Grow Your Own Magazine

Hi have just cut down our front hedge and the father in law lent me his electric wood chipper, and I now have two good bags of wood chip which will be going in the composter over a period of time.

Anyway I have just read on another thread that adding wood chips to the soil will drain nitrogen from the soil. Not being very technically minded could some one advise me on this as I have just been using it to mulch and earth up my potatoes (which by the way are coming on good guns) anyway back toi the question will the wood chips be o.k. on top of the soil for mulch and earthing up advice most welcome.

P.S. NEARLY FRIDAY

Dave

Not heard of this before, I get my horse manure from a stable that uses saw dust and shavings and for the last two years I have have good crops out of my alotttment. ps the nettle seem to grow well in it and they are full of nitrogen

watch out for honey fungus in your chippings http://www.rhs.org.uk/research/Scien...Armillaria.pdf

__________________
~ What do I think of Western civilisation? I think it would be a very good idea ~ Gandhi

I've heard that too, that wood chips rob nitrogen from the soil as they break down/rot. Woodchip can cause nitrogen shortage for new plants, so mix a nitrogen-rich organic fertiliser in the mulch to counteract this (grass clippings or nettles) I tend to use them just on my paths... the bits are a bit sharp anyway to have on the soil, when you're hand-weeding.

Here's a useful guide to mulches: http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/scho...ingMulches.pdf

__________________
~ What do I think of Western civilisation? I think it would be a very good idea ~ Gandhi

My view is that composting requires Nitrogen. For green plant material this is not a problem, for woody material it will rob it from surroundings, or take a long time.

If you put the woody material on the compost heap, mixed with green material, that should be fine - especially so by the time you come to actually "use" the compost - but the heap may be "cooler" because of it.

if you are in doubt add a source of Nitrogen (e..g Ammonium sulphate). I pee on the compost heap, and that helps!

One of the guys at the allotments uses the woodchippings for paths laid about 6 inches thick on a polythene base. Every year or two he scrapes them out and replaces them with fresh chippings. They resemble forest bark at that stage so he uses them for mulching to good effect!

__________________
My Majesty made for him a garden anew in order
to present to him vegetables and all beautiful flowers.- Offerings of Thutmose III to Amon-Ra (1500 BCE)

We got some old "used up" woodchippings from the local city farm and use it as mulch in larger pots. Works a treat, except this year we have some funny looking mushrooms popping up. They appear overnight, reach about 2 inches, then disappear again... they look like judge's hat/wig ones (something like that???).