DON'T PUT MULCH IN YOUR VEGETABLE GARDEN! -- UNLESS YOU HAVE TO!

[@OldPhartbsa]

I live in the Mojave Desert. Mulch holds moisture that would disappear in minutes here. It's working for me.

[@lionscircle4700]

That is exactly the info I'm looking for as the desert offers its own challenges (and rewards). Mulching it is!

[@remrocket2885]

Where in the Mojave desert? I was in Victorville and Apple valley. I used horse and cow manure and I have to say I was a bit more successful of a gardener there than in Az. However I’m learning a lot. I’m trying my hand at worm composting and am excited to see how that works- especially with the hi temps out here- since I lived in Ga as a child I could listen to Hoss all day! His twang isn’t toooo strong and he has a soothing voice- really liking the content and am hoping to learn even more!!!

[@OldPhartbsa]

@@remrocket2885 Apple Valley

[@stinkfist4205]

@@OldPhartbsa I use peat moss. Hesperia

[@OldPhartbsa]

@@stinkfist4205 Crapple Valley

[@maryjane-vx4dd]

I'm in Utah in a multi year drought. Have always used grass clippings to keep moisture in. Last year this wasn't enough. Added apx 3 inch mix of green grass clippings and wood chips. The addition of the wood chips held the moisture much better with much less water

[@GTILOUD]

Look up jadam farming and knf and specifically the jadam input jms or jadam microbial solution. It will vastly improve the health of your soil and water holding capabilities.

[@quanahhurtt4443]

Thanks my soil Is drying out too quickly.

[@StefenTower]

Some plants thrive with chopped straw as mulch, though, such as tomatoes and peppers. The straw prevents splash-up from the soil, which helps in controlling fungal issues. Also, you don't have to water as much when it gets really hot in the summer. The straw also breaks down pretty quickly.

[@hizzlemobizzle]

I use organic bales of alfalfa been doing so for years and plants love it.

[@chasintails2179]

I wake up early now on Saturday’s like I did when I was a kid just to see your videos! You are the reason why I bought a new smart TV and downloaded KZbin. Never have I ever liked a show like y’all’s! Keep it up guys!!

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Glad we could replace your Saturday morning cartoons!

[@buggert21]

LOL

[@mountaincreekhomestead]

Smart devices= surveillance devices.

[@ArizonaBorn1358]

I am restarting my raised bed garden with supplemental grow bags (potatoes, tomatoes, etc.) and I have never been much of a mulcher except for the walking spaces. Thanks for your explanation on why not to. Like the idea of cover crop in between in the raised beds.

[@texheel]

These segments are so good for so many reasons...thx Travis...Hoss Tool's brand is reinforced by y'all's commitment to educating old and new KZbinrs.

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Our pleasure!

[@2aisabsoluteTim]

@@gardeningwithhoss row of herb 🤔🤔🤔😆🤣

[@everettmcdonald2088]

Great video Travis! My garden is quite different being 30”x30” and consisting of 15 small raised beds and I keep most of them planted year round here in Spartanburg county. It’s never tilled, fertilized with my compost, vermicompost, and cover cropping. My beds are permanently mulched with grass clippings all summer and shredded leaves come fall. I do it cause that’s what I like. What you’re doing is wonderful! I look forward to all your videos and have picked up some nice little gardening tips. Keep up the good work and thank you.

[@gardeningwithhoss]

👍

[@nancywebb6549]

I planted mixed cover crops in my raised beds last fall. This spring I cut them down and left them on the surface. When planting time I raked them up and put them in my compost. My beds were full of earth worms which I had never had before. Not only did I have the roots to decompose but the worms were fertilizing the soil for me. I live in East Tennessee in zone 7a.

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Worms are great.

[@heatherkennedy9972]

I love your gentle Southern diplomatic way of suggesting that folks not get negative when discussing things. Too many uptight/hypercritical folks out there in the world these days. I'm a serious person in general, but the older I get the less seriously I take myself. Mother always used to say "Find your own Bliss" which is always how I have gardened. Ironically, the less I attempt to swim with the tides of other people's opinion, the happier a person I have become. Kudos to you and your Dad for being such pleasant teachers and students. We enjoy your videos which always seem as if you two were just visiting with us out on the back porch with a glass of Lemonade on a hot day.

[@kencowan7803]

This is an AWESOME video. I've had a vegetable garden for over 30 years and I learn something new or reaffirm something old every time I watch one of your videos. Thanks for doing this.

