MULCH MADNESS (WITH VIDEO AND WENDELL BEAR-Y CAMEO)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Joto-KjD3qMWe have a lot of goals on our farm, but getting the dang blueberries mulched has been prime among them. We’ve been working and failing to get free wood chips these last few months—I’ve left notes on tree trimmers, called everyone, chased down trucks with chips, everything—and we’ve finally had to face the reality that, well, we’re just going to have to buy some.But that’s fine. We haven’t really invested in our blueberries beyond purchasing and planting them, and they have still kindly managed to hang in there. They deserve some love, and we know we won’t regret it. Plus we had extra for the paths.So we bit the bullet and I contacted our compost supplier (LINK) to ask what they had available. Then arrived the heaviest fifteen yards of wood chips I’ve ever seen. Generally the rule is that 2 yards of compost or mulch equal one ton. I’m not convinced this was less than 1.5 tons per two yards. Anyhow, that truck looked like it was going to tip and the driver said as much. So I was thrilled—the farm was about to get a huge dose of organic material. The driver, well, he was a little freaked out about our driveway.Anyway, this week we got to it. We mulched the blueberries and then began on mulching our garden paths. This latter activity represents the future of our no-till garden as we transition to an entirely no-till system. The paths will stay covered (and fungi’d, which I talk about a little in the video) and the beds will likewise stay covered year round with not wood chips but compost or vegetation. It may—nay, will—take us a couple years to achieve this consistently, but this load (and probably one more) will definitely help get us there.- Jesse

TURNING YOUR GARDEN PATHS INTO FOOD (VIDEO).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkTyv-iAJFYIn the middle of the above video I have a realization that I don’t fully process until later when I’m editing and that is: our garden paths take up one third of our growing space.That’s crazy.I mean, I knew it was a lot but I’d never put a number to it. So that furthered my feeling that adding value to your garden paths isn’t just an issue of income, but one of ecology and proper stewardship—one third of my entire garden is compacted dirt!Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this video and let me know if you have any questions, ideas, or comments—I’m all ears... and 1/3 pathways. Sheesh.- Jesse