Thank you everyone for your comments! In this video, we share that while mulch has many benefits, a cover of living plants is better at improving the soil because plants supply root tissues and root exudates. But as we all have different growing conditions, we need to think through how we can best apply this principle to our circumstances. Several people have asked about competition between plants. In monocultures, plants compete for virtually all the same resources. In contrast, the benefits of growing a carefully crafted mixture of species with different resource requirements and ecological support species (legumes, deep-rooted plants, flowers attracting beneficial insects, etc.) are well-documented. We'll be releasing an evidence-based video on this topic soon. In the meantime, have a look at these two videos: (1) Weeds Improve Soil | Using them is Eco-logical - kzitem.info/news/bejne/rIhsmqadr2erkn4 (2) Improve your Soil Employing Nature's Experts - kzitem.info/news/bejne/w5WJqmiIiISog6w. And at our Handbooks for gardeners and farmers - www.learningfromnature.com.au/handbooks-on-growing-food-ecologically/
@vociferonheraldofthewinter2284
5 ай бұрын
Seven years ago my husband and I bought twenty acres of high desert land and built our house. There were three primary things here. Whitethorn acacia, creosote, and dry, red dirt with no clay in it. Just iron. Down on the low land, there were a few, sad, scraggly mesquite. I began to experiment. I was told we needed mulch and compost. My husband found a source of both for free and over two years he brought in multiple tons of manure and mulch. The rains came and I watched the result carefully. The rains came hard, washed away everything on the top and the dirt remained dry as a bone. The compost that did stay put, dried out and did exactly nothing for two years. I decided we needed a diversity of life. I found multiple seed mixes of grasses and wildflowers. All-in-all, I planted about four hundred pounds over two years of more than three dozen grasses and probably two dozen different wildflowers. To my shock, that WORKED. The seeds spread out, took root where they wanted to, and began to transform the land. The grasses were especially happy and, in one year, I got three lifecycles out of that grass. Each one multiplied the numbers by at least 100. Some species did better than others and some didn't do well at all, but I let nature work it out. To my astonishment, the grass began to out compete the creosote and they began to be pushed back. Mule deer have become regular visitors along with a variety of insects, birds, rodents, and every other lifeform. Palmer's Amaranth appeared out of nowhere and began to populate our lower 1/3rd. We now get actual MUD and temporary shallow ponds in that area when it rains and we have frogs breeding on our land during the monsoon. Amazing. And now we have more mulch and compost than we ever could've imported. The grass dies and there it is. Acres and acres of mulch. But their roots are IN the soil, not piled on top of it. The animals poop, pee, kill, and die on our land and bring compost. They're happy to contribute. We've decided to get serious about this and are digging deep into research. The first goal is to start getting rain INTO the soil up high on the ridge. Now that I see the power of seeds, life will be an important part of our strategy.
@vociferonheraldofthewinter2284
5 ай бұрын
I will add that it's a necessity to mow down the dead grasses at the end of the year. We still dry out and the fire hazard is dangerously high. But after being mowed with the brush hog, this adds even more mulch and compost to the system. We just have to do it after seeds are dropped, but before everything dries out. This year I want to learn how to turn my waste bones into charcoal. I tried just burying it, but the coyotes zeroed in on that immediately and they are a problem for pets and livestock. We can't encourage them. But charcoal from spent bones can be food for plants without drawing in the scavengers so much. Piece by piece we're figuring out how to get the biggest bang for our buck without killing ourselves.
@LearningfromNature
5 ай бұрын
Thank you for sharing your experiences with using living plants to improve your soil by working with ecological succession. Is there a way to manage livestock to reduce oxidation in your grasses and the fire risk? I don't usually mention our Handbooks (because we won't want to be pushy!!) - but I think you would find the Eco-logical Farming Handbook a useful resource to help guide you on your journey! - www.learningfromnature.com.au/handbooks-for-farmers/
@vociferonheraldofthewinter2284
5 ай бұрын
@@LearningfromNature I appreciate the resource. Grabbing it immediately! Thanks.
@insAneTunA
6 ай бұрын
That is fine for certain mild to cool and wet climates where there is already a certain established ecosystem and plenty of moisture, but if you have to start from scratch in a dry land or even a desert situation, mulch is still a necessity to start and speed up the soil regenerating process. In those situations the wood chip mulch provides a long term nutrient source, protection against UV for microbes, heat protection, moisture retention and so on. So it all depends on your local conditions which method will actually work best for you.
