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Produce => Edible Plants => Topic started by: elvis2003 on June 19, 2009, 10:37:12

Title: greenish wood chip as a mulch?
Post by: elvis2003 on June 19, 2009, 10:37:12
hi folks,we have been given a lot of this from a tree surgeon,its a little bit leafy,smells wonderful! i would like to put it around the bottom of the raspberries/blackberries/pupmkin patch,to act as a weed supressant,mulch and to look nice. good idea or bad idea?
thanks in advance
rach
x
Title: Re: greenish wood chip as a mulch?
Post by: Baccy Man on June 19, 2009, 10:43:19
It's best to age the woodchips for about 6 months before using them as a mulch to prevent nitrogen immobilisation.
Title: Re: greenish wood chip as a mulch?
Post by: hopalong on June 19, 2009, 10:47:30
Sounds like it will look very good but have little or no nutritional value. Could be a problem about robbing the soil of nitrogen as it rots down. Blackberries and raspberries like to be well fed, so manure or well rotted compost is better. Others will have views!
Title: Re: greenish wood chip as a mulch?
Post by: ceres on June 19, 2009, 10:56:10
Tree surgeons must be desperate to get rid of this stuff.  We've been offered it too.  As well as immobilising nitrogen, it can also change the ph of the soil depending on what type of trees have been used.  If diseased trees have been chipped, there is a small risk of honey fungus.

http://www.rhs.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/D4C959A7-40F4-4C2E-90A9-31A74C5409A6/0/Armillaria.pdf (http://www.rhs.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/D4C959A7-40F4-4C2E-90A9-31A74C5409A6/0/Armillaria.pdf)

I would only use it on top of membrane for paths.

Title: Re: greenish wood chip as a mulch?
Post by: Robert_Brenchley on June 19, 2009, 12:06:58
It's good for paths. I have used it to mulch beds, but only when I was using them for beans, which obviously provide their own nitrogen.
Title: Re: greenish wood chip as a mulch?
Post by: Kepouros on June 19, 2009, 18:19:59
I shred large quantities of woody material every year (up to 100 cu. ft).  I would never use it fresh as mulch, but always mix it with the previous autumn`s leaves, which means it then has between 2 and 3 years composting.  I then use it as mulch for anything that needs mulching, with excellent results.  Its one great drawback is that plants which normally make small clumps make plantations, couch grass spreads like wildfire,  and every windborn seed which lands on it germinates and grows like mad.

However, Ceres is right, a lot of the timber cut by tree surgeons is already diseased in one way or another (particularly in tree preservation areas) which is the main reason for their employment, and I wouldn`t want the risk.

I suspect that a qualified tree surgeon would recognise Armillaria anyway, would probably have an outlet already available, and not offer the chippings, but for so many of the `Tree Surgeons`who offer their services read `Traveller with Ladder, Chainsaw and hired Shredder`
Title: Re: greenish wood chip as a mulch?
Post by: daileg on June 19, 2009, 18:39:54
it tends to save the vans the trouble taking it to the tip to get rid i dont mind cheaper than bark its free does the same job and we can get our hands on 90% of the time so thumbs up from me
Title: Re: greenish wood chip as a mulch?
Post by: elvis2003 on June 20, 2009, 09:49:36
thanks folks,ill keep it to the paths then!