Paul Gautschi is one of the top 10 experts featured in The Grow System Summit 2021! Your FREE ticket gives you access to the entire event including Paul's LIVE interview! From Friday, May 21 through Sunday, May 23, you will have the opportunity to watch each expert interview LIVE (or watch the replay of each interview for a full 24 hours)!

Your FREE TICKET entitles you to access to the entire Grow System Summit: ​​

• 10 live interviews with the experts (if you can't listen live - no worries! You'll have access to each interview for 24 hours.)
• Exclusive insider stories and live readings from "The Grow System" Book from, Marjory Wildcraft
• Sneak-peek into The Grow System Masterclass with invitation-only access into the first 3 modules
• Plus, 7 empowering bonuses just for registering to attend today!​

Winter is the invigorating time of year when master arborist Paul Gautschi prunes his fruit trees. Winter is the best time of year to prune your trees because they are dormant which means they are in a sort of state of hibernation from growth. Timing is important to consider when pruning trees because it is easier for the tree to recover properly from the pruning. It is also vital for optimal growth and fruit production to occur in the coming seasons. When you prune in the winter you give your trees a huge jumpstart on their ability to put our healthy vigorous new growth in the Spring. Pruning fruit trees in the spring, summer can actually cause more damage to your trees than benefits, especially when done heavily.

Ever wonder how Paul's fruit trees look so magical and are abundant with so much sweet hanging fruit? Paul Gautschi has been a professional arborist for most of his life and is known for his skillful Japanese influenced pruning techniques. His unique pruning art aims to remove unnecessary branches that open up the tree and lace out in the interior growth. The end result of Paul's pruning technique aims to appear as though the tree was not obviously pruned. On the contrary, many western pruning guides instruct to chop a tree branch off partway up the branch. This style of pruning results appears not only ineloquent and butchered but can also be detrimental to the tree's natural growth preferences and even cause rotting, insect infestations, and disease. Paul has experience with a wide variety of fo trees from his whimsical looking fruit orchard trees to 200 feet tall conifer trees. Today we will teach you the basics of what you need to properly prune trees like master arborist Paul Gautschi for getting the maximum production your of your fruit trees.

To prune your trees like Paul first you'll need the proper tools. Paul does most of his fruit tree pruning with simple but very high quality made tools. He uses the Japanese Samurai Saw for sawing larger branches and Felco Pruning Sheers for trimming twigs. He also uses a simple drop cloth to help easily gather his tree trimming waste and take it to a local compost facility t be chipped up and recycled into mulch.

How Much to Prune
During the winter it is an ideal time to prepare for pruning your fruit tree orchard. Your goal should be to open up space inside the tree branches. For younger trees be careful not to remove too much of the tree until it is more mature and has been established for several years. For established fruit trees you generally will not want to remove more than 1/3 of the total tree branches to start. The goal is to remove enough growth to allow for optimal sunlight filtration, air circulation, leaf growth space, fruit production space. However, do not remove too many of the essential branches or your tree will not be able to fill out with enough leaf growth to pull in energy from the sunlight that stimulates flower and fruit production.

Identify Cross Overs
First, observe the tree structurally. Look for any obvious branches that are crossing over one another that could be potentially interfering with one another growing space. You will want to remove these branches first. Keep in mind never to remove the main central branches so that the structure of your tree remains balanced and strong enough to hold the weight of abundant fruit growth. How to identify these branches takes a careful eye for observation. The best way to describe what you are trying to achieve is to see Paul Guatschi's end results in the video above. The trees look almost like a hand reaching into the sky when he is done. It appears as though almost too much of the tree is removed to a beginner's eye. But it is easy to see that there are plenty of evenly spaced strong limbs remaining intact. 

