Guess what - wood chip mulch is okay after all!

Susan, I have been using wood chip mulch fresh from the trimmers truck for twenty years with only positive results, even on annuals and veges. I strive for a minimum of four inches of thickness. In Hawaii where temperatures were just right for decomposition 24/7, a layer of mulch that thick would be gone in one year. I will see how long that takes in NC. You can see my recent post on my load of chips here:

http://outsideclyde.blogspot.com/2008/04/grand-entry.html

The chips vastly increased the soils ability to hold water in my desert climate there and improved the tilth of the soil over time. Really they built a soil over time.

I think the main difference here will be a matter of temperature and the rate of decomposition. The eventual results are going to be the same.

The only drawback was if you got a load of chips filled with viable seeds. What you get is dependent on what the arborist is trimming. If they trim a tree when it is setting seed you get those too. It just meant for the first few weeks you had to weed out the sprouting seeds, which in a thick layer of mulch is a piece of cake. Let them go too long and it could be a problem.

It is also preferable to get a load that is more wood than leaf because it will last longer as a mulch.

Susan,

I did read with interest your earlier post on mulch. I have always used what the trade calls soil conditioner, very finely ground up pine bark mulch not the sand in some bad ’soil’ from the big box stores! It has the benefit in my opinion of being a lot more attractive than big hunks of lumpy mulch and it doesn’t over whelm small plants. The downside, it is twice the price of hardwood mulch. I would the hardwood bark on my paths.

Gail

Mulch for those areas where you are waiting for the plant material to grow enough to cover the soil would be one reason for that much mulch. I may just well be a mulch volcano using it to keep bare earth protected while plants are dormant, and especially for new beds. Mulch that eventually breaks down and adds humus to the soil, I say pile it on!

Ok. Confused. What about clay soil? You don’t need that much mulch to retain mositure in clay, and, Barbara P, is a LOT of mulhc good for conditioning clay? And don’t we need less mulch in shady areas and more in sunny?

If your goal is just yo block weeds - then ,yes, this thik layer of bark mulch will work fine. But what of the LONG TERM effects of hardwood bark mulch on your soil and root health?
Also along with Benjamin’s post I think this is NOT the answer for our local DC-area clay soils (or even those sandy shore soils). I know I’m not the only one to pull back several inches of bark mulch that was wet only down to 2-3 inches and see drought conditions below — check your local office park for these disaster conditions.

I am wondering if Sassafras wood chips tilled into the soil would be good for it. I have many sassafras trees and have made a lot of mulch from it. I am tentative about tilling it into the soil and the effects it could have on my plants and grasses in the fields.

Has no one noticed the phenomenon of shredded bark mulch forming a thick, hard layer similar to composition board? I have noticed it in many gardens and it is not only bonded like cement or composition board, but it is loaded with various colors of fungus. The soil underneath is dry because the water cannot seep through the thick, congealed material. People just add more bark mulch on top of the past years’ layers of bark much. I have read that bark mulch is acidic because it is made from conifers such as balsam, fir, etc. It seems that adding an acidic product to the soil is not good for plants that prefer an alkaline soil. In regions with four seasons, the new layer of bark mulch, if it is still loose, gets picked up when leaves are raked or blown off if a leaf blower is used. So, it seems tobe a waste of money. However, applying compost early in the growing season seems to make more sense since the compost will work into the soil through a natural symbiotic process. I have also read that bark mulch is sometimes made from diseased trees. That could bring disease to one’s garden, no? And for the environmentalist’s point of view, isn’t the industry cutting down forests just to make bark mulch? Do we know if the trees are coming from tree farms and not from the Rain Forest, for instance, where the environment is being threatened?

Does pine bark mulch that has not been cured for 1 year before using it present any danger to trees or schrubs it surrounds?

I’m digging out new veggie beds out of clay and gravel. I’ve mixed as much compost and black soil I can find but feel I need something more substantial to condition it with. I have access to some really old rotted pines and was hoping to use it both as a conditioner and as a mulch. What do you think about the acidity problems?

We have just bought a chipper and will be chipping eucalyptus plus various other trees, bushes from a very untended garden. I plan on using the newly chipped wood for flower and veggies bed. I am in Topanga, Ca. Hot and dry May - Oct.

I have clay soil and was wanting to know if I added wood chips to it would it help improve the soil an help it drain better, it is in a large field. do I plow it in or let it works iis self in ?

Interesting post. I was googling as that is all we use and, in the past, I’ve read about the “nitrogen problem.” Was hoping to find some definite answers. The chips we use are from a tree trimming friend and include all sorts of trees, except walnut. Our current huge pile is a mix of pine and oak. We’ve used wood chips for years. We have 350+ daylilies in our garden, as well as many other perennials, shrubs, etc. Have never noticed any problems. Our garden grows like a weed, as they say…of course, the weeds grow like that too, if we don’t put down the mulch every year! It breaks down quickly. Our soil is soft, black and lovely. Not sure that contributes anything to the conversation, but just chiming in with our personal experience. We are in IL, zone 6b. Happy gardening! ~~Rhonda