On the Gumtree website and if you do a Google search there are a fair number of tree loppers etc. that provide and will sometimes even deliver much for free. What does everyone think about this resource? Is the use of free mulch something that should be encouraged or does it pose a serious health risk to your plants and or soil?
Go for it! I'll have to see if there is someone offering free stuff near me. Ask some questions first about where it comes from - you don't want stuff that is contaminated with bits of plastic and nasty plants that will sprout from the mulch.
Id say it would be cleaner than some hay mulches people buy that can bring in disease to your garden. Let it pile up for a while till the heat kills any weed seeds, should be fine after that.
It is amazing how much you can get just by asking. The local firewood company in Cowra delivered 4 trucks worth which I used for a large hugelkulture. The were wrapped that I could use what they regarded as rubbish and which they had to get rid of. In cities it is also very expensive to move tree clippings from where they are trimmed to a green waste facility so just ask but as eco noted, check that there isn't rubbish with it. Even 'forest litter' I once paid for in Canberra had a heap of plastic and other rubbish in it, it was cheap put made me work for hours and hours to get rid of all the crap in it.
You need to know what trees you are being given. Pine and gums are a different beast than trees without lots of resin or volatile oils in them. Also, the proportions of green vs woody. Just so you know the best things to do with it.
the wood chip from the tree lopper we have used had everything from mango to eucalypts and beyond in it, never caused any discernible issues the types of wood. also used more spoilt hay's and sugar cane mulch than i would like to count and again never had any disease or other issues. len
People use pine bark mulch here specifically because there are enough oils in it to kill weeds. Just saying one needs to think about what one is doing rather than blanket all much is good all the time in every situation.
Woody stuff will lock up nitrogen and promote more fungus than bacterial growth in soil. So probably best used on perennials rather than annuals.
One of my only posts on Permies. I get everywhere espousing woodchip. From reading, the small interface between soil and chip is the only place where you nitrogen drawdown occurs. That may affect shallow-rooted annuals.
I was hoping Leila might post in this thread too. Is it true that the issue with chips, as opposed to logs/hugelkulture, is the surface area and speed?
Probably It is all good, but wood needs nitrogen to break down and you will get some soil N loss initially, so best not to use a lot of it on plants that have high N demands, use Sugar cane, mush. compost or other grass mulch; or compensate by also adding N.
'Issue' as in speed of the breakdown compared to logs? If yes, that can be construed as a positive or negative depending on application and purpose. In the style of 'hill culture', slower-composting rotten logs would generate potential warmth for longer, thereby drawing out the microclimate you are attempting to achieve. It would also act as a hotel for soil fauna and flora, I imagine. All depends on climate really. I don't know of anyone posting that has built their garden like mine, just digging loads of mulch directly into the subsoil in compacted lawn. No manures, nothing. If I had my time again, funnily enough, I'd use more mulch. The best parts of the garden are the ones with more mulch in them. At first, I was worried because it was very dry that parts of the garden would fail but once it started raining, 9 months on and there are barely any chips left (just hardwood Eucs I'm assuming when you come across the odd heavy chunk). Where there is more subsoil, it looks like subsoil, dry-ish and lifeless. Where it is mulch, it is fluffy, wet and dark. I can take a video of this section (top left), it's branches, trench subsoil laid on top and then covered with mulch and a thin spreading of mushroom compost to germinate a 'Good Bug Mix' and Red Clover. I'll just thrust my hand into sections if any one wants to see what 1 year mulch looks like. It's only ever had one serve of straw, here.
Anyone used this before? https://www.mulchnet.com/ from the website: "MulchNet.com is Australia's most innovative & energy efficient delivery system for FREE, renewable & sustainable resources...MulchNet.com connects local contractors that have excess products to local clients"
No - but what a great concept! It links up tree loppers with excess mulch with people who want mulch. You can purchase it (pretty good prices too) to guarantee that you get some, or register for free mulch and if there is any left over after the orders are filled you win a pile of mulch. I've registered and will see what happens next...
