I am a semi-retired arborist with thousands of yards of chips formed into a large raised parking lot. I am interested in ideas for upcycling this organic matter into organic produce; or using it for vermiculture (worms). We are in a solid zone 3. I am finding surprisingly few articles through internet search. Any ideas or pointers appreciated.
Utilizing accumulated woodchips.
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The chips not yet rotten or breaking down ban be cooked into biochar then mixed in with the rotten and already fully composted chips, you will need to find a source for free manure to mix in at approx 3-5%. Make into large piles and let sit until internal temps hit 140-150 and its ready to be sold by the yard as compost. If most of the chips are viable you might be able to get a contract with the county, cities or towns to spread them on paths or playgrounds. Last but not least selling the chips as natural mulch by the yard or even locating a bio fuel plant or power plant to sell in bulk. being mixed im not sure about use in particle board or cardboard etc
Thanks for the info. I have a pile I've been working for a few years with Free horse manure, aged. I scrape the topsoil when I turn a pile. I will search for a chip burner next. Perhaps there is as system that provides domestic heating BTU's, and leaves biochar for a side.
Been heating both my house and shop for years with off grade seed corn that I get for free.
how old is it? i have a large pile of oak chips from oak tree trim work, cutting up at my place. it all went thru a chipper and i let them dump it down in lower 40. it has broken down nicely. about 5 maybe 6 years old now. to me, from seeing the decay/breakdown and being a long-term gardener, i would think any use to include into soil, tilled etc would only improve the soil. so long as it is not too hot. i am thinking condition that may still have chipped or cut shape, but crumbles easy in hand...
it was a big pile when first placed there
it was a big pile when first placed there
i goggled:
uses for chips from tree chipping
uses for chips from tree cutiting/chipping
and found lots of info, advice suggestions, links and related info, etc
for example:
The best uses for wood chips in your garden include:
- Mulching around your plants.
- Adding them to your compost pile.
- Creating new growing areas with layered organic materials.
- Making biochar.
- Growing mushrooms in your garden.
- Creating natural pathways.
- Recreational groundcover for kids activities.
- Creating new wildlife habitats.
If you are going to use them to make compost or want them to biodegrade faster, you need to add a lot of nitrogen to them. That will feed the organisms that help break down the wood.
I used to let the power company dump their chips at my place. Sometimes would get a hundred loads a year. I had so much chips I used it as a mulch to control weeds. I woupld pile it high as my tractor would lift and turn it every couple of months. It will break down pretty fast without adding anything to it, of course the chips I was getting where green and full of leaves. One will be supprised how little material that big pile of chips will produce once composted. I think the ratio is around one load of compost for every ten loads of chips and if you want to break it down to humis it is another 1 to 10. I never used my chips the first year as they had to much of the tannin acids and that would stun the growth. By the second year I used it strickly as a mulch around my garden crops. I would fill between the rows completely. I found this held moisture for the plants and suppressed weeds very well. At the end of growing season, I would then spread horse litter and till the mulch under and by next planting season, it would pretty much be gone. I turned a graden spot that was all fill dirt from a 90foot road construction cut site into dark fertile garden soil in about 3 years doing this.
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