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Glad it was helpful!

[@TheGardenerNorth]

Watching Hoss Tools gardening videos is like going home for Thanksgiving turkey dinner. You've had the smorgasbord of food out there, but you always no where to go for the no BS comfort food. Cheers!

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Glad you enjoyed. Thanks for watching!

[@paulblankenship7865]

Thanks for adding the diversity into your channel. I’m getting started in gardening later in life and this helps keep my interest peaked. I really like the Row by Row show you do with your dad. It would be cool if you and Greg did a project or two together throughout the year and you chronicled it through this channel. Watching you two interact brings me joy. The banter between you two really makes me laugh. My wife gets tickled at me because I get so tickled at y’all. Keep up the great content Travis.

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Great idea!

[@ruthbrendon7221]

I only tuned in cos I thought "Hoss" was slang for horse and there might be a horse in it...there wasn't. However, I thought the no-till garden looked more peaceful and balanced. Thanks for showing us your gardens.

[@hazel555]

In northeastern wi I found that all the material on top with no-till didn't allow the soil to heat up in spring; my seedlings grew VERY slow. Worse yet, the hay attracted mice and rats, providing them cover and living habitat...and they'd bite off the seedlings too.

[@darrelbyler6253]

I try to till as little as possible as well .I believe the extra compost made the differance,steady food for the plants. I really like your videos!!

[@gardeningwithhoss]

👍

[@franklinhammack949]

I’m in Mississippi. We get rain almost every day during the summer. It’s impossible to keep weeds from growing when you get 150 inches of rain per year.

[@reneenewfrock9131]

We are planting in a lot of different methods, in ground, in containers, in raised beds, in towers, in cement blocks, in wooden crates...2 of the raised beds have straw and wood chips for mulch. The quail and birds are having a field day in them. The other raised bed has almost no damage from birds.

[@wildthoughts6959]

You confused us. No tilling means ZERO tilling all year, and for long years. You said you do tilling 4 times a year . That's very tilling. When you listen to No-Till experts , they say plant season after season without disturbing the bottom soil . Basically, planting seeds or seedlings into decomposed mulch is the NO till method. Year after year , roots start to go deep into the native soil because organisms soften the rich native soil .

[@GTILOUD]

Tilling destroys the fungi, fungal life is whats missing in most soils bacteria is there at least dormant if no plant is growing there with roots participating in the soil food web. Grow no till and look up the jadam farming input jms lay down 4" or more of wood chips and water with jms you'll see mushrooms popping up everywhere that means you have healthy soil and mycelium.

[@cmparrott100]

No

[@adannielsen2442]

@@cmparrott100 yeppers

[@butterflyj685]

@Wild Thoughts_Actually I heard many No Till experts say they till the 1st time then not again, others have said it depends on the location of site and it's condition then decide which type of method is best, whether it's no til or once in awhile til. But I get how it can be confusioning for many. Technically when harvesting root crops, you are still tilling.

[@adannielsen2442]

@@butterflyj685 I like to plant a carrot/onion/garlic rotation crop every 3 years or so to help fight soil compaction. Potato’s offer the same benefit.

[@PraireDogs]

Travis.... I have to say this has to be THE best vid you've ever made. Well for me anyway. Your reasoning is perfect. Thank you!!! Dave

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Thanks Dave!

[@paulmastre8202]

You make me think a lot. When I go to church I hear a choir. I watch you to think about different choices. You make my brain explode in a nice way. Your posts are great

[@gardeningwithhoss]

That's the goal. Glad we could get the brain churning.

[@DreamProphet417]

My vegetable garden is in a spot of the yard that gets the most heat and sun all day long. So I had to put something down to keep the sun from drying out my soil so once I put down my cedar wood chips on my entire garden, everything grew phenomenal. Thank you mulch, and next year, all that mulch will be mixed into the soil along with a ton of compost.

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Sounds great!

[@thepitpatrol]

Di the cedar help repel bugs

[@MichaelMcbratney]

I put Straw around ALL my veggies, trees and anything else I plant. As dry as it is here in the south-west I only have to water every 4 to 5 days in the veggie garden.... except for seedlings...

[@imafan2610]

I like that you recognize that everything is subjective. I have done no till for about 4 years. It is better in terms of maintaining good soil structure, but I did have some problems with nutrients on deep rooted plants. Shallow plants are fine. I have started to switch to till once in a while to relieve soil compaction and distribute nutrients more evenly.

