Once I bought the cheapest ""soil conditioner"" that HD would put in a bag. Mostly wood chips. I thoguht they would last longer in the soil than most things.
They did last for almost two years: as a huge mass of ugly fungus that nothing would grow on top of.
Then I read about "Nitrogen deficit". Never again. Wood chips are for top-dress mulch!
Although I knew someone, I think in Cubits, who made usable soil from clay, gravel, wood chips and some N source like manure. He said it worked for him from the first year forward. (My guess is: more manure than wood chips, and maybe the chips were large.)
