Best-Kept Secret To Soil Fertility In The Market Garden | Ramial Chipped Wood

[@אליאלבן-דן]

Been doing this for a very long time since this is a part of my family’s farming tradition which stretches back uncounted generations. I inoculate my chips with a product called “Recharge” which Amazon sells. I like it because it has five species in the genus “Glomus” which are all mycorrhizal. I also collect “puffball” mushroom spores in the late summer after they’ve aged and are ready to “puff”. I do this by running the lawnmower over dry leaves and straw, then running it into the mushrooms which explode into the mower bag. Then, wearing a mask, I scatter this over the wood chips and raised beds before a rain. Next spring, mostly gone! Last note, I chip wood with the BCS 750 chipper attachment which yields a fairly fine product. I love it for pathways as you can walk readily upon it barefooted (my favorite state of being since I was a little boy so many moons ago). Comme toujours JM, merci pour ces supers vidéos qui sont amicaux et didactiques.

[@mamiejo2281]

Salut, c'est Mamiejo, from south France (agricultrice à la retraite) ! Je pratique la permaculture dans mon grand jardin. Comme toi, j'utilise beaucoup de brf au printemps comme couvre-sol après mes plantation depuis 4 ans... et les résultats sont... amazing. Je stocke mon surplus de brf dans des bigbags tout l'été et je recouvre à nouveau mon sol à pleines brouettées avec avant l'hiver. Maintenant, ma terre est bien noire et bien fertile. L'été, mon brf stocké sèche petit à petit, il commence sa décomposition, se remplit naturellement de bons champignons et de poussières de bois (comme le tiens). Ça vole blanc de partout (comme chez toi).... ! Sauf que..., sauf que... depuis cette année, j'ai fait une réaction allergique pulmonaire et nasale sévère à ces poussières et micro-champignons respirés que j'étalais joyeusement à main nue.... sans lunettes et sans masque (comme toi). Pendant un mois, j'ai pleuré, sniffé, toussé, toussé toutes les nuits à en cracher mes poumons. Je suis non fumeur). Diagnostique du doc : ALLERGIE Maintenant, je suis obligée de porter un masque et des lunettes quand j'étale mon brf et je prendrai hélas des antihistaminiques... à vie ! Dommage ! Donc, le conseil santé de Mamiejo est le suivant : Fais-moi plaisir ! Porte un masque en tissus et des lunettes fermées quand tu manipules ton brf afin d'éviter toutes ces poussières allergisantes que l'on voit voler partout dans ta video ! C'est vraiment pas agréable ce que je vis désormais. Tu éviteras à tes ouvriers et à toi-même bien des désagréments ! Un masque, des lunettes fermées durant qqs heures, c'est pas grand chose mais c'est d'une grande sécurité. Mieux vaut prévenir que guérir 😉😁😘 ! Allez, à bientôt ! Mamiejo.

[@julien9623]

Alors là, merci Mamiejo ! Je suis nouveau maraîcher et je me suis fais livrer un gros camion de broyat que je suis en train de mettre dans mes allées comme Fortier et effectivement on respire pas mal de cette sorte de poussière blanche, spores de champignons présents dans le broyat etc.. MERCI pour votre commentaire qui va complètement changer ma façon de faire, je vais me protéger ! Et si je peux apporter ma pierre à l'édifice avec un conseil, ne bougez pas votre broyat à la pelle comme beaucoup font, vous allez vous casser le dos à la longue. Faites plutôt tomber ou glisser des tas de broyat directement dans votre brouette ou dans des grosses poubelles de jardin à l'aide d'un croc, beaucoup moins d'effort physique à fournir. Allez, merci beaucoup Mamiejo ! Julien

[@marcusm6854]

Woodchip paths have brought a host of fungal life into my market garden. The mushroom bloom in the fall is incredible. It's awesome to be able to observe some of the soil life from the surface. Thanks for this series of videos JM they have been really enjoyable this spring.

[@erinnkemp]

I been doing this for years. I seen and believe in the mulch system. I will never go with out.💪👌😉

[@thepioneerplace5977]

We've been doing the back to Eden method for years.. Paul too suggests being sure the branches and leaves are in the wood chips.. We cover our gardens and see wonderful results.. Less watering.. less weeding.. and really makes a beautiful garden.. Bless you for sharing..

