Sheet Mulching With Wood Chips

Getting lots of wood chips straw stable bedding leaves pine needles compost and other mulching materials isn t always easy.

Sheet mulching with wood chips.

I sometimes even use rhubarb leaves. The actual process of sheet mulching is simple. Get the right materials. If you don t own a truck and don t have friends with large farms or livestock finding enough material to cover a large garden is a pain.

Sheet mulching materials ramial chipped wood rcw for creating a no dig garden bed you can build you soil over the cardboad using wood chips or ramial chipped wood. To cover the first layer. Sheet mulching uses equal portions of each in alternate layers. Greens are nitrogen sources such as vegetable scraps coffee grounds grass clippings fresh manure cow horse or poultry alfalfa pellets cottonseed meal soybean meal and blood meal.

Unless the soil where you re planning to sheet mulch is already very moist set up a. Place the cardboard burlap bags or newspaper over the area you are sheet mulching making sure the edges overlap. You can make your own rcw purchase it get it for free from pruners tree services. Lay newspaper on the grass where the bed is to go.

Screw together corner braces and 4 foot 2 12 s. Steps ask the lumber store to cut wood for you. Gather enough wood chips fall leaves straw etc. More labor intensive method.

If you are only using cardboard to smother weeds and not to sheet mulch the bed you can skip the compost layer and cover it with a thin layer of wood chips or straw mulch to hide the cardboard. Most importantly organic mulch encourages soil organisms like earthworms and feeds the soil as it decomposes. Wait at least 6 months for the grass or other vegetation to fully break down before planting. Some good mulching materials include chopped leaves hay grass clippings wood chips and newspaper.

Dig out sod under area to be. Browns are carbon sources such as dry leaves straw paper cardboard sawdust animal bedding mixed with manure corn stalks pine needles wood chips etc. If this is your first sheet mulch start small. You ll need cardboard mulch and or organic matter and manure but that s optional.

You can use it as decorative mulch or for recreate your soil and make it rich in micro organisms. Then add the wood chips or other mulching material on top. But if you want to build the perfect sheet mulch here s how. Ramial chipped wood rcw is an organic material used for making wood chip mulch.

Fill with leaves coffee grounds grass clippings and. The raw material consist of chipped branches of trees min. If you want to grow healthy nutrient dense produce building soil is the way to go. In addition to enrich garden soil using this material as organic mulch.

Add on 12 foot 2 12 s.