Almond trees

Help!

We have just bought a plot of land full of almond trees. It has been neglected for a few years and has lots of old branches lying around. We were thinking to put these in the wood chipper and use as mulch around the garden, but are concerned with the allelopathic properties of the almond tree. Can I use almond branches for mulch or will they inhibit growth of my other plants? Anybody with experience of almond trees that can help me?

Thanks!

Sandra

Inoculate the mulch first. Allelopathic chemicals are broken down by fungi, so after you feed all the branches into the chipper, pile the mulch up and throw any mushrooms you can find onto it. Keep the pile well watered and in a few weeks, you should be able to find hyphae (white threads) growing on the pieces as you dig into the pile. When you have some good fungal growth on the mulch, then you can spread it around and allelopathy should not be a problem. The fungi will continue to break down the mulch and build up your soil food web under the trees and in the garden.

Thank you so much John Elliot!

We've got some good fungi action nearby, so this will not be a problem... Am feeling a lot more confident now!

Many thanks!

I've had no problem growing stuff in year-old eucalyptus woodchips, which supposedly also has allelopathic properties.

In addition to fungi, adding nitrogen will encourage bacterial breakdown.

Thank you yukkuri kame!

So, all the branches that been laying around for years, can be used straight away?

Really appreciate your input!

Many thanks,

Sandra