August 15, 2014 | #31 |
Tomatovillian™
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Glenn, it is interesting that you mentioned the dusty and dry soil in your post. I have had the same experience when we were amending our garden with truckloads of mushroom manure and compost. The amendments will work great for a couple of months, but then the dirt will turn into fine dust that does not hold water. No organic matter build up occurred with that approach - it seems like all organics were used up by the plants in summer! So the net result of 10 year annual application was a) a strain on our budget ($1000 every year); b) our native clay soil turned into fine dust (summer) and mud (winter, spring and fall).
Our observations were clearly confirmed by worms activities. Lots of worms after applying manure. And 0 worms in September. None. Every year. It was so frustrating! And heavy job to manually spread the heavy wet manure every spring. With wood chips, I am happy to see worms everywhere! And spreading wood chips is a very easy job. They are light and easy to work with.
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August 15, 2014 | #32 | ||||
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August 15, 2014 | #33 | ||
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Too bad for us, all conifers
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August 15, 2014 | #34 | |
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August 16, 2014 | #35 |
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I am an admitted skeptic regarding agricultural research believing that most of it is funded by big folks that have products to sell and therefore potentially very biased. I still read some of it because I want to know the scientific facts behind why something is supposed to have benefits or why it does not. I'm finding it very interesting that I am finding very little scholarly research on ramial chipped wood or arborist wood chips. Am I missing something? Is that because it is free in a lot of cases? I have done numerous regular searches and searched Google Scholar. The research paper that Tatiana posted is about the only thing I can find.
Glenn |
August 16, 2014 | #36 |
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Here is another one looking at disease transmission to trees.
http://auf.isa-arbor.com/request.asp...issue=5&Type=1 I've been using wood chips for years on everything from perennial borders to veg gardens to the chicken coop run.
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August 16, 2014 | #37 |
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Chris,
What kind of wood is in your wood chips? I am especially interested in the type you use for chickens. What is your experience so far with wood chips in the veggie garden?
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August 16, 2014 | #38 | |
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Glenn,
I found this one today: RAMIAL CHIPPED WOOD: A BASIC TOOL FOR REGENERATING SOILS by Céline Caron, Laval University. https://attachment.fbsbx.com/file_do...uXHm-ls36MXrBD For those you are not going to read the full article, here are some quotes: Quote:
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August 16, 2014 | #39 |
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And one more article by Professor Gilles Lemieux
https://attachment.fbsbx.com/file_do...usshmiiyW9ZH_Q
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August 16, 2014 | #40 |
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In NC we have everything from softwood to hardwood. The loads are always just whatever they have for the week or day. When it's free you can't be too picky!
Nothing special for the chicken run either. We just take out as best we can any big rounds and limbs. It's usually pretty coarsely chipped, not like the decorative tiny pieces you can buy. They love to dig around in it and with the constant manure and churning it breaks down quickly. New layers added as necessary and occasionally the whole thing is cleaned out and spread on the garden and another fresh bed put down. My anecdotal experience in the veg garden is positive. They hold water and keep the soil cool. Nothing groundbreaking there...everybody knows mulch is a good thing! I haven't seen any anecdotal negative consequences either. You do have to move them aside to plant and make sure the big pieces don't get thrown back up against the stems of small plants. And, skip the cardboard. Unnecessary and can even be detrimental to oxygen exchange with the soil.
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August 17, 2014 | #41 |
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Tatiana / ChrisK,
Thanks for the links. This is obviously a very under studied area. I agree with skipping the cardboard for an already established relatively weed free bed. But if you are starting a new area the cardboard or newspaper will be very important to kill the grass and weeds under the mulch. Without doing that a lot of folks will get very discouraged very easily and give up before the wood chip mulch has a chance to work. Glenn |
August 17, 2014 | #42 |
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Glenn, that's a great point, I am so glad you mentioned that!
We do not use cardboard under wood chips in the garden. However we put it down under the fruit trees to suppress grass. Then wood chips (~6-8" layer) go on top. Without cardboard grass and some perennial weeds (like buttercup) will grow through the chips, and that's not good. Tatiana
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August 17, 2014 | #43 | |
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FWIW:
http://sjcmastergardeners.wordpress....rdboard-mulch/ and http://blogs.extension.org/gardenpro...ul-wood-chips/ This should be in your bookmarks and consulted first, IMO: http://blogs.extension.org/gardenprofessors/ Quote:
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Blog: chriskafer.wordpress.com Ignorance more frequently begets knowledge: it is those who know little, and not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science. --Charles Darwin Last edited by ChrisK; August 17, 2014 at 08:51 AM. |
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August 17, 2014 | #44 |
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Thank you Chris!
no termites in our area. Lucky us!
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August 17, 2014 | #45 |
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More:
http://blogs.extension.org/gardenpro.../04/for-mulch/ http://blogs.extension.org/gardenpro...h-and-reality/ http://blogs.extension.org/gardenpro...estoration.pdf http://www.hrt.msu.edu/assets/PagePD...d-Schutzki.pdf
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Blog: chriskafer.wordpress.com Ignorance more frequently begets knowledge: it is those who know little, and not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science. --Charles Darwin |
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