5 Reasons You NEED Woodchips | Regenerating Desert Land

[@Jax0238]

I could never keep many trees or other plants alive in Chandler until we started laying down woodchips a few years ago! Now everything grows almost out of control with a huge reduction in water usage! Woodchips are awesome!

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Woohoo!! Glad to hear you're seeing the same success. It's amazing how something so simple can make such a profound difference for us here!

[@thePrisoner1000]

Here in Oregon, they offer free mulch, and compost is the way. I grew up always with a mulch pile, and those worms get so active to make that black soil gold.

[@blender_wiki]

Wow mister obvious strike again

[@Jax0238]

@@blender_wiki cool story 😎

[@someguy892]

Could you use pine needles in place of woodchips?

[@hannahmakingrivendell4347]

"Singular focus..to create life in the desert" Just touches my heart ❤

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Sounds like we're peas in a pod Hannah. Creating life where there was none is just magical to witness!

[@auditrevor]

Currently working on repairing my clay based soil I’m my garden. I’ve been tilling in about 6” of compost into the soil and about 2” of wood chips. Its amazing to see it turn from almost a solid concrete to plush soft soil again.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Now that is a solid amount of amendment to get that soil. We're lucky if we can get our tiller to get 2-3" down in most places on the farm, so we have resigned to adding on top of the soil which will take much longer. Glad that's working for you!

[@l0gic23]

​@@EdgeofNowhereFarm can you try a side by side between the 2-3 inches down you can get and the just building on top? Would be interesting to see the difference over time between the two methods. Thanks for considering

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

@@l0gic23 I'll see if we can work that test in.

[@kwlweapons]

I would recommend you lay all those woodchips on contour berms around your property to hold more water when the monsoons come. You can then plant uphill and downhill from the wood chip berms and starting taking advantage of the retained water.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Great suggestion and we do plan on incorporating more of these after we go back and fill in around the trees. We don't get deliveries regularly, so we're trying to focus on the primary growing areas first.

[@benjohnson6833]

Swales

[@kwlweapons]

@@benjohnson6833 more like woodchips berms on contour or slightly slopes towards the ridges. A swale has a basin and implies digging which is different from what I’m proposing as an easy way to make better use of the woodchips piles they have.

[@SolidGoldShows]

Beautiful black soil. Y'all are doing great in the farm 🚜

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Crazy how quickly that starts to accumulate, right?

[@AmzBackyardOrchardandVineyard]

Hi neighbors! You're preaching to the choir! 🙏 You and Lori have inspired us to continue to use Compost, Wood chips and Mulch. We use all of our yard clippings and prunings from all of our trees and vines and make our own mulch and compost right here on our property. Thank you for all of your tips and tricks that actually work! Proof that it works for our desert environment 😎 cheers 🥂

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey there Aaron! I've seen how amazing the soil is you're generating there on your property. The addition of the lawn clippings is really kicking that soil creation into high gear for you!

[@grumbeard]

Not just in the desert. I former garden I had here in the Netherlands looked very different after we did the back half with wood mulch and tree bark. Barely any weeds and the Rhodondendrons really did well in that place. Would recommend it to everyone, not just regenerative farmers.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Alexander! I can only imagine how wonderfully this type of material would break down with a bit more moisture mixed in!

[@grumbeard]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm Ha! You have no idea. We did it 3 times over the course of less than a decade. The third and last time we did it we used Cocoa shells and that was less satisfactory, not to mention a not at all pleasant odor and the look was worse than the treebark and mulch. Both however kept in watter pretty well. We do have dry periodes here in the Netherlands in summer and it keeps down having to water.

[@ksbrook1430]

Regarding a source for wood chips: our local municipality has a large woodchip pile from the trees and branches collected in the area. It is open for the public to help themselves. Just need a shovel, buckets and a good back. Great for us smaller gardeners.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Wow, that is a FANTASTIC resource KS. And you're right, a small garden doesn't need a delivery of multiple yards of material!

[@chetnash5991]

The way wood chips help generate life is amazing!

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey there Chet! That is so true. There are benefits in most environments, so they're for just about everyone!

[@toddwilson8059]

Woodchips were definitely a game changer in establishing a healthy soil biome. Started several ago years when I received my first load of woodships through the free gechipdrop site and haven't regretted the decision. I can attest to all the points noted in the video and will add that soil ecology is conditioned on all these factors working together (moisture, temperature, minerals, and nutrients). It makes a difference in growing quality fruits and veggies imo. Great content 👌🏾. Btw "I'll take expressions by Tattoo on Fantasy Island for $1000 Alex" :)

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Todd. Glad to hear you're seeing the same success and great addition there as well. It takes time to really see the results, but the impact is impressive. Love the Jeopardy request!

[@huntermcclovio4517]

so True!! Woodchips do make a difference.

[@danielfisch655]

It’s all about building soil and water retention. Thank you for sharing and I’m a huge fan of wood chips.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Daniel! Water and soil makes the desert a beautiful place, that's for sure!

