Mulch acquired!

[sarahbell]

On the way to the shops today and they are shredding bushes in the local supermarket carpark.

Could he deliver some to my allotment?

Yes he could!

Fab. Have a huge pile of mulch now.

He said to leave it a few weeks before using it.
And he said he'd drop some more off on Monday!

I assume if I want it on paths though I could just use it now though?

I'm going to let everyone on our site have some though so it'll not go far once if everyone wants some!

[sarahbell]

[saddad]

Yes it's fine to go straight on paths..  :)

[sarahbell]

Thanks!

I've just emailed everyone to let them know it's communal anyway ... (Although there were 4 people on the site this afternoon who got told straightaway!)

[Kleftiwallah]

Excuse the double negative,

"You don't get nowt without asking".      Cheers,     Tony.

[Ian Pearson]

If you get a regular supply, a good way to make use of it is:  dig out your paths to about 9" deep, then fill right up with the wood chip. Over winter, they will rot down a fair bit. In summer, once plants are growing well, scoop out the rotted wood chip and add to the surface of the beds around plants. Refill the paths with fresh wood chip. Repeat every year. Works well with no-dig beds, or can be dug in at the end of the season.
The only down side is that chippings  may contain diseased material, but personally I've not had any trouble in that respect.

[Digeroo]

Do you get problems from mould spores on the wood chips?

[Ian Pearson]

Some people are effected by airborne spores that are released when handling it. Shift it when it's fresh (within a couple of days of chipping) to avoid this.

[Dads Army]

Has any one used Farmyard compost for mulching  I have tried wood chips but found I acquired wood lice after a while.

[goodlife]

Woodlice is no trouble at all..after all they are everywhere anyway. As for farmyard stuff..well..if its composted/well seasoned, then it is like 'black gold'..highly sought after stuff.

[Fuchsias]

We are on a large site (200 + plots) and a local tree feller regularly drops off shredded bark and has done for a few years now.

I don't think there is anyone who hasn't got a mulch or a path from it.  We have a few barrows of it tucked in a corner so it can rot down for 6 months or so before I use it as a mulch.

[goodlife]

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We have a few barrows of it tucked in a corner so it can rot down for 6 months or so before I use it as a mulch. You might need to rot it down quite a bit longer before mulching with it..wood is slow stuff and on its own its even slower to rot down. It will need nitrogen to help with the process..so, if you can sprinkle it with chicken manure pellets and/or layer it with grass clippings you will turn it into lovely stuff bit quicker.
I had big load of wood chipping dropped off too by tree feller...I used it every where on paths and left overs went into compost bin..the ones in the compost bin took 3 years to turn into lovely black stuff, but still with some recognizable woody bits in it (I didn't apply hardy any nitrogen at all) the stuff in ground rotted down year in two.
Mine was quite finely chopped stuff so in the end I ended  doing what Ian Pearson mentioned..I dug it up to use elsewhere and replaced it with courser chip that lasted much longer.