Wood Mulch

I've been turning my front yard into a garden.

five fig trees on the hill.

then I have two raised beds that are 40-feet long x 4-feet wide

then I have ten fruit trees planted

I have one larger bed that is 40-feet long x 8-feet wide

Then I have four fruit trees planted

I have my largest area that is 40-feet long x 25-feet wide

And the remaining 40-feet of my yard isn't used yet.


I HATE mowing. So I had a tree company dump off three 14-foot dump trucks full of wood mulch.
I'm laying down cardboard and throwing 6-8" of wood mulch on top of that (to kill the grass)

The only thing I've done with the gardens so far is clean up the stuff from last season.


So did I make a big mistake chunking down wood mulch on the yard (approx. 40-feet x 100-feet)

I really hate mowing. My plan was to add in companion plants like comfrey and etc., along with those trees.

then the gardens will have the usual suspects (tomatoes, peas, potatoes, peppers, etc). So nothing too fancy.

I would say - No, you haven't made a mistake.

Take a look at this video:

Back to Eden

A few caveats -

I've mulched areas like this and had slug problems.

In the video he talks about using wood chips, but is also using chicken bedding/compost/manure for fertility

In the first 12 months after spreading I have had nitrogen deficiency issues in some plants (some of the chips were turned into the soil by accident while dealing with a bindweed root infestation)

Some plants do really well on wood chips, some less so... my strawberry plants have been great this year having never previously had any joy with them, fruit trees and comfrey do well, slug delicate plants have struggled (beans, peas etc...).

Probably many of these issues would be resolved by adding chickens into our mix, which is planned for next year.

No but every one that don't think permaculture will think so.
which will be 99% of everyone
don't worry about it just have a great garden
you will need some manure to go along with it if you can get some.
maybe someone that has done this and been successful can chime in.

thanks for the feedback.

I'm trying to get all my prep ready for the new season. I'm feeling pretty stoked. Last season we used seeds from home dopey, seeds from the local farm supply, and starter plants from the local farmer's market (probably all GMO). So I'm nosing around for non-GMO favorites. So far not sure who to buy from. An asian friend gave me some giant okra that his family brought with him from vietnam. And we've purchased from Johnny's Seeds before, and were happy with those guys. Any advice, this is my third go at a garden. So I'm still a newbie.

Michael Young wrote: So far not sure who to buy from.

http://www.rareseeds.com/store/ I have not tried them yet, but was impressed by their selection and ease of use website.

http://www.seedsavers.org/onlinestore/ Very good folks to do business and great website.