Pine mulch. Does it harm fruit trees?
ahajmano
11 years ago
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Bradybb WA-Zone8
11 years agoRelated Discussions
Is fresh mulch OK for fruit trees?
Comments (50)Just a quick mention regarding a possible cheap supply prospect towards obtaining wood chip mulch here, for those interested. I get mine from a local "pallete" manufacturing company. Consider looking that word up in your regional Yellow Pages. This company recycles old palletes that trucking companys, warehouses, and such haul in. They get ground up into a decent average sized aggregate that seems to last for a good while without immediately breaking down or getting moldy. I like this aspect in that it lets in sufficient air to not stay to wet for to long. The old pallete material is in most cases well aged before making it to this stage of the process. This seems to help it last. I'm sure their are a good mix of wood varieties involved. So far no problems with any sorts of mysterious residually enhanced kill-off or die-back effects either! It' not free. But $10.00 gets your pickup loaded in several quick scoops worth of a large skid loader, and your down the road with it. So that alone makes it well worth the minimal expense. They run it over a magnetic belt to remove the majority of nail remains. I can be as generous as necessary with any coverage needs via this option. Not everyone will find a local source for this of course. I do actually consider myself lucky in regards to having this option. But where it may exist, it is both handy & cheap!!! ~ q3...See Moremulching fruit trees
Comments (9)Harvestman: On the contrary, I love the Cooperative Extension Service, but they don't love me. Some, perhaps many local branches may be quite different from mine. I too, use wood as my only heat source, as 550 gallons of fuel oil lies buried and undisturbed behind my house. Maybe if I keep it long enough I can sell it for $5 a gallon. I also produce a lot of wood ashes, and have occasionally spread them thinly over the garden and around the trees, since my soil is slightly on the acidic side. But their very high alkalinity makes them dangerous to use in large amounts. For Wildlifeman: Although soils may vary somewhat within the state, most soils in Washington are fine for growing fruit trees without worrying too much about Ph. But if your soil is thin, rocky, or gravelly, mulching around them with any organic material you can find is better than nothing, from both the nutritional and moisture holding perspectives. As Harvestman observes, if you can shred your leaves they will work much better, but even sawdust spread thickly around the surface is fine. Unless buried, undecomposed organic amendments do not remove nitrogen from the soil, and will eventually add some after they break down. Mulch attracts large numbers of earthworms to the soil, and I occasionally take a pitchfork to dig around the trees for the ducks, which love earthworms. The worms breed so fast in good conditions that the ducks could never keep up. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA...See MoreWill Grease Bands Harm Fruit Trees?
Comments (3)We use tanglefoot out here in California quite a bit to keep ants out of fruit trees. I use landscaping cloth wrapped around the tree trunk, about 4 to 5" wide and wrapped around 2 or 3 times, then tied in a knot. Then paint on the tanglefoot. That way, the trunk can breath, but the tanglefoot can't heat up and burn the cambium layer during our sunny weather. Patty S....See MoreArtificial Outdoor Grass as Mulch Under Fruit Trees?
Comments (1)I have used it between rows in the vegetable garden. It worked pretty much as you have conjectured except in the vegetable garden it tended to get mud on top of it from weeding and the like....See MoreRaw_Nature
11 years agoalan haigh
11 years agofranktank232
11 years agoolpea
11 years agoalan haigh
11 years agoolpea
11 years agoanother_buffalo
11 years agofoolishpleasure
11 years agoolpea
11 years ago
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