First Load of Mulch in a Couple of Years

We had posted several times about a new gardening method we use called, "Back to Eden Gardening." You can check out a YouTube video to learn about it, but the synopsis goes like this:  You don't till or leave the soil uncovered.  You use wood chips (mulch) similar to what happens in the forest for propagation. 

If you keep a roughly four inch layer of mulch on top of your soil, you'll see several benefits:

1. You don't have to weed very much at all.  The mulch acts as a protective barrier for weed growth,

2. You don't have to water very much at all.  The mulch preserves soil moisture,

3. The mulch, over a short period of time, decomposes and becomes part of your garden soil, enriching it with nutrients and organic matter.

My wife noticed a tree trimming service in town.  They are clearing trees that have grown too close to utility lines.  They cut the limbs and feed them into a chipper and turn the limbs into finely shredded chips.  She gave them our phone # and address and they were happy to have a place to deliver loads of chips FOR FREE!  A couple years ago we got 22 or 24 loads, I forget.  Here is our first load this year:

Just one load of chips is a lot and there is a lot more coming!  I will be moving this into the garden and  begin to put a four inch layer across the entire garden.

You can already notice that the bacteria is already heating up the pile of mulch and starting the decomposition process.  The steam rises from the mulch pile early in the morning:

When it is planting time in the garden this spring, I'll run a line across where I want the row to be.  Then I'll use a rake to pull back the mulch underneath the string until I've exposed bare earth.  I'll then work up a 'hoe's width' area which will be my seed bed.  Then I'll plant.  When the seeds are up, as they grow, I'll pull mulch around the seedlings.  It's simple and effective.