So over the weekend my neighbor had three huge pine trees removed from his property. These things were probably planted 50 years ago and were full of dead branches down lower in the trees. I’m buddies with the guy who cut them and he gave me about 10 yards of chopped up stump material. Within this material is dirt, or soil, or whatever else one would call 50 years of decaying pine needles. It is heavy and dense, unlike arborist wood chips, and I would say would look like a good soil if allowed to decompose for 6 months. I moved around 5 yards of it into my garden in the pathways and where there were a lot of weeds last year.
Anyone see any problems with me spreading this stuff out around my orchard? I guess my concerns would be the amount of soil in the mix and the fact that it is not wood chips mixed with leaves and bark. Just stump and soil. I’m not so worried about the pH, but I have a tester and would test it before hand.
The removal of these three trees now gives my backyard full sun for most of the winter. I now will be able to attempt winter gardening. I also have room for several more fruit trees.
I don’t think it will be toxic in any way. But it is high organic matter and in 6 months will be just like adding compost. If the extra fertility doesn’t bother you it should be fine. I’m not a fan of high fertility for fruit trees.
It won’t smother out weeds for long. It will be more like fertilizing them.
Wood chips or weed barrier. And I don’t apply much fertilzer. Some of my soil has been over fertilized by past owners to the point of nearly toxic levels of Mn and very high levels of other nutrients that don’t leach out. I think many urban soils will become toxic over the long term.
That’s a nice gift for any grower.
I use wood chips to hold leaves down. I have found that leaves do a better job of suppressing weeds. And everything looks so tidy with the finer ground stump grindings on top.
A potential drawback to more sun in the winter is the warming up of fruit trees, possibly causing an earlier bloom than you might prefer, given the potential for frosts to nip those tender buds.
I think the potential for toxic buildup is a function of rainfall and soil type. Since we live on the green side of the US, it is likely less of a problem.
I used stump mulch for planting into holes for fruit trees. There was a lot of soil content to it. It’s good for fruit trees because the wood component will be a nitrogen sink. Excess nitrogen can lead to fruit drop.
Thanks for the replies everyone. I was planning to put some down over my blueberries. My concern was that I already mulched them with a good inch of pine needle compost then fall leafs. I feel like I would be smothering them.
Truth be told I bit off more than I could chew with all this material and don’t really have a place for it all. Before these trees were taken down I was able to hide all my compost and wood chips and chicken coop and general garden madness but now I am in plain view from all around. I live in the suburbs so my mess needs to be addressed.
I think I will spread it around on the grass in the backyard, plant some cover crops and make a new bed for next season. I really don’t want to risk using it on my fruit trees. They already have a wood chip mulch around them.
You know, you think you don’t have anything to do with it right now, but nobody’s gotten to the end of the summer and said, “Dang! I wish I didn’t have so much compost!”
Ha, I know, the compost always goes so quickly. I just have become hyper aware of what “the neighbors might think” because, straight up, my backyard looks like crap right now. The part of the story I didn’t mention was that there used to be an empty lot behind me and the neighbors with the trees that were removed are recluses and did nothing to their property for the seven years I’ve lived in my house. Everyone else complained, but I didn’t care. First of all, to each their own. Secondly, between their overgrown backyard, those three tall trees and the empty lot behind me, I was hidden. My yard farm remained concealed and no one ever complained to me or the township.
Now, the old guy who owned the lot sold it and there is a $650,000 brand spanking new home that has the super nice deck and huge bay windows and all of the luxury money can buy looking right at my compost bins filled with leafs and chicken poop and paper plates. It is muddy and ugly. On top of that I now have 10 yards of stump dirt just sitting there in the open. When they built the house they tore out all the bushes and trees blocking the recluse’s house. This made the recluse remove his three tall trees and my entire yard is exposed. I always thought as long as I kept it looking nice no one in the suburbs would complain but I don’t want to give anyone any excuses.
I feel like my situation is a microcosm of the development of the world. We will now have less song birds, probably less insects and hopefully less deer. On the other hand I have more room to grow stuff.
I’m kinda hostile to the notion that somebody can move into an area and then try to get people around them to change to meet new standards! “Past practices” should bear some weight here.
Totally agree! This new house looks like a castle compared to the modest homes around it. To be fair, the new neighbors have not said anything and did not ask for the recluse’s trees to be removed. Hopefully they get a fence. I admit it is me being judgemental but now I have to look at this GIANT house with a brand new Range Rover and a pick up truck that must cost $60,000. People who have that lifestyle may have a problem with my self sufficient, low cost, minimal impact lifestyle. Maybe not. Hopefully the six pack of homemade beer and future fruits and veggies I give them will help.
