skip to main content

Organic Gardening Vegetable Gardening Soil, Compost & Mulch

Newbie NJ garden- need tips on wood chips/soil/compost layer order

4 years ago

Very new/inexperienced gardener here- trying to figure out how to use wood chips in our vegetable garden.

Any tips? Advice is genuinely appreciated!

I see a decent amount of info about wood chips online but I can’t find much about what order to put soil/wood chips/ compost and which layer to plant in.

We have a garden on the side of the yard near the driveway, it was an active garden a few years ago with flowers and plants. We had two trees taken down (oak I think) maybe 2-3 years ago which were made into wood chips which have been sitting on top of the garden, maybe 6-12+ inches deep.

I’m planning on setting up raised beds there.

Should I leave the wood chips under and put topsoil above, or remove the wood chips, plant in the soil and then put wood chips on top?

*We also have a lot of leaves which have been sitting since fall and a relatively small amount of mixed compost- mainly coffee, orange peels and apple cores.

I have a lot of cannellini, lentil and black bean plants, plus spinach, and tomatoes in my greenhouse, beans doing very well, other stuff is struggling but it has been cold. I plan on planing carrots, potatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, eggplants, onions, radishes, etc.

Comments (5)

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
4 years ago
If you want to plant this season, I would not incorporate the wood chips into the soil. Rake them off and save to use as a top dressing or mulch or to delineate pathways between the raised beds.

And mix together the topsoil and the more or less 'finished' compost thoroughly to fill the beds.....no layering :-)
subk3
4 years ago
You generally want the wood chips on the top of the soil. When they mix in with the soil their process of breaking down will compete with your plants for nitrogen. They "tie up the nitrogen" meaning the wood chips are hoarding the nitrogen temporarily and will release it as the chips finish composting. So, I'd rake the chips to the side, Spread out the compost and work it into the soil. Plant your plants then spread the chips back down. Studies seem to show that they don't mess with the nitrogen so much when they are on top.

But don't obsess about it, worst case scenario is they mix with the soil and you add a little nitrogen after your plants get established if they seem to need it.

