Wood chips can conserve soil moisture to an excess in clay soils, keeping the root and crown area so wet that they rot from soil-borne diseases or simply starve for oxygen. The mulch also hides the soil, making it more difficult to know when to water. Also, wood chips break down and must be re-applied every year or two. Wood chips can also harbor insects that may attack plants, including slugs, earwigs, sowbugs, and ants. These are harmless to the soil, although mushrooms can be poisonous and slime mold is pretty gooshy on the feet.
Some arborists are more than happy to deliver.
In the Fair Oaks orchard and community garden, one arborist has delivered over 20 loads of nice chips. Make sure to ask for clean chips, since some chippers shred rather than chip, and some arborists throw in logs. Coarse, woody chips last longest, while leaves and conifer needles break down quickly. That s a question that s about to be weighed in a federal appeals court, and it s setting off shock waves inside the biotechnology industry. Farming supply dealer Marvin Redenius didn t start out to challenge such agribusiness giants as Monsanto and DuPont.