This is great info, Mike. Especially for using mulch as a potting soil component. In the garden, however, there are very good uses for the arborist chips, beyond paths. They are superb for mulching around established trees and shrubs. And, a note on the nitrogen. Yes, when the wood chips are fresh, whether arborist chips or the dyed shredded wood, they suck nitrogen from the surface of the soil. This is a good thing if you are using it for weed suppression, because the weed seeds don't have enough nitrogen to get going. Over time, the wood chips stop sucking the nitrogen, though. As they break down, as they always do, then they release the nitrogen back into the soil, and improve it. You can see this in a forest, where the nurse logs (wood!), have lots of baby trees and other plants growing out of them.

I disagree regarding the arborist's mulch. It's a mixture of bark, leaves, branches and wood, which provides a great deal of nutrition as it decomposes. The uneven shape and size of these chips also help it knit together well while at the same time not compacting. This keeps it in place and suppresses weeds but still lets air and moisture through. I find they begin breaking down within a year, promote worm activit, and greatly improve soil structure. One of the best if not the best options in many planting applications.

I seen in the comments, some overlooked your important fact Mike, that ground bark mulch contains more nutrients, than the others. That's why we only provide dark bark mulch to our customers. You did great on getting the point across the others can rob nitrogen from your plants, most got that.

I TOTALLY agree with you Mike! I grew up in a landscaping/farming family, we have use the bark mulch for as long as I can remember and continue to use it on my VAST landscaped yard/farm. It retains water, slows down weeds and adds a ton a "food" for my plants! The other examples you showed are a NO GO! I am so glad you are posting these videos...very helpful! In landscaping and plant care experience wins!!!

Right On Mike nice to hear the straight goods from someone there is so much B.S. out there !!! Thanks from a Canadian who enjoys your channel..

Wonderful channel ... learning so much from you . Thanks mike.

I and people in the Phoenix area use the mix tree mulch from the tree service for 3 reasons. 1. it is FREE, and 2. It is a mulch, it is mainly use to cover the ground and preserve moisture and prevent weed growth and also give a micro environment for bugs and fungi. and 3. It does eventually breaks down at different rate, first the leaves and pines, second the bark and lastly the larger pieces. If you ever lift up the larger pieces you'll find that is where worms and other bugs loves to hang out. We don't use mulch to provide nutrition to our trees and plants. We use compost which we put under the mulch and work it into the soil. This has been tried and has gotten almost 100% success. You can use anything as mulch as long as you are using it as mulch and not compost.

thanks Mike for putting out some good information

Thank You Mr. Mike!

A guy named Paul Gautschi who lives in Washington state uses wood chips from tree service companies and grows a great garden. You can see his garden in a film called Back to eden film. Just do a web search to find the film on the web

@Mariecl3

5 жыл бұрын

Hi Nick Costanza, I have seen those videos and they are very engaging. My understanding is that he has a clay soil, and after watching this video from Learn Organic Gardening at GrowingYourGreens (kzread.info/dash/bejne/pmdnw9yJerm4fag.html) it would seem that wood chips do work great on clay soil after a good few months and I think that is what happened for the Back to Eden family.

I get a free truckload of tree chips from evergreen trees every couple of years. I use it to mulch my flowerbeds. I have no lawn and use it on pathways. What does not get used, goes to the mulch pile. After a year or so, it has nicely decomposed into dark soil which I use in pots. I have not purchased mulch in bags for years and likely never will again.

@ns2443

7 жыл бұрын

peggyt1243 How do you get it?

@peggyt1243

7 жыл бұрын

I phone Gary who owns a tree service. Sometimes it might take a week or two before he takes down an evergreen tree but when he does he just backs his truck loaded with chips into my driveway.

@goodnamesareallgone1

7 жыл бұрын

You can also check with your local parks and rec department (if you have one). Ours has big piles of this stuff (from the city's wood chipping efforts) free for the taking.

Thanks for such valuable information. I'm sure it will come in hand for me cause i work in lawn & garden at the Cleveland Walmart.

Hey Thanx Mike. I really like your videos and God bless you. I wish I had time to help you out there. ;-)

So much wonderful wisdom ty!🌼🌼🌼

Very informative...thank you so much!

Thanka a lot. Very informative.

Great advice as usual

I was hoping you would critique cedar mulch, which I've been using as a top layer in containers. Elsewhere online I read that it was the best to use because it retained moisture and prevented weeds. The former was mostly why I use it, the weeds in my containers are almost non-existence even w/o the cedar mulch.

Thanks Mike!

I live in Kansas. Where can the hardwood bark mulch be found? Thanks, I love the fact there is a mulch that has added nutrition for my soil..

what about pine chips or cedar chips- i see them at home depot in bags. I actually made leaf mulch this past fall- i took in all my neighbors bags of leaves and used the lawn mower mulching blade over and over to grind to bits -i added pine straw (dead pine needles)to it and re mulched with mower. Can't wait til spring to use in my veggie garden.

Thanks for the information

How about pine straw? We use it down south and although it has no nutritional value, it works great at keeping the weeds out!

