Misc/Chat Pics of my start of a "Back to Eden" garden
- Thread starter changed
- Start date
changed
Preferred pronouns: dude/bro
Score! I was driving to another town and saw a yard sale. There were three pieces of equipment and one of them was a chipper! I couldn't turn around fast enough. I went there and they only wanted $50. Said it ran good. They also had a tiller which they were asking a lot more for, but after watching Back to Eden, I knew I didn't need one. It is light and portable so I will just pull it up to each tree and shred the branches around them.
The Back to Eden garden is on baby!!!
The Back to Eden garden is on baby!!!
Attachments
changed
Preferred pronouns: dude/bro
Definately an answer to a prayerMy Christmas present this year was a chipper, I'm really looking forward to putting it to use.
Where did you get yours?
duchess47
Has No Life - Lives on TB
I got mine at Lowes.
It was your pictures on your back to Eden gardening that inspired me to request a chipper for Christmas. I love the idea but know I am too anal to deal with branches, etc. laying around. I sent trailer loads to the landfill this past summer and decided I could chip them all and keep them here, around trees and in the gardens in the future.
It was your pictures on your back to Eden gardening that inspired me to request a chipper for Christmas. I love the idea but know I am too anal to deal with branches, etc. laying around. I sent trailer loads to the landfill this past summer and decided I could chip them all and keep them here, around trees and in the gardens in the future.
Last edited:
Very interesting thread. Thank you changed!
I noticed you posted a pic of a chestnut tree. I know from a friend's experience that these can get quite big. I hope you planted it somewhere where it will not shade anything else.
I was also wondering if you have looked into companion planting and with your new format for composting if you have taken soil acidity levels into account as to what you put down near particular plants.
Such as blueberries require high acidity soil so I usually compost things like coffee grounds near my blueberries.
Just a thought to add to the discussion.
Great job!
I noticed you posted a pic of a chestnut tree. I know from a friend's experience that these can get quite big. I hope you planted it somewhere where it will not shade anything else.
I was also wondering if you have looked into companion planting and with your new format for composting if you have taken soil acidity levels into account as to what you put down near particular plants.
Such as blueberries require high acidity soil so I usually compost things like coffee grounds near my blueberries.
Just a thought to add to the discussion.
Great job!
changed
Preferred pronouns: dude/bro
Emily, when I first planted the trees, I planted some red clover around the base to add nitrogen. In the future, I would like to plant grape and raspberry next to the trees and use the trees as a natural trellis or support. I planted the asian chestnut on the west side of the property and hope that it will provide shade on the house in the late summer afternoons. Regarding the blueberries, I think Georgia clay soils are naturally acidic.
big kumara
meh
Trees should never be used as a support or trellis for anything. It will damage and weaken the tree.
Fruit trees, vines and brambles have very different cultural needs and should not be grown together as you described. They are not "companion plants". Fruit trees, grapes and raspberries all need full sun and proper pruning to produce usable fruit. Allowing a grape vine to grow into a tree will result in greatly reduced vigor and fruit for both tree and vine due to shading and competition for water and nutrients. Plant the grapes away from the tree and build a support for it. Google "pruning and training grapes" for ideas. Raspberries and other brambles produce long canes and suckers rather than vines, so a tree wouldn't work anyway. Google "pruning and training raspberries". While you're at it, google "pruning fruit and nut trees".
changed
Preferred pronouns: dude/bro
Thanks for the advice Big K. The problem down here in Georgia is full sun. If you look at my raised bed strawberies above, it used to be totally covered in the spring, but then all the top growth dies off in midsummer during the extreme heat. Then they have to grow back.
Sherrynboo
Veteran Member
What a find Changed! Looks like a typical lawn mower engine to me but I don't know about 2 or 4 strokes as I am engine illiterate I have gone through about 1/2 of my 2 loads of chips so far. Need to get back on it.
Sherry in GA
I have gone through about 1/2 of my 2 loads of chips so far. Need to get back on it.Sherry in GA
big kumara
meh
The problem with your strawberries is, well, they're strawberries, which are not well-suited to growing in the south. You have to choose the right varieties for your area and even then you're likely to have problems. What you see in catalogs or local box stores may not be right for you. Check with local extension agent to find out which varieties are recommended for your part of the state.
Another problem may be the raised bed itself. The soil in raised beds ends to be hotter and drier than non-elevated beds, depending on high the bed is. Temperature's easy enough to check with a soil thermometer (I use a meat themometer myself).
changed
Preferred pronouns: dude/bro
I used the wood chipper today and it started right up. I went around to all of the trees and chipped the branches arranged around the bases. What I found out was that it takes a lot of branches to make a little pile of wood chip mulch. Overall, I am happy with the outcome though.
energy_wave
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Save all your yard waste then rent one of these babies for the day. Mulch works better and it breaks down faster to feed the soil.
http://www.troybilt.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_10001_14102_13807_54996_-1
http://www.troybilt.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_10001_14102_13807_54996_-1
changed
Preferred pronouns: dude/bro
I have come to the conclusion that if you want to start a Back to Eden garden, you have to have wood chips delivered from a tree service company. Chipping the branches from your yard is not going to produce enough wood chips to cover your whole garden. Once your Back to Eden garden is started, then, a wood chipper and branches from your yard may be enough to maintain it.
