To understand permaculture is simply to look at how nature has been growing things for thousands of years. The 'secret' is simply to keep the soil covered with plants or mulch.
John Elliott wrote:It depends a lot on your climate. Here in the South where the ground never freezes, wood chips break down quickly and are gone in a couple of years. Even the big pieces of wood quickly decompose and you have to add more biomass on the pile.
I know some of the PR about hugelkultur would lead you to think that once you bury lots of big pieces of wood, you don't have to do anything for a long time. Just reap bountiful harvest after bountiful harvest. Maybe that can be true in cold climates where decomposition only occurs a few months of the year, but in a wet, sub-tropical climate that isn't the case. For my spring planting, I am building up the hugels I built last year with more wood chips. I'm willing to do it because the results are worth it -- all that buried wood, no matter what form it is in, is supplying nutrients without me having to add chemical fertilizers.
To understand permaculture is simply to look at how nature has been growing things for thousands of years. The 'secret' is simply to keep the soil covered with plants or mulch.
I wonder if a combination of wood chunks AND chips wouldn't offer the best short and long term effects?
My project thread
Agriculture collects solar energy two-dimensionally; but silviculture collects it three dimensionally.
To understand permaculture is simply to look at how nature has been growing things for thousands of years. The 'secret' is simply to keep the soil covered with plants or mulch.
To understand permaculture is simply to look at how nature has been growing things for thousands of years. The 'secret' is simply to keep the soil covered with plants or mulch.
My project thread
Agriculture collects solar energy two-dimensionally; but silviculture collects it three dimensionally.
Cj Verde wrote:Personally, I think the wood chips would've gone to better use on top as mulch, though you can always add that.
The main thing that strikes me in that photo is that the bed is in the shade. FYI, parsley is shade tolerant.
If you plant the parsley & it does fine and everything else looks bad, you'll know it didn't get enough light.
To understand permaculture is simply to look at how nature has been growing things for thousands of years. The 'secret' is simply to keep the soil covered with plants or mulch.
Michael Vormwald wrote:
Unless/until I completely commit to no till, I'd never use wood chips in the garden as mulch.
My project thread
Agriculture collects solar energy two-dimensionally; but silviculture collects it three dimensionally.
Cj Verde wrote:
Michael Vormwald wrote:
Unless/until I completely commit to no till, I'd never use wood chips in the garden as mulch.
Why is that? Because you'll eventually till?
Do you intend to use any mulch?
To understand permaculture is simply to look at how nature has been growing things for thousands of years. The 'secret' is simply to keep the soil covered with plants or mulch.
To understand permaculture is simply to look at how nature has been growing things for thousands of years. The 'secret' is simply to keep the soil covered with plants or mulch.
My project thread
Agriculture collects solar energy two-dimensionally; but silviculture collects it three dimensionally.
Cj Verde wrote:Michael, I don't mean to be negative but... onion & beans are antagonists. Add in a heavy dose of shade & a new HK & things look dicey.
Still time to move the onions or switch to a different veggie if you haven't planted the beans...
See List_of_companion_plants for some ideas.
To understand permaculture is simply to look at how nature has been growing things for thousands of years. The 'secret' is simply to keep the soil covered with plants or mulch.
Michael Vormwald wrote:In the very companion list you linked, onions and pole beans are not antagonists....matter of fact, onions are listed to help beans.
My project thread
Agriculture collects solar energy two-dimensionally; but silviculture collects it three dimensionally.
Michael Vormwald wrote:As I explained...."Unless/until I completely commit to no till, I'd never use wood chips in the garden as mulch. The bed is a bit different, but generally, I still tend to grow and till under (power compost) green manures and cover crops with my Troybilt tiller (as we all know, you don't want wood chips mixed into your garden soil)."
Yes I generally mulch with compost, leaves, grass and hay, just not with wood chips....ALTHOUGH a wood chip mulch could be an option in this raised bed.
Cj Verde wrote:
Michael Vormwald wrote:
Unless/until I completely commit to no till, I'd never use wood chips in the garden as mulch.
Why is that? Because you'll eventually till?
Do you intend to use any mulch?
To understand permaculture is simply to look at how nature has been growing things for thousands of years. The 'secret' is simply to keep the soil covered with plants or mulch.