[@lancewatford4516]

I'm mulching with pine needles here in east central Florida. It's helping a lot with moisture retention since our sandy soil dries out so fast, although it's not making much of a difference with the huge amount of weed pressure I have

[@gardeningwithhoss]

We use pine straw amongst our shrubbery around the house. Does help with weed suppression, but only after repeated applications.

[@quanahhurtt4443]

I'll try pine needles next. My soil drains too quickly and dries out too fast.

[@randyketcham3840]

Great video full of tips and tricks with your comparison. Travis, I stand corrected in terms of my comments on an earlier video about the mulching. The situation that you have and your environment lend itself to having put together your no-till garden patch the way you did. I am looking forward to your progress and results from this no-till garden plot and how you succession plant it. Thanks for a video packed full of information.

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Thanks for watching Randy!

[@debrasfrugallife3703]

Good chat hun. I don't till neither I just got small 9x9 bed only thing I do is cut down my weeds and just compost it and continue to grow what I want to grow. Thanks for sharing your tips and thoughts. Have a blessed day 🙏

[@gregpetty1472]

I very lightly mulch with free pine needles ,grass clippings and wheat straw in June and July . Too much mulch is a problem in west Tennessee. No mulch means hot and dry soil . I turn it in September .

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Thanks for sharing

[@normthibodeau5212]

Year round gardening, I wish. My garden’s covered with a few feet of snow 5 months a year. Very interesting just the same. Thanks.

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Oh wow! That would be a challenge for sure

[@10HERBERT]

One thing i love about drip tape, is it don't waste water, by only watering where it's needed.

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Very correct.

[@gregspence4692]

Hey Travis, really enjoy your shows. Do you and Greg plant your rows N-S or E-W or does it always matter? Thanks Travis.

[@gardeningwithhoss]

We have some plots that are planted N-S and others planted E-W. As long as your garden is in direct sunlight, it shouldn't matter.

[@lynetteledoux2845]

Who’s Greg?

[@cindylouwho7667]

@@lynetteledoux2845 the other half of the show. Lol. His dad.

[@theeclecticcollective8279]

@@gardeningwithhoss I’m a fellow Georgian and a complete Gardening novice. Would love to see you guys try and create your own Terra Preta and see if the legends are true!! It would definitely be a long term project....but very interesting.

[@wendyburgess2962]

I like the Forest Garden Method. I think everyone finds their own Technique. One Man’s Meat is another Man’s poison.

[@shelleyclarke9325]

I agree with you on mulch. Here in eastern WA we have a massive slug population that loves mulch. I get sick of hearing about mulch, as it just doesn’t work for everyone.

[@aspenriverrun]

Do you have a lot of worms in your soil? I live on former peanut farm land. I haven't used any pesticides or fertilizer(for 20 yrs now). But unless I buy worms I don't find many...

[@kirkjohnson9353]

I noticed an explosion in my worm population after I quit tilling three years ago. The tiller was killing most of them.

[@gardeningwithhoss]

We do see a few when we dig our carrots in the spring. But nothing like you see on some YT videos. Our soil gets so hot in the summer, it might make it a little difficult for the worms.

[@queenbee9581]

Do you have armadillos? They root all over my yard and garden looking for worms. (South Alabama)

[@aspenriverrun]

@@gardeningwithhoss Now I had not thought about the heat factor... Seems I do find a few on shady side of house.

[@aspenriverrun]

@@queenbee9581 No armadillos seem to be near us,although I think others may have seen a few. Opposums occasionally, but even they are scarce. Maybe we'll start to see more of the animals that were in acres of woods now. For 3 weeks they've been harvesting timber next to us.

[@satcomunication]

Thanks for the info! I finally relize thst im done with mulching with straw. I think i also noticed that i had more fungal problems with heavey straw mulching. i would pull the straw up and smell mildewy type smell. We just had 2 weeks of straight rain and humidity!

[@americaneden3090]

Mulch works differently for different landscapes. I use it however I could see Southern growers NOT wanting to use it bc of their pest pressures or growing styles, as he mentioned with row spacing. Wood roaches, German roaches, fire ants, & bad nematodes all love the layers of wood chips and the mulch's moisture. When those plants develop roots or ur root crops become heavily damaged by those pests. Why bother growing like Back to Eden if ur crop is ruined. That's not abundance, its madness. Hoss u guys do an excellent job thanks for sharing ur information.

