A tree service is in our neighbor now, trimming trees along the power lines. Yesterday they delivered one of what I hope will be many - huge chipper trailer loads of beautiful mulch. We use a lot of mulch in the vegetable , herb, flower gardens & around fruit trees . Another huge benefit I have discovered for our fruit trees is Comfrey plants . 2 years ago, I planted 3 Comfrey plants around each of several Peach trees. I discovered Comfrey, not only has awesome medicinal properties, but is called a Mining Plant - it's roots growing deep into the soil, pulling up minerals to the roots of trees ! Last year our Peach harvest exploded !
I can pick up wood chips, for free, outside of the county maintenance facility. They routinely clear trees from around power lines and chip them, then dump them on the side of the highway. It's hit or miss, but worth the effort
@@stevescuba1978 , that is awesome & well worth the effort indeed ! We also chip up all branches , etc that we trim off our own trees or storms break off - I hate it when I see people burning in an open fire what could be turned into firewood or mulch .
James, the one thing I would say - is watch your depth on woodchips - like anything if you put too deep a layer you can actually cause more problems than you are trying to solve. you mentioned 8-10" One of the main problems with thick layers of mulch is that they can put off too much heat as they break down - especially if there is a lot of leaf material in it - this is why it is essential that mulch during the growing season be allowed to age, stock pile it for use the following season. Another thing that excessive mulch can do is cause basal decay - it is imperative that mulch NOT touch your tree trunks - root bark is not the same as trunk bark, and many a tree has been killed by a mulch volcano or being planted too deep, As an arborist this is the #1 mistake I see with newly planted trees. Ideally a 4-6" layer should suffice. more than that runs the risk of too many issues, less than that as you mentioned it isnt as effective.
A trees root flare should not be buried/covered in mulch. There a few exceptions but in general trees are much healthier when their root flare is left alone.
James: Please consider making a 2023 wood chip evaluation update. I have noticed in my BTE garden now after 10 years of adding wood chips via garden mix (70% leaves and 30% wood chips) a “fine wine” aroma. Fresh, earthy and mycelium life. 🌞🌱❤️. We add aged compost from the bio mix from the hen yard. 🐓
Sometimes I think about starting a youtube for gardening but then I watch all the great content you and a few others I watch are creating and I go nah, they got it covered lol. Thanks for spreading the good word about woodchips and fungi.
I've been doing the same things in Oregon for many yrs now. I want no more lawn. My yard is so much more peaceful and enjoyable. You are one of the few people I see on here with so much enthusiasm.
Thanks again James! Our Garden is phenomenal and has been the last 2 years. We are on year 3 and its going to be even better this year. All because of what you have taught us!
After all these years of fighting what I thought was a problem, only to find out it is beneficial .... who knew. You are the first person I've seen to broach this subject. What a relief .... thanks a 1,000,000!
Glad you mentioned manure. People often miss the fact that Paul Gautschi, the Back to Eden guy in Sequim WA, has a bunch of chicken-manure compost that goes onto his gardens n orchards every year.
I have heard that up to 80% of all plants use this fungus the same way. Some scientists believe the fungus actually allows trees to communicate with each other via the chemical signals traded between the two. Allowing one tree to sense what a tree near it needs and responding in a helpful way. Very fascinating! And we honestly have no idea how deep these relationships go! I'm sure this is just one thousands of relationships that plants use to grow and communicate.
Your joy is so contagious, James. Thanks for helping me along this year (my first!) gardening in upstate New York after moving from dry, arid southern Idaho. It felt too scary at first because Idaho has so few pests and it's hot ALL summer, where here it's much milder, and there are so many bugs lol, but you made it feel so possible! :) I'm still terrified of being triumphed by insects but I'll never get better until I start!! Thank you 💜💜
@@elisaseverns2543 my agricultural instructor grows marigolds around his blueberry farm, and reports that they make a huge difference in the areas they are planted.
First snow of the year, here in Western Massachusetts. A lovely way to spend it is to watch my favorite UA-camr. Thank you for all the hard work and inspiration you provide in your vids!
TUCK IS AMAZING! HE NEEDS TO BE LIKE THIS IN EVERY VIDEO. I HAVE 4 DOGS AND THEY ARE ALWAYS OUTSIDE WITH ME YEAR ROUND. DOGS ARE AWESOME TO HAVE, THEY DEFINITELY RELIEVE STRESS.
Tuck just made my day! I had Achilles tendon surgery Thursday. I am not allowed to do much yet, and I'm missing my garden. But Tuck made me smile and made me happy. Thank you for your videos! They really help.
Just terrific. You continue to increase my understanding of the huge skin of the underlying size of the microrizal, ( sp) , growth, and that this fungi is really what we are planting into. Like you once experienced, when you “ got it”, I am vibrating with excitement at your explanation. Makes perfect since. I am going to watch this episode repeatedly, as you are by far the best explainer- in - Chief. Thank you James!
The way you explained your knowledge makes it easy to understand, thanks for the great info. Appears that your co-star tuck is requesting more air time!
The Gardening Channel With James Prigioni i think you were passionate today, & Tuck was unsure of why your emotions were running so high 😀. He was trying to lighten your mood 💛. He did succeed,👍🏼. Love your Passion for what you are so kindly Sharing with us 💕❤️🙏🏼💛
I'm used to using natural cedar wood. I saw so many bags of leaves out but couldn't muster the courage to ask people for it. I pray I can do it next year.
I've always just taken them! The bags are put out for collection, right? People just want them gone from their property, why should they care whether the city is picking them up, or their nutty neighbor with the chicken coop? As long as the bags were on the curb and not sitting further back on someone's property, I'd chuck them in the back of the pickup. Sadly, my city just switched from bagging leaves to leaf vacuums, so now everyone just rakes their leaves to the curb and the vacuum truck sucks them up.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been told this method wouldn’t/shouldn’t work. I’ve been openly laughed at and one lady told me I must be living on a water source... It’s amazing how many people don’t believe this works, even when I have my whole yard as evidence that it is working.
I'm so glad that I watched this video. We have many Black walnut trees on our property. I've kept my gardens about 20+ feet away from them due to the toxicity of the roots. However, I was always afraid to chip the branches, or use them in a raised bed. Now I know! Thanks for your comment about the black walnut. I trust your expertise. Mary Anne Record.
Six inches of wood chips will rot down to two inches of soil every two years. I turned red clay subsoil into six inches of rich black soil with a truck load of wood chips spread six inches thick once a year for four years in a row. This was in central Missouri on a lot scalped raw by the house construction process.
Thank you James and Tuck! Lol ..♥️Tuck is so cute! I’ve completed a 600 sq. Foot area as you recommend, the cardboard first, woodchips, well rotted manure, then woodchips on top.i had 12 below zero last nite but spring is sure to come!🌱 winter garden planning is great fun! Thank you for all you do! Now for that list of special peppers, tomatoes, strawberries that you plant!
Great video! It is not likely that the white stuff you see in wood chips is mycorrhizal fungi. The fungi on rotting wood is a type that specializes in decomposing wood-it is a different type of fungi. Mycorrhizal fungi live deeper in the soil. You can buy it online. I use it when I plant my garden plants. It dosen't take much. The MF I use is both indo and exto. Ecto colonizes around the root system. Indo actually permeates the roots themselves.
absolutely correct... i have mountains of wood chips that i allow to age for a year and use it all over my land. i had pure coarse sand like the beach and it would not hold any water. after 7 years of using the chips i did not have to water my fruit trees all summer even though we did not get any rain for 6 months. also... chickens love them as they are a great source of worms as they age. to speed the decomposition, you can use coffee, urine, or any source of nitrogen. birds that come for the bugs will leave their droppings so that helps. don't let anyone tell you it smells... it does not. and it is not a fire hazard as just an inch or two deep it will be moist even at the end of august. call tree service people in your area... they usually keep a list of people who want chips and will bring you some when they do a job close to you. chips shrink in volume 1/3 per year so a truck load at first seems huge but trust me... it is not much in the end 🙂 p.s. also... feel free to bury dead animals or meat waste in the chips... they will decompose with no smell very quickly and improve decomposition.
