The quick answer is yes! Wood Chip Gardening is a scientifically proven effective gardening method. In fact, there was a study comparing 15 different organic mulches which concluded wood chips are one of the best mulches for holding moisture, moderating soil temperatures, controlling weeds, and overall sustainability. The fact is wood chips absorb and retain more water than any other mulch! This water cools the soil and is slowly released to plants. Soil moisture and soil temperature is directly related to the yield from plants grown in your vegetable garden.
Myths About Wood Chip Mulch
Myth #1: Wood chips will rob nitrogen from the soil.
The biggest and most widespread myth about wood chips is that they rob nitrogen from the soil. Scientifically, there is no evidence that wood chips deplete nitrogen from the soil. As Paul Gautschi mentions in the documentary, BACK TO EDEN, this myth can be debunked by simply looking at the soil in a forest floor, where dead wood, needles, leaves, and undergrowth are all present and yet new growth is always happening. What studies do show is that where wood chips are sitting on top of the soil, such as the no-till Back to Eden Gardening method, bacteria is actively working to decompose the wood -- bacteria which then consume nitrogen as food. However, this only occurs to a depth of approximately 5mm below the wood chips. This shows that "nitrogen loss" is limited to such a small area that wood chips do not rob nitrogen from soil or plants. Actually, many studies have demonstrated that wood chip mulch materials increase nutrient levels in soils and plants. Before applying wood chips, create a thin underlying layer of a compost if there are concerns about nutrient deficiencies. This mimics what you would see in nature. It’s not required, though, and over time a wood chip mulch will develop this same structure as the lower layers break down and decompose into compost. Myth #2: Wood chips will kill your plants. What type of wood chips you use in your garden does matter! It is incredibly import that you are 100% aware of what tree(s) are in your wood chips. Before wood chips are delivered to your property, make sure you inquire about what type of wood chips are being delivered. Tell the arborist or tree service company you are using them in a vegetable garden. Why? Allelopathy is the chemical inhibition of one plant by another due to the release into the environment of substances acting as germination or growth inhibitors. For example, Reformation Acres, shares that wood chips from black walnut trees affected her tomato plants. Black Walnut wood chips have been confirmed by science to contain a chemical that inhibits plant growth. Paul Gautschi had a negative experience with Eucalyptus tree wood chip mulch which inhibited the growth of plants. Make sure you do research about the trees that grow in your local area. If you are certain about what trees are in your wood chip mulch, plants will not be killed through the leaching of allopathic chemicals in wood chips. NOTE: When you are signing up for a free delivery of wood chips, the Chip Drop app has a place for your to make special requests to your tree service company. Please, make a note if you have any specific requests about what wood chips from trees you are interested in receiving. For example, write, "No Black Walnut. No Eucalyptus." Myth #3: Wood chips acidify soils. When we refer to "wood chips" we mean tree trimmings that are composed of 90% needles, leaves, and branches that have been chipped up in a wood chipper. It is important to understand that leaves are a source of nitrogen and branches are a source of carbon. This ratio of wood chips composed of needles, leaves, and branches creates an ideal mulch for a vegetable garden once they are composted. What studies do show is that when you do not use this nitrogen to carbon ratio, mulch can increase soil acidity over time. For example, if you use 100% bark, 100% needles, or 100% leaves you are not mulching properly. However, it is difficult to significantly alter soil pH without the additions of chemicals. Changes in pH may be found in the decomposing layer of mulch but these have little effect on underlying soils. Myth #4: Wood chips increase pests such as ants, slugs, termites, etc. The top question we get asked is, "Do wood chips attract termites and pest to your garden?" The first thing to address is that wood chips do not bring pests to your property that are not already present. Paul Gautschi has never had an issue with termites nor have we heard testimonies of any gardeners complaining about termites due to wood chip mulch. As far as pests, if you have a healthy vigorous plant, insects should not be a problem. Wood chips are the key to building healthy soil that grows healthy plants! Mulch Your Vegetable Garden
Now that you know all of the benefits of wood chip mulch for a vegetable garden, figure out how much mulch you need to cover your vegetable garden and fruit tree orchard.
Mulch Calculator
This is the best mulch calculator that you can customize to measure your garden area and easily calculate how much mulch you need for your garden and orchard.
Mulch Calculator
HOW TO FIND WOOD CHIPS NEAR ME
Once you calculate how much mulch you need, sign up for free to the Chip Drop app to request a free delivery of wood chips from your local tree service company.
WHAT IS WOOD CHIP GARDENING?
