I've always used woodchip mulch on my garden and even around fruit trees but I do admit to worrying a little in the back of my mind that I could be robbing plants of nitrogen (especially my citrus which have particularly dense surface roots). However, like you I haven't seen any negative signs so I continue to use woodchip as a mulch because it's readily available and effective at suppressing weeds. Well put together Patrick you've made me GUILT FREE :)
OYR Frugal & Sustainable Organic Gardening As always Really great information in your videos!!! I have a question... I bought a new home and I really want to have nice grass, well the problem is that I’m surrounded by literally clay soil, which during raining season it’s super slippery, and in dry season it could be hard as a rock, I’ve also seen many RUclips videos talking about having problems with water not penetrating through the surface, causing fungus on the top of grass, my question is, would you recommend adding wood chips into the soil to change the soil???
Thanks Mark. I got a big tuckeroo cut down and chipped because it was too close and sucking the life out of my orchard. I had planned to spread it under the orchard but people had told me to wait a few months. Now I feel better about spreading it straight away.
I love how you and Stephen are putting the myths and questions to the test! Great work sir. My garden has some beds with wood chips, but I'm trying to source more leaves to use as mulch. There are people that bag them up and put them on the curb just for me :)
Thanks Patrick! I have a one year old pile of wood chips and have been slowly tossing it on my garden beds. I always try to mimic what happens naturally in nature. I enjoy dropping seeds onto the soil, just as if they were dropped from a plant. I also do the same for soil amendments and no longer till or work them into the soil.
Hi Patrick, Thanks for your work. The comments are as useful as the video so thanks again for your support. We've been getting whole tree chipped wood turning up from our local arboricultural firm. Our garden has swallowed probably 4 tonnes of pine woodchip (paths / mulch), 4 tonnes of cedar redwood chip (we use this for paths/ acid established perrenial shrubs) and 6 tonnes of oak (for mulch). We were recently gifted use of another 10 yard square plot next to my garden by my neighbour where we have put a keyhole hugelkulture bed and a huglekulture long bed of about 5 yards in length as it is nearly full sun whereas my plot is 65% sun 35% shade. Some questions - Do you plant raised beds in guilds? When mulching we are trying to use deep mulching to grow soil over a number of years where we have a slope that we want to flatten out into a stepped bed. Are their any contraindications to watch out for. I read one of the comments about 5 inch max depth around trees and already an acer and magnolia has suffered with wilting and scorced leaves after we have probably over mulched this bed with the redwood and either pH or O2 has affected the health. Any tips on what to watch for?
You're welcome! Yes, you don't want to bury tree roots too much. I typically apply a few inches of mulch each year, at most, after a larger first year application. I keep the mulch pulled back from the bottom of trees. I'm not very familiar with permaculture guilds.
I absolutely agree, Patrick! There is no better top mulch than wood chips, due to their longevity, you don't have to replace them as often. I would never mix them in the soil. If you recall a video posted by Bobby, MHPGardner, there was an area in the garden where he tilled in sawdust, and the plants didn't grow very well at all! A classic example of the uncomposted material robbing nitrogen from the soil! Another good video!
Maybe he needed to mix some compost in too with the soil. I would prefer him using sand rather than soil if using sawdust from our recent experience. We are in Kerala, India on a coastal belt.
Sawdust has a much higher carbon ratio than wood chips somewhere in the range of 300 to 1. So that would definitely multiply the effect of the nitrogen tie up.
I know this is an old video, but I wanted to comment how much I appreciate a sensible, balanced, and rational discussion of alternative gardening methods. Most others are either wildly in favor of the use of wood chip mulch, or take the mainstream approach of eschewing their use in veggie beds completely. You offer valid pros and cons, clearly citing sources, and then present your own experiences and opinions. Excellent information!
Excellent episode on the effect or lack there of of wood chip nitrogen depletion when used as a mulch. I have used and will continue to use wood chip mulch in my garden. Although I don't have a nice old pile like yours the newer ones will just take a little longer to break down. Another benefit I know we have spoken about is the colonization and healthier populations of Mycorrhizal fungi when you use woodshed mulch! Once again excellent episode on the benefits of free rescues that enhance your garden soils!
I sure do and when I asked my province it would appear 95% of towns and cities have them and allow public access. Unfortunately the big cities use their own as a part of their municipal waste composting. the chips I have access to are never composting though. We use them too quickly I suppose ;)
Knowing that fungi are breaking down the wood chips primarily, not bacteria, are there certain plants that are earlier in plant progression that would benefit from a more bacterial soil? Do you have a specific bed for brassicas?
Ruth Ann Landis In general, vegetables are supposed to "prefer" bacterially dominated soil. We use bacterially dominated compost and worm castings in addition to the wood chips, so the beds should have a good mix of beneficial bacteria and fungi.
I use wood chips as mulch on everything even my grass. Wood chips, leaves, and biochar are the staple of all my landscaping. We have sandy soil so I am not afraid to go even a couple feet deep with wood chips.
I enjoyed your video. After watching your video back in January of 15, I decided to try a unscientific experiment, I have a 6'x6'x1' deep wood chip pile that I had screened down to about 1/4'' size. So in May of 15, I planted an arugula plant from a nursery, it came in a 1''x2 '' pot, it was a small plant. I took a 1/4 cup of worm castings, 3/4 cup of compost, and mixed it together. I dug down into the wood chip pile too 3'' above the ground, put in the mix and planted the arugula plant in the middle, and put wood chips all around it. The plant looked sad for about 3 weeks, I thought it was going to pass away to the great beyond. But as it turn out, it not only lived, but flourished. While my arugula in my garden ceased to produce latter that year, the one in the wood chips kept going, finally in December I pulled the plant to see what was going on, the roots went through the wood chips and into the ground, with a few roots in the wood chips, and the part of the root that was in the wood chips before going into the ground seem to be a bit larger in diameter. So much for wood chips tying up nitrogen.
+Stonemason Reimer Very interesting! I wonder if it struggled at first because its roots hadn't reached the soil yet? I'm glad to hear the plant recovered and thrived. Wood chips make an excellent mulch!
+OneYardRevolution | Frugal & Sustainable Organic Gardening I believe your right about the plant struggling before reaching the soil, but the plant still had roots going through the wood chips that were not in the soil, and I wonder why. Once again I really enjoy your videos. Thank you.
As you may remember this was exactly the question I was wondering and had been given conflicting information, so this video is extremely valuable for me, Thank you for taking the time to address the subject and for the very balanced way that you have presented the information. All the best Patrick.
Great episode Patrick. I think you hit the nail on the head - don't mix the wood chips into the soil - that's where the problems arise. Mulch is fine. I've used wood chips for years. And at the end of the year, I transfer them to a compost pile specifically for wood chips.
@@OneYardRevolution We've been using wood chip mulch on our gardens for the last couple years and it has made weed control sooooo much easier! However, I'm starting to wonder what to do except keep adding more wood chips each year...Is there any viable way to incorporate the wood chips into the soil so that they break down and improve the soil, or is removing them from the surface each season the only option? I would even be willing to let a bed sit for a season without planting to ensure the chips could break down adequately. Another thought was just to transition these wood chip beds to perennials-only and not worry about needing to plant into them each season...
OneYardRevolution | Frugal & Sustainable Organic Gardening You have answered some interesting questions. Thanks for the information. I however do notice something: When using store bought soil (lots of wood chips), it takes about 2-3 months for the soil to settle down (decompose?) before the plants go vigorously. Otherwise I notice stunted growth. Thanks for this informative video!
Thanks, California Gardening ! True, you don't want to plant in mediums that contain lots of wood chips. This will result in temporary nitrogen depletion in the root zone, where plants need nitrogen. Wood chips on the surface of the soil, however, shouldn't be a problem.
Hi. Have been wood chip mulching for many years now. I recently had a massive failure for the first time. The wood chips hold moisture and new seedlings developed damping, or dampening. Pulling the wood chips back and providing a clear area while they developed fixed it. Interesting. The seedlings were planted into raised mounds - I think the side walls aided in nitrogen depletion and impacted. Also I am not entirely sure about this thesis on eucalyptus. I have used it extensively for many years and it worked fine (I added nitrogen and rock dust).
Great video Patrick! I agree with you that the wood chip are great for your garden if left as a mulch. Many years ago I found out the hard way when I mixed the wood chips 2 ft down in many of my beds. I didn't have a good garden that year.(-: Thanks for sharing!
The wood chips I just got from chip drop are ground up trees including leaves, stems & branches. I am adding Manure to get it to decompose faster and break up clay soil.
Thanks for posting on this topic! It's good to hear it from various sources. Everyone out at our Fermilab garden club thinks we're a bit nutty for using wood chip mulch, but it keeps weeds down so nicely and our plants produce just great. We don't add any nitrogen amendments, but use chop and drop all the time. This seems to break down the wood chips far more rapidly than we'd suspect otherwise. In fact, by the end of summer, most of the chips have decayed or broken down so much, you can hardly detect them. So we must be doing something right.
Julianna HM You're very welcome! I think you're definitely doing it right. We chop and drop onto the wood chip mulch as well, which adds some nitrogen. I'm not surprised other gardeners in your garden club don't understand. This is a very old gardening myth.
OneYardRevolution | Frugal & Sustainable Organic Gardening One would expect scientists to research and consider it. There are a lot of old timers out there, that have gardened the way they do for 20 years or so. Change is often hard, especially when wood chips have been given such a bad rap for so many years. That's the only thing I can figure out. But it is making people sit up and take notice at least. hehe
Great video! Last year was my first year using wood chips as a cover mulch. It seemed like it affected my peppers, as they weren't as vigorous and looked nitrogen deprived at times. But it could have been affected by the cold weather too. At any rate, I plan to use then again this year. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, OhHowHappyGardener ! It'll be interesting to see how your peppers do this year. We've never noticed any nitrogen depletion issues. Thanks for watching!
My annual beds were stunted this year primarily due to too much rain, but I attribute it partially to the wood chip I had used as a mulch. Once removed the plants started to take off. Mulched annuals in pots however grew like weeds! Jury is still out.
Thanks Patrick for the great information. If I would have known this 20 years ago, I would have used shredded bark for a mulch in my extensive perennial beds. It would have saved me A LOT of weeding and it would have added so many nutrients naturally to the soil. Now the beds are so PACKED tight that it would be hard to get in between each plant. Plus it would be very labor intensive for this old lady. BUT I am now using the CHOP & DROP method of amending the perennial beds. Who knows I might add bark here & there as I get extra energy. I do add grass clippings, since I don't have to shovel them into a wheel barrow and then haul. :0) Thank you soooooooooooo much for your time making a great channel.
I may add mulch to half the garden next year to see what happens. I will be using it for all onions and garlic due to the pain it is to weed them. I will also be using 4 inches of pine straw on the blueberries to keep moisture in.
Deitra Brunner Hi Deitra. Yes, you can plant in the spring. What is the soil like under the wood chips? That will have a lot to do with how well your plants do. When plantings seeds, I create a small furrow in the wood chips, fill it with compost, and plant the seeds. I don't pull the chips over the seeds or the plants as they develop.
