Last year, my brother and I built a 50'x28' back to eden garden. Purchased 2 dump trucks full of organic compost and our tomatoes and peppers were awesome. lol Then we learned about double digging, hugelkultur and keyhole gardening. So... this year, we decided to build 8'x4' beds while incorporating everything we've learned about gardening so far. Since we vermicompost, we had plenty of it (about 3 yards) plus all the compost from last year. So we dug a few 8'x4'x2' deep and double diged the bottom. Then we filled with logs, branches, leaves, chicken manure, shredded paper, food (5 gal buckets full for each box) and added plenty of water ("hugelkultur"). We put a 5 gallon bucket (with holes at the bottom) in the middle of these boxes to be at 1" above the gardening boxes to add food as we would normally do for vermicompost ("keyhole"). We them mixed the better soil (top soil mixed with some clay) that we took out and began to add layers of this soil with compost and vermicompost until we reached the surface. We built these beds 12" above ground with big logs (about 6" in diameter) and then another level with old pallets we had. After we reached the top of the boxes, we got lucky with rain and allowed it to get water. Next day the soil gave in about 1 inch, which we then added it back in vermicompost. We have been transplanting and soon will begin to add wood chips to the top, at least 4-6" high (back to eden gardening). I can't wait to see how everything comes out. So far we have done 3 boxes like these but now even my mother (67y/o) wants to dig more boxes. lol The whole family got involved with the system while having a blast. The kids loved digging since they get dirty and don't need to worry about messing anything up. Our chickens/roosters (and dogs) though we were building a new log house for them to play so we had to put a small fence around the box and then a net above it to keep them away. :-)

A 2 to 4 inch layer of an organic mulch layer over as large an area as possible around plants is one of the single most beneficial things a gardener can provide. -Mulch certainly does prevent the evaporation of water from the soil surface; an essential function at some times of the year, in much of the country. -Mulch can keep the mowers and weedeaters away from the trunks of trees, and from shrub/perennial beds. -It prevents soil splashing, a cause of erosion. -It prevents the surface of the soil from crusting and repelling water. A mulched soil has much improved percolation of water through the surface. Yes, light rainfalls can be captured by the mulch, but that effect is countered by the evaporation prevention. -Mulch buffers soil temperature, perhaps one of the biggest benefits. In cold or hot weather, the soil temperature remains comfortable for the shallow essential roots of trees and other plants AS WELL AS FOR the microorganisms that abound in a protected soil system. -Soil texture is improved as mulch breaks down into smaller particles and become part of the soil. -Mulches have a nutrient value as they decompose, both for the plants and for the beneficial microbes. Those microorganisms are essential for the plants' growth and development, for their very existance. -Mulched plants have more roots, especially where there is that important mulch layer. This is important for plants of all ages. The shallow, non-woody roots are very short lived and need to be replaced constantly. Where do you think that this will occur on a much larger scale? Under mulch. -Mother Nature DOES mulch. In a natural setting the entire first layer of a soil system is the "O" layer (for organic). The only place where the "O" layer exists anymore is in an untouched native woodland or natural area. Mulching with ANY organic substance (bark, wood chips, pine straw, leaves, etc.) is our way of replacing what has been taken away. -Using the farmer analogy is probably not the best, lol. They would mulch if they could, believe me! Wind and water erosion like crazy, soil depletion of nutrients and water, weed invasion, YIKES! Drive by a newly plowed and planted field and see if you don't agree. If it weren't for herbicides...... -Most would agree that a mulched landscape is much more aesthetically pleasing than a parched soil surface. My mulch of choice is a load wood chips delivered to my door by my favorite arborist. Since they are composed of the woody part of an assortment of trees and not the just the bark, they break down much faster than pine bark, but top dressing isn't a big chore.

Just three years ago, where my house and yard is now was just a field of weeds. On my half acre lot, I've mulched with between 500 and 600 bags of leaves from neighbors, ground up, and applied thickly to growing beds, spread regularly and thinly on the lawn. In some of the areas where I wasn't going to pay much attention to for a few years, I put down a thick layer of newspaper before piling on the leaf mulch. In areas where I am actively gardening, I just pile on the leaves each fall and winter(already started collecting leaves this year). I already have absolutely no weed "problem" in my garden areas. Yes, the mulch keeps down almost all of the weeds. Also, some weeds sprout and come through the mulch. The advantage of the mulch is that the soil underneath never is hard, dry, and impossible to remove weeds from. I walked through my garden often that first year in particular, to remove weeds when small and well BEFORE they can ever go to seed. Anything that can grow from any small piece of the subject weed or that included seeds(along borders, etc., I put in a trash can for removal from my property. More benign things go in the compost pile. But they are very easy to pull from well mulched soil, and there just aren't many of them. The casual way I deal with weeding is an indication that just the organic mulch is all I need. I have seen, heard, and experienced horrible things with landscape fabric, and I won't subject myself to that.

My citrus trees in the backyard are mostly new and still very small. The one that is a bit older isn't doing too well, I've documented it here. I did see some weird looking bugs on this tree, but I didn't take a picture. If I see them again I'll post the picture, hopefully someone can tell me if they are beneficial or not. The lizards mostly hang out in the bushes and the wood pile where it's harder for the dogs to find them. Tonight I'll try to dig up a photo of the dogs hunting lizards. I did try fertilizing my trees with some fish emulsion, but the dumb dogs dug it up. I've put wire fencing around all of them now, so I'll have to try it again.