[@magapefarmshomestead6453]

Wood chips I believe are essential but another thing that is also essential is microbial, mostly fungal, soil life to aid the trees to being stronger and more resilient.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Great points here. Fungal activity is key to effectively breaking down carbon like this. We just did an episode on that you may find interesting; kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y4mloYumn5mUesU

[@MessyTimes]

Great to see the work you are doing! Well done. It's invaluable and the great part is you get to live there.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Thank you, it is very cool to see the growth in the 3 years we have been here!

[@freidrichnietzsche6643]

Am in the process of reclaiming overgrown pasture and forest and was thinking of getting a wood chipper for tractor. This video finalized that decision for me! Thanks!! We’re in central WV so the water conservation isn’t much of an issue for us as we get a lot of water but the other use cases & benefits apply!!

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

You won't regret that PTO chipper for your tractor. They're not very effective with small twigs/branches, but they chew through larger branches quite easily. Either way, the woodchips are a treasure for land reclamation in just about every environment!

[@tonyhussey3610]

I learned this summer that wood chips really work.. in 40degee weather it saved and made my trees thrive !!!

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Glad to hear you're seeing such great results Tony!

[@tonisee2]

Good overview as always, thank you! I completely agree, that having woodchips is mixed topic depending on specific context. The worst option would be putting all that resource into landfill, so I'm considering you to be in a very lucky situation where you can have free(?) organic material to feed the soil in your farm and grow the food for people. The other side of the mixed topic is: in many countries in the world, woodchips are sold as mulch. Quite large part (I'd be surprised if not most) of that material comes from forests abroad that are taken down to produce "wood products", whatever they are. E.g. my own country Estonia is an significant exporter of wooden pellets to Western Europe where they are used as "green source of energy". Few of our businessmen get rich by grinding (also state owned) forests into wooden pellets. And would it be branches or very low quality trunks - even millions of cubic meters of perfect logs are turned into pellets, because the price of pellets is higher than construction wood. But costs of that really bad greenwashing are carried by whole society and slowly declining environment...

[@hannahmakingrivendell4347]

Im in AZ, and arborist just throw all the woodchips in the dump. They are eager to give it to you for free so they don't have to pay the dump.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Tonis. I've heard similar things are done here with some of the bagged mulches available in stores here as well. Fortunately we have this option where arborists can connect with gardeners to divert that raw material created by trimming landscape trees.

[@user-rx2ur5el9p]

At my local hardware store, they have bags of untreated "recycled" mulch that appear to be chipped up boards that used to be pallets and things like that. Its also common practice for landscapers to throw trimmed branches and whatnot into a wood chipper. Usually America is the absolute worst when it comes to unchecked capitalism, but I'm not aware of any weird, shadowy "wood pellet" mafia over here, although I'm sure there is one somewhere.

[@pannini21]

this is super cool! I actually had a similar problem in my garden after a few weeks of forgetting to water the soil in peak summer, so the soil got super dry and would not soak in any water, I asked my parents who grew up on farms and they told me to spread hay or woodchips over and then to water and I did just that and have been having a great harvest and a complete turnaround in plant life!

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Woohoo! This is great to hear. It's amazing the difference a little ground cover can make!

[@neverwinterfarms]

So glad you mentioned arborists. The greens and browns mixed together is excellent.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

That is so true. That mix gives you a great chance to jumpstart soil creation!

[@kevincharles112]

Been using wood chips for just under a year and it's really making a difference here in Vegas. I'm amazed how quickly it breaks down and how much it allows all the trees to stay happy at 110+. Everything would be stunted and/or burned without it. Happy roots, happy tree! I use cedar chips from a local nursery and stock up whenever they are on sale. Thanks for that advice!! Fantasy Island and Love Boat were shows where all the B actors/actresses could make a living ... just so you know you're not alone on the reference there!

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Glad to hear you're seeing the same results in Vegas. Near identical conditions to what we have here, so the advantages are tremendous. Love boat is another one I remember as a kid. I still sing the song in my head every time someone mentions it!

[@AimAtMe]

I love Fantasy Island - that reference made my day :)

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

It's funny, because growing up I remember a few shows that my parents would always watch. Mash, Fantasy Island and The Love Boat. I smile every time I think of these!

[@mesutozsen903]

eline emeğine sağlık bu güzel vlog için kolay gelsin hayırlı işler....👍👍👍👍

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Mesut'a teşekkürler. Bunların tadını çıkarmaya devam etmene sevindim!

[@Friesian-q6u]

Helpful as always, thanks Duane and Lori 😊

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Glad you enjoyed this one!

[@juliarroberts1621]

The results you are getting from using wood chips give me hope. My soil is alkaline and I have been amending it with chicken manure & wood chips around my fruit trees & lots of compost in my raised beds.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

It sounds like you're on the right track there Julia. Our soil tested at a PH of 8.4, so very high here as well.

[@jordanrobison1827]

Thank you for your greatly informative videos you two!!

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Glad you enjoyed this one Jordan. I imagine you guys are busy as can be right now, huh? We're looking forward to seeing you guys tie the knot next month!

[@josephsaid6922]

I live in Toronto area Canada I have a small back yard garden I have axces to free mushroom compost plus I got about three good loads from chip drop .Keep up the good work

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Sounds like you have a great start to some wonderful soil there Joseph!