Cut at the Collar
Start with your Felco Sheers to get warmed up to trimming. Cut the twigs at the base where they meet the tree branch as cleanly as possible. Do not chop off the twigs partway up the branch leaving an open stub. Remove suckers at the tree base and twigs that are shooting upwards or crossing over one another's potential growing space. Next, use your Samurai Saw to remove any larger branches that are growing in the wrong direction or interfering with one another. Again, cut the branch off at the collar, the area where the branch meets the tree trunk or other main branch. Think of yourself as a surgeon with the goal of making as few open wounds or messy cavities in your patient. A cavity can form at the site of a pruning area that is not cut properly. As you work, periodically step back to keep track of the bigger picture of your tree. It is important to keep the shape of the whole tree in mind to maintain balanced pruning as you work. Try to imagine the limbs with full leaves and fruit all over them. Try to imagine the branches like they will be in a few years, longer and larger than they are now. 

• Stimulates Healthy Growth
• Increases Maximum Yields of Fruit Production
• Prevents Breaking Limbs from Excessive Weight 
• Prevents Insects and Disease Problems Due to Air Flow 
• Increases Nutrients in Fruit by Removing Excessive Energy Needs
• Enables a Full Circle  in Your Garden by Creating Tree Trimming Wood Chips

Omlet Automatic Chicken Coop Door is the safest and most convenient way to let your chickens in and out of their coop. There are numerous actions you can take to ensure your chickens are safe but investing in an Omlet Automatic Chicken Coop Door is highly recommended! Yes, it's worth the investment!

What is an Omlet Automatic Chicken Coop Door?
The Omlet Automatic Chicken Coop Door is the world's most innovative auto chicken coop door designed to work with all chicken coops. It has a powerful electric motor and metal gear that is directly mounted on the door frame for maximum security. Unlike other automatic chicken coop door openers that work on a string and pulley system, the Omlet Autodoor cannot be simply lifted up when shut. This means that predators will not be able to move the door when it is closed, no matter how hard they try. Your chickens can sleep soundly knowing they have the most secure automatic door in the world.

Get 10% OFF with the promo code: BACKTOEDENCHICKEN

Why invest in an Omlet Automatic Chicken Coop Door?
The top reason to invest in an automatic chicken coop door is to keep out natural predators who want to eat your flock of chickens at night including foxes, skunks, raccoons, coyotes, bobcats, owls, hawks, etc. ​​

How to Install an Omlet Automatic Chicken Coop Door?
The Omlet Automatic Chicken Coop Door is universal and equipped to work with any chicken coop. The best part is that it is easy to install. The Autodoor is available in two colors: green or grey. We chose grey to go with the color of our chicken run. It comes with all the necessary hardware, you just need a few tools and AA batteries. Since we were installing the door on a wooden chicken coop that already had a door, the most challenging part was creating a wood backing that went between the automatic door and the chicken coop. We needed a circular saw, drill, screwdriver, and screws for installation. Thankfully, the door has an instruction manual that is easy to follow. 

There are numerous actions you can take to ensure your chickens are safe but investing in an Omlet Automatic Chicken Coop Door is highly recommended! First of all, chickens are creatures of habit -- they routinely wake up with the sunrise and take themselves to bed just after sunset. 

Of course, we don't solely rely on the automatic chicken coop door. Please, always go and check on your roosters and hens to ensure everyone is safely inside their coop! ​

Get 10% OFF with the promo code: BACKTOEDENCHICKEN

The best addition we've made to our chicken coop is the Omlet Automatic Chicken Coop Door and Coop Light which ensures our chickens are secure and safe from predators inside their chicken coop at night. If you are in the market for an automatic chicken coop door, look no further!

Wood chip compost is an excellent addition to your vegetable garden but wood chips can take a long time to break down and turn into compost. The good news is you can speed up the composting process by hot composting which will turn your pile of arborist wood chips into composted wood chips in as quick as several months! We recommend hot composting because it kills weed seeds and sterilizes the organic matter making it safe to use in a garden. Your compost pile will also be creating beneficial microbes that will benefit your soil. Hot composting is the quickest way to compost wood chips and will create a premium gardening material. 

Most likely, you just received a free delivery of arborist wood chips from the ChipDrop App. Congratulations! Now let's turn that pile of fresh cut wood chips into composted wood chips! If you haven't yet, you can sign up today to get a free delivery of arborist wood chips! Fresh cut wood chips can be used in your garden as mulch immediately. However, adding a layer of compost below arborist wood chips will help the wood chips benefit your garden immediately. If you have the space and time to compost wood chips, this would be the premium compost! The facility where Paul Gautschi gets his wood chip compost for his vegetable garden has undergone a similar hot composting process as we will be teaching you recreate today.

