Then sit back and admire your work.

It was the whole tree.

Some folks like to place a layer of newspaper or porous landscape fabric beneath the mulch. Just don't use plastic as this blocks moisture and nutrients. In flowerbeds I usually use pine bark mini-nuggets or mulch but only the kind that is made from the bark only. Because of this, and the general coarseness of wood chips, they probably are best not used around vegetables and in annual flower beds. But, they are a perfect choice for shrub beds, natural areas, and around trees.

Several research studies have shown there is no nitrogen depletion problem for established wood plants using fresh wood chips. Aug 20, So, can you use fresh wood chips as mulch? In most cases, the answer is going to be no. This is because fresh wood chips, more so than aged ones, will pull a considerable amount of nitrogen from the soil, an imperative gas for proper plant growth.

This is even more important if you know your tree or garden prefers nitrogen-rich soil/5(68). Jun 22, After the tree removal company left a huge pile of mulch in my yard, someone suggested I just use it as mulch in my flower beds.

These are the remains of an elm and two maples, neither diseased (that I know of) and partly mixed with the earth / because these are actually the stumps ground up with the machine. What’s this wood doing in here?

For sure, nitrogen depletion will be a temporary problem when fresh wood chips are incorporated into the soil, which is why we should only use fresh chips as a surface mulch.

Remember a simple rule: use a one-season, biodegradable mulch in your flower beds, such as cocoa bean husks, dried grass clippings, shredded leaves, compost, whatever. A minimum two-inch layer, it will last a season then compost down into a nice organic additive to your.