Elisa, the premise of BTE is that tilling destroys the soil structure and bio life. Tilling removes the covering; the soil rapidly dries out and top soil erodes. The "magic" in the wood chips is it is a covering that first retains moisture, and secondly feeds the plants as they decompose. It's why a mulch of smaller nutrient rich branches with needles and leaves is necessary and not just chipped trunks or bark chips only. The fungi that develop in the wood chip mulch help feed the plants. The mulch develops a helper system of organisms and other plant life that assists your fruits and veggies. In turn, your plants feed them. If you till composted organic material into your main garden, I'd suggest another experiment. Set aside a small section of your MG (maybe as small as 5x10 feet) for no-till. Still don't use wood chips, but layer your organics on the top (composted manure, yard waste, etc). Paul is very specific that if you don't have wood chips, just use whatever organic materials you have. (You can even use rocks) The most important part is to create a covering and not mix it in. Layer on top. When I tilled, I had virtually no earthworm population. Now, by not tilling, I can't dig a 4 " planting hole anywhere without killing several earthworms. And my soil (mostly red clay) is always damp and soft I destroyed a small tiller in two seasons trying to break up the clay. I then rented bigger tillers that beat me up for 6-8 hours trying to a 12x40 garden in which one half barely produced b/c of the rock hard clay. And it was back just as hard in the fall as it was in the spring. So it wasn't getting easier with time. Now with the wood chips, that area stays moist and soft. Everything grows there and I save the expense of renting, tilling, and fighting the soil every season. The fact that you got 25% more production is huge. You can get that in your MG using BTE principles but without adding wood chips. Paul no longer adds wood chips to his main garden b/c of his difficulty in walking. He uses them everywhere else. But in his MG he uses compost from his chicken pen as the covering.

Hey Mile. Thanks for thinking of us. That was quite interesting. Hope you ate well buddy. Had to bring in all my plants again. Crazy!

I just started to use it Dirtyguy50. Before people go anywhere, they need to look up the word "ramial". Try the big W! Wikipedia. It is, in the end, a tree branch. The smaller, the better. "Composition of RCWE Because they are the most exposed part of the tree to the light, and the most actively growing, young branches (and young trees) used in RCW are from the richest parts of the trees. They contain 75% of the minerals, amino acids, proteins, phytohormones and biological catalysts (enzymes) found in the tree." The above is from Wiki. I live, in Quebec! I know what they wanted, a use for wasted brush. The rest is an accident of science, or research if you will. I am just using tree leaves, weeds, and small branches , the size if a magic marker, no bigger. Most, are just larger than a pencil. It is the leaves really. Why wait until they fall??? Use them right as they get growing nicely. There are over two hundred trees in the yard I am doing this in. My other garden is fine, this is for the one acre of mostly clay wasteland. More later, but think of micro greens, the food. Rather than the sprouts, we eat the greens. More nutrtion. Most small plants that are edible, have higher nutrtion when they are small. Brocolli sprouts are a good example. Sprouted flour is another. Sprouted tree branch salad??? Works for me! The garden loves it! I really liked the BTE movie. A real down to earth man, and though I am not a religeous man, Jesus people are good people in general. Jesus is ok in my books too. : ) I found it after the fact, not before. I was looking up mulching from Ruth Stout when I found it. BTE is better, it is much cleaner. I barely have an inch down, all cut using a clipper, that is it. I am doing it, so I can kill the grass, and do not have to weed. Things are much more fertile as well. I let weeds grow in my garden. They must be good for something. I only pull the big ones, the others feed the soil anyhow. I get very few, because I plant intensely. So carrots, swiss chard, cukes, dill celery, beets, and more, all in one box. About 20 inches wide, by 6 feet long. I have a few on the go. Salad get's a seperate box, only chives, tall marigold, and dill allowed. Nature's bug fighters. Very easy to weed. Just lace the thing with lettuce seeds. The main garden is art! It is an old burned out barn. The old rock foundation remains. I dug most of it out last year. More later, but that garden has always been super rich, and has wood at least two feet deep, still rotting away. Everything grows nice! Except, I got a big tree beside it that should be cut. When it rains, it decimates the plants below it. I am just going to change the crops. I have pet worms. In a worm coop. lol I hate chickens! They stink. Plenty of birds, so why do I need chickens??? The trick is easy. Walk up to tree. No conifers, well, not too many. They do not rot fast enough. I use Manitoba maples a lot. Take pruning clippers, clip. Go to garden. Cut leaves off. Then clip branch. Four square feet takes about an hour and two cups of coffee, and a relaxing chair. Jobs done!!! It took about thre weeks to get those white tree eating worms, and about four weeks to get my first mushroom. It is a mess, but I am sure it will work. Can I post pictures on here? I will show you what I am doing so far. Nice to mett all you gardeners out there!!! P.S. I am a true research man. I really research and then decide. BTE, or wood chips, aka branches, I will call them that, will work. Enough data on it to fill one google cloud!!!

Hit submit accidentally. I do have communion with Him in the garden and the flow of awareness and knowledge is very strong.Smoking some God given herb also can magnify the experience and calm the mind to hear His voice.My idea of Eden is all native plants growing where they were meant to grow,feeding and nurishing all the native wildlife they were intended to.This is the perfect rain forest, whether in the Midwest or Southeast, it's the perfect rainforest.Man has made a mess of the natural order of things.Tried to recreate the world in his image.If you were to visit a tropical rainforest you wouldn't want to see it filled with a bunch of alien species from other parts of the world.You would want it to be pristine,untouched, the way God intended.So why not take the same approach to our own yards.You will have a clean heart which will make you more open to hearing His voice.His life flows through all living things and you can feel it also inside all the beautiful plants if you really desire to.The insects,the birds,all this life in the garden connected,wow, how amazing!