Wood Chip Mulch Gardening Myths and Facts! Dr. Linda Chalker Scott

Dana Richardson, producer, and director of Back to Eden Film and cofounder of Dana & Sarah Films sits down with one of the leading experts on the scientific research behind gardening and landscaping with arborist wood chips, Dr. Linda Chalker Scott. Find out the truth about the biggest myths about wood chips! See the questions list below you will learn the answers to!
"Arborist Wood Chips: The Best Mulch for Gardens and Landscapes"
What are arborist wood chips?
What kind of woody mulches are negative to use for soil and plant health?
Nitrogen and carbon ratio in fresh versus composted wood chips
The mind-blowing benefits of arborist wood chip mulch.
How to prevent weeds, water-saving, local resources, slow-release of nutrients.
Why do we need to shift our mindset on the aesthetic appeal of landscaping mulch?
The free availability, economic benefits, and true value of arborist wood chips.
The impacts of sheet mulching with paper and cardboard on soil health
Best ways to smother weeds without suffocating the soil.
How thick to apply wood chip mulch for restoration sites, perennials, and weed problems.
When to apply wood chip mulch and when to add more.
The pros and cons of coarse versus fine arborist wood chips.
How to solve nutrient deficiencies in the soil.
Debunking common wood chip myths.
Does applying wood chips as a mulch tie up nitrogen?
Should gardeners practice tilling or amending the soil with wood chips by mixing them in?
Do woody mulches acidify soils?
Do some woody mulches leach allelopathic chemicals that can kill other plants?
Do woody mulches attract termites, carpenter ants, and other pests?
Do arborist wood chips pose a risk of transferring disease?
Does the contamination of Herbicides or Pesticides pose a concern?
What destroys beneficial mycorrhizae?
Are arborist wood chips a beneficial mulch for vegetable gardens or only perennials?
To learn more: www.backtoedengardening.com/
s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/sites/4...
Dr. Linda Chalker-Scott Bio:
Dr. Linda Chalker-Scott has a Ph.D. in Horticulture from Oregon State University and is an ISA certified arborist and an ASCA consulting arborist. She is WSU’s Extension Urban Horticulturist and a Professor in the Department of Horticulture and holds two affiliate associate professor positions at the University of Washington. She conducts research in applied plant and soil sciences, publishing the results in scientific articles and university Extension fact sheets. In 2020, she was named the new editor for the Western Arborist magazine.

[@johnsmoz261]

I have used the cardboard and wood chip method for 53 years I have never had a problem always have big healthy plants and a great harvest

[@margaretrosin7853]

I used cardboard and an 8-10 inch layer of fresh chips over Bermuda grass that people said was impossible to get rid of. It died and never came back. The cardboard also decomposed and added to the soil. Then I noticed all the fungal networks above and below the woodchips and the soil slowly improving with bug life, so I have to say I disagree about the cardboard. It’s a wood product, after all.

[@BacktoEdenGardening]

Thanks for sharing your success story! Your right! Many people have had great success using cardboard. Especially in climates that get enough rain it will decompose fairly quickly as well. If you are installing to plant in immediately I usually recommend newspaper roll because its easier to poke holes into to plant. But BTE method is a;; about being resourceful. Use whatever works best for you in your area!

[@ronachadwick7908]

I am using cardboard to eradicate 400m2 verge infested with couch grass...is that yr bermuda grass..? It works. Better than poison.

[@kristinebailey6554]

Yes, I too, use cardboard. It is very effective, and I never have to tangle with that nasty hardware cloth anymore.

[@joshuahoyer1279]

It sounds like they need to do a bigger study about cardboard sheet mulching. That soil network is much bigger than just the area that is covered. The study they did was all in buckets, which are essentially sealed on all sides. Small wonder no oxygen could get through to the soil below! Out in the garden, the soil is only blocked where the cardboard lies. Oxygen has a way of permeating throughout soil (as long as it isn't a compacted mess). So as long as there are areas nearby that aren't covered by sheet mulching, there shouldn't be a problem with anaerobic environments in your soil. Especially if you have a great mycorrhizal network from compost or wood chips. I started my beds with overlapped cardboard, with compost and/or wood chips on top, and things are looking great here! It's amazing how quickly our soil has improved versus the bare soil that was here.

[@kathynix6552]

Just like she said with regard to acidic effect

[@cegr76]

She does this for a living.

[@hawaiianblack9929]

I agree a bigger study needs to be done on cardboard without the use of plastic buckets. I have had great success using both cardboard and wood chips

[@GeorgymonF]

I just dont really like the idea of adding toxic manmade substances to the garden and soil. Thats not super organic to me

[@CaptTurbo]

When using cardboard under woodchips you are going to have more of fungal microbiome than bacterial but there is some of both. Fungal critters don't need much oxygen a compared to bacterial.

[@barryjanis]

This is by far the BEST wood chip information video . I have spent hours looking but this video answers 99% of what any home gardener or nursery would need to know ! Thank you Dr. Scott.

[@mikemore]

Would need to know what exactly?

[@timcoates3821]

The original back to Eden was just as good

[@nguyenbatoan368]

do you buy Wood chips improve soil?

