I noticed many YT gardeners deep mulch the pathways, let it decompose and then dig it out and put on the beds, then replace the pathway with new substrate.
Long ago and far away a senior told me that nature likes to be modest. So placing mulch material on top of soil helps keeps the blown in weeds from taking root. Made sense to me.
So covering the soil is important. Last year I covered garden with decomposed wood chips in spring, followed by leaves and or straw in the fall. Is cover cropping a better alternative to mulch? Mycorrizal fungi needs a living root in the ground at all times.(so I'm told). In zone 4b in winter ground is froze at least 3 feet deep. How can I have a living root? Doesn't the fungi just go dormant on the dead roots in ground, and wait for spring? Trying to come up with a game plan is frustrating. Having a REAL soil scientist to filter out all this stuff is the best gardening tool to have! Thank you so much for what you do Ashley! I'm very grateful!
Yea that thinner stuff is really really nice. Lots of action in that leaf litter layer. And honestly you could cover crop and mulch. In nature that’s how everything works. And it will go “dormant” typically in the form of spores moreso then web.
@@francismeowgannou5322 I'm a patreon member of channel. Members who support channel get to preview videos before anyone else sees them. Yes I viewed this month ago.
Sounds good Ashley! Even the lightest mulch helps shade the soil, and we want the seeds we put in the ground to grow through it, which in turn shade the ground more, so we seed the ground as soon as the soil is set up for the garden, to protect the soil early and completely~
@@GardeningInCanada on that note, i m thinking of collecting my neighbour's grass clippings, and use it as light mulshing. Would you think if that works? Thank you
I carried ten five-gallon buckets in my car and stopped to pick up apple drops in southern Vermont. Added these to the usual hay, leaves, grass clippings, stall litter (eg aged horse manure in urine-soaked sawdust.)
Hi Ashley. I was looking at the deep mulch method to help build soil on my bare sand and rocky yard. I plan on getting the landscape company to put on some topsoil, then a layer of bulk compost and then I was looking to put on a thick layer of carbon such as woodchips, hay, sawdust, or leaves. I plan on innoculating the carbon with wine cap mushroom and plan on growing soil building plants like clovers and honey locust. Few concerning things came up in my research. First was the potential of long lasting herbicide that may be present in the hay; this Also scared me off from using horse manure. Second is that I can only get soft wood chips from local arborists. I read that soft wood gets broken down by brown rot fungi and it is not as beneficial for building soil. Also I read that it may carry pathogens for some plants. Due to the clearcuting and tree farming practices of local pulp industry there is not much hardwood left in my province. Only source I could think of is hard wood sawdust from local work shops or a firewood provider. Is the brown rot fungi really a problem? Also, if I do use hardwood sawdust would it become too compact and become anaerobic or water repelling? And finally are long lasting herbicides in commercial hay really that prevalent?
I can do a video on this for you. But quick answer is: 1) yes hay can have pesticides. However, there is a lot the won’t because it’s not economically for a farmer to spray hay land. So I would ask the farmer. 2) the brown rot fungi is not a soil issue persay but it can do a lot of damage if your trying to grow trees and shrubs. In particular stone fruits. 3) saw dust could be hydrophobic which would be the opposite of what you want. The exception would be if you pre wet it, but then application would be a nightmare.
sawdust will form a layer that is impenetrable to water. It's best to use a mulch that is made up of variously sized material for maximum aeration and water absorption.
@Gardening In Canada Thanks for the answer! I do plan on trying to grow trees and shrubs down the road. I was interested in growing some cold hardy stone fruits as well. But this will be years down the road because I don't think my soil can support fruit trees yet. Would the brown rot still be an issue years down the road. I'm thinking my best bet might be a mixture of mostly hard wood sawdust, hay, leaves and twigs. And maybe a little bit of the soft wood chips to create some air channels so that the water can permeate.
