Tomatoville® Gardening Forums - View Single Post

Hensaplenty · December 22, 2018

I agree, biscuitridge. I do no till (although I do have two raised beds that came with the house) and the idea of layering your compost on top and repeat layering when it breaks down, creates beautiful soil over time. Earthworms are also plentiful. It greatly reduces the number of weeds, and soils don't compact. The breakdown of the compost creates compost tea on it's own. I use wood chips from a tree cutter, but have used leaf litter, rabbit and chicken compost, garden compost in combination with the chips. It has a great combo of leaves and branches and is a pretty good balance of "green" and "brown." When planting seed, I pull back the top layer of wood chips until I hit soil. I plant the seeds in the soil and wait for the seedlings to get several inches high and then push the chips back around the plant. For started plants like peppers and tomatoes, I use a spade to create my hole and place the plant in. No need to push the chips away for larger plants. This method greatly reduces the amount of watering I do also.
I live in a humid, high rain area, so my chips do break down rather quickly.
Finding wood chips can be challenging. Much harder here than my previous location. I'm starting over here so we'll see how it goes. I am currently building the larger garden, and first put down paper over the grass and am spreading 3-4 inches of wood chips over the paper. The grass will become compost over the next several months. The soil does get much better with time. Big thing to remember is do NOT mix the wood chips with the soil Just keep layering as needed.

Here are my pros with no till:
Increasingly better rich soil over time
Low weeds/what weeds you do get pull up MUCH more easily
Low watering needs
Even with lots of rain, the wood chips seem to absorb excess rain
Soil doesn't compact

Here are my cons:
Excess earthworms attract moles. I just find the tunnels annoying.
The chips also attract pill bugs that help break down the chips which is good, but they also damage seedlings which is why you need to push the chips away from seeds until seedling are several inches high.

That's been my experience. :-)

December 22, 2018	#5
Hensaplenty Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2016 Location: Greenville, SC Posts: 120	I agree, biscuitridge. I do no till (although I do have two raised beds that came with the house) and the idea of layering your compost on top and repeat layering when it breaks down, creates beautiful soil over time. Earthworms are also plentiful. It greatly reduces the number of weeds, and soils don't compact. The breakdown of the compost creates compost tea on it's own. I use wood chips from a tree cutter, but have used leaf litter, rabbit and chicken compost, garden compost in combination with the chips. It has a great combo of leaves and branches and is a pretty good balance of "green" and "brown." When planting seed, I pull back the top layer of wood chips until I hit soil. I plant the seeds in the soil and wait for the seedlings to get several inches high and then push the chips back around the plant. For started plants like peppers and tomatoes, I use a spade to create my hole and place the plant in. No need to push the chips away for larger plants. This method greatly reduces the amount of watering I do also. I live in a humid, high rain area, so my chips do break down rather quickly. Finding wood chips can be challenging. Much harder here than my previous location. I'm starting over here so we'll see how it goes. I am currently building the larger garden, and first put down paper over the grass and am spreading 3-4 inches of wood chips over the paper. The grass will become compost over the next several months. The soil does get much better with time. Big thing to remember is do NOT mix the wood chips with the soil Just keep layering as needed. Here are my pros with no till: Increasingly better rich soil over time Low weeds/what weeds you do get pull up MUCH more easily Low watering needs Even with lots of rain, the wood chips seem to absorb excess rain Soil doesn't compact Here are my cons: Excess earthworms attract moles. I just find the tunnels annoying. The chips also attract pill bugs that help break down the chips which is good, but they also damage seedlings which is why you need to push the chips away from seeds until seedling are several inches high. That's been my experience. :-)