[@charlenekociuba7396]

I was trying to understand you but figured out that your opinion is more about growing in the South. I don't have fire ants in the North. I'm doing it all, making compost, applying leaves over carboard, lasagna mounds to improve my weathered an eroded top end of my plot. Whatever I can get cheap, I will use but I don't add wood chips to growing area mounds but they are there as they are mixed in with the leaves that have been chopped up. In the Spring, I may rake them out of the way into the walkway which is line in hard wood chips. I agree, planting should be in soil. I am hoping that all that I've applied will be soil as the materials decay. I pray my next experience is fruitful. I have yet to figure it all out, what will be planted, where. I have 7 interior mounded rows and a mound on the perimeter. I've only put in garlic in that, to war off wildlife. This is my retirement plan, to grow food to eat. But it tricky to do that economically. And it is hard work to bring up organic materials, a little at a time is all I can do. Please answer this, what is your preferred way to grow sweet potatoes? Do you grow strawberries and what is the best way to get a good crop? What brand of onion, shallots, do yo recommend?

[@gardeningwithhoss]

We grow lots of sweet potatoes. They tend to prefer well-drained soils and warm days. We have several videos on our channel about sweet potatoes. We've never grown strawberries, but should definitely give it a try. Onions will be specific to your area. You can see our onion (hosstools.com/product-category/premium-garden-seeds/onions/) seed page here where you can choose the type (short-day, intermediate-day or long-day) based on your region.

[@calvinborer6572]

Really enjoy your guy’s videos I am a huge proponent of no-till when it comes to raising corn and soybeans in an equal rotation, I’m talking 25-30 years where the only tillage was the culture for injecting liquid fertilizer and the Seed openers from the drill and corn planter with some occasional inline ripping on heavily compacted areas. It’s amazing how much better the soil structure is compared to conventional tillage. The soil just develops its own ecosystem with all the microorganisms undisturbed…On the other hand I till the absolute sh$t out of my garden for ease of planting so this is actually quite interesting for me, I’ve never even considered a no-till garden lol

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Glad you enjoyed the video, Calvin!

[@randywilliams3659]

Travis, you talk about weed pressure..... I’m in Northport, Al.... have problem with nut grass..... any ideas how to control or reduce weed pressure... Extension Agent told my Dad there was only one solution.... MOVE!! I keep between rows clean with Troybilt tiller set to 1-2 inches between rows.... for me to not over till controlling emerging weeds and conserve water.... any advice appreciated!

[@gardeningwithhoss]

You have to aggravate it to death. We used to have bad nutgrass issues in some of our plots. That was solved by using drip irrigation -- not watering between rows -- and by performing a light, shallow cultivation 2-3x a week. It will eventually go away.

[@craigmatheson2736]

Historically people used to "let the soil rest" once every 7 years. Try deviding your farm able land into 7 parcels, do crop rotation, and on the "resting" acre just stay on top of the weeds. Goats and chickens in this area will help too as they will digest the weed seeds; cows and horses will only fertilize and transplant any seeds they consume. Keep us updated if you do the 4- legged weed eater method.

[@TWIBU1]

Bless their hearts!! Making silly comments. You tell them I said to calm down and they need to go on with all that mess!! Leave these men alone folks!! They are just sharing what THEY do- go do you own thing & keep negativity AWAY!! Oh! & Hello to everyone in the gardening community who are pleasant folks!! Hey, there, hey!! Keep growin' how you grow!! & Thanks for the experiment Hoss!!!

[@helicart]

A problem I have with mulching in a sub tropical hot climate with heavy rain periods is the mulch gets very wet, and holds the water for a week or more close to the vegetable leaf and trunk. This ends up rotting the vege. This is especially so with lettuce and similar.

[@justinhall1844]

Good info, thanks . Luckily our county has free mulch by the truckload. We have a small yard so I think it works for us. I wouldn't want to move that much mulch either.

[@SunShine-nz8kp]

Your garden is always so beautiful and productive-------so why would you change what you do???? It's already great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Thanks for sharing.

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Probably not going to drastically change anything, just doing it for the sake of comparison.

[@mikekeens9326]

Love your videos, keep at it Hoss! I live in central Florida, so your shared experiences apply to a lot of my gardening issues as well. I’d love to come up and work a day on your farm, and maybe rack your brain for some good tips!

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Maybe one of these days, once we get our new building settled, we can have a farm day or two for our great subscribers.

[@amandar7719]

Thank you for explaining your experiment. How’s the no-till garden doing this summer?

[@scrapykat3028]

Getting ready to get my garden going this weekend. School garden underway!

