North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[<jelie@new.rr.com>]

Hello,

If you were to check around you may find some old straw or hay that isn't fit 
to be used for animals.  Checking with local farmers, co-ops, feed mills may 
get you some good leads.  It could lead to voles but you will probably have 
to protect young trees from anything and everything anyway.

Good Luck with the orchard

Jim Elie
Green Bay WI
zone 4/5


---- Evan <kodama@riseup.net> wrote: 
> This may be a silly question, but as I've begun planting and planning  
> my modest orchard, I've run into a lack of available mulching  
> materials (or more likely, I'm just blind to what's staring me in the  
> face). The orchard's in a rural area and there aren't the abundant  
> flows of woodchips and leaf-litter found in the urban areas. But, in  
> consideration of a future with much less energy to spend on  
> woodchippers, I've been wondering what I could use for mulch.
> 
> Right now I'm thinking I'll plant a coppice-or-pollard field  
> downslope where I can take the shoots and lay as mulch around some of  
> my fruit and nut trees upslope. I'm not sure which species I'll use,  
> but possibly a mix of Basswood, Black Birch and maybe even Willow. My  
> thinking is that if I coppice or pollard them on a fairly regular  
> basis I can have a good supply of small woody shoots that will act as  
> a decent mulch, break down relatively quickly and possibly enrich the  
> nutrient content of the soils around my food-trees (I think Black  
> Birch accumulates K, P, and Ca; Tilia P and Ca). I guess I'm  
> wondering if anyone has experience with this sort of thing, what  
> species you use, and how it works.
> 
> In case it's relevant the orchard is/will-be comprised of primarily  
> Hazels, Chestnuts, Crabapples, and Juneberries.
> 
> Or maybe there's blindspot I have and this isn't a good idea?
> 
> Thanks!
> Evan
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