That sounds like a good plan, Joe. Weeding isn't an issue for us at all. The mulch keeps the weeds under control. Every now and then we pull a weed while harvesting or lounging around the garden, but there's no real work involved.
Deitra Brunner when you do your plantings don't dig the wood chips into the soil, wood chips are for mulching purposes and naturally break down over time
Since these organic chemical reactions take place in stationary (not being moved about) beds and locations, the nitrogen is used to degrade the wood chips, tieing the nitrogen up temporarily. It is still in the system. The addition of grass clippings, cover crops turned in or other nitrogen sources will speed the decomposition of the carbon and continue to feed garden production. Incorporating wood chips or other carbon in balance with grass clippings (nitrogen) and mixing prior to distribution in the garden balances the reaction and the resultant release of other elements of the ingredients, benefits the crops immensely. Your presentation is excellent! Thank you for your contributions. Most people can compost all of their yard waste and blend as needed for gardening. Many neighbors can contribute if you ask for carbon or nitrogen, whichever you need, they will oblige.
;^) your work is making a difference. People need to know how little it really takes, in the form of purchased, packaged inputs, to grow better food than they can buy from a store. It is not to say, " little effort" just fewer purchased fertilizers when we have them in abundance. Great work here, great!
Thanks, 1mtstewart ! You've honed in on one of the core missions of my channel - to make a case for "product-independent" soil improvement. I'm not sure how it happened, but it seems like organic gardeners have gotten to the point where they use as many or more products than conventional gardeners. It just doesn't make any sense to me. At least where I live, there's an abundance of free, local, and sustainable resources!
Thanks for the info...I have a small pile of wood chips ...I think I'll add grass clipping to them to help them break down. I have used some a mulch around my hydrangeas, they are growing well.
hey thanks for the information on wood chips, I use saw dust not chips. last year I used it in growing potatoes on top of the ground. I used news paper, compost, grass clippings and about 18 to 20" of saw dust on top. I use saw dust as a brown in the compost pile. with no problem.
I don't care about any studies or what anyone else has to say. Wood chips work. It works for others. It works for me. If anyone wants to debate that, they can talk to a mirror because I don't care that they grow their tomatoes with their special mix of fertilizers. My garden does great and I don't need to buy anything. If they want to buy fertilizers, fine, go ahead. The biggest mistake I see with this is that people do turn the chips into the soil. Same thing with "Hugelkultur." I see people sprinkling a thin layer of soil on top of wood and covered with wood chips. When the plants do poorly they blame Huglekultur. The soil needs to be at least 8 inches and 12 inches or more would be better. The roots of most plants are in that 8 - 12 inch range.
It's funny how hotly debated this topic remains. I guess I know which side you're on. ;-) I'm glad to hear you've had success without using fertilizers too.
Have you ever noticed how dark and rich the soil is in the woods? This is not from someone spreading there compost waste or spreading fertilizer in the woods. It’s from all natural leaves and decaying wood that falls to the earths soil and rots up. I have been using sawdust to drown out weeds for years. I also put all my leaves on the garden in the fall to drown out any weeds that may try to grow in the spring before I till up the garden. Works great and great for soil. Excellent video. Thank you.
Another example of a well research topic. Keep them coming, I have learnt so much from you over the period of time that I have been watching your channel.
I agree with you about mulching with wood chips and thanks for the video. I use wood chips as mulch because I have a wood chipper that I use to make wood chips and compost. I noticed that when I brushed the old wood chips away a few days ago, that the worms were very happy munching on the wood chips that have decomposed over the summer. If the worms are happy, my soil is happy. One more + vote for wood chips as mulch. Roger Seher
Thanks for this video. Very helpful. My garden was about 4" of topsoil and then nothing but beach sand so I just added 4" of partially composted (2/3rds) wood chips on top. Since its about 2/3rds composted, I'm guessing the need to add nitrogen will be minimal if at all. Of course I'll test part of beds with added nitrogen and the other without. Will be interesting to see what happens.
You're welcome, Paul. I'm glad you found the video helpful. You might want to add some high nitrogen mulch like grass clippings on top of the wood chips. This might be all the nitrogen you need.
I tried woodchips this year on my acidic sandy soil. It's nitrogen poor to begin with, and I could definitely see a reduction in yields this year, compared to other years. However, the chips were very fresh - only a few months since being alive to being chips. I will use nitrogen fertilizer this year, because of the general deficiency the soil has, but the wood chips are an investment in the future, to add biological matter to the soil and increase it's nutrient content and general stability. :)
Lemonz1989 I agree. Over time wood chips will help your sandy soil a lot. It sounds like you'll definitely need to add nitrogen as well given the soil conditions. Hopefully, you have access to free high nitrogen material like grass clippings, used coffee grounds, and manure.
I have a lot of wood chips everywhere in my garden, and I plant right in them; I never had any problems with them. I also mix some in the soil as it reduces soil compaction and helps with drainage and of course adds organic matter.
Totally agree. I have seen little to no yellowing on plants in established beds which have been heavily chip mulched. The stuff from municipal shredded green waste generally had leaves and green at some point and has usually been slightly composted. I believe that a large amount of that nitrogen is still there in a biological form. The only time I've noticed nitrogen deficiency myself has been when I've planted heavy feeding plants into unimproved soil simply covered with chips. It's fun to see how far you can push things sometimes...
Great video Patrick! Do you think aging of the wood chips has any effect? I had a bunch of left over fresh pine shavings for the chicken coops deep litter bedding that I just threw on top of a bed sometime in mid august, it didn't seem to affect anything I had growing there, I did notice though the moisture retention was way better with the wood chips than any other mulch I've ever used, which was astounding considering our august temperatures are triple digits and I usually have to water twice a day. I was getting away with watering every other morning! Would love to hear your thoughts.
Thanks, Southwest Urban Homestead ! I would think the pine shavings from your chicken coop contained more than enough nitrogen from the chicken waste. Especially when aged, I doubt this material would cause any significant nitrogen depletion. Your right about wood chips being great during hot/dry weather. They do a great job of retaining moisture in the soil.
I have a layer of 10-12 inches of woodchips on my orchard, and my mistake was thinking they didn’t need extra nutrients because of the heavy mulch. Ie been adding compost tea, and they are now thriving.
Hi Margaret! After a few years of mulching, the trees may no longer need additional nutrients. A soil test would tell you for sure. We don't apply anything except mulch to our perennials.
Coming from a small family farm, we have always used wood chips with no negative problems. Great video you did on this. Now we have moved where we have lots of pine trees, and I have been using the needles around some of my plants, but the local people say I should not be doing that. So do you have any information on pine needles? Have not seen any acid change in the ground, have not seen more bugs, and yes they do take longer to break down. When I use them in my new compost piles I do grind them right with my leaves and garden waste and seem to be good with that. So what is your take on pine needles?
Patrick, when you add more compost to your garden beds in the spring do you sprinkle it on top of the wood chip mulch or remove the mulch layer then add the compost and re-apply the wood chip mulch on top after??
Joseph Strattard Great question. When I have a bed covered in wood chips, I add compost to the bed when I plant seeds and transplant seedlings. When I plant seeds, I create a furrow in the chips, fill it with compost, and plant seeds. When transplanting, I brush the wood chips aside, and add compost when I plant the transplant. You can also add some compost right on top of the wood chips. Gravity and rain will pull it down below the chips. I don't remove the chips. I hope this helps.
Hi Patric, excellent video. It's good to know that the nitrogen depletion is limited to the top soil. Let me ask you a question. If I were to add Nitrogen on top of the Wood mulch would it not speed up the decomposition of the Wood chips? One of our old timer friend told me that she would always add a little of Blood meal above her mulch. She did not say why only that it worked wonders. She recommended one table spoon no more than two, of course that was for my garden area. She used to grow for her family, give to local schools, offer tours of her garden the local school children, sell a little of her garden harvest and raise Chickens. To me it sounds like she might have not know the science behind it nevertheless, did know what worked. Thank you for your videos.
Thanks, FrostPlutarc ! Yes, the blood meal could help speed up decomposition of the wood chips, but you don't really need to add more nitrogen than you would if you weren't mulching with wood chips.
You're not as daft as you look you Patrick are you! Thank God eucalyptus trees aren't as common as they used to be here in Wakefield. I stopped smoking yesterday. I've smoked 40 a day for nearly 30 years now and have been spending £120 a week on the ruddy things not to mention the deterioration in my health. I have to admit I'm going through sheer hell at times and only the thoughts of others can save me from this anguish.
I just saw a video from a different gardener that showed how a local farm used a thick base of wood chips with a depth of about 1 foot(which breaks down to much less over time) and then put a thick layer of compost(about 8 inches deep) which he planted his crops in. The purpose of the wood chips was to retain water and act as a natural fertilizer creating very good soil structure and health. However, I was wondering if the wood chips would rob nutrients from the plants. The plants were incredibly healthy looking and i think that the thick layer of compost prevented the wood chips from depleting the plants intake of nitrogen from the soil.
How do you add compost to your bed? I'm new to using wood chips this year. I raked all my wood chips out of my beds then added finished compost. Is this the best way to add more compost, or is there a better way?
nolanderskidaddy Great question. When I have a bed covered in wood chips, I add compost to the bed when I plant seeds and transplant seedlings. When I plant seeds, I create a furrow in the chips, fill it with compost, and plant seeds. When transplanting, I brush the wood chips aside, and add compost when I plant the transplant. You can also add some compost right on top of the wood chips. Gravity and rain will pull it down below the chips. I hope this helps.
This video may have shone some light on my problem growing choi sam (Chinese greens) in my mulched beds. I have been transplanting the seedlings from seed trays which are about 2inches deep into the beds. When I plant them in I'd make sure the root ball is below the mulch surface but still they wouldn't grow very well. Based on the info from this video I feel as though the wood mulch may have been too close to the plant and robbing nitrogen needed.
After transplanting seedlings to my raised beds, I put down a layer of grass clippings, followed by wood chips. The grass clippings feed the young plants to get them established and also provide extra nitrogen at the soil to wood chip interface. The wood chips then keep my beds moist during the hot dry summers, reducing watering needs. I use compost tea once month. Never once had a plant looking nitrogen deficient.
Hi Patrick, love your channel, have learnt so much over the last couple years. I'm slowly expanding my garden (two young kids, so garden time is limited at times, so a little here and a little there when I can) I have an area that is covered in a layer of gravel, but has had some weeds growing through it for the last quite a few years and in december I spread a thick layer of wood chips over it from a pile I've had sitting for 4 years and some only a year and a half that I have been using in other areas of my yard the last few years. Anyways, the chips have composted some of the way, but my plan was to actually layer on top of it, but I'm not sure if it's a smart thing to do. This is what I was thinking, plus what I've gathered so far: 1st possible layer (Not sure about this one) kitchen scraps to compost down directly 2nd layer wet cardboard 3rd layer, some less than ideal soil that has been piled up in another part of the yard, some weeds growing in it. 4th layer wet cardboard 5th layer thick layer of shredded "beyond fall leaves" ( I recently gathered up quite a few trash cans full from nearby school and trail, edge of the woods, already partially composted leaves that I plan to run through my leaf blower vacuum attachment that also shreds them. Only shedding because I'd like to use this bed coming up this spring.\ 6th layer spent coffee grounds I know this is a pretty long question, just thought I'd see what you thought before I go any further. Thanks in advance.