[@darylpas2209]

The farm looks amazing as usual. I just noticed that Google Maps finally updated a picture of your property.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Daryl! Thanks for the heads up. It looks like that was taken this past Spring, so it's pretty accurate!

[@jamesfrankland38thangs58]

Great video on wood chips a highly beneficial resource to help green any desert including the one I live in. Thanks for sharing🤝💯

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

They really do a fantastic job at mitigating our biggest challenges in desert environments. As you know, heat relief and moisture retention is what it's all about for us!

[@johne7123]

"growing in the desert" is a common search term for me. I'm very interested in humans restoring desert landscapes. I'm subscribed now 👍

[@johne7123]

Also, weed..... control 😆

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Glad you found us John. Growing in the desert is the only thing we do!

[@slamboy66]

At 8:33 when you set the chips down, was that dust or compost steam wafting?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

I knew I could count on you to notice that little detail. That was mainly dust and probably some mold. It's one of the reasons I typically wear an N95 whenever we're moving wood chips around. Fortunately, this time it didn't waft up into my face enough to cause any issues.

[@culbinator]

Great work guys

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Thank you so much Clint!

[@kandaceprice6998]

We have received about 100 chip drops~ still always wanting more. I started putting woodchips in our community gardens to keep weeds down over 20+ yrs ago. Best soil builder,earth cooler weed free item that doesn't cost a dime-except for the tractor to move it!

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Bingo Kandace! Sounds like you have a jumpstart on us with this one. So glad to hear we're not the only ones out there seeing these great results!

[@nmnate]

High desert chip user here. I'm about 4 years in and probably 40 cubic yards in total so far. It works great. Put your trees on drip, mulch them deep and watch 'em grow. The only plants in our yard that don't appreciate the thick mulch are the xeric native plants that hate extra moisture. Basically everything else exploded with the monsoon rain this year (we got at least 8" over a few months). I find the best benefits of wood chips start showing up with 4"+ of mulch. Some areas of the yard we have 8" and that depth works great, too. For us, getting a load from an arborist is usually about a year wait. Not every area has chip drop. Plan ahead and if you can, just let a pile sit in a quiet part of the yard. 12-15 CY (dump truck size load) is about $100 for delivery, too. Sometimes landscapers will have a line on cheap chips to purchase, too.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Great notes here Nate and glad to see you're seeing solid results as well. It was one heck of a monsoon season this year!

[@thebeesknees745]

The monsoons were awesome this year. I stopped irrigating halfway through July and never turned them back on. Just winterized the system last week without a drop. Been watching my neighbors still water their lawn and my lawn is greenerthan theirs (mower on highest setting gives dense roots).

[@forced4motorsports]

I'm rebuilding my soil here in FL, which is just sand, using mulch, wood I chip as I clean out the trees growing through my fence and the four foot easement. I'm also cover cropping with cow peas, sweet potato, and a mix of clover, vetch, daikon, mustard, etc, feeding that to my chickens and having them top till for me starting next spring on a rotating cycle. I'm hoping to gain about 1 inch of topsoil per year. We'll see how it goes. I did start my first 4 30in x 22ft rows with purchased topsoil and compost, but the goal going forward is self sufficiency. I've planted Moringa trees & banana for food and mulch sources so I think between those, composting, and the cover crops, 1 inch per year is possible. Of course my chicken feed bill being almost zero is a nice bonus.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Wow, you are really rocking the soil creation. One great part about being in FL is that rainfall. Our biggest challenge here with using wood chips is a lack of moisture to help them break down. The advantage is they cover the ground for a longer period of time, but that slows soil creation.

[@forced4motorsports]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm I hear ya. It's compost that's slow here unless you water it daily since you have to cover it or it won't break down for years. Rain doesn't do much if it's dried up by the sun a few hours after falling. Love the progress your making, especially the natural ground cover retaking the desert. Can't wait to see what the farm looks line in a few more years.

[@YoushaAhmad]

Impressive transformation from an underrated resource. Thanks for sharing the progressive with time, it is useful to see the results rather than just be told to use wood chips. Personally here in the UK I have had good experience with woodshavings rotting down with chicken and rabbit waste creating a better-than store bought compost. For mulch in my garden I have used store bought bark chippings for weed control which has the benefit as a cheap long term compost as it breaks down. Probably needs green nutrients added to it though to keep things in balance. As I plan to move to a warmer country for a long term and set up a permaculture project, bulk woodchips and perhaps even treated sewage waste looks to be cheap options for improving large areas of soil in desert areas. Not sure about contamination from the likes of cleaning chemicals and medicine lurking in sewage wasted though. Plus, it doesn't sound like an idyllic permaculture start haha.

[@sharonjones7674]

Bio Sludge is not a good choice. Many chemicals do not breakdown at all, ever which will transfer to your food and you. Think of what goes down the drain in any city or town from drain cleaners, to medicines. to petroleum products. Many contain what are now known as "forever" chemicals. Why poison yourself anymore than we already are poisoned? This is of course my opinion but there are more studies coming out all the time of what is found in foods grown in bio sludge, not just the immediately harvested product but in the processed products. Think milk products made by cows that are fed from grains grown in bio sludge.🤢🌷

[@cherylcook1942]

Even chemicals break down over time.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Yousha! I can't speak to the use of treated sewage, but we depend on all of our animals to create that much needed nitrogen, bacteria, etc to help with creating that all important soil. Goats and sheep will be our focus moving forward as we are hopeful we can establish a desert pasture that will not require as much outside feed input and give us that fertility that you're looking for as well.