[@Letha222]

Your garden is beautiful. Keep doing what you're doing.

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Thank you so much!

[@jakesarms8996]

I use straw mulch because it looks nice. It holds moisture, but in town it needs to look tidy for us and the neighborhood.

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Thanks for watching.

[@lynetteledoux2845]

I sure would like to see a video (maybe you have one out there) on the various cover crops, the pests and undesirables they prevent/get rid of, and when to plan in your zone.

[@gardeningwithhoss]

We do have a few. I don't have the links in front of me, but they are on our channel somewhere.

[@nailwall1078]

Soil master I belive in it changed Mr its tilling thin strips too make sure you got good seed bed every year then no till everywhere else that way you get thee benefits still

[@nailwall1078]

Put credit where it's due I got this from David hula who himself life long no till has switched too soil warrior he runs commercials for them and sold me on it.

[@wcm68tn]

There's no way I could disagree more with the no mulch headline. On top of multispecies cover crops that NEVER get plowed under (only mechanically terminated on the surface), I'm constantly adding grass clippings to my garden. They suppress weeds, keep the soil cool, preserve moisture, protect the crop from rain splashing potential diseases onto the plants, and provide food for the life in the soil. That life in the soil is EVERYTHING when it comes to producing vegetables that are loaded with nutrients. Without that, we might as well be buying our vegetables at the Krogers. All plastic mulch does is kill the life in the soil.

[@ricksmith1574]

I agree with both of you all. You guys just find a way to make both of them work.

[@sherrimize3004]

That was a great video, one of your best and a lot of knowledge! Thanks, luv Sherri

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Thanks for watching Sherri!

[@sherrimize3004]

😊 Always, luv you guys. Sherri 🌻

[@jeil5676]

A cover crop is considered a living mulch. If you are going to seed a cover crop, you need to remove the existing mulch like straw, wood chips, whatever. For most its just a matter of raking it aside, but I see how that can be difficult for these guys with their farm fields. Once the cover crop is terminated you can rake the old mulch back into place.

[@takishasallbeautyzone]

I'm with you on the mulch. I've tried it, but my fungal issues went through the roof! I'm still trying to learn this crazy NC weather. It's been the most challenging area I've ever grown in. So I tried the mulch. I wish I never did it.

[@stevencollins4555]

i did the same could not grow was terrible, this year i plowed with a back hoe 16 inches turn over then tilled so far no problems, no mulch works here

[@quanahhurtt4443]

Must be nice to live where lack of water isn't an issue.

[@MrSymbolic7]

I live 30 miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico in Texas and would agree with taking off gardening during August and Sept. for 2 reasons the heat and the hurricanes , I also feel his pain with the fire ants as we have been over run in the last 60 years with the buggers and you can't get rid of them only encourage them to move 10 ' at a time and they pop right back up , the only thing that I would say about mulching, especially with straw is that I grow some strawberries for the Grandchildren to pick and you must cover them with either plastic or straw , but the Gentleman is correct straw isn't cheap at all !

[@paulsr.dicrispino642]

I liked your idea about cover crop as mulch between rows instead of mulch. Right now I have some ryegrass growing and plan on putting compost on top after mowing. I plan on planting potatoes there. When the potatoes come up maybe I might plant another cover crop as a weed supression. Any suggestions?

[@gardeningwithhoss]

You could, as long as you leave some soil for hilling the potatoes.

[@alexalarcon4847]

You have a very satisfying style of gardening.

[@gardeningwithhoss]

👍

[@nicholasgrayson7398]

Travis, do you think that putting drip tape on top of the soil and then coming back and applying a thick layer of compost on top to bury the tape and planting into the compost would work? This way you get the tape "buried" without having to disturb the soil underneath. I realize it might be tricky to use the dibble wheel in this scenario, but it seems like it would work pretty well overall. I would love to get your thoughts. Great video as always! I look forward to part 2!

[@billemery9192]

Hello, I'm not Travis but I do what you asked all time... I lay drip tape on top of soil, mulch with good compost, turn it on to get the spacing, and then plant. It's worked great for many years.

[@nicholasgrayson7398]

@@billemery9192 That's great to hear! Thank you for your response. I am thinking of trying this approach in the future. I'm glad to hear that it is working well for you. It seems like it is a great way to take advantage of the benefits of no-till and sub-surface drip irrigation.

[@gardeningwithhoss]

You could do that. It would just be a bit more time consuming than the way we usually do it.

