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Composted manure on top of wood chip mulch?

mae (zone 5b On)

5 years ago

My friend spreads composted manure and bonemeal ON TOP of the wood chip mulch in her hosta beds. She spreads it in a circle around the plant...over the root zone. (She doesn't pull back the wood chips) Do you think this is a helpful practice or a wasted effort? Would it be better to do the entire bed rather than just the hosta root zone?

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Comments (5)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
first.. its her garden.. and if it makes her happy.. good for her ...

wood chips are a weed suppressor ... and she is putting basically soil.. over it.. whats that all about .... sorta defeats the purpose .. imo ...

next.. by adding what is a fert on some level.. only around the plants .. one might speculate.. that she is calling the tree roots.. to her plants ... been there.. done that.. not a great long term idea ...

so ... all you are left with.. is if you want to destroy her happiness with your opinion about it all .. i say.. smile.. nod.. and keep your opinion to yourself.. lol ... unless she asks ...

ken
mae (zone 5b On) thanked ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
mae (zone 5b On)
Original Author
5 years ago
Keeping opinion to myself for sure! Just wanted to check if I should do the same. my friend has a beautiful garden so I usually copy everything she does.. she's happy. I'm happy. Can't ask for more than that :)
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Mulch: wood chips or ... this compost-like stuff I have?
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Thanks! As a hypothetical question, how do wood chips suppress weeds? If I had wood chips, should I be putting down newspaper/cardboard/landscape fabric under them too? I thought they supressed weeds by creating a surface, an upper/top surface, that any seeds that blew onto it couldn't grow on, because the surface was wood. But I wonder if you're saying that the weeds I need to worry about are coming from underneath, up through the mulch? In which case, is there anything about wood chips that stops that better than compost? Like the robbing-nitrogen-from-the-soil stuff I've heard about wood chips?
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Agree that it needs to be well composted before using around edible crops. Pathogens are the concern, not N burn levels. Stockpiled manure/bedding isn't the same thing as composted manure. Composted manure has had a diverse mixture of other ingredients added to it and treated as a compost pile, aerated, moistened, etc. over time. And even the most minimal safe recommendation for adding manure to the garden is 90-120 days prior to harvest so would that fit your garden? Many of us recommend much longer but that always triggers a debate as all the previous discussions here reflect. ;) So go for the minimum at least. Dave
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On the other hand, wood chips (along with leaves) are the #1 ingredient of great compost. (That's what makes up the forest floor.) True, they break down slowly using fungus in a process that can take a couple of years. Mixing some of the wood chips with coffee grounds sounds like a great idea. You will end up with a great soil amendment and more worms than you can imagine. Just don't add it to the garden until you have a crumbly earthy humus.
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
5 years ago
good for you ... everyone stays happy ...

btw.. if it works.. it works.. so maybe you should try it ... what do i know ... lol ... ken
mae (zone 5b On) thanked ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
mae (zone 5b On)
Original Author
5 years ago
You know way more than I do! I'm going to spend all my $$$ on new plants this year. I plan to stop spending just when I get embarrassed about the amount. In a few years, after the current wood chips decompose, I'll add manure before refreshing with more chips. I'm happy with my plan. Especially the spend $$$$ part!
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
5 years ago
I plan to stop spending just when I get embarrassed about the amount.

==>>> thats the ticket.. let me know how that works out for you ... lol ... i predict its an epic fail ... you will always justify a couple more ... lol ...

ken
mae (zone 5b On) thanked ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

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