[@YoushaAhmad]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm Hey! Yes animals, look to be a key convenient nitrogen source for you. I am looking forward to seeing how goats and sheep foraging of plants on your land will help reduce outside food and energy inputs whilst still improving your soil. Perhaps they can be combined with deep taproot veg and plants such as comfrey to pull nutrients from deep in the ground?

[@YoushaAhmad]

​@@sharonjones7674 Some good point you raise here. I have heard about forever chemicals and I suppose many more chemicals may fall into that category that are more studied. Perhaps anaerobic digestion and maybe even ozone could help breakdown some chemicals that are so resilient. Treated sewage may not be the ideal source unless you know what is in it. Though, animal manure may also contain the likes of medicine and possibly herbicides/ insecticides from the fodder. I think treated sewage could perhaps be used on a side plot of land alongside other soil and fertility building techniques such as those shown on EON farm.

[@SlackerU]

I find that the fungal blooms from using wood-chips can make the soil hydrophobic. It's not a problem if the gardener is aware & watering accordingly.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Very true Bob. It takes a LONG time to get those woodchips to accept water, especially after they sit and dry after accumulating that bloom.

[@kuyanarvin]

Good idea i will try it

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

You will have to let us know how it goes, they work wonders for us!

[@charlesbale8376]

I'm a big fan of using wood chips and Chip Drop.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

They really have a great program in place to keep this valuable resource out of the landfills.

[@sdraper2011]

I'd love a caliche layer 1-2 feet down! Ours is RIGHT beneath the surface. Concrete city. 🤨 I got your Fantasy Island reference, woohoo! 👍

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Now that is a real bummer. Our first house in the city was similar, except after the fill dirt and about 6 - 8 inches of AZ soil we had granite (side of a mountain).

[@jeffreybresnahan]

Just used the massive 8 Cubic tons of Beach chainsaw saw sawdust, from the cutting up of our 90 ft Beech tree; which sadly was blown down during a massive storm over Scotland last winter. Having back filled a raised main road embankment running beside my land which measures 160 linear feet, with 50 tons of recycled hardcore, at a 45° angle to support the existing 5ft high embankment granite retaining wall. The Beech tree sawdust has been spread out over the new supporting hardcore base, 3 inches deep, and then covered over with 3 inches of good topsoil, then sowed over with both grass and naturel Scottish meadow flower seeds..

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Oh my goodness, Jeffrey this is a heck of an undertaking. A 90 foot trees is a massive amount of material. What a great way to recycle that and start new life from dust...quite literally!

[@jeffreybresnahan]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm We didn't grind up all of the tree, the villages where I now reside came and cut up the tree for fire wood. There were six family's altogether came over six day's and both cut it up, and carried off home the timber for their domestic wood burners. The sawdust/wood chippings from all the cutting up with the chainsaws, is what I collected up and used, which amounted to about 8 M3; or 8 - 9 Cubic tons.

[@Eleazar93905]

You should build a pond or some type of rain water harvesting

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Great suggestion here and we are definitely considering it. Especially as we move on the back half of the property where we will have more opportunity to direct water!

[@Realatmx]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm how much rain do you get in season?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

@@Realatmx our "rainy season" technically just finished and this year was a breakout year for us with about 3.5 inches of rain.

[@simplyimpish1055]

It’s been 8 years sine I started my permaculture food forest. Last year I ordered 3 huge orders of wood chips ($4,000)! But it has made the biggest difference in my land. Water is retained, roots are protected and dirt is softer and streaming with life.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Amazing the difference with something this simple!

[@BigAlSparks]

I'm amazed at how many piles of woodchips you've accrued! Given how far out of urban and heavily wooded areas you appear to be, by aerial footage. I would have assumed arborists would very seldom get out your way. That is a mighty pretty looking sight though! I spread 2 truckloads over 500 sq ft. of open land at 30 inches high in 2019. Three years later, this season it was all broken down to 6" thick of awesome humus. Appreciate that tractor- I had to do it by the wheelbarrow, lol 😅

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

We've been pretty fortunate to make friends with a couple of local arborists. They only deliver to us when they don't have a Chip Drop delivery, but it has added up over the years! Oh and we definitely don't take that tractor for granted. We've unloaded many a full truckload by hand over the years and don't miss that for a second!

[@KimandFrank]

Awesome content I have really enjoyed the information because we're retired and don't have time to weed we live in Eastern Washington in zone 6B so it can be challenging. We have some above Gardens but I really want to get a chipper because we can't afford to buy much it'll be rent chipper we can take from our forest we live on a creek in the mountains are about 2,200 ft

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey guys. The weed control aspect of wood chips is one I think we take for granted here in the desert. It's actually very rare for us to have anything growing outside of the areas we apply irrigation to. For you guys it's a constant battle I imagine.

[@allanturpin2023]

Odor control, erosion control, remineralization, habitat diversification, pH balancing, justification for tractor ownership... ... ok, that last one is a stretch, but I'm pretty sure I missed some other benefits for the list.