I have used woodchips in my garden for years. I love them help so much with weed control! never has an issue and grown a TON of stuff . I dont think i could garden without it!
This year I took away my grass (mainly weeds) on the front garden and had 5 ton wood chips delivered and I spread on top of cardboard, hard work but a more environmentally friendly solution and cheaper than hard standing, easy to manage and looks natural.. The next job is to put some raised beds on it. I’ve got a small chipper but I needed allot, so now will just top up. I’m hoping others in the street will follow,block paving is popular but with higher rainfall, it’s not good!
Termites like wet but not rotting wood, as with mulch. If you have a leak in the walls of your house, such as around doors and windows, or in the eaves or roof, the water will seep down and saturate the framing inside the walls. This is where termites will come to live/infest. Love the dog. Very good in depth info on wood chip mulch.
Well, I'm going to have to rewatch this one cause I was too busy watching and laughing at Tuck. He was definitely feeling frisky and demanding your attention! 😂 Great video, though!❤🐶❤
I completely agree..Wood chips are no good.. I have the luxury of a giant pile of leaf compost and it makes a superior topping, winterizing and deep bed..I use our town’s stockpile to make all of my gardens special.. It is my secret weapon..I’ll have five vegetable gardens this year and a nursery next year..These videos are helpful for everyone I say..
Hi James this subject about the association between fungi and bacteria is fascinating, like you this made me very excited because I have a garden covered in leaf litter. For more than 80 years my garden floor has been covered in leaf mulch it is now about eight inch deep in some places when I last measured. As a result I have several edible wild mushroom that grows in my garden, some are not edible but they are helping with the decomposition of leaves and twigs on my small forest floor. I am able to collect a handful of myciliated leaf litter and a hand full of compost from my compost bin and create a fantastic compost tea. Tuck is helping spread the woodchip. Thanks for the video.
i am a full-time tropical market gardener in Australia. i have used this method for years, i never dig yet can push my hand into the soil up to my wrist. to me, this is the only way to garden
“You are being lied to about wood chips” caught my eye so I watched. You didn’t say what you were being lied to about. I have had wood chips for years and they have worked great. For the most part, people are very favorable about wood chips. So, what is the lie ?
Clickbait tagline? 🤠 James' actual content is honest and stellar though. 10min in Tuck gets playful too 😂 Keep up the good work, Prigioni brothers. Amazing inspiration ! 👍
I Love love love woodchips, have them covering my entire backyard. If I didn't live in an HOA, they'd be covering my massive frontyard too. Can't beat them for weed control, I covered my backyard with cardboard and then put several feet of woodchips on top. In no time (a few months) they broke down and I added more. Have done that 4 times now over the last year and I love it. Not a termite in sight but I do love in Central Florida so our rain total is massive and the woodchips stay very moist all year🌻. Great content James.
@Amy Sternheim well I have to say as far as HOA's go ours is a piece of cake compared to what I have been told of others, and I did know there was one here when we built our home. Having said that we are looking for land now so we can move to a place where I can have an orchard, chickens, and bees 🐝 and grow to my heats content without being told that I can't grow food in my front yard :(
@@foziahramli3001 my husband wasn't on board 4 years ago when I was first talking about getting rid of the home we had built to buy a much smaller home with land so that I could get chickens/bees/& possibly pigs while growing a majority of the food we eat. But I started here with what I had and our health has changed pretty radically for the better over the last 2 years. I never nagged him into seeing things my way he just sort of came around on his own. I also think since I haven't changed my passion/interests over the last 4 years he's realized that it's not an impulse decision to move in that direction. I heard much the same from lots of folks on you tube who's spouses weren't on-board initially. I wish you all the best🌻
I live in the low desert of Arizona in the summer my wood chips feel dry on top. I did worry on the 4th of July and watered my front yard, which is covered in wood chips, my neighbors were setting off bottle rockets and other types of fireworks that catch things on fire. My woodchips are about 2 b=feet from my house but as a precausion I sprayed my yard down. Which I did other times as well as we did not have very much rain this past summer. but I did use much less water by using woodchips. I do love your garden and your videos. Thank You!
I knew James was about to post a video. A good reminder video for me. I don't use wood chips, not by choice, but I do use leaves and some grass clippings. This is the time of year when I'm covering my garden; just like what James is doing.
What’s up with Tuck? It’s like he’s trying to warn you about impending danger. Whenever Lassie started acting like that we knew Timmy was going to fall into a well!
That's funny you mentioned Timmy falling into a well...because I recently saw a video mentioning that that NEVER happened. Mandela Effect??? Or convenient synchronous mis-memories???
I believe he is an Australian Terrier. I had one years ago and he played just like that. They are tiny dogs that think they are big and tough. Mine once tried to start a fight with a massive pit bull. Fortunately, the pit bull just stood there with his head cocked sideways looking very confused.
Intentionally adding specific species of mushrooms are a great way to build soil and harvest food at the same time. Paul Stamets sells plenty of different types of sawdust spawn.
J.I. and Robert Rodale told us decades ago that healthy soil is the key to successful gardening and farming. They meant _living_ soil, just as you have described. I have found that wood shavings are good for mulch, not as good as arborist chips, but still good. It does help to pair them with a nitrogen source such as manure. They can provide shelter to some pests. Tilling in the fall will minimize that. I have seen no sign of acidification. My soil started as clay with a thin top soil layer, now (many years of hay, leaves and wood shavings mulch) it has a good humus content.
Hi James. Very informative video. I've read about mycorrhizal fungi and the function in helping trees with uptake of nutrients. But I've never considered mycorrhizae as a system spanning an entire garden or an entire wood lot. I've also never realized that mulch blended into the soil will affect the pH, but a mulch layer on top of the soil will not significantly affect pH. Good to know. I do have two critiques, however. First, you mentioned that stones can be used as mulch. I would recommend against using stones. The previous owners of our house had all landscaping beds mulched with stones. After about five years of pulling weeds from the stones, I decided to remove the stones (took me about 4 years). Weeds thrived in the stones, because leaves had decomposed over the years and formed soil in the interstitial spaces of the stones. Then the weed roots grew into the landscape fabric under the stones. And depending on the weed, when I pulled them the roots broke often off below the fabric. So they would repeatedly grow back. But the worst part was that the weight of the stones compacted the underlying soil, which has a lot of clay. So the shrubs were growing in a compacted clay. It has taken another five years of amending with wood mulch to build up some reasonable soil. Also, we had a weeping cherry tree that feel victim to the stone mulch. The previous homeowner had pile the stone mulch about 4" high around the trunk of the tree. The bark that was covered eventually rotted and girdled the tree. No mulch, not even stone mulch, should be pile against the bark of any tree or shrub. My second issue is that you mentioned Bradford pear as a deciduous tree that you love. I beg you to reconsider. I live in a suburban municipality in eastern PA that has a lot of open natural space between neighborhoods. The Bradford and other flowering pear cultivars that are supposed to be sterile are actually capable of crossing pollinating with each other to create new non-sterile cultivars. Birds eat the fruit and distribute the seed throughout our natural open spaces, resulting in thickets of flowering pear trees that out-compete the native vegetation. And the pears' roots are deep, so they cannot easily be pulled out without breaking off roots that re-grow. We have spent a lot of volunteer hours in my township pulling and digging up roots of flowering pear trees that are growing where they were not invited. Thanks for listening to my two pet peeves.
