Wood Chip Pile Managment

[TnAndy]

I get chips delivered from tree service and make my own too. I used to burn the slabs off my sawmill, but now have taken to chipping them with a WoodMaxx PTO chipper. I've put them on as mulch straight off the chipper, and let them sit a year or more as well. I think the 'robbing nitrogen from the soil' is fairly overrated....at best it only takes a inch or so of the top. Chips will heat in a pile, but they stay so wet, I'd doubt the problem of them catching fire is something to worry about. Like making any compost, the internal temps will hit 140 or so.

One of the things I like to use chips for is in my cattle barn....a layer of them for the cows to crap on, then follow with more layers, then scoop it all out with a bucket for composting in the spring. I built a 3 bin compost pile to hold the chips I chip up, plus barn/chicken house clean out. The 3rd bin is to allow me to flip the compost back and forth, turning it weekly or so. That action causes it to break down into the finest compost you ever saw....truly black gold !

As for termites, never seen any in wood chips.

Year old tree service chips as mulch around tomato plants. Put out yesterday.

Chipping slabs + compost bins:

 

[Big Barn]

I intend to Chip a litttle bit of Cedar. Any thing "special" I should devote that to? Bet it smells great! I had put chips in the garden for weed control, but I think it adds to much nitrogen.

I think the decomposition process of wood chops actually draws nitrogen OUT of the soil.

 

[Big Barn]

I get chips delivered from tree service and make my own too. I used to burn the slabs off my sawmill, but now have taken to chipping them with a WoodMaxx PTO chipper. I've put them on as mulch straight off the chipper, and let them sit a year or more as well. I think the 'robbing nitrogen from the soil' is fairly overrated....at best it only takes a inch or so of the top. Chips will heat in a pile, but they stay so wet, I'd doubt the problem of them catching fire is something to worry about. Like making any compost, the internal temps will hit 140 or so.

One of the things I like to use chips for is in my cattle barn....a layer of them for the cows to crap on, then follow with more layers, then scoop it all out with a bucket for composting in the spring. I built a 3 bin compost pile to hold the chips I chip up, plus barn/chicken house clean out. The 3rd bin is to allow me to flip the compost back and forth, turning it weekly or so. That action causes it to break down into the finest compost you ever saw....truly black gold !

As for termites, never seen any in wood chips.

Year old tree service chips as mulch around tomato plants. Put out yesterday.

Chipping slabs + compost bins:

I love the third pic down. Nice tidy bins built into the hillside.

 

[hosspuller]

I just bought a house with about 500 yards of wood chips piled on the back half of my property. The guy before let or got paid for a tree service to dump them there along with piles of wood. Some of the wood is good and some bad. All dumped there various times so different state of rot. I wish I could make the chips compost faster.

Add water and nitrogen (fertilizer 26-0-0 )

 

[Industrial Toys]

Unless your selling the chips or run a parks department, those concrete dividers are worth more than the chips. I hate when the storage system costs more than what you are storing. I might keep a small pile around, but basically use it as I make it.

 

[Doofy]

I just spread them out or fill low spots or holes. They decompose in a year or two and I just throw some grass seed on.

 

[Summerlin]

I had Asplundh dump around 40 yards of chips on my property when they were clearing the right of ways in the area. They were grateful to have somewhere to dump them.

I’ve now gotten the wood chips spread over my entire garden, in a large bed beneath an oak in my front lawn, in a smaller but still large bed around a maple beside the oak, and in a large island bed around 3 pine trees on the edge of my yard.

When I first planted my garden, I knew the chips would draw the nitrogen away from the top few inches of the soil, and it showed in the plants. I put out squash, cucumber, tomatoes, and peppers. All of the plants’ leaves turned yellow for about 2 weeks. But now, the garden is growing faster than it ever has. I guess the roots have run deep enough to get good nutrients, plus the chips hold in so much water.

I’ll tell you one thing: it’s so nice being able to casually stroll through the garden and hand-pull a few weeds 3 times a week instead of having to hoe/till every other day for an hour.







The picture of the garden was before I planted. I’ll take a picture of it tomorrow and post to show how good it’s doing now.

 

[TnAndy]

Unless your selling the chips or run a parks department, those concrete dividers are worth more than the chips. I hate when the storage system costs more than what you are storing. I might keep a small pile around, but basically use it as I make it.

Then clearly you shouldn't build such a storage unit. I could go thru that list of equipment you own and find no use for about 1/2 of it, but clearly you do, so I wouldn't comment on tying up funds in what is, to me, useless rolling stock. To each his own.

The cost, BTW, was quite low. The concrete for the bottom was leftovers in several small pours from where I was pouring my driveway couple years back and would have otherwise gone to waste. I kept it formed and ready and didn't worry about a finish at all. The block was the main expense....several hundred to be sure, but I laid them myself, and again, pouring them full of leftover concrete so I didn't tear up the walls with the tractor bucket.

The benefits, to me, are I have a place to organize my compost and flip it from bin to bin so it breaks down fast is great. We use a LOT of compost around here growing most of the food we eat. Have no idea what the value of 20-30 yards/yr or so of compost is, but it's black gold to me, so the cost of the storage pales in comparison. Being able to run the bucket in on a concrete base and not scoop up dirt/rocks/etc is great. Plus I like my stuff organized for use.

Here's another waste I guess...my sand bunker. Since I do a lot of mortar mixing for projects around the farm, I keep good, clean (reason for the tarp on top) sand on hand to mix when I want to do a project.....and there have been many over the years.

(Free brick to the side....neighbor brings me leftovers from time to time they were going to bury on job sites to get rid of...I use for culverts and various projects)

 

[TnAndy]

I had Asplundh dump around 40 yards of chips on my property when they were clearing the right of ways in the area. They were grateful to have somewhere to dump them.

I’ve now gotten the wood chips spread over my entire garden, in a large bed beneath an oak in my front lawn, in a smaller but still large bed around a maple beside the oak, and in a large island bed around 3 pine trees on the edge of my yard.

When I first planted my garden, I knew the chips would draw the nitrogen away from the top few inches of the soil, and it showed in the plants. I put out squash, cucumber, tomatoes, and peppers. All of the plants’ leaves turned yellow for about 2 weeks. But now, the garden is growing faster than it ever has. I guess the roots have run deep enough to get good nutrients, plus the chips hold in so much water.

I’ll tell you one thing: it’s so nice being able to casually stroll through the garden and hand-pull a few weeds 3 times a week instead of having to hoe/till every other day for an hour.

The picture of the garden was before I planted. I’ll take a picture of it tomorrow and post to show how good it’s doing now.

Bingo ! Plus if you have crappy, thin soil like we do, it needs all the organic material it can get to build it up.

 

[oosik]

Every spring I thin my pine stands. Around 900 small ( up to 6" on the butt ) pines that I chip. I've found no real great use for the chips. So they lay where they fell. By fall all but the very bottom of the piles are bone dry. I've never had a fire caused by the buildup of internal heat.