The hotter a wood chip pile gets, the quicker it composts. When you are hot composting, you may find it useful to use a compost thermometer. This tool will help you maintain the perfect temperature while composting. There are typically three ranges shown on the gauge - warm, active, and hot. If your pile is warm, that means it is time to turn your wood chip pile. The goal is to keep your wood chip pile in the active to hot range which is approximately 100-160 degrees. It also helps you from overheating your pile and drying it out. We recommend REOTEMP Backyard Compost Thermometer that is a high-quality and accurate compost thermometer for backyard gardeners! 

Not all arborist wood chips are chipped to the same size. If you received a load of coarse wood chips, you can run them through a wood chipper to reduce the size. The smaller the wood chip the quicker it will decompose. 

Not all deliveries of arborist wood chips are of the same quantity. If you received a bigger pile of wood chips, that is great because they will compost faster! A big, tall pile of wood chips is best! 

Take a look at the ratio of carbon to nitrogen in your wood chip pile. Arborist wood chips have a high carbon to nitrogen ratio that typically is 300:1 or higher. You want to make sure that there is a source of nitrogen in your wood chip pile. You should see green leaves and needles also called "green yard waste." The microbes that break down the wood feed on nitrogen. Therefore, the microbes will be able to work quicker if you have nitrogen. Don't panic if you don't see a lot of green yard waste. You can add excellent sources of nitrogen including animal manure, blood meal, grass clippings, or leaves to your pile. 

Once you have a higher nitrogen to carbon ratio, you will notice almost immediately that your wood chip pile begins to heat up. You may even see steam coming off the pile! This is an excellent sign it is working! Heating up your wood chips is the quickest way to compost wood chips. The only two missing ingredients after carbon and nitrogen are oxygen and water. 
1. Oxygen - Although it is not recommended to turn your pile frequently, you can turn your wood chips to aerate the pile which will increase the heat. The goal is to move the material on the outside of the pile into the middle where there is the most heat. Plus, microbes need oxygen. 
2. Water - Add water to your wood chip pile enough to make it wet. You don't want to over soak it but you also don't want to dry it out. Microbes need water to survive so make sure they don't get too thirsty.

Nature is incredible! Fungi and bacteria are the microbes that will naturally find their way into your composting wood chip pile. You may notice mold in your compost pile and this is a wonderful sign that tells you the microbes are working at breaking down the organic matter! You can inoculate your compost pile with fungi. 

Most people decompose arborist wood chips into composted wood chips in approximately 6 months. However, there is no set time that we can tell you to compost your wood chips. You need to be actively monitoring the pile to make sure it stays "active" and "hot." There are many factors that influence how long it takes to compost wood chips including where you live, the time of year, the weather, the size of the wood chips, the size of the pile, your nitrogen to carbon ratio, the number of fungi, the type of wood, etc. It is important to be patient. 

Once your wood chips have composted, you can add this organic matter to your vegetable garden for superior growth. ​You will be amazed at the quality of compost you built and how much your fruits and vegetables love growing in compost! Practice the Back to Eden Gardening method and add composted wood chips to your garden. ​

​HOW TO START A VEGETABLE GARDEN

1. Apply at least 3-4 sheets of newspaper. 
2. Apply at least 3-4 inches of organic compost. 
3. Apply at least  3-4 inches of wood chips as a mulch on your garden. 
4. Apply a dusting of composted animal manure as a natural fertilizer on top of your garden as needed throughout the growing season. Do not add chemical fertilizers, herbicides, or pesticides!
5. DO NOT TILL THE SOIL! All of the materials you used to mulch your garden plot are biodegradable and will immediately begin to decompose, breaking down into nutrient-rich soil. 
6. Make sure your garden plot is always mulched! Mulch provides a protective covering on top of your soil that helps retain moisture which reduces watering, weeding, and work. Wood chips also decompose into rich soil overtime. Sign up for a free delivery of wood chips today!