@LearningfromNature
6 ай бұрын
Totally agree! The take-home message from the video is not "don't use mulch" (watch here - 03:43). As you say, we need to develop effective solutions for our unique circumstances.
@artbyadrienne6812
7 ай бұрын
Thanks for the tips. I'm trying to garden in the high desert (6,000ft) of Arizona. I try to protect the soil from the extreme heat of the sun in every way possible. Hope you have a wonderful week.
@LearningfromNature
7 ай бұрын
Your welcome! Artby you're growing in a challenging environment. The information in this video may also help RE getting more water infiltrating and stored in your soil - kzitem.info/news/bejne/o5qq2Kh6imebmmU
@artbyadrienne6812
7 ай бұрын
@@LearningfromNature Thanks! We've put in some swales, added fruit trees which are creating shade, lots of leaves and even a bountiful crop of peaches last year. 🍑🌳
@insAneTunA
6 ай бұрын
In your situation you can't do without mulch. Simply impossible due to the extreme high and low temperatures. You can't get plants to grow when the soil is 120F or more no matter how much you water them. The mulch acts like a blanket to protect the soil and the micro organisms against the heat. But most importantly is that it provides a perfect habitat with lots of surface area for micro organisms who will turn the mulch slowly but gradually into plant available nutrients. And it hold a lot of water. The best compost that you can have is composted wood chips. 3 parts wood chips (carbon) mixed with one part nitrogen rich green material (leafs and coffee grounds). Your plants will love to grow in a 10 inch layer of composted wood chips.
@LearningfromNature
6 ай бұрын
Thanks for providing Arty with this helpful additional information!
@stawastawa
13 күн бұрын
I’d love a series with more case studies on this! More on how people are doing this and what initial soil preparation / health might be needed.
@LearningfromNature
6 күн бұрын
Thank you for the suggestion! We will provide more case studies in the future. In the meantime, we provide all the details in our Eco-logical Gardening Handbook (www.learningfromnature.com.au/ecological-gardening-handbook/) or Eco-logical Farming Handbook (www.learningfromnature.com.au/ecological-farming-handbook/)
@regenerativegardeningwithpatti
6 ай бұрын
Hi, I agree with you. We should be trying to do both grow a cover and be using mulch. I live in Montana, it is hot, dry and very windy (during our growing season). We have to keep the ground covered to be successful. Far too many people still are learning to break away from the tiller and start mulching or growing covers. Thanks fo rthe video. Good job.
@LearningfromNature
6 ай бұрын
Thanks, Patti, for highlighting the importance of developing effective solutions for our unique circumstances
@wesh388
6 ай бұрын
I agree, many gardeners present mulch as some magical solution. Thank you for sharing some facts about the topic. I definitely learned from it, and I will be trying to fill out my beds more densely with plants this year.
@LearningfromNature
6 ай бұрын
It would be interesting to do a trial and then look at the soil 🙂
@insAneTunA
6 ай бұрын
A man called Queensland farmer did or is doing such a test. He seeded 4 different equal size patches of land, all next to each other. One patch had nothing special, that is the control patch. One patch had some wood chip mulch and sugar cane straw. Every patch is different. The experiment is still ongoing, but it is already noticeable that the patch with the added wood chips had the most germinated seeds. The added micro biology from the partial composted wood chips is highly beneficial. The video that I am talking about is called, A scientific approach to regenerative agiculture. @@LearningfromNature
@LearningfromNature
6 ай бұрын
Thanks for sharing the interesting trial - kzitem.info/news/bejne/uotrypdvfIujnH4si=7M4dgNDGGEUeuLmX
@user-su5du9ln8r
6 ай бұрын
I've often wondered about this. Most, but not all, nurseries and experienced home growers state the benefits of mulching to be temperature regulation, reducing weed pressure, reducing need to water, and soil development. You addressed the last of these but would what you are advocating accomplish the others? In fact, it appears as if letting weeds over-run a garden, orchard, or a container would be one way to accomplish your goal. It is said that we need to reduce weeds because they compete with our desired plants for nutrients and water which seems counter-productive with living mulch. I don't know if science really supports this.
