Wood chips and composting

[Garandman]

Cut down some trees for firewood, and going to run the tops through the chipper. So I’ll have bucketloads.

Can this be used to compost?

If so what else should I add?

Can I just dump it in a pile or do I need to contain it?

TIA.

 

[Oaktree]

They'll take forever to rot down in a compost pile. I use 'em for mulch, or if you have an embankment that tends to wash out, they'll help hold the soil.

 

[hslogger]

It will not turn into compost quickly. If you have lots of it and leave it in a pile, it will begin to heat up, especially if you are chipping live green material. Urban arborists often have big piles that they continually feed, piling with tractor or bobcat. That stuff cooks down at the bottom and makes real good mulch for new and existing plantings.

Wood chips differ in compostion. If you are chipping tree, bark, leaves and needles, it will begin cooking quicker. Forty miles from me General electric is mixing all sorts of wood chips and cow manure to generate power.

 

[RalphVa]

Cut down some trees for firewood, and going to run the tops through the chipper. So I’ll have bucketloads.

Can this be used to compost?

If so what else should I add?

Can I just dump it in a pile or do I need to contain it?

TIA.

I just dump mine in a pile, underneath a red cedar tree. It's also just uphill slightly from where water drain from the front lawn. That keeps it from getting too wet.

I collect kitchen non meat stuff and eventually fill an old garbage can. Then I level the compost pile and dump the garbage can and then repile the pile. In putting the kitchen stuff in, if a lot, I scoop some mulchy material from the top of the compost/mulch pile and put it on the kitchen material I just put into the garbage can.

Makes compost in around 6-9 months.

Top tree greenery plus chips will make it cook pretty readily.

Been doing mine since 2000. Used to get a lot of leaves and chopped them up to add to it, but my leaf source dried up. Getting lots of wood chips with some tree top material and that kitchen stuff.

 

[CalG]

I chip and shred just about all woody material around my place. (MacKissick TPH185) 'Anything smaller than what is useful for the wood stove .

I've had my share of piles, and have three five foot tall piles "composting" now. I've had a few rather large piles over the years.

Compost quickly is not in the cards, but what's the hurry? I like about three years to break down and turn black. Chips need a lot of nitrogen. Let them get the N2 from the air, not the soil. They are not a good choice to put into the garden soil, but GREAT to put on top of the garden soil as moisture retaining mulch. Weed control is a great benefit as well. The chips will break down at the soil interface without depleting soil Nitrogen. I've gone over 6 inches thick on garden walkways.

If you are in a hurry, Turn the piles every week or so. I use the FEL to do this. I can't say there is a real "turning" with my way. More like "churning" ;-). I just scoop up through the pile and create a new pile about five feet from the old pile.
I year (summer and winter) and the material is good for direct application to any garden soil.

I also have a soil screen that I set up when the wife want's some "very nice material" for beds etc. The sticks etc. get run through the shredder again.

If the pile doesn't get too hot, it can get quite a population of earth worms ;-)

 

[sea2summit]

I use them to bed pigs for a year, move the pigs and pile everything for a year, then till in the garden. It’s still very identifiable as wood chips but my soil is so bad at least it helps retain some moisture. I bet the third year would probably be about right if I added more green material and turned it at the end of year two instead of putting it in the garden.

 

[Threepoint]

Garandman, you didn't say what kind of trees, or what you'd use the compost on. In the off-chance they're Black Walnut (or even Hickory or Butternut), be aware that the wood and bark chips will contain juglone. The resulting compost could actually ****** whatever you plan to grow. Here's a link. How to Stop Black Walnut Juglone Toxicity | Gardener’s Path.

 

[CalG]

Garandman, you didn't say what kind of trees, or what you'd use the compost on. In the off-chance they're Black Walnut (or even Hickory or Butternut), be aware that the wood and bark chips will contain juglone. The resulting compost could actually ****** whatever you plan to grow. Here's a link. How to Stop Black Walnut Juglone Toxicity | Gardener’s Path.

I looked into that when I cut down a 40 foot Black Walnut . The trunk logs are still out back on sleepers ;-)

The Harmful stuff breaks down in less than a year ..."by some accounts" .

I did let the chipped and shredded top branches set a year, then just mixed it in.

The solution to pollution is dilution!

 

[kenmbz]

I use the chips to line my trail entrance/exits.
Doing thinner layers also seems to break them down faster.

I have a few piles from last fall I need to move. We'll see what the bottom looks like when I move the chips out.

Breakdown is fast as this is mostly Ash.
Have had Cedar and some other trees which seem to last forever on the ground.

 

[Jstpssng]

I use them to bed pigs for a year, move the pigs and pile everything for a year, then till in the garden. It’s still very identifiable as wood chips but my soil is so bad at least it helps retain some moisture. I bet the third year would probably be about right if I added more green material and turned it at the end of year two instead of putting it in the garden.

Organic gardeners have had problems with using pig manure in gardens, as it may carry trichinosis. If you do plan to use it on your garden get it good and hot while composting, then wash the vegetables well before. I have a 1/4 yard soil sterilizer which my father used in the greenhouse, and cook it at 160' F; yet I still won't use it for root vegetables.
Supposedly freezing will also kill roundworms.

I had a 2 acre field reclaimed in 2009, and ended up with about a dozen stump piles scattered throughout the field. About 2 years ago I finally bought a grapple and set out to pull the stumps out of the pile, only to discover that they had rotted nearly away. You may not have 10 years to wait but chips should rot a lot faster, especially if mixed with other materials.