Chop and Drop Advice

I have just over 3/4 of an acre in a small town. Most of it will be going to permaculture projects over the next decade plus. When I look at the simplicity of chop-and-drop mulching, I'm thinking that I would want a smaller product, so I'm looking at a small wood chipper. Do I have to call it "chip-and-drop" or will this work? I was watching a video of a guy chopping and dropping comfrey and black locust twigs under his apple trees, and thinking it would look unsightly in a neighborhood setting, where it wouldn't on a home- or farm-stead setting.

So, in my case, would chipping the mulch make it not-chop-and-drop?

j

I am confused by what you are saying.
Is chop and drop simply leaving a higher pile of trimmed vegetation on the ground, in large sections?
Or is mulching, a process whereby all the vegetation is cut very small and laid on the ground in a thick layer?
chop and drop explained
From above I see that chop and drop works best with vegetables  and 'soft ' vegetation, woody parts actually draw nutrients from the soil, not improve it.

In your urban situation, you may not have any problems if what you have in mind is what is detailed in the reference I have drawn on.

Chop and drop means cutting plants before they go to seed and then letting them drop where you cut them so that the nutrients go back into the soil.

Using a wood chipper is a different process.

It all depends on what a person wants the end result to be and what the plants are.

To me, a wood chipper is for stuff too big to chop and drop.

That was the impression I got, Anne. Thanks for the reply. And again, I'm not against the pure form of chop and drop.

It looks great for larger operations. In my yard, for example, I'd have no problem with chopping and dropping comfrey. Too easy. But branches?  

Wouldn't the same nutrients be going back into the soil whether it was chopped or chipped? The timeframe for branches to decompose in place would be longer, and shorter if I chipped them. But in the end, the nutrients are staying right there.

I'm not trying to start an argument or split hairs, honest. Just wanted a range of feedback as to whether chipping can be considered chopping.

j

Anne Miller wrote:Chop and drop means cutting plants before they go to seed and then letting them drop where you cut them so that the nutrients go back into the soil.

Using a wood chipper is a different process.

It all depends on what a person wants the end result to be and what the plants are.

To me, a wood chipper is for stuff too big to chop and drop.

Since I have not seen the video you mentioned, I do not know the size of the black locust in the video.

When I prune my blue sage in the spring, I use a chop-and-drop technique.  

Of course, sage cannot compare with black locust.

As I cut the branches, I then cut them into about 3-inch size pieces then drop the branches.

I don't have black locust though I cannot see doing that so if I had black locust I would probably put the branches in an out-of-the-way place to decompose since I cannot afford a wood chipper.

This video about improving soil with plant residues and living mulch might be of interest to some folks:

https://permies.com/t/40/65316#1767318

And the continued discussion here:

high carbon pruned branches with high nitrogen leaves added from the 2 prunings each year after being chipped to bits

https://permies.com/w/organic-plant-residue

I find that chop and drop green matter decomposes relatively faster than chipped woods.

I do both. I have a small chipper for my 1/3 acre property and have found that it is an all right tool. I use the chipped materials for walkways/fruit trees/perennial beds. I found that gathering the materials and doing them in big batches is best. Its best to fire it up, chip all the material in a rip, and then shut her down. Idling is just wasting gas in my opinion. Running around trying to gather sticks was a time waste/energy waste when I didn't prepare a big pile so I now have changed my process.

I think chop and drop is like the easy peasey anyone can do with minimal tools and that is why it is a attractive 'system'.

Anne and everyone possibly following this, here's the video I referenced:



So, is what he's doing bonafide chopping and dropping?

j

Anne Miller wrote:Since I have not seen the video you mentioned, I do not know the size of the black locust in the video.

When I prune my blue sage in the spring, I use a chop-and-drop technique.  

Of course, sage cannot compare with black locust.

As I cut the branches, I then cut them into about 3-inch size pieces then drop the branches.

I don't have black locust though I cannot see doing that so if I had black locust I would probably put the branches in an out-of-the-way place to decompose since I cannot afford a wood chipper.

John,

I guess my main question would be... what is a candidate for chop and drop?

Maybe the confusion arises when one departs from the correct answer to that question.

j

John C Daley wrote:I am confused by what you are saying.
Is chop and drop simply leaving a higher pile of trimmed vegetation on the ground, in large sections?
Or is mulching, a process whereby all the vegetation is cut very small and laid on the ground in a thick layer?
chop and drop explained
From above I see that chop and drop works best with vegetables  and 'soft ' vegetation, woody parts actually draw nutrients from the soil, not improve it.

In your urban situation, you may not have any problems if what you have in mind is what is detailed in the reference I have drawn on.

I have little opinion on the bonfides of what is or isn't chop n drop, but when you cut back a woody plant, you make a difference for its neibors.
You open up sunlight, you reduce transpiration and therefore water usage, you might introduce root dieback and especially with locusts, nitrogen release.
The green leaves of a woody plant have a decent nitrogen/carbon balance and you are adding everything to the surface, so I don't think you will be tying up any nitrogen.
Check out youtuber David the Good for a successful gardener who uses chop n drop extensively.

In practice I prune plants and and lay the bits around the base of plants I want to grow.
When the leaves have decayed away I often take the branches and use them elsewhere.
This isn't a neat and tidy practice, so if you need things to look "nice" , a chipper/shredder is probably the way to go.

William Bronson wrote: Check out youtuber David the Good for a successful gardener who uses chop n drop extensively.

I appreciate David the Goods content, both video and book, and how he does things a little different.

Here is a good video link!