Can You Do Growth Trials With Wood Fiber Substrate Made From Western Forest Biomass This Summer?

What?

Plumas Wood Fiber, a California based start-up company with the goal of producing wood fiber substrate from western forest biomass, has received a grant from the Conservation X Labs Program to produce samples of substrate for use in growth trials to validate the material for wholesale commercial use. Plumas Wood Fiber will produce wood fiber substrate from Ponderosa Pine wood chips in Spring 2025, using a hammer mill to process chips into substrate. The material will be offered free of charge to horticultural stakeholders who promise to use the material for growth trials in Summer 2025, and report back to Plumas Wood Fiber with publishable results in November of 2025.

​

Who?

Plumas Wood Fiber, of Quincy Ca, in conjunction with Earthworm Soil Factory in Butte Valley, Ca, will process the material at the Butte Valley facility and ship it to willing horticultural partners for growth trials. We are now seeking the horticultural partners for the trials- nurseries, greenhouses, researchers, potting mix manufacturers- you know who you are- those of you that know the potting substrates market and the need for more high quality substrates as horticulture expands. We want to give you what you need to test the material to validate western wood species as viable for the purpose.

​

Why?

Horticulture imports a great deal of its potting substrate material from Canada and overseas- but we have an overabundance of biomass from forest management projects right here in California- it just makes sense to use a locally sourced material. But we need to test the material to be sure it works. Plumas Wood Fiber has partnered with Dr. Brian Jackson of NC State Raleigh to do analytic testing of western wood species for the purpose, and those analytic results are positive. Now it's time for boots-on-the-ground growth trials by western horticultural stakeholders to validate the materials. Successful growth trials will lead to Plumas Wood Fiber developing a large scale industrial facility to produce the material by the truck load for use in wholesale commercial horticulture. The goal is to serve the needs of horticulture, and to help with the need to remove excess forest biomass from western forests for fire safety. 

​

When?

The material will be produced in Spring of 2025, aged appropriately by Dr. Jackson's instructions, and then delivered at no cost for the material by truck to California (and Oregon?) hort partners in early Summer 2025 for trials.

​

What kind of trials?

We leave it up to each horticultural partner to decide what kind of trials they would like to do with the material, in what sort of mixtures, with what sort of plants. We just ask that, at least, you have a control going simultaneously in order to compare mixes with wood fiber against mixes without. 

​

What's the catch?

We ask two things. First, if you can, help us with shipping cost of the material to your facility. We will arrange the shipping. No cost for the material itself. Secondly, we ask for publishable results of your trials the first week of November 2025. Or, at least, preliminary results at that time. 

​

How can I participate?

Contact Jeff Greef at Plumas Wood Fiber to get in line to receive a shipment of wood fiber substrate made from western Ponderosa Pine. 

​