[@tammy-lynnstewart5677]

I got a few loads of wood chips from chipdrop about 5 years ago to put around all my raised beds to keep the weeds down. Then I got some winecap mushroom spawn and distributed that in the chips. After a couple years, now I have winecap mushrooms growing all over my yard. Oh and I rarely have to pull any weeds from the chipped areas. Win-Win. Awesome info session. Thank you.

[@nguyenbatoan368]

do you buy Wood chips improve soil?

[@royolstad8532]

Our daughter in law started us down this path 12+ years ago. We've used it in our veggie and fruit tree gardening for 11 years in our retirement home. Seeing this film has inspired me to quit using the chemically stuff in my wife's perennial gardens. Going to load up my pickup truck with wood chips this week. Get her spread out and away we go. Thanks for your excellent content

[@CaptTurbo]

I disagree about cardboard not being a good idea to put down under woodchips. I have done it both ways. When covering new ground, always put cardboard down on top of the grass or weeds and then dump 18" of wood chips on top of that. The weeds will not come through. When I didn't use the cardboard, the weeds always managed to come through. The cardboard will degrade very quickly and become humus but it does last long enough to snuff out the weeds.

[@BacktoEdenGardening]

I also have used cardboard as well as comparing it with newspaper or weed paper rolls. And I know many people will still use cardboard because it's easier to find in large quantities without extra effort. However, I know Paul Gautschi always swore cardboard wasn't as good because it left air pockets below. I've found in my very dry drought climate in California the cardboard can take more than a year to break down! So, I always recommend newspaper or weed paper for those who can make the extra effort.

[@CaptTurbo]

@@BacktoEdenGardening I can see how cardboard might last a while in dry climates but in S Florida we lay it down two ply and hope it can last long enough to destroy the weeds. I becomes humus very quickly here.

[@nikkisigmon8090]

Have had the same experience with one layer of cardboard being very helpful for creating new beds on top of lawn without having to disturb the grass. 5-6" of 2yr old woodchip mulch and grass still grew up and was a giant pain. Cardboard first, and even 4" of 2yr old woochips and no issues with grass growth. For new beds, I continue to use one layer of cleaned cardboard. A year later, cardboard is mostly degraded- worm holes and roots going through it. Virginia USA.

[@josesisyowma5242]

With studies done on BPA chemically bound to grocery receipts & cardboard (studies 9 years old) alongside PFA's forever chemicals found in our water supplies (recently 2023). I am taking anything man made out of the garden. Man made chemistry is slowly killing us (Monsanto) & weakening our immunity to rare disease. I stand with mother nature's chemistry in building compost using microbes bacteria & fungi alongside insects. Time to get back to basics. Mother nature is a Master Gardner who better to learn from

[@1voluntaryist]

I favor all roots, weeds are building soil fertility! Isn't soil fertility the goal?

[@dustyflats3832]

We have sandy soil that was terribly disturbed by past owners. We had No worms anywhere. Since using cardboard and arborist wood chips we have worms and see more every year. I use cardboard to stop aggressive native weeds. I think if I used just bark it would need to be very thick. I grew up in a house with wood heat. My dad and I cut a lot of wood, well, dad did the cutting and I loaded😊. We always kept the chips/bark off the trailer and truck and we also had a pile of leaves and yard waste in a ravine. We also threw kitchen vegetable scraps there and we had the best squash grow there with no care. We had more of a sandy loam at home, but here it’s more sandy and of course no topsoil. That is changing as we’ve been blessed by loads of chips.

[@charlescoker7752]

You heard of, or used Biochar on your sandy soil? There are a bunch of videos on YT talking about the benefits.

[@tallgrassprairiedream]

Thank you for sharing the science of using woodchips! I've been getting arborist woodchips for a few years now and use them in all gardens and areas where there's weed pressure. For the new gardeners, if you have space for a truckload of chips, call your local arborist and let them know you would love a dropoff. It's free! Best resource ever. Happy gardening!

[@adamkadisak9852]

My favorite professor and head of urban forestry at UMN, Gary Johnson had nothing but high remarks and regard for Linda. He was one of the few that went against the grain like me and mentored me in my arborist career start. Awesome content and I can confirm everything she said in personal experience and experiment! Please ask her next time about Injectable insecticides and fungicides used on trees and if they affect soil health through the wood chip!

[@rubiccube8953]

On new weedy ground. I cut down weed and cover with coffee grounds . Then I place cardboard on top. The wood chip I place on top with more coffee grounds. Another layer of cardboard. And coarse wood chip on top. Been adding wood chip for 12 years . What I like about wood chip is that they don’t contain weed killers but contain lots of nutrients trace minerals. Eventually they turn to compost.

[@homesteadchile3922]

Thank you so much for this interview! I moved to central Chile and started planting a food forest 18 months ago. The neighbor, who’s family has farmed here for over 225 years, said that nothing would grow or has ever grown where I planted. I followed my instincts and planted my trees using wood chips and drip irrigation.

[@homesteadchile3922]

This is a warm Mediterranean climate with dry summers. The soil is heavy clay and bakes until the rains begin in fall. With the wood chips to shade the soil and hold moisture and the drip irrigation to break the summer drought cycle, my trees look like they are 5 years old instead of 18 months. The veggie garden yield with wood chips was great too! The neighbor can’t believe the transformation!

