Question about using old growth wood chips for mulch

My friend, a soil scientist, told me 'that old cedar mulch you're using is basically locking up nitrogen for two years while it breaks down' and now I'm rethinking my whole approach to client landscaping beds.

2 comments

2 Comments

margaretm234d ago

Your friend is right about wood chips tying up nitrogen. I switched to using compost as a base layer against the soil, then putting wood chips on top. That way the plants get nutrients from the compost while the mulch on top keeps moisture in and weeds down. It fixed the yellowing I saw on some shrubs. The compost breaks down fast and feeds everything.

clark.robin4d ago

Wait, you saw yellowing on shrubs too? I thought mine were just dying from the heat last summer. Ngl, I spent weeks trying different fertilizers and nothing helped. Honestly makes me wonder how many people have this issue and don't know it's the mulch. I'm definitely trying the compost layer thing this weekend.