North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Lucky Pittman <lucky.pittman@murraystate.edu>]

Jerry, 
For surface-applied mulch, I have no problem whatsoever applying fresh
wood chips.  
Acid, schmacid.  They're going on top of the ground to help hold
soil moisture and suppress weed growth - I'm willing to bet that if you
steeped the fresh chips in water and stuck in a pH probe, it would be in
the neutral range.
I don't even buy into the old saw about fresh wood chips 'robbing'
nitrogen from the soil.  Yes, nitrogen availability is the
rate-limiting factor in decomposition of woody materials, but no one has
yet convinced me that surface applied mulch steals any significant
nitrogen from deep down in the soil, other than right at the mulch/soil
interface. 

Lucky 


At 12:12 PM 11/14/2007, you wrote:

I recently had the good fortune of having a truck load of fresh wood chips dumped on my property (at my request!)  They are from Poplar Trees (tulip tree) from my neighbor's place who had several very large trees cut down.  The guy doing the cutting said they are no good for mulching until they compost several months because they are too acid.  I was planning on using them on a patch that needs new chips.  But does anyone know:
1.  Is it true they are too acid for mulch when fresh?
2.  Does age take that problem away?
3.  Could I use them for my blueberries, as they seem to constantly need more acid soil?
 
Jerry in southern Indiana

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