Questions about using wood chips for compost

[4grandbabies]

Just had the electric company trim tree tops in this area, and we requested a pile of the shredded chips. Looks like we are about to get a big truck load, now I have questions. CanI mix it in something for compost.. what would I mix in to break it down. by next summer, can it be used as garden mulch, or will it be too green -acid-or what ever? I was so excited, now I am looking a a big pile of something in my side yard that I am not sure how to use...Please, all comments appreciated.. or links what ever you have for me Thanks !:tools

 

[Greensage45]

Hi,

I would imagine that some trees could contain toxins that inhibit the growth of other plants, so you might call a local county extension office or your local Ag-dept at the college nearest you. They can tell you without a doubt what trees can be utilized best for mulches.

As it stands right now what you have is mulch not compost. Wood chips would take several years to completely turn into compost, but it is a worthwhile endeavor. I would make a pile as a 'resource', meaning to pile it all high in one spot and take from it as you need it; rather than rushing and putting it all around all your plants to distribute it all.

This pile you create will take a good year before you are able to pull from under it a rich organic compost (even without turning). You will have ample mulch to use for the future and ample compost as it develops. If you are not already utilizing a compost pile this might be the time to consider one; of course you would have to do a more proper layering of greens to dry as you create it and it cooks faster and more thorough with turning (but we know that is not necessary in the long run..but it is fastest).

An easy compost bin is to take several cinderblocks and create a 2ft wall with three sides, leaving the front opened for adding and subtracting the debris. This way you can contain the pile.

So, for now, you have mulch; I would add to the surface area where you want to reduce weeds such as paths and the cleared empty parts of a bed or around a tree or bush to keep the weeds down. This mulch shouldn't be any more than an inch or two deep depending on where you live, and then adding to it year after year will enrich the soil for the plants and trees as it turns to compost. You will see quite a change from just soil which never gets supplemented.

I sure hope I covered any questions you asked. I am sure you want to distribute all of this and not make a pile (what some folks might say as a mess), but since I like my piles , I would recommend one, they work good for me.

Happy Mulching and Composting,
Ron

 

[Ridgerunner]

Congratulations. I consider wood chips a great resource. The question is how to use them.

I don't know how much you know about composting. I'm no real expert but I am learning. Probably just enough to be dangerous. Wood chips are high in carbon and low in nitrogen. Left to themselves they will eventually rot and form humus. If they are green, they may get hot enough to cook and form compost, but I'm not sure. Some people say it is not true compost unless it has gotten hot enough to cook. Either way, at the end of the day you will have a very good organic material to amend your soil.

If you put them in a compost heap, you need to add nitrogen to feed the bugs that break them down. They will still take a log time to break down, so I would not suggest adding them to your regular compost heap but make a separate pile. Grass clippings, most animal manures (not cat or dog if it is going on anything you might eat), and vegetative kitchen wastes are good nitrogen sources. I use a high-nitrogen chemical fertilizer in my compost heap along with other nitrogen sources, but some people don't do that. Depends on how you feel about the chemicals.

I use wood chips as mulch. Normally I let them "cure" for several months if I am going to use them in the garden around vegetables. If I use them for mulch around trees or shrubs, I don't necessarily let them cure that long. I just keep a clear space around the trunk so they don't touch, usually 4" to 6". I think that is supposed to help keep bad creepy-crawlies away from the trees or shrubs.

In the garden, I use a couple of layers of newspaper as mulch and use cured wood chips to hold it in place. I find that the wood chips tend to dry out more than some other mulches. The newspaper holds the moisture in better. The newspaper does need to stay damp so rainwater will soak through and the wood chips help with that. With the cured wood chips, I am comfortable putting this mulch right up to the stems of the plants so the newspaper there stays moist. The other reason I use the newspaper under the wood chips is that the microbes will start to break the wood chips down. They need nitrogen for that. If they don't have enough nitrogen from other sources, they will take the usable nitrogen from the soil and away from your growing vegetables so you can end up with nitrogen starved plants in what is really a nitrogen rich soil. I find the newspaper provides enough of a barrier to prevent that from happening. Then, in the fall, I turn the newspaper and wood chips under so they can finish decomposing during the winter before spring planting.

