Hello from big sky state

Hi, I'm from Montana zone 4 and have spent the last 10 years gardening by the till, pull weeds til you drop, and water water water method.  I have recently started watching James Prigioni on youtube which lead me to watching Paul Gautschi's Back to Eden film.   I plan to start doing wood chip permaculture gardening starting with prep this fall.  I hope to learn a lot from all of you!

Hi Dawn and welcome to Permies!

I started down the Permie road about 3 years ago and one of the first changes to my gardening was to add wood chips.  Initially I used a 2-3" layer of wood chips as a mulch, but one year I had a bumper crop of wood chips due to a serious trimming and chipping projects.  My first inclination was to use excess 10-10-10 left over from my pre-Permies days to help break down the pile with a bunch of added nitrogen.  My mind was changed--permanently--when many members recommended that I use fungi (Wine Cap mushrooms to be specific) and turn that pile of chips into mushroom compost.  I am certainly glad I headed their suggestions.  By now, all 3 of my garden beds are raised beds filled with wood chips inoculated with Wine Cap mushrooms that after 1 year reduces the wood into an incredibly rich and fertile mushroom compost.  The mushroom compost is so fertile that it is in fact the most fertile garden bedding I have ever had hands down.  And as  bonus I no longer add any external fertilizer at all--the mushrooms more than take care of the fertility needs for the garden.  Also, I gen tasty mushrooms!

In case you can't tell, I am sorta a fungal fanatic and I love to spread the message about how great mushroom compost is and If you are interested, I can certainly help you in this ambition.

Again, welcome to Permies and if you have questions about making wood chips and mushrooms really work for you, please do not hesitate to ask.

Eric

Welcome to Permies, Dawn! Your gardening story sounds pretty much like mine, and I use woodchips extensively now. It's amazing how quickly the soil and plants respond. You've joined a great forum for asking questions and sharing experiences. Glad you're here!