Great video! As always! You are an inspiration. Wood chip mulch is definitely great for weed suppression, but this beneficial effect is not explained by a zone of nitrogen depletion as Scott hypothesized. There is a temporal zone of N def at the soil/mulch interface. However, this is an associated phenomena, not a causative variable. Experimentally, Scott's hypothesis is contradicted by the fact that many "weed" seeds readily germinate in plenty of low N environments.. such as sand, peat moss, wet paper towels, wet cardboard, petri dishes, even various non-nutritive laboratory media. There is pretty much zero bioavailable nitrogen in coconut coir, but we can germ seeds in it all day long. Wood chip mulch likely suppresses weeds when there is enough depth of mulch to block out sunlight, and also creates some heat as it breaks down. If only a small depth of woodchip mulch is applied, weeds grow right through it. Wood chip mulch suppresses weeds the same way smothering them with a black tarp does.... heat and light starvation, nothing to do with N. Cheers
I cleaned up my comment a bit and made my point more concisely. I love that you strive to be so empirical and evidence-based in addressing gardening topics! (I is agro ecologist by trade) :P :) Keep up the great work, Patrick!
I'm thinking that the only loss in nitrogen that would be noticeable is in the first year of using wood chip mulch. After that, once the decomposition process has begun to establish itself with the fungi, bacteria and critters, you would have a net gain of nitrogen. I just started my garden this year, in heavy clay soil covered with 2 inches of mushroom compost and about 6 inches of wood chips. I planted my plants directly in the compost and peeled back the wood chips in those areas until the plants get established, then I'll push the wood chips back around the plants as they get established. I'm still in the planting stage, but so far things are looking good. The stuff that I planted from seed seems to be germinating well and the few transplants seem to be struggling more than the direct sown stuff. My strategy will be to keep an eye out on the plants and if they start to show signs of struggle I will add fertilizer, at least in the plant zone. I suspect that I'll only have to this for the first year. I have a Utility tree company dumping wood chips on my property for free right now. So far I've gotten 4 big loads delivered. It's mixed species with twigs, leaves and needles. Some is hardwood, some soft, and probably some stuff like cedar and some black walnut. It will all be used as is. I have 3 acres here so I have plenty of places to use them. I also have a tractor backhoe to move them around and turn the piles. I told the tree guys to keep the loads coming until I say to stop, which won't be in the foreseeable future.
DO NOT MIX IN WOOD CHIP MULCH INTO YOUR SOIL! I had serious problem last year when I stupidly mixed it into our clay soil to help provide nutrients and break up the clay. The nursery I bought the wood chip compost from miss led me to think I could use it as a compost. I did so by mixing it into the soil (by shovel). The only plants that would grow were beans which were nitrogen fixers. Lima beans would turn to mush though. It was a lot of work to mix in the wood chip compost and cost a lot of money but it destroyed my garden. I lost several hundred plants and thousands of seeds. So if you make this mistake just plant beans. It was not until one year later that I could see some of the desired benefits of wood chip compost but I decided to move my garden to provide more light for the plants. Leave wood chips on top and you should be ok as long as you don't plant seeds next to the wood chips. I also found that white patty pan squash did ok. I got so mad by the whole experience that I decided to do square foot gardening and straw bale gardening this year.
You sound seriously stressed, gardening should take that stress out of you -- I think you are farming that's work if that's the case you might want to add some yoga do your day
Thanks for discussing this topic. Allow me to frame a question for you. Suppose in Spring I mulch my raised bed with wood chips, after the end of the growing season, say November, can I turn the wood chips into the bed's soil (maybe with a nitrogen amendment) and have them decompose into compost for the following Spring?
Girruuth I personally wouldn't turn them into the soil. Keeping the wood chips on top will help deter weeds, while turning them in will bring weed seeds to the surface where they can germinate. They'll likely also tie up nitrogen, requiring the additional nitrogen fertilizer you mentioned. To plant in the spring, you can create furrows in the chips to plant seeds or brush the chips aside to plan transplants.
Patrick, fantastic video as always! Found it really compelling especially as it is based on your personal experience. I am a big fan of your channel - “one yard at a time” always makes me feel hopeful & that everyone is capable of bringing good change 😀. I did wonder about one thing in this video though - if you use wood chip mulch one year, it seems one would get boxed into using wood chips year after year since using say, triple shredded bark mulch on top of the wood chips in other years would be akin to mixing wood chips in the soil?
Woodchips does tie up nitrogen but you will get it back the following year. Normally I compost my chis with manure for a year before using them. However using them as a mulch I water with a bit of liquid fish fertilizer 3 times a year and have never had a problem. God Bless
I know this video has been up for a while, but do you have any reservations using wood chip mulch in close proximity to a home? It is looking like our garden will be placed up against the house as a replacement for landscaping, and I am concerned this mulching method may increase my odds for a termite infestation. Have you noticed any termite activity with your continued use of wood chips. Thank you again for all of your great information.
Isaac Barnett Hi Isaac. I wouldn't put large amounts of wood chips up against a house out of concern they'd hold too much moisture around the foundation. A thin layer should be okay, though. We don't have termite problems in our area, but some wood chips, like cedar, actually repel termites. Here's an article from Dr. Linda Chalker-Scott that touches briefly on the topic: puyallup.wsu.edu/~linda%20chalker-scott/horticultural%20myths_files/Myths/magazine%20pdfs/Woodchips.pdf
Question? When adding fresh green grass clippings for extra nitrogen, do you just lay them over the top or is it okay to dig them in a little... Thanks for the video.
You're very welcome, MrMac5150 ! We use a top-down approach and just add the green materials on top of the wood chips. We do this with grass clippings, comfrey, and used coffee grounds.
Thank you for the information. I just had two large truck loads of wood chips delivered. It's a mix of chips and leaves( oak I believe.) I was wanting to create paths with it. I was considering adding it to my raised beds also when I tuck them away this fall also. This video give me a bit more confidence in doing so. Thank you.
This topic is still going on among people??!! 2 (maybe 3) years ago when I first heard of Back to Eden wood chip mulching I watched the documentary and was very confused. I could only think "he's talking about mulching. When did people forget about mulching"? I dug deeper into the Back to Eden website which has since been moved somewhere else. I found several videos on back pages that explained every problem people seem to have with this. They no longer appear to be available. I have them downloaded on another computer that is no longer accessible. I wish I had backed them up. The top problems people have that was explained in the other videos if they had bothered to look. 1) It is suppose to be mulch. it lays on the ground. It is not turned into the ground. When turned into the ground of course it will rob nitrogen. 2) seedlings are planted into the ground not in the mulch. 3) seeds are also planted into the ground. In the case of both 2 and 3 the wood chips are pulled to the side until the plants are tall enough that the mulch does not smother them then pulled back. 4) His method is not just wood chips. Paul Gautschi chips and shred both wood and green material. His recommendation in the videos that can no longer be found was 80% green and 20% wood. That is not so out of balance as one would think. The green composts quicker and provides nitrogen to the wood chips and the contact layer of soil and contributes to soil building quicker. Roots will grow to seek out the nutrients it need. Weed seeds DO germinate. Their growth is suppressed by the mulching action of the wood chip. For a year or more I left comments for other people who were having problems. None of whom paid attention but obviously had no problem going on other social media talking about what an idiot I was. Joke is on them. I was on the same social media and saw it. THEN in the second year someone got the bright idea to actually research it. Now some of these same people who were ridiculing me are suddenly experts on wood chip gardening by doing exactly what I was trying to tell them that Paul Gautschi was doing. Honestly, this really wouldn't bother me much except that most of these people are tossing out "God bless" all over their videos.
Microbes consume the carbohydrates for energy. One waste product of respiration is CO2. So gradually the C/N gets smaller and the overall proportion of N increases. Makes sense to me. THANK YOU for thinking about this independently.
hello Patrick thanks so much for your videos.. my question is this .. am new to gardening i leave in south Florida and last year i started mulching with eucalyptus wood chips the idea was to to keep the soil moist and this wood chips deter insects ... to be honest i don't think it was a good idea because ever since they have problem bearing fruits and they don't look pretty good please give me your advise ...
Hi Kelvyn. This is a frequently debated topic and I'm not sure I have the answer, but some sources say that eucalyptus mulch, especially when it contains leaves, has an allelopathic effect. This means that it suppresses plant growth.
That black plastic container in the background... that you are using for your hot compost.... where did you get one/ what is it called? Thanks for all your awesome videos!!
You're welcome, Kokomo Bedford ! That's a geobin. I bought it from Amazon: www.amazon.com/Presto-Products-Geobin-Compost-Bin/dp/B0085O6NXQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421289128&sr=8-1&keywords=geobin
Question, how do you reverse the negative effects and aftermath of tilling wood chips 6 to 10 inches beneath the surface. Here’s what I did. Last fall (2107) I tilled my wood chips into my 80 ft. X 60 ft garden, this was before I knew any better and that the wood chips consumed nitrogen underground and it was pretty much the Worst thing I could do to my once healthy and nutrient rich soil. My garden is mainly tomato’s, peppers peas, cucumbers, celery and lettuce. This growing season I suffered the consequences of my mistake. All of my plants stayed alive but they barley grew and most plants did not produce any fruits, for example the tomato plants that did produce literally had 2 to 5 tomatoes all season. Any suggestions on how to speed up and reverse the negative effects caused by the underground wood chips?
I'm sorry to hear that, Tony. It will all work out. You'll just have to make sure there's enough nitrogen in the soil. Compost and/or aged manure applied to the soil surface may do the trick. If not, you can add nitrogen fertilizer. Just be careful not to overdo it. Too much nitrogen can cause problems too. Also, I recommend using a no dig approach. Build soil by applying organic matter to the surface only. I hope this helps!
Thanks for this discussion. I would not use municipal wood chips in a food garden; you can't know the source or how it all was handled. It's fine for flower gardens and landscape beds, but you neve know if someone has sprayed a tree or what kind of tree or other flora is in there.
i am about to order some woodchips for my orchard. will it help if every few weeks i lay some coffee grounds on the top, especially during the rainy season. i am assuming this will help the decomposition in the years to follow.
+Gardener Wannabee It certainly wouldn't hurt to sprinkle coffee grounds on the wood chips. I've done this many times myself. Yes, the nitrogen should help break down the wood chips.
Great video. I have a lot of pine wood chip in my area for free. I would like to know if it is good choice to use for mulch? I've heard it would bring in the termites. Please help!
