Mulch question

[sandbur]

I use cedar chip mulch and do not really intend to change.

question- When we have winters with little snow, is wood chip mulch a better choice than rock or lime?

Will the wood chips better protect young rootstock against cold temperatures.

 

[SmallChunk]

I was wondering this same thing. I started with the pea gravel when I started planting and haven't tried anything else. Maybe it would benefit me trying a few different techniques and seeing what works best for me and my soils/area

 

[wiscwhip]

Beware of mice and voles digging under your mulch, that is all I know.

 

[j-bird]

I started with weed fabric and then typical landscape mulch. I had an issue where some rodent had burrowed into the mulch and got under the weed fabric and thus chewed off all the support roots and thus killed the tree. I since shifted to weed fabric and creek gravel. Not sand not rocks, roughly golf ball size give or take some. This still holds the fabric in place and still allows the rain to filter thru and I think it still helps retains moisture as well. Since then I have converted to the creek stone and have not had an issue since. I don't have the cold like you guys do.

 

[chummer]

I don't think it would matter from a temp stand point. Mulch and stone are going to freeze the same at the thickness we are using. I don't have a moisture issue so I use lime stone. I put down 100 yards of mulch a year for work so I have grown to hate mulch. Besides the rodents I have seen some nasty fungus and mold that calls mulch home. I had a paving company drop me a few yards of limestone for free last fall. They were done with it and needed a place to dump it. I will be set for the foreseeable future!

 

[leexrayshady]

Where do you get the cedar mulch sanbur?

 

[Jordan Selsor]

I started with weed fabric and then typical landscape mulch. I had an issue where some rodent had burrowed into the mulch and got under the weed fabric and thus chewed off all the support roots and thus killed the tree. I since shifted to weed fabric and creek gravel. Not sand not rocks, roughly golf ball size give or take some. This still holds the fabric in place and still allows the rain to filter thru and I think it still helps retains moisture as well. Since then I have converted to the creek stone and have not had an issue since. I don't have the cold like you guys do.

I second what JBird does an have had good success with this method. I planted roughly 30 seedlings an 12 fruit trees like this an only lost a couple. An we had the harder than normal winter last yr. I don't like how mulch gets moldy an seems to attract more weeds

 

[jwill1776]

Guess I use a mixed approach, three foot circle of pea gravel surrounded by a six foot circle of mulch.

 

[SD51555]

I used cedar for a number of years. I had rodent sign, but they never killed anything. I did have one plum tree dug up, but it seemed like it was from a meat eater digging for a snack that was hiding in the mulch. I used pea gravel for the first time last spring. I used it on my tubed trees, followed by a 4' square of fabric. I used enough gravel to close the gap between the tube and the fabric. I could squeeze three trees out of each bag.

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

My soil is sandy in spots, so I attempt to build it up by spreading leaves, grass clippings and small tree branches around my trees instead of store bought mulch. Over time the leaves and grass clippings should break down and improve the soil around the tree. I use a window screen around the trunk to protect against rodent damage and so far it has worked well. The downside is that I need to re-apply the leaves and grass clippings annually.

 

[Maya]

Bur, Appleman and I went to a seminar put on by UVM at their hort farm a couple years ago. They are studying several things, one being different ground maintenance. They have two blocks of apples, one organic and one IPM. In the organic block has wood chips, the IPM sprayed w/ gly and Simozene. As I remember, the big take home message was to, wrap bases w/ window screen, spray or use mulch but also keep the area nearby mowed. Areas in the orchard close by cover had more vole and rabbit use. If there isn't a lot of over head cover critters do not feel as safe and your trees will be better off. They really like mulch to ad nutrients to soil in the future. As far as protecting roots, they didn't mention that. I have a talk in Feb., I'll try to ask that question for you.

For deer managers, you may not want to keep it perfectly mowed all the time, but keeping it somewhat mowed, burn brush piles and keep bushes nearby to a minimum may be good techniques to keep the varmints away.

Several talks I have gone to they always recommend keeping bare ground under trees will help with warmth in fall and especially spring. The possible degree or two can be the difference between crop loss or not, and maybe some die back or not. They did not mention this helping with winter loss. One talk I went to last summer, they mentioned wild weather swings in late fall can play a role in winter loss, tip die back and bud formation, not just low temps. Trees not totally hardened off are subject to loss when temps rise and then drop precipitously. They mentioned being careful not to fertilize later than the beginning of June or so to keep them from hardening off to late in the fall.

 

[aerospacefarmer]

I started mowing the areas around my trees regularly and I haven't lost a but one tree to vole or mole damage. It allows the predators ie Hawks and Falcons better view and easier access to these nasty critters. One year I ,lost 16 trees and that was painful as some were in 3rd leaf. I don't use any mulch and screen mine but I just noticed I had a girdled tree in my back orchard which I don't cut regularly even though I had it screened. It was a producing Goldrush tree :(

 

[sandbur]

Lee- I buy red cedar mulch in bags from the local hardware store. Menards also has it. Locla hardware store is slightly higher, but I save on gas and like to support the locals.

I use no fabric, but put some cardboard under the mulch this year. I hope that is not a problem. Window screen has controlled the rabbits and voles at this point.

Pocket gophers are the real problem.

 

[aerospacefarmer]

I want to know which varmint goes after the roots under the window screen grrrrrrrrr:mad:

 

[sandbur]

I want to know which varmint goes after the roots under the window screen grrrrrrrrr:mad:

Pocket gophers. They come in about 1 - 2 foot under the ground.
I have a crab that I watered and nursed along all summer. I then left the area alone during late fall as it was near a sanctuary. Now there is a 3 foot wide gopher mound right outside of the cage. Grr.. is right. The tree is probably dead. I have had trees where you can just lift them out of the ground in the spring with no roots left.

 

[aerospacefarmer]

Yes I think Voles as we don't have pocket gophers here in PA so I bet voles that I guess look a bit like gophers

 

[aerospacefarmer]

Many different species of voles, meadow voles or pine voles look just like mice size wise but more brown and short stubby tail, active all winter and snow and deep snow is their friend helps them avoid hawks , owls , normally do not feed on bark but food is short over a long winter and their favorite is fruit wood bark. for bait we use a product called ramik and put it in bait stations made with 2 inch pvc to keep the bait out of the whether and vole love the tunnel effect and find the bait


Trivia one active vole pair can produce 3000 offspring in 8 months

Will give it a try. I stomp any critter like that I see when I am mowing

 

[Jordan Selsor]

Lee- I buy red cedar mulch in bags from the local hardware store. Menards also has it. Locla hardware store is slightly higher, but I save on gas and like to support the locals.

I use no fabric, but put some cardboard under the mulch this year. I hope that is not a problem. Window screen has controlled the rabbits and voles at this point.

Pocket gophers are the real problem.

cardboard is interesting. never heard that idea. I would worry it would keep moisture from light rains from penetrating to the roots... Have you had pretty good success with this?

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

I also put cardboard down before I spread leaves and grass clippings around my apple trees. My theory is that it will help kill weeds for a year or two but it will allow the leaves and grass clippings to improve the soil as they decompose where plastic would prevent the rotten leaves from improving the soil. I've had good luck with that plan so far.

I also use leftover pieces of drywall the same way as the cardboard - it helps smother weeds and eventually it breaks down and helps the soil.

 

[j-bird]

The open area and the frequent mowing is part of why I planted my trees in my perennial clover plots. It also allows me to produce more food in the same space. I may kick myself later for that decision, but for now it has worked out OK. I also toss in a few fertilizer spikes for fruit trees as well every spring.