[@BacktoEdenGardening]

WOW! What an amazing story! Thank you for sharing! I know as someone who spent some time living in Chile in Patagonia that the weather and growing conditions can be harsh. I am not surprised by the benefits you have proven by using the wood chip mulch and planting trees! I'd love to see images!

[@joekunin]

@@BacktoEdenGardening is there any reliable information regarding the fire risk of using woodchips in drier/Mediterranean climate like southern California? I'm in the foothills near Angeles natl forest, about 3000 on a windy site. Local fire dept. recommendations are keeping it max 3 inches thick near structures, 6 inches otherwise. What kinds of risks should I consider in the summers or receiving fresh/slightly aged chips (oak seems to be primarily what is available to me). Thanks.

[@giorgiobosoni6172]

In my experience as an arborist, I have noticed that wood chips from forest works, can in the first year after spreading on soil, increase the funghi activity already on first year after spreading.

[@BacktoEdenGardening]

Thanks for sharing that from your expert experience as an arborist! I have certainly witnessed the same thing! In just a few weeks I have noticed mycelial growth under arborist wood chips in my garden!

[@mikemore]

Yea it makes the filamentous fungi come like white on rice and then all the other micro living goodies for a balanced eco soil

[@MrsGloverk]

I have been doing it all wrong.This was so helpful and easy to understand. Thank you!

[@ruanddu]

Great interview! Learned a ton. So cool that all Paul has taught us is backed by science.

[@splash4891]

thank you for this in-depth info and the person asking questions did an amazing job as well

[@camperspecial9666]

May I just take a second and say thank you to Paul. While I have not implemented this mulch philosophy 100% in my gardens as of yet, i am implementing it as fast as I can as funds allow. Paul's wisdom and the knowledge Eliot Coleman has passed on, provide me with not only better yields, but hope for the future of my garden!

[@camperspecial9666]

and thank you Dr.Linda for the great dialog! I'm glued to the screen.

[@camperspecial9666]

👏👏👏👏👏👏 that was awesome 🤯

[@Foodofthesoul]

I have watched this 3 times now. Thank you for providing this content. I made a separate experimental garden using a chip drop aside from my primary garden. It was made using all the information provided in this video.

[@TutuSainz]

I’m so thankful for Dr. Linda Chalker Scott for this work! Plus her research and experiments on not adding amendments into the soil when you plant a tree! she records it with all the science data backing it up and it’s not good to throw amendments into the hole when planting trees

[@lloydy3250]

One of my gardens is complete wood chip. Depth mainly depends on how practical it is to keep the chips clear of the root flare. It typically works out to be between 4 to 6 inches. Close plantings don't allow as much chip. When thinking wood chips it's good to select plants that suit larger spacings. It's also worth thinking about plant selection that will make re-application of chips easier when you top up in the years to come.

[@aok2727]

What’s not to love about wood chips. They have improved my soil exponentially

[@ltuerk]

I appreciate this detailed, practical information. Many thanks ♥️♥️♥️

[@alisonjwebster]

This is such a helpful interview! I haven’t used wood chips before but just got quite a load dropped (partially on top of my vegetable beds 😅) My question is - if I’ve just spread fresh wood chips, how do I plant my starts? Directly into the chips, or do I need to dig down to the existing compost layer? Thank you!

[@mariner1358]

Main message about chip gardening, "If a wood chip is going to be touching your plant's roots (or a seed), make sure it is fully composted".

[@kayt1898]

Thank you SO MUCH! I really needed to hear this. I was getting confused and frustrated!!

[@noblefleet]

Eye opening!!!

[@waynesell3681]

My first year trying woodchips for mulching. Got a pile 9 months ago and have spread in paths and composting. Excited to try this year!

[@eviekleinwhittingham9237]

Thank you, Dana. Delightful and informative interview with Dr. Linda Chalker-Scott. I found Dana's questions and Dr. Linda's explanations insightful and helpful. Intriguing that newspaper/cardboard underlayers can reduce air exchange, and that lots of worms may mean they're suffocating rather than loving the cardboard. Obtaining arborist woodchips can be most challenging for gardeners living in urban areas, Chip Drop not withstanding. My husband would be horrified to have a truckload of wood chips dumped in our driveway!! We can source them from our local garbage depot which collects and composts leaves and wood cuttings. But you need a friend with a trailer:)

[@BacktoEdenGardening]

Thank you so much for your thoughtful and encouraging words. We put a lot of time into researching the most in depth and relevant information to share with our audience. We agree there is so much more to be learned and better services to connect the public with for obtaining arborist wood chips! We hope to continue our efforts to be a part of making those changes happen for the benefit of growers everywhere. Keep in touch and happy gardening!

[@pbsluvr312]

Glad i listened!

[@vansicklejerry]

I'm not able to keep grass etc from coming up through my wood chips. I took a weed whacker with a metal blade and cut down the grass to the soil. I then put down about 12" of wood chips and had to be careful because I have fruit trees and want to suppress weeds and grasses. That was last year. This year it's full of grass except for one area where I put down 1 layer of cardboard.

[@grwaitemd]

very helpful. well worth my time

[@harlankraft578]

So much great information in a succinct and detailed interview! Thanks I love your enthusiasm and smiling eyes.

