Wood Chips

Do you think wood chips spread on open fields and incorporated for vegetable farming is a good idea?
I do not believe it is good on potato ground because it may cause scab issues on the potato skins.

Wouldn't that sourer the ground? Be good for blue berries.

Spudm,Here is a good read.
Wood Chips

It is good for blueberries. But I also think adding organic matter would be good for everything. My understanding is the breakdown of the organic matter releases organic acids, that in turn dissolves mineral matter, that feed the plants. My thinking, it is always good.

Some trees are toxic , so I would be carefull where the chips came from. That said the wife uses chips on flower gardens. joe

Some say walnut chips are not good. I get free chips from tree trimmers who are glad to get rid of them. Last year I got about 30 truck loads in the summer. There was leafs in the chips too. You need to let that stuff sit, it smells with the leafs decaying. I put some pine chips and pine needles around my wild raspberry to cover up the poison ivy. Well I got rid of most of the ivy and the raspberries are loving it. I used a few loads to cover up ragweed in the gravel pit. Wood chips in flower beds take about 5-6 years before they break down into what looks like dirt. Flowers love it. It traps the moisture and seems to add nutrients.

I have a friend who has horses. Each year I get 8 dump trailer loads of horse poo, sawdust, hay and lime. I also get about 7000 lb of Ag lime and mix in. Let the horse poo sit for a year, mix in a few chips and you have good organic mulch.

The boss wants to plant flowers in her old gravel pit, which is down to sand and gravel, no top soil. By using horse poo mixed with Ag lime, covered with wood chips, the flowers are loving it.

The last few years, I dig holes with PHD instead of using tiller. Then I fill the holes with last year's mulch. The garden is loving it too. I also mix in grass clippings and leafs in mulch pile. All the free organic stuff is making dirt.

I think it would be best to allow all the organic stuff to sit in a pile for a year or two for the microbes to break it down. I waited for the winter to move some of my chips, less moldy smell.

Eats up N to decompose wood chips. Will not help to increase fertility.

I agree with Bruce keep it off of your corn and bean ground. it will cost you money

I would pile it, mix in N and let it compost for a couple of years first.

I would say it needs to look like this, then it makes great soil amendment, compost it first, aerate, keep moisture in the pile and add nitrogen, green grass clippings or what have you if organic. This was hardwood sawdust bedding and horse manure, took some time to break down, much or all of it was oak, that's why its so black.

When can you drop that off at my place?

I believe that is the process that the glaciers did when they deposited all the loam.

That was a good read. Thank you.

Wow, that's impressive!
I guess a manure spreader would work good when it comes time to spread them out on the property. I don't have one though....

I dump stuff like that into the animal pens so it gets mixed into the manure.It will break down faster when soaked with manure "tea". Yes it does eat nitrogen and adds some acids to the soil. Having plant matter in your soil holds water and will carry you through a dry spell later.
J

I used chips from the joiner and planer as mulch. It killed the strawberries and stunted the onions. I had been building a walnut mantle for a friend. No more walnut mulch for me.