hey Janie and Jason. Having had more than 60 loads of arborists' chips, across 3 years, I feel ya!!!. I've learned a few things that may be helpful. Pitch forks (w 5 tines for bigger chips, 9 tines for finer chips) is often easier than shovels. Also, that "dust" may have been mold (also important for decomp) so a mask may be important, esp if you are coughing after. Also, I have noticed this mold grows rather quickly in the summer heat. When I get loads in the summer, I try to get them distributed within a day -- before the mold gets going. In cooler months, I try to get them distributed in 2-3 days to beat the mold growth. Good news! the more you do it the stronger you get. I can now do a load in 3-6 hours (by my 50-year-old-self). :). way better than the gym.. the garden looks fantastic!!!!!

@kerry4261

17 күн бұрын

My grandfather taught me to use a pitchfork and to dig from the bottom of the pile (using a pitchfork or flat shovel) - not digging into the pile! Many, many loads of mulch later I am a believer!

@michellescountrygardens

17 күн бұрын

I use a 10 tine bedding fork (think wide pitch fork). It is much easier to insert into the pile than the grain scoop you are using. You can actually get a much larger amount on even if some fall through the tines.

@emoryfarm

17 күн бұрын

@@michellescountrygardensI came to say the same thing! I was tired just watching you use those shovels!

@janeeberly4289

17 күн бұрын

Silage fork work great for moving mulch!

@SandyConnors-v6n

17 күн бұрын

I so glad to see you got a couple of new wheelbarrows, you will be so happy with the rubber made wheelbarrows, I have had mine for 30 years and it’s still going strong. It has been used to the extreme. 😍

I have used the no till method for at least 10 years. My kids could not understand this method until my son was over and I told him I was about to dig post holes by hand for 6x6 posts for my wisteria arbour. I told him i could dig 2 holes 3 feet deep in less than 30 minutes. I think I had them done in less time. I was about 55 years old at the time....not too shabby. He became a believer and now does his beds the same way.

The lady above is right about pitch forks are easier to use than shovels and don’t forget that mask😀

My husband got a lung infection from wood chip spreading. It was no joke. Please wear a mask in the future. Your yard is looking fantastic.

Definitely agree about wearing a mask while scooping chip mulch. I think the longer the pile sits, the dust gets worse (which makes me think it's at least partly mold). Love how great everything is doing as the 1 year mark approaches!

Beautiful sunrise over your garden

Hi Janey and Jason! I LOVE Jim Putnam and I love all the information in this video, where you break it down. Thank you 🙏

I believe Jim also says when you till your bringing up dormant weed seeds and they are very eager to germinate. 🌺💚🙃

@saraw8503

17 күн бұрын

Love Jim!

That morning glow...wow!!!!!!

TIP FOR SHOVELING CHIPS: Get a bedding fork. It sinks into the pile of chips SO much easier than shovels. Should be able to find them at Tractor Supply, Lowes, or Home Depot.

The color in your garden is so nice in the sunrise.

Is Jason regretting his decision to leave Physical Therapy? 😂😂😂 You two are an Amazing team. Love your videos

@MAA-dt1yo

16 күн бұрын

@@marilynruggeberg nobody regrets leaving healthcare these days!

Your weeping willow is really coming along. It looks great

My parents have had the same rubbermaid farm cart for over 25 years!!!

Great teamwork guys , looking amazing!

Good morning! Your flowers look so beautiful on camera 💕

Thank you for sharing the no till method. I wish I had heard or learned about this technique sooner. Now I see it talked about more and more. 🦋🌷🦋

Great work in the garden, Mulching has improved my garden soil too.

Good job and always listen to your body. Things are looking great. Go team!

Those carts are the best! I have horses-these last years for mucking stalls, shavings, hay, you name it. The best!

I've been no till for 6 years (laid cardboard and mulch) and NO more weed preasure! Water is retained and better plants!!

I sure wish I could get wood chips delivered but live in an oak wilt prone area of TX...I am not sure that anyone would guarantee that the load of chips wouldn't contain wood infected with oak wilt. I am sure clean wood chips would really help my clay based and compacted soil but my reality doesn't afford me the option. You guys are such hard workers...I enjoy your channel! Thanks for sharing your gardening journey with us.

Wow, you both got so much done. A good rest has been earned I think. Great video! 😊

You both are such hard workers! You can see the nice thick layer of mulch you guys are laying! Glad to see you stay hydrated 😊

Loving your videos! It is almost as hot here in Atlanta, and you have encouraged me to get into the garden very early in the day as well. I feel that you are my gardening buddies!