SarahLynn
Veteran Member
Well I've been faithfully doing the leaf/coffee grounds/household veggie scraps thing in the side yard, but what with temperatures now consistently hovering around the minus 2 nighttime to plus 8 daytime degree mark, it's become a ginormous refrigerator/freezer out there, and there does not seem to be much composting going on. Things look as preserved and recognizable as the day I first set them out a month ago! LOL!
But I'm sure the wee bacterial critters and happy little earthworms will resume doing their thing in the spring. I just hope the neighbours, whose patio is directly three feet away on the other side of my fence, aren't too put off by the recent "additions" to my side yard.
But I'm sure the wee bacterial critters and happy little earthworms will resume doing their thing in the spring. I just hope the neighbours, whose patio is directly three feet away on the other side of my fence, aren't too put off by the recent "additions" to my side yard.
SarahLynn
Veteran Member
I think so too. Funny, I was out for a walk the other day and passed a front lawn which had a recently chipped tree-all that was left was the stump and about half a wheelbarrow full of nice wood chips. I caught myself actually wondering if I should scoop some as I was walking by, then jolted myself back to reality when I realized how loony that would look on a busy main street!
This Back to Eden thing is affecting my good judgement
changed
Preferred pronouns: dude/bro
SL, can you cover it with grass clippings?
SarahLynn
Veteran Member
No, I wish I could. We stopped mowing the lawn in the second last week of October. There was a light dusting of snow, which has since long melted. I'm trying to turn it over with a pitchfork every week or so but it's already HEAVY. I think by spring it will probably have compacted quite abit and then I should be able to start adding grass clippings, right?
Changed, I used to have a neighbor who chipped everything. He had a setup that worked great for him, but maybe not so much for you.
In his back yard, in an area that was fenced, he constructed a 3 sided shed type contraption in the corner of his fence line. (2 sides were against his fence and 1 side was freestanding, and roof slanted to the back). The front was open and that is where his chipper stayed. The chipper would blow everything against the back wall and fall down. When he would get a big pile or if he needed the chipped material, it was there for him.
If I had to guess, his chipper shed was approx 10'x12' and 6' high in the back x 7' high in the front.
Wish i could take a picture, but this guy moved and the new owner tore it down.
I could be way off on the dimensions. Going by memory and I have been known to have a few "Senior Moments" from time to time.
Just a thought
In his back yard, in an area that was fenced, he constructed a 3 sided shed type contraption in the corner of his fence line. (2 sides were against his fence and 1 side was freestanding, and roof slanted to the back). The front was open and that is where his chipper stayed. The chipper would blow everything against the back wall and fall down. When he would get a big pile or if he needed the chipped material, it was there for him.
If I had to guess, his chipper shed was approx 10'x12' and 6' high in the back x 7' high in the front.
Wish i could take a picture, but this guy moved and the new owner tore it down.
I could be way off on the dimensions. Going by memory and I have been known to have a few "Senior Moments" from time to time.
Just a thought
A bag substitute can be burlap bags. I picked up some at a feed store a few years back as extras for my chipper. I just held them on with nylon twine, they were about 1/2 the size of the original bag. I moved the chipper around to the areas on the property where needed. The additional bags meant less stops to go empty them in the garden.
BadMedicine
Would *I* Lie???
Im recommending to everyone interested in this to go to google.com right now and look up tree-removal services in your area. I did this and have had 2 loads of about 4 cubic yards each dumped in my yard in about 2 weeks. They said they'll keep it coming (from the power company, trees near phone lines) and I have another company who will bring it to me when they have it, until I say stop.
In the spring I will call all the local yard-boys who do landscaping and mowing and tell them to bringthe grass here for free dumping, or advertise on craigslist and freecycle that I want it and will drive to get it. The grass is the cheapest easiest greens to get for your back to eden garden. I think it would be very hard to start this type of intensive garden based on jsut your food scraps/ yard waste from less than many acres, and actively harvesting wood/waste for this purpose. Sure, mulch and compost help, but if you want to MAKE SOIL and inches/ feet of it, you're going to need a lot to start with.. and these companies will give it FREE. Most of them will deliver. I've got about 30'x 60' almost a foot deep of mostly wood and leaf/needle clippings... still going to need grass in the spring...And like the guy on the video says, I only used a rake to spread it about. Might take a year or two until it's soil, but thats FIRST run soil, and will be rich for years.