[@judahsina4212]

Great interview!! Thank you!

[@BacktoEdenGardening]

Our pleasure!

[@itsjustjoe3790]

We used ChipDrop for fresh local chips. Waaaaaay too much but free and friends got to take some

[@lgarner9524]

Good information on a universal topic. LG

[@JamesJones-bj6vy]

I started a pandemic garden using cardboard because I thought that was the best way to surpress the terrible Bermuda grass I have. It took two weeks for the Bermuda grass to stab its way through the cardboard. Four years later, the carboard has still not decomposed. It's soggy and tears easily, but it's still obviously cardboard. Also, areas of my yards where I chopped and dropped plants and had a cover crop over the soil are crawling with worms, but the area beneath the cardboard, I found none. I don't know if it was the type of cardboard I was using (shipping boxes) or what, but I stopped using cardboard a couple years ago. Now I just use wood chips and it works so much better for my garden.

[@myAmericanGirlLife]

I am curious where you live? I live in a desert area and my cardboard also has lasted years 😆😅

[@JamesJones-bj6vy]

@@myAmericanGirlLife Technically, I live in a wetlands area, but we had a drought for 11 years so it felt very desert-y. haha

[@hobbitlady7568]

Excellent!

[@BacktoEdenGardening]

Glad you liked it! Hope to see you at the summit!

[@TheDonsRiche]

This video is excellent

[@mariner1358]

Truly "hot composted" or "mulched for years"? That is the question. So many vagueries in the wood chip gardening community.

[@MikeV607]

Not to split hairs, but many professional market farmers (oh like Charles Dowding, Richard Perkins, and Jesse Frost to name a few) all use a compost layer when turning over vegetable beds. Wood chips are great in foundation plantings, orchards, and perennial beds, but not the best choice in vegetable gardens. Compost is not a fertilizer, but a mulch that feeds the soil food web. I believe that the Back to Eden video confused a lot of gardeners. On a closer look, Paul Gautschi uses a LOT of wood chips in his orchard, but primarily uses compost in his vegetable garden - some from the chicken run and some purchased compost from tub grinded arborist chips.

[@flatsville9343]

Agreed. Woodchips are highly over-rated for annual veg growing unless they are ramial which decompose rapidly due to lignin content. The stuff from Chip Drop & tub grinders is fine for orchards, shrubs & perennial areas as mulch. Throw that stuff down in a veg garden & you spend far too much time raking it off & back to get down to dirt for direct seeding/small seedling planing. For new annual veg beds, the N tie-up is substantial. Might as well wait a year from original application.

[@larrysiders1]

I had a pile of wood chips 4 feet deep this year....AND lots of CANADA THISTLES GREW ALL THE WAY THROUGH the 4 feet of chips....in a matter of months. If you have those thistles where you're laying wood chips, you'll need to deal with that weed by digging them out....or using the "smothering" layer of cardboard. 4" of Chips arent gonna stop those critters.

[@jfabiani]

Ya gotta stay on top of it.

[@Rootflare]

I just finished the back to Eden film. Great. She just answered the questions I had. When to apply, what grind, will it affect acidity, wood bugs, toxic trees(black walnut), don’t till in the chips with the soil. Paul’s video kinda made me think I needed a mixture of grinds and he made it seem like you need to Compost it a bit first. He made it simple but left out some details and concerns. Which were answered in this video. This lady is great! She put all my questions to rest. Just add arborist chips. When ever you get them. Try to maintain at least 4in of depth. Soil test before to add the correct amendments to kick start. Then just wood chips. Your soil will only be positively affected slowly over the years.

[@steven458791]

Love wood chips for my trees and bushes and pathways but here in North Texas pillbugs and fire ants are my biggest problems.

[@nicolasbertin8552]

In many of our gardens, 10 inches of compost may not be enough to stop perennial weeds like quackgrass, thistle, brambles, or nettles. For that, you need either a plastic sheet for 6 months from march till september, or thick layers or cardboard below the mulch. Especially the first years. Another issue that's not being talked here, is how wood chips can make the soil too rich. It's never too rich for veggies so it's fine. But many perennial flowers do not want rich soils. They will grow bigger than usual and their lifespan will be cut. This is something Roy Diblik talks about in quite harsh terms in his book "The Know Maintenance Perennial Garden" and although it's harsh, he makes up good point : many gardens have been transformed to oceans of wood chips with a few bushes here and there. Compared to France and Europe in general, wood chips are much easier to acquire in the US. So the temptation of putting a thick layer every year to avoid weeding the garden is high. But like Roy says, what you should do is try to avoid wood chips altogether by having plants everywhere. Wood chips should only be useful for the veggie garden, or to help against weeds in a garden you can't fully fill with ornemental plants yet. Another thing where people usually are lost is how to sow when you have a thick layer of wood chips. If you remove the layer of wood chips, and sow, the wind is gonna bring the chips back and tiny seeds won't germinate. So you need to backfill that trench you've created in the mulch with something like potmix or mature ompost, and sow in that layer. That's how you can sow carrots, radishes, turnips etc... in a wood chip garden, but it's not something that's obvious for many people.

