EP 438: Mistakes I Made Using Woodchips in the Garden (And How I FIXED Them) w/ Paul Gautchi

Multiple years ago I did a test in my garden where I covered half the garden in woodchips and used the Back to Eden no-till gardening method. Two years later, I did a soil test and was shocked by the results (they weren't what I expected). Now, a few years later, after speaking with Paul Gautschi himself, I finally learned what we did wrong.

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Howdy! I'm so glad you're here. I'm Melissa from Pioneering Today and a 5th generation homesteader where I'm doing my best to hold onto the old traditions in a modern world and share them with others.

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#woodchips #gardenmulch #backtoeden

[loden]

The reason why laying the wood chip down in autumn/fall is vital is because it will get broken down by fungi in the cold wet winters, fungi do not require nitrogen in order to break down cellulose material. If it is put down during the warmer season then it is broken down by bacteria which DO require nitrogen in order to break down the cellulose material, thus creating the dip in nitrogen you have seen.

[ssbw]

I’m in my 3rd year of doing no dig/back to Eden gardening and my garden is flourishing this year with very little input from me. The first couple years it was a lot of work, but now I’m really reaping the benefits and I could not be happier.

[annalynn]

I don’t want to be too hard on us for ‘mistakes we made.’ Because a lot of the problem is there are many gardening ‘influencers’ who are not necessarily educators. They unknowingly leave out crucial details (or leave crucial details behind a pay wall). They fail to account for different climates, conditions, pest and weed pressure, and the variability of available materials. E.g. not everyone can get “chip drop.” (I pay $40/yard for wood chips and have to drive my pickup 30 miles to pick it up.) And, I live in a small town where there is no printed newspaper… but I do have plenty of cardboard! Thanks to Melissa Norris for being an educator, not just an influencer ❤

[dvssayer]

Happy to see Paul! He changed my life! I immediately got chip drop and took away half our grass with cardboard compost 5 or 6 inches and 6 inches of wood chips! I think this is yr 3! I have a whole orchard and everything grows beautifully! I've since done other sections of the property! God bless Paul.

[jeffmeyers]

Leaves do what wood chips do, but much faster in my opinion. I've been a huge fan of Paul Gautchi for years and have probably seen every tour anyone has recorded on YT, great information. But it's good to learn the concepts and try what works for your context with materials and limitations that you have. I have a farm and get loads of both arborist wood chips and leaves dumped in the Fall. Both great resources, both fungal dominant, mineral rich, great at insulating and moisture retention. But leaves are better in a few ways. Just spread 1-2 feet of leaves in the Fall, let it break down and compress, worms love eating them so free worm castings, they mat together and block weeds better than chips. The soil under them in the Spring will be much improved, but like Paul said, better every year. Chips are heavier but easier to shovel, dump, and rake them around after some time has passed since the leaves mat together. I don't mulch garden beds with wood chips anymore, as when you try to move them out of the way you'll never get them all and inevitably some will get buried, whereas leaves are very easy to move aside. I recommend checking out the YT channel Growit Buildit who shows the progression of dumpling over a foot of leaves in his garden over several years.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that we're on the prairie and get very powerful winds all Fall, Winter and early Spring. We all know wood chips don't blow around in the wind, and surprisingly leaves don't either. Even my shredded piles hold together perfectly since they quickly mat together. I have virtually no leaves that blow around, trust me I would know since our neighbor has a manicured lawn on the other side of the fence where the piles are (10 feet away) and he complains if anything gets on his property. So just another observation about chips vs leaves, hope it helps somebody.

[freerangefarmin]

I just wanted to give you my experience, I love mulching, but I don't have super easy access to the wood chips with the greens, but what I have been doing that has been effective is I use pine shavings and use it to deep bed my chicken coop during the winter and then In spring use it for mulch in the garden and that has brought in the nitrogen missing and has been great.

[bradlafferty]

Very good interview and clarification of processes! Thanks for hosting Paul. He’s a treasure of knowledge!

[contextkey]

Very helpful video Melissa. Great to see Paul still going. Thank you for this video. 👍

[dovh]

I think a lot of these methods of natural gardening are really similar. Ruth Stout's Hay method is very similar to Paul's wood chips method and then you have the cover crop that is similar to both of those and then in really wet climates putting a layer of compost every year is good. All these methods are really similar, they all require that you cover the garden and feed it with natural material and it pays off over time. I think any of those methods are good depending on where you live and what material you have access to or that you can make yourself.

[tonycortese]

Thank you for your video and thank you so much to have Paul on video I've missed him and his wisdom

[AlsanPine]

yup, i have 2' of wood-chips over my entire orchard before i planted it. then i make my mounds on top of that with 3+ year old chips that have composted. after 2nd summer, i planted deer salad which attracted wildlife that poops all over. the bugs attract birds that do same. that aged composted chips are what i grow in. very high fertility. but it does take several years. i did the whole acre in the 80's. i grow 90% of my food and have tones to sell and give away. i also give 20% of what i grow for wildlife still. no weeds, no fertilizer, very little watering because of all the humus that is my soil. the key is to work with nature instead of against it 🙂

[preppersparadisecanada]

We are in full swing with this method.
Time and patience.

[sherimatukonis]

I use woodchips in the paths between and for browns in the compost pile when all I have are grass clippings(it prevents the grass from clumping up)

[andrewmanzo]

Thank you for giving us the information at the very start of the video, rather than try and lead us on for 10 minutes with fluff to make your video longer. I appreciate straight forward information. I am using wood chips from the council here cutting down trees and shredding all the branches. I look forward to seeing the results.

[cindiakright]

Great info. Thank you. I also appreciate the credit given to God vs mother nature or the universe. Keep speaking the truth as you teach! God bless you.

[jean-marclariviere]

Thank you so much for this so informative, just what i needed, year garden has been a mess but next year will be better. Have an amazing week-end.

[MountainGardenGirl]

Oh and yes, chips with leaves are a must for proper burning. Thank you for bringing that to ever doubters attention.

[dustyandchelseamcclellan]

Friendly FYI We brought in poison hemlock to our property through wood chips.

Just to say, keep an eye out for unexpected weeds coming from wood chips especially chipped near "wild" areas, ditches etc.

[gardensandmore]

Nitrogen? If you cut grass in the spring to early summer, or often enough to prevent seed formation, the clipping provide more than enough material that breaks down into nitrogen. You may want to try mixing the clippings with the wood chipped materials. In old gardening talk the grass clippings are your green feed, and the wood products the brown since they take a lot longer to break down and feed the soil critters. The key is the soil critters. If they are happy, your plants are happy and well fed. What any garden system, or method is trying to do is memic what they see near forests and fields of weeds and grasses, but tend to not learn from what they see.

[darrenwilkinson]

When I went down route.. luckily there was a huge pile outside our plots which had been there for years..I started by digging an area taking out weeds rocks etc then covering in 6”of the woodchip from bottom of pile ..in September..left it till about April ..and when I planted I’d dig a hole and put well rotted (1 year)..chicken coop poop in hole and place the plant on top …once season was over I’d replenish the beds with a fresh 6” of woodchip…best thing I ever did ..and all my plot is covered now ..and no more digging..BACK TO EDEN.. change that for me in the uk..