I’m in zone 5 (a or b?) in Ontario. Where I live was underwater not long ago...it’s all sand and clay. Though I don’t think I’d go full on in this method, it will probably be beneficial to integrate it to some degree. I’m just trying to grow food to feed my family. I love videos like these, where you lay out the pro’s and con’s on different methods. I need all the information I can get and you always deliver Ashley. I don’t shy from hard work but money is super tight, any advice you have is welcome
Your introduction made me crack up! I am not sure how neighbours may appreciate the aesthetics and possible critter increase. In a more rural setting may be a super method to use. Although, it is quite "scalable" to suit one's needs, you don't have to turn your yard into one big garden. Whatever works eh? I wonder how this method would work as a potting media? For instance an old shopping cart filled with the residues? Just spit-ballin'. Thanks for bringing up the subject, it is a method that is worth researching.
I did deep mulch in large part because my soil was so compacted and in part because the materials are free and I'm doing a big project on a tight budget. I'm starting year 3 and by spring there will be no sod in my garden. The first year was really, really rough in the annual bed and I did about 6-8" of wood chips with about 2" compost on top and organic fertilizer sources like rock phosphate and blood meal. Didn't hold a drop of water and I'm in a very dry area. I probably spent 5x my neighbors on their watering bill but it did break down significantly over the course of the year and last year I was at probably 70% of my neighbors. Should get better this year. At the end of the first year I added about 3-4 pallets of used coco coir/peat from a commercial greenhouse and that helped immensely but I'm still worried the nutrient balances are out of whack. On the berry bush patches and the orchard I did deep mulch with just wood chips and it has worked wonderfully. The annuals planted between the young trees with a bunch of potting soil/compost in the hole struggle a bit but the deeper rooted plants greatly appreciate it. The side beds were mulched to medium depth with just wood chips in the last year, they're full of deep-rooted perennials so I'm really just looking for water holding from it, mulch is about 3-8" deep depending on the area. I'm finishing redoing the front lawn this winter (start of year 3) with about 6-8" wood chips, layer of 3-4" aged horse manure, and then another 3-4" wood chips. I'm not going to do any significant planting in that this year, I just want it to start breaking down for future use, and even then what I'll be eventually planting are native perennials with low nutrient demands so I'm not that worried. The point is to just start getting the soil in that area into a shape where I can plant, well, anything. What I was starting with all over the house was heavy clay on a decent slope and so compacted that grass sod couldn't survive. Water ran straight off and I can't get a push tiller in it even if I want to. Think I made the right choice for my area and what I had to work with but it definitely has potential issues and I don't think would be great for every environment.
I'm in sand in zone 4. I tilled each row the first Autumn to incorporate about 18" of grass/leaves. Since then, I deep mulch in the Autumn and spread out what's left in the Spring and plant seeds. Paths are cardboard and wood chips. It still needs drip irrigation but after three years my beach is producing excellent veggies/fruits (helped by our honeybees). Mole traps help keep the rodent population under control.
I do/did use deep mulch, we have clay and usually dry cold spring followed by a dry hot summer, I'm trying to mitigate the negatives using this method. I'm using about 40% hay for browns/cover, and whatever's available at the time as greens, the depth is about 40 cm. I did buy some spores and grow fungi alongside the veggies (not this year, though). If I want to sow seeds directly, I showel the mulch away, form a ridge or two. I put mulch between the ridges, so the soil doesn't dry out too fast. I try to cover everything not in use with something to chop and drop and even chop and drop the weeds like Convolvulus arvensis. Because the hay is loose and contains lots of air, I had no issues with too much generated heat. I try to plant a plant mix, never just one species, and it turned out well. Last year I ended up with onion, garlic, carrots, parsley, horse-radish, dill, some thyme, Hungarian paprika and tomatoes.