Cris Bessette wrote: My only reservation about wood chips is that as they are breaking down, they pull nitrogen OUT of the soil.
This is true of wood in general, not just in "chip" form.
If you put enough green stuff in at the same time, it should balance out I would think.
To understand permaculture is simply to look at how nature has been growing things for thousands of years. The 'secret' is simply to keep the soil covered with plants or mulch.
To understand permaculture is simply to look at how nature has been growing things for thousands of years. The 'secret' is simply to keep the soil covered with plants or mulch.
Arrendajo Sanchez wrote:I agree with Cris Bessete y use the chips of wood in the corridor between the beds not mixed with it the wood kidnap the N of the soil but in a few years it produces a very stable humus.
try to avoid the woods from the fagaceae Fam. have a lot of tannin, it goes bad for the grows.
Regards from Spain
To understand permaculture is simply to look at how nature has been growing things for thousands of years. The 'secret' is simply to keep the soil covered with plants or mulch.
God of procrastination https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1EoT9sedqY
Arrendajo Sanchez wrote:I agree with Cris Bessete y use the chips of wood in the corridor between the beds not mixed with it the wood kidnap the N of the soil but in a few years it produces a very stable humus.
try to avoid the woods from the fagaceae Fam. have a lot of tannin, it goes bad for the grows.
Regards from Spain
Satamax Antone wrote:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramial_chipped_wood
I haven't looked everywhere in this forum, but i haven't seen talks about this.
My project thread
Agriculture collects solar energy two-dimensionally; but silviculture collects it three dimensionally.
To understand permaculture is simply to look at how nature has been growing things for thousands of years. The 'secret' is simply to keep the soil covered with plants or mulch.
Cj Verde wrote:
Satamax Antone wrote:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramial_chipped_wood
I haven't looked everywhere in this forum, but i haven't seen talks about this.
Several of threads here on this topic. Enter "permies Ramial chipped wood" into a search engine & it will return at least 4 threads.
God of procrastination https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1EoT9sedqY
Satamax Antone wrote:
Cj Verde wrote:
Satamax Antone wrote:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramial_chipped_wood
I haven't looked everywhere in this forum, but i haven't seen talks about this.
Several of threads here on this topic. Enter "permies Ramial chipped wood" into a search engine & it will return at least 4 threads.
Hey CJ, calm down!
Your post feels like you're trying to school me, and it's like i sense a smidge of agression. Well, this is how i revceive it, on the other side of the screen. I said i hadn't seen any reference to that as of yet, at that moment, i did a search straight away after that. I'll put it bluntly, but i'd like you do chill out! I know you want to help. But, keep cool! Ney bother beig man! Easy peasy! There's no need to hurry, or need for taking life too seriously!
To understand permaculture is simply to look at how nature has been growing things for thousands of years. The 'secret' is simply to keep the soil covered with plants or mulch.
Michael Vormwald wrote:It merely looked like a helpful search string for more information to me!
My project thread
Agriculture collects solar energy two-dimensionally; but silviculture collects it three dimensionally.
Cj Verde wrote:
Michael Vormwald wrote:It merely looked like a helpful search string for more information to me!
Yeah, it seemed innocuous to me & there was no hostile sub-context. All I can say is that I spent half my life in New York so sometimes people (particularly Vermonters) think I'm less than friendly. I'm quite adept at conveying hostility, but on this site I try to follow the "be nice" rule.
To understand permaculture is simply to look at how nature has been growing things for thousands of years. The 'secret' is simply to keep the soil covered with plants or mulch.
Cj Verde wrote:
Michael Vormwald wrote:It merely looked like a helpful search string for more information to me!
Yeah, it seemed innocuous to me & there was no hostile sub-context. All I can say is that I spent half my life in New York so sometimes people (particularly Vermonters) think I'm less than friendly. I'm quite adept at conveying hostility, but on this site I try to follow the "be nice" rule.
God of procrastination https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1EoT9sedqY
My project thread
Agriculture collects solar energy two-dimensionally; but silviculture collects it three dimensionally.
My project thread
Agriculture collects solar energy two-dimensionally; but silviculture collects it three dimensionally.
Anything worth doing well is worth doing poorly first. Just look at this tiny ad:
A rocket mass heater is the most sustainable way to heat a conventional home
http://woodheat.net
|