Mulch

[Durgan]

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?GTZUG 22 May 2013 Ten cubic yards of wood chip mulch
Ten cubic yards of year old wood chip mulch was delivered. Cost was $15.00 per yard and delivery charge of $35.00. It will be moved to a pile in the back yard and used as necessary.A cubic yard is approximately seven wheelbarrows. I mulch extensively, the complete vegetable garden and all trees, to inhibit moisture loss due to a hot Sun. Most of the mulch is completely composted in about a year.

[COMPOSTER]

Are they wood chips or shredded bark? I've read wood chips once they break down are great soil ammendments. The wood chips they sell in my area would probably take 5 years to fully break down.

[Durgan]

Originally Posted by COMPOSTER

Are they wood chips or shredded bark? I've read wood chips once they break down are great soil ammendments. The wood chips they sell in my area would probably take 5 years to fully break down.

Wood chips mostly deciduous tree parts.

[SIP Gro-Tubs]

Originally Posted by Durgan

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?GTZUG 22 May 2013 Ten cubic yards of wood chip mulch
Ten cubic yards of year old wood chip mulch was delivered. Cost was $15.00 per yard and delivery charge of $35.00. It will be moved to a pile in the back yard and used as necessary.A cubic yard is approximately seven wheelbarrows. I mulch extensively, the complete vegetable garden and all trees, to inhibit moisture loss due to a hot Sun. Most of the mulch is completely composted in about a year.

You need a bigger wheelbarrow.

You can get 7-8 c/f in a 6 c/f wheelbarrow easily.

There's only 27 C/F per C/Y / by your 7 loads means a very small wheelbarrow you own.

Were u wrote that "most is composted in about a year" tells me that you didn't buy mulch u bought partially rotted wood chips.

Mulch shouldn't be used if its partially rotted, and should last 4-5 years on top of the ground at 4-5" depths.


Terry

[Redbaron]

Originally Posted by SIP Gro-Tubs

Were u wrote that "most is composted in about a year" tells me that you didn't buy mulch u bought partially rotted wood chips.

Mulch shouldn't be used if its partially rotted, and should last 4-5 years on top of the ground at 4-5" depths.


Terry

I have to disagree. When it comes to woody mulches, you should partially compost them first. In fact it is very important to partially compost (or at least "age") them first. Otherwise they will suck out too much nitrogen.

Durgan is doing it quite correctly by using partially decomposed material in this case. The proof of course is the hugely fertile ground he is growing in! It is very clear what he is doing is working for him. Any experienced gardener or farmer can see it clearly. You don't get soil like that by accident.

Furthermore, it is also clear that because it does completely return to soil within a year proves his soil is VERY bioactive. Another key indicator of fertility.

Me and Durgan use methods completely different than each other. I use no-till and minimum-till. Durgan uses tillage. I use more "green" mulches and Durgan uses woody "brown" mulches. BUT at the end of the day both methods are sequestering carbon in the soil in the form of humus and both methods are working.

Saying he is doing something wrong is foolish. There is more than one "right" way to skin a cat!

PS Criticizing someone's wheel barrow as being too small? What's up with that? This is a friendly forum. We don't go around criticizing people for having less or smaller tools than others. At least he has a wheelbarrow. Some people don't even have that!

[Mark0820]

Wood chip mulch is great for the soil. If you have room to store and compost a pile of them, you can usually get them for free from just about any tree trimming service in the area you live. Sometimes you can also get free wood chips from your local government. Cities / towns often have trees to trim and shred and are willing to give wood chips to local citizens.

[Durgan]

I can get city wood chips but they vary much in quality and availability. At $15.00 per yard, I figure it is easier to get a load once or twice a year from a supplier. I usually have a pile at the back of the garden and spread as required. I move a couple of yards or more per day from the driveway until they are all in place.

I might add that the use of wood chips everywhere is the most significant improvement that has been made over the last five or so years. With a serious drought last year, I figure most of my bushes would have died without the moisture retention qualities of the wood chips. I see no down side to the use of the wood chips in my zone 5.

