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Tropical Fruits

To mulch or not to mulch?

6 years ago

We're working on a food forest. Most of our trees to be planted are still being rooted from cuttings and are not yet in the ground. Do we mulch close to the bases of the newly planted trees, or would that cause too much moisture to be held against the trunk? Maybe mulching young trees is a good thing? Thanks!

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Comments (3)

tropicbreezent
6 years ago
I mulch heavily, but not up against tree trunks. That can cause collar rot, some trees are more susceptible to it than others. The mulch retains moisture, prevents erosion during heavy rain, shields soil from extreme heat, feeds worms and numerous micro-organisms which are needed for healthy soil. It's not a balanced fertiliser so while breaking down it doesn't provide all minerals needed by plants. While fresh it can bind up nitrogen before eventually releasing it. But overall, it's a big plus.
S.C. 10B thanked tropicbreezent
greenman62
6 years ago

agree with above

but, i would also stress how important organic matter is... i use tons of "chop+drop... all the extra leaves, vines, twigs, grass, fruit peels, coffee grounds and anything else i can use.

i use cardboard or newspaper as a ring around my plants to keep in moisture and keep weeds down... you can use a woody mulch on top of that which has a nice appearance... i generally do this in my front yard, while, in the back, i use leaves, twigs, compost etc... its about a foot deep in many areas, but i make sure to have 3 inches or so clear around the trunk.

in my backyard i had used newspaper and cardboard with a little grass clippings and coffee grounds UNDERNEATH. then, leaves on top.

the next year i had to add more newspaper , grounds, grass and leaves.

since then, i have enough chop+drop leaves and twigs to keep 6in to a foot of mulch.

i get about 100lb of grounds from starbucks every week.

this attracted worms like crazy. and i have built several inches of soil.

the top layer of soil is almost black, soft, moist, and full of worms and other bugs.

all those bugs eat and poop.... that waste stream (including dead insects) is excellent fertilizer, and keeps the soil loose and aerated.

its basically composting-in-place.

i started with sand... plain sand... the house was built on it.

if you start with poor soil, you may need to use a small amount of fertilizer to start, but i kept mine as organic as i could... kelp, fish emulsion etc... until the soil is right.

no one fertilizes the forest, and it does quite well.
S.C. 10B thanked greenman62
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I wish this forum would let me know when messages are left. I have to stumble on a conversation before I know it is there. The bottom lime question is to know how much dry leaf mulch might be too much and when can it be put into place. In Mid November, I can get the town to dump them into the driveway and they are incredibly dry and easy to move but I read that I should wait until the ground is frozen (Dec? Jan?) to put them down. For this, I would have to fill up my garage (probably housing rodents. I can still get them in December but now I have to go to the town yard to get them and they are wet/cold sometimes frozen on the top and under they are dry. Then I have to do it manually. I have to schlepped with a pitchfork (manure fork) by hand into a truck, cart them home and schlepped to the gardens. What I want to hear is that I can put them down (dry, light, and flaky) in November, 4" - 6" deep without killing plants and not housing rodents. I fear that the best, and most work, is to wait until December/January. As far as cutting the lawn: I never have grass clippings collecting in clumps unless the grass is wet and when I have ankle deep+ leaves allover the lawn, they still mulch to disappearing. If they are too much for the lawn, I use a leaf blower to put the surplus into the gardens. I have not "fertilized" the lawn nor use any weed killer not insecticide in 20 years. My lawn is greener than the treated and watered lawns in the neighborhood. I listen to the sounds at night and neighbors wonder they they don;t hear them in their yards.
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S.C. 10B
Original Author
6 years ago
Ooooh, so beautiful! And thank you for those tips! We're so new at doing this, and just are starting to catch on about the fertilizing part of the equation. We have had three truck loads of mulch delivered, so far. It is breaking down, slowly in piles behind our shed, but we have spread some of it out on the yard. For now, we are still using our annual garden beds, but they are going to be disassembled in the springtime and trees will be planted in the locations. Tree Collards, Mulberry, (white and everbearing), and a few other trees. Still working on that Starfruit, which has some leaf buds just emerging in the mini-greehhouse jars. Hoping they will root. We have some banana plants starting in pots, too, and a couple of dragon fruit. I have a couple of Mexican Sunflower plants that I hope will grow and I can take cuttings to do chop and drop with those. According to Pete Kanaris, (Green Dreams Florida on Youtube), using the Mexican Sunflower is one of the best plants for chop and drop. I will have to check with our local Starbucks and see if we can get some coffee grounds. Do you use the grounds on all the plants? Or do you put in the compost pile? We have a compost pile and an indoor worm bin....just started 6 weeks ago. They are fun to watch, and I hear make some great vermicompost! Blessings! Happy New Year!

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