How to Use Mulch in the Veg Garden to Build Healthy Soil and Grow Healtheir Vegetables

[@tessasilberbauer6219]

Thank you. In South Africa which is a chronically dry country, mulch has reduced the need for both frequency and quantity of watering. That's valuable not only in monetary terms but also ecologically

[@HuwRichards]

Oh that's wonderful Tessa!

[@LizZorab]

Great video Huw, you know that I'm a fan of mulching. I have serious compost envy - the compost that you are mulching the beans with looks fantastic!

[@emmlila]

Well spoken. Compost envy. Yes!

[@ElleCappuchino]

Thanks again Huw! My son and I keep refering back to veg in one bed. It's lovely to have a book of which the lay-out appeals to my 8 yr old too!

[@husnumubarakhaleem989]

Thanks for the video. I live in Germany and the weather is quite like in England

[@HuwRichards]

I'm in Wales:)

[@UrbanHomesteadMomma]

Mulch is the absolute best thing ever! Keeps the weeds down, keeps the water in, and adds lots to the soil... I love it! In Canada I find hay or straw easy to find as well as fall leaves... I get my hubby to run it over with the mower to break it down for me and I use it that way... I also use a lot of grass clippings but you can’t add that too thickly or it matts down too much... it does give the garden a great hit of nitrogen though :)

[@FebbieG]

I already know that mulch is awesome, and use sheet mulch in my Texas garden, but that last tip about temporary mulch for during a frost is something I'd never heard. Let us remember that just because we think we might know enough, there's always more to learn, and just because our climates are very different, it doesn't mean that we can't all teach each other a thing or two.

[@HuwRichards]

I couldn't agree more! I learn and discover so much from other gardeners from different climates. It's all about being open and also being able to adapt :)

[@kathystearns9012]

I use dried grass clippings in my area and it's been good thus far.😯 It helps to keep flying seeds off the dirt, so they aren't sprouting in my containers. It also helps to delay drying out the dirt.

[@ThirdCoastGardening]

I used mulch in my garden for all the reasons you mentioned, but also to try to prevent mosquitoes. My goal was to limit the mud to eliminate their breeding ground. Doesn’t get rid of all the mosquitos but takes away a breeding ground.

[@thomasfuchs9451]

When we moved in I was worried about the tall mini forst behind our property and all the leaves that come from it. Now I appreciate about 5m³ of leaves every year. I keep them in a big pile in autum and mix them with greens for my compost, use them as top mulch or sheet mulch to kill weeds. I even started offering the numbers to dump their share of the leaves on our property. They are still confused since everybody else is quite annoyed by them. They don't realize how much minerals those trees pull from the ground that I can put on my beds

[@phoenixandthedragon3400]

Bless you, Huw. We've been going out on slug patrol every night to try to keep them off our lettuce, spinach, peas and beans, so we're now on our way outside to remove the grass mulch! Doh!

[@HuwRichards]

If you can keep on top of the slugs well then you can keep the mulch. A lot of it is about trail and error :)

[@tryingtobeanauthorencourag9843]

Thank you Huw. Beginning of lockdown here in South Africa I have started my own veg bed. We have many vervet monkeys which do cause havoc and so we have started closing my veg in, also to keep our Lab pup out of my beds. I have always been a little slow about mulching and I can see the benefit of it. My compost pile is still new, but I'll use leaves from the garden to keep my beds snug. Thanks again

[@thomasfuchs9451]

If, like me, you live in an area where birds dig up your woodchip and mulch: Buy Jute or Coconut fiber netting used for holding top soil in pond and landscape construction and place it as a final layer of mulch. You can plant into the holes of the net, keeps the mulch in place and works as an additional cover. To flip the bed, take it off, apply compost and mulch and back on top.

[@PaleGhost69]

One of my favorite mulches is pet bedding. Wood shavings that are used for rabbit/rodent cages. It is about 1/3 the price of wood chips, breaks down in just a few months and is small enough that it allows seedlings to push through easily.

[@HuwRichards]

That's an awesome mulch!

[@deborahevans5696]

FYI - check in with your local custom woodworkers / cabinetmakers. Usually they are more than happy to fill your storage tubs for free. Only caution is to get the shavings from routers and planers, not sawdust from sanders, its way too fine.