@LearningfromNature
6 ай бұрын
Yes, a cover of living plants helps reduce soil temperature extremes, weed pressure, and loss of water from evaporation. RE weeds competing with desired plants - chop and drop them, especially if they are reducing crop access to sunlight. RE about competition between plants - we're releasing an evidence-based video on this topic soon. In the meantime, have a look at these two videos: (1) Weeds Improve Soil | Using them is Eco-logical - kzitem.info/news/bejne/rIhsmqadr2erkn4 (2) Improve your Soil Employing Nature's Experts - kzitem.info/news/bejne/w5WJqmiIiISog6w
@cheifboyardee48
6 ай бұрын
This gave me clarity. Crimping covers to mulch in big ag has been accepted as best practice, but living cover seems closer to uninterrupted nature.
@LearningfromNature
6 ай бұрын
You're correct. Maintaining a permanent cover of living plants is ideal, but we need to develop eco-logical solutions that work well for our production systems and growing conditions.
@BusinessAuthorAcademy
6 ай бұрын
I discovered a cover crop by planting just two purple flowering ground plants, which expanded itself and made it look really pretty. I decided they are better than the boring stones.
@LearningfromNature
6 ай бұрын
Sounds great!
@WisGuy4
6 ай бұрын
One thing that you didn’t mention, that seems to be a concern is how a living cover coexists with the vegetable or fruit plants in terms of competition for nutrients in the soil and for water (and for light if the cover is as tall as the planted seedlings and plants). While the cover plants’ shade will reduce the amount the soil dries out, sometimes in the heat of summer life interferes with timely watering, or batteries die in the sprinkler timer, and I can’t help but think the vegetable and fruit plants might have done a bit better if they weren’t competing for water with the cover plants.
@LearningfromNature
6 ай бұрын
Thanks for your comment - it highlights the need to develop effective tools for our unique circumstances rather than just using standard 'recipes'.
@davidprocter3578
6 ай бұрын
Sorry I must take issue with your theory, Living ground cover only possible where there is sufficient water to maintain it throughout the year. For most people in extreme dry zones purchasing water not an option. In these situations mulching to improve soil and reduce water loss is a valuable tool, where there is good regular rainfall ground cover works well and can be fed like a crop with compost to speed up soil recovery and feed over stories. There is no reason that I can see why both systems could not be implemented . ie growing green ground cover after a rain and mulching over the top as the ground cover crop dies off.
@LearningfromNature
6 ай бұрын
Hi David, we can get 9 months without rain. In areas of the farm not under irrigation, I grow as much plant biomass as possible when we get rain, chop, and drop it to create mulch for the dry.
@davidprocter3578
6 ай бұрын
@@LearningfromNaturesounds like a slow business growing soil, Personally I am too old to wait that long. chop and drop by all means then cover with compost and then mulch to protect come the next rain season sow through the mulch and go again, second year chop and drop cover with FYM and mulch.. Of course you could always use the dutch hot bed method or one of its variants.
@dethmaul
Ай бұрын
@@davidprocter3578 You did listen to the last paragraph, right?
@kazzana9013
6 ай бұрын
At thick cover of mulch/ woodchips that includes leaves etc allows me to walk on my around my garden in the wet winter and saves me from having to water my garden in summer. It also inhibits a great deal of weeds and those that do blow in or are deposited by birds are incredibly easy to remove, even without garden tools. Woodchips make gardening easy as I get older. I do agree that mulch without plants deprive the soil micro organisms of food. Whilst I am ok with most weeds, persistent weeds like morning glory that like to take over prevent me from wanting to plant more beneficial cover crops until I can eradicate them. I started out with heavy clay, and thanks to woodchips, I now have a lovely, healthy growing medium, with tons of soil life. You would be right in your advice in situations where folk have the time and the physical ability, the climate, soil conditions etc, but I suspect many of us have other considerations. In the long term I would benefit from biochar to maintain fertility as my age will naturally decrease the amount of work I do in the garden.
@LearningfromNature
6 ай бұрын
Thanks for your comment Kazzana. as we all have different growing conditions, each of us needs to think through how we can best apply this principle to our circumstances. I am not getting any younger either! For me it has been great to replace spreading 60 - 80 bales mulch with living mulch! RE weeds you may like to WATCH - kzitem.info/news/bejne/rIhsmqadr2erkn4
@astyag8627
7 ай бұрын
This video is so valuable and sensible!
@LearningfromNature
7 ай бұрын
Thank you!
