My New Best Friend: My Father-In-Law’s Wood Chipper

I have a confession to make. For years, I pretended to be a laidback gardener, but in reality… I was just a gardener who made excuses! You know, the kind of excuses we tell ourselves to justify not doing something we know we should do?

I’ve been reading and writing about the benefits of mulching for years. As Larry so aptly puts it, “mulching is one of the basic elements of laidback gardening.” I KNOW that it prevents weeds, keeps the soil moist, nourishes the earth… In short, I know the theory by heart. But between knowing and doing, there’s sometimes a world of difference…

I admit it: no, my garden IS NOT MULCHED!

My Creative (But Oh So Real!) Excuses

First excuse: my lawnmower doesn’t have a grass catcher. One year, we rolled up our sleeves and raked up a huge pile of leaves. We shredded them and spread them out in the garden.

How frustrating when, after a long day’s work, the country wind blew it all away! My property is very exposed, so my first experience of raking, shredding, and spreading ended with watching half my work fly away to the neighbor’s yard. What a waste of time…

Second excuse: commercial mulch isn’t that expensive… until you calculate how much you need for a huge garden! With the size of my yard, we’re easily talking about $200 or more per year. And the idea of PAYING for something I could technically make myself… hurts my wallet AND my pride!

Third excuse (the most embarrassing): My plants grow just fine without mulch.

Yes, but at what cost? By watering twice as much and weeding constantly all summer long… but I don’t usually brag about that too much…

The Legacy That Changed Everything

And then, as circumstances would have it, we inherited my father-in-law’s garden tools. And then, my friends, I discovered MY NEW BEST FRIEND: the tree ax!

This isn’t just any old wood chipper, it’s THE wood chipper! You know, the kind of tool that looks like a small industrial shredder and turns your branches into perfect chips in seconds? The one that makes a hell of a noise but makes you feel like a gardening superhero? And EVERYONE is watching you (hearing you) and envying you! (Or can’t wait for you to finish making all that noise…)

Bonus: we also got his lawn tractor with a bag for collecting clippings and dead leaves! And it’s a real tractor, folks! No more excuses! Life has just taken away all my reasons for not mulching. (Plus, my greenhouse is finally ready for planting, so I have twice as much area to mulch.)

From “Waste” To Treasure in Seconds

The first time I used the Branch Axe, I had a revelation worthy of a movie. With the little music, the halo of divine light and everything! I literally levitated!

All those branches and pruning waste that I used to leave lying around to decompose… POOF! In just a few minutes, I had mountains of beautiful wood chips.

Ramial chipped wood (RCW) is exactly what my new toy produces. And contrary to what some people believe, almost any natural “waste” can be used as mulch; it’s just a matter of using it in a way that takes its qualities into account.

I started to see my land differently. Wind-broken branches? Mulch! Bramble cuttings? Mulch! Those shrub trimmings? More mulch! I felt like I had discovered a gold mine in my own backyard! And I haven’t even really started mulching everything yet, just a small part because, let’s be honest, it won’t stop raining and it’s sunny just when I have lectures to give!

My Spectacular Conversion

The first tests were… how can I put this? MAGIC! I started by mulching my most problematic box, the one on the south side of the house, which dries out faster than I can water it. Then it rained for a week. Then I waited another week. And my three kiwifruit plants didn’t ask for water! And not a weed in sight! Wait till I get some nice flowers in there, it’ll never be pretty!

As Larry said, mulch prevents most weeds from germinating and keeps the soil moister in summer, which greatly reduces the need for watering. I believed it, I knew it, but now I’m seeing it with my own eyes (can you feel my excitement between the lines?).

The best part? My garden literally feeds itself! My home compost is usually very rich in nitrogen, so this beautiful carbon mulch will balance everything out. Tada!

Here’s what I’ve learned since my conversion (two weeks ago):

1. Variety = quality: I mix different types of branches and leaves (deciduous, coniferous, shrubs) for a more balanced mulch. That way, I’m sure to get plenty of different nutrients.
2. Thickness counts: A good layer of 7 to 10 cm really makes a difference! Compared to 1 cm of leaves blowing in the wind, anyway!
3. Patience = reward: Homemade mulch takes a little time to make (but less than raking leaves!). You have to pick it up, cut off the big chunks, shred it, transport it to the garden… but once it’s gone, it’s gone! It decomposes slowly and adding a little mulch each year will be enough to maintain my beautiful protective layer.

My New Badge of Honor

I can now say loud and proud: I AM A REAL LAIDBACK GARDENER! No more sad excuses, no more embarrassing justifications. My garden works for me, and I work smart with it.

If you’re like me, if you’ve spent years finding reasons not to mulch (no money, no time, no tools, not practical…), know that there may be a simpler solution than you think.

Look around you: do you have a neighbor with a branch chipper you could borrow? Is there a municipal service that shreds branches? Can you team up with other gardeners to invest in a shared tool? Sometimes sawmills and tree trimmers will even give away their “waste”!

Trust me, once you’ve tasted the joys of homemade mulch, you won’t be able to do without it! Your back, your wallet, AND your plants will thank you.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some branches to chop… My new best friend is waiting for me in the garage, and we have a lot of mulch to make!