Thanks for the info. I live in Chester County and have multiple Bradford Pear trees on my property. I just assumed they were a native species to Eastern PA - perhaps from Bradford County. After reading your post, I looked it up and found out that they come from Vietnam and China. As they die off I’ll replace them with a more appropriate species. Wow 😮!!!
love your garden. I am starting somethings similar but instead of waiting for random mushrooms to colonize the woodchips I am inoculating with edible mushrooms like King Strophoria. With the amount of wood chips you have, you could get a whole lot more production if you cultivated edible mushrooms on it at the same time.
I make my own wood chips out of limbs from property that I let set on the ground for a year before chipping them it has worked amazingly instead of picking grass roots out of a pile after sitting for a year
The thing about bees is fascinating. About 20 years ago at the height of the bees dying off everywhere, I literally had not seen a bee in my yard out in the country for 5 years at that point. Anyway back to the story, I was hiking down in a valley ,along a creek near my home , ands ran into a fallen bee tree full of honey. I had wondered where the bees went or if they had died. I gathered the honey the best I could and hauled it all home, it was very dark, mostly locust , apple and wildflower honey. Strong and tasty, never had anything like it again. The next year I was hiking down a hill a literally ran in to the new bee tree!! It was also in a slowly dying tree, so your statement about bees and fungus relationship, since those were the only bees i had seen in years and years. Thankfully now we have bees again, my neighbors keep them, and they are thriving!
My garden growing great then I blink and then it’s overtaken by weeds is exactly my experience!! This is a wonderful tutorial video, THANK YOU!!! ❤ Tuck is adorable 😊
I have been using wood chips for 30 years. Got my own chipper 20 years ago. One thing I add to this method is mower compost. I mow over wood chips with a lawnmower and throw clippings on top of it to mix a smooth mulch which breaks down into soil in a matter of weeks. Ducks roam about to dig for bugs and add fertilizer. They also can recycle meat and food scraps into compost. Every year I collect Christmas trees to chip myself and that brings in far away organic matter. The soil here is coral ruck so acidification is never an issue. In fact when restoring a rockland pine forest wood chips are the only way to do it.
I moved into a house and used wood chips on a shallow bank between the lawn and the trees in the far back yard. I used them as you suggest, about 4 inches deep. They looked fine. One day a visitor was smoking in the back yard and discarded his cigarette into the wood chips. A little later, I noticed that there was smoke coming from the wood chips. A very low fire was slowly burning the dry chips. I watched it for a while to learn how they burned, then got the hose and extinguished the fire. They will burn, but slowly. Not hard to control if you have water and access.
Hey man thanks to watching your videos I've started my own garden, I laid chicken manure down then cardboard over the top and then woodchips on top of that and my soil has improved drastically and it's now full of worms where there were none before. My trees and plants are growing like crazy. Thanks for all the advice bro
I have red clay in Northern Alabama, the soil is rich but you have to put a lot of organic matter into the soil to loosen it. If you do not loosen the soil roots are trying to grow in hard heavy dirt. Without the organic matter, the acids needed to help uptake the clay nutrients that are very plentiful. I have put down a 6-inch layer over my small garden area from a freshly cut and shredded tree in June. It is covered underneath with the fungi you mentioned. I hope this spring I can get some ability to plant some items in the soil. To increase my garden form 18x10 I will use soft container pots. I enjoy your knowledge. I have always made an organic style garden every place I have lived since 1980. I have subscriptions to Organic Gardening Magazine for 10 years. The no-till method was very popular then.
James, I couldn't have found this video at a better time. Since schools have closed and our soccer season was cancelled, I found myself with a ton of time after work and on weekends because there's no practices or games to keep me out after dark. I finally jumped on a project I've been wanting to do for years; cleared out an area in my backyard that was absolutely overgrown and infested with oak trees, saplings and lots of undergrowth. We finally have all the trees cleared out. I'm saving the trunks and big limbs for firewood and I'm left with an enormous pile of branches. I didn't know if I should have them hauled of or shred them to use as mulch. You just helped make up my mind....plus it will cost me a lot more to have them hauled off than to rent a big wood chipper. I didn't know if the wood chips would make good mulch but now I know. Here's the reason for my comment and my question. With all this new space (probably about a half acre), my wife and I are planning on putting in different types of fruit trees and bushes; blueberries, blackberries, plums, etc. The whole area is about 4 to 6 inches deep in oak leaves. The top are the winter leaves that fell this year but under that it looks like compost. Are these leaves beneficial as mulch or should I get rid of them. I'm not a gardener so I'm not sure about trees, leaves and soil acidity, although I'm trying to learn. I still have a few large trees in the area and I've read where many fruit trees will do good if the are planted around oak trees which brings me to another question. Although there is a ton more sunlight reaching the ground now, the area is still fairly shaded. Will the bushes and trees require a lot of direct, unshaded sunlight or is a little shade OK? I live in south Georgia and in my experience with flower gardens and ornamental plants, the summer sun and heat can kill off plants that supposedly thrive in full sun. So, oak leaves as mulch, good or bad and partial sun/shade good or bad? Thanks for any help you can give me and sorry for the long read.
Leaves are excellent, but if at all possible, it's best to "chip" them, too. You can run them over with a lawnmower, and the reasoning is that, if left whole, they will make a matt and create an anaerobic space, whereas if they are chopped up, they won't matt and therefore allow more oxygen in for a more diverse ecosystem. Certainly, mycelium will break them down over time, but it's better for plants to have them not matt. Hope this helps, and I hope you see this; it's three years past due!
When you talk about the wood chips/mulch it reminds me of that Back To Eden Film with Paul Gautschi! Thank you for all your hard work and information!!
Yes that’s such a cheesy but great film ! I love how everyone has different ways of interpreting the Bible if you will. He said such beautiful things that made me think about growing up Christian, and how I wish it wasn’t forced upon me but taught to me the way he said things in back to eden 😆 hope that makes sense
Wood chips. It's in everything..compost, potting mix, mulch. I use it in my compost pile and as a mulch. As a mulch in veg garden i put down just enough to cover the soil. It slows weeds down a fair bit. Plus I like to use weeds in my compost pile. If it gets too much just add a bit more chip. I was using sugar kane mulch..not the thin stuff, the heavy stuff from the cane balers. It works but I find woodchips perferable. It doesn't take long for fungus to grow in the chip pile where i am...australia.. it's good stuff.
I’ve been marathoning your videos these past couple weeks because I’m so excited to get going this year. Ironically I’ve been looking for more info on wood chips. We have tons of free ones from the county when they go and cut dangerous branches. I was super worried I might have some black walnut in there. This one helped. Thanks James (and Tuck).
Tuck is a Hoot!!! We were given Cedar Wood Chips for Free...very Green with Leaves & Sticks...placing them on top of Weed Fabric on all my Walkways & around all our Fruit Trees. Thank You
This was so informative. I live in Northern California and have access to fresh chips from an arborist. I’m putting them around the new fruit orchard and my newly built house which I now learned from you will help with fire protection. Thank you for all the great tips on pruning fruit trees also. Love watching Tuck and your relationship with him. Thanks again.