[@1voluntaryist]

I'll take weeds over bare soil. Weeds build soil fertility. Why can't all the plants get along? Maybe they can, if you don't prejudge the weeds who have been there building fertility forever.

[@dustyflats3832]

That’s true, not all plants want rich soil. The one thing I like about my sandy soil is it cleans off the root crops easily and I don’t want to lose that ability. However, the land was treated terribly by past owners and after many years of chips and compost am I finally spotting more and more worms where we had none at all before I started.

[@ooulalah4333]

Here in Phx AZ tougher weeds push right up through straight mulch. Cardboard or even overlapping fan type palm fronds then a few inches of mulch seems to work best for me.

[@planetmoving9180]

Good info on questions I have wondered about. I love wood chips for no till growing. Also use lots of Cardboard in new beds and over weed plants. . at times i find termites eating my cardboard or kraft paper. Ants have made a nest in part of my wood chip pile. To keep hi and dry. Currently Trying thick layer of shredded leaves as mulch over Bermuda grass (my nemesis) trying with and without cardboard. Anything but chemical herbicides to establish permanent beds. Gota find methods of direct seeding when using mulches with earth-way or jang walk behind seeder.

[@angelaponder3348]

This was very helpful. I filled two new beds full of woodchips...this winter... I guess in the spring I will add dirt into large holes and hopefully, that will work. Oh well.. And I was wondering about why everyone told me not to order Black Walnut Chips. Neat.

[@derrick_builds]

Why are we switching camera angles here? If your content is strong enough you don't need edit gimmicks or tricks. Keep up the hard work. Thanks for the wood chip information.

[@melissagaddini1515]

Id like to hear her take on hugelkulture

[@burntorangehorn]

I've searched pretty extensively for actual scientific research on hugelkultur, and found virtually nothing. She might have better luck, bur so far it looks like all there is on hugelkultur is anecdotal and unscientific.

[@Raul28153]

I am working on ways to accelerate wood chip composting. I'm experimenting with sugar Urea and mineral and lime augments

[@AlpacaRenee]

Following

[@NonieK2267]

I love chip drop.

[@carirohrich1037]

My chip pile absolutely attracted and housed termites... so hard to know what is true

[@planereality3675]

Hi. Great interview so far. I'm up to the point talking about cardboard layering. I have Kikuya grass so I was thinking of mowing it all the way down and the putting down mushroom compost and then woodchip mulch. I was going to put cardboard down first to hopefully kill the grass but now I hear you talking about not putting cardboard down. If I just mow the lawn all the way down and put the compost and then mulch, will that keep the grass from growing again? *edit* So now I see I shouldn't put compost down first. Mine is mainly for a veggie garden so should I have more of a compost able typ soil under the woodchips, could that help? Thanks in advance

[@katepoole]

Thank you for sharing your research. I am a big lover of the wood chips and have had good success but for one thing. We have an invasion of thistles and I have tried everything to get rid of them in my garden. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[@samanthajackson5709]

You have to get the while root out and never ever let them go to seed. I let mine go to seed last year as I wasn’t well. That and another creeper, and I regret it every time I look at my garden. Thankfully roots come out easy with the wood mulch and it won’t take much to get it back under control.

[@BacktoEdenGardening]

I agree with Samantha. It's a pain but digging them out by the root is the only way to get rid of deep rooted tenacious weeds. However, with the wood chip mulch you'll find your soil gets so soft digging them out gets much easier over time, AND they won't grow back from seeds blowing in due to the mulch covering. This makes them completely eliminated eventually like Paul Gautschi showed in his gardens that used to have tons of thistles.

[@amwartwork]

Be careful... Universitys are not always producing experts. Look at many farmers taught to plough, till and use chemical fertilizer...many went to college

[@capogiraffe]

I am an arborist in the PNW with a hobby in permaculture and use woodchips quite a bit on my small acreage. Wherever I spread woodchips I have a tough time not being overrun by buttercup. The only place it doesn't dominate is in high nitrogen environments like around and the chicken or duck pens. There are not many good things I can say about buttercup other than biomass I can chop and drop several times per season. Does anyone else have similar experience that can offer advice on managing buttercup?

[@AlpacaRenee]

Following

[@martinsmith5216]

Extremely interesting, indeed exciting ! The Ruth Stout method using hay as the preferred mulch for the vegetable garden has been receiving revived interest just lately among organic permaculture gardeners here in Europe following translation of her books into French , German and Italian. What is your scientific view on the use of hay for this purpose ?

[@dustyflats3832]

Interested also, but I wouldn’t be able to do the Stout method as the gophers and others would set up shop.

[@jeannesmith1761]

Yeah I have a 30 gardens at memorial Park in New Kensington PA and I use arbor chips I've been using it for many many years and my ground out there is so good from using the arboretum I just put it on top every year so put it around have kids have community service kids that come out and help me spread out the arbor chips and they they dissolve really really fast today you know the next so they're so beautiful my phone keeps going off but yeah thank you for your show I love it it works great okay

[@makimoore]

Thank you for the video! So inspiring!! I am thinking creating my vegetable garden where Wedelia (Sphagneticola trilobata) thrives. Shall I pull them first or would the paper trick kill these weeds with stubburn root system?