I have a 40ft long deep mulch garden. I started with a layer of cardboard and then all the rabbit litter and bedding I just dump directly on it. I collected hay bales after halloween to use on top. Completed around november 14 and planted potatoes at that time under the cardboard. (1 full bag of potatoes from the store, no dig just dropped them) I did not water, and i did not take care of them until the next year around october when I harvested an abundance of potatoes and left some for future crops. I have continually added rabbit litter and bedding across it since but this is 4 years later and still producing potatoes. Although there is more pests...
This will make you giggle.... or shake your head. This person planted the seedlings in a peat moss bed. Her question to the group was "can i mulch with more peat moss?" Maybe I should get a few bottles of wine into me before this might make sense. Make it a great weekend!
I live in the uk so we get alot of rain so slug galore, is it viable to use ruth stout method on a entire garden while using organic woodchips for footpath and hay for wonter season to breakdown? I haven't seen anything on the uk being done
I find this very interesting. No actual soil, just deep mulch. Here is what I noticed when stationed in Iceland. There is a lot of black volcanic rock on the island of course. In some areas there are very tiny flowers, not in groups, but scattered here and there. But not everywhere you look. Smaller than your thumb nail. Upon a very close look, I noticed that there is absolutely no soil. None! There is no grass, weeds, nothing as far as the eye can see. These flowers are 10's of feet to 100 yds from each other. I never saw the in groups, just one single flower by itself. If I ever find the picture I took of one....it was almost 30 years ago, I'll mail you a copy. I really don't know where they got packed away lol. Forgot all about it until this video lol. Take care, stay safe!
I use bunny bedding Pine shavings, bit of hay, bunny poop, any wasted food pellets, oats and sunflower seeds This mixture when wet or urine soaked Can heat up like a compost pile Dry its not too hot You need to let it break down some if using it too thick if a layer Thinner layers is better to use on plants right away Also if used right away you need to have the seeds into the soil not the mulch because the mulch will dry out and no nutrien...well theres nutritional content but plants do need the soil for the roots We did the ribbon test with our soil lol no ribon you can hear it grinding lol When i upload that video i will link you lol its funny really sandy Our topsoil layer is a foot thick of darker black soil that leaves a slime on my fingers but still no ribon I think this layer of topsoil was me adding layers before We usually did this bed because we have sunchokes in it to dig out We try not to mix the layers
@@GardeningInCanada ok I had time to get the video up and used your channel name to tag you I'm sharing your clay and sandy soil videos again (to my community tab) to answer a few questions better ;) Much love xoxox
Here is a follow up video all about nitrogen and mulch ruclips.net/video/HueGB94EHUA/видео.html
I noticed many YT gardeners deep mulch the pathways, let it decompose and then dig it out and put on the beds, then replace the pathway with new substrate.
Yea that makes sense because if you’re allowing it to sit out and “decompose” a bit it would take up as much microbe focus in that garden
@@GardeningInCanada Like a fine wine, it takes time. :-)
Hahah true!
Long ago and far away a senior told me that nature likes to be modest. So placing mulch material on top of soil helps keeps the blown in weeds from taking root. Made sense to me.
So covering the soil is important.
Last year I covered garden with decomposed wood chips in spring, followed by leaves and or straw in the fall. Is cover cropping a better alternative to mulch?
Mycorrizal fungi needs a living root in the ground at all times.(so I'm told). In zone 4b in winter ground is froze at least 3 feet deep. How can I have a living root? Doesn't the fungi just go dormant on the dead roots in ground, and wait for spring?
Trying to come up with a game plan is frustrating. Having a REAL soil scientist to filter out all this stuff is the best gardening tool to have!
Thank you so much for what you do
Ashley! I'm very grateful!
Yea that thinner stuff is really really nice. Lots of action in that leaf litter layer. And honestly you could cover crop and mulch. In nature that’s how everything works. And it will go “dormant” typically in the form of spores moreso then web.
1month old comment on a brand new video?? Weird
@@francismeowgannou5322 I'm a patreon member of channel. Members who support channel get to preview videos before anyone else sees them. Yes I viewed this month ago.
@@scottsmith507 I'd rather believe that you're a time traveler.