Hey James I love your videos! I don’t currently have space for a food forest except for a little strip in between my neighbors house and mine. I decided the best crops for a micro food forest is Chestnut trees! I’m curious if you have ever considered adding 2 chestnuts on dwarf rootstock to your forest? I also have been planting hardy figs around the warmer parts of my house! Keep these awesome videos coming! - toast from SE Pennsylvania
When you talked about fungi, I thought of 'AVATAR' my favourite film. then I see that you had the same thought in your head. I wonder if this is behind this film and the connections they make.
This is seriously the best informative and easiest to watch gardening video I have found! Thank you, so glad you are doing these and sharing your knowledge! The way you convey the info to us, right to the point, you get so much in! It is so well worth my time and I am gleaning off of the passion you have as well! Your a natural, well done!!!
Thanks James… I started doing this a few years ago… I have a friend who runs a mulch company and they give me their garbage milch for the cost of trucking… I have put down 12- 45’ live bottom trailer loads so far…. I have had some issues with plant vitality though… I have found it helps to put down lime with calcium before I lay down the chips to help with mineral uptake… I also us azomite… a mineral supplement which helps with the brix levels… thanks for your videos….
From Québec City, we love your videos, we are learning so much and we will absolutly do a forest food here. We will try to make videos like yours in french canadian to inspire people from here :) thanks for everything ♥️
Great info! However, I must disagree with the comment regarding termites, as it is backwards. Termites ignore dry wood, focusing on wet wood. However, they are generally uninterested in small pieces of wood such as wood chips. There are a plethora of other insects that do enjoy the shade of wood chips.
Flea beetles.i used cedar chips thinking the aroma would keep them at bay .but no gave em a home .the good thing was chips were free . seriously though they have been a nuisance and still are.
New subscriber from the UK here. I live in the eastern part of England. We have heavy clay soil. I appreciate the helpful tips on mulching, thank you. It’s just a shame wood chips are SO expensive here! If anyone from the Norwich area of UK reads this and knows how to find free wood chips, I’d certainly appreciate some advice on that! I just bought a piece of land to extend my garden, got a contractor in with a huge tractor to skim and level it and he said he could source some high quality topsoil for me. Big mistake, it turns out! Within 2 weeks, the whole 60ft x 100ft area was completely covered in weeds! I’ve cut my pathways (which I intend filling in with rustic stonework/cobbles to match the existing garden), and have planted 7 fruit trees (nectarine, apples, pears, cherry, plum), lots of perennials and a whole lot of shrubs dotted here and there. However, my battles with the weeds is never ending. I just don’t have the energy reserves necessary to clear them fast enough. I’m at my wits end! Would you suggest that I cover the entire area with cardboard then wood chips to 8-10 inches? Will that kill the weeds? Would it damage my newly planted trees and shrubs? Should I let them “settle in” a bit before I mulch? They’ve only been planted a month ago. Please.... I need help!!
I heard King Stropharia mushrooms will break down pesticides and other chemicals in the soil. I heard this from a lecture but the speaker did not go into detail. He just briefly mentioned this and kept talking. I’ve been looking for more info about this since but haven’t found much. Regardless I think I should add them to my garden. Cheers
In Quebec, we can buy Mychorize in french, I am not sure how to write it and it's the same that you talked. When you planting roses, small trees, some years after, try to take them off the ground. They rooted very long and solid.
Thank you James. I agree totally about the organic matter helping towards soft and moist soil. Just to go further and do not stop there, is to plant annual seasonal cover crops for regenerative soil. Only living plants can use the carbon from the air and put it back into the soil for the fungi's to keep functioning and grow more.
I just got on “Chip Drop” program last week. I don’t know when they will bring it but, I figure if I get on their list early I hopefully will have a lot of wood chips for my garden and chicken yard. I can’t wait!
I waited and waited and I’m still waiting. Listen for chainsaws in your area and especially chippers and just walk up to them and ask if they have a place to drop their loads. Trust me they’ll jump on your offer. So much so that I’ve got more than I can use because these guys are looking for a place nearby to drop and get back to work. While Chip Drop is free for you the arborists have to pay a fee to use this service so obviously there’s not a lot using the service. Good luck.
You know a channel is going to be good when within two minutes of watching the first video you've seen you're already subscribing and clicking the 'bell.' Very nice video!
A tree service is in our neighbor now, trimming trees along the power lines. Yesterday they delivered one of what I hope will be many - huge chipper trailer loads of beautiful mulch. We use a lot of mulch in the vegetable , herb, flower gardens & around fruit trees . Another huge benefit I have discovered for our fruit trees is Comfrey plants . 2 years ago, I planted 3 Comfrey plants around each of several Peach trees. I discovered Comfrey, not only has awesome medicinal properties, but is called a Mining Plant - it's roots growing deep into the soil, pulling up minerals to the roots of trees ! Last year our Peach harvest exploded !
You can also feed comfrey for up to 1/3 of your chicken's diet.
Free woodchips? Wouldn't the workers be required by the city to take them someplace?
@@rswow , No - we live in the country & they prefer not to have to haul them any further than they have to .
I can pick up wood chips, for free, outside of the county maintenance facility. They routinely clear trees from around power lines and chip them, then dump them on the side of the highway. It's hit or miss, but worth the effort
@@stevescuba1978 , that is awesome & well worth the effort indeed ! We also chip up all branches , etc that we trim off our own trees or storms break off - I hate it when I see people burning in an open fire what could be turned into firewood or mulch .
James, the one thing I would say - is watch your depth on woodchips - like anything if you put too deep a layer you can actually cause more problems than you are trying to solve. you mentioned 8-10" One of the main problems with thick layers of mulch is that they can put off too much heat as they break down - especially if there is a lot of leaf material in it - this is why it is essential that mulch during the growing season be allowed to age, stock pile it for use the following season. Another thing that excessive mulch can do is cause basal decay - it is imperative that mulch NOT touch your tree trunks - root bark is not the same as trunk bark, and many a tree has been killed by a mulch volcano or being planted too deep, As an arborist this is the #1 mistake I see with newly planted trees. Ideally a 4-6" layer should suffice. more than that runs the risk of too many issues, less than that as you mentioned it isnt as effective.
A trees root flare should not be buried/covered in mulch. There a few exceptions but in general trees are much healthier when their root flare is left alone.
@@imokyoureok9201 100% correct it is an endemic issue, and too many nurseries are unaware, or uncaring of how problematic it is.
Off to the garden to pull my mulch away from newly planted tree trunks now....thanks for the heads up
😰How to fix a garden, when wood chips with a lot of pine needles were put deep under the soil❓🙀
James: Please consider making a 2023 wood chip evaluation update. I have noticed in my BTE garden now after 10 years of adding wood chips via garden mix (70% leaves and 30% wood chips) a “fine wine” aroma. Fresh, earthy and mycelium life. 🌞🌱❤️. We add aged compost from the bio mix from the hen yard. 🐓
After Tuck wanted to play, you kept talking and he went off and grabbed a chunk of some veggie to gnaw on! What a good little garden partner.
Sometimes I think about starting a youtube for gardening but then I watch all the great content you and a few others I watch are creating and I go nah, they got it covered lol. Thanks for spreading the good word about woodchips and fungi.
I've been watching Paul Stamets for years now. I'm a mushroom hunter and grower. I love your energy for teaching us gardening. THANK YOU!
I've been doing the same things in Oregon for many yrs now. I want no more lawn. My yard is so much more peaceful and enjoyable. You are one of the few people I see on here with so much enthusiasm.
