Let’s Talk About Wood Chips: When Mulch is Helpful and When It’s Just… Meh

When to Use Wood Chip Mulch and Why It’s Not Great for Vegetable Gardens

Hey Garden Friend,

Let’s clear the air about wood chips. I’m not here to cancel them. Wood chips are not evil. They’re not out to destroy your garden or sabotage your tomatoes. They’re just… misunderstood.

They do have a place in the garden a very good one, in fact! But like all things in gardening, context is everything. So let’s dig in (ha!) and talk about when wood chips are wonderful and when they’re kind of a buzzkill.

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Wood Chips Love the Forest Life

Wood chips are fantastic for:

• Perennial beds (berries, fruit trees, shrubs)

• Garden pathways

• Mulching under trees or native woodland plants

• Creating fungal-dominant soils (more on that in a second)

Why? Because wood chips break down slooowly and feed fungal networks in the soil. That’s perfect for plants that evolved in forest ecosystems - where leaves and branches fall and slowly rot on the forest floor. Think blueberries, not broccoli.

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Your Tomatoes Are From the Prairie

Here’s where things get awkward. Most of the vegetables we grow like tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, beans, peppers - they didn’t evolve in dark, dense forests. They’re sun-lovers from open meadows and disturbed soils, where leafy debris breaks down fast and feeds bacteria-rich soil life.

When you cover your veggie garden with wood mulch, your plants might manage… but they’re not loving it.

Tomatoes in bark mulch are like a party guest too polite to say the dip tastes weird. They’ll hang out. They might even flower. But underneath, the soil life isn’t really thriving the way it could be. Why?

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Let’s Talk Science (Briefly, I Promise)

Wood chips are high in carbon and low in nitrogen. That means soil microbes have to borrow nitrogen from the surrounding soil to break the chips down. This is called nitrogen tie-up, and it can make your soil feel like a bit of a desert for hungry veggie roots.

Plus, wood takes forever to break down - especially bark mulch, which is full of protective compounds that resist decay.

Now that’s fine if you’re mulching your orchard. But if you want to build up healthy, active garden soil this season, you might want to reach for mulch that breaks down faster and feeds the kind of microbes your veggies prefer.

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So What Do I Use Instead?

For veggie beds, I love a good leaf mulch. Or grass clippings (as long as they’re not too thick or soggy). Or even chop-and-drop mulching with green plants like comfrey, dandelions, or anything you’ve just pulled that’s not diseased.

These break down quicker, feed bacterial soil life, and return nutrients faster to your plants. Plus, they mimic the natural systems that vegetables actually evolved in. We’re playing nature’s game here - we just have to know which team we’re on.

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Wood Chips Are Not the Villain - Just Cast Them Right

So no, wood chips aren’t the enemy. They’re just better suited for certain roles in the garden.

Use them where they shine:

• Under fruit trees

• Around perennials

• For erosion control

• To suppress weeds on paths

But in your veggie patch? Try leafy, nitrogen-rich mulches instead. Your tomatoes will perk up. Your beans will thank you. And your soil will start to buzz with life again.

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Gardening is just matchmaking for plants and soil. Know who likes what, and suddenly everything starts to click.

Happy mulching — just the right kind 😉
Beccalynne.