Unpopular opinion: wood chip mulch isn't always the best choice

I used to swear by free wood chips from the tree service crews. But after a job last spring near Portland where the chips were all fresh arborist waste with lots of pine and cedar, the soil stayed too wet and roots started rotting on a client's maples. The client's neighbor used shredded bark instead and that place didn't have any issues. Now I tell people to check what kind of wood is in the mix before piling it on. Anybody else run into trouble with specific chip sources?

2 comments

2 Comments

alice_reed4728d ago

Got burned pretty bad with that myself actually. Had a big load of chips dumped by a tree company that were mostly eucalyptus and black walnut - didn't realize how bad the juglone in walnut chips could be for my garden beds until my tomatoes all went yellow and stunted. The whole thing was a mess because the chips were so green they actually heated up and started smelling like ammonia, which I guess is a sign they're breaking down wrong. Now I tell folks to ask for aged chips or at least let the pile sit for six months before using it around anything sensitive.

noahcampbell28d ago

Yeah, that's fair. I used to just grab whatever chips were free without thinking twice about it. But after hearing your story about the juglone and ammonia smell I started paying way more attention to what's actually in the pile before I spread it around anything important.