In my more established beds I do layer. I brush away any old mulch from around the plants, put down a layer of compost, then a layer of mulch on the top. There are already plenty of worms and soil biome to move that compost down into the soil.
Related Discussions
Newbie gardener with soil question
Q
Comments (18)
Jefferson, I think your plans are well thought out and very reasonable. If you are new to gardening, starting on a smaller scale makes good sense and regardless of the condition of your soil, raised bed planting offers a number of advantages. It is quite possible to purchase and import a decent quality soil for your needs. It is done all over the country all the time and why it seems to consistently pose issues for some members of this forum is a constant source of wonder to me. If you live anywhere close to an urban or well-populated suburban area, you should be easily able to locate landscape supply companies that deal in bulk soil products. The majority of these offer quite decent products that will fill your needs. As soilguy has suggested, look for a 3 way planting mix rather than just asking for 'topsoil' - 3 way mixes typically have some sort of organic matter incorporated in them (composted yard waste, composted manures, etc.). For 3 4x4 beds you'll need somewhere around 2-3 cubic yards of soil, depending on the depth of the beds. In my area, 3 way planting soil goes for around $25-28 per cy delivered, so you should be looking at somewhere less than $100 for this project, maybe a lot less if you have the ability to pick up the soil yourself. As to the ant control product, I'd not be overly concerned for several reasons: it is the same product (active ingredient) that is used in Frontline flea control on our pets, the active ingredient has a relatively short soil half-life (it is effectively dissipated by soil organisms), it is not significantly translocatable to plant tissue, so you won't be eating the residue in any measurable concentration and the raised beds pretty much negate any direct contact with the chemical anyway. I'd certainly avoid any new applications to the area you intend for the planting beds just to be on the safe side.
...See More
He dont like leaves, wood chips, sawdust for compost
Q
Comments (21)
mxbarbie, if you have three weeks of spring weather before planting, that should be long enough for the soil organisms to incorporate the chicken manure, I would think. But maybe you don't, in PNW BC? Here it sometimes goes from winter straight into summer; planting early greens like spinach into chicken-manured soil might not be a good thing then, we'll see... It's nice to see somebody else admit to spoiling their hens. Every week or so when it's been very cold I've put a pot of quick oats on the wood stove, added a handful of flax seed (=> omega 3 eggs!) and a bit of bacon fat maybe, and given them that. It is amusing to see them wipe their beaks afterwards. I attribute the hens' productivity through darkest winter to this diet, but their age and the amount of light in the coop are other factors. (Look at the rash of question marks and exclamation points on this forum lately! Punctuation: use it or lose it, I always say.) Patrick, about the lady in Halifax, she just went ahead and kept chickens. The controversy flared up when a neighbour found out and complained to the authorities - he was afraid the chicken feed would attract rats. That lady effectively started a very necessary public debate about urban gardening, food security, etc. Smart chick! The city stuck to its guns re: livestock, ordering her to get rid of them - they've gone to an urban farm/museum - but delayed the actual date by two months to allow for debate. Research is being carried out, a decision will be made next summer. Are Kathleen and Cecelia bi-polar is a very interesting question ann, or annp or annpat (not sure what to call you any more). I don't think so. They're a year older than Gladys and Trex. Kathleen was mean and dominant toward them until Cecelia put her in her place. Typical behaviour. When we go into the coop, though, something inside Gladys winds up - she struggles to resist it - then gives in, comes flying at us and gives us a sharp peck on the sleeve, hard enough to pull a thread from a wool winter jacket. Maybe she thinks we're food? Maybe we are? But we can also pick her up and hold her for minutes on end. Does this sound bi-polar? And is grabbing somebody by the feet and carrying them around upside down a recommended treatment for bi-polarism, as I've seen suggested for chickens who behave like Gladys? I don't expect answers to all these questions.
...See More
Need lots of soil for increased garden size - will this idea work
Q
Comments (37)
Andrew, Absolutely go out and purchase some good quality soil to fill those beds, in addition to any organic matter you can scrounge up. As was previously stated, the mineral component is the skeleton of the soil. While organic matter is important for buffer capacity, water holding, nutrition, structure, etc., it is still just a part of the whole soil system. You've got to remember that the organic fraction is continually lost through mineralization. When the majority of your soil is organic matter, this results in significant loss of soil volume annually. Thus, you must add significant amounts of organic matter annually. Filling your beds with good, purchased soil will provide a near permanent skeleton for your soil, to which you can add organic matter till your heart's content. Another advantage to filling with purchased mineral soil is faster heating in the spring. Compared to organic matter, the mineral component has a higher heat conductivity that permits faster warming in the spring. Warmer soil earlier will allow earlier planting. You may also be able to find good silt loam depending upon your location in PA. If you're lucky enough to find it, silt loam provides the greatest plant available water holding capacity of nearly all soil textural classes (maybe all I forget off-hand.) Be extremely picky with what you buy and check it out for yourself. Whatever you buy, you'll be stuck gardening in it unless you dig it out and replace it. Further, check out what you're buying before the fact. My sister bought "screened" soil with clumps of clay in it. Use the 'feel method' for determining soil texture to see for yourself what the texture is like. It takes some practice to calibrate your fingers, but becomes a handy skill once you get the hang of it. Good luck, and update us on how you're doing. Here is a link that might be useful: Soil Texture by Feel
...See More
Newbie needs some info. on soil
Q
Comments (13)
Wow, I had no idea that I had all these wonderful responses to this problem. I usually track my posts by e-mail, but something must be amiss on this site: the only one I received was from Corinne and I came on the site to reply to her. Thanks for all the valuable information, which I believe I have read at some time on the copius threads about this subject. Last fall I did the mulch thing: my son bought a leaf vacuum with a chipper attachment. We chipped leaves for hours and spread it on all the beds, including this one. Nothing seemed to happen to it over winter as I expected, and I was advised (on this site) to remove it once the spring was here and I was going to plant the bed, so that's why I am at square one again. I am following a procedure I found in a book and the first step is to know what kind of soil I have. Most of their 'tests' included the soil's reaction to water, hence my question. I will follow some of the advice given above, maybe I'll start with the soil in the jar with water first. Joepyeweed: I don't know if we have soil maps, but it would not be accurate for me because I live in a suburban development, about 50 years old. The builder is well known for bringing clay in to 'landscape' all his developments, and there is evidence of this here and there. I even fashioned a little pot out of it once!! This bed in particular has been re-built several times, most recently by me about 10 years ago because it was full of cat faeces. I had topsoil delivered and used it all around. The front bed was amended with composted cow manure and we continued planting petunias. The cats continue to be a problem (not mine) and I have recently added lots of coffee grounds to deter them. Perhaps that's why it has this strange consitency. Of course I am looking for the fast way out, and don't know what I will do eventually. I have surgery coming up in a couple of weeks, so I won't be able to do much until late in the fall. I have a composter which does not work, and I have followed the directions for filling it several times. I have come to the conclusion that it does not get enough oxygen, but that is the design selected by our city for our use. Thank you all and I'll be back when I have someting to report. Northerner.
...See More
lisanti07028
4 years ago
It is my understanding that only green wood chips affect the nitrogen level, and only if they are dug into the soil in sizable numbers. In this case, the chips are two years old, and it looks like most of them have decomposed already. You can certainly rake them off and reuse them, but if some end up in the soil, don't sweat it.

