Using composted wood chips in conjunction with organic container gardening is a win-win for the plants, the environment and you!
I got a Late start with this garden; built it 18 June 2018 and started planting 19 June. I continued planting seeds over the next couple weeks trying to fill voids as I saw them. The seeds planted inside the concrete blocks germinated and grew but there counterparts inside the container/pots really left them in the dust! There is something to the Back to Eden gardening method I believe. It really is Natures way. I have a source for Composted Wood Chips close to me in Haughton LA which sells them for $20 a tractor bucket which is about all you’d want to put in a 1/2 ton pickup truck! Composted wood chips retain water, prevent erosion, won’t blow away or run off like tilled soil does. Composted wood chips fortify existing soil and build new soil when they decompose. Growing in containers provides a way to focus minerals, water and nutrients to the plants within the container but, when the containers are prepared my way, also allow the plants to intermingle with one another and also go outside the container and search the wood chips and native soil for the minerals, water or other nutrients it needs. Using composted wood chips in conjunction with container gardening is a win-win for the plants, the environment and you! Organic non-GMO gardening can be a challenge but a rewarding one! I’m currently dealing with an ant invasion so I set out sugar and borax in a container with small holes so only the ant-size creatures can access it. Another insect problem is crickets which chew off the habanero pepper blooms. I went cricket hunting and believe I may had found and eliminated the offender.
When I originally set up the bed, I failed to water the composted wood chips adequately. I was watering daily, just not enough. I was adding more pots to the bed a couple weeks after starting it and when I dug down through the chips to the top of the soil, I found that the chips were very dry on the bottom! I have now installed a soaker hose and have only used it once to alleviate that problem. The wood chips hold on to so much water, I needed to initially get them hydrated so they could work for me and the plants. Now I occasionally dig down to inspect the bottom layer of chips for moisture content. Don’t trust a moisture meter, they will lead you astray! I stressed my plants badly by taking the advice of a moisture meter. It said my soil was as wet as the birdbath on a Friday afternoon and every plant I had was wilted 48 hours later.
Back To Eden Documentary Film:
More Paul Gautschi Garden Tours and Interviews:
L2Survive Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/L2Survive
Container Gardening with wood chips:
Robbie and Gary Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/robbiehar
Music Credits:
“Arancio” Livio Bartolo https://artlist.io/song/6670/arancio
“Drift” Steve Poloni https://artlist.io/song/6594/drift
“Wishing Star” Instrumental Version Ziv Moran https://artlist.io/song/4828/wishing-star
“Rest These Bones” Adam and Darcie https://artlist.io/song/1181/rest-these-bones
“Summer” Ziv Moran https://artlist.io/song/167/summer
“Running Through Woodland” Message to Bears https://artlist.io/song/5294/running-through-woodland
4 Comments
Good gardeners can keep something year round. Always something to harvest. I’m not that person though…haha, nice work getting everything setup and planted
So,,,,, you should start getting veggies when my plants play out. Ill be over then to pour soda in your sink and get some veggies!
Wish you tons of luck but don't think you will need it.
In addition to the veggies that are growing, it’s made for a very pleasant area to sit and enjoy nature.