Thinning of vertical shoots and mulching

What a surprise. Where do you think I got some of what I'm talking about? Lon is a big Mychorrdial (sp?) fungus fan. I'm surprised he didn't mention the amount of that fungus that is produced by wood chips. I took his enthusiasm for the fungus and noticed how much was produced by wood chip mulch and put the 2 together.

I do disagree with one thing Lon says. I haven't seen any difference in the effects wood chips have on the vines whether it's all wood or if it has leaves mixed in. Either way, I don't think it has any effect on the nitrogen in the soil, at least from what I have observed. Both types of wood chips yield very healthy grapevines. What I KNOW will make a difference is if you put a big coating of wood chips over dry soil . The soil needs to we moist before adding chips. The chips seal the soil while also regulating the water moving down. If the soil is dry the chips may keep the soil too dry which will effect nutrient uptake which will result in it looking like the chips are robbing nutrients from the soil when all is happening is the soil is too dry.

The difference he discusses between straight chips and prunings makes perfect sense to me. Thanks for posting.

Winter rye sounds easy enough to do and makes sense as well.

Thanks aga> >

I know this won't be a surprise but it doesn't make any sense to me. In fact, his differentiation of the different types of wood chips is confusing to me. I see no difference and have mountains of different types in my yard and have never noticed a difference. Anyway, have a tree service dump a load of chips in your yard this fall and let them sit there. In the spring you'll notice fungus growing in the first 4 or 5 inches when you put a shovel in it. It's white stringy stuff. Most gardeners think it's because the compost pile is "rotting" and it must be bad. Well, it's not. It's good, at least according to this article:

Also notice how far the mositure penetrates the pile. As you dig in there is a spot where the pile will start turning dry. That is maximum depth I would pile the chips on the ground over the vines. I use about

One more comment on Mychorrhizal fungus and other bacteria. If I was to springle the fungus on the ground in my yard it would die. There isn't enough moisture to keep it alive. That is why wood chips are so great. Under the surface is always moist, not wet, moist. It is the perfect environment for all this fungus and bacteria to grow and that doesn't even include the thousands of earthworms that are there now that weren't there before I started mulching with chips. Anyway, what I'm saying is that all this good stuff needs moisture and the mulch provides a constant moist environment for it.

It makes sense to me b/c the leaf material included in the prunings is a nitrogen supplement

Funny, leaves were always considered carbon based until today.

by that logic, isn't *everything alive* carbon based?

Yes. You hit the nail right on the head. Did you know that the biologically stable state of nitrogen is as a gas and the stable state of carbon is as a solid? Why is it that dry leaves are considered high in carbon and wet ( live) leaves considered high in nitrogen? Did you know if you fertilized your lawn with urea pellets and it didn't rain they would still evaporate? Is dry grass considered high in carbon or high in nitrogen? Does nitrogen dissolve in water? What constitutes

OK, now I'm joining everybody else ... I'm through with you. Intelligent discussion I can handle. Sarcasm and condescension I won't tolerate.

The last post wasn't sarcastic at all. If you thought that then I apologize. I actually thought you didn't know everything alive was carbon based. In fact I wasn't sure how to take YOUR post.

The point of my post was that everything alive *is* carbon based ...

Look. Mulch with what you want. I sincerely wish you tremendous success.

He will need all the "success" he can muster if he actually ferments his wine in Rubbermaid trash containers like he advised others to do.

For the benefit of others who have not followed his advice on other posts; DO NOT ferment in Rubbermaid trash containers. They are NOT FDA approved for foods and the WILL leach out toxins you do not want in your wine or body. Of course, doublesb may put a few bark much wood chips in these also to absorb all the toxins :-(

..... sorry new to the thread and the group but while we are on the subject, what " trash size" containers are FDA approved and where is the best place to get them?

Here is a good place to buy. There may be a place closer to you. The shipping charges might be a bit much for you out in Washington but here is the link and you can get an idea of what you might want. The Brute Trash containers are NOT FDA approved so stay clear of them. It would be a good idea to call US plastics and ask them to ship you a printed catalog. It is a lot easier to find things that way for me. They also have a tech support staff that will answer your questions as to which containers are safe for fermenting wine.