@TheGardenNerd
6 ай бұрын
Fantastic video! I feel like most have jumped on the mulch train (which isn't a bad thing) and have forgotten about just using living mulch. I love your channel! I'm in Arizona and always open to a video collab!
@LearningfromNature
6 ай бұрын
Thanks! I saw that you also are open minded about weeds! - kzitem.info/news/bejne/rIhsmqadr2erkn4si=_NHJ5syHUaZqmIjV
@peace4peaceful
5 ай бұрын
Can't grow a thing here very well without mulch.. too dry. I've laid out tonnes of compost that basically dries out. I leave the roots of veg in the ground. I also grow bana grass, comfrey ect to use as mulch and for composting. I don't want a ramshackle veg patch with weed creep either. Using mulch, flowers, herbs and veg work for me. No doubt permaculture works. I recently got sick. Missed 8 weeks in the garden. The weeds and grasses covered my garden to around 5 feet tall. The ground must be good for that to happen. I like no dig principles. But it's too dry most of the time. Mulch is an absolute must in Australia.
@LearningfromNature
5 ай бұрын
Hi Peace - Did you look at your soil where the weeds and grasses are 5 ft. Have a dig and compare different areas. You can tell a lot just from the colour and structure of your soil. Have you watch our video on how weeds improve soil - kzitem.info/news/bejne/w5WJqmiIiISog6w
@inharmonywithearth9982
6 ай бұрын
I have seen a lady that gardens with a lawnmower. She makes thin cultivated strips, plants into that and mows all the weeds between the planted strips. Looks like a garden growing in a green mown lawn. It works for her. The grass clippings are raked next to the strips for sustainable mulch. I guess thats what you are talking about?
@LearningfromNature
6 ай бұрын
There are so many different techniques. I think the important thing is that by understanding the benefits of a cover of living plants vs mulch, we step back from "I need mulch", and ask instead, "for my growing conditions, can I develop effective ways to grow a cover of living plants." It would be better to let the weeds grow more above and below-ground biomass before mowing - see here for an explanation. Improve your Soil Employing Nature's Experts - kzitem.info/news/bejne/w5WJqmiIiISog6w.
@mjohanson1281
14 күн бұрын
and all that fungi connecting to all those roots. Life x infinity
@seeker6369
5 ай бұрын
Thank you from India
@LearningfromNature
5 ай бұрын
No worries - we have lots of people from India watching our videos - please share with friends and family w
@tiger1554
6 ай бұрын
Great video! It's nice to see a video backed by science. I would love to see more examples of gardens that practice this technique, especially a vegetable and fruit garden that's still organized and easy to maintain. I like supporting the environment but not at the cost having to jump through obstacles while gardening or crowding the area. I have subscribed.
@LearningfromNature
6 ай бұрын
Tiger you may like to watch the video we've produced on how we apply ecological principles on our farm and in our food garden - kzitem.info/news/bejne/z52P3G2PqauEp2Usi=zR0pexj3xAJhjQmu
@user-pb6eq9pw1k
6 ай бұрын
Excellent video. Thank you.
@LearningfromNature
6 ай бұрын
Thank you!
@TheRealHonestInquiry
5 ай бұрын
Excellent video, and with chapters and the research paper links as well, it's the first I've seen from your channel and definitely not the last! Instant sub & added to my public "Gardening & Permaculture" playlist on my channel :D
@LearningfromNature
5 ай бұрын
Awesome, thank you!
@williammikell2210
6 ай бұрын
Living mulch and cover crops are better than mulch for soil is a blanket statement that I just don't agree with. Many factors were not mentioned in this video. A thick layer of mulch will help conserve water better than a crop transpiring water and drying the soil. Mulches protect soils from compaction from heavy rains. Insect may breathe out CO2 but they also cause a lot of bio-turbination which move a lot of organic material into the soil and creates channels for air and water penetration. Also leaving behind organic insect waste. Living plants can also be host to diseases and insects that can be vectors affecting intended crops. Types of soil would also respond differently, in heavy clay roots would probably be a better solution, but sandy soil I would think mulch would help a lot more. The fact that we "bring in mulch" is adding more organic matter and nutrients to an area. While just growing a cover crop is only adding carbon and hoping to use the available nutrient more efficiently. Blanket statements often fail in specific examples.