Thanks! Freshly chipped pine mulch shouldn't contain any living termites because it's not likely they'll survive the chipper. Also, termites aren't attracted to wood chips and don't prefer them as a food source. So, I'd feel comfortable using pine chip mulch. Here's more information on wood chips and termites from a conversation on The Garden Professors Blog FB page: facebook.com/groups/GardenProfessors/permalink/10154642664226490/?comment_id=10154642734951490&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R9%22%7D
I have a question for you about the wood chips I had a load of wood chips delivered to me in the fall last year, however I was not able to put them over my garden bed until Springtime this year around March, I am now planting my garden in the wood chips hopefully everything is going to be alright What are your thoughts and even though they sat in a pile all winter long do you think that they have broken down enough for me to use in my garden? Or should I have waited? I now have two more loads of wood chips that are recently thought so they should be able to break down to where I can put them over my garden bed this year in the fall.
Unfortunately I doubt if you can get wood chips for free in Stockholm, Sweden. So I shall have to collect wood in the forest and chop it up. Can fir, pine, birch, maple,mountain ash (rowan), hawthorn, juniper, alder, elder, sloe, gooseberry, blackcurrant, redcurrant, whitecurrant, damson, aronia and rose be used as mulch?
I wonder if a tree removal service would have extra wood chips where you live? As far as I know, all the plants you listed would be fine. Happy mulching!
OneYardRevolution | Frugal & Sustainable Organic Gardening thanks, I shall look into that though i have not found anything in Stockholm with free wood chips.
I was always curious about this. I figured the nitrogen loss would just occur at the soil surface/mulch interface and would be pretty minimal. Never realized the chips would actually add nitrogen to the soil. Just curious, are your raised beds straight compost? Thanks!
Yes, wood chips add nitrogen, and even the nitrogen that is temporarily tied up by bacteria will be released when the bacteria die. Some of the raised beds are filled with 100% compost. Others have sand as well, and the rock dust bed has rock dust added.
Thanks for the info. I recently created two new beds that comprised of mostly mushroom compost and horse manure. I was worried about it being too mucky so I put in some perlite and peat moss as well. There is about 15-20 gallons of worm castings too. Figured they might help aerate the bed. I thought about adding some sand. Maybe to future beds to save on the cost.
Mr> Doolan, You mentioned not to use black walnut chips. I have a black walneu right near my future garden area. Will the leaves also prevent plant growth?
Yes, black walnut leaves and branches contain juglone, which suppresses growth, and they should be composted before being used in the garden. I hope this helps!
Thanks, Robin! My understanding is that wood chips are generally more beneficial than bark mulch. Here's an article from Dr. Linda Chalker-Scott that touches on the benefits of wood chips over bark: puyallup.wsu.edu/~linda%20chalker-scott/horticultural%20myths_files/Myths/magazine%20pdfs/Woodchips.pdf
Hi. our city has free chips available and I've been scooping them onto my garden. I had a large area of bare soil. So. I put down cardboard on the soil, then put the chips on that. (I dig down to get the mostly decomposed product) The majority of this free mulch is in fact eucalyptus. Should I be concerned about my established tomato plants? To plant them, I clear away all mulch, cut the cardboard, add compost and nutrients, some planting mix, minerals, cover with more compost, straw, and then recover with the rotted mulch. Not sure if I should be concerned. what do you think?
Hello Patrick, thank you for a nice clear video. I would like to ask about which wood chip is best for for soil preventing weeds but beneficial to other plants as well. I am basically concern about attracting termites to the garden then to the house. I heard cedar, cypress, and pine wood chip which we can get free from the arborist prevents termites but are they healthy to our fruits plants?
If you had a few years to repair soil, would it be better to put a large layer on the top, or mix the chips into the soil to inject food into the soil?
+Darth Zed We use a no-till approach. So, the wood chips never get turned into the soil. We just keep piling more mulch on top. We brush the mulch aside to plant.
I think I have this problem. I picked up several yards of compost from my city, and they've been sitting in raised beds for two months now. Can I amend the soil by adding nitrogen? Should I sift out all the woodchips?
Straw bale gardening also relies on the release of nitrogen from within the bales as bacteria break down the inner material. This typically takes about two weeks when you water them thoroughly and then apply a high nitrogen fertilizer to kick off bacteria consumption. Once the bales get going, my experience is that they are a great medium for growing tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, flowers and other vegetables. I've heard complaints from some people who tried planting straight into uncomposted or inadequately composted straw bales that their plants basically and died. I suspect it is because bacteria were using all the available nitrogen to consume the wet straw, taking nutrients away from the seedlings. if they had waited for mushrooms to pop up I think they would have gotten better results.
From my experience. Leaves are the best . I have a lot of trees on my property. I mulch it all with the lawnmower. Put it in a pile keep it wet. Add food scraps. Let that sit over winter. In spring you can plant in it. Doesn’t need to be broken down all the way. My garden seems to love a rough compost . And as you water, you create compost tea for your garden
My head is spinning on this topic. Back and forth and back and forth. I first got very excited when I watched Back To Eden and then other YT videos created by acolytes of the topic. It resonated with me 'cause I do a LOT of chipping each year on two gargantuan Laurel Hedges. For me, the chips work great for my flower beds and for beds that abut my house. They help manage weeds and keep it looking nice. But, a couple of years ago, I tried it on two of my raised garden beds. It was hands-down my worst year for those beds, not horrible but the plants seemed smaller, less vigorous and less fruitful. Also, the tomatoes were not very tasty. I know this is anecdotal; maybe there were other factors that year that I wasn't considering...but, still... I will say that the established beds where I've had chips for a few years now have lovely, rich soil underneath. I'm wondering if "best use"might not be as a pre-conditioner for future beds and as maintenance for perennials.
Zerkbern Very interesting. We had great results from the beginning using wood chips. As you suggested, there may have been other factors at play the year you had poor results. Wood chips are definitely great for perennials. Perhaps if you try them again on your annual beds, you could just try one bed at first and see if less than stellar results are repeated?
I might do that. Another thought I had was that perhaps it was the Laurel? I've had a few gardeners tell me it was mildly herbicidal and pesticidal. Certainly weeds do not seem to grow under them. OneYardRevolution | Frugal & Sustainable Organic Gardening
Zerkbern, There is an easy solution. Mix some free bags of coffee grounds with the wood chips and pre-compost them even a few weeks first, before applying as a top mulch. Remember when "pre-composting" to add lots of water (even daily in low humidity). Wood chips hold a lot of water and do nothing when dry. But they are hard to get initially soaked and may try to dry out too fast. Once they break down the oils a bit they hold onto that water much better. Also the "pre-composting" will help break down any allelopathic chemicals found in living branches. And yes, Laurel does retain chemicals in the bark and leaves that are pesticidal, both inhibiting weeds (or your tomatoes) and insects. So you need that pile to get hot at least once, You don't have to completely compost them, but you do need to break down the essential oils that cause this effect. Here is a good paper on it, although it was written from the POV of purposely using Laurel for preventing germination and insects. docsdrive.com/pdfs/academicjournals/je/0000/42953-42953.pdf
What about adding used coffee grounds to increase the nitrogen for the wood chips. I'm just starting out with the whole wood chips thing. I've learned a lot through your videos. Thanks for your help.
You're welcome, Rick! Yes, you can sprinkle coffee grounds on wood chip mulch. Just make sure to use a light application that doesn't create a solid layer of coffee grounds, which can repel water.
Has anyone ever seen a mulch pile where you actually see steam rising from the center ? I guess that shows you right there that it contains enough nitrogen for decomposition . That's something I never realized until now .
Good point. A lot of green leaves go into our municipal wood chip pile. The city trims trees in the summer - leaves and all - so there's a good amount of nitrogen in there.
+ALLxoxoxoxo They're similar in many ways, but more of the nutrients in compost are available to plants sooner than those in mulch. Leaves and grass are great for both compost and mulch.
Can I place wood chips under pine trees, there a lot of pine needles already . What do you recommend? Remove the pine needles or place the wood chips on top of them?
I've always used woodchip mulch on my garden and even around fruit trees but I do admit to worrying a little in the back of my mind that I could be robbing plants of nitrogen (especially my citrus which have particularly dense surface roots). However, like you I haven't seen any negative signs so I continue to use woodchip as a mulch because it's readily available and effective at suppressing weeds. Well put together Patrick you've made me GUILT FREE :)
Self Sufficient Me Thanks, Mark! I'm glad to hear you've had good results using wood chips!
OYR Frugal & Sustainable Organic Gardening As always Really great information in your videos!!! I have a question... I bought a new home and I really want to have nice grass, well the problem is that I’m surrounded by literally clay soil, which during raining season it’s super slippery, and in dry season it could be hard as a rock, I’ve also seen many RUclips videos talking about having problems with water not penetrating through the surface, causing fungus on the top of grass, my question is, would you recommend adding wood chips into the soil to change the soil???
@Self Sufficient Me where do you get your chips? There are a lot of eucalypts in Aussie :)
Thanks Mark. I got a big tuckeroo cut down and chipped because it was too close and sucking the life out of my orchard. I had planned to spread it under the orchard but people had told me to wait a few months. Now I feel better about spreading it straight away.
I love how you and Stephen are putting the myths and questions to the test! Great work sir. My garden has some beds with wood chips, but I'm trying to source more leaves to use as mulch. There are people that bag them up and put them on the curb just for me :)
Thanks, Blake! I think wood chips and leaves are a great choice retain moisture in the soil during your hot dry summers.
Thanks Patrick! I have a one year old pile of wood chips and have been slowly tossing it on my garden beds. I always try to mimic what happens naturally in nature. I enjoy dropping seeds onto the soil, just as if they were dropped from a plant. I also do the same for soil amendments and no longer till or work them into the soil.
Rainbow Gardens You're welcome, Donna! That's a great approach.
Hi Patrick, Thanks for your work. The comments are as useful as the video so thanks again for your support. We've been getting whole tree chipped wood turning up from our local arboricultural firm. Our garden has swallowed probably 4 tonnes of pine woodchip (paths / mulch), 4 tonnes of cedar redwood chip (we use this for paths/ acid established perrenial shrubs) and 6 tonnes of oak (for mulch). We were recently gifted use of another 10 yard square plot next to my garden by my neighbour where we have put a keyhole hugelkulture bed and a huglekulture long bed of about 5 yards in length as it is nearly full sun whereas my plot is 65% sun 35% shade. Some questions - Do you plant raised beds in guilds? When mulching we are trying to use deep mulching to grow soil over a number of years where we have a slope that we want to flatten out into a stepped bed. Are their any contraindications to watch out for. I read one of the comments about 5 inch max depth around trees and already an acer and magnolia has suffered with wilting and scorced leaves after we have probably over mulched this bed with the redwood and either pH or O2 has affected the health. Any tips on what to watch for?
You're welcome! Yes, you don't want to bury tree roots too much. I typically apply a few inches of mulch each year, at most, after a larger first year application. I keep the mulch pulled back from the bottom of trees. I'm not very familiar with permaculture guilds.
