Landscaping

Wood chips are better than gravel at retaining moisture, which is why they are popular in Texas for landscaping gardens and shrubs.  Natural Texas tree mulch, aka, the wood chips left from having tree stumps ground down, will reduce germination of weed seeds, stabilize soil temperatures and hold in moisture.  Wood chips do break down over time.  This is a good thing as it adds carbon to the soil, however, beware that fresh wood chips can use up a bit of nitrogen during decomposition, which may lower the ph of the soil and produce heat. You can mitigate this effect native Texas wood mulchwith:

  • Newspaper – Placing a newspaper layer underneath the mulch can add a buffer to help mitigate this problem. By the time the newspaper breaks down, the wood chips will be further along in decomposition and will most likely be ready to start supplying benefits to the soil.
  • Placement – Putting wood chips along the edges of garden (keeping it away from base of plants) can also help control the effect of using fresh wood chips.

Creating a Natural Pathway

Wood chips can also be used to create a path or walkway through your garden. Their natural color blends in to give an earthy feel.  For a pathway it won’t matter if the mulch is fresh, so mulch from a freshly ground stump can be perfect for a walking path, or mulch around a shed or garbage cans.

Rejuvenating the Soil

Whether you are growing your own vegetables or composting it is important to create the right balance of nutrients in your soil. Wood chips are one of the best materials to use since they are a concentrated source of carbon, which feeds the soil ecology and carbon tends to be one of the nutrients that is far too low in the soil.  Wood chips also attract one of nature’s best fertilizers, earthworms, that will further enrich and refresh your soil both through digestion and by borrowing tunnels which allow air and water to get to the roots of plants.

 

Learn more about composting

 

[wc_button type=”primary” url=”https://www.earthhaulers.com/portfolio/native-wood-mulch/” title=”Native Texas wood mulch” target=”self” position=”float”]Earth Haulers Native Tree Mulch[/wc_button]