North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Lee Reich <lreich@hvc.rr.com>]

No N starvation occurs when wood chips are used as mulch because the 
decomposition is mostly at the interface of chips and soil; a steady state is 
reached where re-mineralization balances out tie-up. That's theory. In 
practice, I've mulched with chips for years and never seen N starvation of 
plants. N starvation, temporary, does occur if the chips are mixed into the 
soil.

Lee Reich, PhD
http://www.leereich.com/
http://leereich.com/blog.html.

Books by Lee Reich:
A Northeast Gardener's Year
The Pruning Book
Weedless Gardening
Uncommon Fruits for Every Garden
Landscaping with Fruit






On Mar 26, 2011, at 9:50 AM, Jim Fruth wrote:

>   If your wood chips are to lay directly on the ground, you'll want to add 
> some nitrogen because the soil bacteria will grab all it can to break down 
> the wood.  With nitrogen bound up in bacteria, there will be less for 
> plants.
> 
> Jim Fruth
> Brambleberry Fruit Farm
> 4002 Davis Street
> Pequot Lakes, MN  56472
> 1-218-831-7018 (My Cell) 
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