[@countdown.moments]

Merci JM, the BRF is such a valuable resource that we plant trees every year so that we can be sustainable.

[@TheMarketGardeners]

awesome!

[@quengafarm]

My wood chip philosophy is, if it ain't growing something, it's covered in wood chips! People forget why is called a soil "web". The pathways are an important part of developing healthy and productive soils. I dig deep trenches and fill with wood chips, uncomposted food and every morning after coffee, I sprinkle the grounds on pathways. 2 years of doing then and the soil underneath was darker and more full of life than our raised beds which has been amended with plenty of inputs. And I've never thought of it before, but whenever we'd get chip drop loads, the stuff in Spring was always better at breaking down quickly than any other time of the year. This all makes sense now.

[@kdegraa]

For sure. An easy way to make a compost heap, leave the heap for a couple of years, and it will have transformed into a compost heap.

[@donrad]

My city here in Kansas has a yard and garden "waste" recycling program where they have a drop off place and they also collect tree branches, leaves, and grass clippings etc. They then process and distribute compost and wood chips to the community. I have been taking advantage of this incredible resource for 20 years, putting compost on top of the no-dig raised beds and wood chips everywhere else. Besides never having to mow a lawn, I get all the disease-and-pest-free organic produce that my family needs from a small yard. (and almost no weeds) There is more nutrition and flavor in one pound of my veggies than there is in 20 pounds of supermarket produce. I learned these principals 55 years ago from the late Robert Rodale who published Organic Gardening Magazine!

[@TheMarketGardeners]

Amazing!

[@lelandshanks4759]

I wanted to try this first time I saw a video on it, makes total sense.

[@TheMarketGardeners]

go for it!

[@natefox1496]

Thanks as always

[@TheMarketGardeners]

Our pleasure Nate!

[@F15labs]

thanks for shering it with us. God bless you guys and keep up the great work!

[@jessicawashkowiak1619]

As we prune our fruit trees we rake the young growth/suckers into wind rows then we flail mow the tender new growth. It's so great for the orchard as those prunings are full of fertility and its just amazing for the orchard and soil structure. This also helps maintain the orchard, manages the waste and we are keeping the fertility in place and adding back to the trees.

[@TheMarketGardeners]

Awesome!

[@ganaelschneider]

For me the best thing about wood chips in pathways is that it prevents weeds from growing there and contaminating the beds. In addition it retains moisture so you need less watering, it's pretty and you don't get muddy shoes when it's raining. I would say you could get older wood chips and it would work too. It would disintegrate slower but that also means you don't need to put it as often.

[@kanddfamilyfarm]

As an Australian I'm very excited to see acacia in the list of suitable tree species. We'll definitely be considering this in future plans.

[@Alex_Plante]

Around 2014 I heard the story of how BRF was discovered, but I may have forgotten some details, and I have no idea how much of it is true. Apparently 20 or 30 years ago a senior bureaucrat with the Quebec ministry of agriculture was visiting a farm, and the farmer told him he noticed that his strawberries that were growing on a pile of wood-chips was growing much better than his other strawberries. The bureaucrat was intrigued by this observation, so he ordered some research to be done at the the ministry's experimental farm, and sure enough, there was a definite advantage to growing with wood-chips made from small branches of mature deciduous trees. Unfortunately the bureaucrat died suddenly, and the technique was almost forgotten until an agriculture student from France was studying in Quebec and she came across the old research. She introduced the concept in France, where it became quite popular and successful, and the technique was then re-introduced into Quebec.

[@jamesalanstephensmith7930]

Very useful! Looking to build an orchard, soon!

[@jeffschroeder4796]

Just looking to clarify. After year one, are you raking the partially composted chips from the walking paths up into the permanent raised beds? or do they just continue to decompose in the pathways and you add more ramial chips every few years. If so, what do you use to build of the permanent raised beds? Thanks!

[@SherrickDuncan]

Back To Eden documentary film Paul Gautschi.

[@miguelangelsimonfernandez5498]

Look up the french Jean Pain. It only works well with trees that have lignin for the fungae to grow and add nitrogen from the air into the wood substrate. Jean Pain was a pioneer of ramial chips back in the 60's or 70's. He used it to make gas too.