@LearningfromNature
6 ай бұрын
William, the purpose of the video was to share that Mulch isn't the Best Tool for Healthy Soil. Living plants provide root tissues and root exudates, as well as the mulch they naturally drop on the soil. We add to this mulch by chopping and dropping. By understanding the benefits of a cover of living plants vs mulch, we can ask, "For my growing conditions, can I develop effective ways to grow a cover of living plants rather than continually spreading mulch." The trick is using species that support rather than compete with our main crops.
@bobbysmac1009
5 ай бұрын
Well said.
@LearningfromNature
5 ай бұрын
Thank you!
@paulbraga4460
6 ай бұрын
good heavens - what a blessed morning i am having. what a find...mygreathanks and blessings
@LearningfromNature
6 ай бұрын
Our pleasure!
@lksf9820
6 ай бұрын
I had to switch off with all that row going on in the background, it's like 120Db tinnitus.
@LearningfromNature
6 ай бұрын
I am sorry to hear that! Can you be more specific so we can address the issue for future videos?
@kathyscott4671
6 ай бұрын
Sensory processing and loss of hearing make it difficult to hear the intended message when there is music/birds/cars sounds/ baby crying etc. In background. Microphone on your body help to isolate your voice rather than all the other sounds.
@SuerteDelMolinoFarm
7 ай бұрын
Thank you for sharing valuable information
@LearningfromNature
7 ай бұрын
Hope it helps with regenerating your land.
@faanvanniekerk2411
6 ай бұрын
A thin layer of mulch reduces the soil temperature., and helps the microbiome and earthworms, and helps infiltation of water. Too much mulch will prevent a cover crop to grow. A living cover crop also has disadvantages, as positive conditions will cause it to overgrow. For trees a growing cover crop is best, but not for seasonal purposes.
@LearningfromNature
6 ай бұрын
Yes, as I mention at the beginning and end of the video - mulch has useful attributes. See pinned comment above. 🙂
@DJ-uk5mm
6 ай бұрын
I agree….😊😊
@LearningfromNature
6 ай бұрын
Thanks!
@MotosAllotmentGarden
6 ай бұрын
Subscribed 😊
@LearningfromNature
6 ай бұрын
Thanks!
@ozychk21
6 ай бұрын
So chop weeds rather than pull ?
@LearningfromNature
6 ай бұрын
Yes - thanks for highlighting this - then you leave the roots in the soil!
@peterclark6290
6 ай бұрын
You didn't mention companion planting, a sacrificial layer for monoculture crops or orchards from different species selected to cover the grass-forb-legume 'gap' with many other advantages, e.g. soil structure protection, absorbing heat in photosynthesis, etc. which can be grazed which adds animal impact (when trimming it back). Nature prefers 'mayhem'.
@LearningfromNature
6 ай бұрын
Peter - there are lots of videos and other resources on companion planting - what we wanted to specifically share in this video is a cover of living plants is better at improving the soil because plants supply root tissues and root exudates = better diet for soil organisms and for accumulation of organic matter
@jacobbrizammito7187
6 ай бұрын
I have had the thought that Mulching like robbing Peter’s yard to mulch Paul’s yard.
@LearningfromNature
6 ай бұрын
Yes! And often create carbon emissions in the process! 🙂
@utubemouse
6 ай бұрын
But if the mulch is getting moved anyway, as tree trimmings and chippings, then it doesn’t add much in the grand scheme of things to divert some to “Paul’s” yard rather than the junk yard or landfill.❤
@kazzana9013
6 ай бұрын
@@LearningfromNature Increase the carbon, you increase plant growth.
@thechaosgardener
6 ай бұрын
Well said!
@LearningfromNature
6 ай бұрын
Thanks!
@michaelgusovsky
6 ай бұрын
i mostly agree with this, and i'm trying to implement guilds around the fruit trees i plant. however, one concern i have about starting off with living ground cover around newly planted young fruit trees, is that the living ground cover will be pulling minerals from the soil that perhaps the tree needs? i'm just guessing here, but, perhaps it would be better to start off with just mulch, then once the tree is established, in the 2nd year add a living cover around the tree.
