Southern gardeners seem to have the best options for chop and drop, with a long season and a climate that nurtures the largest, juiciest leaves. Yeah, I’m jealous.
Let’s get to it.
1. What is chop n drop? It a mulching method, as well a soil improvement mechanism. Plant chop and drop plants throughout planting areas where mulch and soil improvement are needed. Cut off leaves or the entire plant and leave the detached plant matter as mulch wherever it is needed.
2. How can it help? Chop and drop functions as a mulch and has the same benefits. It can reduce weeds, add moisture as it decays and prevent moisture loss once the plant matter dries. Chop and drop plant refuse will eventually decompose and become an organic soil amendment, adding nutrients to the soil and will feed organisms in the soil, providing them a healthy spot to reproduce. The plant matter will break down and become healthy soil.
3. Where is chop and drop not appropriate? Trial and error, if you are the experimental type, will reveal the answer for most gardeners. Microclimates and soil conditions vary so widely, even in one yard. Generally, a wet area would not benefit from the additional moisture a fresh chop and drop provides. Air flow, and the oxygen it provides, is essential for most soil life (aerobic) and decomposition. An area where the plant matter would become too matted would not be ideal. Areas that are too wet or too travelled are also not ideal. Plant matter containing too much water can become messy and a slip risk if heavily placed on a path. A thin layer that dries quickly is a better choice for paths.
Three Best Chop and Drop Options for Northern Gardens
-Borage. Borage is the perfect chop-n-drop crop. It smells lovely (like cucumber), grows early, grows quickly. The plant can reach two-three feet tall in optimum conditions. Borage has larger leaves, the prettiest flowers, is edible and it’s bee cocaine. Do you know how many bee on borage photographs I have? Bees couldn’t stay away if they tried. One day, when the world has killed all the bees, the last bee will be mourning on a baby blue borage flower. Borage reseeds as well. Once you have borage, you’ll always have borage. There is nothing about this plant I don’t like. Its juicy leaves are perfect for chop n drop.
-Hollyhock. Hollyhock sprouts early, in early May. By July 4th, hollyhock plants are bushy and a few feet tall. You can cut the entire plant at the base, leaving an inch of stem. A week later? You’ll see a bundle of new leaves. A month later you’ll have another bush. Even in September, as the season wanes to chilly temperatures. The flowers reseed easily and is another plant that once you have hollyhock, you’ll always have hollyhock. The flowers are lovely and present a varied bouquet of colors. A hollyhock plant grown in optimum conditions can grow to six feet tall.
-Kale. Kale LOVES the north. My kale live until the temperatures drop below zero. In the spring, they are up by April. Kale can get very large, I have a four foot tall kale bush as landscaping out front. While broccoli leaves have an unpleasant odor if left to decay, kale is less pungent. Kale comes in a variety of shapes and colors. It’s a resilient plant. Leave one large leaf on the plant and the plant will keep adding new growth. Chop off the leaves, stripping them off along the stem, leaving the thick stem and a bit of top or bottom growth. The leaves can be snapped or cut off very easily. Kale is the queen of lush northern regrowth.
The End