[@jbmia.]

Careful breathing in all that all of that dust/mold/fungal spores... I use mulch in my garden (from local landscapers) and if it hasn't aged for a while it's full of mold that looks like the same dust like material here in your video. It's not good to breathe. I've found that if the pile sits for a few months or is wet, this is much less of an issue. Either way, putting on a mask is easy. Do a search for 'Aspergillosis'.

[@TheMarketGardeners]

Thanks for the heads-up John 👌

[@אליאלבן-דן]

John is spot on about masking. Aspergilla niger makes aflatoxin which can make you very sick to dead.

[@51rwyatt]

My veggies root extensively into / under the paths. It's funny that the wood chip paths end up being key to the health of the beds.

[@IstvanBernad]

Hi. We live in the South Wales, UK, lot of rain, very humid climate. We set up all of our beds with woodchips in the pathways from the beginning. Now we have beds which are 3 Years old or older with this method. Clean, moisture retaining, no mud, good in the dry spells. But another problem arise! Slugs thrive in it, put their eggs in it, hide in it, and at night come out to eat everything. Any suggestions?

[@perrypeacock1]

I like that I can use the BCS with the BIO100 chipper to add this method to the garden. I feel that I am getting more of a return from the tractor's investment. Also the BIO makes a wonderfully fine chip that doesn't fling into the beds as I am working. That too should speed up the pathway to fertility.

[@TheMarketGardeners]

Yes! And guess what, we've got a video coming soon on using the BCS chipper for ramial wood chips! ☝️😁

[@mezenman]

Like he said it takes a lot of branches to make wood chips. I maintain 20 acres. Lot of my chips are getting composted. If you haven’t been chipping and want your rows done like this I would try to track down free wood chips. Than look to maintain that with your chips.

[@dermotdoyle8575]

With a fast growing hardwood, coppiced at shoulder height you would get a renewable source of woodchips every few years while still having a the benefits of agri forestry and hedgerow in the garden, very interesting.

[@TheMarketGardeners]

yess!!

[@sionwilliams757]

If you cut at shoulder height you would be pollarding. A very old practice used to produce fodder for livestock. It would be a brilliant method for your market gardens/farms.

[@sparksj20]

What is that wood chipper? Brand and model. Exactly what I'm looking for

[@TheMarketGardeners]

we rent one each year so I'm not sure about the particular models!

[@sparksj20]

@@TheMarketGardeners haha just came to the conclusion to rent

[@MistressOP]

If you let them dry out some mixing it after it's dry with bambo is insane.

[@garthwunsch]

Interesting that you recommend spring to harvest… i understand your logic, but other “authorities” say fall is best, because the tree has put all its nutrients into storage waiting for spring growth. Perhaps both work?

[@habivore47392]

Authorities are probably speaking on behalf of the trees in that case. If you have trees you need to shred, than go for spring. If you were harvesting from landscape trees you want to keep healthy, harvest branches in the fall.

[@tysonlloyd2674]

What tree species are you using on your farm for chipping?

[@TheMarketGardeners]

this year it was quaking aspen, but pretty much any hardwood tree is good!

[@sjdanthem]

I'm curious if there's an effect on PH, namely driving it down and, if so, does anybody add any lime to it?

[@mylesfalconer9183]

I've heard this but I think it is exaggerated. I have red pine all over my property. Ph is 7. Woodchip areas with mixedwood ph is also 7.

[@sjdanthem]

@@mylesfalconer9183 Nice. Good to hear.

[@paganpride464]

Didn’t I see you on one of Curtis Stone’s videos saying that you found there wasn’t a benefit to using ramial chips?

[@mylesfalconer9183]

Compost tea? I remember something about that

[@paganpride464]

@@mylesfalconer9183 yeah I remember him saying it about compost tea but also thought he said the same about ramial chips in a different video. Maybe my memory is mixing the two up. I thought it stood out to me though because I use partially decomposed ramial chips in my pathways. Not because of any benefits, but because that's what's available to me from my property. Who knows, you get old and your memory starts to play with you.

[@mylesfalconer9183]

@@paganpride464 ha. same here. Not the sharpest pencil in the box anymore