@LearningfromNature
6 ай бұрын
Hi Michael - See my pinned comment above regarding plant competition and this video "Improve your Soil Employing Nature's Experts" - kzitem.info/news/bejne/w5WJqmiIiISog6w. As the soil scientist Elaine Ingham states - minerals aren't lacking in our soil only the soil organisms to make them available. That's why we need to start managing our veggie gardens etc to max plant growth for us and our soil organisms! RE mulch, as I mentioned in the video it's often useful to kick-start our plant growth using mulch to provide a boost of carbon and other nutrients.
@LearningfromNature
6 ай бұрын
Michael, as I mentioned (watch here - 03:43) if you can add mulch to kick-start the growth of your main crop - great! By understanding the benefits of a cover of living plants vs mulch, we step back from "I need mulch", and ask instead, "for my growing conditions, can I develop effective ways to grow a cover of living plants." The trick is using species that support rather than compete with our main crops. Guilds are a great way to do this. My farm is covered with introduced African grasses. Great for my cattle, but not for fruit trees. I used weed mat and mulch to get rid of the grass. Removed the weed mat and planted a mixture of living mulch plants. Trees did much better, and I don't need to mow - chop and drop twice a year! RE pulling minerals from the soil see here - kzitem.info/news/bejne/w5WJqmiIiISog6w
@michaelgusovsky
6 ай бұрын
@@LearningfromNature thank you for the info. i will have a look.
@wyldrushorchard1061
6 ай бұрын
We have typically used well rotted woodchip mulch for our 1,200 young organic apple trees, certainly a living mulch sounds great but to what extent (if at all) would this compete with the trees for nutrients (NPK etc). Would it suppress the existing the grass ley and weeds (with the understanding not all 'weeds' are a bad thing) ?
@LearningfromNature
6 ай бұрын
If you've got grasses and weeds growing under your apple trees - you've got a living mulch! Re competition - the benefits of growing a mixture of species with different resource requirements and ecological support species (legumes, deep-rooted plants, flowers attracting beneficial insects, etc.) are well-documented. We're releasing an evidence-based video on this topic soon.
@wyldrushorchard1061
6 ай бұрын
Thank you so much for your reply to a historic post, it will take a lot less work to tend to the trees or certainly less worry if I can't get to them all. The woodchip certainly did help in the very dry spells but you're right the trees i couldn't get to did fine with creeping buttercup as a cover. @@LearningfromNature
@Good4All4Good
7 ай бұрын
Life promotes Life. Makes sense.
@LearningfromNature
6 ай бұрын
Yes!
@corinne7126
6 ай бұрын
excellent video
@LearningfromNature
6 ай бұрын
Thank you very much!
@SpringNotes
Ай бұрын
Hi there - I have a very invasive unwanted Bermuda grass / Couch grass growing beneath my young kumquat tree, that's about 2 feet tall. And they're also growing around Canna plants, rose, succulents... I've been removing some, fearing this invasive grass will choke out the other plants. Am I mistaken, should I let them be ?
@LearningfromNature
Ай бұрын
Hi - it's difficult to give specific advice without see the site and knowing something about it's history. Are you managing the vegetation to mimic a grazing animal. That way the plant biomass will be chopped-and-dropped onto the soil surface and the organic materials made available to feed your soil organisms? They can then recycle the nutrients and make some of them available to your kumquat tree.
@SpringNotes
Ай бұрын
@@LearningfromNatureThe thing is, Bermuda/Couch grass is highly invasive, and takes over everything. My fear is that, their roots will choke out the kumquat tree roots, and other plants's roots.
@fredparkinson1289
5 ай бұрын
I don't use mulch to build soil, I use mulch to keep down weeds.
@LearningfromNature
5 ай бұрын
Fred you may like to watch this video on how we can use weeds to improve degraded soil - kzitem.info/news/bejne/rIhsmqadr2erkn4si=m620rnRwHNox54IF
@SethsuwaNaturals
Ай бұрын
hi, my farm has a lot of nutgrass weed, can I use it as a living mulch, It is very difficult to control, and it takes a lot of nutrition from soi
@LearningfromNature
Ай бұрын
Hi Shameen again. Nutgrass is a challenging weed, but it also supplies nutrients to your soil via the root tissues and root exudates and leaves - if mowed or cut back in some way. I recently heard of someone with a garden full of nutgrass - they left it. And soon other grasses started to colonise the site through ecological succession. Sedges and nut grass are usually found in waterlogged heavy clay soils. So may be, like many weeds, we can control it by improving our soil. The next video we're releasing is on this topic.
