University of New Hampshire 2019 - 'Pine needles themselves are acidic but do not have the capacity to appreciably lower the soil pH. As pine needles break down and are incorporated into the soil, decomposing organisms gradually neutralize them. Thus, there is no harm in using pine needles to mulch shrub borders, flower beds and vegetable gardens. Even a 2 to 3 inch layer of pine mulch will not change the soil pH enough to measure.'
@mosart7025 4 years in a barn is different than4 years in the sun. Unless the tree is like 2 ft in diameter or bigger (and even then it might be fine) than all the sap should be gone. All depends on airflow and temperature.
@@user-iq7dl7he6r I live in the same and do the same. I think the rumor comes from the fact that pines like growing in acidic soil to begin with. It's not them that makes the soil acidic, but the the soil that encourages pine growth. Pine logs should be fine. It's soft wood and decomposes quickly. Sap is just part of the tree and has nutrients also.
I haven't done a bed like this in about 2 decades. The one thing I did differently was to burn the wood and debris down until it began to charcoal. The one thing I've learned in my 60 years is to find a method that works for you and stick with it. So go with what works and improve where needed.
I personally use a little bit of pine needles too and never had any sort of issue. I feel like I have however noticed more bugs like my beds more since I started using it.
I like to put unfinished compost in with my branches and logs so there is plenty of nitrogen to feed the breakdown and then i put my soil mix on top of that
I see a lot of people filling their raised beds with cardboard, but most cardboards have a lot of glue (each layer is literally covered with it). That glue is not biodegradable, likely to break down into microplastics. Good that you didn't use that much cardboard, like I saw in other videos.
@@davidevans1723 If you do use biodegradable glue, then I like the company that you are working for 😉. Unfortunately, there are still some companies that use PVA and other polyolefins-/naphtha-based glues. Some of them even in the European Union and I bet also in China, where most of the world's stuff comes from.
@davidevans1723 I wanted to fill my raised garden beds with cardboard as well, until I noticed glue on one of them that looked like acrylic glue. So, I decided to go directly to the wood layer since idk in which cardboard which glue is used. Btw, plantbased does not necessarily mean biodegradable. However, I don't want to start a debate, I just wanted to mention it. 💁♂️
I find so interesting the beams holding together raised bed is typically flush on the bottom but not flush on the top. I made mine flush on the top so I could add a cap to sit on and stand on and eventually a door hinge canopy
I was taught to line the bottom with "hardware cloth" which is a finely gridded metal, to discourage creatures burrowing up from the bottom. Looking good!
Have you ever thought of using your food scraps to add to beds? (zero meat/animal products) You will need very little new soil; this soil will eventually become what us garden farmers here call 'black gold.' Due to physical issues we have dozens of raised beds & we use hugelkutur plus lasagne layering methods with compost scraps in there mixed around different layers, plus a lovely slimline compost 'basket' within each of them in the centre(s), the soil under the topsoil is the best there is 😊
@@mahafouad9322 Our ground is pure sand. With a raised bed I can mix potting soil, garden soil, & compost. Some of my pants and veggies do much better that way.
The pine needles aren't the issue, if you ask me. What will present an issue, however, is the fresh branches they're attached to. Those branches will take ages to break down, and as they do, they will pull nitrogen from your soil. You did okay adding the old logs, although rotting logs is, technically, the goal for the same reason. If I had to make a prediction, I'd guess that your bed will do alright the first year, but in years to come, their production value is going to taper dramatically, and you'll find yourself needing increasing amounts of fertilizer.
For anyone who watches this, dont toss in logs that are fully intact like that. Those logs arent going to properly break down for 20-30 years and will constantly sap the nitrogen levels of this bed. Simply put, they are a detriment to the bed.
If they are not breaking down, it means they are not decomposing, which means they are not sapping the nitrogen from the soil to break down. The whole point of the logs was to take up space saving use of expensive soil to line the bottom of beds.
