NT wrote (Wed, 23 May 2012 03:06:18 -0700 (PDT)):
On May 22, 3:19Â*pm, "Jamie D." wrote:

The nitrogen robbing effect of wood chippings is well known, but
imho
I think its overblown.[...] So now I just
dont worry about it, unless the plants concerned are especially
termperamental.
NT

That's good to hear, thanks. There are obviously plenty of people who
say you shouldn't do this or that, then when I ask someone who has
tried, usually it seems just a way to scare new gardeners. I think
we forgot sometimes that plants WANT to grow and most won't drop down
dead at the first thing that Dr Hessayon doesn't recommend.

Thanks again.

--
Regards,
Jamie D.

All the way from sunny Lincolnshire.

"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 2012-05-24 07:45:10 +0100, Jamie D. said:

NT wrote (Wed, 23 May 2012 03:06:18 -0700 (PDT)):
On May 22, 3:19 pm, "Jamie D." wrote:

The nitrogen robbing effect of wood chippings is well known, but
imho
I think its overblown.[...] So now I just
dont worry about it, unless the plants concerned are especially
termperamental.
NT

That's good to hear, thanks. There are obviously plenty of people who say
you shouldn't do this or that, then when I ask someone who has tried,
usually it seems just a way to scare new gardeners. I think we forgot
sometimes that plants WANT to grow and most won't drop down dead at the
first thing that Dr Hessayon doesn't recommend.

Thanks again.

You can put bark chippings round plants but they do rob the soil of
nitrogen and you may need to feed to compensate for that. Over time,
things will sort themselves out but you probably won't want a lot of sick
looking shrubs while they do. Plants do, indeed, want to grow. I agree
with you 1005 on that. However, what they don't want is us to do anything
that might deter them from doing so to best effect! And I can't think
of a reason why anyone would want to scare new gardeners. In fact, the
last person my husband warned about the bark chippings 'problem' was a
very old lady who had been a very keen gardener for decades but had no
idea why all her Camellias had rapidly turned yellow. Her gardener had
tried to save weeding time.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
www.hillhousenurserytearoom.com
South Devon



Hi Sacha,

Perhaps I should have reworded; I'm not worried about a nationwide
conspiracy to deter future gardeners, but I've experienced a lot of people
who speak in definite terms about what I am doing wrong, what I will do
wrong and what I can or can't grow.

I get the impression folks I meet think I'm a bit of an ibecile (perhaps I
am, but how can they know that?!) because I'm a lot younger than the rest of
the allotmenauts around me.

--
Regards,
Jamie D.

All the way from sunny Lincolnshire.

On May 24, 9:39*am, "Jamie D." wrote:
"Sacha" wrote in message

...



On 2012-05-24 07:45:10 +0100, Jamie D. said:

NT wrote (Wed, 23 May 2012 03:06:18 -0700 (PDT)):
On May 22, 3:19 pm, "Jamie D." wrote:

The nitrogen robbing effect of wood chippings is well known, but
imho
I think its overblown.[...] So now I just
dont worry about it, unless the plants concerned are especially
termperamental.
NT

That's good to hear, thanks. There are obviously plenty of people who say
you shouldn't do this or that, then when I ask someone who has tried,
usually it seems just a way to scare new gardeners. *I think we forgot
sometimes that plants WANT to grow and most won't drop down dead at the
first thing that Dr Hessayon doesn't recommend.

Thanks again.

You can put bark chippings round plants but they do rob the soil of
nitrogen and you may need to feed to compensate for that. *Over time,
things will sort themselves out but you probably won't want a lot of sick
looking shrubs while they do. Plants do, indeed, want to grow. I agree
with you 1005 on that. *However, what they don't want is us to do anything
that might deter them from doing so to best effect! * *And I can't think
of a reason why anyone would want to scare new gardeners. *In fact, the
last person my husband warned about the bark chippings 'problem' was a
very old lady who had been a very keen gardener for decades but had no
idea why all her Camellias had rapidly turned yellow. *Her gardener had
tried to save weeding time.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
www.hillhousenurserytearoom.com
South Devon

Hi Sacha,

Perhaps I should have reworded; I'm not worried about a nationwide
conspiracy to deter future gardeners, but I've experienced a lot of people
who speak in definite terms about what I am doing wrong, what I will do
wrong and what I can or can't grow.

I get the impression folks I meet think I'm a bit of an ibecile (perhaps I
am, but how can they know that?!) because I'm a lot younger than the rest of
the allotmenauts around me.

I think a lot of the advice about is more about how to do the very
best for plants rather than anything essential. As one moves further
away from those ideal conditions, the failure rate increases, but
there are still a vast amount of plants growing in less than the
ultimate conditions.


NT

"NT" wrote in message
...

I think a lot of the advice about is more about how to do the very
best for plants rather than anything essential. As one moves further
away from those ideal conditions, the failure rate increases, but
there are still a vast amount of plants growing in less than the
ultimate conditions.


NT

I imagine it's just that when I started out there was so much information to
take on board, and seemingly so many do's and don't's in the books I've
read.

Luckily groups like this and other messageboards allow for a wide range of
opinions, etc.

Thanks again for the comments; of course I try to follow the information and
advice I get to get the best results, it was just a bit daunting to think
that I seemed to make a mistake at every turn when I was dipping a toe into
the world of growing my own (and gardening in general).