[COMPOSTER]

Love the idea that the chips break down so fast because the soil is Very bioactive. I'm working to achieve the same thing. I read about somebody who had a huge compost pile they had built for 10 years and put a dead chicken in it and the micro organisms digested it in less than a week.

Glenn

[Durgan]

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?COZMP 23 May 2013 Mulch
Moving the mulch to the back yard. Initially the trees were heavily mulched. The remainder will be piled in the back yard. It started to rain so it was necessary to stop for today.

[COMPOSTER]

How thick does the aged chips go on the vegetable garden? Do you ever need to fluff them up so water penetrates? You must have a lot of worms under that mulch making lots of nutrient rich castings.

[Durgan]

Originally Posted by COMPOSTER

How thick does the aged chips go on the vegetable garden? Do you ever need to fluff them up so water penetrates? You must have a lot of worms under that mulch making lots of nutrient rich castings.

After three months the layer is quite thin. I never fluff them up, since the layer is put on generously.The chunks are large enough that rainwater penetrates readily. Certainly there is food in the mulch for earthworms. The main pile always has worms. Often with my short season, 125 frost free,it is impossible to grow a layer of clover for a cover crop and the only food the worms have is from the receding mulch. As mentioned I have found no down side to my wood chip mulch.

[COMPOSTER]

Sounds great. I'm looking for an alternative to growing a cover crop every year. So far I have done one bed with straw and 2 beds with grass and leaves from the Fall. My other beds were done with winter rye. I find the grass leaves mixture tends to matt a bit and prevent water penetration. The straw seems to work excellent but I am interested in experimenting with several different mulches to find the right one. Thanks for sharing your method.

Glenn

[Durgan]

Originally Posted by COMPOSTER

Sounds great. I'm looking for an alternative to growing a cover crop every year. So far I have done one bed with straw and 2 beds with grass and leaves from the Fall. My other beds were done with winter rye. I find the grass leaves mixture tends to matt a bit and prevent water penetration. The straw seems to work excellent but I am interested in experimenting with several different mulches to find the right one. Thanks for sharing your method.
Glenn

Generally one makes do with mulch what is available. I tried leaves and straw but found both wanting. Leaves matt and often don't break down, also they don't stay in place. Straw has many issues, matting, preventing rainwater from passing through, and clogging machinery, and weeds. Both straw and leaves have marginal nutrients.

Wood chips of the right size are are perfect as it is possible to get. They stay in place, are easy to place along rows and around plants, and condition soil with some nutrients. Can be easily raked aside and compost added if necessary. They are often readily available in urban centres.

Here is a video worth contemplating. Rather long winded but similar to many posters.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CjptUYhEdU BACK TO EDEN

[COMPOSTER]

Durgan is doing it quite correctly by using partially decomposed material in this case. The proof of course is the hugely fertile ground he is growing in! It is very clear what he is doing is working for him. Any experienced gardener or farmer can see it clearly. You don't get soil like that by accident.

Radbaron's quote above. I'm learning the system.


Do you feel this is the key to your soil fertility?

Glenn

[Durgan]

My underlying soil is heavy clay. In the small cultivated area (about 1000 square feet) 100 cubic yards of compost has been added over about 8 years. About 8 cubic yards of wood chips are added each year. One year I added about 5 yards of washed mason sand to inhibit coagulating of the compost\clay mix. I notice even after 5 years this sand is still obvious.

My initial concern was to break up the clay. Eventually it was found that compost does the best job of making the clay friable. The wood chips are icing on the cake.

The combination of wood chips and compost are considered indispensable, and both must be added yearly. I also like a cover crop, of red annual clover but I cannot afford to allow an area so small to be idle while it does its miracle so usually don't grow the cover crop-meaning the season is too short.

Fortunately, I don't have any rocks. A downside is there is no water table. Two feet down is almost a cement base and no water permeates. All my water comes form the surface, which can be a misery in a very dry year. No wick effect for me.