I absolutely agree, Patrick! There is no better top mulch than wood chips, due to their longevity, you don't have to replace them as often. I would never mix them in the soil. If you recall a video posted by Bobby, MHPGardner, there was an area in the garden where he tilled in sawdust, and the plants didn't grow very well at all! A classic example of the uncomposted material robbing nitrogen from the soil! Another good video!
keyplayr61 Thanks, Keith! I couldn't agree more. Yeah, I remember Bobby's video. Sawdust tilled into the soil will definitely cause problems.
Maybe he needed to mix some compost in too with the soil. I would prefer him using sand rather than soil if using sawdust from our recent experience. We are in Kerala, India on a coastal belt.
Sawdust has a much higher carbon ratio than wood chips somewhere in the range of 300 to 1. So that would definitely multiply the effect of the nitrogen tie up.
I am an avid container gardener and have always used a 2-3 inch layer of hardwood mulch. All my plants have thrived beautifully.
I know this is an old video, but I wanted to comment how much I appreciate a sensible, balanced, and rational discussion of alternative gardening methods. Most others are either wildly in favor of the use of wood chip mulch, or take the mainstream approach of eschewing their use in veggie beds completely. You offer valid pros and cons, clearly citing sources, and then present your own experiences and opinions. Excellent information!
Thanks!
Excellent episode on the effect or lack there of of wood chip nitrogen depletion when used as a mulch. I have used and will continue to use wood chip mulch in my garden. Although I don't have a nice old pile like yours the newer ones will just take a little longer to break down. Another benefit I know we have spoken about is the colonization and healthier populations of Mycorrhizal fungi when you use woodshed mulch!
Once again excellent episode on the benefits of free rescues that enhance your garden soils!
***** Thanks, Stephen! There really are so many benefits to using wood chip mulch. You have a municipal wood chip pile, right?
I sure do and when I asked my province it would appear 95% of towns and cities have them and allow public access. Unfortunately the big cities use their own as a part of their municipal waste composting. the chips I have access to are never composting though. We use them too quickly I suppose ;)
Knowing that fungi are breaking down the wood chips primarily, not bacteria, are there certain plants that are earlier in plant progression that would benefit from a more bacterial soil? Do you have a specific bed for brassicas?
Ruth Ann Landis In general, vegetables are supposed to "prefer" bacterially dominated soil. We use bacterially dominated compost and worm castings in addition to the wood chips, so the beds should have a good mix of beneficial bacteria and fungi.
OneYardRevolution | Frugal & Sustainable Organic Gardening Do you have any problems interplanting brassicas with plants that benefit from mycorrhiza?
I use wood chips as mulch on everything even my grass. Wood chips, leaves, and biochar are the staple of all my landscaping. We have sandy soil so I am not afraid to go even a couple feet deep with wood chips.
I enjoyed your video. After watching your video back in January of 15, I decided to try a unscientific experiment, I have a 6'x6'x1' deep wood chip pile that I had screened down to about 1/4'' size. So in May of 15, I planted an arugula plant from a nursery, it came in a 1''x2 '' pot, it was a small plant. I took a 1/4 cup of worm castings, 3/4 cup of compost, and mixed it together. I dug down into the wood chip pile too 3'' above the ground, put in the mix and planted the arugula plant in the middle, and put wood chips all around it. The plant looked sad for about 3 weeks, I thought it was going to pass away to the great beyond. But as it turn out, it not only lived, but flourished. While my arugula in my garden ceased to produce latter that year, the one in the wood chips kept going, finally in December I pulled the plant to see what was going on, the roots went through the wood chips and into the ground, with a few roots in the wood chips, and the part of the root that was in the wood chips before going into the ground seem to be a bit larger in diameter. So much for wood chips tying up nitrogen.
+Stonemason Reimer Very interesting! I wonder if it struggled at first because its roots hadn't reached the soil yet? I'm glad to hear the plant recovered and thrived. Wood chips make an excellent mulch!
+OneYardRevolution | Frugal & Sustainable Organic Gardening I believe your right about the plant struggling before reaching the soil, but the plant still had roots going through the wood chips that were not in the soil, and I wonder why. Once again I really enjoy your videos. Thank you.
+Stonemason Reimer You're very welcome!
As you may remember this was exactly the question I was wondering and had been given conflicting information, so this video is extremely valuable for me, Thank you for taking the time to address the subject and for the very balanced way that you have presented the information. All the best Patrick.
Aaron's allotment You're very welcome, Aaron! I'm glad you found the video helpful.
Great episode Patrick. I think you hit the nail on the head - don't mix the wood chips into the soil - that's where the problems arise. Mulch is fine. I've used wood chips for years. And at the end of the year, I transfer them to a compost pile specifically for wood chips.
Thanks, Indoor Hydroponix ! I couldn't agree more. Keep them on the surface for best results.
@@OneYardRevolution We've been using wood chip mulch on our gardens for the last couple years and it has made weed control sooooo much easier! However, I'm starting to wonder what to do except keep adding more wood chips each year...Is there any viable way to incorporate the wood chips into the soil so that they break down and improve the soil, or is removing them from the surface each season the only option? I would even be willing to let a bed sit for a season without planting to ensure the chips could break down adequately.
Another thought was just to transition these wood chip beds to perennials-only and not worry about needing to plant into them each season...
Well done Patrick. I made a huge mistake with wood chips about 5 or 6 years ago by tilling it into my garden to help ammend the clay soil.
Chuck
Fensterfarm Greenhouse Thanks, Chuck! Yeah, they can definitely cause problems if tilled in. Did you fix the problem by adding manure?
OneYardRevolution | Frugal & Sustainable Organic Gardening You have answered some interesting questions. Thanks for the information. I however do notice something: When using store bought soil (lots of wood chips), it takes about 2-3 months for the soil to settle down (decompose?) before the plants go vigorously. Otherwise I notice stunted growth. Thanks for this informative video!
Thanks, California Gardening ! True, you don't want to plant in mediums that contain lots of wood chips. This will result in temporary nitrogen depletion in the root zone, where plants need nitrogen. Wood chips on the surface of the soil, however, shouldn't be a problem.
Hi. Have been wood chip mulching for many years now. I recently had a massive failure for the first time. The wood chips hold moisture and new seedlings developed damping, or dampening.
Pulling the wood chips back and providing a clear area while they developed fixed it.
Interesting.
The seedlings were planted into raised mounds - I think the side walls aided in nitrogen depletion and impacted.
Also I am not entirely sure about this thesis on eucalyptus. I have used it extensively for many years and it worked fine (I added nitrogen and rock dust).
You're right. It's important to plant in the soil below the wood chips and not the wood chips themselves.
Patrick, thanks for the video on wood chip mulch and nitrogen depletion, great information for those that are afraid to use wood chips.
Thanks for watching, Kim!
Always!
Great video Patrick! I agree with you that the wood chip are great for your garden if left as a mulch. Many years ago I found out the hard way when I mixed the wood chips 2 ft down in many of my beds. I didn't have a good garden that year.(-: Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Eco Oasis ! Yeah, you definitely don't want them robbing nitrogen down in the root zone!
The wood chips I just got from chip drop are ground up trees including leaves, stems & branches.
I am adding Manure to get it to decompose faster and break up clay soil.
Thanks for posting on this topic! It's good to hear it from various sources. Everyone out at our Fermilab garden club thinks we're a bit nutty for using wood chip mulch, but it keeps weeds down so nicely and our plants produce just great. We don't add any nitrogen amendments, but use chop and drop all the time. This seems to break down the wood chips far more rapidly than we'd suspect otherwise. In fact, by the end of summer, most of the chips have decayed or broken down so much, you can hardly detect them. So we must be doing something right.
Julianna HM You're very welcome! I think you're definitely doing it right. We chop and drop onto the wood chip mulch as well, which adds some nitrogen. I'm not surprised other gardeners in your garden club don't understand. This is a very old gardening myth.
OneYardRevolution | Frugal & Sustainable Organic Gardening
One would expect scientists to research and consider it. There are a lot of old timers out there, that have gardened the way they do for 20 years or so. Change is often hard, especially when wood chips have been given such a bad rap for so many years. That's the only thing I can figure out. But it is making people sit up and take notice at least. hehe
One method I heard works well was adding chicken poop on top of the woodchips. The two complement each other really well.
Great video! Last year was my first year using wood chips as a cover mulch. It seemed like it affected my peppers, as they weren't as vigorous and looked nitrogen deprived at times. But it could have been affected by the cold weather too. At any rate, I plan to use then again this year. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, OhHowHappyGardener ! It'll be interesting to see how your peppers do this year. We've never noticed any nitrogen depletion issues. Thanks for watching!
My annual beds were stunted this year primarily due to too much rain, but I attribute it partially to the wood chip I had used as a mulch. Once removed the plants started to take off. Mulched annuals in pots however grew like weeds! Jury is still out.
Thanks Patrick for the great information. If I would have known this 20 years ago, I would have used shredded bark for a mulch in my extensive perennial beds. It would have saved me A LOT of weeding and it would have added so many nutrients naturally to the soil. Now the beds are so PACKED tight that it would be hard to get in between each plant. Plus it would be very labor intensive for this old lady. BUT I am now using the CHOP & DROP method of amending the perennial beds. Who knows I might add bark here & there as I get extra energy. I do add grass clippings, since I don't have to shovel them into a wheel barrow and then haul. :0) Thank you soooooooooooo much for your time making a great channel.
Thanks, Lark! Yes, wood chips are great for perennials. Of course, so are grass clippings and chop & drop. Your perennial garden looks amazing!
Thank you.
I may add mulch to half the garden next year to see what happens. I will be using it for all onions and garlic due to the pain it is to weed them. I will also be using 4 inches of pine straw on the blueberries to keep moisture in.
Deitra Brunner Hi Deitra. Yes, you can plant in the spring. What is the soil like under the wood chips? That will have a lot to do with how well your plants do.
When plantings seeds, I create a small furrow in the wood chips, fill it with compost, and plant the seeds. I don't pull the chips over the seeds or the plants as they develop.
That sounds like a good plan, Joe. Weeding isn't an issue for us at all. The mulch keeps the weeds under control. Every now and then we pull a weed while harvesting or lounging around the garden, but there's no real work involved.
Deitra Brunner when you do your plantings don't dig the wood chips into the soil, wood chips are for mulching purposes and naturally break down over time
We started using wood chips for mulch in 2014. I think the benefits far outweigh the risks. Thanks for this informative video.
That's great, ***** !
Since these organic chemical reactions take place in stationary (not being moved about) beds and locations, the nitrogen is used to degrade the wood chips, tieing the nitrogen up temporarily. It is still in the system.
The addition of grass clippings, cover crops turned in or other nitrogen sources will speed the decomposition of the carbon and continue to feed garden production.
Incorporating wood chips or other carbon in balance with grass clippings (nitrogen) and mixing prior to distribution in the garden balances the reaction and the resultant release of other elements of the ingredients, benefits the crops immensely.
Your presentation is excellent! Thank you for your contributions. Most people can compost all of their yard waste and blend as needed for gardening. Many neighbors can contribute if you ask for carbon or nitrogen, whichever you need, they will oblige.
Thanks, 1mtstewart ! I appreciate your feedback.
