How to use all of this sawdust?

[rickyb01]

I have a friend that works at a hardwood lumber mill. He is giving me all the sawdust I want if I will haul it off. I’m thinking of hauling it to an old gravel pit that was stripped of top soil long ago. I have a 15 yard dump truck so thinking of hauling 30-40 loads. Maybe dumping it and spreading it about 4” deep. Would this help the gravel pit eventually be able to grow weeds and grass?

 

[4570Man]

I have tree guys paying me to dump chips. I’d a lot rather so that vs buying my own expensive fuel to move it.

 

[3Ts]

Would this help the gravel pit eventually be able to grow weeds and grass?

Yes but it will take awhile. You can think of it as the brown material in a compost pile. Now just need some green material and a little rain and nitrogen.

I have tree guys paying me to dump chips.

My BIL had a ranch in Northern CA and they paid him to dump the chips on his place as well. It took a while to decompose, but he ended up with 4' depth of soil.

Note: I came across a post some time back that the aromatic cedar chips from a sawmill (large quantities) were considered a hazardous waste in some areas, so check the kinds of woods that are used. Some of the tropical woods can be toxic, but I really doubt you'd see enough of those to be a concern.

 

[dirttoys]

I think it can be a great start. If you have some manure or other "stuff" you can add, given time it will be dirt. Don't fool yourself, 6 inches of sawdust won't make 6 inches of soil, under any circumstances.

Best,

ed

 

[MossRoad]

How to use all of this sawdust?​

Make yourself an aircraft carrier.

Pykrete - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Diggin It]

Sawmill guy down the road has a HUGE pile of sawdust. Spreads it out every few weeks or months with a loader. Every nearby tree is dead. He says the acidic nature of the fresh sawdust kills most everything until it eventually rots enough not to.

I had an idea at one point to compress it into logs for a wood stove, but I never got far enough into a press and the forms or to finding a binding agent to really make it work. I was hoping to use a piece of something like 3" PVC pipe and some kind of flour/water mix. Fill, press, slide out, let dry.

 

[3Ts]

BTW, don't leave it in a single pile, it may self combust. There's a thread about piles of wood chips self-igniting.

 

[scaredychicken]

I have a friend that works at a hardwood lumber mill. He is giving me all the sawdust I want if I will haul it off. I’m thinking of hauling it to an old gravel pit that was stripped of top soil long ago. I have a 15 yard dump truck so thinking of hauling 30-40 loads. Maybe dumping it and spreading it about 4” deep. Would this help the gravel pit eventually be able to grow weeds and grass?

WHY would you do that ? The price of fuel is prohibitive, and it doesn't sound like it is even Your gravel pit.

I'm confused

 

[jyoutz]

BTW, don't leave it in a single pile, it may self combust. There's a thread about piles of wood chips self-igniting.

It’s not uncommon for sawmills have chip and dust pile fires. And many sawmills use sprinklers on the pikes to avoid this. But a thin layer is not a problem.

 

[rickyb01]

Yes it’s my gravel pit and yes diesel is very high. We don’t have a lot of top soil in my area. Hardwood mill is about 10 miles one way so 20 miles round trip. Just trying to make that gravel pit less of an eye sore.