Any Uses For Wood Chips?

Harv · Jul 23, 2002

My fire break project is causing my brush pile to grow quite rapidly, and I'd love to start reducing it somehow. Burns are no longer allowed this year 'cuz of the extreme fire danger -- ironically the very reason for my project.

I don't have a chipper nor the budget to get one, so I was thinking about renting one. Then I had an even brighter idea -- maybe I could just pay to have one of them tree service outfits come in with their monster chipper and see what they can do in a couple of hours (however much I decide I can afford). I've watched two-man crews at work with those things, and it's impressive how much lumber they can make disappear in very short order.

What I now wonder is would it be better to have them cart the resultant chips away, or just leave me with my own chip pile (mostly oak and some pine)? If there's any good use to put them to, it might make an entertaining tractor project, but if they're just going to be a nuisance themselves, I'll pay the extra to have them hauled.

What say you, oh TBN trust of brains?

RobS · Jul 23, 2002

If they're from healthy trees bring 'em out my way Harv! They make great mulch around trees and other plants. Maybe not right around the house as they won't be treated for bugs and such. If you don't use them right away for mulch or trail covering, pile them up. In a few months or so you'll have a wonderful composted material that can be used for a variety of things including mulch, improving poor soil, non-compactable fill etc.

Yeah, if I were you I would definitely pay to have them sent to me /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

BTW, around here you can rent a chipper almost as big as the ones the pros use.

njrqs · Jul 23, 2002

Hang on.

You have acheived STAT STATUS and you are considering PAYING someone to rid you of your woodchip?

What is the world coming to??

Over here we use it as garden mulch and have to pay to get it delivered.

Don't use it green as it can rob the soil if nitrogen while it decomposes, but just leave it sit for a while then use it on gardens. 4" think is good if you have enough of it.

Cheers

OverlyRun · Jul 23, 2002

Harv,

Buy kit and lumber for large swing set and fort for kids, spend 2 weekends building the "ark," spread wood chips all around to soften landing of swan-diving kids. I had to pay for the wood chips. Do you ship UPS?

Chas

Anonymous Poster · Jul 24, 2002

They work real good for weed control and moisture retention in gardens, my wife goes thru 2 dump truck loads a year.
If you are close to the Duraflame plant, the ones who make yuppie fireplace logs, they will actually buy them.
Or, if you have a deep hole, you can use an air curtain combustor, and probably get permission from the fire authority, and save the cost of chipping.
A lot of guys are using old sileage choppers for wood chipping, they will handle stuff up to about 1 1/2".

stovepoker · Jul 24, 2002

Harv: I live in a Hemlock/Oak forest and each year I pay a
local tree surgeon to chip the smaller branches etc that are
too small for the firewood pile. He usually does this during his
"off season" in the winter for a good price. My main reason
for doing this is to reduce the potential forest fire hazard.
I sell the chips for mulch and dry some of the chips for heating fuel
(classified chips can be used in a pellet stove) and engine fuel.

Golfgar4 · Jul 24, 2002

We can sell wood chips to some of the local nurseries. I'm not sure what the going rate is, but I know some of my buddies sell at a slightly lower price than what the nurseries would normally pay.

Just think - you could get paid for playing on your tractor when you load the chips! Not bad! /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif/w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif

exeter_acres · Jul 24, 2002

I would just rent the machine. I have done this in the past just clearing loose brush on a couple acres and had enough would chips to cover an entire base of a large swingset. It is up to you on what your time is worth.. but Hey... anytime I can use large, noisy, potentially life threatening machinery.... I do!! /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Good luck

Curtis

gmason · Jul 24, 2002

Harv, is the wood dry or still somewhat green?
If dry, the chips produced will need some water added to start the rotting/decomposing process.

I've got a big 12" chipper that I use 2-3 times a year, ususally in the cooler months. The hardest part of the job is either draging the trees/limbs to the chipper or unpileing the mess someone else has piled for me.
The chips, if I want to speed the decomposion up, I take a loader or two of last years chips(now mostly compost) and dump on top of the newly chipped pile and add water and a can of beer. The important part of the process is to make sure you have enough water in the pile over the long term and don't let it dry out. Turn it over once or twice a year and in ~12 months you've got some beautiful black "dirt".
With you fire threat, I would even throw some native soil over the top of it to insure that a fire couldn't get to it.
good luck
gary

DavidInNH · Jul 24, 2002

The hardest part of the job is either draging the trees/limbs to the chipper or unpileing the mess someone else has piled for me.
Amen to that!
The chips, if I want to speed the decomposion up, I take a loader or two of last years chips(now mostly compost) and dump on top of the newly chipped pile and add water and a can of beer. The important part of the process is to make sure you have enough water in the pile over the long term and don't let it dry out. Turn it over once or twice a year and in ~12 months you've got some beautiful black "dirt".
Thanks for the tip.

LilRhody · Jul 24, 2002

Stovepoker: How simple is it to make wood chips that can be used as "fuel" for a pellet stove? I am currently clearing some land for a pole barn and have amassed a small forest of branches/brush. I'm close to talking the Mrs. into getting a chipper (mostly for using the wood chips on our trails), but, I use a pellet stove to supplement my heat in the winter. If I can justify using the wood chips to burn in the pellet stove, then its almost a sure bet I'll get a chipper in no time

Thanks..........Steve H.

RobertN · Jul 24, 2002

Harv,
Rent the chipper. The one over here cost's $20/hr, 3hr minimum. I have chipped my brush piles before; it makes great mulch.

The last big chip I did was before I got the loader for the tractor. I had orriginally made burn piles; just tossing everything into a nice tangled pile. It was a pain to bust the pile up. I was doing it by myself, and it took way too long. With a second person, I really could have made headway.