[@nicholasgrayson7398]

@@gardeningwithhoss Yes, the drip tape layer attachment for the wheel hoe sure is slick. Thanks for the response!

[@munchkin5674]

As you are basically gardening year round, are you must be a market gardener or do you have a large family you grow for or both? As for mulch, compost makes a very awesome mulch, period!

[@gardeningwithhoss]

We do grow year round because our climate allows for it. We used to sell a good bit of our produce, but now we just eat it and give the rest away.

[@myrurallife_official]

I have been experimenting with woodchip mulch (bout 2 hrs south of Travis, in Florida) and I will concur about the ant issues. I have been making a habit of raking the top of the mulch to mimic the shallow cultivation and it seems to help.

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Ants don't like disturbance, that's for sure.

[@rickpearce4653]

I’m using two year old hay with no fertilizer or herbicides used on it for ground cover for my Cantaloupe garden . This does suppress the weeds and grass very well but am I making a home for insects. I’d did have a lot of insects and not a fan of insecticides. Is their a milder insecticides that won’t kill all the pollinators ? Second question is do you sell a wide rim straw hat that will keep the hot sun off my face and ears ? Thanks for your input .

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Horticulture oil and BT will be the safest. We do have a straw hat. Not a real wide brim, but works for me in the garden. hosstools.com/product/hoss-straw-hat/

[@rickpearce4653]

Hoss Tools thank you for your comments.

[@beckykerns529]

Great information. Now I don't know what I'm going to do though. New at gardening... Spent most of my garden time last year weeding . And still seen more weeds than I ever want to see again.

[@gardeningwithhoss]

You should give tarping a try. The tarp forces the weed seeds to germinate, but then they die due to lack of light. It really helps with reducing the weed seed bank (and thus your weed pressure) in the garden.

[@beckykerns529]

@@gardeningwithhoss thanks so much for responding!!! It means alot to me. I will try tarping between crops; I also plan on planting a cover crop to help my soil. Thanks again for your time.

[@gardeningwithhoss]

👍

[@ginasgardens]

wow i havent watched your videos in a while and WOW what an amazing progression. straight FACTS here and i love this sit down and chat style. keep doing good work !!

[@gardeningwithhoss]

👍

[@JuliaEntz]

Our temperatures in summer are always in the 90’s and often over a hundred. Our soil can get hard and hot. Mulching keeps the roots cooler. Do your soils not get “sun baked?”

[@gardeningwithhoss]

They can in August and September. But we can't grow anything but okra and sweet potatoes in those months anyways.

[@karaerway4907]

I was subscribed to you before and all of a sudden I wasn’t. I am now, all’s good 😂

[@kristenjohnson787]

What are the pros and cons of using contractor grade ground cloth in the vegetable garden?

[@gardeningwithhoss]

The cons would be if you are using drip irrigation, it can be hard to fix a leak. Also laying it would take a little extra time up front. The pros would be definite weed suppression and soil moisture, although I've seen some weeds that can grow through it.

[@bryanwiley6760]

I have been told to plant your garden on raised rows and then put you cotton compost in between the rows. I haven’t done that yet but I was going to try it this spring. How do you think that would work.

[@gardeningwithhoss]

I think planting on raised rows is only necessary if you have an issue with soil drainage. Otherwise, it's just an extra step. That's why we just plant "on the flat."

[@chrisphelps9901]

Great info as always. Thanks much Trav

[@gardeningwithhoss]

👍

[@graydon479]

How hot does your soil get waiting for your cover crop to grow? Plants stress and produce less and weeds start growing.

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Not has any issues with that here.

[@loganyoutube4818]

If you guys made a no till garden planter that could cut through residue and do little disturbance I would buy it

[@gardeningwithhoss]

A seeder that can cut through reside requires a considerable amount of weight -- so much that it would not be easy to push.

[@davecourington]

We grow in raised beds because our soil is mostly sand. I have to use mulch to keep them from drying out completely every day. Not sure what else I can do in my situation.

[@nancywebb6549]

Try planting cover crops in your off season. It really helps my raised beds.

[@xyzsame4081]

Of all the reasons, ease of sowing and the fire ants and termites are the legit arguments. If you work with seedlings it should not matter. but if you seed by hand you would have to shove the top covera aside and place your seeds. It is pretty easy to move wood chips around, maybe take it easy for a few days with the irrigation and wait after heavy rain, so they became lighter. So shove all the chips aside, then make a row to drop the seeds, cover them with soil. add some compost and then finish off with the top layer.

