Anyone used wood mulch in their gardens?

If it is not composted it will rob nitrogen from soil. So use some sulfate of ammonia.
If just used on top of soil to prevent weeds. I wouldn't worry about it.
Have a good day. 😎😎😎

I had a great garden with chips of a freshly ground maple stump spread over the surface.

I used just garden compose in a raised bed and have radishes and turnips up about 1 1/2 inches.I braved today and put 3 tomatoes in it just to see how they would do.It's way early for tomatoes but i have baskets to cover them.Getting bored staying home.

I think a garden will help us to pass the time. Keep safe.

I've used cypress with no negative results. They key is to have good soil that has lots of good compost added. I also use a good organic veggie specific fertilizer, usually a 3-4-4. Too much nitrogen and you run the risk of big, beautiful leafy veggies that bear very little produce. Fertilizer is not a one formula fits all product.

We use wood mulch around flowers and shrubs but do not in the vegetables. Any mulch is better than none but it takes so long to break down, wood chips would hinder my vegetable gardening practices where I like to till under each year's mulch so it adds to the organics for the next year.

People use wood mulch successfully but you have to understand how it works with the soil. Some people even pile limbs and tree trunks up, throw soil on top of the pile, and then plant into the wood/soil pile. But, they have a pretty good understanding about how it works. Pieces of wood can be difficult for garden soil to decompose. It also depends on the size of the wood pieces...shredded, chipped, ???. If buying bags of "recycled" shredded/chipped wood be aware that some of that would is recycled from buildings...houses, businesses, sheds, whatever and may contain wood-preservatives, glue, paint, etc.,. Read the labels for sources. If the bag doesn't list a source then skip it. If you're getting chipped or shredded wood from a tree service or creating your own (best) then it should be ok.

Wood mulch will eventually end up down in the soil after a period of time. If by no other means then by...gravity, it's the law.

Tilling in wood later can (but doesn't necessarily) cause problems. If the wood mulch pieces are of small sizes and you keep your soil fertilized well...not overloaded with fertilizer but what the plants need, then you probably won't have any major issues.

I wish I could tell you yes or no, but I'll give you a firm "maybe" on whether the wood mulch will work for you. Definitely do a web search for "Carbon Nitrogen Ratio", "C:N Ratio", etc.,. Most of the time people use this ratio in dealing with building compost piles, but it also matters with your garden soil.

Whatever the case, *do* get a garden going. Even if it doesn't do well the first year it is a *start*!!!! It is a lifelong learning experience and a very good form of...therapy. Just something about working the soil and seeing what springs to life from it!!! There will be problems and failures and there will be successes!!! Learn from both!

One last thing...your location. It wouldn't hurt anything to share your region/area location, even a more precise location within 50 miles or so. This will help people understand your environment and give you better advice on things.

Now, get out there and play in the dirt!!!! (The kid in us still wants to play in the dirt...gardening is our cover-story for being able to do that! )

Best wishes!
Ed

Intheswamp said:People use wood mulch successfully but you have to understand how it works with the soil. Some people even pile limbs and tree trunks up, throw soil on top of the pile, and then plant into the wood/soil pile. But, they have a pretty good understanding about how it works. Pieces of wood can be difficult for garden soil to decompose. It also depends on the size of the wood pieces...shredded, chipped, ???. If buying bags of "recycled" shredded/chipped wood be aware that some of that would is recycled from buildings...houses, businesses, sheds, whatever and may contain wood-preservatives, glue, paint, etc.,. Read the labels for sources. If the bag doesn't list a source then skip it. If you're getting chipped or shredded wood from a tree service or creating your own (best) then it should be ok.

Wood mulch will eventually end up down in the soil after a period of time. If by no other means then by...gravity, it's the law.

Tilling in wood later can (but doesn't necessarily) cause problems. If the wood mulch pieces are of small sizes and you keep your soil fertilized well...not overloaded with fertilizer but what the plants need, then you probably won't have any major issues.

I wish I could tell you yes or no, but I'll give you a firm "maybe" on whether the wood mulch will work for you. Definitely do a web search for "Carbon Nitrogen Ratio", "C:N Ratio", etc.,. Most of the time people use this ratio in dealing with building compost piles, but it also matters with your garden soil.

Whatever the case, *do* get a garden going. Even if it doesn't do well the first year it is a *start*!!!! It is a lifelong learning experience and a very good form of...therapy. Just something about working the soil and seeing what springs to life from it!!! There will be problems and failures and there will be successes!!! Learn from both!

One last thing...your location. It wouldn't hurt anything to share your region/area location, even a more precise location within 50 miles or so. This will help people understand your environment and give you better advice on things.

Now, get out there and play in the dirt!!!! (The kid in us still wants to play in the dirt...gardening is our cover-story for being able to do that! )
Its good to keep some kid in us.
Best wishes!
Ed

ijon said:Anyone used wood mulch in their gardens?

Yes. The first time I filled in some raised boxes with free wood chips. I didn't have much $ at the time to buy dirt, and the wood chips were free. Eventually they broke down, and the entire bed sank about a foot, and I ended up with a ton of work re-structuring my entire garden bed and adding dirt. A TON of work. I see people suggesting back-filling with wood, twigs, and wood chips and such, and I cringe, because I know what is going to eventually happen. My ratio was about 1 foot of wood chips, to 2 feet of dirt.

If you are planning to use the wood chips as mulch, you have to be very careful what kind of trees the chips come from. Black walnut has a chemical in it that tends to inhibit the growth of many plants, as does oak. In fact, I bought and planted 2 viburnums and 2 paw paw trees, and mulched them with oak wood chips. Both viburnums are dead, and the paw paws are doing fine. We use wood chips in our woods where we don't want anything to grow, for the walk-ways, and around some of our trees. We learned the hard way not to use them around our other plants.