Your garden is looking so healthy and happy! It is very hard to garden right now with the heat, but where we are we have a coastal influence, and it is starting to cool down to more comfortable temps. Today I moved a beach umbrella around with me so I was constantly in shade, but even then I took breaks because it felt hot and humid. My chiropractor suggested I try drinking the emergen-C fizzy packets because it has electrolytes, and is much better for our bodies than Gatorade. It really does seem to help. Stay cool! 🥰💐

Good job! Looks so much better. You both are smart to stop working in that kind of heat.😊

The diachondra silver falls looks amazing. As does the rest of your orchard garden! Would you consider moving the pots in front of the zig zag? I've never been a fan of them there and think you should consider really showcasing the zig zag

I had a gopher problem. Rat traps with peanut butter sprinkled with bird seed tucked under plants. They are cute but do so much damage I had to take drastic measures. (keep puppy away from the traps though!)

I'm a total fan of the no-dig too. We inherited a terrible garden situation--sandy, rocky, weedy mess--a couple of years ago in our new property and this is the method we used. We actually hired a company to spray organic mulch over the cardboard because we had such a large area to fill. Now, second summer in, when I dig in the dirt, it is actually looking much better. Need to add more mulch yet but the plants are thriving.

Great job guys !! Looks amazing ! That’s what ivd been doing working in the garden from 6 am until 730,then shower and go to work!! I accomplish so much in an hour and an half !! I work everyday but at night it’s too hot ,way too hot and most nights I come home after 9!!❤

Super helpful video. My husband suggested removing a hedge to expand my cut flower garden so preparing for no dig method and did not realize I need to put mulch on top so great timing. I'll likely start the process end of Aug/big of Sept (6b).

Morning, does your hot tub have a shower? As I watched you both tilling the soil I kept thinking an outdoor shower would be perfect. Be careful in the heat.

Your garden is really filling and so gorgeous! Great job on the planning the areas.😎👍❤️❤️❤️

I love Chip Drop too, Janey! It took me a little over a month to spread all the mulch, but it was so worth it! 😁

Everything looks beautiful!! Hi from Southern Illinois!

Everything looks great and excellent decision to stop early.

Hi Janie! I am SO excited to have found you! I am soloing a redo on a 9 year old garden in the Sacramento area, and your videos are a gold mine for me. Your fearless gardening and adorable personality are like icing on the cake! Your garden is drool-worthy, and I can't wait to watch it through the changing seasons.

I can’t believe how much things have grown in the past week in your garden! Two years ago, in the spring, I determined where I was going to put a daffodil . I mowed the grass short, covered it with cardboard and mulch. In the fall, when it was time to plant the daffodils, I could not believe how easy the soil dug. This is right beside an alley so you know it was horrible. After doing that, I added, ornamental grasses, Russian sage, St. John’s wort, one butterfly, bush, and more! It’s a beautiful 3 1/2 seasons garden

Hi zjaney and Jason - you guys are killing it with distributing the new mulch. We here in Boise, ID are experiencing the same heat. I'm on my way out to water my pots early this morning before the heat turns on! Love your tutorial on the "no till method". Thanks for sharing. Stay cool!😊

Your dedication to gardening and improving the land is truly admirable, transforming your space into a flourishing oasis. Your knowledge and passion for sustainable practices inspire others to nurture their own environments. And I am Floating Village Life

Well, good morning, Jason Janey and Monty. What a job for you 2. That is one of those jobs that make everything look great when it is All said and done. I agree the carts are wonderful. I have one I have been using it now for 11 years. But I don't have the Mileage on mine that you do Just tackle it a little at a time and it will get done. Have a great day. The Oklahoma gardener.😊

Great job team! 👏Definitely looking into this method, without the cardboard extremely dry here in south Texas.

I wish my ChipDrop would come through! I live in the middle of nowhere and the closest drop I've seen on their map is 45 mins. away! I've had a request in since March. Your garden is beautiful Janey!

Try using the step on in ground traps. I've battled moles for several summers . I've lived in my house for 27 years. Started using the step on traps and I caught 5 moles last year. Talked my neighbor into the step on traps and he switched the prongsubove ground traps like you have and we both started catching moles. This summer is the first summer that we have not had moles hills. Yay. We do have chipmunks and mice but I have caught several chipmunks and my new cat has caught 3 mice. Good luck.

I have done the no till method for many many years ( about 15 years). My soil is gorgeous. I use leaf mould for mulch. Since I live in the Pacific Northwest (Vancouver Canada) we have lots of leaves which we mulch up and put around the garden beds. We never use mulch to stop the soil from drying out. 😂 We get tons of rain. We use leaf mulch for the nutritional value. If we could get wood chips I would worry about ants. Also doesn’t wood chips steal nitrogen from the soil to help break down the chips? It’s interesting how every one gardens so differently but they are all trying to get the same results - healthy soil!