[@cecespark7251]

I read about using the animal, chicken bedding and am trying it out this year, close to my plants. Adding some regular wood chips around that to help keep rain from washing too much soil downhill. How thick are you putting down the bedding?

[@lois-morgenforde1581]

Hope one day I'll get the honor of meeting you huw. Your videos are so informative

[@crossing3790]

Thank you for sharing. Very much appreciated. You are an exceptional of garden maintenance. It is your passion that makes the difference. 1..........Is there a reason why you dont woodchip mulch all your beds? How do you mulch an area covered with wood chips? Remove the woodchips? Is there a change required underneath (or above) the woodchips each year? (remove woodchips and mulch then put woodchips back on?) I have most everything under wood chips and was wondering how to treat this situation with mulch......or not. 2.............I have an abundance of green garden waste from my brassicas etc.....I just put them into one large compost bin alltogether. I dont add any browns as I dont have any browns as I would have in the fall (dry leaves). How do you treat your green waste at this time of year? Just pile them up? With browns (which browns)? Add browns months later? Do you turn your greens? In your compost videos you mix leaves with greens but that is in the fall season. What about now? Thank you again for sharing. Blessings to you and your followers

[@RichGardenLife]

Thanks for the tip will definitely try this out in my garden.....Your Garden looks wonderful

[@bristolveggiebeds5310]

I love using cardboard! I only started mulching a couple of years ago, but it's great!

[@thomasfuchs9451]

Cardboard mulching turned me into a freaking horder. Everytime my wife wants to throw it in the trash, I am like "No, that goes in the garage. I might need it"

[@shawtop]

I started using Mulch a few weeks ago. Definitely don't need to water as much.

[@crossing3790]

@@shawtop how do you mean? do you use large pieces or very tiny cut up yourself pieces and throw them on the bedding? I hoard all cardboard also. Feed it to my bath-tub-worms and throw it into compost piles in small pieces. I have never thrown it onto the top of any bed or between plants though. Is that what you do? Thanks for sharing

[@DiegoPunchw]

Good advices. It's autumn here, so we use a lot of leaves!

[@izzywizzy2361]

thanks Huw, good tip about the mulch round perennial plants.

[@HuwRichards]

My pleasure Izzy :)

[@m0ther0ne]

I found your book veg one bed, at Tesco. I have found it very useful as its month by month, thank you

[@HuwRichards]

Awh I'm so glad you like it! :)

[@suburbanhomestead]

I suppose it is semantics, but I’ve always considered compost less of a mulch and more of soil itself

[@HuwRichards]

I totally agree but it's a hard one, in the UK it (compost) is the most recommended mulch unless you can control slugs well :) The US has far less of a slug issue and would get a shock if they game to grow here haha.

[@ianrose5047]

@@HuwRichards The Pacific Northwest might have something to say about that. Our region (Oregon and Washington states) has the same extreme issues with slugs that you do in the UK, due to our similar climate. I envy drier, slug-free areas in the early spring, but not once summer hits.

[@junydanielsalexander2324]

Thanks for the info really appreciate it...your garden is very beautiful!

[@gardennerd1757]

Your videos are always a pleasure to watch. It's great timing, too, since I just received a dumptruck load of shredded woodchips from ChipDrop this morning. Now I can start the process of mulching everything... hauling buckets full of freshly shredded wood and leaves from the driveway to the back yard. I'll be building muscles, since I haven't yet invested in a wheelbarrow. Heh heh heh... I leave you with the image of a woman, five feet, one and a half inches tall, and around 130 pounds, shoveling buckets full of wood chips to carry them across a third of an acre for mulch. I hope this is an amusing image. Thank you for another good video, Huw.

[@LK-3000]

I wish I could get ChipDrop where I am. I registered but they don't have any arborists who are looking to unload woodchips in or near my area. I keep looking to see if I'm eligible yet, but alas there's nothing out my way. I can get free mulch but I have to drive there to get it and it's not a short trip. As soon as gas prices drop, I'm going to be on the road again collecting my free compost and mulch.

[@wilsonator2008]

Would you recommend regularly using hedge clippings as a mulch? I basically use the hedge clippings from my hedge to rot down on the garden and eventually build up the soil along with compost from my compost bin to grow potatoes, peas or beans.