Hello Neighbor!! Oregon here too and this year we did wood chips:) amazing!!!
Thanks again James! Our Garden is phenomenal and has been the last 2 years. We are on year 3 and its going to be even better this year. All because of what you have taught us!
After all these years of fighting what I thought was a problem, only to find out it is beneficial .... who knew. You are the first person I've seen to broach this subject. What a relief .... thanks a 1,000,000!
Glad you mentioned manure. People often miss the fact that Paul Gautschi, the Back to Eden guy in Sequim WA, has a bunch of chicken-manure compost that goes onto his gardens n orchards every year.
I have heard that up to 80% of all plants use this fungus the same way. Some scientists believe the fungus actually allows trees to communicate with each other via the chemical signals traded between the two. Allowing one tree to sense what a tree near it needs and responding in a helpful way. Very fascinating! And we honestly have no idea how deep these relationships go! I'm sure this is just one thousands of relationships that plants use to grow and communicate.
Awesome, someone else understands this too, it's so simple, however so complex.
Love and Light ❤️🙏😇🇦🇺
Your joy is so contagious, James. Thanks for helping me along this year (my first!) gardening in upstate New York after moving from dry, arid southern Idaho. It felt too scary at first because Idaho has so few pests and it's hot ALL summer, where here it's much milder, and there are so many bugs lol, but you made it feel so possible! :) I'm still terrified of being triumphed by insects but I'll never get better until I start!! Thank you 💜💜
Neem oil spray is a good thing to use. I hope your garden was successful. 😊
Marigolds, marigolds, marigolds!
@@stevescuba1978 yes! This year I will start marigold seeds early so they’ll be blooming before my veggies start.
@@elisaseverns2543 my agricultural instructor grows marigolds around his blueberry farm, and reports that they make a huge difference in the areas they are planted.
😂⁶
We’ve always used wood chips in our garden and have had great success! Wouldn’t have a garden without them!
AGREE 100%
First snow of the year, here in Western Massachusetts. A lovely way to spend it is to watch my favorite UA-camr. Thank you for all the hard work and inspiration you provide in your vids!
wash your hands..that might have fungus in it
(a joke)
TUCK IS AMAZING! HE NEEDS TO BE LIKE THIS IN EVERY VIDEO. I HAVE 4 DOGS AND THEY ARE ALWAYS OUTSIDE WITH ME YEAR ROUND. DOGS ARE AWESOME TO HAVE, THEY DEFINITELY RELIEVE STRESS.
Tuck just made my day! I had Achilles tendon surgery Thursday. I am not allowed to do much yet, and I'm missing my garden. But Tuck made me smile and made me happy. Thank you for your videos! They really help.
Just terrific. You continue to increase my understanding of the huge skin of the underlying size of the microrizal, ( sp) , growth, and that this fungi is really what we are planting into. Like you once experienced, when you “ got it”, I am vibrating with excitement at your explanation. Makes perfect since. I am going to watch this episode repeatedly, as you are by far the best explainer- in - Chief. Thank you James!
The way you explained your knowledge makes it easy to understand, thanks for the great info. Appears that your co-star tuck is requesting more air time!
Glad to hear that Neil! Haha yup, I hope he doesn’t fire me for not giving it to him lol 😂
The Gardening Channel With James Prigioni i think you were passionate today, & Tuck was unsure of why your emotions were running so high 😀. He was trying to lighten your mood 💛. He did succeed,👍🏼. Love your Passion for what you are so kindly Sharing with us 💕❤️🙏🏼💛
Forget the wood chips. I want Tuck in my garden. I love him
Absolutely love the positivity you and Tuck bring in these videos, and the great information!
I'm used to using natural cedar wood. I saw so many bags of leaves out but couldn't muster the courage to ask people for it. I pray I can do it next year.
I've always just taken them! The bags are put out for collection, right? People just want them gone from their property, why should they care whether the city is picking them up, or their nutty neighbor with the chicken coop? As long as the bags were on the curb and not sitting further back on someone's property, I'd chuck them in the back of the pickup. Sadly, my city just switched from bagging leaves to leaf vacuums, so now everyone just rakes their leaves to the curb and the vacuum truck sucks them up.
Just think of all the nice people you could meet and interesting conversations you could have ;)
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been told this method wouldn’t/shouldn’t work. I’ve been openly laughed at and one lady told me I must be living on a water source... It’s amazing how many people don’t believe this works, even when I have my whole yard as evidence that it is working.
🤣🤣🤣
People are blind to the very things they don't want to see. 🤷
Somehow you’ve cheated! She’s just knows it.
I'm so glad that I watched this video. We have many Black walnut trees on our property. I've kept my gardens about 20+ feet away from them due to the toxicity of the roots. However, I was always afraid to chip the branches, or use them in a raised bed. Now I know! Thanks for your comment about the black walnut. I trust your expertise. Mary Anne Record.
Dude, your channel rocks. The information is presented at exactly the right pace. Always great info. Thanks man!
Six inches of wood chips will rot down to two inches of soil every two years. I turned red clay subsoil into six inches of rich black soil with a truck load of wood chips spread six inches thick once a year for four years in a row. This was in central Missouri on a lot scalped raw by the house construction process.
Yes, I put wood chips on my whole place and it is all getting black and friable.
@Old chunk of coal. He is very close to average conditions. With composting, the volume is reduced about two thirds.
Tuck is so cute! Makes me miss having a dog. After our last one passed away due to old age, we just haven't had the heart to get another one.
Just go and get one! You won’t regret it.
Just get one.
Thank you James and Tuck! Lol ..♥️Tuck is so cute! I’ve completed a 600 sq. Foot area as you recommend, the cardboard first, woodchips, well rotted manure, then woodchips on top.i had 12 below zero last nite but spring is sure to come!🌱 winter garden planning is great fun! Thank you for all you do! Now for that list of special peppers, tomatoes, strawberries that you plant!
I think first layer be of manure then wood chips then manure lastly again chips. N . C. N. C
N. nitrogen
C. carbon
correct me if I m wrong
thanks
Great video! It is not likely that the white stuff you see in wood chips is mycorrhizal fungi. The fungi on rotting wood is a type that specializes in decomposing wood-it is a different type of fungi. Mycorrhizal fungi live deeper in the soil. You can buy it online. I use it when I plant my garden plants. It dosen't take much. The MF I use is both indo and exto. Ecto colonizes around the root system. Indo actually permeates the roots themselves.
absolutely correct... i have mountains of wood chips that i allow to age for a year and use it all over my land. i had pure coarse sand like the beach and it would not hold any water. after 7 years of using the chips i did not have to water my fruit trees all summer even though we did not get any rain for 6 months. also... chickens love them as they are a great source of worms as they age. to speed the decomposition, you can use coffee, urine, or any source of nitrogen. birds that come for the bugs will leave their droppings so that helps. don't let anyone tell you it smells... it does not. and it is not a fire hazard as just an inch or two deep it will be moist even at the end of august. call tree service people in your area... they usually keep a list of people who want chips and will bring you some when they do a job close to you. chips shrink in volume 1/3 per year so a truck load at first seems huge but trust me... it is not much in the end 🙂 p.s. also... feel free to bury dead animals or meat waste in the chips... they will decompose with no smell very quickly and improve decomposition.
Tuck was in rare form that day! He sure was spunky! 🐶 He’s so cute. Thank you for the info about arbor mulch.
I have used woodchips in my garden for years. I love them help so much with weed control! never has an issue and grown a TON of stuff . I dont think i could garden without it!
