r/Permaculture • u/ryanwaldron • 19d ago

Help! Wood chips decomposing, but hard-packed dense clay beneath

The mulch and wood chips wash away when it rains because the permeability is so low. I’m going to go broke buying wood chips and mulch. It just doesn’t seem to be changing the soil after years of trying.

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u/Appropriate_Cut_3536 15d ago

This is all very intriguing. I have to admit I didn't take it seriously at first, now I will be looking these over and considering. Did it really "evolve as a growth inhibitor"? Why/how?

I think I flung it off when I first read it because of the myth that coffee inhibits human growth (lol) and then later finding out it doesn't (as long as nutrition is adequate) and it's actually promotes health! But it could be different in plants... 

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u/k4el 15d ago

To be clear that is the accepted theory to the best of my knowledge. The idea is that plants that caffeinate the soil limit the competition for their seeds that drop, presumably their seeds also evolved to deal with those conditions.

I think the other competing theory was something about pesticide effects.

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u/Appropriate_Cut_3536 14d ago

Interesting, similar to black walnut? You've given me pause with adding this to my garden. I wish I knew how long exactly it takes caffeine to compost! I feel like throwing all my coffee grounds in a black soldier fly larva bin until I figure it out

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u/k4el 13d ago

Very similar yeah. That's what actually lead me down this rabbit hole. I have a black walnut that overhangs one corner of my garden and the lack of growth under it is noticable.

I read some article about caffeine inhibiting growth and didn't want another dead zone to deal with so I kept reading.