Orin speaks: wisdom shared. Best.Teacher.Ever.

@ucscagroecology

Ай бұрын

We here at the Center for Agroecology are big fans of Orin and agree completely!

I enjoyed this video, thank you. The phrase "Slip-slidin' Away" betrays our age as Baby Boomers. Simon and Garfunkle song from the (last century!) 1960-sometime.

@ucscagroecology

Ай бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it! Still loving the music from the 60's!

I love this man. ❤ I have been gleaning every tidbit bit of information from him for years. I have 70 fruit trees now, and I've learned nearly everything from him. I am so grateful for him. I hope to meet Orin eventually 🌳

@ucscagroecology

Ай бұрын

Don't we all! Orin is a treasure and rare one. In case you don't have a copy of his fruit tree book.... don't miss Orin Martin's award winning book, "Fruit Trees for Every Garden: An Organic Approach to Growing Apples, Pears, Peaches, Plums, Citrus, and More". His book won the 2020 American Horticultural Society (AHS) Award, recognizing outstanding gardening literature. You can purchase the book here: a.co/d/glwePid And here’s the playlist for all of the tree care videos on this channel: kzread.info/dash/bejne/a52jqcWlZ8qul8Y.html

I have been fascinated with your tremendous enthusiasm Orin which affected me over the years so for that thank you so much. Your way of describing a complicated subject to a level that we can understand is a great skill so please continue you are a great agricultural teacher and thank you so much for sharing your experiences with us. Best wishes from England UK!

@ucscagroecology

Ай бұрын

Thanks for the kinds words and glad it was helpful! There are many more videos in the queue for 2024. Stay tuned!

Thank you, Orin!!!

@ucscagroecology

Ай бұрын

Yer most welcome!

Thanks Orin. Another wonderful video. Great practical knowledge for the gardener and small farmer.

@ucscagroecology

Ай бұрын

You're most welcome. Orin is the best!

Thank you for making everything easy to understand, great video for every levels ! Great teacher 🙏🏻✨

@ucscagroecology

Ай бұрын

You're very welcome!

Great video!

@ucscagroecology

Ай бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it

Another great video. thanks!

@ucscagroecology

Ай бұрын

Thanks for watching!

I used our maple tree leaves as mulch in my raised planters and in the spring had 100's of tiny maple trees growing! I would like to use the leaves but not sure how to deal with the sprouts. Any tips would be appreciated. Orin is the best. I've got to get his book!

Thank you for your deep information experience 🙏.... I like your excitement...!!!

@ucscagroecology

Ай бұрын

Our pleasure!

Great video on mulch lots of interesting information 🇳🇿❤️

@ucscagroecology

Ай бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it!

I appreciate the evangelation!

@ucscagroecology

Ай бұрын

Yer welcome!

I really appreciate these videos and the experience being shared. I have some fruit trees in Northwest Missouri . And it just so happens the utility line maintainers are working around here, and I believe Im going to ask them for a few loads. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

@ucscagroecology

Ай бұрын

Yer most welcome! Isn't wonderful that you can get chips dropped in your yard for free and they represent so much goodness! For your fruit trees, don't miss Orin award winning book, "Fruit Trees for Every Garden: An Organic Approach to Growing Apples, Pears, Peaches, Plums, Citrus, and More". His book won the 2020 American Horticultural Society (AHS) Award, recognizing outstanding gardening literature. You can purchase the book here: a.co/d/glwePid Best of luck with your trees and garden!

@markrich4036

Ай бұрын

@@ucscagroecology I will purchase it today. Thank you, I really struggle with my trees because I have bees which are wonderful and asian beetles which just destroy the trees. Thank you friends.

Thank you.

@ucscagroecology

Ай бұрын

You're welcome!

Looking great Orin! I hope you can speak on the persistent herbicides that were in my straw mulch? Retailers can’t answer the question about herbicides in their hay. I have assayed straw and hay and it takes 6-8 weeks!

To add to this wonderful information is the abiliity of mulch and fungal strands to ruduce human compaction of the soil. Its like snow shoes for the soil. We demonstrate this with damp sand, covered and not covered.

@ucscagroecology

Ай бұрын

Thanks!

I use mulch to help retain moisture, provide a nice habitat for worms, and keep away weeds.

@ucscagroecology

Ай бұрын

Sounds great!

Great video! I have a question on using mulch. We have a local sawmill here that makes mulch. They have a mixture of 50:50 Mushroom soil and wood mulch and I was thinking of using that for my fruit trees this spring. Would that be better then just using straight wood mulch? Keeping the soil cool longer in the spring is not necessarily a bad thing where I'm at in Pa. I want my tree's to wake up later here so they don't get frost bit as quick.

@ucscagroecology

Ай бұрын

Good question. The mixture should work just fine and the mushroom soil may add some microbial action that will help to decompose the mulch faster than just wood, alone.