;^) your work is making a difference. People need to know how little it really takes, in the form of purchased, packaged inputs, to grow better food than they can buy from a store. It is not to say, " little effort" just fewer purchased fertilizers when we have them in abundance. Great work here, great!
Thanks, 1mtstewart ! You've honed in on one of the core missions of my channel - to make a case for "product-independent" soil improvement. I'm not sure how it happened, but it seems like organic gardeners have gotten to the point where they use as many or more products than conventional gardeners. It just doesn't make any sense to me. At least where I live, there's an abundance of free, local, and sustainable resources!
I added you to my favorites - it was EVERYTHING I needed to know and nothing I didn't. Thx
+Zteve W I'm glad you found it helpful!
I use it as mulch but wouldn't dig it in. Like you said its easy to plant through. Well explained sir.
Thanks, Dave!
Thanks for the info...I have a small pile of wood chips ...I think I'll add grass clipping to them to help them break down. I have used some a mulch around my hydrangeas, they are growing well.
pme45aw You're very welcome! Yes, grass clippings make a great addition.
hey thanks for the information on wood chips, I use saw dust not chips. last year I used it in growing potatoes on top of the ground. I used news paper, compost, grass clippings and about 18 to 20" of saw dust on top. I use saw dust as a brown in the compost pile. with no problem.
I'd love to have some free sawdust for my compost! Fortunately, we're able to collect a lot of leaves in the fall.
I don't care about any studies or what anyone else has to say. Wood chips work. It works for others. It works for me. If anyone wants to debate that, they can talk to a mirror because I don't care that they grow their tomatoes with their special mix of fertilizers. My garden does great and I don't need to buy anything. If they want to buy fertilizers, fine, go ahead.
The biggest mistake I see with this is that people do turn the chips into the soil. Same thing with "Hugelkultur." I see people sprinkling a thin layer of soil on top of wood and covered with wood chips. When the plants do poorly they blame Huglekultur. The soil needs to be at least 8 inches and 12 inches or more would be better. The roots of most plants are in that 8 - 12 inch range.
It's funny how hotly debated this topic remains. I guess I know which side you're on. ;-) I'm glad to hear you've had success without using fertilizers too.
Thanks for sharing I don't use no chemical in my gardens. I let natural do her thing . I have to use my wood chips .
Have you ever noticed how dark and rich the soil is in the woods? This is not from someone spreading there compost waste or spreading fertilizer in the woods. It’s from all natural leaves and decaying wood that falls to the earths soil and rots up. I have been using sawdust to drown out weeds for years. I also put all my leaves on the garden in the fall to drown out any weeds that may try to grow in the spring before I till up the garden. Works great and great for soil. Excellent video. Thank you.
Another example of a well research topic. Keep them coming, I have learnt so much from you over the period of time that I have been watching your channel.
Thanks, Sustainable Garden Journal ! I'm glad you've found my videos helpful.
I agree with you about mulching with wood chips and thanks for the video. I use wood chips as mulch because I have a wood chipper that I use to make wood chips and compost. I noticed that when I brushed the old wood chips away a few days ago, that the worms were very happy munching on the wood chips that have decomposed over the summer. If the worms are happy, my soil is happy. One more + vote for wood chips as mulch.
Roger Seher
Hi Roger. I'm glad to hear you've had great results mulching with wood chips. You're absolutely right. The worms love the decaying wood chips.
Thanks for this video. Very helpful. My garden was about 4" of topsoil and then nothing but beach sand so I just added 4" of partially composted (2/3rds) wood chips on top. Since its about 2/3rds composted, I'm guessing the need to add nitrogen will be minimal if at all. Of course I'll test part of beds with added nitrogen and the other without. Will be interesting to see what happens.
You're welcome, Paul. I'm glad you found the video helpful. You might want to add some high nitrogen mulch like grass clippings on top of the wood chips. This might be all the nitrogen you need.
I tried woodchips this year on my acidic sandy soil. It's nitrogen poor to begin with, and I could definitely see a reduction in yields this year, compared to other years. However, the chips were very fresh - only a few months since being alive to being chips. I will use nitrogen fertilizer this year, because of the general deficiency the soil has, but the wood chips are an investment in the future, to add biological matter to the soil and increase it's nutrient content and general stability. :)
Lemonz1989 I agree. Over time wood chips will help your sandy soil a lot. It sounds like you'll definitely need to add nitrogen as well given the soil conditions. Hopefully, you have access to free high nitrogen material like grass clippings, used coffee grounds, and manure.
I have a lot of wood chips everywhere in my garden, and I plant right in them; I never had any problems with them. I also mix some in the soil as it reduces soil compaction and helps with drainage and of course adds organic matter.
Totally agree. I have seen little to no yellowing on plants in established beds which have been heavily chip mulched. The stuff from municipal shredded green waste generally had leaves and green at some point and has usually been slightly composted. I believe that a large amount of that nitrogen is still there in a biological form. The only time I've noticed nitrogen deficiency myself has been when I've planted heavy feeding plants into unimproved soil simply covered with chips. It's fun to see how far you can push things sometimes...
I'm glad to hear you've had good results with wood chip mulch as well.
Great video Patrick! Do you think aging of the wood chips has any effect? I had a bunch of left over fresh pine shavings for the chicken coops deep litter bedding that I just threw on top of a bed sometime in mid august, it didn't seem to affect anything I had growing there, I did notice though the moisture retention was way better with the wood chips than any other mulch I've ever used, which was astounding considering our august temperatures are triple digits and I usually have to water twice a day. I was getting away with watering every other morning! Would love to hear your thoughts.
Thanks, Southwest Urban Homestead ! I would think the pine shavings from your chicken coop contained more than enough nitrogen from the chicken waste. Especially when aged, I doubt this material would cause any significant nitrogen depletion. Your right about wood chips being great during hot/dry weather. They do a great job of retaining moisture in the soil.
I have a layer of 10-12 inches of woodchips on my orchard, and my mistake was thinking they didn’t need extra nutrients because of the heavy mulch. Ie been adding compost tea, and they are now thriving.
Hi Margaret! After a few years of mulching, the trees may no longer need additional nutrients. A soil test would tell you for sure. We don't apply anything except mulch to our perennials.
I do not know how I missed this Patrick. That is great information to know.
Thanks, Bob!
Coming from a small family farm, we have always used wood chips with no negative problems. Great video you did on this. Now we have moved where we have lots of pine trees, and I have been using the needles around some of my plants, but the local people say I should not be doing that. So do you have any information on pine needles? Have not seen any acid change in the ground, have not seen more bugs, and yes they do take longer to break down. When I use them in my new compost piles I do grind them right with my leaves and garden waste and seem to be good with that. So what is your take on pine needles?
Patrick, when you add more compost to your garden beds in the spring do you sprinkle it on top of the wood chip mulch or remove the mulch layer then add the compost and re-apply the wood chip mulch on top after??
Joseph Strattard Great question. When I have a bed covered in wood chips, I add compost to the bed when I plant seeds and transplant seedlings. When I plant seeds, I create a furrow in the chips, fill it with compost, and plant seeds. When transplanting, I brush the wood chips aside, and add compost when I plant the transplant. You can also add some compost right on top of the wood chips. Gravity and rain will pull it down below the chips. I don't remove the chips. I hope this helps.
OYR Frugal & Sustainable Organic Gardening that’s what I do
Hi Patric, excellent video. It's good to know that the nitrogen depletion is limited to the top soil. Let me ask you a question. If I were to add Nitrogen on top of the Wood mulch would it not speed up the decomposition of the Wood chips? One of our old timer friend told me that she would always add a little of Blood meal above her mulch. She did not say why only that it worked wonders. She recommended one table spoon no more than two, of course that was for my garden area. She used to grow for her family, give to local schools, offer tours of her garden the local school children, sell a little of her garden harvest and raise Chickens. To me it sounds like she might have not know the science behind it nevertheless, did know what worked. Thank you for your videos.
Thanks, FrostPlutarc ! Yes, the blood meal could help speed up decomposition of the wood chips, but you don't really need to add more nitrogen than you would if you weren't mulching with wood chips.
OneYardRevolution | Frugal & Sustainable Organic Gardening
Thank you for your help!
You're not as daft as you look you Patrick are you! Thank God eucalyptus trees aren't as common as they used to be here in Wakefield. I stopped smoking yesterday. I've smoked 40 a day for nearly 30 years now and have been spending £120 a week on the ruddy things not to mention the deterioration in my health. I have to admit I'm going through sheer hell at times and only the thoughts of others can save me from this anguish.
+Michael Ball Stay strong, Michael! I know it has to be tough to kick the habit but it's well worth it.
Cheers Chevy and well done! Almost 5 weeks for me now, I've saved £600 and, although sometimes I still crave for a cigarette, I think I can do this!
I just saw a video from a different gardener that showed how a local farm used a thick base of wood chips with a depth of about 1 foot(which breaks down to much less over time) and then put a thick layer of compost(about 8 inches deep) which he planted his crops in. The purpose of the wood chips was to retain water and act as a natural fertilizer creating very good soil structure and health. However, I was wondering if the wood chips would rob nutrients from the plants. The plants were incredibly healthy looking and i think that the thick layer of compost prevented the wood chips from depleting the plants intake of nitrogen from the soil.
+Kyle LaBerge Because compost is more nutrient rich than soil, there might be enough nutrients for the plants even if there is nitrogen robbing.
You have the best videos. Weed chop gardening was non existing when I first started gardening,
Miss your educational videos. Been too long with out a new one.😢
How do you add compost to your bed? I'm new to using wood chips this year. I raked all my wood chips out of my beds then added finished compost. Is this the best way to add more compost, or is there a better way?
nolanderskidaddy Great question. When I have a bed covered in wood chips, I add compost to the bed when I plant seeds and transplant seedlings. When I plant seeds, I create a furrow in the chips, fill it with compost, and plant seeds. When transplanting, I brush the wood chips aside, and add compost when I plant the transplant. You can also add some compost right on top of the wood chips. Gravity and rain will pull it down below the chips. I hope this helps.
This video may have shone some light on my problem growing choi sam (Chinese greens) in my mulched beds. I have been transplanting the seedlings from seed trays which are about 2inches deep into the beds. When I plant them in I'd make sure the root ball is below the mulch surface but still they wouldn't grow very well. Based on the info from this video I feel as though the wood mulch may have been too close to the plant and robbing nitrogen needed.
I'm glad you found the video helpful! Adding some finished compost when transplanting should help too.
After transplanting seedlings to my raised beds, I put down a layer of grass clippings, followed by wood chips. The grass clippings feed the young plants to get them established and also provide extra nitrogen at the soil to wood chip interface. The wood chips then keep my beds moist during the hot dry summers, reducing watering needs. I use compost tea once month. Never once had a plant looking nitrogen deficient.
+dev1lsadv0cate That's an excellent approach!