[@BacktoEdenGardening]

Not familiar with this specific weed. I'd try the Weedguard Plus Paper roll because it is really designed for this purpose and thick. Unless its really deep rooted like a thistle you usually don't need to dig out weeds. Smothering works amazingly well! Plus, if any weeds survive, after the first season your soil will be so soft they will pull out without effort.

[@zacklee-of3te]

I been trying to get wood chips for 2 years and nothing still yet. But since it’s taking long I bought a home use chipper. The next issue now I don’t have much brush to chip so I gotta take it from the neighbors when they trash their years work. Since I have tree stump wood chips already I’ll have to mix that with the wood I am currently chipping since the ones I’m chipping is by far more nutritious

[@joniboulware1436]

I think it is important to note that in a climate that requires a watering system for plant growth, be aware that wood chips will block or absorb much of the natural rainwater. The drip irrigation system needs to be perfectly designed and operating regardless of measured rain fall.

[@user-ur2fy6qf4r]

I'm curious to know if anyone has found any issues with woodchips up against the foundation of the house? We're concerned about moisture near the foundation of our house causing issues over time. I appreciated the insight on the insects like termites.

[@zacklee-of3te]

Building code I think already requires to put x amount of moisture control on and around the foundation of the house. Plus the material that’s used is water proof

[@margaritaszechenyi]

I hear what she’s saying about fresh wood chips not adding a significant amount of acid to the soil where we’re talking about the endless expanse of soil around a BTE garden, but what about if you applied a layer of compost like mushroom soil first- will fresh wood chips corrupt that mushroom soil with acid?

[@BacktoEdenGardening]

Hello, the answer is no! Wood chip mulch will not acidify mushroom soil. In fact, wood chips are known to be a perfect food source for beneficial fungi and mushroom cultivation. Meaning, wood chip mulch and mushroom compost not only pair well, they benefit from one another! In fact, mushroom compost is often partly made up of composted wood chips.

[@MicrobeMomma]

Love it! I’v been applying woodchips in vegetable garden and everywhere else, for a couple years now and it works! I do back it with science, a microscope and quantification of the fungal to bacteria ratio! Thank you for bringing Paul to the world and this video, Linda, is another Godsend! ❤️🍄🦠🔬💚

[@danasarahfilms]

Thank you @MicrobeMomma!

[@zacklee-of3te]

Thank you for bringing Paul?the back to Eden guy is her son?

[@MicrobeMomma]

@@zacklee-of3te or dear, no, no! I’m not sure why that’s there. I think it’s a typo because there’s no other reference to back to Eden in the paragraph.

[@MicrobeMomma]

@@zacklee-of3teoh, I see, it’s the Back to Eden people so I was thanking them!

[@strumforpeace1859]

We will be starting our garden this spring in Kentucky. Is there anyone here doing Eden Gardening in Kentucky that can give any advice? Thanks!! Peace, Love & Blessings everyone! 🕊💗🙏

[@burntorangehorn]

Seems like a compost layer under the arborist chips wouldn't have much purpose beyond an initial supply of nutrients if one plans on planting immediately. I've always read Dr. Chalker-Scott's advocacy for woodchips as being a monthslong approach to turning lawns or poor soils into excellent garden space, so I actually hadn't thought of planting anything in an area covered with fresh woodchips.

[@jasonmeyerhofer2262]

What would your thoughts be on using arborist woodchips as cattle bedding and/or mixing them in when composting conventional cattle manure bed pack. I have received about 500 yards this year and been using them in various forms. I would greatly like to discuss what I am doing with you. My plan is to eventually cover about a 120 acres with a woodchip manure blend.

[@jeanmuehlfelt7942]

I would certainly implement your idea. We always used bales of pine shavings in our chicken coop. The manure helped break down the shavings. Your larger chips will take longer to decompose but will result in rich humus.

[@bob_frazier]

On fruit trees: I'm bedeviled between piling on an enoumous depth of wood chips versus respecting the tree graft and keeping chips below that graft. Please, give me a direction? Most of my trees have their graft union 6 inches above the soil line.

[@brendasowell6884]

I have 5 acres in Tacoma. I have gotten many many loads of wood chips. We have hydric clay soil that puddles across our fields in the rainy season with an inch or two of rain water water. A lot of the chips have been mixed into the soil. We are wanting to be gardening this year. Any suggestions for how we should proceed? Thank you in advance, Brenda

[@jeanmuehlfelt7942]

Do a soil test in a few spots. It takes the guesswork out of amendments needed. 😊

[@susannahedwards8230]

I buy boxes of chocolate for my local arborist and let him put a sign on my fence for advertising. He drops off chips when ever I want them and fire wood. I've been doing wood chips each year deaply for over 12 years. I won't go back to any other method. I don't feetilize either apart from my chickens and worm farm castings.

[@miramirez3574]

❤️‍🔥

[@xavieroluain9212]

encouraging information! Thank you both so much! My partner and I are building lasagna beds this year.. newspaper, then 2/3 year old wood chips which smell strong of wonderful mycelium, then a good layer of fluffed rotten hay, then a few inches of well aged soil like horse manure which we will plant mostly annual veggies into. Will definitely top mulch with a little more old chips/fresh hay. Does this sound like a good recipe?

