By Zelpha A. Boyd
Recently I had the good fortune to have a load of wood chips delivered to my driveway. It was a big load, and they were free! I hauled and hauled; a couple of friends came to help. We covered all the paths in the garden and still had plenty left in the driveway.
Wood chips are preferable to rocks in and around the garden; they’re much softer and do decompose— eventually. While carrying all those chips I was reminded of a big mistake I made while living in Butte.
I moved to Butte from Harrison, downsizing from a larger home. The small house I bought was on a corner lot with two huge evergreen trees. Deciding that they had to come down, I hired lumbermen to do the job for me. And being a gardener, I requested that they leave all the chips for me to use.
Around the perimeter of the yard I spread composting material, lasagna style with the idea of planting shrubs and flowers. On this bed, I also incorporated the wood chips. In this I planted some 500 daffodil bulbs. What a glorious picture that would make the next spring!
Forward to Spring! I watched and waited, but no green shoots appeared. Finally uncovering a spot, I found a rotted bulb. Not one of those bulbs grew into a flowering plant.
Now to say that spreading wood chips into that lasagna bed was a mistake is the understatement of the year. In Butte where the soil is mostly ground granite, the elevation high, and the climate cold, even with manure and compostable materials, it would take years before anything could grow there.
I learned my lesson; wood chips are only for paths, driveways and under the clothesline, to keep my feet high and dry. This, of course, I should have known. Be careful using those wonderful wood chips, even if they are free!