Mulching & Chipping in Tecoma

Mulching & Chipping in Tecoma: Local Conditions and What That Means for Your Property

On-site chipping is the practical disposal method for most Tecoma pruning and clearing jobs, because tip runs from properties on steep streets with narrow side gates are time-intensive and expensive. The organic material coming off a typical Tecoma block (eucalyptus prunings, conifer hedge offcuts, photinia clippings, and the windblown wattle and peppermint gum limb falls that accumulate over winter) is well-suited to drum chipping and subsequent spreading. Chipped messmate and narrow-leaf peppermint breaks down in roughly 12–18 months under Tecoma's rainfall and returns useful organic matter to the sandy loam soils that are prevalent on the hillier allotments. For garden beds on terraced blocks, a 75–100 mm mulch layer is applied to suppress weed-seed germination after clearing; this reduces the frequency of re-infestation by pittosporum seedlings on sections that had heavy seed banks in the disturbed soil. One constraint specific to the steep Tecoma driveways is chipper positioning: tow-behind chippers require wheel chocks and engaged trailer brakes on anything steeper than about 1:8, and several streets above Burwood Highway approach 1:5. We use a self-propelled drum chipper on jobs where the driveway grade makes a tow-behind impractical. CFA ember-protection guidelines under the BMO recommend keeping mulch depth below 100 mm and away from the structure. We note this to all clients on BMO-affected properties.