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I've been pulling weeds in my Back to Eden, and have found that my weeds are re-rooting in the wood chips when i put them in the middle (10 year old red mulch with some small stuff mixed in). Why is this?

black thumb
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2 Answers2

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Old mulch plus grass clippings = compost / soil.

Every self-respecting weed will try and probably succeed in re-rooting in this. Especially if it lands in a good position and there is enough humidity available.

Note that weeds are typically plants that are vigorous, quick-rooting and adapted to even less favorable surroundings. We pull weeds because they can out-compete the desired plants in our garden beds.

If you want to eliminate the weeds, either let them dry out before leaving them to decompose (essentially making hay) or do a “hot” compost. Especially if you have weeds that will grow back from root fragments or so. And never let the weeds go to seed...

Stephie
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Plants want to survive. They will do all they possibly are able to survive. 10 year old 'red' mulch must be cedar? If you dump weeds too thinly in the compost pile or on wood chips they will try to survive. If there is enough moisture they might find a way.

Back to Eden, what does this mean to you? What are you doing that makes you a Back to Eden member? Are you thinking that whatever you are doing is making super plants? Hardier plants? Better harvests? Does Back to Eden accept fertilizer or not? Tilling to make plant beds?

I just called a very well known gardener on the 'carpet'...he says he does no till and no fertilizer. Insisted this was true. I was insistent he was fibbing. Then...he told me he uses this Dynamic 500 or some similar name that is FERTILIZER and he applies it twice per year. Now we have the truth. There is no way he could harvest the amount of stuff he harvests as he is mining the chemistry every single harvest, without adding more fertilizer. And although I didn't rub it in, I was right. What is this Back to Eden in your thinking? Is it a similar philosophy?

stormy
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  • i suggest you watch the back to eden video. all i added to the garden for fertilizer was wood chips and grass clippings underneath – black thumb Jun 03 '18 at 06:34
  • i was thinking all he did to fertilize the garden was mycelium, and wood chips in conjunction with plant roots. – black thumb Jun 03 '18 at 06:36
  • I don't think we are talking about the same guy, in the UK. Very beloved. Beautiful garden, totally gorgeous, no weeds, no mishmash of plants and he was telling everyone his garden was NO till, No fertilizer. Wood chips USE up Nitrogen while being decomposed. There is nothing else that decomposed wood chips offer for chemistry plants need to do photosynthesis. NONE. Decomposers (including fungi, bacteria, some insects) need nitrogen for energy. That is all they 'eat'. Wood chips have NONE of the chemicals plants need for photosynthesis. Fungi do not supply any noteworthy chemistry. – stormy Jun 03 '18 at 06:54
  • The guy from Washington: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rPPUmStKQ4 – black thumb Jun 03 '18 at 06:56
  • There is no magic growing plants. It all makes total sense. That is why when these 'trends' or fads come around one that understands the basics can see that the purported physics, chemistry...benefits of said fad are wrong. If plants would just quit being so dog gone good at surviving! We would learn faster. Mycelium and wood chips have absolutely NONE of the chemistry plants HAVE to have to make their own food...and food for us. I think we gardeners should refamiliarize ourselves with the photosynthetic cycle. Gardens are NOT natural, everything we humans touch is artificial. – stormy Jun 03 '18 at 07:02
  • Ray Archuletta, Joel Salitin, and Gabe Brown have a lot of good into how plants work together, and this is kind of how plants work together also. – black thumb Jun 03 '18 at 07:07
  • Black Thumb! This is religious, not scientific. Not at all. Black soil and black compost is simply organic matter infused in the top soil horizon. Wood chips and mycelium in no way 'caused' this garden. No way is he not using fertilizer. Some composts such as manures have a bit of nitrogen, okay? That nitrogen ensures that manure gets decomposed. Decomposed organic matter is what the micro and macro soil organisms HAVE to have for energy, for food. They certainly help FRUFF up the soil, and keep the soil's tilth yummy but that is NOT fertilizer. If God can make our gardens...grins! – stormy Jun 03 '18 at 07:10
  • There is no magic in growing plants. There are reasons for every little thing. Reasons we actually understand. The basics work just fine and are totally the closest we can come to NATURAL. We use nature as a template. No tilling, no fertilizer, prayer do not make a garden 'better'...easier, automatically regenerating. This is making me a bit nuts. Sorry. – stormy Jun 03 '18 at 07:20
  • Black Thumb I just watched a few other videos on Back to Eden and I have to tell you this is nuts. I had no idea how entrenched these fads were becoming. Where are the real gardeners debunking this stuff? Gives me a royal headache. I sound so pompous when I say I don't 'follow' anyone. I learned the hard way through actual gardening, taking master gardener courses, getting my other degrees, continually checking my know how...by answering on SE. These guys have no idea what they are talking about. I am sorry. I refused to use wood chips for mulch, find someone else if you want chips! – stormy Jun 03 '18 at 07:28
  • Let's go to chat? – stormy Jun 03 '18 at 07:29
  • I've been using wood chips for mulch for at least two decades. The info about wood chip mulch using nitrogen in the soil is an urban legend and has no basis in science (see Linda Chalker-Scott's excellent information: http://cru.cahe.wsu.edu/CEPublications/FS160E/FS160E.pdf). Wood chips use nitrogen at the soil/mulch interface, which (as noted in the link) is a GOOD thing. I would never mix chips into the soil, however. – Jurp Jun 03 '18 at 14:10
  • For informative reading, see: https://puyallup.wsu.edu/lcs/ – Jurp Jun 03 '18 at 14:17
  • i don't mix them, i top dress/path them – black thumb Jun 03 '18 at 15:51