2 years ago the Golf Course on base that I work on had a bunch of trees/limbs mulched/chipped/shredded into a huge pile. Last year I got several loads of it for around my trees and blackberries. This year a lot of it has broken down into very fine and sometimes dirt like. Am I still ok to put this around them, or should I put coarser material around?
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It’s fine to use as mulch, but regardless of whether it’s fresh or broken down you will follow the same rule for not mounding it up around tree trunks unless they’re of a species (and age) that will push roots on buried sections of trunk. Otherwise, holding moisture against the lower trunks on areas that won’t develop roots can cause health issues.
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That my friend is gold - use generously!
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Like what Jonathan said, you can still use it, but follow all the normal rules about using mulch properly. I’d also spread a thinner layer than you would with normal mulch. The finer particles will pack more densely so 2 inches of this is like 5 inches of coarse mulch.
It will improve your soil faster, but it’ll need to be replaced faster. A bit of a trade-off.
You can also use it as a gardening soil amendment or in potting mixes. Well composted mulch like that is pretty nice stuff.
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Take all you can get! Apply only a thin layer 2-3” near the trunk, with thicker layer out to a foot beyond the drip line. Even better if you inoculate it with micorrhizae from your local forest! Stockpile what you can for future applications as your mulch is consumed.
This article by University of Oklahoma list plants that benefit from types of mycorrhiza: https://extension.okstate.edu/fact-sheets/mycorrhizal-fungi.html#:~:text=Arbuscular%20mycorrhizae%20(AM)%20are%20the,association%20exchange%20water%20and%20nutrients.
How to make your own mycorrhizal fungi: How to make your own mycorrhizal fungi
Dennis
Kent Wa
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Gold! Broken down mulch even better. Its kind of mulch with compost now
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For keeping down weeds wood chips are better, when they break down enough they become rich compost that plants can thrive in- including weeds…
Is compost golden? If your soil needs more organic matter it certainly is, but mature fruit trees run best on lean in the humid regions- compost is loaded with nutrients and even often hosts nitrogen fixing fungus that pull N form the air. It’s colloidal quality also absorbs a lot of available water for the trees, which you may not want when trees have fruit ready to harvest within a month.
All that said, I believe Florida soils tend to be sandy and the long seasons consume organic matter in the soil- it breaks down faster when soil is warm and oxygen rich as sandy soils are if they drain.
When I transplant bearing age fruit trees from my nursery .I always use about 5 cubic feet of compost as a top dressing beneath a similar volume of wood chips or shredded wood creating slightly raised mounds. This generally assures rapid recovery, even jn conditions of neglect. Insuring the survival of my trees their first year generally costs me nothing.
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I currently have a small pile of mushroom compost that was delivered like 3 years ago… and a small pile of wood chips that I got 4 years ago and another large pile of wood chips that are 2 years old now.
When I plant a new fruit tree… i give them a layer of mushroom compost… then a layer of the oldest mulch… then a layer of the most recent mulch. Everything is growing well.
TNHunter
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