Back to Eden film and Mulching

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mr_yan

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I am watching the Back to Eden documentary film right now and seeing this guy's (Paul Gautschi) extensive use of mulch in veg gardens. The film is hosted on vimeo for free.

Has anyone else watched this film or know about this process?

Has anyone else used a process like this for several years and can report on results?

In a nut shell he uses chipped branches (with leafs on them as you would get from a tree service, not the bagged bark chips from a big box store) and mulching them around the plants. He does not till them into the soil, nor does he till between seasons. He does add a lot of compost before more chips go down. He is in an area of Washington state with about 15 inches of rain a year and does nearly no irrigation.

I have been shredding all my fall leafs and mixing them into my gardens. I have not done too well with mulches over my veg garden though. Last year was really my first attempt and with it I used too small, flat, and flexable of material and it matted together and sealed water out. Last year it was a mix of shredded leafs, sawdust, and strips of newspaper with different combinations in different areas. What was I thinking?
 
I guess from area to area the elements affect the process differently. I have for many, many years used newspaper laid out flat as a weed barrier, covered with mostly grass clippings ( St. Augustine grass) . I do mix leaves and tree service mulch as well as the free mulch given by the county. ( Storms provide a lot of debris that the county must dispose of. Instead of filling the landfill with it the mulch it and give it away). This has worked very well for me in holding in water,building the soil and keeping weeds at bay. I am going to try to find the video you have referred to. I will let you know if I find it.

I also meant to say, I don't till untless it is new space. I do light cultivating maybe once a year.
 
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I have had enough time to watch about 1/2 of the video. Wow! This an awesome video for all gardeners to watch. Thanks for sharing.
 
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