The chips are great mulch. Put them around the garden, around plants, roses, ect.

We have got a laod of chips from the big road easement/power line easement trimmer guys(Asplund) before. I found the chips to be rather large. I ran them through my small chipper, and had wonderfull stuff.

By all means, chip away /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif

Harv · Jul 24, 2002

You guys never disappoint. /w3tcompact/icons/clever.gif

I think my questions have been answered, and then some. Sounds like the chips have value, so I can at least start pricing the rentals and/or hiring someone to do it. I've been pleasantly surprised in recent years to find that in addition to the yellow pages, there's always a good ol' boy not too far away who might just be able to help out for a "neighborly" fee. A part of country life I have yet to get used to.

Hard to totally generalize about what I'll be chipping. The predominant growth in the area is oak and pine, but it's... well, it's a brush pile. /w3tcompact/icons/hmm.gif I'd say it's all from healthy growth, but I can't be sure that some kind of cooties aren't hiding in there.

Like all brush piles (I assume), the stuff on the bottom is dried and somewhat aged, while the stuff on the top is pretty green. And I hear you, Gary -- untangling that mess will be the hard part /w3tcompact/icons/tongue.gif, but next time you're driving to California, feel free to hitch that 12" chipper to your truck and spend a fun-filled weekend at my property. Free sandwiches and beer. /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif

If nothing else, I'll gladly compost the stuff. I already have two tractor-sized compost piles going from my annual weed and leaf cleanups. I water 'em good for a while in the beginning, and then they seem to start cookin' on their own. The fun part is turning them over with my 'Bota. Good pile practice, and my wife thinks I'm working really hard. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Bird · Jul 24, 2002

Harv, whether you rent a chipper or hire someone who has a chipper, you might want to see some of the material that chipper has chipped. Like Robert, I had a crew out here a few years ago clearing the power lines and they dumped me several loads of chips, and I tilled it all into my vegetable garden. I ran part of it through the little 5 hp Craftsman chipper and it really came out great that way. The part that I didn't run through the second chipper was a little bigger than I preferred, but not bad and I tilled it in just as it was. But, this past winter, the power company had a different crew (contractor) out here and they dumped me two loads of chips, also, and I almost wished they hadn't. Their ragged old equipment left more 6 to 8" sticks, stringy vines, etc. and we'd already sold the little Craftsman so I put that stuff on the garden and tilled it in, but it's going to be a long time before it's decomposed like I would want. And everyone seems to agree that putting wood chips in your garden before composting draws nitrogen from the soil, but I do it anyway and have probably put more wood chips in my garden than anyone I know of and still have as productive a garden as anyone I know. So I guess I had more nitrogen than needed./w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Golfgar4 · Jul 24, 2002

After reading through the replies, I find that I am a little surprised someone didn't mention the fact that your brush piles do make nice homes for some of the local natural inhabitants. I thought I'd just mention it since no one else did. Maybe you have enough brush piles to leave a small one here or there for some of your furry friends. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Of course, maybe you've got an over abundance of furry friends/w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif, and would like to discourage any more of them from "visiting".

Just thought I'd throw it out there so you'd have even more things to think about! /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif/w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif/w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif

Harv · Jul 25, 2002

you might want to see some of the material that chipper has chipped.

Good thought, Bird. I guess there's such a thing as too big a chipper, eh? Not to mention the ol' worn out ones.

Down here in the burbs we have a little electric chipper which might make a good second stage for the process.

And yeah, Garry, we have puh-lenty of furry and feathered friends running around our place. The cleaning up I do barely makes a dent in the abundance of bushes, trees and "natural" brush piles lying around. I'm all for providing a good habitat for indigenous critters of all sorts, but where we are they have all the habitat they need already.

BKColeman · Jul 25, 2002

brush piles do make nice homes for some of the local natural inhabitants. 

We had a contractor come through and top all of the trees near the electric lines on one part of our property. They left all of the brush they cut laying right where it fell.

I called the power company and complained about the mess they made. They said they did it to provide habitat for animals. I said but this right in front of my house (not exactly, but enough I see a bunch of dead brush). They said they would make the contractor clean it up.

It's been over 3 weeks now and no sign of them. I guess I'll spend a weekend doing it. I should deduct a fee from my electricity bill for all the work they created.

--Brad

Golfgar4 · Jul 25, 2002

"I guess I'll spend a weekend doing it. I should deduct a fee from my electricity bill for all the work they created."

Yeah, you're right Brad. All you need to do is figure out how many amps you used doing all the work. /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif

Just don't mention to them all the fun you'll have with the extra seat time you got out of it! /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

GlennT · Jul 25, 2002

Wood chips are wonderful! I wish I had tons of of the stuff! As others have indicated, I use chips for mulch around trees and bushes. However, it is especially valuable in the pasture. I put chips wherever there is a threat of erosion; the chips stay in place well and trap soil in runoff; after a couple of years you can see that the area is filling in. I use wood chips along fence lines where the sheep walk often and are wearing in paths which then becomes an erosion problem. I also use wood chips along the creek where the sheep are wearing down the bank. I use wood chips in the corral and approaches to the corral to eliminate mud holes. I have used wood chips for litter in the chicken coop and that didn't work so well--not absorbant enough; however, wood chips in the sheep shed works very well. I put wood chips on a couple of caliche hills that I have and after only a year I now have bunches of grass starting. If I could get enough of the wonderful stuff I would distribute it over some areas in the pasture where the soil and grass is really sparse. The chips hold what little soil is there, they reduce the impact of a driving rain, they keep the ground cooler, and they help retain moisture in the soil Wood chips really are great!