Fresh mulch advice needed please. - Page 4

HydroExplorer · June 25, 2015

I tested a fungal tea brew because i buried some wood chips and it had created a nitrogen desert. After applying the tea that bed turned around overnight. All it was is a 48 hour aerated brew that I threw some oyster mushroom cultures I had made into the barrel. It was really simple but the bed is clearly working better than it was before I did that.

I don't even till SOD in. If I have SOD I just dig it up, flip it over and then put cardboard and compost on top of it. So far I haven't had problems. I learned that garden technique from that one european guy on youtube. I forget his name.

Sojourner · June 27, 2015

Yeah - what did we just say about tilling wood chips in?

Only do it if they've been composted for 6 months to a year. Otherwise keep them at the surface.

I cook sod with clear plastic then break it up - not really tilling so much as just breaking up the 3 or 4" at the top - and mulch over it with cardboard and woodchips. Then its just business as usual from that point on. Next time I do that - which will likely have to be done whenever I get moved into a more permanent situation - I'll have to pay somebody to come out with a rototiller for that. I'm not up to doing it by hand on even a small plot any more.

And I strongly doubt I can hire anyone to do it by hand, LOL!

Redbaron · June 27, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sojourner

Yeah - what did we just say about tilling wood chips in?

Only do it if they've been composted for 6 months to a year. Otherwise keep them at the surface.

I cook sod with clear plastic then break it up - not really tilling so much as just breaking up the 3 or 4" at the top - and mulch over it with cardboard and woodchips. Then its just business as usual from that point on. Next time I do that - which will likely have to be done whenever I get moved into a more permanent situation - I'll have to pay somebody to come out with a rototiller for that. I'm not up to doing it by hand on even a small plot any more.

And I strongly doubt I can hire anyone to do it by hand, LOL!

Pick me pick me! I'll have it done easily. So long as I can subcontract out to worms! There is NO NEED to break up the sod. Best to leave it there under a smothering mulch! Then the rotting material provides such fertile soil for your plants!

HydroExplorer · June 27, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sojourner

Yeah - what did we just say about tilling wood chips in?

Only do it if they've been composted for 6 months to a year. Otherwise keep them at the surface.

I cook sod with clear plastic then break it up - not really tilling so much as just breaking up the 3 or 4" at the top - and mulch over it with cardboard and woodchips. Then its just business as usual from that point on. Next time I do that - which will likely have to be done whenever I get moved into a more permanent situation - I'll have to pay somebody to come out with a rototiller for that. I'm not up to doing it by hand on even a small plot any more.

And I strongly doubt I can hire anyone to do it by hand, LOL!

I didn't do this after you said that. I did this over a year ago and it was a nitrogen desert this year.

I brewed the fungal tea using fish tank water and added some comfrey puree to add more nitrogen and micros. The next day it was like there was never anything wrong with the bed.

I don't think the fungal part of the tea is why it recovered so quickly. I think it was the massive amount of nitrogen and micros I put in that brew. I think there is now enough nitrogen in that bed to feed the wood eating fungi as well as the plants. Still, it's late enough in the season that I probably won't get much out of that bed. It was rather interesting that the peppers and tomatoes in that bed went to flower the day after I did that though.

digsdirt · June 27, 2015

Quote:

Spreading wood chips IN your garden bed won't hurt a thing as long as you don't till it in.

Sorry but that is a bit too broad a statement for my comfort. While it might prevent any of the soil nitrogen binding issues associated with wood chips in the garden it doesn't address all the other issues associated with their use. What you ask?

Oh issues like when placed on top of cardboard they might not get walked into the soil, placed right on the dirt they DO get worked into the soil, nitrogen binding and heat burning if placed right against the plant stems, reduced seed germination, seedling emergence issues, allelopathic effects found in many woods, pest attraction, etc.

There is no such thing as the perfect vegetable garden mulch but some are more problem-filled than others. And the easiest way to eliminate all the problems associated with using wood chip mulch is simply to stockpile and compost it for a year first rather than using it fresh.

Dave

Durgan · June 27, 2015

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?DEALJ June 2015 Wood Chip Mulch
Nine cubic yard of wood chip mulch was delivered to my driveway. Cost was $10.00 per yard plus $30.00 delivery charge. This will be sufficient to layer most of my growing area garden about three inches deep. The main purpose is to retain moisture. About seven wheelbarrows is a cubic yard. The supply is only a short distance away and I pick up half yard in the van as required.

This wood chip material is composed in the big pile for about year. In the Fall I rototill it under and apply some Urea (Nitrogen) to encourage composting. Over about ten yers my plants have never had nitrogen deficiency to the best of my knowlege. In the Spring almost no evideence of the mulch material remains.

I like the year old chips but have used fresh cuttings which take a bit longer to disapper.

I consider the chips to be ideal in my area.

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June 25, 2015	#46
HydroExplorer Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 132	I tested a fungal tea brew because i buried some wood chips and it had created a nitrogen desert. After applying the tea that bed turned around overnight. All it was is a 48 hour aerated brew that I threw some oyster mushroom cultures I had made into the barrel. It was really simple but the bed is clearly working better than it was before I did that. I don't even till SOD in. If I have SOD I just dig it up, flip it over and then put cardboard and compost on top of it. So far I haven't had problems. I learned that garden technique from that one european guy on youtube. I forget his name.

June 27, 2015	#47
Sojourner Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Earth Posts: 27	Yeah - what did we just say about tilling wood chips in? Only do it if they've been composted for 6 months to a year. Otherwise keep them at the surface. I cook sod with clear plastic then break it up - not really tilling so much as just breaking up the 3 or 4" at the top - and mulch over it with cardboard and woodchips. Then its just business as usual from that point on. Next time I do that - which will likely have to be done whenever I get moved into a more permanent situation - I'll have to pay somebody to come out with a rototiller for that. I'm not up to doing it by hand on even a small plot any more. And I strongly doubt I can hire anyone to do it by hand, LOL!

June 27, 2015	#51
Durgan Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Brantford, ON, Canada Posts: 1,341	http://www.durgan.org/URL/?DEALJ June 2015 Wood Chip Mulch Nine cubic yard of wood chip mulch was delivered to my driveway. Cost was $10.00 per yard plus $30.00 delivery charge. This will be sufficient to layer most of my growing area garden about three inches deep. The main purpose is to retain moisture. About seven wheelbarrows is a cubic yard. The supply is only a short distance away and I pick up half yard in the van as required. This wood chip material is composed in the big pile for about year. In the Fall I rototill it under and apply some Urea (Nitrogen) to encourage composting. Over about ten yers my plants have never had nitrogen deficiency to the best of my knowlege. In the Spring almost no evideence of the mulch material remains. I like the year old chips but have used fresh cuttings which take a bit longer to disapper. I consider the chips to be ideal in my area.