[@Ed-eq5kd]

Thanks Huw, another interesting video with some great tips.

[@pabbyification]

Thanks for the advice. Will be putting the cardboard wood chip to use now

[@kathygoodwin8360]

I enjoy watching your videos...and love your accent. I live in the southwest desert, love seeing your fantastic garden. I use raised beds because the soil is too hard to dig.

[@HuwRichards]

Thank you so much Kathy! Raised beds are just fantastic

[@stevendowden2579]

ive been doing it for years nlce video

[@HuwRichards]

Thanks Steven for your support and comment :)

[@tessmonro7102]

I find watering around the plant and soaking the cardboard first cuts down the amount of water I need at the end of the process. I use a wheelbarrow or a little paddling pool to soak the cardboard.

[@deborahlee1072]

Thank you Huw. Love the cardboard/woodchip and temporary mulching ideas!

[@susanwaldrep8358]

Do you grow everything you eat? Do you ever go to the grocery store? Is there anything you can't grow there? Do you raise any kind of livestock? I love to watch your videos I've watched them for years

[@richardrobinson4869]

Great video

[@momaneglistivali4579]

Hi Huw, nice video, very interesting and inspiring, but I don't understand why do you remove the cardboard in Spring?

[@jamesalanstephensmith7930]

Helpful!

[@lukejones1244]

You'd do better sprinkling flour around them. Flour is a starch, so a carbohydrate. The soil life love it.

[@HuwRichards]

This is very interesting, thanks Luke, I'm going to research this further!

[@lukejones1244]

@@HuwRichards You're welcome. In india they use rice water. The plants exude glucose through their roots for the soil life. That's why they use cover crops. So, really, the soil life just wants glucose, or other forms of carbohydrates (sugars). That;'s why they say "the compost breaks down and releases carbon into the soil". Carbo = carbon.

[@TheLeisamarie]

We rinse our rice before we cook it and I pour the rinse water onto our flower beds.

[@ridalgo1]

If you use wood chips as mulch like I did for my summer raised beds, do you remove them before adding a layer of compost and add them back on top or would you add the compost over the wood chips? I hear that wood chips should not be mixed into the soil. Any direction provided would be highly appreciated.

[@jemroberts6507]

Morning Huw. I am making some new raised beds and have a lot of pine and fir trees that we need to prune. We have a garden shredder. I was wondering if it was okay to put a thickish layer on top of these beds to hopefully break down in time for planting next spring?

[@j.l8539]

What would recommend to add to beds in autumn for next year to improve and replenish the soil with nutrients and organic matter, other than homemade compost?

[@beblessedwoman]

Hi Huw, I love to watch your video, it's very useful for me. I have found lots of pill bugs and ants under mulch, pill bugs eat younger plants, how to treat them?

[@mikeharrington5593]

Off topic. Any recommendations for an online Apk/downloadable gardener's digital diary to maintain a record of all sowing, planting, harvesting ? I am very hit & miss with my planning & sowing & I want to get more organized ! It's never too late .. ..

[@benwoodhouse4329]

Ano people have probly asked you many times but how many hours per day you spend in garden Just great to know what other people do with the time as well

[@HuwRichards]

A full day (7-8ish hours) a week

[@easyandnatural6320]

Can you please suggest how to protect pots from rainy weather I in these days.

[@alexrottb]

Very interesting video as always, Huw. I was wondering: Do you ever use cover crops/green manure to cover beds throughout winter and early spring?

[@HuwRichards]

Great question Alexander! No I don't, I find it too much of a faff ;)

[@thomasfuchs9451]

You could keep the beds green with edible crops. Either summer crops that can stay in the ground or something like spinach. So mulching and all year planting instead of cover crop,

[@deborahevans5696]

@@HuwRichards Sorry, but what's a "faff"?

[@richardrobinson4869]

@@deborahevans5696 faff means to much fussing and effort for the result

[@TrampoJack]

What happens to the cardboard afterwards?

[@macjarvis2882]

I have 6 huge heaps of wood chips!!

[@HuwRichards]

That's awesome!

[@shawtop]

Amazing kzbin.info/www/bejne/b4azomN8ltOLhsk

[@jrisner6535]

No need to show off /s

[@evelyndill5688]

Lol so pure, Im constantly on the look out for free wood mulch and I have a few friends that will call on me at any given moment to shovel mulch. It's usually the highlight of my week

[@macjarvis2882]

J Risner haha sorry 😔

[@TheRainHarvester]

2:20 what are those square trellis in the background made of?!

