Pine mulch, or not.
 

The tree fellers are busy across the road, at long last cutting down a row
of leylandii which this morning were about 10 feet taller than the houses.
They are shredding the branches into a truck, and I'm sure if I asked them
they'd let me have a load. I'm wondering about their suitability as a mulch
for the fruit bushes on the allotment to keep the weeds down. Anybody done
this, and is there a down side? OK, there's always a down side, what's the
down side here?

Steve

Pine mulch, or not.
 

On Tue, 20 Mar 2012 14:19:02 -0000, "shazzbat"
wrote:

The tree fellers are busy across the road, at long last cutting down a row
of leylandii which this morning were about 10 feet taller than the houses.
They are shredding the branches into a truck, and I'm sure if I asked them
they'd let me have a load. I'm wondering about their suitability as a mulch
for the fruit bushes on the allotment to keep the weeds down. Anybody done
this, and is there a down side? OK, there's always a down side, what's the
down side here?

Steve

IME, it's always better to use composted wood chippings as a mulch. As
fresh wood rots down it can draw nitrogen from the soil which isn't a
good thing. Don't forget, as well, that pine is very acidic and if you
put a lot on your soil you'll lower the pH as it decomposes and gets
incorporated into the soil by those little wriggly things.

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling happily from the dryer end of Swansea Bay.

Pine mulch, or not.
 

On Mar 20, 2:19*pm, "shazzbat"
wrote:
The tree fellers are busy across the road, at long last cutting down a row
of leylandii which this morning were about 10 feet taller than the houses..
They are shredding the branches into a truck, and I'm sure if I asked them
they'd let me have a load. I'm wondering about their suitability as a mulch
for the fruit bushes on the allotment to keep the weeds down. Anybody done
this, and is there a down side? OK, there's always a down side, what's the
down side here?

Steve

No problem. Get as much as you can. I use it for mulch and compost.
Stack it up somewhere if you have too much. Too valuble to let go!

Pine mulch, or not.
 

Hi Steve,

I'm going into the second year of using fresh wood chips (shreddings
really) as mulch. Mine are mixed, there is some pine in it, along with
a lot of lime (Tilia) and hard woods. My experience last year was
extremely positive although some warned it was a bad idea.

It's worth noting that most of my trees are ornamentals (largely maples)
which don't like a lot of nitrogen anyway, but there was certainly very
good fruit crops also last year by and large.

Check out this link:

http://www.puyallup.wsu.edu/~linda%2...les/index.html

The pdf called "Arborist Wood Chips" addresses many concerns, including
I think both the "acidifying" and "nitrogen leaching" arguments. Though
others will of course disagree (as Jake did) and honestly I don't agree
with everything Dr. Chalker writes either.

-E

On 03/20/2012 03:19 PM, shazzbat wrote:
The tree fellers are busy across the road, at long last cutting down a row
of leylandii which this morning were about 10 feet taller than the houses.
They are shredding the branches into a truck, and I'm sure if I asked them
they'd let me have a load. I'm wondering about their suitability as a mulch
for the fruit bushes on the allotment to keep the weeds down. Anybody done
this, and is there a down side? OK, there's always a down side, what's the
down side here?

Steve

Pine mulch, or not.
 

On Tuesday, 20 March 2012 14:19:02 UTC, shazzbat wrote:
The tree fellers are busy across the road, at long last cutting down a row
of leylandii which this morning were about 10 feet taller than the houses.
They are shredding the branches into a truck, and I'm sure if I asked them
they'd let me have a load. I'm wondering about their suitability as a mulch
for the fruit bushes on the allotment to keep the weeds down. Anybody done
this, and is there a down side? OK, there's always a down side, what's the
down side here?

Steve

No downside - get as much as you can. I prefer to let it rot in a big heap but I don't think that's strictly necessary especially if it's being used on subjects with a lowish nutrient requirement. For fruit I would feed with a high K feed before mulching.

Rod

Hi Steve, several years ago I had a similar situation where by I also had a row of mature Leylandii felled. The tree surgeon took away the timber but left the shedded greenery which I left in a pile for about six months by which time it did make a perfect mulch. I'd suggest that if you manage to acquire any that you too leave it in a heap to 'mature'. By the time i got to the bottom of the heap (about a year later) it was like peat and i even used it to bulk up my compost for potting shrubs !! I wish I could have another such pile it was very useful stuff. The only downside is that you need somewhere to store it, I cant think of any other reason why you shouldnt use it. It heats up tremendously when its first put in a heap which not only sterilizes it but also helps to break it down.
best of luck ( I hope its not already spoken for ??) Lannerman.