then use slash mulch in a dedicated produce garden with all mulch produced on site from support trees and weeds.
When collecting seeds from the garden cress, there were tons of different kinds of tiny critters in with the seeds, as we like to grow the garden beds into a canopy, which does a lot of the things a good layer of mulch does, but since we direct sow everything into the garden, we keep the mulch layer very light, so the seeds can grow through it.
We found this to be very helpful and balanced! Our garden is on a rocky ridge with very thin soil so we are using a lot of mulch (mostly woodchips but also some spent hay with a bit of manure in it) to try and build the soil up. It is early days but seems to be working!
Peas are delicious they are sweet!I have mulch over the garden bed
Great informative video. One additional con, tied to the soil taking longer to warm up in the spring, is the soil taking longer to dry out. I live very close to the Chesapeake Bay with a high water table and typically my challenge in the spring is wet soil. Where I’ve mulched is much worse. So Lately I’ve been pulling the mulch off in the spring, letting the soil dry out, and then pulling the mulch back. It’s a fair amount of work but beats weeding in 95F! I’ve also turned to raised beds for the early spring crops.
For issues with waterlogged deep mulch systems:
1. Thoroughly break up dirt/soil
2. Put a 2" layer of rocks, stones, and pebbles of different coarseness
3. Put a thin layer of vermiculite, perlite, pumice, and lava sand
4. Put a thin layer of peat moss, coco coir, worm castings, azomite, blood meal, and bone meal
5. Place a bunch of logs and scattered rocks
6. Put a thin layer of manure and unfinished compost
7. Begin mulching on top of that, apply fungal inoculants
8. In 2 seasons it will be ready to grow anything you want. Fertilize individual plants sparingly
9. Continuously add mulch
10. In 3-5 years, do it all again from step 1, adding on top of the now sunken deep mulch bed
I love your common sense approach and like yourself I mulch like nature...I don't make compost heap everything goes straight on the garden...the only thing I do differently is with my kitchen scrap as I live in suburbia and have attracted rodents in the past so now my kitchen scraps go into a "worm tower"...I have managed to create a magnificent garden in one year with massive mulching...so I know it works...thank you again for the sharing...
Good info. A lot to take in all at once. I liked the bit about putting the organic material right in the soil instead of composting. Great job!
Love the comparison! Thanks for the great content!
Great info... one of the best run downs I’ve found
Great idea! I can't wait to move and begin my new larger beds layer so I can be more productive for my family. I pack it in with what I have on this little acre, but its not enough for me to be happy! Ill be sharing this with friends as well. Thanks for sharing!
What's that blue flowering plant behind you? You talked me into mulch. Thanks for all the good info.
Me thinks that's chicory, i have a few on my allotment, too. Another tall thing i love is Malva/Althaea cannabina; similar spread as chicory, but dainty pink mallow flowers. They do interbreed with mallows (Malva moschata) so you get seedlings of varying heights and sadly less dainty flowers, but hey 😊. I must plant some M cannabina with Malva sylvestris (purple), see if they interbreed... might give interesting results 🤔
🌳🕊💚
Good info.
Love the information. This is only my second year of the deep mulch. But the butterflies are killing my cabbage plants and squash right now. The wasp are eating the caterpillars but not fast enough, so I had to harvest the cabbage plants early this year and just hoping some of the brussel sprouts survive. I broke down and used 7 dust on my last 4 squash plants and the raccoons ate all of the raspberries. I love not having to water but the pest around here are driving me crazy. I even have a groundhog pulling up my potato sprouts. lol
Groundhogs are my worst pest.... my nemesis. They love brassicas and beans.
I am moving my garden to the backyard were the dogs can chase the groundhogs and raccoons off. But no more cabbage plants for me. Dogs don't chase butterflies. lol
I just put native soil on top of my mulch thick enough that the seeds have room to grow roots and soil can hold enough water. still get weeds but my soil temps are fine and the plants grow right away from seed.
👍👍
I saw recently other than natural organic mulch, this thing has also been synthesised with plastic mulch.
In India, where mulch hasn't been used and known by people other than Southern regions, synthetic mulch has already been introduced.
If talking with locality they'll understand mulch as the plastic sheet
😟 🌳🕊💚
I like your video - my home has been invaded by little centipedes - the deep mulch garden is FULL of them - but the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages. What predators will I be looking for in the future to eat the centipedes?