Hit the yellowpages or google. All the yard/lanscaping services and tree-removal/grooming will have endless stuff that they may pay to dump, particularly if you're in a city! FREE FREE FREE.... The chipper is awesome... but I'm hoping to continue to have it chipped and delivered
In the spring I will call all the local yard-boys who do landscaping and mowing and tell them to bringthe grass here for free dumping, or advertise on craigslist and freecycle that I want it and will drive to get it. The grass is the cheapest easiest greens to get for your back to eden garden. I think it would be very hard to start this type of intensive garden based on jsut your food scraps/ yard waste from less than many acres, and actively harvesting wood/waste for this purpose. Sure, mulch and compost help, but if you want to MAKE SOIL and inches/ feet of it, you're going to need a lot to start with.. and these companies will give it FREE. Most of them will deliver. I've got about 30'x 60' almost a foot deep of mostly wood and leaf/needle clippings... still going to need grass in the spring...And like the guy on the video says, I only used a rake to spread it about. Might take a year or two until it's soil, but thats FIRST run soil, and will be rich for years.
Hit the yellowpages or google. All the yard/lanscaping services and tree-removal/grooming will have endless stuff that they may pay to dump, particularly if you're in a city! FREE FREE FREE.... The chipper is awesome... but I'm hoping to continue to have it chipped and delivered
changed
Preferred pronouns: dude/bro
Took some stuff to the dump today with my cousin's pickup and while I was being weighed I asked them if they had mulch and if it was free. Yes to both questions. I unloaded the crap, got weighed again and went back and loaded up with wood chips. Got two full loads. This spring we had some bad storms that downed an incredible amount of trees. At the landfill, there were two huge mountains of wood chips. I covered the garden and plan on going back to get wood chips for the trees and bushes. Score!
bev
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Whatcha got growing there, Changed? Looking good!
Great score on the chipper and mulch.
BadMedicine, I've called ALL our tree services and only one was willing to deliver to our very remote area. He's going to charge us $75/load because of the distance. Hope to have it next week.
Great score on the chipper and mulch.
BadMedicine, I've called ALL our tree services and only one was willing to deliver to our very remote area. He's going to charge us $75/load because of the distance. Hope to have it next week.
Zahra
Veteran Member
changed you're the reason I decided to become a forum member-- I was dying to see how your project was coming along and wanted to be able to see the pictures. I'm so inspired now that I'm going to start planning where to start an area myself and then call some tree services to see if I can get chips. Your garden project is just awesome!
I get several truck loads of wood chips every year.
IMO you will need more around your trees or the weeds will grow through your weak spots.
I use wood chips for weed control / the need for less watering / and to improve the soil.
5 to 6" of wood chips will stop 70 to 95% of your weeds but that still means that 5 to 30% will come through. Just depends on your particular weed problem. I have some johnson grass that I've seen grow up through my wood chip piles that were 4 foot high.
I watched the garden of eden video and he does it better than me and I was inspired by it - but I've done a lot - and while I've seen years where my rainfall can take care of my watering - I've seen years where it won't. This year with 6 inches of wood chips without watering my plants would have been dead within 2 weeks. 110 degrees and no rain will kill any garden.
Our city has a spot where they drop off the wood chips during the winter also check out the Christmas tree recycling right after Christmas.
IMO you will need more around your trees or the weeds will grow through your weak spots.
I use wood chips for weed control / the need for less watering / and to improve the soil.
5 to 6" of wood chips will stop 70 to 95% of your weeds but that still means that 5 to 30% will come through. Just depends on your particular weed problem. I have some johnson grass that I've seen grow up through my wood chip piles that were 4 foot high.
I watched the garden of eden video and he does it better than me and I was inspired by it - but I've done a lot - and while I've seen years where my rainfall can take care of my watering - I've seen years where it won't. This year with 6 inches of wood chips without watering my plants would have been dead within 2 weeks. 110 degrees and no rain will kill any garden.
Our city has a spot where they drop off the wood chips during the winter also check out the Christmas tree recycling right after Christmas.
changed
Preferred pronouns: dude/bro
Today I chipped a bunch of branches and put a bunch of wood chips around the trees and grape vines. should be good to go for spring.
Sherrynboo
Veteran Member
Bad Medicine, I don't know about in your area but in mine, I wouldn't use clippings from the lawn services. Too many of the customers want their lawns to look like a golf course and use tons of chemicals to to so. I see the little signs in the yards after the chemicals have been applied. I am not going to use that in my garden. Lucky for me, we have a large enough area to keep mowed every year so I have all the clean grass clippings I need. I will use leaves that are picked up, just not the grass clippings.
Sherry in GA
Sherry in GA