[@TheFatTheist]

ha ha ha nice on the tractor ownership! Love you name by the way. I am Alan with one L.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

I totally forgot that last reason and it's totally legit!

[@maxsmith5984]

Another great video! Thank you. :)

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Glad you enjoyed this one Max!

[@charlesabbethy490]

great info, thanks 👍🏻

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Glad you enjoyed this one Charles!

[@KraftyKaren-7]

Yeah I get it too... im old as well!!! my mom would watch Fantisy Island every time it came on, back in the 80's the plane, the plane!!! 😆 🤣 😂

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Sounds like we're in the same generation Karen. I was a kid and remember my parents watching it as well!

[@ourrockydreamontheelephant4188]

I would kill for some wood chips,lol,no trees here to trim. We are finding that sage brush and chaparral make great mulch.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

That is by far the biggest challenge when you're a bit further out from the city. The only reason we get them out here is there is a regional dump about 15 minutes from here, so the time it takes them to drop here is basically the same as going to the dump. Even then, we don't see them consistently.

[@pfzht]

Chipping a whole lot of buckthorn and planting daikon radish in clay myself.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Now that is an EXCELLENT combo. That daikon below the wood chips getting a chance to break down and feed worms to till that soil naturally. LOVE IT!!

[@buzzbustillos3016]

During the rainy season run a ripper down the middle of the tree row. Making a deep narrow cut will feed your ground with water.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Buzz. That would be a great option if our irrigation lines were not running down those rows! That being said, we do plan on doing just that on other areas of the farm to let that water infiltrate the ground much easier!

[@donthompson4912]

Nice job 😊

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Thanks Don. Glad you enjoyed this one!

[@LCamp-cr7fs]

When you prune your trees will you drop the cuttings? Will deciduous trees eventually mulch themselves?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Great question here. We have a wood chipper that we use for all of our pruned branches, so they wind up as mulch as well. Not nearly as much as the wood chips deliveries we get, but over time that will increase. Oh and yes, the leaf matter form the deciduous trees does help over time as well.

[@wilsont6651]

I have been using wood mulch to top my garden for weed control. It does break down to make a great soil. When I got my wood mulch this year, I had some extra and thought that I would do an experiment. The products that you can buy in the garden section to rot stumps is mainly potassium nitrate, so I thought that I would buy some fertilizer with high nitrogen and potash (first and last numbers on the list) to add to the mulch to see if it would help it to break down faster. It seems to help break it down faster, but since the mulch is in a pile, the top 6 inches or so doesn't seem to hold much water. I took part of the pile, added some peat moss to it to help hold more moisture in, and put it in a different area. I took another part of the pile, added peat moss and some kitchen scraps to it so that I could get a feeling for what works to break down the wood chips fastest. Haven't completed my experiment yet so I don't know how it will turn out, but the peat moss does seem to help the wood chips to break down faster.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Wilson. Sounds like you've got some great experiments going on there to get this material to break down more rapidly. When you have your results you'll need to share that with us! Wood chips are notorious for taking a very long time to break down in our desert climate.

[@freedivetribe9684]

Using molasses on your wood chip may also help speed up the breakdown process. The sugar provides extra fuel for bacteria and other organisms to get to work 🌞

[@Bateluer]

Most of the woodchips I see at my local Home Depot are 'Color Advantage', dyed black or brown or red. I asked about the dye once and the Vigaro rep said the coloring was safe . . . but I'm still not keen on dumping a ton of those in my limited space backyard garden. I've heard . . . mixed things about Chipdrop too, seems like people report getting plastics and other trash in the drops.

[@hannahmakingrivendell4347]

I just picked out the few soda cans and random piece of plastic. It took less than 30 min, and I got about $400 worth of church for free. I love chi

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey there Rob. I'm right there with you on the concern with the coloring with the store bought wood chips. My hunch is they wouldn't do any damage, but if you can get a chip drop delivery I would highly recommend it. There is always some trash in there, but it's usually just water bottles and plastic bags that the arborists toss in there while working during the day.

[@hannahmakingrivendell4347]

*Worth of woodchips

[@veronicacarlson586]

I've been using the brown bagged mulch. Some brands the color fades faster than others which is fine with me. I'm in Coolidge and getting a chip drop may never happen here. I've laid over 100 bags so far.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

@@veronicacarlson586 now that is dedication!

[@AbidAli-bv2gl]

Excellent video, lot to learn Woodchips are part of permaculture ideology

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey there Abid. They really are one of the secrets to success in dry environments like this!

[@taylorvanbuskirk8040]

How you hold your moisture in is brilliant!

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Taylor. It's one of our biggest challenges here with it being so dry, but this is one of the natural ways it can be done!

[@B01]

1. moisture retention 2. weed suppression 3. safe space for microbes 4. fungal food 5. regulate high temps and pests

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Another great top 5 list there B.