[@mikemore]

Yes if the hay isn't sprayed with herbicides/fungicides/pesticides.... And isn't mixed inside the soil

[@scottcampbell7180]

I would exercise caution with the horse manure. Because horses are not ruminants weeds will be prevalent...speaking here from experience! However, if you have heavy clay soil lots of horse manure will be helpful, just be aware you will also get weeds galore.

[@rowenadinsmore1]

So would chop and drop the same as getting wood chips?

[@klinhacat8041]

Question: Can hilly land be covered with wood chips? Do I need to level the surface first?

[@TheRainHarvester]

Yes my channel shows my rocky hill. Chips stop erosion.

[@fatherofchickens7951]

I had no idea how much chips you needed to suppress weeds! I laid maybe two inches over cardboard last fall. And the next spring there were SO MANY weeds 🙄

[@mariner1358]

I am a fan of hot composting wood chips.

[@lifeisgood070]

how do you deal with creeping grasses.... There is a major problem doing this in the southeastern USA.......

[@lifeisgood070]

What's the effect of city water on using it to keep woodchips moist compared to rainwater (I know the hypothesis, but would like to see a study/results of chloramine....)

[@lifeisgood070]

also for pathogens they can transfer, but they have to basically be the same species. So you'd need a "fugally diseased" pin oak to put on another pin oak. And it would likely have to be already weakened slightly at least. Idk much about the disease compatibility between species, but most trees I have no seen them be effected.

[@SoulEzee]

I have an area where I broadcasted spring bulbs, mostly daffodils. Not knowing where they are in the fall, will wood chips prevent the bulbs from coming up?

[@ocalicreek]

The daffodils should have no problem pushing through. I grew them under thick mulch and had great results year after year. Western Washington.

[@SoulEzee]

Thanks so much for responding, wasn't sure I would hear from any one since it was an older video, enjoy your days and happy mulching!@@ocalicreek

[@AlpacaRenee]

No, unless they’re planted too deep.

[@aok2727]

I know it is over simplistic to say that landscape fabric needs to be outlawed but this stuff is just trouble. I have spent the 9 years I have been in this house, removing this stuff. I do use cardboard selectively but it seems I need to stop this. I do find the wood chips have improved the sticky black mud in my yard. I need to add more as time goes on but I am finding it more difficult to source them.

[@waynesell3681]

What about nitrogen needs while breaking down and then planting?

[@zacklee-of3te]

Don’t worry about that just plant under the wood chips not in it. Plant in it then your plants will go to seed.

[@waynesell3681]

@@zacklee-of3te thanks for the reply. Looking forward to seeing what happens this year in the garden!

[@woodchipgardens9084]

Alot of people on youtube hate woodchips in their garden because they think its ugly or difficult to deal with, gardening isnt easy work.

[@HollyCotter]

This was wonderfully informative, thank you! Dr. Linda, I have one question for you. I've been gardening with wood chips for a few years now, but earlier this week a master gardener warned me NOT to use wood chips. He said, here in Tennessee - because it's so wet - the wood chips attract slugs which will destroy the plants. I've not personally had that experience, but he told me about neighbors whose gardens are getting ruined by slugs, and he's got me worried about continuing to mulch with wood chips. I'd love to get your learned opinion about this.

[@berttondo6170]

I am in East TN and we have used wood chips and back to eden with great results. We wouldn't do it another way. Negligible wedding and watering. I am starting and experiment to use it for growing grapes also.

[@HollyCotter]

@@berttondo6170 thanks! I'm in the mountains in middle TN and, like I said, I haven't had a problem in the past... but it worried me it could cause a problem in the future. Now I'm wondering if the people having trouble with slugs are the ones who are using the non-arborist type of chips.

[@cathyalloway2163]

I’m wood chip gardening in Michigan and did have an episode of slugs. I noticed holes in the leaves of vegetables, suspected slugs since the woodchips create an ideal environment for snails and slugs due to their cover and moisture. There is a quick, easy, safe, organic, low cost cure for slugs in the rare event that you have a problem. It’s a safe organic product named “Sluggo” which is specific for slugs/snails only and does not harm worms, birds, pets, etc. I used Sluggo (simply sprinkled a small amount of the little pellets around my plants) a couple of times and the slugs were eliminated and never came back!

[@HollyCotter]

@@cathyalloway2163 thank you SO much for letting me know what to do if I have a problem!

[@samanthajackson5709]

I live in swampy East NC, we have slugs everywhere! Except in my wood chip garden. We’ve had a little trouble with some bugs that over-winter in the chips, but we let the chickens in the garden to winter and it took care of that. The wood chips have also prevented garden flooding, scorched heat dehydration, and I haven’t watered it this year at all… except my tomatoes once and my transplants as I put them in.

[@maremlefen]

I’ve heard that wood chips are good for perennial plants as they like a fungal environment but not good for annuals that prefer a bacterial environment, so some gardeners on KZbin use wood chips in their forest garden perennial plots but compost on their raised vegetable beds. I am starting a raised bed vegetable garden and was wondering if arboreal woodchips would work for annual vegetables or if I am better using compost as a mulch for them.