Centipedes or millipedes? Millipedes are more likely what you're looking at, and they can break down up to three times as much organic matter per day than worms do! Truly power houses.
Centipedes are fast moving predators that kinda look similar to millipedes. They'll actually be one of the predators to millipedes. Others will include other predatory insects and arthropods like spiders and predatory beetles. Otherwise there's also macro predators such as toads, salamanders, and the like.
But also realize that there's predation beyond our eyes and knowledge. Viruses, Bacteria, fungi, nematodes, and a whole host of microbes also exist and are predators in the soil biome. These too work in natural systems to monitor and control populations of species.
So keep a look out, but also realize that if you never directly see any predators, that doesn't mean that there isn't anything going on behind the scenes :)
@@frenchiepowell yes you are right - they are millipedes - what are their natural predators - I have a HUGE population of them - and my garden is just 8 ft from the house
Just found your videos love the your videos this just might be the way to go for me I am in Florida having such a hard time growing vegetables I do get good tomatoes I am new at this but all the reaching I did just didn’t find the right thing till I came across your videos maybe you can help me about growing potatoes in Florida like when is the right time to plant them I would greatly appreciate the help
Hey Maureen!
Glad the videos have been a great help :)
I actually got my start in Florida in the St Pete area. I love the potential Florida has for growing produce. As a wonderful resource I'd look up Rob Greenfield's videos on producing his own food.
As for potatoes, if you're in South Florida, they say go for planting over winter and starting in September. If in North florida you could start planting them January to March.
@@frenchiepowell thank you 🙏 you really are very helpful keep making these great videos love them have a safe and healthy happy new year 🎆
Hi Frenchie, do you know how to plant sunflower seeds in a deep hay mulch garden? We only have 6-8 weeks between when we cover a grassy area with deep mulch to when the seeds need to be planted. Any advice?
ad-rock, thanks for the question. Sunflower seeds can be planted the same way most seeds are in deep mulch. Just pull back the mulch in either a row or section, push the seed point first into the soil, then DON'T cover it back up. Once it sprouts and grows a little, tuck it back in with the mulch and you'll be good to go :)
🤗
👋
Deep mulch and slugs?
Is it not better to compost off the growing beds and bring the composted materials back?
Was curious do strawberries and raspberries spread through the mulch?
Sometimes a bit too much lol! Our raspberries we're having to continually cut back so that they don't take over the place haha
@@frenchiepowell Agreed. My raspberries are insane. Great to expand transplants, but these are ridiculously thick to where I have to thin for better productivity.
Strawberries spread somewhat overly well, too, but they're easy to pull out or use to replace the three/four-year-old ones when they get less productive or succumb to that red-blotch blight. Trouble is slugs, birds and mice alike lóve strawberries...
🌳🕊💚
Hi Frenchie. Hoping all is well with you. I wanted to pick your brain. I have weeds in my garden that have overgrown and have seed heads. I'm going to put down cardboard and thick mulch at the end of the season. Can I drop the weeds, cover them with cardboard and then mulch without those seeds sprouting back up next season?
I'd absolutely just leave them and mulch over them. With a deep enough mulch the seeds won't have enough energy to sprout through, so you should be fine. Definitely a good time to be cutting the weeds though before any perennial weeds send their energy to the roots for the winter.
@@frenchiepowell Thx so much Frenchie. Ive been putting vines and such out for the township to take but the yard has really overgrown this year. My thought is to mulch heavily and container garden next season as I have quite a large area.
I had an app to have tree services drop off free wood chips but didn't get one response. Time to let my fingers do the walking on my cell phone.
Thanks for the great service that you provide to the gardening community!
Kelli
Wood chips take "a little more time" to break down than hay? Wood chips take years to break down.
It probably depends what type of wood chips you have...the one I use is the one with branches leaves the whole tree not just the trunks...we call it "forest mulch" or "arborist mulch" here in Australia and that one took one season to break down...on my pathways I put only wood chips so it last longer...
Also depends on how dry/damp they get, and will take longer if you use a weed control fabric under them. Not recommended in this kind of gardening. 🌳🕊💚
How the hell soil is called dirt!
Let's get dirty with Mother Earth! 🌳🕊💚
Please speak louder, or get a 🎤 or something, I'm trying to watch your video while working with my 6 and 2 year olds and I have to hold phone to ear
I like it.
Good information