[@cheezy1969]

Question; I have access to a large supply of Couse sawdust, could this process be applied in the same way,? And if not how can I work the dust into viable product. Thank you in advanced. Liked and subscribed

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Cheezy. I'm assuming there was a auto correct on that and you're dealing with coarse sawdust? If so, you'll need to adjust how you apply it, because the material is much smaller. Wind will blow it away quite easily and it will also break down quite a bit faster than woodchips. Using it as a carbon source for compost might be a good option for you. Mixed with nitrogen (grass clippings, manure, etc) should give you a viable compost pretty rapidly under the right conditions.

[@ateoutdoors]

I had completely forgotten to sign up on Chipdrop. Not sure how active they are over here in Las Cruces, NM, but I'd love to fix my landscape with a few loads of wood chips in place of the xeriscape rocks. In fact, I've been working on converting the yard to clover and will be making a small food forest in my neighborhood over the next few years.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

It sounds like you have a great plan that can really use some help with this type of cover. It really works wonders with our desert soils!

[@ateoutdoors]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm absolutely. I've been wanting to do a little greening the desert project of my own and hopefully will be purchasing a bigger property in the future to do so.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

@@ateoutdoors well, it definitely can be done. One of these days I hope you'll be able to share wonderful clips of green in Las Cruces!

[@ateoutdoors]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm doing that was my primary drive for the creation of my channel.

[@oldhamegg]

Wow. Look at those woodchips smoke. 8:30

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Pretty crazy, huh? That's mostly dried mold which is why we usually wear masks when we're moving large amounts of it.

[@thebeesknees745]

I've been using saw dust, weeds, chicken poop, and whatever else I can get. I live at 5800 ft in the high Mojave. This was my first year and already you can see a huge difference in the soil in my garden vs just a few feet away in the sage brush

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

That is an EXCELLENT mix of ingredients for healthy soil creation!

[@tritchie6272]

To me that sounds like a very good fertilizer/dirt builder. Hopefully you can put some pictures of your garden up. I can't claim any expertise in the subject, but I suspect that done right you could make things really grow good with that mixture. I remember when I was a kid dumping wood ashes from a wood heat stove in our garden during the winter. Come summer that area seemed to do best for some reason.

[@marschlosser4540]

Wood chips are fantastic. And, I need to get some gas for the chipper and get the brush reduced :)

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

I think all of us here in AZ can appreciate the need for a nice, heavy pile of wood chips if you're going the regenerative route!

[@sgrvtl7183]

EXCELLENT!!

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Glad you enjoyed this one!

[@jungoogie]

There is a principle overlooked that I don't see many youtubers and tree farmers utilize with their planning out trees in the hot arid climates, which involves the flow of water. Water migrates to lower points and I see trees on mounds demonstrated here higher up with channels between them that don't maximize and utilize the flow of water. Planting trees inside sunken basins along with dug in mulch basins next to the root systems of the trees are very practical and cost efficient methods to give rain a place to settle. To go a step further would be to understand where the contours of the land are and build trees around terraces/swales along contours and have water channels that weave between the terrace/swale channels of rows of trees. This system of earthworks helps maximize the principles of slowing/stopping/sinking the water and getting the most out of the heavy rains that happen. This process is more upfront but saves on later hassles with retaining water.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Great points here Bradoc and what you're describing would be ideal. We have mini-swales built into our tree rows that help retain water as it flows down the rows, but our biggest issue here is the requirement of irrigation. Hence the straight lines as opposed to having the trees more on contour as our land slopes slight sideways at about a 30 degree angle that is inconsistent.

[@SamuHell782]

I forgot which video I saw it, but they had rows of dug square holes of maybe 1x1m and I want to say 1 hand deep (not very accurate I know hehe) on grazing areas so to create water infiltration and increase grass growth . (They even had proper names for that pasture type of upkeep and it's driving me bonkers I can't remember it)

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

We've had another viewer suggest the same and I don't recall the name either, but I think it would be a solid idea. We have a few "divots" that were left behind when we had the land cleared and those are full of weeds right now!

[@John-tq4bf]

When I saw the soil I was sold. Tatoo Tatoo!

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

In the end, that's really what it's all about, right? Gotta love Fantasy Island!

[@cantbringmedowntoday]

Never seen anything like that ''swale'' tree ring under your Wood chips. Guess we just don't need them that much in The Netherlands. How cool.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hello in the Netherlands!! Yes, those are very important to us here to help retain moisture from our irrigation. We only get about 6" (150 mm) of rain a year, so holding water is critical for us!

[@sjtube6198]

Any Problem with termites ? what do you do to deter them?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey SJ. We always have termites out here in the desert, so we keep woodchips away from the foundation of the house to give them something other than our home to munch on! They are nature's way of breaking down woody material, so like everyone else we know here in AZ we do spray our home to keep them at bay.

[@یٰسینمہر]

good

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Glad you enjoyed this one!

[@valerieburchett8951]

HI and love yea all from Mesa AZ

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey there Valerie!!!

[@exeneron2094]

I did this in my property, and had a really bad flea infestation in summer, had to put a lot of cypermethrin, was the only way to erradicate the fleas, and of course i withdraw all the wood chips.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Oh wow, that's sounds horrible. We don't have any issues with fleas.

[@fvidal007]

What is the white stuff you put on the base or the tree

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Great question Fredy. I'll link a video here where we discuss that; kzbin.info/www/bejne/mHTIZIiQfpJ6rLs

[@1life360]

Considering planting palm trees in the Sahara desert in an undeveloped area, would this be an advise method to retain water

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Yes, this would definitely be of benefit to you in any arid landscape.

