Understanding wood chips

American arborist Paul Gautschi was the inspiration behind the documentary, Back to Eden (2010). This film ignited a gardening movement that earned the name "Back to Eden Gardening."

Paul Gautschi is a world-renowned vegetable gardener. He practices a sustainable permaculture method that el...

1. Apply at least 3-4 sheets of newspaper.
2. Apply at least 3-4 inches of organic compost.
3. Apply at least 3-4 inches of wood chips as a mulch on your garden.
4. Apply a dusting of composted animal manure as a natural fertilizer on top of your garden as needed throughout the g...

Viewers of the film came to understand that Paul adds fresh arborist wood chips to his vegetable garden.

However, he only adds composted wood chips that have been screened, raking them to a thickness of 2 inches. He adds woodchips once every three years.

Paul Gautchi composts his vegetable garden with composted chicken manure.

Paul feeds his chickens the green waste that comes out of the garden. In the fall, he uses a screen and wheel barrel to sift through the soil in his chicken run. Then he applies about 1/2 inch to 1 inch of the compost...

Paul mentions that in 1979, he first added straw and sheep manure to his orchard but then switched. He added 12 inches of fresh arborist wood chips to his orchard to compost in place without tilling and the waste from his woodstove. He does not add chicken manure or other fertilizers to his orcha...