Back To Eden Method!

[SimpleSimon]

Several years ago I used this method on my plot with fantastic results, I was unaware at the time of what was actually going on but after a lot of reading & video watching, I've decided to go down the same route this year as I have a never ending supply of woodchips. I am not religious but am convinced the method does work & can now understand the principles. Does anyone else use this method?

Honestly the only thing that puts me off this is that religious nutter on YouTube. I too have a limitless supply of woodchip. I can't research it well enough due all the videos being all about religion

[Mr Bones]

It worked for us but not as well as homemade compost. We eventually rolled woodchips out over the whole plot (500 sq metre lotty so taking off sheds, slab paths etc. probably about 400m of growing space). It allowed us to move over to no dig. Chips work much better if they can be part rotted before using and stacking in a pile for six months softens them almost to compost.
The positives have been covered already in earlier posts as has the point that when using chippings to mulch, the plants will benefit from extra fertiliser.
The drawbacks with chippings compared to compost comes firstly at planting time, they need scraping back to allow planting direct into the soil and then when harvesting crops such as parsnips it's difficult not to mix the mulch into the soil. Blackbirds too love to turf through it so seedlings and young plants need protection. Most of our beds are now mulched with compost but some are still chipped, particularly the permanent beds with strawbs, rasps and asparagus and the potatoes which when mounded would use too much compost.

[veggiechicken]

Honestly the only thing that puts me off this is that religious nutter on YouTube. I too have a limitless supply of woodchip. I can't research it well enough due all the videos being all about religion

What's there to research? Spread woodchips around and get growing. The end.

[rary]

When composting woodchip does mixing from different types of tree make compost quicker/better?

[MyWifesBrassicas]

When composting woodchip does mixing from different types of tree make compost quicker/better?

From what I've read, the type of wood used doesn't make much difference in compost quality or a speedier production. But wood chip size and what you mix it with does.
Using chippings mixed with leaves and ramial branches (branches 1cm or smaller) has a higher N content thus speeding up the composting process, also adding anything "green" and other high nitrogenous materials such as manures.
A common practice is to deep layer a chicken run with wood chips, they break down with bacteria and fungi, with their manure continually added naturally and mixed it, by the chickens.
The chickens mechanically break the decomposing wood further as they scratch for the high insect/worm content, vastly increasing the time taken to make a usable relatively high nutrient compost/soil improver