All those chips'll make some nice topsoil, RS.
They should ... the last pile sure did.
How long do you think it'll take?
I've heard as little as a couple of months, given adequate nitrogen ... although that may have been on a much smaller scale. No real idea how it would scale up, but in theory it should work.
The last chip pile I did (from when they cleared the area for the gas well) took quite a few years ... but I really didn't do anything to it - other than just let it sit there and decompose - like turning it or adding a source of nitrogen.
It will probably depend on whether I can come up with a good source of nitrogen, since the bacteria that breaks down the wood uses it.
I think the sheep manure/bedding from my neighbors barn would work well ... the last time I got some it still stunk to high heaven and it was probably 5 to 10 years old at that point. Very strong ammonia smell, from the urine I'd imagine. Apparently it doesn't breakdown all that quickly if you just leave it in a big pile
Why he doesn't spread it on his pasture I'll never know ... but then I can't imagine keeping 75 head of sheep without a tractor and a loader to clean out the barn either.
Biggest problem is getting it down here - there's a lot of it (40'L x 30'W x 3' - 4'H mebbe ?) and it's wet and heavy. Really need a dump truck ... which the neighbor next to him has, but I haven't asked if he'd be willing. He might be ... just to get that big sticky pile of sheep chit further away from his house ... :laughing:
Hope you guys have some luck with those fires ... stay safe.