[@geordiemack4143]

I'm just about to plant a young loganberry at the back of my garden. Would it be beneficial to mulch around this to help it start off?

[@HuwRichards]

Yes absolutely :)

[@danielvillaslacoma8868]

Hello , im from spain, my english is not so good.... can you tell me what is the second option you say after adding compost in the minute 2:221, it seems ends in manual, tnaks a lot!!!!!

[@hannahwhitfield847]

He said "well rotted manure" 🙂

[@christinejjones3068]

What was the name of that berry.. That you said was your favorite?

[@quartz1861]

Silvanberry - a cross between a blackBerry (bramble) and raspberry.

[@christinejjones3068]

@@quartz1861 Thanks!

[@barrzy256]

Huw what was the perennial soft fruit you mention? KZbin subtitles don’t seem to recognise it either 😂

[@beryltarus3484]

Do you have 'devil's finger' problem? They started growing in my place, not sure why, but google says it grows on rotting wood, moist area

[@jenniferryan7379]

Hi Huw, what was the berry bush you mulched in the video, please? Did you say silver berry? I've not heard of that before . Thanks.

[@HuwRichards]

It's called a silvanberry, which is a blackberry raspberry cross :)

[@jenniferryan7379]

@@HuwRichards Thanks so much!

[@henningbartels6245]

@@HuwRichards , have you ever tried the Black Raspberry 'Black Jewel'? That is my favourite.

[@mabelkeziah9843]

what is the use of that carton sheet

[@ajsstuff193]

What part of wales you from? I’m from the north a place called llandudno. Also what’s the best veg you can grow here?

[@HuwRichards]

I know Llandudno well, but I'm down just outside Tregaron :) Leeks, Brassicas, peas, broad and runner beans and root veg are great for our climate, but you can grow virtually anything :)

[@AleshaOpry]

Huw: I want to buy your book... How can I contact you? I live in Thailand

[@shawtop]

Just totally ignored you alesha b. I wouldn't buy his book.

[@TheRainHarvester]

How do you get water under the cardboard?

[@HuwRichards]

We water the silvanberry using a can around the base of the plant, cardboard then stops the water reevaporating :)

[@Cordelia0704p]

I started watching this earlier and then it disappeared! Glad to see it back.

[@HuwRichards]

Thank you! :)

[@litomora8468]

❤️❤️

[@spuddyl9938]

I've always heard that woodchips will take away nitrogen from your soil as it breaks down so I'm scared to use it.

[@HuwRichards]

As long as you don't mix it in your haven't absolutely nothing to worry about :)

[@emmlila]

Oh no. I'd added it around my corn.🙈 adding nitrogen asap.

[@HuwRichards]

Emmie you're okay as long as it's on top then don't worry!

[@lykri3350]

Imagine you just moved into a property with a row of peonies behind the house and the two-car garage. Imagine it was empty for decades and you bought it. That is what I have. Neglected, weed infested peonies infested with every kind of weed and edible weed. I weeded it three times since spring and was sad to see how weak the bushes were this year when they bloomed-- as if it was so used to growing among weeds that I shocked it. But I think I just need to go forward and try to figure out how --with my non-green thumb--to put down cardboard and wood chips. I saw this video just in time because I would have used the wrong stuff and the wrong method and would have killed them.

[@Mrpurple75]

Carnage!

[@RoyHolder]

Welcome back, what happened?

[@HuwRichards]

I made a glaringly bad mistake on the previous upload😉🤦‍♂️

[@JudyTanishaHenry]

As I clicked to watch the first one it disappeared.

[@HuwRichards]

Yes I had to take it down to ammend and error :)

[@electron3photon116]

Healthy soil is a simple then you think, cheaper, organic and recycled😂 Hay for grass, wood chip for wood, leaf for leaf, fruit and vegetables wasted for fruit. Just spread that all surrounding your soil, plant, and trees. Let them fermented in the soil, but spread the manure to the soil and let it for 1 month before you put the mulch😁👍 Good luck, oh... iam forgot, do not ever try to put any chemical to the compost😚