To Mulch, or not to Mulch?

[christreeroot]

Nice to hear it's not just theory - do you think it would have helped in this situation?

 

 

Yes in short, the tree is not to far gone, what i try to explain to people is that most of the time you wont cure the tree but are infact treating an illness to prolong life.

[Dean Lofthouse]

I would imagine terravent would depend heavily on soil type, clay soils wouldn't respond well ?

[Giles Hill]

The air spade is supposed to be more effective because you loosen the whole soil profile, basically by standing there and blasting away continuously, working from the surface down - whereas the terravent is inserted and tends to blast out horizontally, sometimes lifting the ground up and dropping it without breaking it down...

 

The air spade works on clay, but it takes longer.

 

(He said knowledgeably without having actually used either system)

[D Mc]

David, what a great job! I wish more people would carry out ideas and thoughts in such a competent manner. I am a firm believer in the growing of life in the soil. There are times when things need to be hurried along, perhaps as with certain pathogens which become opportunistic with imbalance, but for the most part I prefer to let life happen. It just needs food, habitat, shelter and time, like everything else.

 

Good job.

 

Dave

[David Humphries]

David, what a great job! I wish more people would carry out ideas and thoughts in such a competent manner.

Dave

 

Appreciate the comments, and once again thanks for the input, Dave.

 

I will update the thread to show whether or not this system does indeed have benefit.

 

Am also considering the purchase of an Air Spade, so will hopefully balance the debate on different techniques in the future.

 

 

.

[Arob]

As far as the worms go, if you use fresh tree chips with leafy matter as well, within 6 months to a year, you should not find any ground under that area that does not have worms.

 

If you build it, they will come.

 

Cardboard is a proven and inexpensive barrier. I prefer it to the weed mat. To suppress grasses without a barrier requires at least 8" of mulch. This could be too much for a veteran tree.

 

Dave

 

 

Daves right, damp corrugated cardboard has an amazing ability to increase worm populations, I heard Bob Flowerdew on Gardeners Question time 3 or 4 years ago explaining that it's because of the glue that is used, the worms go crazy for it.

You'll find worms crawling up and down the 'tubes', have no idea where they come from, but they multiply!

[Giles Hill]

Yes in short, the tree is not to far gone, what i try to explain to people is that most of the time you wont cure the tree but are infact treating an illness to prolong life.

 

Chris,

 

Would you recommend this treatment be carried out at any time of year, or during certain ground conditions?

 

I was wondering about potential problems with root disturbance / desication.

[Lee Winger]

Chris,

 

Would you recommend this treatment be carried out at any time of year, or during certain ground conditions?

 

I was wondering about potential problems with root disturbance / desication.

 

Soil decompaction can be carried out anytime of the year, adding fert and mychorhizae is a waste of time during the trees dormant period

[Lee Winger]

This is the type of thing that Glyn Percival was recommending for air spading to stimulate root growth. He showed pictures of the ground being loosened with the air spade

 

Folks might want to be a bit careful, steaming in with an Air-spade, ie decompacting the entire root zone of a tree, common sense should explain why..

[Lee Winger]

I would imagine terravent would depend heavily on soil type, clay soils wouldn't respond well ?

 

 

Any form of soil decompaction has to be good, how well certain machines do the job is another matter