Wood Chippings

Tree surgeons have been doing a lot of work in a public sports field next to my garden and produced large amounts of chippings. I have liberated a sizeable pile to use as a weed suppressant. Any other ideas? Presumably I can mix some in my compost heap. Are they good for a mulch or will they generate rot or mould?

 

Prastio

Provided the trees were not felled because they had some transmittable disease, the wood chips should be fine. In Spring 07, I had nine (albeit small) trees taken down in my garden and the stumps ground out. I added the wood chips to my compost bin a bit at a time throughout last summer and by Christmas 07, I had the best compost ever. It had much better texture than usual.

 

Flinty

The trees were taken out to prevent damage to flood defences - no nasty diseases. Thanks for sharing your encouraging experience of adding it to the compost heap: I have my chippings pile right next to mine so I can mix them in gradually.

 

And Flinty's advice is the same as I got on the same subject - a small amount in a compost heap will go fine. You can use them as a weed suppressing mulch - but they will take a long time to rot into the soil - so you might have to move them later.

Brian

 

What species were the trees?

 

Trees were a mix of mainly Willow, Ash and Beech. Does that make a difference?

 

Yeah, fir trees are higly acidic, so trimmings from them are suited to acid lovers eg rodedendron, camelias, heathers etc.

Willow, Ash , Beach chips will be a fairly neutral PH so a good allround mulch.

 

Thanks for that - I had no idea that wood chips had species related PH. I never cease to learn new things from these forums!

 

Exactly what I was looking for! I cut my own wood with a chain saw and I always have a big bag of sawdust. From now on I will use it instead of dumping it!

 

We Learn something new, every day on GC :gnthb: Thats one of the reasons its such a Great Site.... Dee..

 

Sawdust (natural,not from a work shop,where it may easily be trated wood)in compost heap = fine, sawdust as mulch = trouble,it will get compacted by rain, and water does not penetrate any more = dry roots, dead plant. Wood chips or shredded twigs are gorgeous stuff in the compost, say 3 parts greens and one part of chipped wood = gourmet compost.

 

I am planning to use mine for the paths between my raised beds, presumably that would be OK Ivory as not really a "plant mulch" as it will be below planting depth, do you agree Ivory?

 

Should be very fine I think! In time after walking on it for a while it will become all rotted and good and you can directly spade it over the beds

 

Sounds perect (no restraining boards on my raised beds, so the soil trickles down ont o the paths anyway, and needs "spading over the beds" every couple of years anyway.

I'd spade first, to get to equilibrium, and then spread the wood chip etc., and spade-again in a couple of years.