Colorado here and I have to say heavy wood chip mulch given me a marvelous orchard when nothing else did.

@ucscagroecology

Ай бұрын

Great to hear another success story on the great response you've had with wood chips! Chips Ahoy!

I came across this channel today. I love how Orin's to the point. I do have a question that I have been wrestling with watching this video. He said to use raw mulch. What about sawdust? Or is it too heavy (dense) to use around my fruit trees? There is a sawmill close by, and I was wondering if sawdust would be beneficial to my trees ( I am thinking blackberries as well)? Thank you!

@ucscagroecology

25 күн бұрын

Sawdust can work fine as a top mulch for both your fruit trees and berry plants, being careful not to incorporate it into the soil. It does have a tendency to develop a hard crust when applied too thickly, so start with a the depth of around 2 inches and see how well that works. Also, as with all biologically active materials, keep the sawdust several inches away from the trunk of the tree and the berry canes.

@ladysam5393

25 күн бұрын

@ucscagroecology thank you so much! I planted 3 apple trees and 3 peach, along with blackberries last year. So everything is new to me. I am really enjoying this channel. Thank you again 😃 !

So if I spring prune the new growth that is still green looking (flexible stems off trees and bushes from the very early growing season, the leaves would be considered green compost? Same goes for that stem?)

@ucscagroecology

25 күн бұрын

Don't think there is a precise definition for "green compost". Some cover crops like bell beans are very soft and succulent, while other cover crops like vetch is green, but a bit fibrous. A green tree stem is probably even more fibrous. But, if it's green, it's probably will pass for green compost.

So this practice can be applied to the people living for every kind of climate or for specific climates like cold temperate climates etc.? Because especially in tropical climates soil is mostly wet and mulching is not recommended but your experienced advice would certainly help us. Thanks i am South Asia; Zone 10 where summers are pretty hot like 47 degrees Celsius

@ucscagroecology

Ай бұрын

We only have direct experience on using mulches in a Mediterranean climate like we have at the UCSC Farm and Garden. Sorry, but we can't advise on mulches in a tropical climate.

@InnerLifePhotography

Ай бұрын

@@ucscagroecology i am not from tropical region. I am from north eastern region where we have rivers and canal lakes. I was just asking this question for knowledge

My climate is southern Maine. I'm wondering if you can share something about the green cover crop for colder climates than central California: Plant it sooner? Use different plants for the green manure crop?

@ucscagroecology

Ай бұрын

Sorry, but were not familiar with cold climate winter cover crops, but I found a good article on the "Johnny's Seeds" website about cover cropping in winter chill and freeze: www.johnnyseeds.com/growers-library/farm-seed-cover-crops/library-farm-seed-winter-cover-crops.html BTW - Johnny's is a great seed provider and we have used them extensively at the UCSC farm for decades. Best of luck with your garden/farm.

Video from Orin.....thumbs up before watching !

@ucscagroecology

Ай бұрын

Legend!

I seem to be challenged with ants/fire ants nesting in my chips. They seem to especially like the areas with the whit fungus.I am planning on applying Biologics Scanmask, which is beneficial nematodes. Or spinosad. Any other suggestions please? Thank you in advance. Ps I always thought the mycelial strands were weed roots!

@ucscagroecology

Ай бұрын

Sorry, but we don't have ants in our mulch or know how to deal with them. Hope you can find a solution. Yes, those mycelial strands look almost "other worldly" and could be mistaken for all kinds of things. Best of luck in your garden!

Can your method be applied to tropical agriculture?

@ucscagroecology

Ай бұрын

Sorry, but we just don't have any experience with tropical agriculture to be able to comment.

Why shouldn't one use wood chips in conjunction with their annuals? It has been my favorite mulch in our garden. It covers our soil for longer, provides habitat for beneficial bugs, and winds up depositing that beautiful humus underneath, which enhances our soil structure, enhances moisture retention, etc. I agree, fresh wood chips absolutely shouldn't be worked directly into the soil, though. I typically pull them back to circular pockets into which I can plant on the surface of the soil, and then backfill with compost before bringing the chips back in around the base of the plant. It really helps stretch out that black gold in our garden at least! And we have had amazing yields since we made the switch.

@ucscagroecology

Ай бұрын

Hi Joshua, good question. You clearly have figured out how to use wood chips in annual systems and make it work very well. Orin has gotten so much flack over the years for recommending the use of wood chips in annual systems that he now discourages that type of use because people will usually incorporate the chips into the soil. Lots of carbon, in the form of wood chips, when worked into the soil will take in nitrogen from the surrounding soil as it decomposes and rob it from the plants. If you leave the chips on the surface and just move them around to accommodate planting and such, as you describe, they work great. Where chips certainly don't work is in annual cropping systems at farm scale. Tillage with tractors will unavoidably incorporate the chips into the soil and that causes the nitrogen depletion problem. Soooo...ya gotta give instructions in a way to ensure the best outcomes and avoid problems. Thus, the "don't use wood chips on annuals" guidance. Praise the virtues of wood chips!

