CULT: wood chip mulch
- Subject: CULT: wood chip mulch
- From: L* M*
- Date: Sat, 20 Mar 1999 05:20:48 -0800
From: Linda Mann <lmann@icx.net>
James Brooks, my "neighbor" in east Tennessee zone 6b? wrote about using
wood chips for mulch and Cindy Rust, in climate zone 5b in Missouri
wrote:
> James, when we moved here 5 years ago, a landscaping contractor mulched
> my
> bearded iris with almost 2 feet of woodchips! ... most of the stuff in the
> new
> bed rotted badly. In MAY I finally thought to uncover the bed mulched 2
> feet deep, just to till it up. All iris in it were in excellent shape
> with
> no rot!!
This is interesting - I started burying all my rhizomes in soil or sand
after figuring out that a lot/most/all of my rot problems were a result
of freeze damage & they do better that way. But I've not tried wood
chips. What about summer rot? After it's been really dry for a long
time and then we get a downpour? Or are they uncovered by that time?
Remember the discussion about slime molds being predatory on bacteria?
Maybe the wood chips result in more bacteria being eaten and fewer being
born. & maybe there are more bacterial predators around.
I'm going to have to try some more experiments.... whee more ways to
kill irises!
Linda Mann zone 7a
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