--
Regards,
Jamie D.

All the way from sunny Lincolnshire.

On Thu, 24 May 2012 09:39:54 +0100, "Jamie D."
wrote:


Perhaps I should have reworded; I'm not worried about a nationwide
conspiracy to deter future gardeners, but I've experienced a lot of people
who speak in definite terms about what I am doing wrong, what I will do
wrong and what I can or can't grow.

I get the impression folks I meet think I'm a bit of an ibecile (perhaps I
am, but how can they know that?!) because I'm a lot younger than the rest of
the allotmenauts around me.

I was 23 when I acquired my first allotment. I discovered the next
youngest person on the site was 58 and he'd been viewed as an
inexperienced youngster until I arrived.

For a while, all I got was "I wouldn't do it that way" but over time
the oldies realised that while I was young, I'd done a lot of research
and some of my ideas worked and I noticed that others were following
my methods. I also learned a lot from them. A couple of years later a
21-year-old took a vacant plot and the oldies were at it again. This
time, though, they encountered someone who'd just completed a 3-year
horticulture course at Pershore and was embarking on a full-time
career! His view was that he knew it all. But over time he softened
and listened to the oldies and the oldies learned a bit from him.

And so it goes on; sometimes the old ways are better and sometimes the
new. Ideas change. The climate changes. We try new things out; try to
grow something that others say will never grow in our soil. Sometimes
we win, sometimes we lose.

But we never stop learning.

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling from the asylum formerly known as the
dry end of Swansea Bay.

On 05/24/2012 10:39 AM, Jamie D. wrote:
"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 2012-05-24 07:45:10 +0100, Jamie D. said:

NT wrote (Wed, 23 May 2012 03:06:18 -0700 (PDT)):
On May 22, 3:19 pm, "Jamie D." wrote:

The nitrogen robbing effect of wood chippings is well known, but
imho
I think its overblown.[...] So now I just
dont worry about it, unless the plants concerned are especially
termperamental.
NT

That's good to hear, thanks. There are obviously plenty of people who say
you shouldn't do this or that, then when I ask someone who has tried,
usually it seems just a way to scare new gardeners. I think we forgot
sometimes that plants WANT to grow and most won't drop down dead at the
first thing that Dr Hessayon doesn't recommend.

Thanks again.

You can put bark chippings round plants but they do rob the soil of
nitrogen and you may need to feed to compensate for that. Over time,
things will sort themselves out but you probably won't want a lot of sick
looking shrubs while they do. Plants do, indeed, want to grow. I agree
with you 1005 on that. However, what they don't want is us to do anything
that might deter them from doing so to best effect! And I can't think
of a reason why anyone would want to scare new gardeners. In fact, the
last person my husband warned about the bark chippings 'problem' was a
very old lady who had been a very keen gardener for decades but had no
idea why all her Camellias had rapidly turned yellow. Her gardener had
tried to save weeding time.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
www.hillhousenurserytearoom.com
South Devon



Hi Sacha,

Perhaps I should have reworded; I'm not worried about a nationwide
conspiracy to deter future gardeners, but I've experienced a lot of people
who speak in definite terms about what I am doing wrong, what I will do
wrong and what I can or can't grow.

I get the impression folks I meet think I'm a bit of an ibecile (perhaps I
am, but how can they know that?!) because I'm a lot younger than the rest of
the allotmenauts around me.


I'm currently in the second year of an experiment with fresh wood chips,
putting down ~ 10 m3 around the garden. I am basing the experiment on
work of Dr. Linda Chalker-Scott in the following link
http://www.puyallup.wsu.edu/%7Elinda.../Woodchips.pdf

"Concern: Wood chip mulches will tie up nitrogen and cause deficiencies
in plants.
Evidence: Actually, many studies have demonstrated that woody
mulch materials increase nutrient levels in soils and/or associated
plant foliage. My hypothesis is that a zone of nitrogen deficiency
exists at the mulch/soil interface, inhibiting weed seed germination
while having no influence upon established plant roots below the soil
surface. For this reason, it is inadvisable to use high C:N mulches in
annual beds or vegetable gardens where the plants of interest do not
have deep, extensive root systems."

I am mulching _all_ trees and shrubs but not flower beds. So far the
benefits appear to far outweigh the risks, which seem to mainly be
associated with moisture retention near woody stems. Of course your
mileage may vary!

Sacha the Weigela coraeensis from Hillhouse is performing beautifully
with this treatment, it's already 4 times the original size and about to
flower. I'm really pleased it's found it's place so well. (BTW
hydechiums come out of the tunnel this WE, we had a light frost on 13
May! But they're doing great.)

-E

Jamie D. wrote:
I imagine it's just that when I started out there was so much information to
take on board, and seemingly so many do's and don't's in the books I've
read.

Luckily groups like this and other messageboards allow for a wide range of
opinions, etc.

Maybe all sources of information should clearly mark things "this is essential2
and "this is recommended" and "some people like to"

In article ,
says...

Jamie D. wrote:
I imagine it's just that when I started out there was so much information to
take on board, and seemingly so many do's and don't's in the books I've
read.

Luckily groups like this and other messageboards allow for a wide range of
opinions, etc.

Maybe all sources of information should clearly mark things "this is essential2
and "this is recommended" and "some people like to"

Or we could just hand out bibs, spoons and highchairs.

Janet