Good info. Thanks

great info. thx

I put the crap mulches at the bottom of my raised beds (to use less of the expensive top soil haha) but I fertilize the heck out of my gardens so after a few years all the wood chips and branches are practically vaporized 😆

Thanks for the info well this yr I will not put the worst stuff down anymore. I am like everyone else we are so ready for spring and am ready to till my garden now lol.

The tree trimmer's ground branches work every well for the clay soils in West Texas and helps loose the soil for a couple of years before it turns into black soil.

Great video!

well done! thanks

This is a very detailed video. Thanks for the info. ;0)

good help thanks

Appreciate your sharing..

Thanks for the share

With the wood chips, I hear it's good to use if you put chicken manure on top of it.

Good idea sir to know bout diferent soil thnk

great video. thanks

Thank yoi

Don't forget, termites love wood. So don't use near house.

@Ramsez

4 жыл бұрын

chickens love termites, so if you have chickens, let them peck at the wood for a while

Thanks.

Mike, I live on the east coast, the big box stores sell pine bark mulch, since we have lots of pine here. What is your view on black pine bark mulch?

Looks like I did good on accident. I lay down cypress mulch first then I just put the colored stuff on top.

Hi Mike, thanks for video. I hadn't heard your take on arborist wood chips before. I am curious what your thoughts on this article published by Washington State University about benefits of Arborist wood chips. Thanks!

@ruanddu

5 жыл бұрын

cru.cahe.wsu.edu/CEPublications/FS160E/FS160E.pdf

Do you ever use pea gravel or small river rock to mulch in a garden?

I used red mulch near my fish pond once and it killed EVERYTHING!

It might be more beneficial to buy rubber mulch I’m getting too old to do gardening like I did before

Hardwood bark mulch? Can't find it anywhere!!!

if your scarce on hardwood bark , can you use softwood bark , like popular and such?

It makes since to use a hard wood bark mulch that is fine, so it churns and decomposes back into the soil faster than a large wood chips. I never used died mulch in my beds ever.

@YvonneH

10 жыл бұрын

well I'm sure that's a great idea if you're into eating plastic residues...

What about mulch made from raw cedar and black dye to act as a blanket on non-food gardens? Does this type of mulch offer any nutritional value to the soil once broken down?

Mr.Mike is there anything wrong with me using the tree bark mulch under the died wood in a design bed?

Hi Mike, I have a question please. My wife has several flower beds with a variety of flowers in each. They have been doing great up until recently She purchased some (Black) mulch similar to that shown in this video which we spread throughout her beds. We have been getting some extremely hot days lately and some of her plants are starting to wilt and die. She is convinced it is from the mulch being black. She feels the black color absorbs more heat and is killing her plants. Which I agree black does absorb more heat than a lighter color, but is this enough to kill her plants? Thank you very much for your thoughts on this mater, Dean Butler .

@cutiepie-ik1mv

7 жыл бұрын

Dean Butler _ the black mulch has dye in it and it's bad for your flowers, that's why your flowers are not doing good. I stopped buying it. now I get the brown shredded bark mulch.

Does coconut husk make good mulch?

How about pine or ceder mulch ??? I have read that pine and ceder is acidy, with a low PH ??? Your coments will be appreciated...Thankyou

What's your opinion of cedar mulch? Got a bunch of it.

Can I use pine cedar bedding for horse as mulch?

How about green pine nedles

What about coco coir?

what about coconut coir?

What about cedar mulch?

Ok

90% wood huh? Isn't that kind like what's in the first one you showed us?

@ericmatt2368

5 жыл бұрын

you're really dumb...prob should just keep quiet

free mulch! love the mulch I get from the electric company for free! I have tons!

do you feel the "Back to Eden" method if false?

@Hayden734

7 жыл бұрын

mark t I believe the use of his chicken manure offsets the nitrogen consumption of the degrading process of the wood chips , and I find it hard to believe that the wood chips are devoid of nutrients with as deep as a tree's roots go. yes, maybe the bark has more nutrient value but I wouldn't write off the wood chips just yet

Rhett and link sent me 😀

You don't need nutritional value from the mulch, when you are trying to keep weeds and grass from growing in the landscape. That's exactly what you don't want. If you have flowers in the same area, use the nutritional mulch just around those areas then cover it with the normal mulch. This is why they are making rubber mulch now, because the whole purpose of mulch was to keep animals, bugs, weeds, and grass from irritating areas you don't want them in! ..and why isn't rubber mulch on your list? They sell that too.

I'm starting to experiment with plastic mulching for my vegetable beds .. red; blue; black ...

bears, beets, battlestar galactica

My free tree mulch does not look like yours

This guy's yard and landscape must make his neighbors look like schmucks.

@MrBrinydeep

5 жыл бұрын

Maybe, but our neighbors across the street make us feel that way too. Very well maintained landscaping and gardening that they do themselves. One reason is they have the TIME and MONEY, plus they get lots of SUN, we do not. Oh, and they have a GARAGE they use for potting and winter storage, we don't even have a carport. I don't feel like a schmuck at all.

The racism in that video is in a sky high, thou Mulch God is NOT happy, honor thy Mulch God and you will be spared.

Can I use pine cedar bedding for horse as mulch?