@joshuahoyer1279

Ай бұрын

@@ucscagroecology oh I see, that makes sense! Thanks for clarifying.

In my opinion living mulch is best. I use strawberry plants. They spread quickly protect the soil' feed the soil microbiology and produce fruit. Works great in my food forest garden.

@ucscagroecology

Ай бұрын

Yes, there are many "best mulches", depending on the garden and gardener, climate, and available mulch materials. Great that you've found a living mulch with a sweet "reward"! Best of luck in your garden!

No mention of bark mulch? I'm 500 miles north of you, it's cheap and obtainable. I use it around decorative gardens, what about as a mulch around trees?

@ucscagroecology

Ай бұрын

Since we have an ample source of wood chips and no bark, we like to stick with a mulch that we have experience using. Sorry, but we can't give advice on using bark mulch. Best of luck with your trees!

If you apply mulch twice a year, when the mulch breaks down into soil, doesn’t it effectively raise the soil level and potentially cause your tree to be planted too deeply?

@SaiyanMother

Ай бұрын

It would depend on how much erosion happens at the base of the tree among other things. But I also don't mulch right up the the trunk, I mound kind of like a donut shape around the tree base if I am applying a lot of mulch at once.

@ucscagroecology

Ай бұрын

Good advice from SaiyanMother. It's best to keep all "biologically active" materials away from the base of the tree trunk to avoid rot and pest problems. If yer getting too much mulch depth in your orchard, just apply a little less mulch until your application rate matches the decomposition rate. Depending on the level of microbe activity in your soil, the rate of decomposition will vary. What you will likely notice is after a few years of wood chips, the decomposition rate will increase, sometimes greatly, and you'll need to apple more mulch or apply more often. Just watch what's happening under yer trees and you'll get in tune with the rhythm of the soil and it's biome. Best of luck with your trees!

What about pine needles?

@ucscagroecology

Ай бұрын

Fresh, green pine needles are pretty acidic, but once they turn brown they make a good mulch. Here's more on pine needles: www.almanac.com/can-you-use-pine-needles-mulch#:~:text=This%20old%20wives'%20tale%20has,the%20compost%20pile%20as%20well

Interesting..Seems possible that if wood chips are 80% composted with leaves and straw the composted material would be good for veggies even with the composted wood in it🤔

@ucscagroecology

Ай бұрын

As long as the wood chips are mostly decomposed, what you're suggesting should make a fine mulch.

Gardening like a US politician, you just cover it up!!!

@ucscagroecology

Ай бұрын

That's the Power of Mulching!

im here to advocate against pinestraw mulch. I maintain gardens for a bunch of people and the one client who insists on pinestraw.. i just cannot get a handle on their weeds.. and the weeds get all tangled up in the straw mats when you try to pull them. Woodchips for the win, or even just finished compost as mulch.

@ucscagroecology

Ай бұрын

Gardening has such a wide range of "what works" and you'll find people who love to use pinestraw for mulch. There just isn't "a right way" in much of gardening. Although there is a fair amount of dogma about how to garden, "properly", what works for one gardener is as Orin says, "an anathema" to another. You developed methods that work for you, so go with them!

I thought ramial wood chips is defined as from one or two year old live branches. Young branches have more nutrients than old wood.

@ucscagroecology

Ай бұрын

Yes, you are correct. Younger branches from deciduous hardwoods have more nutrients than older branches and are the best type of chips, if you can get them. Our chips come from a mix of small and large branches mostly from evergreens and it works quite well. Best of luck in your garden!

Do you agree with those who say it's a bad idea to mix composted material INTO the soil? They saild it should be put only ON TOP of the soil.

@ucscagroecology

Ай бұрын

Fully decomposed material is fine to mix into the soil. We've been doing it for 50+ years at the UCSC Chadwick Garden with great results. Here's a video at the UCSC farm that shows how we incorporate cover crops (which are freshly mown down and very green) into the soil, followed by the addition of finished compost. kzread.info/dash/bejne/io2q2LyChbvSqLQ.html

The Big O

@ucscagroecology

Ай бұрын

Orin is our hero, too!

What about pine needles?

@ucscagroecology

Ай бұрын

Fresh, green pine needles are pretty acidic, but once they turn brown they make a good mulch. Here's more on pine needles: www.almanac.com/can-you-use-pine-needles-mulch#:~:text=This%20old%20wives'%20tale%20has,the%20compost%20pile%20as%20well.

@dantelivesfree

Ай бұрын

Thank you.