HAHAHA
Thank You!
Sounds good Ashley! Even the lightest mulch helps shade the soil, and we want the seeds we put in the ground to grow through it, which in turn shade the ground more, so we seed the ground as soon as the soil is set up for the garden, to protect the soil early and completely~
It’s true! Mulching is a game changer. I think a light mulch that is removed at the end of the year is a perfect solution.
@@GardeningInCanada on that note, i m thinking of collecting my neighbour's grass clippings, and use it as light mulshing.
Would you think if that works?
Thank you
Yup! Might blow away so that’s a downside. And then just make sure you don’t stack it too think to ensure it doesn’t mold.
I carried ten five-gallon buckets in my car and stopped to pick up apple drops in southern Vermont. Added these to the usual hay, leaves, grass clippings, stall litter (eg aged horse manure in urine-soaked sawdust.)
Hi Ashley. I was looking at the deep mulch method to help build soil on my bare sand and rocky yard. I plan on getting the landscape company to put on some topsoil, then a layer of bulk compost and then I was looking to put on a thick layer of carbon such as woodchips, hay, sawdust, or leaves. I plan on innoculating the carbon with wine cap mushroom and plan on growing soil building plants like clovers and honey locust. Few concerning things came up in my research. First was the potential of long lasting herbicide that may be present in the hay; this Also scared me off from using horse manure. Second is that I can only get soft wood chips from local arborists. I read that soft wood gets broken down by brown rot fungi and it is not as beneficial for building soil. Also I read that it may carry pathogens for some plants. Due to the clearcuting and tree farming practices of local pulp industry there is not much hardwood left in my province. Only source I could think of is hard wood sawdust from local work shops or a firewood provider. Is the brown rot fungi really a problem? Also, if I do use hardwood sawdust would it become too compact and become anaerobic or water repelling? And finally are long lasting herbicides in commercial hay really that prevalent?
I can do a video on this for you. But quick answer is:
1) yes hay can have pesticides. However, there is a lot the won’t because it’s not economically for a farmer to spray hay land. So I would ask the farmer.
2) the brown rot fungi is not a soil issue persay but it can do a lot of damage if your trying to grow trees and shrubs. In particular stone fruits.
3) saw dust could be hydrophobic which would be the opposite of what you want. The exception would be if you pre wet it, but then application would be a nightmare.
sawdust will form a layer that is impenetrable to water. It's best to use a mulch that is made up of variously sized material for maximum aeration and water absorption.
@Gardening In Canada Thanks for the answer! I do plan on trying to grow trees and shrubs down the road. I was interested in growing some cold hardy stone fruits as well. But this will be years down the road because I don't think my soil can support fruit trees yet. Would the brown rot still be an issue years down the road. I'm thinking my best bet might be a mixture of mostly hard wood sawdust, hay, leaves and twigs. And maybe a little bit of the soft wood chips to create some air channels so that the water can permeate.
Yea that’s definitely what I think would happen as well. It’s just too much cellulose.
It’s unlikely to survive without a host but then again fungi spores are very durable.
I’m in zone 5 (a or b?) in Ontario. Where I live was underwater not long ago...it’s all sand and clay. Though I don’t think I’d go full on in this method, it will probably be beneficial to integrate it to some degree.
I’m just trying to grow food to feed my family.
I love videos like these, where you lay out the pro’s and con’s on different methods. I need all the information I can get and you always deliver Ashley.
I don’t shy from hard work but money is super tight, any advice you have is welcome
Thanks so much glad you enjoyed. And I think a high bred is ideal
Your introduction made me crack up!
I am not sure how neighbours may appreciate the aesthetics and possible critter increase. In a more rural setting may be a super method to use.
Although, it is quite "scalable" to suit one's needs, you don't have to turn your yard into one big garden. Whatever works eh? I wonder how this method would work as a potting media? For instance an old shopping cart filled with the residues? Just spit-ballin'.
