We use woodchips here in Philly for the same reason. Many gardeners put down carpet scraps to keep weeds from coming up, then cover them with chips. Over time (usually a few months) the chips break down, so spring and fall we shovel them up into the beds to supplement the soil, then spread more chips.
Even if powers-that-be insist on plowing/tilling, chips spread out in the fall will have broken down enough and shouldn't be a problem to spring plowing. Just put cardboard or newspaper down as a base instead of the carpeting. Sally McCabe > Since wood chips are delivered free to our garden, we use them. I have > the tree folks calling me all the time looking for a place to dump their chips > somewhere otherwise they have to pay tipping fees at our local landfill. > > We probably got 15 to 20 dump truckloads of chips dumped in our garden > paths and between the raised beds we created this year. > > See at... http://www.casagarden.com/grow.htm > > In the tomato, cucumber, zucchini, and squash rows, the wood chips you > see are about 15" to 20" deep! The vegetables are growing on rows raised the > same height. > We raised our rows this year to address drainage/soil compaction problems. > Problem solved. I hope to double our yield this year now that these > problems are solved. ______________________________________________________ The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org To post an e-mail to the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: https://secure.mallorn.com/mailman/listinfo/community_garden