This year I took away my grass (mainly weeds) on the front garden and had 5 ton wood chips delivered and I spread on top of cardboard, hard work but a more environmentally friendly solution and cheaper than hard standing, easy to manage and looks natural.. The next job is to put some raised beds on it. I’ve got a small chipper but I needed allot, so now will just top up. I’m hoping others in the street will follow,block paving is popular but with higher rainfall, it’s not good!
I see Tucky was a little frisky today. He is so cute...I love him ❤️
Little guy literally made me laugh out loud. Thank you!
Yup!! He was adamant about having fun out there today lol
@@jamesprigioni I love Tuck
Everybody loves Tuck..Ya gotta keep a carrot on standby..
The mulch makes animals crazy.
Paul Staments is becoming a real hero of mine. His book Mycelium Running has became one of the most important books I have read.
Yeah he is a living legend
Termites like wet but not rotting wood, as with mulch. If you have a leak in the walls of your house, such as around doors and windows, or in the eaves or roof, the water will seep down and saturate the framing inside the walls. This is where termites will come to live/infest.
Love the dog. Very good in depth info on wood chip mulch.
I appreciate all the scientific work on soil that eventually filters its way down to youtube & people in general. Good stuff.
Well, I'm going to have to rewatch this one cause I was too busy watching and laughing at Tuck. He was definitely feeling frisky and demanding your attention! 😂 Great video, though!❤🐶❤
Paul Stamets is the man of men. Thank you for mentioning him. He IS saving our world.
Killer Cuddles He is such a badass.
I love him.
I love James prigioni too! 🙂
I love how your passion for your subject shines through, keep shining!
I completely agree..Wood chips are no good..
I have the luxury of a giant pile of leaf compost and it makes a superior topping, winterizing and deep bed..I use our town’s stockpile to make all of my gardens special..
It is my secret weapon..I’ll have five vegetable gardens this year and a nursery next year..These videos are helpful for everyone I say..
Hi James this subject about the association between fungi and bacteria is fascinating, like you this made me very excited because I have a garden covered in leaf litter. For more than 80 years my garden floor has been covered in leaf mulch it is now about eight inch deep in some places when I last measured. As a result I have several edible wild mushroom that grows in my garden, some are not edible but they are helping with the decomposition of leaves and twigs on my small forest floor. I am able to collect a handful of myciliated leaf litter and a hand full of compost from my compost bin and create a fantastic compost tea.
Tuck is helping spread the woodchip. Thanks for the video.
BTW, your grasp of how nature works is astounding.
My new favorite phrase: "Importantly incrdible." So fitting for so many situations.
i am a full-time tropical market gardener in Australia. i have used this method for years, i never dig yet can push my hand into the soil up to my wrist. to me, this is the only way to garden
“You are being lied to about wood chips” caught my eye so I watched. You didn’t say what you were being lied to about. I have had wood chips for years and they have worked great. For the most part, people are very favorable about wood chips. So, what is the lie ?
Clickbait tagline? 🤠 James' actual content is honest and stellar though. 10min in Tuck gets playful too 😂 Keep up the good work, Prigioni brothers. Amazing inspiration ! 👍
I Love love love woodchips, have them covering my entire backyard. If I didn't live in an HOA, they'd be covering my massive frontyard too. Can't beat them for weed control, I covered my backyard with cardboard and then put several feet of woodchips on top. In no time (a few months) they broke down and I added more. Have done that 4 times now over the last year and I love it. Not a termite in sight but I do love in Central Florida so our rain total is massive and the woodchips stay very moist all year🌻. Great content James.
@Amy Sternheim well I have to say as far as HOA's go ours is a piece of cake compared to what I have been told of others, and I did know there was one here when we built our home. Having said that we are looking for land now so we can move to a place where I can have an orchard, chickens, and bees 🐝 and grow to my heats content without being told that I can't grow food in my front yard :(
This is how I started my garden....lots of cardboard, leaves then woodchips on top. Each year the trees get a layer of cardboard then woodchips.
@@kcmgfarm2389 .m totally agree with you here...if only my hubby has the same passion as me....hurmmm...sighhh..
@@foziahramli3001 my husband wasn't on board 4 years ago when I was first talking about getting rid of the home we had built to buy a much smaller home with land so that I could get chickens/bees/& possibly pigs while growing a majority of the food we eat. But I started here with what I had and our health has changed pretty radically for the better over the last 2 years. I never nagged him into seeing things my way he just sort of came around on his own. I also think since I haven't changed my passion/interests over the last 4 years he's realized that it's not an impulse decision to move in that direction. I heard much the same from lots of folks on you tube who's spouses weren't on-board initially. I wish you all the best🌻
Thank you cousin. Nothing better than being in the garden with your dog. 👍🏼
I live in the low desert of Arizona in the summer my wood chips feel dry on top. I did worry on the 4th of July and watered my front yard, which is covered in wood chips, my neighbors were setting off bottle rockets and other types of fireworks that catch things on fire. My woodchips are about 2 b=feet from my house but as a precausion I sprayed my yard down. Which I did other times as well as we did not have very much rain this past summer. but I did use much less water by using woodchips. I do love your garden and your videos. Thank You!
I knew James was about to post a video. A good reminder video for me. I don't use wood chips, not by choice, but I do use leaves and some grass clippings. This is the time of year when I'm covering my garden; just like what James is doing.
What’s up with Tuck? It’s like he’s trying to warn you about impending danger. Whenever Lassie started acting like that we knew Timmy was going to fall into a well!
Lol. God bless.
He's just in a playful mood.
That's funny you mentioned Timmy falling into a well...because I recently saw a video mentioning that that NEVER happened. Mandela Effect??? Or convenient synchronous mis-memories???
@@earthmancometh7416 Interesting.
I believe he is an Australian Terrier. I had one years ago and he played just like that. They are tiny dogs that think they are big and tough. Mine once tried to start a fight with a massive pit bull. Fortunately, the pit bull just stood there with his head cocked sideways looking very confused.
Intentionally adding specific species of mushrooms are a great way to build soil and harvest food at the same time. Paul Stamets sells plenty of different types of sawdust spawn.
J.I. and Robert Rodale told us decades ago that healthy soil is the key to successful gardening and farming. They meant _living_ soil, just as you have described.
I have found that wood shavings are good for mulch, not as good as arborist chips, but still good. It does help to pair them with a nitrogen source such as manure. They can provide shelter to some pests. Tilling in the fall will minimize that. I have seen no sign of acidification. My soil started as clay with a thin top soil layer, now (many years of hay, leaves and wood shavings mulch) it has a good humus content.
Hi James. Very informative video. I've read about mycorrhizal fungi and the function in helping trees with uptake of nutrients. But I've never considered mycorrhizae as a system spanning an entire garden or an entire wood lot. I've also never realized that mulch blended into the soil will affect the pH, but a mulch layer on top of the soil will not significantly affect pH. Good to know.
I do have two critiques, however. First, you mentioned that stones can be used as mulch. I would recommend against using stones. The previous owners of our house had all landscaping beds mulched with stones. After about five years of pulling weeds from the stones, I decided to remove the stones (took me about 4 years). Weeds thrived in the stones, because leaves had decomposed over the years and formed soil in the interstitial spaces of the stones. Then the weed roots grew into the landscape fabric under the stones. And depending on the weed, when I pulled them the roots broke often off below the fabric. So they would repeatedly grow back. But the worst part was that the weight of the stones compacted the underlying soil, which has a lot of clay. So the shrubs were growing in a compacted clay. It has taken another five years of amending with wood mulch to build up some reasonable soil. Also, we had a weeping cherry tree that feel victim to the stone mulch. The previous homeowner had pile the stone mulch about 4" high around the trunk of the tree. The bark that was covered eventually rotted and girdled the tree. No mulch, not even stone mulch, should be pile against the bark of any tree or shrub.
