Wood chips as mulch for fruit trees...good or bad?

Pyrus Ussuriensis (z3)

7 years ago

Some folks use it and some don't, I heard it takes away the nitrogen out of the soil to break down the chips?

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prairie_northrose (3b north of Calgary AB, Canada)
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
I'm no expert, but I did come across this, which sounds promising:

"Soil Carbon Pools, Nitrogen Supply, and Tree Performance under Several Groundcovers and Compost Rates in a Newly Planted Apple Orchard.

Source: HortScience . Dec2011, Vol. 46 Issue 12, p1687-1694. 8p.

Abstract: This study evaluated the effects of in-row groundcovers (bare ground, brassica seed meal, cultivation, wood chip mulch , legume cover crop, and non-legume cover crop) and three compost rates (48, 101, and 152 kg available nitrogen(N)/ha/year) on soil carbon (C) pools, biological activity, N supply, fruit yield, and tree growth in a newly planted apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) orchard. We used nonlinear regression analysis of C mineralization curves to differentiate C into active and slow soil C pools. Bare ground and cultivation had large active soil C pools, 1.07 and 0.89 g C/kg soil, respectively, but showed little stabilization of C into the slow soil C pool. The use of brassica seed meal resulted in increased soil N supply, the slow soil C pool, and earthworm activity but not total soil C and N, fruit yield, or tree growth. Legume and non-legume cover crops had increased microbial biomass and the slow soil C pool but had lower fruit yield and tree growth than all other groundcovers regardless of compost rate. Soils under wood chip mulch had elevated earthworm activity, total soil C and N, and the slow soil C pool. Wood chip mulch also had the greatest cumulative C mineralization and a high C:N ratio, which resulted in slight N immobilization. Nevertheless, trees in the two wood chip treatments ranked in the top four of the 13 treatments in both fruit yield and tree growth. Wood chip mulch offered the best balance of tree performance and soil quality of all treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]"

I've also read some studies which say the opposite, for example, https://books.google.ca/books?id=uMIXAAAAYAAJ&ots=627Q7jWJwL&dq=wood%20mulch%20nitrogen&lr&pg=PA17#v=onepage&q=wood%20mulch%20nitrogen&f=false, which says the decomposition of the mulch and tie up the mobility of nitrogen.

On YouTube there are many gardeners supporting the benefits of wood chip mulch. I use cedar mulch myself around perennials and they seem fine. I do pull the cedar mulch slightly away from the base of plants to as not directly touch them as I've heard cedar can burn plants....
prairie_northrose (3b north of Calgary AB, Canada)
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Interesting to see the contrasting sides:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378112712001934

http://www.oardc.ohio-state.edu/hermslab/images/Lloyd_et_al_2002_Biocycle_Mulch.pdf
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Wood chips are outstanding mulch. They are even better if lots of leaves or needles from those plants are mixed it. You don't want to mix them into the soil though. If you do that, they will bind nitrogen while they decompose. On the surface this effect is not a problem. I would avoid black walnut, eucalyptus, or any wood that is known to have chemicals that repress the growth of competitors. There are not may trees with this problem. These are the only two I ask my tree trim man not to bring me. Rosefolly
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While I do think Lee Reich knows a lot about gardening and making soils healthy I do know hwe is way off base in that article he wrote for Fine Gardening magazine. the link gardengal provided, by Linda Chalker-Scott, is much better and the link provided by feijoas has information I have written here many times over the last 25 plus years. Many times I have asked for loads of fresh wood chips that have included leaves or pine needles only to be told That I did not want that stuff because it would rob my soil of Nitrogen. The leaves or pine needles, still green, will have a lot of Nitrogen in them and I have seen piles of wood chips with green leaves mixed in spontaneously combust because of the heat generated by the bacteria that are digesting them. The newspaper will suppress "weed" growth by blocking access to light by any plants tht might try to grow under the paper. There is no need to put any kind of lime on the wood chips to "counterbalance" any "acidity" myth tells us might be present. The wood chips will not "rob" Nitrogen from the soil.
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In a forest the litter accumulates on the floor year after year and no one clears it away, although it seldom accumulates to a depth of a foot. I would spread out what you have more evenly, and clear areas around the trees trunks some. Those wood chips might, depending on how dry they get, be a source of fuel if a fire were to move in, but if they are moist it would take more for them to burn. Leaves and pine needles would be of more concern. Wood chips piled up against a tree trunk can hold moisture and allow some insect pests a place to live and work on the tree under the mulch which can then cause the tree to die, eventually. However, I have seen the same thing happen when soil accumulates against a tree trunk.
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Here in Citrus county on the lakes we are blessed with the joys of nature and cursed with sugar sand. I did exactly what you are proposing and would have to say UF is dead wrong. We are lucky enough to have access to an unlimited amount of trims from Nelsons with just a phone call. You have to understand that not all wood chips are equal. If you get wood chips from a tree removal company where it is the entire tree that was chipped a large part of the chips will be from the heartwood, the trunk and large primary limbs which are low in nutrients and nitrogen. What you want is what you mentioned, the trims especially from the companies that do the trimming work for the utilities as that is mostly the smaller limbs, twigs and leaves. Those trims are packed with nitrogen and softer which speeds up the decomposition process. Now you can just plop it down and wait and it will eventually rot but it will take a long time. I laid out a 40 foot long by maybe 25 foot wide or so area and with the front end loader dug it down 2 feet or so removing all that pure white fine sugar sand. I refilled the spot with I have no idea how many truck loads of tree trims until it filled the spot and was heaped up 1-2 feet so 3-4 feet deep of chips. I laid the irrigation on both sides on a timer to keep the chips damp which is crucial to getting the chips to break down fast. On top of the chips I added manure and used a tiller to work it all in and kept the area compacted just by running it over. Weekly tills and compaction with some added nitrogen and the "garden" started shrinking in depth as the chips broke down. It is not a over night process, took 18 months I would guess from ground break until I planted the first garden in that spot but the soil is now jet black, I actually had to add sand back to it to get the texture just right. It is a lot of work but on the plus side you will have ZERO nematode problems and the garden will grow anything. I did add 50 lbs of lime to the soil over a month or so right near the end to get the PH just right. If that is too much work you can always use the chips between the rows of your garden or along the edges and incorporate them each year and the soil will get better over time. I would say go for it.....Ph is easily adjusted with lime and not sure what pests they are talking about. Any organics you can add will just improve the soil, feed it, it is a win win.
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mattpf (zone4)
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Ain't ever seen any orchard in hot dry places mulch fruit trees. The idea is to let them almost dry out with extremly well drained soil and sand. I would simply just use fertilizer like fruit tree fertilizer that has all the micronutrients you need and perhaps one or two foliar feedings through the growing Season

we have short dry summers here. Some years are wet I don't see the need to mulch unless you don't have water source. Mine is easy I use the garden hose. But in summer months I like to let the trees soil dry right out before I water again. Prunus roots rot fairly easily if I mulched I would never need to water them. Where is the fun in that :) I pride myself in watering my trees and fertilizing like this.

Wood chips as mulch for fruit trees...good or bad?

Comments (3)

prairie_northrose (3b north of Calgary AB, Canada)

prairie_northrose (3b north of Calgary AB, Canada)

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mattpf (zone4)

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