My most abundant resource is grass clippings. I harvest the clippings and use them to mulch heavily in the garden. I try to disturb the soil as little as possible.

Well done- 3 hours is a lot to do in one day.

Great job guys!!

Very informative Janie! Nicely done 😊

I have been using chips for mulch in my garden beds too. With 1.5 acres, the cost of purchasing 2 pallets of bagged mulch was getting expensive. I also love that I am not throwing plastic bags in the landfill. Question: are you at all concerned that the chips are taking nitrogen from your plants to decompose? Your plants do look very healthy, so it doesn't appear to be an issue. It is one of the "cons" that I have heard of when using chips for garden mulch.

Good info, MS Janie!💖

nice video. very helpful and impressively hard work

Hi Janey, Jason and 🐕 Wow great job looks great I need to finish my flower beds and remove all the grass on the raised flower bed, like to put in fall interest. Thank you both for this video. And the information on the no tilling method, tomorrow morning the front flower bed will be taken care of. You all have a wonderful rest of the day, definitely keep hydrated heat exhaustion heat stroke is no fun. 👋🙂

Looking good❤

I also work outside in the morning here in Oklahoma. Those carts look very sturdy. Great video!

Hi Guys, we had a truck load of mulch delivered and an arbourist friend of mine said to use a pitch fork instead of a shovel and I was able to move more, faster. Might be worth a try?

Great job

Great job❤️😃

sweet plant

I garden on 20 acres a few miles from you, Janie, and have succeeded in improving my clay soil but not so much suppressing weeds with wood chips. Bind weed is the bane of my existence! I hand pull it using a hori hori knife to pry up the roots and have even resorted to roundup! The skinny little white roots work their way thru really deep mulch and attack desirable plants in a matter of weeks. Horrible stuff. The downside of wood chips is that its not safe to use flamers (which do work on bindweed) due to summer fire danger.

Please do an episode show the chip service dropping off all the chips

Your garden is looking amazing! Good job! I echo the 4 tine fork resoyrce, it's amaxibg to work with when spreading woodchips or compost.

This is good info for someone like me who has a thin layer of crappy soil on top of a thick layer of limestone. Even if I wanted to, I can't dig without a jackhammer.

Love your advice, but my bay leaves were dying because I was smothering them with wood chips. Maybe I was doing something wrong IDK. Your garden is beautiful and can’t imagine how beautiful it will be in a couple more seasons 🌸

Hi. I'm watching from S A. Love what you do.

Janey, when we bought our house in 2014, the landscape company had to use a jackhammer to dig holes for our xeriscape plantings! We’re in the Phoenix metro.

Good for you two. Whew, in the heat! Maybe the long border in the Fall?

Janey and Jason, agree the pitch forks are way easier especially for mulch. And yes please cover your nose and mouth even if you just use a bandanna that dust is not good…

Wow 🤩 the weeping willow is growing so fast! Wear a mask when handling the mulch. 😷 ❤

Sometimes it helps to put the gopher trap at an angle.. that method has worked for us.🌻🧡

Hey! Like your channel! Would you consider doing a video on garden/landscaping borders? Thanks!

Looking great!! Hey how are your kitties doing?

Thanks for sharing your experience as there’s so much conflicting information out there. I guess we just have to try what’s best for our gardens. I do know when I use mulch it does encourage earwigs who eat my dahlias but I have to look at what the bigger trade-off will be.🥰🌸🇨🇦change of topic- do you and Jason do specific stretching exercises before you head out to the garden?

Good morning Janey and Jason, I love your long gloves you are using in this video, where did you get them? Your garden is looking amazing and very inspirational! Thank you for sharing your knowledge!

So crazy hot 🥵 here too in Turlock area!! I’m just trying to keep plants from dying

Some old school myth ,get Irish spring soap and cut into chunks and stick in The gopher holes

Hi Janey & Jason, great job mulching and also reining it in on such a hot day! Love your cobalt superbena! I'm considering planting it underneath a West facing window at my house, but can you tell me whether it is an herbaceous/tender perennial in your zone? I'm in zone 10 in Southern CA, so if it comes back for you, it should for me as well. Thanks🤗

I am interested in using the no-till method in my brand new rocky hillside garden. Have you thought about putting the cardboard/woodchips down and then dark compost on top of that? I am interested in doing that (Back to Eden method, I think?) so that the plants will pop and stand out more with the dark compost on top. Interested in your opinion on that. Thanks, Janey! Much garden love from Salt Lake City, zone 6a.

Janey, where did you get your gloves? I need some. Love to see Jason working alongside you. What a dream to have such great help! Love your partnership! Our heat is the same and I’m twice your age LoL

I read several months ago that cardboard isn't the best practice from The Garden Professor Blog. It hinders the exchange of air or something - can't remember - you can look it up. Linda Chalker Scott (sp?) wrote the article.