My second issue is that you mentioned Bradford pear as a deciduous tree that you love. I beg you to reconsider. I live in a suburban municipality in eastern PA that has a lot of open natural space between neighborhoods. The Bradford and other flowering pear cultivars that are supposed to be sterile are actually capable of crossing pollinating with each other to create new non-sterile cultivars. Birds eat the fruit and distribute the seed throughout our natural open spaces, resulting in thickets of flowering pear trees that out-compete the native vegetation. And the pears' roots are deep, so they cannot easily be pulled out without breaking off roots that re-grow. We have spent a lot of volunteer hours in my township pulling and digging up roots of flowering pear trees that are growing where they were not invited. Thanks for listening to my two pet peeves.
Thanks for the info. I live in Chester County and have multiple Bradford Pear trees on my property. I just assumed they were a native species to Eastern PA - perhaps from Bradford County. After reading your post, I looked it up and found out that they come from Vietnam and China. As they die off I’ll replace them with a more appropriate species. Wow 😮!!!
love your garden. I am starting somethings similar but instead of waiting for random mushrooms to colonize the woodchips I am inoculating with edible mushrooms like King Strophoria. With the amount of wood chips you have, you could get a whole lot more production if you cultivated edible mushrooms on it at the same time.
I make my own wood chips out of limbs from property that I let set on the ground for a year before chipping them it has worked amazingly instead of picking grass roots out of a pile after sitting for a year
My favorite was his dog wanting to play and that he took time to play with him! Stellar!! 🎉 of course the content was good too!
Tuck said, "It's my show today! Let's go baby!" That was gold.
Sunday nights with James and Tucky 💕💕💕💕💕🍵
Let's Gooo!!! At least we will be eating good
Thanks for not overly-editing, but just allowing the dog to interrupt. It makes for a funner, more real video!
The thing about bees is fascinating. About 20 years ago at the height of the bees dying off everywhere, I literally had not seen a bee in my yard out in the country for 5 years at that point. Anyway back to the story, I was hiking down in a valley ,along a creek near my home , ands ran into a fallen bee tree full of honey. I had wondered where the bees went or if they had died. I gathered the honey the best I could and hauled it all home, it was very dark, mostly locust , apple and wildflower honey. Strong and tasty, never had anything like it again. The next year I was hiking down a hill a literally ran in to the new bee tree!! It was also in a slowly dying tree, so your statement about bees and fungus relationship, since those were the only bees i had seen in years and years. Thankfully now we have bees again, my neighbors keep them, and they are thriving!
Tuck is a doll! You should do a video of just Tuck! I'd love to see more of him.
Your enthusiasm is great! Thanks for making these videos, I've learned so much!
Glad to hear that my friend, and thank you for the kind words!
My garden growing great then I blink and then it’s overtaken by weeds is exactly my experience!! This is a wonderful tutorial video, THANK YOU!!! ❤ Tuck is adorable 😊
You are correct . I have access to sawdust. I use it much like you do the chips. It's great stuff
I was going to keep my composure today and suck up all the information , but 9:55 I lost it when The Tuckster got busy!😍
Hahah! He insisted about being in this one lol 😂
I have been using wood chips for 30 years. Got my own chipper 20 years ago. One thing I add to this method is mower compost. I mow over wood chips with a lawnmower and throw clippings on top of it to mix a smooth mulch which breaks down into soil in a matter of weeks. Ducks roam about to dig for bugs and add fertilizer. They also can recycle meat and food scraps into compost. Every year I collect Christmas trees to chip myself and that brings in far away organic matter. The soil here is coral ruck so acidification is never an issue. In fact when restoring a rockland pine forest wood chips are the only way to do it.
I moved into a house and used wood chips on a shallow bank between the lawn and the trees in the far back yard. I used them as you suggest, about 4 inches deep. They looked fine. One day a visitor was smoking in the back yard and discarded his cigarette into the wood chips. A little later, I noticed that there was smoke coming from the wood chips. A very low fire was slowly burning the dry chips. I watched it for a while to learn how they burned, then got the hose and extinguished the fire. They will burn, but slowly. Not hard to control if you have water and access.
Hey man thanks to watching your videos I've started my own garden, I laid chicken manure down then cardboard over the top and then woodchips on top of that and my soil has improved drastically and it's now full of worms where there were none before. My trees and plants are growing like crazy. Thanks for all the advice bro
James, could you do a video about how you manage slugs in your garden? We have found that our wood chip mulch has led to a lot of slugs. Thank you!
If you can runner ducks are helpful. They provide duck eggs and eat all the slugs, they also do not touch your plants like chickens do.
I have red clay in Northern Alabama, the soil is rich but you have to put a lot of organic matter into the soil to loosen it. If you do not loosen the soil roots are trying to grow in hard heavy dirt. Without the organic matter, the acids needed to help uptake the clay nutrients that are very plentiful. I have put down a 6-inch layer over my small garden area from a freshly cut and shredded tree in June. It is covered underneath with the fungi you mentioned. I hope this spring I can get some ability to plant some items in the soil. To increase my garden form 18x10 I will use soft container pots. I enjoy your knowledge. I have always made an organic style garden every place I have lived since 1980. I have subscriptions to Organic Gardening Magazine for 10 years. The no-till method was very popular then.
James, I couldn't have found this video at a better time. Since schools have closed and our soccer season was cancelled, I found myself with a ton of time after work and on weekends because there's no practices or games to keep me out after dark. I finally jumped on a project I've been wanting to do for years; cleared out an area in my backyard that was absolutely overgrown and infested with oak trees, saplings and lots of undergrowth. We finally have all the trees cleared out. I'm saving the trunks and big limbs for firewood and I'm left with an enormous pile of branches. I didn't know if I should have them hauled of or shred them to use as mulch. You just helped make up my mind....plus it will cost me a lot more to have them hauled off than to rent a big wood chipper. I didn't know if the wood chips would make good mulch but now I know. Here's the reason for my comment and my question. With all this new space (probably about a half acre), my wife and I are planning on putting in different types of fruit trees and bushes; blueberries, blackberries, plums, etc. The whole area is about 4 to 6 inches deep in oak leaves. The top are the winter leaves that fell this year but under that it looks like compost. Are these leaves beneficial as mulch or should I get rid of them. I'm not a gardener so I'm not sure about trees, leaves and soil acidity, although I'm trying to learn. I still have a few large trees in the area and I've read where many fruit trees will do good if the are planted around oak trees which brings me to another question. Although there is a ton more sunlight reaching the ground now, the area is still fairly shaded. Will the bushes and trees require a lot of direct, unshaded sunlight or is a little shade OK? I live in south Georgia and in my experience with flower gardens and ornamental plants, the summer sun and heat can kill off plants that supposedly thrive in full sun. So, oak leaves as mulch, good or bad and partial sun/shade good or bad? Thanks for any help you can give me and sorry for the long read.
Leaves are excellent, but if at all possible, it's best to "chip" them, too. You can run them over with a lawnmower, and the reasoning is that, if left whole, they will make a matt and create an anaerobic space, whereas if they are chopped up, they won't matt and therefore allow more oxygen in for a more diverse ecosystem. Certainly, mycelium will break them down over time, but it's better for plants to have them not matt. Hope this helps, and I hope you see this; it's three years past due!