[@BacktoEdenGardening]

I know exactly what your'e talking about! Yes, this information is being spread around KZbin and frankly it's not true. Annual vegetables also love fungal environments! Look at our videos of Paul's property for the proof. He grows annual vegetables of all varieties under his fruit trees which has been mulched with nothing but arborist wood chips for over 30 years. No manure or fertilizer or compost added ever! He also grows a separate vegetable patch where he uses screened composted wood chips and adds chicken manure compost (bacteria environment). He needs to water this composted vegetable garden and never has watered his orchard where the annuals grow in pure unscreened arborist wood chips. Watch the videos on our courses page to really get the picture. courses.backtoedengardening.com/p/future-of-food-summit

[@flatsville9343]

It's clear Gautschi has been using aged, screened chicken yard litter in his primary veg garden as there is video of him doing so....screening & putting the litter down. That litter is bacterially dominant. Woodchips, unless ramial, are hardly suited for the bulk of annual veg varieties. Some annual veg do OK...if the chips are well aged. Leaf mould is a better option for almost all veg & is fungally dominant.

[@user-hh8tx1dl2x]

so using landscape fabric is worse than cardboard even if you are doing raised beds?

[@pa.fishpreacher6166]

What if the wood chips are pine or spruce ? still use them or not?

[@kathynix6552]

Yes she said there is no allopathic effects so go for it as long as we are talking about woodchips - not just bark.

[@brandynash1409]

Pine is a huge agricultural around here. It’s pretty much all we have. I use it all. Wood, bark, and needles. It works just fine for me. No issues. Paul says to to just use what you have. I was worried it would be an issue but after hearing him say that many years ago, I jumped in and I’ve had nothing but a great garden.

[@pa.fishpreacher6166]

Thank you I was hoping someone would say what you just said@@brandynash1409

[@sterlgirlceline]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🌿🌳💚

[@mommafeets]

This seems more like landscaping than gardening.

[@BacktoEdenGardening]

Your right! Linda specialized in wood chip mulch used in landscaping and perennial gardening at home until recently! However, her research trials have included gardening across the board from vegetable to landscaping.

[@karenjeffries7242]

How can you be sure there is no black walnut in the chips you get?

[@BacktoEdenGardening]

Ask the arborist who dumps the load first!

[@kathynix6552]

Didn’t she say we don’t have to worry about that?

[@dustyflats3832]

I’ve read the juglone is only a problem around living roots nothing else.

[@stevemcleod4608]

I think wood chips make my veggie garden look neat and tidy, not sure what the drawback would be.

[@dustyflats3832]

I think she was referring to the uniform generally dyed bags vs. mixed sizes of bark, sticks and leaves from arborists.

[@historyconversation8314]

then what is wood chips???

[@Herr2Cents]

You can dye arborist wood chips.

[@jeffa847]

With what?

[@sassy3923]

Does this mean I can't continue to use bagged cedar wood chips?

[@BacktoEdenGardening]

You can do whatever you want! :) However, you won't get the soil health benefits that promote annual vegetable plants growth by using bags of cedar mulch. They are missing the fresh leaf matter thats essential for them to break down into healthy compost that makes your plants leaves green!

[@kathynix6552]

@@BacktoEdenGardeningso it seems if you still have bags of the cedar to use up you should add fresh leaves to it?

[@dustyflats3832]

I use to use cedar up around the house to keep bugs at bay and plants generally didn’t do well. After several years they broke down and it doesn’t bother plants now.

[@juneshannon8074]

19:35

[@haleya9526]

I like to add AS MUCH plastic to my garden so no weeds grow! In fact, nothing grows at all! Just kidding :)

[@vintageme298]

After a Month they reduce by half

[@TutuSainz]

🙏🏽💖👏🏼🌿💐🕊🌈🌏

[@traceykays433]

I also disagree with her about cardboard and yes earth worms love to eat cardboard in texas.

[@zacklee-of3te]

I guess I’m the only one that would question what’s a beneficial? We have studied like .0001% of micros that we (know of). I learned that for example many things that are supposedly bad are beneficial when having a moderate population. We really can’t say for a fact these are good bacteria and those are bad. The ancients didn’t discern good and bad when gardening and many forms of gardening are mostly anerorbic. Fermentation beneficial and it doesn’t use oxygen. But modern science/scientist say anaerobes are bad. It’s a joke and almost everybody believes it. Stop believeing people that have a (high degree) or high certificate of indoctrination. It’s funny the world today is opposite of what ancients believed

[@GerryMantha]

Linda Chalker-Scott doesn't advocate the thought that people can choose the bacteria best for their plants, apart from perhaps Rhizobium for inoculation of legumes. Bacteria are everywhere, and plants are fully capable of creating the conditions that attract and culture the bacteria that they find useful through their exudates. These bacteria are nearly always aerobic, or at least facultative anaerobic. The presence of healthy obligate anaerobes in a plants rhizosphere would mean dead plants, considering plant roots cannot survive without oxygen. It's not the anaerobic bacteria were harmful to the plant, just that they can live in conditions where plants cannot. Also keep in mind that anaerobic soil conditions when moist can also lead to nitrogen loss through denitrification by certain bacteria that tolerate such environments.

[@joebobjenkins7837]

Woodchips are magical and overrated at the same time.

[@jasonwetzstein5410]

Worms love cardboard! And will leave behind their casts