[@norpuma55]

It might be fun to try one plot in a true no till method. Charles Dowding has done some tests with no till and the results show that no till performs better. It would be interesting because in nature there is no till. It seems tilling the top 1/2 inch might be fine. No matter what I thank you for your program. We all learn from each other. Have a great day and best of luck with your gardening.

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Thanks Roy!

[@bagriffith5742]

Do you ever use or recommend using woven ground cover or landscaping fabric in your gardens?

[@gardeningwithhoss]

We have never used. We use cover crops and succession planting.

[@herbgraybill8963]

Do see the row of young trees that are shading the garden, having to come out in the future? Thanks

[@gardeningwithhoss]

They're not mine, or they would already be gone. Those trees are the edge of my property line.

[@johnreeves3380]

Love these videos and your curiosity and testing. Can you share your Opinion on using some, not totally mulching, but some Pine Straw to hold moisture and screen from sun baking the bare soil layer.

[@gardeningwithhoss]

We do not use a lot of mulch. We do use some pine straw in our containers.

[@tinav4755]

What would you suggest to keep the johnson grass we have to deal with in oklahoma. it can take over a bed in a few weeks

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Need to do a tarp and till rotation. Till the plot, tarp it for a few weeks, pull back the tarp, till again, put the tarp back down and keep repeating 3-4 times. It will eventually go away for good.

[@tinav4755]

@@gardeningwithhoss Thank you so much been dealing with it for years to the point where I stopped gardening I will try this method

[@gardeningwithhoss]

👍

[@MistressOnyaCox]

I wanna see you try HUGLEKULTURE MOUND test garden 🤯💚💚👍🏻👍🏽👍🏿

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Have you ever seen a termite mound?

[@WatchThisSpaceMedia]

Chopping down your cover crops and leaving it on your beds is the best form of mulching

[@kimlittleton4943]

I have a question......do you have to use silage tarp or can you use just regular black plastic????? What is the pros and cons between the two. Thanks for all of your valuable advise.

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Our Silage Tarps are made with 6 mil plastic, so light can't penetrate them and they hold up very well in the sunlight. Some tarps will degrade quickly with UV exposure.

[@kimlittleton4943]

@@gardeningwithhoss Thank you for the quick response. That is awesome. Yeah....I think the black plastic I have is only 4 mil. I can see using something thicker and more hefty would last longer and work better. Thanks again.

[@StarrThomason]

When you do decide to pull up tomato’s? I’m in east Texas and about the end of June/ July my tomato’s we’re done and taken over by bugs. Should I pull them before then to help with the pest problems? I’m done 8b and it’s humid and bugs are terrible here.

[@gardeningwithhoss]

We pull ours in early to mid July. No sense in just having a breeding ground for diseases and insects.

[@tracestevens1773]

Your gardens are beautiful!

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Thank you!

[@barbaraengle768]

Do they deliver the gin trash,we live in Hazlehurst Georgia,& the place you get your,I think they also do our area

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Not sure, but here is the website www.bgcottoncompost.com/

[@barbaraengle768]

@@gardeningwithhoss thank you 🌱

[@mplslawnguy3389]

I mulch, but I have a suburban lot with a regular garden. What he's doing is basically farming and people here arguing against his point are not growing to this scale. Mulch is impractical when you're growing all year and your rows are constantly changing.

[@mitchellrussell5001]

I am trying to find compost I live in Baxley Georgia Augusta is the closest place I found where do you get yours from

[@gardeningwithhoss]

We get ours from a local cotton gin in the big town of Lenox, GA.

[@SJGardener]

i'm sure you will find both things you like and things you don't like comparing these two gardening methods,, either way, neither is exactly the way others do it, tho it may be close,, but in the end if you learn something new or get a new idea,, well to me thats what makes trying new things worth the trip. If we never try to compare new to old,, or what's safe and comfortable to what's different and unknown we'd never learn anything. So great job on just trying no matter how it works out, even a failed experiment teaches something.

[@gardeningwithhoss]

If we ever think we've got it all figured out, we couldn't be more wrong.

[@ncbuckslayer8244]

Where did you get the compost?

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Cotton Gin in our local area

[@daviddawson1718]

I like to use a bit of pine straw, but I don't know where you could find any

[@gardeningwithhoss]

There's plenty of pine straw here in the south. We use it for landscaping around our house, but haven't ever used it in the garden.