When you talk about the wood chips/mulch it reminds me of that Back To Eden Film with Paul Gautschi!
Thank you for all your hard work and information!!
I think his methods have have merit but he lost me when he said his doggs were vegan
Yes that’s such a cheesy but great film ! I love how everyone has different ways of interpreting the Bible if you will. He said such beautiful things that made me think about growing up Christian, and how I wish it wasn’t forced upon me but taught to me the way he said things in back to eden 😆 hope that makes sense
I love how excited you get with gardening! Thank you for sharing your passion
You and Tuck are a GREAT TEAM!! LOVE your attitudes!!!!! Garden ON!!!
Wood chips. It's in everything..compost, potting mix, mulch. I use it in my compost pile and as a mulch. As a mulch in veg garden i put down just enough to cover the soil. It slows weeds down a fair bit. Plus I like to use weeds in my compost pile.
If it gets too much just add a bit more chip. I was using sugar kane mulch..not the thin stuff, the heavy stuff from the cane balers.
It works but I find woodchips perferable. It doesn't take long for fungus to grow in the chip pile where i am...australia.. it's good stuff.
Great information. Love Tuck! You two have a sweet relationship. It warms my heart! 💕
I’ve been marathoning your videos these past couple weeks because I’m so excited to get going this year. Ironically I’ve been looking for more info on wood chips. We have tons of free ones from the county when they go and cut dangerous branches. I was super worried I might have some black walnut in there. This one helped. Thanks James (and Tuck).
- WHAT’S BAD ABOUT BLACK WALNUT??? -
Tuck is a Hoot!!! We were given Cedar Wood Chips for Free...very Green with Leaves & Sticks...placing them on top of Weed Fabric on all my Walkways & around all our Fruit Trees. Thank You
This was so informative. I live in Northern California and have access to fresh chips from an arborist. I’m putting them around the new fruit orchard and my newly built house which I now learned from you will help with fire protection. Thank you for all the great tips on pruning fruit trees also. Love watching Tuck and your relationship with him. Thanks again.
Hey James I love your videos! I don’t currently have space for a food forest except for a little strip in between my neighbors house and mine. I decided the best crops for a micro food forest is Chestnut trees! I’m curious if you have ever considered adding 2 chestnuts on dwarf rootstock to your forest? I also have been planting hardy figs around the warmer parts of my house! Keep these awesome videos coming! - toast from SE Pennsylvania
When you talked about fungi, I thought of 'AVATAR' my favourite film. then I see that you had the same thought in your head. I wonder if this is behind this film and the connections they make.
This is seriously the best informative and easiest to watch gardening video I have found! Thank you, so glad you are doing these and sharing your knowledge! The way you convey the info to us, right to the point, you get so much in! It is so well worth my time and I am gleaning off of the passion you have as well! Your a natural, well done!!!
And Tuck steals the show, how awesome! Hearts for him!
LOVE the Tuck action today!! What a sweetie!
Haha, he demanded to be in this one lol
@@jamesprigioni As well he should!!
“WHATS GOING ON GROWERS?!”
Who woulda thought that question would be what I look forward to when I open up UA-cam?
Likewise Nate
Thanks James… I started doing this a few years ago… I have a friend who runs a mulch company and they give me their garbage milch for the cost of trucking… I have put down 12- 45’ live bottom trailer loads so far…. I have had some issues with plant vitality though… I have found it helps to put down lime with calcium before I lay down the chips to help with mineral uptake… I also us azomite… a mineral supplement which helps with the brix levels… thanks for your videos….
From Québec City, we love your videos, we are learning so much and we will absolutly do a forest food here. We will try to make videos like yours in french canadian to inspire people from here :) thanks for everything ♥️
Great info! However, I must disagree with the comment regarding termites, as it is backwards. Termites ignore dry wood, focusing on wet wood. However, they are generally uninterested in small pieces of wood such as wood chips. There are a plethora of other insects that do enjoy the shade of wood chips.
Flea beetles.i used cedar chips thinking the aroma would keep them at bay .but no gave em a home .the good thing was chips were free . seriously though they have been a nuisance and still are.
You are VERY Right !! They Must Make Mud Walls to carry Water !
Any fan of Paul Stamets is a friend of mine.Thanks for sharing.
"What's up Tucky Boy?" Ha Ha, I love it. I like to see that your love of nature extends to your pup. That holistic approach is great to see.
New subscriber from the UK here. I live in the eastern part of England. We have heavy clay soil. I appreciate the helpful tips on mulching, thank you. It’s just a shame wood chips are SO expensive here! If anyone from the Norwich area of UK reads this and knows how to find free wood chips, I’d certainly appreciate some advice on that! I just bought a piece of land to extend my garden, got a contractor in with a huge tractor to skim and level it and he said he could source some high quality topsoil for me. Big mistake, it turns out! Within 2 weeks, the whole 60ft x 100ft area was completely covered in weeds! I’ve cut my pathways (which I intend filling in with rustic stonework/cobbles to match the existing garden), and have planted 7 fruit trees (nectarine, apples, pears, cherry, plum), lots of perennials and a whole lot of shrubs dotted here and there. However, my battles with the weeds is never ending. I just don’t have the energy reserves necessary to clear them fast enough. I’m at my wits end! Would you suggest that I cover the entire area with cardboard then wood chips to 8-10 inches? Will that kill the weeds? Would it damage my newly planted trees and shrubs? Should I let them “settle in” a bit before I mulch? They’ve only been planted a month ago. Please.... I need help!!
PRO-TIP: Inoculate your wood chips with King Stropharia spawn and enjoy fresh mushrooms every time it rains.
I heard King Stropharia mushrooms will break down pesticides and other chemicals in the soil. I heard this from a lecture but the speaker did not go into detail. He just briefly mentioned this and kept talking. I’ve been looking for more info about this since but haven’t found much. Regardless I think I should add them to my garden. Cheers
@@lauraburcham9439 They sometimes use mushrooms to clean up oil spills. Mushrooms are amazing in all they do. Some may argue they have intelligence.
Totally got my attention when your pooch was trying to play with you!!😂😂
In Quebec, we can buy Mychorize in french, I am not sure how to write it and it's the same that you talked. When you planting roses, small trees, some years after, try to take them off the ground. They rooted very long and solid.
Thank you James. I agree totally about the organic matter helping towards soft and moist soil. Just to go further and do not stop there, is to plant annual seasonal cover crops for regenerative soil. Only living plants can use the carbon from the air and put it back into the soil for the fungi's to keep functioning and grow more.
I just got on “Chip Drop” program last week. I don’t know when they will bring it but, I figure if I get on their list early I hopefully will have a lot of wood chips for my garden and chicken yard. I can’t wait!
I waited and waited and I’m still waiting. Listen for chainsaws in your area and especially chippers and just walk up to them and ask if they have a place to drop their loads. Trust me they’ll jump on your offer. So much so that I’ve got more than I can use because these guys are looking for a place nearby to drop and get back to work. While Chip Drop is free for you the arborists have to pay a fee to use this service so obviously there’s not a lot using the service. Good luck.
You just had to say “wooder” for me to know your from Jersey. :)
Be sure to wooder your plants
You know a channel is going to be good when within two minutes of watching the first video you've seen you're already subscribing and clicking the 'bell.' Very nice video!
Gotta love Prigioni's enthusiasm!! Gets me pumped, love the guy.
I love me some Tuck. That weed acting like catnip to him. As soon as he got a whiff of that weed, his engine got revved up!