@simple_southern_garden

17 күн бұрын

I’ve heard that too but it doing so good in my garden!! I guess because we are super wet the card board breaks down really fast. Happy garden!

@DianePahl

17 күн бұрын

@@simple_southern_garden It's pretty wet here (SE Michigan) as well - those darn lakes, lol- but that cardboard gets wet then dries out and turns into cement. I think like you said, if you are going to use cardboard, keep it as wet as possible for quite a long time. It still has the disadvantage of inhibiting soil airflow exchange. Also, wood mulch does tie up nitrogen for awhile so there's that as well. Bottom line for me at least, there is really no easy out in gardening if you want optimum soil health.

@simple_southern_garden

17 күн бұрын

@@DianePahl so true! It’s always a battle! 😆

Janie, you mentioned chip drop. Is this a county wide project through Ca, or just arborist only. Can you get a "clean" load, where you don't get trash seeds, etc ?

I think you guys are smart to listen to your body and stop when it says stop. I have moved 6 yards of mulch every spring it is very hard work. I watch u on TV then commit on phone 😁

What compost did you use for the 6 inch layer?

So glad you guys are being smart and stopping early - it's not worth risking your health! Question: Can no till be done over a gravel layer? I am in a neighborhood where everyone has gravel yards for landscape. The area I want to plant in has 6 inches of gravel on top of the native compacted clay. Some of the area will be path way and some will become planting area. Also, I have read that I need to add gypsum to the clay to get it to loosen up - should I remove gravel and amend with gypsum before adding the no till layers? Thanks for all the knowledge you share!

@Florfarm

16 күн бұрын

Rocks don’t decompose. Landscape rocks sink into soil pretty well too. I would dig out all of the rocks and replace them with purchased garden soil. Otherwise you’ll be digging in rocks forever. It never gets better. No amount of organic material changes rocky soil. I know from experience 🙁

I can’t afford compost but I do use cardboard and wood chips, actually it’s pine shavings and I am VERY careful not to get them into any planting holes. 🤭🌺💚🙃 I’ve been on the chip drop list for years and I have never received any wood chips 🥺🌺💚🙃

@lrogers707

16 күн бұрын

...combining organic gardening practices with resource conservation - is a great goal to work towards

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

A crew came through town to clear hydro lines and chipped those cuttings. We filled many extra large bags and spread them over the garden. We now have many different kinds of mushrooms and wood fungus growing out of it. Question…is this something to worry about? 🇨🇦👏🌸

@DigPlantWaterRepeat

12 күн бұрын

Nope! That just means your mulch is decomposing like it should! Mushrooms are only bad if you see them ON a plant. On mulch or soil is great.

@peggy-ann1961

12 күн бұрын

@@DigPlantWaterRepeat Thanks so much Janey!🇨🇦❤️🇨🇦

Hi Janet, so put cardboard down first then compost and mulch last? Thank you.

What are your thoughts on creating a garden under an established and older tree. Can I do the same cardboard method?

Also when you till the soil CARBON is released. I didn’t know this until yesterday.

Hey, Janey, how did you get the compost? Does the county give you free compost? Or did you just buy a bunch of compost?

Our backyard is heavily compacted clay soil. How does the no till method help with compacted soil? How would it penetrate the compacted soil over time? Shouldn’t you aerate or something?

Ok not to be stupid here, I live in Wisconsin with very heavy clay soil, I cut a new bed about three years ago, I have planted perennials and for the most part they are doing well. I top dress the garden by using a pitch fork to turn over the soil in between the flowers then add my compost material. I don’t use much mulch because every time I do I get a ton of earwigs and slugs. Should I not turn over the soil and just spread the compost material right on top? Any advice on the mulch with relation to the pests that occur. I am trying to improve my soil but find that hard to do with plantings already in place. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you. Your gardens look so wonderful.

Hi Janie. When you use the no till method can you plant right away?

Hello. What would u recommended what kind of wood chips should avoid? Going to request for wood chips.

Do you have a video on the making of the path way?

@jenmazz1257

14 күн бұрын

Yes. Go look in her video listing. It was a few.

Question concerning depth of mulch. I am using wood chips also. I have a line of lilacs planted along a fence line and wanted to preserve moisture and also cu down on having to weed wack. When you add several inches, I assume the mulch is not right up the plant. But as it breaks down, it will drift to the shaft of the plant, right? Is there a concern that too much of the 'trunk' 'shaft' 'stalk' of any plant would slowly be getting buried deeper and deeper? Especially over years of use.

Wow ... I wish that I had a yummy Jason to work in the garden with me ... Giirrlll do you know how lucky you are ... ??? ... !!!

💖🌸👍🏻🌸💖