Wood products that arent decomposed actually take Nitrogen to decompose, thus taking nitrogen thats available for the plants, away from them, locking up nutrients until they are thoroughly broken down. Much of what nitrogen that the compost was gonna provide your crop/garden, will now be used elsewhere, and can actually cause a nitrogen deficiency in your desired flora.
I don't recommend putting logs, branches. I did it a few years ago and I had a horrific yellowish beige fungus that took over and coated the roots and stems of my perennials. It also attached itself to my new wood borders. I went to the effort of removing the logs, replaced borders planks, contaminated dirt. It all went back to normal. You never know what fungus, diseases you can get.
Armillaria probably. I wouldn't bury food scraps or logs because they will take nitrogen out of the soil in order to decompose. It's better to let it decompose or compost and then add it to your soil.
I would have used cuttings to make a more airy soil. Pyralidfree dung world be used too. I have rabbits for this. And then soil mixed with ash or chalk or both.
It saves you having to water as much from the very top when you're finished. Also helps kick-start the breakdown process and precompresses the material a little bit.
Pine will raise the acidic level but some plants love more acidic soil just don't plant like bluebarry. Or raspberry those like the soil more base. Like 8 to 9 But 🍅 are best in acid soil like 5
Very good video, just one thing, as far as I know, pine trees do not acidify the soil, I think it is a legend since there is no scientific evidence of such a statement.
Hey there! I just built a bed last weekend and its half full with the cardboard, logs, branches, sticks, bunch of leaves.. Ive heard not to use top soil, and to use "raised gardening bed soil" or "potting soil".. Whats the pros and cons of top soil vs. raised bed soil? I love compost and will be using that mixed in, regardless . :)
Hey! So if I were buying in bags from a store I would opt for raised bed soil since it’s a little higher quality than store bought top soils. The raised bed soil is usually finer & the top soil has larger chunks. But, I am using SO much soil that it makes more sense financially to order in bulk from a landscape company by the dump truck full and they only offer compost & topsoil. So, I’m doing a 50/50 blend and mixing it well. It’ll be just fine! I actually did a mix of raised bed soil & top soil in my beds last year to save money (raised bed soil cost more) and it was just fine!
I was praying to the algorithm to remind whether it's ok to put decaying logs in the bottom of a raised bed. I have Christmas tree clippings too. Now I'll go ahead and try all this
We used logs in our raised beds and the following year had a horrible maggot problem. Or maybe grubs. Either way my husband was sooo mad at me that we can’t use that method again. 😂
Could have filled those beds with way better stacked and interlocked grass cuttings and plant cuttings and leaves and more layers of cardboard and veg fruit scraps if buried deep enough but not on the edges and twigs and smaller branches and way more green and way more brown materials than you used. Lots of massive air pockets you seemed to make under that new expensive soil on top ….
This structure can not be found naturally except after a huge catastrophic event such as landslide. So for me better to mimic normal casual natural event. Statistically it has more probability to succed than one that occured occassion
Yall need to stop with the cardboard it's not made like it was not its full of toxins and micro plastics, Logs breaking down nicely? LOL! that bed will decompose before the logs
It's funny seeing everyone put cardboard in the bottom of these raised boxes. Who really thinks weeds are going to grow from ground level up through 2' of trash and pop out of the top of the garden soil?! It's common sense that even leaving a napkin on your grass long enough will kill it. Just pure sheep behavior.
My raised bed probably doesn’t need the cardboard to prevent weeds but somebody will watch this video with a much shorter raised bed & it would be helpful to them so I included it.
No to the logs, because when the logs are decomposing, up to 60 years, they are stripping your soil of nitrogen and nutrients your garden plants need to grow. I use animal compost, leaves, straw, and or shavings
This bed unfortunately will require loads of watering and nutrients to sustain life. The pine topsoil and logs will not hold enough water. I would recommend more decomposed logs and old maybe 2 yo pine compost this way you get the breakdown, absorbency and non competition for nutrients and the microbes and beneficial organisms will love your bed and help feed whatever your growing. Speaking from experience.