Hi Patrick, love your channel, have learnt so much over the last couple years. I'm slowly expanding my garden (two young kids, so garden time is limited at times, so a little here and a little there when I can) I have an area that is covered in a layer of gravel, but has had some weeds growing through it for the last quite a few years and in december I spread a thick layer of wood chips over it from a pile I've had sitting for 4 years and some only a year and a half that I have been using in other areas of my yard the last few years. Anyways, the chips have composted some of the way, but my plan was to actually layer on top of it, but I'm not sure if it's a smart thing to do. This is what I was thinking, plus what I've gathered so far:
1st possible layer (Not sure about this one) kitchen scraps to compost down directly
2nd layer wet cardboard
3rd layer, some less than ideal soil that has been piled up in another part of the yard, some weeds growing in it.
4th layer wet cardboard
5th layer thick layer of shredded "beyond fall leaves" ( I recently gathered up quite a few trash cans full from nearby school and trail, edge of the woods, already partially composted leaves that I plan to run through my leaf blower vacuum attachment that also shreds them. Only shedding because I'd like to use this bed coming up this spring.\
6th layer spent coffee grounds
I know this is a pretty long question, just thought I'd see what you thought before I go any further. Thanks in advance.
Nice video and a good discussion, I have recently bought a decent chipper/shredder and am busy mulching my fruit beds at the moment
Michael Collinson Thank Michael! Best wishes with your garden.
Great video! As always! You are an inspiration. Wood chip mulch is definitely great for weed suppression, but this beneficial effect is not explained by a zone of nitrogen depletion as Scott hypothesized. There is a temporal zone of N def at the soil/mulch interface. However, this is an associated phenomena, not a causative variable. Experimentally, Scott's hypothesis is contradicted by the fact that many "weed" seeds readily germinate in plenty of low N environments.. such as sand, peat moss, wet paper towels, wet cardboard, petri dishes, even various non-nutritive laboratory media. There is pretty much zero bioavailable nitrogen in coconut coir, but we can germ seeds in it all day long. Wood chip mulch likely suppresses weeds when there is enough depth of mulch to block out sunlight, and also creates some heat as it breaks down. If only a small depth of woodchip mulch is applied, weeds grow right through it. Wood chip mulch suppresses weeds the same way smothering them with a black tarp does.... heat and light starvation, nothing to do with N. Cheers
Thanks!
I cleaned up my comment a bit and made my point more concisely. I love that you strive to be so empirical and evidence-based in addressing gardening topics! (I is agro ecologist by trade) :P :) Keep up the great work, Patrick!
I'm thinking that the only loss in nitrogen that would be noticeable is in the first year of using wood chip mulch. After that, once the decomposition process has begun to establish itself with the fungi, bacteria and critters, you would have a net gain of nitrogen.
I just started my garden this year, in heavy clay soil covered with 2 inches of mushroom compost and about 6 inches of wood chips. I planted my plants directly in the compost and peeled back the wood chips in those areas until the plants get established, then I'll push the wood chips back around the plants as they get established. I'm still in the planting stage, but so far things are looking good. The stuff that I planted from seed seems to be germinating well and the few transplants seem to be struggling more than the direct sown stuff. My strategy will be to keep an eye out on the plants and if they start to show signs of struggle I will add fertilizer, at least in the plant zone. I suspect that I'll only have to this for the first year. I have a Utility tree company dumping wood chips on my property for free right now. So far I've gotten 4 big loads delivered. It's mixed species with twigs, leaves and needles. Some is hardwood, some soft, and probably some stuff like cedar and some black walnut. It will all be used as is. I have 3 acres here so I have plenty of places to use them. I also have a tractor backhoe to move them around and turn the piles. I told the tree guys to keep the loads coming until I say to stop, which won't be in the foreseeable future.
DO NOT MIX IN WOOD CHIP MULCH INTO YOUR SOIL! I had serious problem last year when I stupidly mixed it into our clay soil to help provide nutrients and break up the clay. The nursery I bought the wood chip compost from miss led me to think I could use it as a compost. I did so by mixing it into the soil (by shovel). The only plants that would grow were beans which were nitrogen fixers. Lima beans would turn to mush though. It was a lot of work to mix in the wood chip compost and cost a lot of money but it destroyed my garden. I lost several hundred plants and thousands of seeds. So if you make this mistake just plant beans. It was not until one year later that I could see some of the desired benefits of wood chip compost but I decided to move my garden to provide more light for the plants. Leave wood chips on top and you should be ok as long as you don't plant seeds next to the wood chips. I also found that white patty pan squash did ok. I got so mad by the whole experience that I decided to do square foot gardening and straw bale gardening this year.
You sound seriously stressed, gardening should take that stress out of you -- I think you are farming that's work if that's the case you might want to add some yoga do your day
Thanks for discussing this topic. Allow me to frame a question for you. Suppose in Spring I mulch my raised bed with wood chips, after the end of the growing season, say November, can I turn the wood chips into the bed's soil (maybe with a nitrogen amendment) and have them decompose into compost for the following Spring?
Girruuth I personally wouldn't turn them into the soil. Keeping the wood chips on top will help deter weeds, while turning them in will bring weed seeds to the surface where they can germinate. They'll likely also tie up nitrogen, requiring the additional nitrogen fertilizer you mentioned. To plant in the spring, you can create furrows in the chips to plant seeds or brush the chips aside to plan transplants.
Patrick, fantastic video as always! Found it really compelling especially as it is based on your personal experience. I am a big fan of your channel - “one yard at a time” always makes me feel hopeful & that everyone is capable of bringing good change 😀. I did wonder about one thing in this video though - if you use wood chip mulch one year, it seems one would get boxed into using wood chips year after year since using say, triple shredded bark mulch on top of the wood chips in other years would be akin to mixing wood chips in the soil?
Woodchips does tie up nitrogen but you will get it back the following year. Normally I compost my chis with manure for a year before using them. However using them as a mulch I water with a bit of liquid fish fertilizer 3 times a year and have never had a problem. God Bless
I'd just piss on it tbh and use fungi which don't require as much nitrogen to break stuff down.
I know this video has been up for a while, but do you have any reservations using wood chip mulch in close proximity to a home? It is looking like our garden will be placed up against the house as a replacement for landscaping, and I am concerned this mulching method may increase my odds for a termite infestation. Have you noticed any termite activity with your continued use of wood chips. Thank you again for all of your great information.
Isaac Barnett Hi Isaac. I wouldn't put large amounts of wood chips up against a house out of concern they'd hold too much moisture around the foundation. A thin layer should be okay, though. We don't have termite problems in our area, but some wood chips, like cedar, actually repel termites. Here's an article from Dr. Linda Chalker-Scott that touches briefly on the topic: puyallup.wsu.edu/~linda%20chalker-scott/horticultural%20myths_files/Myths/magazine%20pdfs/Woodchips.pdf
Question? When adding fresh green grass clippings for extra nitrogen, do you just lay them over the top or is it okay to
dig them in a little... Thanks for the video.
You're very welcome, MrMac5150 ! We use a top-down approach and just add the green materials on top of the wood chips. We do this with grass clippings, comfrey, and used coffee grounds.
Thank you for the information. I just had two large truck loads of wood chips delivered. It's a mix of chips and leaves( oak I believe.) I was wanting to create paths with it. I was considering adding it to my raised beds also when I tuck them away this fall also. This video give me a bit more confidence in doing so. Thank you.
You're very welcome! As long as the wood chips aren't mixed into the soil too much, they won't rob nitrogen from where it's needed.
This topic is still going on among people??!! 2 (maybe 3) years ago when I first heard of Back to Eden wood chip mulching I watched the documentary and was very confused. I could only think "he's talking about mulching. When did people forget about mulching"? I dug deeper into the Back to Eden website which has since been moved somewhere else. I found several videos on back pages that explained every problem people seem to have with this. They no longer appear to be available. I have them downloaded on another computer that is no longer accessible. I wish I had backed them up. The top problems people have that was explained in the other videos if they had bothered to look. 1) It is suppose to be mulch. it lays on the ground. It is not turned into the ground. When turned into the ground of course it will rob nitrogen. 2) seedlings are planted into the ground not in the mulch. 3) seeds are also planted into the ground. In the case of both 2 and 3 the wood chips are pulled to the side until the plants are tall enough that the mulch does not smother them then pulled back. 4) His method is not just wood chips. Paul Gautschi chips and shred both wood and green material. His recommendation in the videos that can no longer be found was 80% green and 20% wood. That is not so out of balance as one would think. The green composts quicker and provides nitrogen to the wood chips and the contact layer of soil and contributes to soil building quicker. Roots will grow to seek out the nutrients it need. Weed seeds DO germinate. Their growth is suppressed by the mulching action of the wood chip. For a year or more I left comments for other people who were having problems. None of whom paid attention but obviously had no problem going on other social media talking about what an idiot I was. Joke is on them. I was on the same social media and saw it. THEN in the second year someone got the bright idea to actually research it. Now some of these same people who were ridiculing me are suddenly experts on wood chip gardening by doing exactly what I was trying to tell them that Paul Gautschi was doing. Honestly, this really wouldn't bother me much except that most of these people are tossing out "God bless" all over their videos.
Great points, ***** ! Yeah, this is one of those myths that doesn't want to go away.
Microbes consume the carbohydrates for energy. One waste product of respiration is CO2. So gradually the C/N gets smaller and the overall proportion of N increases. Makes sense to me. THANK YOU for thinking about this independently.
You're welcome!
Your approach seems pretty sensible Patrick (as usual). I remembered those darn sunchokes as well! LOL.
Thanks, Andy!
Congratulations on the presetation!( from Creece)
i like the way you break it down buddy, great helpful work. Thankyou for sharing, i applaud you.
hello Patrick thanks so much for your videos..
my question is this .. am new to gardening i leave in south Florida and last year i started mulching with eucalyptus wood chips the idea was to to keep the soil moist and this wood chips deter insects ... to be honest i don't think it was a good idea because ever since they have problem bearing fruits and they don't look pretty good please give me your advise ...
Hi Kelvyn. This is a frequently debated topic and I'm not sure I have the answer, but some sources say that eucalyptus mulch, especially when it contains leaves, has an allelopathic effect. This means that it suppresses plant growth.
Hi Patric I saw a lot of mycelium thread as you moved your wood chip around with your hand, it is as necessary as nitrogen bacteria to soil
I agree!
That black plastic container in the background... that you are using for your hot compost.... where did you get one/ what is it called? Thanks for all your awesome videos!!
You're welcome, Kokomo Bedford ! That's a geobin. I bought it from Amazon: www.amazon.com/Presto-Products-Geobin-Compost-Bin/dp/B0085O6NXQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421289128&sr=8-1&keywords=geobin
This is good to know. I had no idea about this. Taking notes!
Question, how do you reverse the negative effects and aftermath of tilling wood chips 6 to 10 inches beneath the surface. Here’s what I did. Last fall (2107) I tilled my wood chips into my 80 ft. X 60 ft garden, this was before I knew any better and that the wood chips consumed nitrogen underground and it was pretty much the Worst thing I could do to my once healthy and nutrient rich soil. My garden is mainly tomato’s, peppers peas, cucumbers, celery and lettuce. This growing season I suffered the consequences of my mistake. All of my plants stayed alive but they barley grew and most plants did not produce any fruits, for example the tomato plants that did produce literally had 2 to 5 tomatoes all season.
