The Power of Wood Chips and Back to Eden (BTE) Gardening

[@sonofjapheth5382]

Awesome video, I see you're just as sold on BTE as I am. I have a small farm here in S.C. with 1.25 acres under chips, and have tried everything from digging in the dirt to aquaponics. But nothing comes close to producing like this system does. Just wait until your chips really get going, at around 3 years on the ground. Most people fail with them because as I like to say "It's a patience game", and they have no patience. Btw, this is also better than the Mittleider system, and less money and work.

[@Subterraorganics]

Thank you for your support Cory! It is incredible how quickly the chips break down and the soil they turn into!

[@sonofjapheth5382]

Yea, after two planting seasons, I can lean on my weeding tool and it'll go down about 10 inches. I started with what I call South Carolina Yellow Concrete (our house is 80 years old and has no foundations under the brick pillars holding it up, that's how hard it is). I also have a ton of earthworms, where none were to be found before, I also finds strands of fungi several inches long.

[@Subterraorganics]

Sounds like our results are very similar! :)

[@charliemcgriff7643]

I like the wood chips idea

[@Subterraorganics]

Yesss! It has proven to me over and over that it 's the way to go! The soil transformation is just incredible and it really doesn't take that long considering. Go for it!

[@shanemillard608]

Love it. Keep it up. My garden has been incredible following bte

[@Subterraorganics]

That's great! We have another acre to cover and lots in the plans! Thank you for your support!

[@shanemillard608]

Man. You're making me wish I had more land! Keep up the great work

[@TNOG511]

Great!! I'm using woodchips also, Your Garden is Awesome!!. Tfs #like

[@Subterraorganics]

Thank you for your kind words and support! It is amazing the results that can be created if we let nature be our guide!

[@farhananyc1963]

what kind of woodchips do you use? I heard cedar or pine makes the soil acidic?

[@Subterraorganics]

I use whatever mix they bring to me. If there is a lot of cedar in a load I try to spread in walkways because it will last longer to break down. I have not tested PH before and after and I get the occasional discoloration etc but I believe it all corrects itself in due time.

[@svetlanikolova7673]

Farhana, if you have chickens, throw your chips on the ground in the chicken run if you are not sure. The chicken poo will help to brake them down

[@michaelhope9189]

Hey so I live in apple valley CA zone 8b the High desert my soil is all sandy stuff is there a certain layer of wood chips you would recommend me me lay down I'm currently collecting now thanks to Paul 👍 thanks in advance

[@Subterraorganics]

It really depends on your short term goal. If you are just trying to build soil keep layering it 12 inches is good. If you are planting in the short term that would be too deep so keep it near 4 inches. If you want to plant soon but not immediately I would go around 6 inches and plant a nitrogen fixer with lots of green material like black eyed peas (cowpeas) then chop and drop the green material leaving the roots in the ground and adding more chips on top of the freshly fallen greens :)

[@Soggybottomnz]

We are in NZ.. our Woodchips have been down for 6mths. Can we do planting now since we are in late spring.?

[@billastell3753]

You have to pull the wood chips off the soil and plant into soil. If you have wood chips in your soil it's going to make it hard for the plants to grow. The key is put the chips on the surface. Don't mix it in.

[@Subterraorganics]

Yes you can plant straight away even with fresh chips just the benefits really start kicking in as the chips have had time to break down....it really seems to accelerate around the 3rd season. As Bill indicated move the chips to the side and plant in the soil below....insucessive years there will be compost below the top layer(s) and you will plant into that. When the seedlings are large enough move the chips close around them to retain moisture :)

[@1ChevyGuy375]

Nice, I've been following Paul and his BTE method for a few years now. Paul says to make sure there is leaves in the wood chips to feed and help them break down. Did your wood chips have leaves in them?

[@Subterraorganics]

As we get the wood chips delivered from the county...we take what they give us. If they are winter chips they are more woody and spring/summer chips have more green material which definitely helps them to compost faster and feed the plants.When spreading the chips, if the pile is mostly woody we will use it in the walk ways and try to use to ones containing leaves in the plant beds. :) We traditionally add a handful of compost, worm castings when available and/or some aged manure into the transplant hole or seed furrow and all of the above definitely help.

[@oregonk91]

Great vid! Are those oaks in the background? You could do some mushroom inoculation in newly cut wood, too, after limbs/wood has sat for a couple weeks. Multiple kinds of shrooms love oaks.

[@Subterraorganics]

We have mostly oaks and hickories which is great for many things as you know. We have trees on the ground from clearing our house lot and will hopefully get some inoculation done soon :) We are spread very thin at the moment but you are right on point! Thank you for your input and support!