Re: [nafex] mulching trees

Thanks for the suggestion. We have plenty of pine needles here and they
do break down, mostly mechanically, not biologically. They result in a
deep layer of organic matter under the trees but that layer is very dry
and not biologically very active.

The pine needles break down because they're small. Wood chips are too
big and don't do anything. Except immediately after a rain (which
happens only a handful of times a year) they are bone dry. Your
suggestion of wetting them down is nice but would last about a day.

I also personally find wood chips a real pain to work around. They make
weeding difficult (and yes the grasses and other weeds grow up right
through them) and are uncomfortable to kneel on when working around the
tree.

Regards,

Jay

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On 5/26/2015 11:06 PM, fuwa fuwa usagi wrote:
> My suggestion, run a intermediate term test. Mark off a 10x10 area, wet it down and then add a minimum of 2ft of wood chips and let it sit for a year...then dig a test whole in it and see what has happened. If it has decayed a bit and you have worms and insect activity, as I suspect, add enough mulch to bring it back up to st least 2 ft, and check it again a year later.
>
> The key is, the sheer mass of the wood chips will likely create a micro environment that promotes decay. Even in the arid areas of the Gila wilderness there is substantial decay underneath 2 ft of pine needles.
>
> This will give you an idea what is truly possible in your area, rather then speculation.
>
> 2-3 years to run a test is nothing in the greater scheme of things.
>
> tfb
>
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