[@jeremyhart2695]

Thanks for the video, I was wondering if there is a certain species of wood chips that is preferred? Is there any species of wood chips to avoid? Thank you.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

We have had good success with everything we've had delivered which is a pretty good range of chips. Things we've seen; Mesquite, Palo Verde, All Citrus, pine, eucalyptus, palm and others. The palm can be difficult to work with only because of how it "chips". Otherwise they all work just fine. We don't have things here like Black Walnut which I've heard can cause issues and we don't use creosote as it can inhibit plant and root growth. However, that's not usually something a tree trimmer is going to be putting through their chipper anyhow.

[@renaissancewomanfarm9175]

I would love to see an experiment where you dig a hole through the caleche and fill that hole with wood chip and see how the fertility would migrate... how it would affect water absorption. ....would it speed up soil development?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hmm, that would be an interesting experiment. The caliche layer is inconsistent and usually comes in more than 1 layer until you're about 6-10' feet down, so you would need to get below that level to give this a real shot.

[@jimgriffiths9071]

Fantasy Island.....of course. No TV on the childhood farm?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Lori was born and raised in the 80's in Phoenix, so I was really surprised she didn't get the reference! After 26 years together you still learn something new every day!! 😂

[@president_kanye9165]

Where to buy Flame Grape Vines in Tucson area?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Not sure on where in your area, but there are a lot of online nurseries that we have used that do a great job. We used groworganic.com for several of our current ones and they are doing fantastic!

[@stevegermain1222]

Nice

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Glad you enjoyed this one!

[@SerpentBreath]

I called every tree cutting company around Eugene and offered a 2 acre area to drop in. If I saw them I would give the drivers some eggs, apples, plums or Asian pears. In one season I had more than 50 trucks dump. I also rented a splitter and sold firewood. Chips! Chips! Chips!

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Now that's hustling for chips Kevin. Love it!!

[@deedaw9246]

where do you get wood chips in arizona? we live in arizona and don't know of any wood chips where we live or where or ranch is.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

It's going to be tough to source them the further you're away from the city. Ours have all come through Chip Drop from arborists who work in the city. We're only about 15 minutes from the regional dump, so we're not too far out of their way and we kick in some cash to make sure it's worth their while.

[@1life360]

Also is there a certain type of wood chips

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

The wood chips we get here are from arborists who trim many different types of trees in the city. With that it includes not only chipped bark, but also leaves from all the different trees. Everything from pine, to citrus and all types of desert adapted trees can be found in a single load of wood chips.

[@gmoney6331]

took 7 free loads already and finally have enough to coat the property for future gardening adventures

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Woohoo!! Love hearing this!

[@balazssonnevend4544]

how do you create so much woodchip? e.g. what machinery do you use, where does the wood come from?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hello Balazs. Most of the wood chips you see here are from arborists that work on trimming trees in the Phoenix Metro area. We do have a PTO driven wood chipper for our tractor, but we don't have a lot of material coming off of our trees as of yet.

[@patrickmurphy7485]

where do you get large amount of woodchips in Arizona?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Patrick. Pretty much all of these were delivered through arborists we found on Chip Drop. It's an online service that matches arborists with gardeners wanting their chipped material!

[@patrickmurphy7485]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm 😊 🫂

[@LindaJaneGarcia]

Are you happy with your Sunjoe 14 amp chipper within its intended use?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Yes, for the smaller twigs and branches it does a great job and we still use one for that purpose.

[@animalloveriranian]

بسیار عالی🙏🙏🙏

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

خوشحالم که از این یکی لذت بردید!

[@pattyharris1962]

I remember Fantasy Island!

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

It sounds like a lot of us out there have a soft spot for some of those "B" rated tv shows in the 80's.

[@MaryLeahe]

where do you get your woodchips and how much?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

These all came from arborists we found through Chip Drop. It's pretty tough to get them to come out this far, so we usually offer to pay a minimal amount for the trip, but it's hit or miss. If you're closer to town it's usually free.

[@lucymitchell4262]

You talked about having orchard rows. How wide would you recommend the rows of mulch be for a line of trees?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Great question Lucy and it really depends. We have them wide enough to cover the rings, plus about a foot or so extra. The spacing for us was also dependent on the rows between the rows (where you walk down) to accommodate our tractor and lawn mower. Those are just over 5' wide, so it also allows for folks to easily walk between the trees during tours, etc.

[@lovaleriemullins5813]

Do you have more info on how to find woodchip sellers or public salvage centers in the northern Phoenix/Wickenburg area? Thank you for this video!

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Outside of chip drop, the only success we've had is what we call "chip chasing". If we see a chipping truck on the side of the road we stop and ask where they dump their chips. We've also reached out to local arborists in the past, but many of them these days know about Chip Drop and use that service. The only other thing I can think of, depending where you're located, is there used to be a mulch service in North Phoenix somewhere around I-17 and Jomax (on the East side of the freeway). I'm not sure if they are still there.