Wood chip gardening is the practice of covering your vegetable garden and fruit orchard with wood chip mulch. Wood chips will improve your soil and regenerate the natural life in the soil instead of the use of toxic chemicals that deplete the soil and create soil loss.
CAN I USE FRESH WOOD CHIPS IN MY GARDEN?
Fresh wood chips come from a renewable resource -- tree pruning waste! Back to Eden Gardening uses fresh wood chips that are 90% needles, leaves, and branches that have been chipped from tree trimming waste. It is important to understand that the leaves are a source of nitrogen and the branches are a source of carbon. This ratio creates an ideal mulch gardening material when the wood chips have composted. Paul Gautschi has multiple gardens and orchards in which he utilizes both raw, composted, and screened wood chips.
Happy gardening!
4. Minimize Weeds in Your Garden - The boarder you create when building a raised bed acts as a barrier for weeds and grasses which keeps them from creeping into your garden. The soil is also so loose that if you do have weeds, they are easy to pull out and remove. 5. Exclude Pests from Your Garden - Raised Beds can help exclude pests from accessing your garden from above and below. Burrowing pests like voles, gophers, and moles can be completely eliminated from accessing your garden if you line your raised bed with hardware cloth. Destructive animals like deer, birds, rabbits, and rodents that can access your garden from above can be deterred by adding a protect covering such as hoops, wire, or netting. WHAT DO YOU FILL A RAISED GARDEN BED WITH? In order to get the best results, fill a raised garden bed with compost, composted animal manure, and wood chips! Raised beds can be built using permaculture methods which regenerate the soil and the environment. The Back to Eden Gardening method can be applied to raised garden beds! Cover your raised bed with wood chips which will act as a mulch that helps conserve moisture, suppress weeds, and build soil. Sign up for a free delivery of wood chips today! HOW DEEP SHOULD A RAISED BED GARDEN BE?
A raised bed garden should be at least 6 inches tall and can be as tall as you want it to be! The taller the raised bed the easier it is to access plants without needing to bend over to tend to them. Raised bed gardening is popular for anyone who has back pain, the elderly, and disabled people in a wheelchair find raised beds more accessible. However, the taller the bed, the deeper the compost needs to be which requires more input and work over time. HOW CLOSE DO I PLANT SEEDS IN A RAISED GARDEN BED? Raised bed gardening is wonderful for growing vegetables and fruits. The goal is to plant your heirloom seeds close together so that when the vegetables are fully grown the leaves barely touch which creates a microclimate that suppresses weeds and conserves moisture. This is a vegetable gardening guide for beginners that includes essential steps you need to take to start a garden. Growing a vegetable garden is one of the most life-changing and rewarding things you can do. Starting a vegetable garden using organic gardening principles can save you time, money, and labor while greatly benefiting the environment. This guide starts at improving the soil and will cover every step you need to take for your starting your vegetable garden. Improve the SoilThe first step to start a vegetable garden is to improve the soil. Most importantly, do not till the soil! Tilling the ground is the most destructive thing you can do since tilling causes soil erosion and loss of soil diversity resulting in sterile soil that required more input. Instead, use a no-dig gardening technique that dramatically improves the health of the soil and environment. Once you pick a sunny area for your garden plot, layer the following material in this order: HOW TO START A VEGETABLE GARDEN
WHAT TIME OF YEAR IS BEST TO START A VEGETABLE GARDEN? It is ideal to start a vegetable garden in the Fall when wood chips are readily available and have time to compost over winter. However, you can start a vegetable garden any time of the year! Pick What You Want to PlantThe second most important part of starting a vegetable garden is the seeds you plant. For the best results, plant non-GMO heirloom seeds in your vegetable garden. Heirloom seeds produce the best tasting and most nutritious fruits and vegetables. You can save your own seeds if you plant heirloom seeds which can save you money in the long haul. There are so many incredible varieties of heirloom seeds available from the leading heirloom seed companies. RECOMMENDED SEED COMPANIES Get $20 OFF an ARK Heirloom Seed Kit using the code: WOODCHIPS HOW DO I PLANT MY FIRST VEGETABLE GARDEN? Plant your heirloom seeds in your improved soil by pulling back a row of wood chips and planting in the compost below the wood chips. Many vegetable seeds are extremely tiny and need to be directly sowed into soil. Seeds need water to germinate so make sure to water your seeds daily so they do not dry out. TIPS FOR GROWING A PERFECT VEGETABLE GARDENMULCH, MULCH, MULCH your vegetable garden to ensure all the wonderful benefits of mulching! Mulch helps reduce weeding, watering, fertilizing, and working! If you notice weeds growing in your garden, pull them out or add more wood chip mulch to smoother weeds. If you notice plants wilting, you can always add more wood chip mulch to help conserve watering needs. Sign up for a free delivery of wood chips today!
