Why Start Using Chop-and-Drop Mulching?
One of the biggest game changers in my food forest has been learning to stop removing things from the garden — and instead, use what I have.. I’m not just tidying up every time I prune my fruit trees. I’m actually feeding the garden and growing soil. The secret? It’s called chop and drop mulching, and it’s honestly one of the easiest, most sustainable ways to improve your nutrient-deficient or sandy soil. If you’ve been composting your prunings, or worse — sending them off in the green bin — you’re not only creating more work for yourself…but you’re also missing out on a free, zero-waste way to build healthier, more productive trees and soil. It’s such a simple system to create a more sustainable garden.
PLUS, there’s one key reason WHY I feed plants back their OWN prunings... Find out more below and why it’s such a game-changer for a self-sufficient garden 🌱
What Is Chop and Drop Mulching?
Chop and drop mulching is essentially exactly what it sounds like. You chop your trees or plants and drop them right back onto the soil. That’s it. There’s no hauling branches to a compost pile, no bagging up green waste — just letting nature do what it does best.
But… there are a few tips to follow to maximise the results and create the best free fertilizer for your garden!
Think of it as mimicking a forest. In nature, no one is clearing up leaves or broken branches. They fall, decompose, and feed the soil. We’re just copying that same cycle in a more intentional way in our backyards.
Because I plant my food forest and gardens so densely, I need to prune them back regularly. This not only lets light in to the lower levels, but I like to keep my trees at a height that I can always reach the fruit. That way, it is easy to pick and bag or net the trees to reduce pests from getting my precious harvests. In my urban permaculture garden, I would rather have many small trees than only a couple of large, high-yielding trees.
I use chop and drop under my all fruit trees, shrubs, perennial beds — anywhere I’ve got plants that love a healthy, rich soil layer. There is one exception that I will explain below…
Why It Works: Benefits of Chop and Drop Mulching
This super simple method packs in a whole heap of benefits:
- Nutrient Recycling: The prunings are full of nutrients your tree has already put the effort and energy into absorbing. Returning them directly back to the soil means those nutrients go straight back to the roots. Exponentially increasing the fertility of the soil for that fruit tree or plant.
- Moisture Retention: The mulch layer helps keep the soil cool and moist, especially in hot climates like here in Perth! This is crucial!
- by consistently covering the soil it blocks light, and builds nutrients to help your ground covers and lower-level plants compete.
- Soil Health: It adds organic matter, supports fungi and microbes, and builds better soil structure over time. Fruit trees LOVE the fungal properties that small branches and mulch provide.
- Less Work & Less Waste: No wheelbarrow trips to the compost or green bin — prune and leave it be. Find out what size to cut your prunings below.
I’ve seen huge improvements in my soil by doing this consistently. Soil is THE KEY to a thriving garden, and it is actually more important to grow and build soil than to care for your fruit trees. Healthy soil will naturally grow strong, healthy trees with so much LESS EFFORT. Trees that looked stressed or slow to grow have bounced back once I started feeding the soil this way.
How Do You Chop and Drop Properly?
- Prune Your Tree: Generally, the best time to prune trees is directly after they have fruited. Once you have picked the ripe fruit, you can prune the tree to keep the size manageable and give nutrients back after it has put the effort into fruiting. Avoid pruning during hot weather. Focus on removing dead, damaged, or crossing branches. Keep your trees open, airy, and manageable.
- Chop It Up: Use CLEAN and SHARP secateurs. This will reduce any disease being spread and sharp cutting tools allow for clean cuts. Clean cuts will heal quicker and easier, putting less stress on the tree.
- Pick a Size: How big or small to cut up your prunings depends on the effort you wish to put in and the thickness and density of the tree. Obviously, the smaller you cut up the pieces, the quicker they will break down and feed the soil. But if you want to hand-cut everything into inch-sized pieces, you could be there all day or even weeks…. which is not EASY or MANAGEABLE. With smaller tree branches, I like to use a small mulcher to break the branches into smaller pieces. The softer plants like shrubs, Banana, Queensland Arrowroot, Pigeon Pea, etc I just cut up very roughly into 10-30cm pieces, but you could even leave them as is if you have space to lay them down
- Drop It Under the Tree: Spread it out evenly under the canopy line — not too thick, just enough to cover the soil without suffocating roots. Pull back any clipping from about 30cm from the main trunk – this will reduce any rotting to the main trunk from excess water.
What are the Exceptions??
There are only two main things that I avoid with this method and they are:
- Thorny branches eg, Some Citrus. I have done this in the past and have copped many hard dried thorns in my hands and feet! So I don’t just straight Chop and Drop my Lime or Lemonade prunings anymore. These I will run through the mulcher or add to the compost to break down before they hit the garden.
- The other thing I avoid is any fruit. Fruit left on the ground is a magnet for fruit flies, rats, and other unwanted pests, so this all goes into the compost to break down.
Other Ways to Boost Soil Naturally
Want to take it further? Here are a few simple additions that work really well with chop and drop:
- Grow Your Own Mulch: Plants like pigeon pea, comfrey, and even moringa are amazing for regular chopping. They add biomass, nitrogen and help shade the soil. Read my top Edible Mulch Plants here.
- Homemade fertiliser or Compost Teas: If your soil is depleted, a boost of compost tea can kick-start the microbial activity. Read more here.
- Fungi are Friends: Let fungal networks grow by using a no-dig approach. Mycorrhizal fungi love working through mulch and help deliver nutrients to your plants.
- Hugelkultur-Style Mounds: Got bigger branches? Stack them in a bed and layer soil and mulch over the top — perfect for a no-dig veggie patch or future fruit tree planting spot.
Level up with Chop and Drop Mulching
Next time you’re out pruning in the garden, try leaving those cuttings right where they fall. It’s such a simple habit, but it has a huge impact over time. You’ll build richer, more nutrient-dense soil, reduce garden waste, reduce watering, and your fruit trees will THRIVE!
Have you tried chop and drop in your garden yet? Let me know how it’s working for you — and if you’re curious about more ways to grow healthy, productive trees, make sure you check out my next post on GROWING YOUR OWN EDIBLE MULCH PLANTS
Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you! Thank you for supporting my blog so that I can continue to provide you with free content.
Happy gardening!
Holly 🌿
Trackbacks/Pingbacks