[@lifeofintention4711]

Thanks, great to see what can be accomplished even in very arid soils. We're in South Australia and have made use of wood chips too, love the fungi that supports the ecosystem that it promotes / feeds. My only question is how do you stop nitrogen from being robbed from the soil / plants when you lay it so thick and then try and establish trees into it? We hope to purchase a new property in the near future and want to spread thick over whole property's planting sections... how do I then plant into it. I have not had much success with that side of things, even with heavy blood and bone or chicken manure mixed in / on top. Thanks.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Glad you enjoyed this one. We have a lot of your fellow Aussies who we've gotten to know really well here on KZbin. Similar growing conditions in some areas. If you're placing wood chips on top of the soil, the only nitrogen grab is immediately at soil level and then only for a short period of time until the leaves in the wood chips start to break down (assuming you're using wood chips made by arborists with plenty of green material in them). With that, the key is not getting the chips into the soil, rather leaving them on the surface. If you're going to place woodchips down ahead of planting you'll want to be sure to remove the chips completely until you've planted the tree and then return the chips on top of the planting. One other note, we do fertilize regularly with either aged chicken manure or composted pig manure. This is placed under the woodchips to allow the nitrogen to be released into the soil while the woodchips continue to break down and create soil on top of the dirt. Hopefully this helps clarify.

[@lifeofintention4711]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm Thanks for the reply! So you actually remove the chips before planting, then return... I've found the chip we get from Aborists here is very course and full of large chunks of hardwood (often eucalyptus). Even with all the green matter and added chicken poop it seems to take years to breakdown. I tried digging out a section about 2 feet around some lavender and putting rich soil, but in about 1 month the lavender yellowed off due to the nitrogen grab taking from the soil around it. I'll continue to experiment, but seems like what you're suggesting is plant in soil, not in tree mulch and use it as a top dressing only 😉

[@QCshooter758]

How do you get your chips? We’re located in Florence az and have a hard time finding any

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Curtis. We've been fortunate to be close enough to town in order to get loads through Chip Drop. We also have a neighbor down the road who will drop to us from time to time when he can.

[@MalkiZee]

Had a chip drop say they delivered but they never showed up, strange because they pay for the lists. Called an arborist that had a truck in the area and they were very happy to leave it at my place instead of driving 2 hours home with a full load.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

That is odd that chip drop shows a delivery and nothing. You gotta wonder where they actually delivered those wood chips. Can you imagine walking out your door and there's a hug pile of woodchips in your driveway that you have no idea where they came from!! 😂

[@MalkiZee]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm haha 😂 didn't think of it that way.

[@merrymarthlamb3185]

trying chip drop again. Maybe with all the rain this year I will get some.😄

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

We've found the key for us is being willing to pay for the delivery and also accepting logs as well.

[@brendab.8473]

Does it matter if the wood chips are from deciduous or evergreen trees? Won't putting wood chips from pine change the ph levels?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Great questions Brenda. As for PH, unless you're placing them directly into soil while they are fresh, pine needles are not going to drastically change your soil PH (even then it would be temporary until they break down). As a mulch they will be broken down over time and they will naturally balance as that decomposition takes place. Nature has an incredible way of balancing everything that way. Deciduous and/or evergreen wouldn't be an issue either way, but hardwoods (deciduous) will break down more slowly. Our woodchips are a mix of pretty much everything as they are from arborists who work on trees in the city. We get anything from Palm (very soft, almost grass like) to mesquite (hardwood) and everything in between and the results are incredible.

[@KarstenWenzlaff]

Could you do a fly-over above the farm, so we can see how much the grass has grown because of the strong rain?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

I'll see if we can, but it's really hard to see the grass from up above as most of it is dry at this point. When we took the shots for this episode I noticed that it was pretty hard to make out.

[@KenanCakr]

Why don't you think of planting capers, they are nice grouncovers for dry climates.. They need almost no water..

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Hey Kenan. That's a great suggestion and we honestly had not considered those before!

[@forage_or_die]

What about termites?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

They definitely have termites in them as they are one of nature's tools to break them down and turn them into soil. We don't keep any woodchips up against our house, so they are happy to be in the woodchips vs up in our home! Of course, we also spray for termites around the house!

[@erichaskell]

Are your trees mostly semi-dwarfs, are they young or do you prune them to the sizes I see?

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

He Eric. We prune all of our trees for both size and production here on the farm. We have a few dwarf trees, but most are semi dwarf to full size. I'll link to our pruning playlist if you want to peak at some of the techniques we use; kzbin.info/aero/PLnT_wyDSIC9h4XElyKjSrjo6Y78Nv-9ap

[@erichaskell]

@@EdgeofNowhereFarm I shall look, thank you for your response.

[@OfftoShambala]

They work. Bottom line. Just gotta know how to use them. My trees love em. I used them over areas with Bermuda grass… you get a bit of grass coming through, but you can easily pull it out if covered with card board and chips. Although they still might pull easily with just a thick layer of chips… it’s amazing for eliminating Bermuda. I’ve gone over a year with no weeds or Bermuda in the area I’ve applied this method to.

[@EdgeofNowhereFarm]

Now that is good to know with the Bermuda. We're doing all we can to keep Bermuda off the property, but we have folks battling that all the time wanting advice on what to do!