Edible Landscaping With Wood Mulch

 When it comes to gardening, observation and a willingness to keep an open mind are essential. I am discovering I have been laboring, and I mean laboring, under many false assumptions. I just came across a video on You Tube called “Back to Eden”. It demonstrates the benefits of keeping the earth’s “skin” covered while feeding it essential nutrients. I knew this; otherwise I would not be planting cover crops. On the other hand, I have been blind to the benefits of wood chips overall.

I have been using wood chips since I first disturbed the skin of Mother Earth here in the Garden of Nemesis. Except. Except, I believed that wood chips were to be kept off the vegetable garden because they used nitrogen to break down and I didn’t want annual veggies to suffer nitrogen depletion. The rest of the garden is heavily mulched with wood chips. The trees, shrubs and flowers have grown quickly and been very healthy.

 

2011 Crab Apple (Sucker)Tree in Center

I have even planted herbs, strawberries and an occasional vegetable plant in the wood chips. We harvested seventeen gallons of strawberries off our little patch this year. Still, it never occurred to me that the mineral-rich, loose loam would be beneficial all over. Why wait for a cover crop to grow when the simple way would be to keep the ground covered at all times? Duh.

 

2013 Strawberries

When I saw this film, I realized why the crab apple tree sucker I dug from my neighbor’s yard from a tree that always flowered yet never bore fruit, was heavily laden with apples its third year in my wood chips! Literally everything planted in wood chips has flourished. There was a multitude of evidence right in my face that I chose to ignore. The Mother will teach us if we simply look. 

Lettuce in Growing in Wood Chips

 I have plans. The wood chipped space where I park my car has grown six inches higher than the cement pad right next to it. In the spring, I will move that wonderful richness to the vegetable garden. After I plant, I’ll apply newer chips between the rows for weed control and to enrich the soil. Yes, wood chips do use nitrogen to break down, but not after the first several months. That’s why hugelkultur works so well. 

Russian Sage in Wood Chips

I will not leave one square inch uncovered from here on out. I’ll use my leftover rye seed for bare spots in the grass. No more tilling. I also will begin to bury kitchen scraps directly into the garden and by-pass the compost all together. I’ll just pull back the chips, add the refuse, and cover it back up. I vow to allow more “volunteers” to grow and evolve where they wish. It may be that after a few years not only will cultivation become unnecessary, but possibly even most of the planting.

2013 Crab Apple (tied to post)

 I’ll continue to plant more herbs and vegetables among my flowers, where wood chips have been building fertile soil for over a decade. I’ll let more plants go to seed in place. The wood chips can support close plantings, so I intend to take advantage of that fact and squeeze in lovely carrots and fennel and lettuce and kale amongst the flowers. As I shed my preconceived ideas, I’m beginning to understand that gardening can be nearly labor-free.