Sourcing and Using Woodchip for the Farm and Garden: A talk and Q&A with Ben Raskin

Ben Raskin, author of the new book The Woodchip Handbook, talks about the many uses of woodchip both in regenerative agriculture and horticulture. Ben is Head of Horticulture and Agroforestry at the Soil Association and draws on his extensive practical experience using woodchip to provide the latest research from around the world plus inspiring case studies from innovative farmers.

Ben highlights the tremendous potential of woodchip to enhance soil health and plant growth and how it can be applied as a natural mulch for weed suppression, temperature buffering and water conservation, as well as being an excellent growing medium for propagating plants. Woodchip is also a carbon-rich compost ingredient that supports beneficial fungi and microorganisms and can act as a powerful soil health booster when applied as small-sized ramial chipped wood.

[georgel]

Re composted woodchip as propagation compost, I've been putting random woodchip over Mypex on paths at an allotment for a long time and every 2-3 years I brush it all up and sieve it. The sieved stuff makes good seed compost, and what is not sieved goes back on the paths with more new woodchip to start all over again. Although I do tend to mix woodchip sieved compost with very well rotted leaf mould to make a seed compost mix.

[leanelson-gemmell]

Here in California, I often wave down landscapers with chippers on their truck, and ask if they’ll dump their chips on my yard. They’re usually happy to and they usually know what kind of wood they’ve just chipped. But I did get some surprise palm in one load and now have little palm trees popping up all over my yard- and those are hard to get rid of!