Thanks for bringing up the subject, it is a method that is worth researching.
Pfft who doesn’t think you should turn the yard into a giant garden 🤓
I did deep mulch in large part because my soil was so compacted and in part because the materials are free and I'm doing a big project on a tight budget. I'm starting year 3 and by spring there will be no sod in my garden. The first year was really, really rough in the annual bed and I did about 6-8" of wood chips with about 2" compost on top and organic fertilizer sources like rock phosphate and blood meal. Didn't hold a drop of water and I'm in a very dry area. I probably spent 5x my neighbors on their watering bill but it did break down significantly over the course of the year and last year I was at probably 70% of my neighbors. Should get better this year. At the end of the first year I added about 3-4 pallets of used coco coir/peat from a commercial greenhouse and that helped immensely but I'm still worried the nutrient balances are out of whack. On the berry bush patches and the orchard I did deep mulch with just wood chips and it has worked wonderfully. The annuals planted between the young trees with a bunch of potting soil/compost in the hole struggle a bit but the deeper rooted plants greatly appreciate it. The side beds were mulched to medium depth with just wood chips in the last year, they're full of deep-rooted perennials so I'm really just looking for water holding from it, mulch is about 3-8" deep depending on the area. I'm finishing redoing the front lawn this winter (start of year 3) with about 6-8" wood chips, layer of 3-4" aged horse manure, and then another 3-4" wood chips. I'm not going to do any significant planting in that this year, I just want it to start breaking down for future use, and even then what I'll be eventually planting are native perennials with low nutrient demands so I'm not that worried. The point is to just start getting the soil in that area into a shape where I can plant, well, anything. What I was starting with all over the house was heavy clay on a decent slope and so compacted that grass sod couldn't survive. Water ran straight off and I can't get a push tiller in it even if I want to. Think I made the right choice for my area and what I had to work with but it definitely has potential issues and I don't think would be great for every environment.
I'm in sand in zone 4. I tilled each row the first Autumn to incorporate about 18" of grass/leaves. Since then, I deep mulch in the Autumn and spread out what's left in the Spring and plant seeds. Paths are cardboard and wood chips. It still needs drip irrigation but after three years my beach is producing excellent veggies/fruits (helped by our honeybees). Mole traps help keep the rodent population under control.
That’s amazing sounds like you’ve really turned it around!
amazing.
Thanks for watching! Be sure to grab your soil testing workbook! etsy.me/2PMrD3o
I do/did use deep mulch, we have clay and usually dry cold spring followed by a dry hot summer, I'm trying to mitigate the negatives using this method. I'm using about 40% hay for browns/cover, and whatever's available at the time as greens, the depth is about 40 cm. I did buy some spores and grow fungi alongside the veggies (not this year, though). If I want to sow seeds directly, I showel the mulch away, form a ridge or two. I put mulch between the ridges, so the soil doesn't dry out too fast. I try to cover everything not in use with something to chop and drop and even chop and drop the weeds like Convolvulus arvensis. Because the hay is loose and contains lots of air, I had no issues with too much generated heat. I try to plant a plant mix, never just one species, and it turned out well. Last year I ended up with onion, garlic, carrots, parsley, horse-radish, dill, some thyme, Hungarian paprika and tomatoes.
That sounds really nice
💚💚
❤️❤️❤️
I have a 40ft long deep mulch garden. I started with a layer of cardboard and then all the rabbit litter and bedding I just dump directly on it. I collected hay bales after halloween to use on top. Completed around november 14 and planted potatoes at that time under the cardboard. (1 full bag of potatoes from the store, no dig just dropped them) I did not water, and i did not take care of them until the next year around october when I harvested an abundance of potatoes and left some for future crops. I have continually added rabbit litter and bedding across it since but this is 4 years later and still producing potatoes. Although there is more pests...
That’s sounds amazing though
This will make you giggle.... or shake your head. This person planted the seedlings in a peat moss bed. Her question to the group was "can i mulch with more peat moss?" Maybe I should get a few bottles of wine into me before this might make sense. Make it a great weekend!