@SethsuwaNaturals
Ай бұрын
@@LearningfromNature great lets learn about nutgrasses
@ForestTiefling
6 ай бұрын
interesting info! I got hold onto a lot of white/dutch clover (trifolium repens) seeds. Would that be a good ground cover/green manure for between my veggies and underneath/around my gooseberry bush? I know it's supposed to be a nitrogen fixer.
@LearningfromNature
6 ай бұрын
Mixture of plants is always better - research shows faster rates of soil regeneration. I know that some market gardeners have found some of the clovers a problem to manage. It's always good to do some research on what plants will grow well in your specific growing conditions. The general list we provide in the appendix of the Living Mulch Handbook (www.learningfromnature.com.au/living-mulch-handbook/) will be some help.
@ebradley2306
6 ай бұрын
If one uses a living mulch just wondering what to do with the leaf mould and compost our home and yard generate?
@kazzana9013
6 ай бұрын
You can do both.
@LearningfromNature
6 ай бұрын
Use it as well!
@antreastziwnis7642
6 ай бұрын
What about additional nutrients of organic mulch? Living plants are just recycling the existing nutrients (except N captivating plants that again they are adding only N ). Doesn't that lead to fertility loss after an amount of harvests of the cultivating crops??
@LearningfromNature
6 ай бұрын
Antreas - Yes mulch provides the benefits of additional nutrients (watch here - 03:43), but growing a cover of plants doesn't mean that the plants are simply recycling the existing nutrients. I explain why in this video - kzitem.info/news/bejne/w5WJqmiIiISog6w.
@skyworm8006
6 ай бұрын
Living plants compete with what you want to grow though
@LearningfromNature
6 ай бұрын
Sky - please see my pinned comment above.
@Chris-op7yt
6 ай бұрын
yes, mulch has been trumpeted as the savior of gardens but it's actually just a profitable way of very quickly turning organic matter into atmospheric carbon dioxide, and that's besides the sourcing problems and carbon footprint. (dead) mulch is actually terrible in dry climates, where it tends to make soil even more hydrophobic, and overall is an expensive and time consuming (more expense) endeavor. a living groundcover that can take the rigors of intensive row cropping but without problems or upkeep, would be good. selling dead mulch to households that are trying to do the right thing--but being sold some untrue feelgood stories--is a profitable affair. well meaning gardeners would be aghast if they could see their mulch (money) releasing the carbon dioxide. alas it takes expensive instruments rather than a camera to see it.
@LearningfromNature
6 ай бұрын
Thanks for the carbon perspective!
@Chris-op7yt
6 ай бұрын
@@LearningfromNature : i just found out this spring how quickly a top dressing of dolomite lime turns hard setting and gutless topsoil, into a soft soil that drinks water. several tries of latest and greatest soil water penetrants did nothing. yet i dug in many bags of gypsum in autumn. seems that all the rain we had in winter and then straight into lots of irrigation, flushes calcium (and potassium) away. after years and years of tonnes of compost, topsoil is not clay anymore, but instead a gutless dirt.
@kazzana9013
6 ай бұрын
I am good with atmospheric carbon; plants thrive and when plants thrive, so do humans.
@geoffgeoff143
6 ай бұрын
Do both. The more tidy your garden, the less bio diversity. Use composted mulch if you can. Look in the bush. Nature mulches. Fresh woodchips from tree loppers needs to be aged. It contains a lot of tannins. Mulching massivly reduces water use. If you can see ground, stick a plant there.
@LearningfromNature
6 ай бұрын
Thanks Geoff for your suggestions re mulch
@MiloradAntifon
Ай бұрын
Why discussion what is better? Isn't it better to combine two - mulching and growing "living ground"? God designed nature just such way.
@LearningfromNature
Ай бұрын
Yes Milorad your right - if you have the time and resources to do both. I used to spread 80 round bales each year. It took me weeks to do. Knowing that growing living plants is a better way to improve my soil - that's what I do now. In my agroforestry areas, there is now sufficient leaf drop from the trees to provide extra mulch anyway.
@bFORCe2003
6 ай бұрын
What about weed?....is that a living mulch?
@LearningfromNature
6 ай бұрын
🙂It all depends on the weeds and how you manage them!! Have a look at this video - Weeds Improve Soil | Using them is Eco-logical - kzitem.info/news/bejne/rIhsmqadr2erkn4
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