Mulch Circles

[AJStrees]

In mulching veteran trees to improve their performance and help them along, has any experienced whether there would be any issue with using green waste compost as opposed to well rotted wood chip?

 

If I cannot get hold of enough wood chip then it is far cheaper to buy bulk loads of green waste compost. Does anyone know if this would be a problem to use, have been using it for a while on younger trees and they seem to be quite happy about the compost. 

[Yorkshire Brummie]

In mulching veteran trees to improve their performance and help them along, has any experienced whether there would be any issue with using green waste compost as opposed to well rotted wood chip?
 
If I cannot get hold of enough wood chip then it is far cheaper to buy bulk loads of green waste compost. Does anyone know if this would be a problem to use, have been using it for a while on younger trees and they seem to be quite happy about the compost. 

I’ve used green waste compost as a mulch. I think it all depends on where you source it from. Some of the stuff has been so well rotted, turned and free draining it’s been more of a medium to just keep the weeds down and help the soil retain its moisture. We landscaped and heavily planted a relatively new build property, with little or no existing topsoil, using an excellent product from Dalesfoot composts in Cumbria. Using this stuff to mulch around the planted areas as feed, and the cheaper sterile (low/nil nutrient) compost to bulk up the other poorly soiled areas

Cheers
I

[Peasgood]

Most green waste I’ve seen is full of plastic, glass and foil.

Check the quality before accepting it.

[Stere]

18 minutes ago, Peasgood said:

Most green waste I’ve seen is full of plastic, glass and foil.

Check the quality before accepting it. 

 

Noticed the same id say its best avoided unless you don't mind all the rubbish in it.

[aspenarb]

3 hours ago, AJStrees said:

In mulching veteran trees to improve their performance and help them along, has any experienced whether there would be any issue with using green waste compost as opposed to well rotted wood chip?

 

If I cannot get hold of enough wood chip then it is far cheaper to buy bulk loads of green waste compost. Does anyone know if this would be a problem to use, have been using it for a while on younger trees and they seem to be quite happy about the compost. 

 

I would just be careful you are not introducing a pathogen.

 

Bob

[Gary Prentice]

There's a standard for conformity (PAS100) for green waste compost which should be pathogen free, due to the composting process.

 

I doubt that a compost would provide all of the benefits of wood chip to the soil structure, improving aeration, moisture percolation, etc.

 

 

 

 

[AJStrees]

5 hours ago, Yorkshire Brummie said:

 

I’ve used green waste compost as a mulch. I think it all depends on where you source it from. Some of the stuff has been so well rotted, turned and free draining it’s been more of a medium to just keep the weeds down and help the soil retain its moisture. We landscaped and heavily planted a relatively new build property, with little or no existing topsoil, using an excellent product from Dalesfoot composts in Cumbria. Using this stuff to mulch around the planted areas as feed, and the cheaper sterile (low/nil nutrient) compost to bulk up the other poorly soiled areas

Cheers
I

 

Sounds like it. The stuff I get seems to be pretty good rotted stuff and the worms seem to like it a fair bit. 

 

I get a cube of the stuff for about 7.30 whereas wood chip is about 3 times as much as that. Unless of course I can chip enough myself, but not that often. 

 

But thanks for the input, I will probably read up on composting and green waste and see what I can make of it all. 

 

Cheers. 

[AJStrees]

1 hour ago, Gary Prentice said:

There's a standard for conformity (PAS100) for green waste compost which should be pathogen free, due to the composting process.

 

I doubt that a compost would provide all of the benefits of wood chip to the soil structure, improving aeration, moisture percolation, etc.

 

 

 

 

Will check it out on the BSI website. Thanks for that.

 

Will probably stick to well rotted wood chip for the veterans in need of help with a bit of biochar mixed in.  

[Gary Prentice]

http://www.wrap.org.uk/sites/files/wrap/PAS 100_2011.pdf

 

plenty of info here

 

 

[AJStrees]

7 minutes ago, Gary Prentice said:

http://www.wrap.org.uk/sites/files/wrap/PAS 100_2011.pdf

 

plenty of info here

 

 

Ta. That's just what I was looking for on their website. Cheers