Oh Jesus AHAHAH
@@GardeningInCanada you can't figure it out, either, eh?!!!
I live in the uk so we get alot of rain so slug galore, is it viable to use ruth stout method on a entire garden while using organic woodchips for footpath and hay for wonter season to breakdown? I haven't seen anything on the uk being done
I find this very interesting. No actual soil, just deep mulch. Here is what I noticed when stationed in Iceland. There is a lot of black volcanic rock on the island of course. In some areas there are very tiny flowers, not in groups, but scattered here and there. But not everywhere you look. Smaller than your thumb nail. Upon a very close look, I noticed that there is absolutely no soil. None! There is no grass, weeds, nothing as far as the eye can see. These flowers are 10's of feet to 100 yds from each other. I never saw the in groups, just one single flower by itself. If I ever find the picture I took of one....it was almost 30 years ago, I'll mail you a copy. I really don't know where they got packed away lol. Forgot all about it until this video lol. Take care, stay safe!
I believe that I’ve seen crazy stuff in the field on sand dunes and things. That’s mind blowing to me because it’s always moving.
Would you be able to do a video on pros/cons of the different types of plastic mulch please?
Yea absolutely!
Do you have a specific vendor you’re looking at?
Yay awesome!! So far the only places I could find plastic mulch (here in Ontario) were from Lee Valley farms & Doubois Agrinovation
Could you send me a link to their websites and then I’ll specifically do a video on those vendors for you
duboisag.com/ca_en/catalogsearch/result/?q=Bioplus+plastic+mulch
www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/garden/planting/tarps-and-covers/10532-super-red-mulch?item=EC220
Zone 9
Awesome
Powdery Mildew will be compounded over Thyme? I've never seen any Powdery Mildew on Thyme... ;)
LOL play on words 🤣🙄
I use bunny bedding
Pine shavings, bit of hay, bunny poop, any wasted food pellets, oats and sunflower seeds
This mixture when wet or urine soaked Can heat up like a compost pile
Dry its not too hot
You need to let it break down some if using it too thick if a layer
Thinner layers is better to use on plants right away
Also if used right away you need to have the seeds into the soil not the mulch because the mulch will dry out and no nutrien...well theres nutritional content but plants do need the soil for the roots
We did the ribbon test with our soil lol no ribon you can hear it grinding lol
When i upload that video i will link you lol its funny really sandy
Our topsoil layer is a foot thick of darker black soil that leaves a slime on my fingers but still no ribon
I think this layer of topsoil was me adding layers before
We usually did this bed because we have sunchokes in it to dig out
We try not to mix the layers
Pine shaving would be amazing because they are so nice and thin.
Yea please do tag me!
@@GardeningInCanada yes unless they are really thick plants can pop up no problem
Thicker with cardboard great weed barrier
@@GardeningInCanada great I want to learn more about my soil
I still want to get your booklet I didn't check it out yet been busy and forgetful lol
@@GardeningInCanada ok I had time to get the video up and used your channel name to tag you
I'm sharing your clay and sandy soil videos again (to my community tab) to answer a few questions better ;)
Much love xoxox
6a is the zone I live ub
That’s an awesome zone
Biochar, yeast, horse manure,cow manure, fish heads,sheep shit, and chicken shit worm tea
My issue is that I placed supposedly 99% weed free straw around my plants but I am getting weeds coming up with my plants.
They may. Weeds can get through almost anything
I used wheat straw as mulch, now I have wheat growing in the mulch. And weeds.
How many commercials are they going to put in this thing?
Sorry it’s all auto placed but I’ll take a look
@@GardeningInCanada Thanks, it was weird because they popped up where there wasn’t even a yellow place maker dot indicating an ad.
Oh what the heck!
Hi there any interest in reviewing led grow light for indoor plants?Plus I've sent you e-mail please check for it
Got it!