5 responses to “@The Prepper Project: The Pros and Cons of Deep Mulch Gardening”

1. 

   jean

   June 29, 2013

   David, this is honestly one of the best posts I've seen on mulching. You are so right about the pros and cons and it works for some and not for others. Here on our homestead, whenever we prune or deadhead, as long as there is no disease, we put it all back down around the food plants. The rains do a nice job of mashing down the mulch and over time, it all becomes beautiful, organic soil. Our chickens do the "tilling" job for us when they hunt for bugs. It's great. Great post, David.

   1. 

      Survival Gardener, AKA David the Good

      June 30, 2013

      Thanks, Jean. Where you are in the tropics, it makes really good sense. The decay rate is incredible.

2. 

   George G

   June 30, 2013

   Great article, thanks.
   I always like to read the realistic pros and cons of gardening methods,
   rather than just evangelical like praise, that you so often hear.
   I am a big fan of woodchip mulching.
   Mainly because I get the chips free, and I have poor sandy soil, and a smaller garden area in an suburban area.
   But its a massive job for me to spread 10 cubes by wheelbarrow.
   I've never had a slug or snail problem though – maybe because there are so many wild critters running around here.

   1. 

      Survival Gardener, AKA David the Good

      June 30, 2013

      Sure thing. I've found that there's rarely one "fix-all" method. Gardening has so many variables that you really need to play around and experiment and feel out your own patch of ground to find what works. I love woodchips too, especially when they come from whole trees that were chipped branches, leaves and all. If I had a small plot, I'd probably use them more often.

3. 

   Chris

   July 17, 2013

   Nice work.