So...let us embark down another path, which is really just a side path, as we wander our way through riparian bottoms.....
Squirrels are jerks, so are other rodents, as are many of the competing fungi, molds, and other forms of life....
But that of course is a very narrow view of a much bigger picture...
Here is a "failed" woody bed....started as a "dump" from wood chips which themselves had a bad case of the green bastard....
What the Earth healed away (green bastard) left something that freaking squirrels and other rodents LOVE....fermented grains and colonized chips... 
You can see that hungry critters are just having field day with the remnants....a bit disheartening at first glance...
What will we do....? Can we do anything??? 
Get a small tray/tub and make CERTAIN that drainage will not be an issue....drill holes in the bottom...So this is going to be our surrogate revival membrane... 
Next...find some nice untreated cardboard to recycle and trim it to fit the bottom of your container....then peel one layer off the corrugate....
Put it in the bottom of your little tub and soak it down.....just use a hose (stay away from treated tap water IMHO)....tip over and drain the puddle out....
Put a very thin layer of dampened (use a spray mister) hardwood mulch on the wetted cardboard and add a layer of recovered colonized chips from your "failed" bed...
Cover with a nice thin layer of the same hardwood mulch.....damp mulch works really well...
Then add another layer of the recovered chips...these are going to be your spawn for reviving.......they ARE the subject of revival....
Stem butts can and should be treated in a very similar manner IMHO...
A final thin layer of mulch over the top....loosely dropped and spread....right out of a bag of commercial mulch.... once again a nice light misting... 
A week or so later.....and voila.....the "chips" from the "failed" bed explode with rhizomes and start running into the new substrate.... 
These creatures are survivors....in fact I believe their kind have made life for us arrogant humans biologically possible....as a bare minimum.... 
Don't be surprised if they answer you with a recovery, revival, and even a fruit or two.... 
This is a compilation of three different experiments treated in exactly the same manner.....
I happen to know it works.....because a FOAF said so..... 
How about we follow the first tray as it does what it may.....and see what results from it in the coming days...?
Shall we....?
A
Edited by Arathu, 26 May 2022 - 11:20 AM.