Any suggestions on how to speed up and reverse the negative effects caused by the underground wood chips?
I'm sorry to hear that, Tony. It will all work out. You'll just have to make sure there's enough nitrogen in the soil. Compost and/or aged manure applied to the soil surface may do the trick. If not, you can add nitrogen fertilizer. Just be careful not to overdo it. Too much nitrogen can cause problems too. Also, I recommend using a no dig approach. Build soil by applying organic matter to the surface only. I hope this helps!
Thanks for this discussion. I would not use municipal wood chips in a food garden; you can't know the source or how it all was handled. It's fine for flower gardens and landscape beds, but you neve know if someone has sprayed a tree or what kind of tree or other flora is in there.
i am about to order some woodchips for my orchard. will it help if every few weeks i lay some coffee grounds on the top, especially during the rainy season. i am assuming this will help the decomposition in the years to follow.
+Gardener Wannabee It certainly wouldn't hurt to sprinkle coffee grounds on the wood chips. I've done this many times myself. Yes, the nitrogen should help break down the wood chips.
I prune my trees. The branches have leaves. I have a wood chipper. I get a combination of wood chip and leaves. It seems to work for me.
Nice video... Now we having a big argument at home about mulch with an old book "the roadless book of Composting" :)
Great video. I have a lot of pine wood chip in my area for free. I would like to know if it is good choice to use for mulch? I've heard it would bring in the termites. Please help!
Thanks! Freshly chipped pine mulch shouldn't contain any living termites because it's not likely they'll survive the chipper. Also, termites aren't attracted to wood chips and don't prefer them as a food source. So, I'd feel comfortable using pine chip mulch. Here's more information on wood chips and termites from a conversation on The Garden Professors Blog FB page: facebook.com/groups/GardenProfessors/permalink/10154642664226490/?comment_id=10154642734951490&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R9%22%7D
I have a question for you about the wood chips
I had a load of wood chips delivered to me in the fall last year, however I was not able to put them over my garden bed until Springtime this year around March, I am now planting my garden in the wood chips hopefully everything is going to be alright
What are your thoughts and even though they sat in a pile all winter long do you think that they have broken down enough for me to use in my garden? Or should I have waited?
I now have two more loads of wood chips that are recently thought so they should be able to break down to where I can put them over my garden bed this year in the fall.
Unfortunately I doubt if you can get wood chips for free in Stockholm, Sweden. So I shall have to collect wood in the forest and chop it up. Can fir, pine, birch, maple,mountain ash (rowan), hawthorn, juniper, alder, elder, sloe, gooseberry, blackcurrant, redcurrant, whitecurrant, damson, aronia and rose be used as mulch?
I wonder if a tree removal service would have extra wood chips where you live? As far as I know, all the plants you listed would be fine. Happy mulching!
OneYardRevolution | Frugal & Sustainable Organic Gardening thanks, I shall look into that though i have not found anything in Stockholm with free wood chips.
I was always curious about this. I figured the nitrogen loss would just occur at the soil surface/mulch interface and would be pretty minimal. Never realized the chips would actually add nitrogen to the soil.
Just curious, are your raised beds straight compost?
Thanks!
Yes, wood chips add nitrogen, and even the nitrogen that is temporarily tied up by bacteria will be released when the bacteria die.
Some of the raised beds are filled with 100% compost. Others have sand as well, and the rock dust bed has rock dust added.
Thanks for the info. I recently created two new beds that comprised of mostly mushroom compost and horse manure. I was worried about it being too mucky so I put in some perlite and peat moss as well. There is about 15-20 gallons of worm castings too. Figured they might help aerate the bed. I thought about adding some sand. Maybe to future beds to save on the cost.
Mr> Doolan, You mentioned not to use black walnut chips. I have a black walneu right near my future garden area. Will the leaves also prevent plant growth?
Yes, black walnut leaves and branches contain juglone, which suppresses growth, and they should be composted before being used in the garden. I hope this helps!
thank you
If I'm buying mulch for my raised beds, should I get shredded hardwood mulch or pine bark mulch? Thanks for the video!
Thanks, Robin! My understanding is that wood chips are generally more beneficial than bark mulch. Here's an article from Dr. Linda Chalker-Scott that touches on the benefits of wood chips over bark: puyallup.wsu.edu/~linda%20chalker-scott/horticultural%20myths_files/Myths/magazine%20pdfs/Woodchips.pdf
Thank you!
Hi. our city has free chips available and I've been scooping them onto my garden. I had a large area of bare soil. So. I put down cardboard on the soil, then put the chips on that. (I dig down to get the mostly decomposed product) The majority of this free mulch is in fact eucalyptus. Should I be concerned about my established tomato plants? To plant them, I clear away all mulch, cut the cardboard, add compost and nutrients, some planting mix, minerals, cover with more compost, straw, and then recover with the rotted mulch. Not sure if I should be concerned. what do you think?
Hello Patrick, thank you for a nice clear video. I would like to ask about which wood chip is best for for soil preventing weeds but beneficial to other plants as well. I am basically concern about attracting termites to the garden then to the house. I heard cedar, cypress, and pine wood chip which we can get free from the arborist
prevents termites but are they healthy to our fruits plants?
Friend of mine mulched in wood chips and he said he had a problem with nitrogen depletion I hear mulching in sawdust is not good
Thanks for that sound useful knowledge. I use a lot of Woodchipping for pathways.
You're very welcome, Patrick Meehan !
If you had a few years to repair soil, would it be better to put a large layer on the top, or mix the chips into the soil to inject food into the soil?
In the fall, do you till your garden and the wood chip mulch into the soil?
+Darth Zed We use a no-till approach. So, the wood chips never get turned into the soil. We just keep piling more mulch on top. We brush the mulch aside to plant.
I think I have this problem. I picked up several yards of compost from my city, and they've been sitting in raised beds for two months now. Can I amend the soil by adding nitrogen? Should I sift out all the woodchips?
Hi John! If the compost contains a lot of solid woody material, it could be robbing nitrogen. Adding nitrogen fertilizer should help.
Straw bale gardening also relies on the release of nitrogen from within the bales as bacteria break down the inner material. This typically takes about two weeks when you water them thoroughly and then apply a high nitrogen fertilizer to kick off bacteria consumption. Once the bales get going, my experience is that they are a great medium for growing tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, flowers and other vegetables. I've heard complaints from some people who tried planting straight into uncomposted or inadequately composted straw bales that their plants basically and died. I suspect it is because bacteria were using all the available nitrogen to consume the wet straw, taking nutrients away from the seedlings. if they had waited for mushrooms to pop up I think they would have gotten better results.
From my experience. Leaves are the best . I have a lot of trees on my property. I mulch it all with the lawnmower. Put it in a pile keep it wet. Add food scraps. Let that sit over winter. In spring you can plant in it. Doesn’t need to be broken down all the way. My garden seems to love a rough compost . And as you water, you create compost tea for your garden
My head is spinning on this topic. Back and forth and back and forth. I first got very excited when I watched Back To Eden and then other YT videos created by acolytes of the topic. It resonated with me 'cause I do a LOT of chipping each year on two gargantuan Laurel Hedges.
For me, the chips work great for my flower beds and for beds that abut my house. They help manage weeds and keep it looking nice. But, a couple of years ago, I tried it on two of my raised garden beds. It was hands-down my worst year for those beds, not horrible but the plants seemed smaller, less vigorous and less fruitful. Also, the tomatoes were not very tasty.
I know this is anecdotal; maybe there were other factors that year that I wasn't considering...but, still...
I will say that the established beds where I've had chips for a few years now have lovely, rich soil underneath. I'm wondering if "best use"might not be as a pre-conditioner for future beds and as maintenance for perennials.
Zerkbern Very interesting. We had great results from the beginning using wood chips. As you suggested, there may have been other factors at play the year you had poor results. Wood chips are definitely great for perennials. Perhaps if you try them again on your annual beds, you could just try one bed at first and see if less than stellar results are repeated?
I might do that. Another thought I had was that perhaps it was the Laurel? I've had a few gardeners tell me it was mildly herbicidal and pesticidal. Certainly weeds do not seem to grow under them. OneYardRevolution | Frugal & Sustainable Organic Gardening
Zerkbern,
There is an easy solution. Mix some free bags of coffee grounds with the wood chips and pre-compost them even a few weeks first, before applying as a top mulch. Remember when "pre-composting" to add lots of water (even daily in low humidity). Wood chips hold a lot of water and do nothing when dry. But they are hard to get initially soaked and may try to dry out too fast. Once they break down the oils a bit they hold onto that water much better. Also the "pre-composting" will help break down any allelopathic chemicals found in living branches. And yes, Laurel does retain chemicals in the bark and leaves that are pesticidal, both inhibiting weeds (or your tomatoes) and insects. So you need that pile to get hot at least once, You don't have to completely compost them, but you do need to break down the essential oils that cause this effect. Here is a good paper on it, although it was written from the POV of purposely using Laurel for preventing germination and insects.
docsdrive.com/pdfs/academicjournals/je/0000/42953-42953.pdf
If we want to fertilize our plants, can we sprinkle on top of wood chips or should will pull out wood chips on fertilizer in the soil.
What about adding used coffee grounds to increase the nitrogen for the wood chips. I'm just starting out with the whole wood chips thing. I've learned a lot through your videos. Thanks for your help.
You're welcome, Rick! Yes, you can sprinkle coffee grounds on wood chip mulch. Just make sure to use a light application that doesn't create a solid layer of coffee grounds, which can repel water.
Has anyone ever seen a mulch pile where you actually see steam rising from the center ? I guess that shows you right there that it contains enough nitrogen for decomposition . That's something I never realized until now .
Good point. A lot of green leaves go into our municipal wood chip pile. The city trims trees in the summer - leaves and all - so there's a good amount of nitrogen in there.
The best video that explains everything perfectly thank you
Thanks Kimmy! I'm glad it was helpful.
And note that long-time practitioners move the topmost mulch aside and plant into the semi-composted material and soil below.
+loganv0410 Very true.
+loganv0410 So leaf and grass compost would not be a problem?
+ALLxoxoxoxo Leaves and grass make excellent compost!
+OneYardRevolution | Frugal & Sustainable Organic Gardening So, Compost and mulch don't have the same affect?
+ALLxoxoxoxo They're similar in many ways, but more of the nutrients in compost are available to plants sooner than those in mulch. Leaves and grass are great for both compost and mulch.
Your comfrey looks great 👍
Can I place wood chips under pine trees, there a lot of pine needles already . What do you recommend? Remove the pine needles or place the wood chips on top of them?
Hi, thanks for the video. Where do u get the black basket that holds all your leaves for composting? Thanks
You're welcome! That's a geobin. We bought ours on Amazon: www.amazon.com/dp/B0085O6NXQ/ref=sr_ph?ie=UTF8&qid=1420594589&sr=1&keywords=geobin
Thanks for the response. This will be my first trying a pile and not got it cooking yet.