I'm not saying that what I do is the right way or the best way. It is simply the way I do it. It may help you or others and it will give others who know better a chance to correct me so we can all learn.

Good luck!

 

[chills]

hello,
i also got some shredded trees from our municipal company, i was unsure what trees were used and i know we have walnut trees in sacramento, so i didnt put any chips in my food garden - i did use it for path ways to keep the weeds down ..
i didnt even consider putting it in my little compost bin (i dont create enough green to break down that much brown)
years ago we had wood chips in our yard for the swing set area and they NEVER broke down ..
if i had more i would lay some around the trees i have to keep weeds down and moisture in, but i only picked up a few buckets from our municipal company ..
hopefully more people will have experience and suggestions to share ..
excellent info greensage!
4grandbabies good luck and have fun movin' chips

 

[bid]

I got several loads the last time the electric company was trimming in my area...all off my own property. As a matter of fact I am keeping an eye out for them to be back to trim powerlines again as it has been about 5 years since they last trimmed. Here is the experience I had.

It will heat up. At least mine did. There were quite a few leaves and needles on the branches that they trimmed. Shocked me when I saw steam rising off of the piles.

When it is wet/green...it is a bit heavy. Yes you can turn it, but it is a job. I didn't have a problem with where it was located pesonally, but make sure you have them dump somewhere that it can stay. I let mine sit for about a year, a little less, and used it as a mulch in the paths in my garden. The following season the mulch was incorporated into my garden rows and "new" mulch from the pile was put down.

Greensage and Ridgerunner gave some excellent advice. Everyone does things a bit differently. I am a lazy composter. So I am willing to wait for slow breakdown in compost heaps. Nice score and good luck!

 

[4grandbabies]

Wow!! all answers were very helpful!! And now I have new ideas for use ! The tree that was shredded was a honey locust(I think) Its the one that has the awesome perfumey white blossoms scent that is so wonderful in the spring. It was a lovely tree, but in the wrong place, and since we went thru 7 days of no power a couple of winters before we moved here, we gladly let them remove it from the power lines. We have more, so still have some to enjoy.

 

[digitS']

Black locust wood, the trees with the thorns, were originally turned to be used as insulators for electric, telegraph and telephone lines. The reason, they held up well to the weather. In other words, they don't rot (compost) quickly.

I was just out to see the area where I had a garden for 6 years. The ground has not been disturbed since I stopped cultivating it in 2000, I believe it was.

This is an area with an arid climate. There are about 20 inches of precipitation each year and much of that is winter snow.

The willow chips I used as mulch around the perimeter of the vegetable gardens are still there on the surface of the soil.

Steve

 

[wifezilla]

My wood chips break down so fast it is silly. I think it is all the extra UV here about 5000 ft.

 

[journey11]

Congrats on your haul..I am envious.

Two ways you can use them to build your soil:
1) use to mulch and wait for them to break down on their own. (I'd use them on roses or something else permanent, rather than veg garden).
2) they will make a great addition to compost, but you will need LOTS of raw manure to get it to cook. Toss 'em together into a remote corner of your yard. Make sure they get wet. Turn the pile over once or twice in the year. Depending on the thickness of the chips it could take a couple years to fully break down. You can add more manure if you think it's stopped. Afterwhile, you will have blackgold!

I do this with my chicken poo/bedding. I even cook the scraps from butchering chickens in this pile (buried deep they don't stink). All things become compost if given enough time!

 

[4grandbabies]

Thanks again every one-keep those experiences coming!! Journey11....I think I may try that with some of it... , I do know its soft wood, because we loose limbs when the wind is strong.so I so think it will break down, tho they did add trees from up the road, I dont know what kind.