Wood Chips permaculture and camoflage

So my biggest dilemma in turning this space into a full fledged garden is that there is a tremendous amount of grass, and even worse, kudzu that has been growing over the area for years. The good news is that there is a fifty foot pin oak that has been dropping it's leaves on this space for over thirty years. Underneath the mat of grass and kudzu vines is a rich humus. I need to kill off and control all this overgrowth in order to make the most of this rich organic material.

Permaculture to the rescue. As luck would have it, adjacent to my old community garden, a tree removal company was cutting down two old maples. I approached them and asked them what the were going to do with the wood after they were done. They were going to chip it and cart it off to the city
and pay them to dispose of it. I gave them a better option. They chipped it and left it all in a pile next to my old garden.

It's hard to tell there but the pile is about 3 feet high and 15 feet by 15 feet. Fantastic!

I have been hauling it off ever since and depositing it in my new space.  And so my adventure with permaculture begins.

What exactly is permaculture? Well it's a philosophy of working with nature rather than against it.  It can apply to agriculture and architecture and strives for sustainability. For instance, instead of using pesticides, establish healthy plants that can withstand and repel pests on its own. Use companion planting to assist in repelling pests while attracting beneficial insects.

In my case the wood chips are going to smother and starve the grass and kudzu. Right now I'm laying it out to define the paths while leaving my leaf and compost piles exposed. The leaf and compost piles will make up the vegetable beds while the decomposing wood chips will tie up any nitrogen that might feed the kudzu and grass. Eventually the wood chips will break down,with the aid of the worms attracted to them, turn to soil and release that nitrogen. At that point I'll utilize the soil in my beds and start the process over again.

I have to move a great deal of chips by wheel barrow and bucket and it's putting a lot of strain on my back. But by doing a bit every day I've managed to move almost half the pile.

That's Dingus my tortie cat in the middle picture. She's loving having a new place to blend in, Camoflage is her specialty.

I plan to use many permaculture practices in this garden, going organic seems a no brainer considering that this is virgin territory so to speak.  If you have a hankering to learn more about permaculture there is a wonderful documentary on it called "Back to Eden" and can be found here. http://www.backtoedenfilm.com/ As I see it permaculture and organic gardening are a passion.