Mulching cabbage bed

[adamhartree]

Hi, is it ok to mulch my cabbage bed with wood chips?. Also what is best to mulch the beans with. Thanks all.

[solway cropper]

Wood chips will take nitrogen from the soil as they slowly decompose. Brassicas like lots of nitrogen. The best mulch is rotted organic matter such as compost, leaf mould, manure. Not only do they add something to the soil but they will help conserve moisture as well.

[snohare]

No no NO !!

Woodchips encourage a massive growth explosion in the bacteria that sequester nitrogen. Eventually after they have used all the nitrogen in the wood they will give way to bacteria that process nitrogen into nitrates, which are usable by plants; but meantime, the other bacteria will also suck all the nitrogen out of your soil, depriving your plants of it ! It makes great mulch - eventually, after a year or two. Until then, stick it on your paths...
As far as beans are concerned, I'd be inclined to use grass cuttings, but anything that keeps weeds down and keeps moisture in ( without fixing all the nitrogen ) will do. Once they start flowering, I use banana skins, as the potassium encourages flowers.

[Bigmallly]

This growing game confuses me sometimes. I mulched the spring cabbages last weekend with chippings to keep the slugs at bay and they have gone berserk, almost doubled in size (the cabbages, not the slugs).....really healthy looking plants.........

[snohare]

Fresh chippings (eg from a tree surgeon) = bad.
Old chippings (eg aged for over six months then bagged, sold by B & Q) = good.
Commercial landscaping bark chippings are aged for several months to prevent passing on diseases etc, so bagged chips are usually okay. But anything from a tree surgeon or straight from a garden shredder - really bad idea.

[binley100]

I use coffee grounds and eggshells round my brassicas .......wood chippings go round my fruit bushes and raspberry canes but on top of newspaper ...

[Bigmallly]

I use coffee grounds and eggshells round my brassicas .......wood chippings go round my fruit bushes and raspberry canes but on top of newspaper ...

As if I wasn't confused enough Bin...............I thought coffee was acidic yet brassicas prefer alkaline soil hence lime.....am I missing something?......

[Two_Sheds]

I use banana skins, as the potassium encourages flowers

There's not much potassium in the skin though: most of it's in the fruit, although your soil will have more K than if you don't add the banana skins.

"Although bananas have a reputation as good potassium sources, they contain only 400 mg of potassium each [in the whole fruit]... 1 baked potato has 900 mg. Even a glass of fresh orange juice has...500 mg of potassium per cup"
"[banana] peel contains about 40% of the total potassium (in mg) in [the] average banana."

There's an experiment to test the K in a banana, here: http://www.woodbridgehigh.org/showca...manproject.pdf


I use newspapers for just about everything, wetted then weighted down with soil or grass clippings. For small fiddly crops like carrots & onions, just the grass clippings

[MrsDaffy]

We bought a shredder last year to try recycle branches etc - can I use the wood chippings as mulch if I store them for 6 months or is it only good for paths?

[Albanach]

Fresh chippings (eg from a tree surgeon) = bad.
Old chippings (eg aged for over six months then bagged, sold by B & Q) = good.
Commercial landscaping bark chippings are aged for several months to prevent passing on diseases etc, so bagged chips are usually okay. But anything from a tree surgeon or straight from a garden shredder - really bad idea.

Assuming from the above if you age the chippings they should be fine mrsdaffy

[MrsDaffy]

Thanks, Albanach. I have some which we shredded last Autumn - we went a bit shredding happy and now have piles of the stuff! Hopefully that should be ok to use now.

[snohare]

"Although bananas have a reputation as good potassium sources, they contain only 400 mg of potassium each [in the whole fruit]... 1 baked potato has 900 mg. Even a glass of fresh orange juice has...500 mg of potassium per cup"
"[banana] peel contains about 40% of the total potassium (in mg) in [the] average banana."

Hmm, haven't read it all yet, but I wonder how that works out weight for weight ?
Anyway, thanks for that TS, always good to have some more facts !

[solway cropper]

We bought a shredder last year to try recycle branches etc - can I use the wood chippings as mulch if I store them for 6 months or is it only good for paths?

I shred all my prunings, clippings, etc. and then mix them with grass mowings and bag them up. Add a sprinkle of chicken manure every 4-5 inches as you bag up and in 12 months you have a usable compost. I don't suppose it has much nutrient value but it certainly makes a good mulch and is handy for bulking out potting mixes.

[horticultural_hobbit]

Sooo I shouldn't mulch onions with tree surgeon chippings? that was one of the jobs for tomorrow. Spotted the heap today-newly arrived, you see-and had an ooh moment.

[binley100]

As if I wasn't confused enough Bin...............I thought coffee was acidic yet brassicas prefer alkaline soil hence lime.....am I missing something?......

I just put a ring around them about an inch away to help repel the slimy ones.. they are high in nitrogen but can be miixed with lime to neutralise.