WHAT IS BACK TO EDEN GARDENING? Back to Eden Gardening is the practice of growing plants in a no-dig vegetable garden that utilizes wood chip mulch to conserve water and regenerate soil. Back to Eden Gardening is a regenerative agriculture technique that implements organic gardening principles and is considered one of the best sustainable permaculture methods for growing food. Back to Eden Gardening started because of the documentary film, BACK TO EDEN, featuring American gardener and arborist Paul Gautschi. Paul pioneered a no-dig gardening method that implements wood chip mulch to conserve water and regenerate soil. BACK TO EDEN was Produced and Directed by Dana Richardson & Sarah Zentz and released in 2011. The documentary went viral gaining millions of views and ignited a global gardening movement. Learn more about how to grow a Back to Eden Garden by watching the free documentary BACK TO EDEN. WHAT IS NO-DIG GARDENING AND NO-TILL GARDENING? No-dig gardening also called no-till gardening is a non-cultivation method that does not practice tilling the soil. Paul Gautchi is a no-till gardener. However, the no-dig gardening movement has a long history and famous pioneers including Masanobu Fukuoka a Japanese farmer who pioneered "do nothing farming" and Ruth Stout an American gardener who wrote the "Gardening Without Work" and "No Work Garden" book. Masanobu Fukuoka and Ruth Stout used straw as a mulch. Paul Gautschi pioneered the no-dig gardening method that uses wood chips as a mulch. WHAT IS WOOD CHIP GARDENING? Wood chip gardening is the practice of covering your vegetable garden and fruit orchard with wood chip mulch. Wood chips will improve your soil and regenerate the natural life in the soil instead of the use of toxic chemicals that deplete the soil and create soil loss. Sign up to get a free delivery of wood chips from your local tree service company. ARE WOOD CHIPS GOOD FOR SOIL? Wood chips are good for your soil and good for the environment! Wood chips dramatically reduce watering, weeding, and labor while preventing soil erosion. Wood chips are an organic, biodegradable, carbon based material that decomposes over time transforming your soil into a dark, carbon-rich, compost material. Composted mulch enriches your soil with nutrients which increases the product and quality of your plants and garden. CAN I USE FRESH WOOD CHIPS IN MY GARDEN? Fresh wood chips come from a renewable resource -- tree pruning waste! Back to Eden Gardening uses fresh wood chips that are 90% needles, leaves, and branches that have been chipped from tree trimming waste. It is important to understand that the leaves are a source of nitrogen and the branches are a source of carbon. This ratio creates an ideal mulch gardening material when the wood chips have composted. Paul Gautschi has multiple gardens and orchards in which he utilizes both raw, composted, and screened wood chips. HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FOR WOOD CHIPS TO DECOMPOSE?
Wood chips start to decompose immediately and it takes wood chips at least 3 months to decompose. Composted wood chips are chipped tree trimmings that have had time to break down and have composted for at least 3 months. Your wood chips will heat up and decompose quicker in Summer months. Get free wood chips from ChipDrop a free wood chip delivery service! The free app helps gardeners find free wood chip mulch from local tree pruning companies near their address. The wood chips are free and the delivery is free! WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF WOOD CHIPS? Covering your garden landscape with wood chips will improve your soil which is practicing regenerative agriculture. Wood chips are extremely beneficial for soil regeneration which promotes healthy soil and healthy plants. Wood chips are an organic, biodegradable, carbon material that decompose over time transforming your soil into a dark, carbon rich, compost material. Composted mulch enriches your soil with nutrients which increases the product and quality of your plants and garden. Wood chips dramatically reduce watering, weeding, and labor while preventing soil erosion. WHAT IS REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE?
Regenerative Agriculture is a farming and gardening practice that rebuilds soil and restores soil biodiversity resulting in both carbon drawdown and improving the water cycle. The Back to Eden Gardening technique is part of the regenerative agriculture movement. Back to Eden Gardening regenerates and revitalizes the soil and the environment. Back to Eden Gardening leads to healthy soil that is capable of producing high quality, high quantity, nutrient-rich food. Back to Eden Gardening will improve your soil leading to a productive garden and farm! Regenerative Agriculture and Back to Eden Gardening are serious solutions to climate change and desertification of the Earth. |
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