Where are you in NJ? I'm in Essex County, by Bloomfield/Montclair.
daninthedirt (USDA 9a, HZ9, CentTX, Sunset z30, Cfa)
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
Wood chips don't hoard nitrogen. The bacteria and other microorganisms that feast on them do. Their microbial proteins contain that nitrogen, and those proteins are not useful nutrients for plants. When the food is gone, they die, and the nitrogen returns to the soil in usable form. This is true for any uncomposted organics that are dug into soil. If the chips are really already decomposed, no problem. Undecomposed organics are fine on top, because they aren't moist enough for the little beasties to form and suck up the nitrogen, and whatever is taken is taken from the top few millimeters only. Of course, they won't promptly decompose on top either.
Richard Brennan
4 years ago
Yes, as others have said the wood chips will go on the top, or rake them into their own pile on the side to decompose.

However, at the bottom of those chips you may have some rich black compost - go ahead and turn that into the soil as you dig in to create your raised beds. Add more compost at the same time. Just adding the amendments and air into the existing soil will probably raise it about five inches.

Sign Up to Comment

Related Stories

GARDENING GUIDES Professional Tips for Making Your Own Compost

By Amanda Pollard

Learn how to create a free supply of nutrient-rich soil for your garden with expert advice from Houzz landscape pros

GARDENING 101 This Pro Tip Will Save You Money on Your Container Garden

By Lauren Dunec Hoang

For large planters, use empty milk cartons or plastic bottles to fill extra space before putting in potting soil

EDIBLE GARDENS 7 Tips to Ensure Success With Raised Bed Gardening

By Abundant City

Raised bed gardening is a favorite for edible plants. Here’s how to get it right

GARDENING GUIDES What to Do This Fall to Build Healthy Garden Soil

By Lauren Dunec Hoang

Take advantage of the cool season to improve soil texture and replenish nutrients

GARDENING GUIDES 10 Tips for Beginning Gardeners

By Laura Gaskill

With a simple sketch, basic tools and the right plants, you’ll be on your way to growing your first flowers or edibles

GARDENING GUIDES Gardening Solutions for Heavy Clay Soils

By Falon Mihalic

What’s a gardener to do with soil that’s easily compacted and has poor drainage? Find out here

GARDENING GUIDES Essential Watering Tips for Your Edible Garden

By Marianne Lipanovich

To give your edible plants just what they need, check out these guidelines for how, when and how much to water

GARDENING GUIDES Get on a Composting Kick (Hello, Free Fertilizer!)

By Matt Kilburn

Quit shelling out for pricey substitutes that aren’t even as good. Here’s how to give your soil the best while lightening your trash load

GARDENING GUIDES How to Pick a Mulch — and Why Your Soil Wants It

By Jocelyn H. Chilvers

There's more to topdressing than shredded wood. Learn about mulch types, costs and design considerations here

GARDENING GUIDES Garden Myths to Debunk as You Dig This Fall and Rest Over Winter

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

Termites hate wood mulch, don’t amend soil for trees, avoid gravel in planters — and more nuggets of garden wisdom

Sponsored

More Discussions

Controlling aphids indoors over winter on milkweed

8

Protecting apples organically from insect/worm damage

7

What is the effective way to control spider mites?

13

When and how much wood ash can we use in our garden

9

Help: Hollies Transplanted with Very Small Root Balls

9