I have 3 new bedding areas (Northern Lower Mi) that I mulched with wood shavings last fall. This year I have new clover scattered there. Wood chips breakdown and depleted nitrogen maybe??

I am getting ready to tuck these beds in for summer before I head south & was wondering if I spread worm castings down with compost BEFORE new layer of mulch would I offset the nitrogen depletion?

If you simply mulched with wood chips, there's no need to worry about N immobilization. I'm scheduled to have my entire front garden mulched with 4" of arborist's wood chips yet this week, something I do about every 3 years with absolutely no indication of nitrogen deficiencies.

Neither the worm castings nor the compost would do anything to mitigate any N immobilization, even if it did happen to be an issue.

Even if the compost was far from finished, I wouldn't worry about N immobilization as long as the compost isn't incorporated.

Al

Once the wood chips decompose, the nitrogen will be returned to the soil. Worm castings certainly can't hurt but won't speed up the process either.

Nitrogen depletion occurs when it is mixed into the ground.

Thanks very much

Clover refers to a lot of different plants. Some are legumes, which increase the nitrogen in the soil. If your clover is leguminous, that's a good thing.

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