[@noozguy]

Is the gin trash compost you mention in this video straight from a cotton gin or is something else done to it between the gin and your garden? Asking because I've been going to the local cotton gin for years for what they called cotton dirt, or gin trash. It's free and they're so happy to get rid of it they'll load your truck for you. I've filled my raised beds with it for years with good results, adding only some fertilizer and nutrients as needed. Thanks! I'm really enjoying your videos, very informative and very well presented.

[@gardeningwithhoss]

They do take it through a process and it looks just like compost.

[@vedaandchristyruiz9872]

I'd be interested in Hoss Tools' thoughts on plastic mulch. It was suggested to me although I was just planning on using the wheel hoe for weeding. Thank you.

[@dans3718]

I'm experimenting with landscape cloth as mulch, the good 5-year stuff. Fire ants seem to love it, unfortunately. Only first year planting through it so far though. Do good on weed suppression though.

[@vedaandchristyruiz9872]

@@dans3718 Thank you. I am wondering how one would side dress plants with a plastic mulch or landscape cloth covering access to the base of the plant.

[@dans3718]

@@vedaandchristyruiz9872 Very difficult from what I have seen. Bigger holes for plants, but that means it's less effective at doing its job. I use liquid applications of homemade fertilizer and moicrobial solution (Korean Natural Farming style).

[@billemery9192]

@@vedaandchristyruiz9872 under any type of mulch it's easiest to side dress or 'spoon feed' nutrients like he does... use drip and a decent injector into the drip system.

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Plastic mulch is great. But it can be tough to apply correctly on a small scale. That's why we don't do it. The commercial produce guys around here have an attachment on the tractors that lay drip tape and cover it with plastic simultaneously.

[@beth6102]

Good video. First time seeing your channel. I love seeing the dog. Looks like a Boykin Spaniel which is a breed I am very fond of.

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Welcome!

[@carlsutherland3730]

Great content! I learn a lot just watching y'all work.

[@zwtrussell4517]

l live in Crisp co GA. Where do you get your gin trash compost. It is cotton ginning time in south GA. Thanks Zeke

[@gardeningwithhoss]

We get ours from The Cotton Gin in Lenox, GA.

[@zwtrussell4517]

Thanks for the information on the gin trash compost. About an hour down I75 south.

[@LaLascrops]

Hello what do you suggest for preventing the cabbage root fly? I stay in Florida and I have lost a cabbage and collard plant so far. Is is best to just do cover tunnel for the brassicas? I see you stay in Georgia and you don’t have your brassicas covered.

[@gardeningwithhoss]

We don't ever cover ours, but we have an organic spraying program we use.

[@LaLascrops]

@@gardeningwithhoss what spray do you suggest?

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Upon further investigation, I don't see any organic spraying methods recommended for cabbage root fly. It appears that they best way to control them is through crop rotation, cover cropping and tillage. Disturbing the soil can keep them from overwintering and being a problem in future years.

[@yourstruly_diane]

We got 3 inches of rain all last year and we are 100°+ quite often... I have to have a pretty thick mulch to keep any kind of moisture in my ground or I’m watering twice a day. Ugh.

[@Car-jy8pw]

I do have to use mulch unless I want to water every day once it’s in the triple digits. I only use cedar chips since it’s the only thing I’ve found that keeps slugs away. I keep it to a minimum and I don’t til it in so it doesn’t leach out the nitrogen. If I had better access to large amounts of compost I’d much rather do it your way. If you don’t need it, you don’t need it. You’ll drive yourself crazy looking too much into “feedback”.

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Thanks for watching

[@Peaceful-resistance1]

I do know that wood chips (pine?) When tilled in can tie up your nitrogen for 2 years...

[@jimmydykes7961]

Crops look good but 2 tons of compost per spot?I'm transitioning to no till corn and larger seeded crops.I'm trying to figure this stuff out,but it would take 4 tons of compost for my garden...doesnt seem practical...dont know

[@soonernation6749]

I mulched my garden last year and had an explosion of earwigs that destroyed my plants. Ill never do it again. Instead I'll intercrop so the plants shade the bed.

[@dietarychef2212]

I live in the deep, hot, south. If I didn't use mulch the sun would dry out my soil in a day and my veggies would be pathetic.

[@hanna401]

Would you be willing to go the opposite direction and do a double dig plot for comparison? With the scale you work on, it might be a good excuse to rent an excavator. lol

[@insidethegardenwall22]

Yes, that would really be interesting!

[@gardeningwithhoss]

Haha. I think an excavator would make a huge mess on our property.