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This is only a problem if you till a bunch of it into the soil.
Wood mulch sitting atop the soil is not a problem at all. It breaks down only slowly, and remember there is no NET loss of nitrogen from the soil from this process -- even in a worst case scenario, when wood or other high-carbon products are tilled in, they only *temporarily* steal N from your plants. Once decomposition is complete, N is jsut as available as it was before. Uh, unless you have already tilled some fresh stuff in by then, like your aunt <g>
This is only a problem if you till a bunch of it into the soil.
Wood mulch sitting atop the soil is not a problem at all. It breaks down only slowly, and remember there is no NET loss of nitrogen from the soil from this process -- even in a worst case scenario, when wood or other high-carbon products are tilled in, they only *temporarily* steal N from your plants. Once decomposition is complete, N is jsut as available as it was before. Uh, unless you have already tilled some fresh stuff in by then, like your aunt <g>
Cheap wood mulch may be from treated wood that can leech chemicals in to your garden.
Right, that's why people should get GOOD mulch
And, for the reasons you mention elsewhere in your post, don't mulch too deep. You do ANYTHING stupidly it will backfire; doesn't mean it can't be done WELL
Honest, I have been mulching my beds and paths with shredded cedar (undyed) for years now, not an excessive amount, just enough to get the job done. I do not cultivate my perennial/shrub beds at all, unless pulling weeds occasionally counts as cultivating. I started with hard packed clay soil. I can now scoop out holes to plant new plants with my bare hands, unless the soil is very dry in which case it is quite easy with a trowel. ALL that has happened to these beds, aside from not being stomped on, is the natural slow decomposition of the light mulch atop them, and its natural incorporation into the soil by worms and frost and so forth. The soil has also gone from pale to very dark.
Of course you can use something else if you WANT to (although straw etc are just about as high in N and low in C as wood chips are, so there are the exact same N issues potentially involved; the fibers in straw etc are just less resistant so they break down *faster*). All's I'm saying is that wood mulch left atop the soil works JUST FINE, it does NOT have any ill effects on the soil. And it does last longer as a pathway material than most other non-mineral mulches.
Good luck, have fun,
Pat
Right, that's why people should get GOOD mulch
Honest, I have been mulching my beds and paths with shredded cedar (undyed) for years now, not an excessive amount, just enough to get the job done. I do not cultivate my perennial/shrub beds at all, unless pulling weeds occasionally counts as cultivating. I started with hard packed clay soil. I can now scoop out holes to plant new plants with my bare hands, unless the soil is very dry in which case it is quite easy with a trowel. ALL that has happened to these beds, aside from not being stomped on, is the natural slow decomposition of the light mulch atop them, and its natural incorporation into the soil by worms and frost and so forth. The soil has also gone from pale to very dark.
Of course you can use something else if you WANT to (although straw etc are just about as high in N and low in C as wood chips are, so there are the exact same N issues potentially involved; the fibers in straw etc are just less resistant so they break down *faster*). All's I'm saying is that wood mulch left atop the soil works JUST FINE, it does NOT have any ill effects on the soil. And it does last longer as a pathway material than most other non-mineral mulches.
Good luck, have fun,
Pat
