Wood chippings

[DaveC]

Whilst at work today I helped out a customer who in return gave me a couple of bags of fresh wood chippings. They smell fantastic but now im wondering what i can use them for!!

Am i able to leave them in the black bags for a year or so to compost down?
Should I spread it around my garden to improve the soil?
Is there any use for them in my greenhouse?

Not really sure what to do with them but didn't want to turn them down. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Dave

[Flummery]

Great ground covering for a hen run! You probably weren't thinking of building one, but you might now? Or give them to a chook-keeper.

[Snadger]

Good for paths especially if used with a porous membrane of some sort underneath!
We use lots on the allotments and after a couple of years after they have degraded a bit just dig them up and spread them on the soil as a mulch!

[DaveC]

A few good suggestions already thankyou. Let see how many we gather!!

[Tam]

They make a good top dressing for blueberries or any other acid lovers.

[DaveC]

Thanks Tam, do they need to rot at all or is it ok to use then as they are? Lots of leaves mixed in with them too

[snohare]

Wood chips when rotting at first deprive the soil of nitrogen, then release a huge amount - so best to let it rot for at least a year, I would say two years. Depends on how large they are - the smaller they are, the quicker the bacteria get to work.
I use them to hold down mulch matting on my raised beds. I'm also hoping to use the heat generated by rotting chips to help frost proof some coconut yams I am overwintering in a cold frame this winter.
Great for creating a nice moist layer deep down in a bed, if you have very free-draining soil.

[DaveC]

Thanks everyone

Do the chippings generate much heat as they rot, is it worth storing them in my greenhouse and do they produce heat straight away?

[Snadger]

Thanks everyone

Do the chippings generate much heat as they rot, is it worth storing them in my greenhouse and do they produce heat straight away?

They do gererate heat but it has to be a compost heap size area for this to happen. Manure generates heat and is usueable within a season, yet woodchippings normally take two. Logic dictates they generate half as much heat as fresh manure!
The heat is proportional to the outdoor air temperature so in winter heat will be minimal!

[snohare]

Aha, thanks for the info Snadger. I got them as a lorry load, burning hot, and the windrows seemed to stay that way - it never occurred to me that they would actually just be half as hot as s**t and need so much of a pile to achieve critical mass.

[DaveC]

Thank you snadger, my mission is to find some manure next. It cant be too dificult living in the country!!

[DaveC]

I have put the two black sacks of woods chippings in the greenhose to rot down, i know they'll take some time but would they be better in the garden?

Thanks

[snohare]

Only if the garden is warmer, I would have thought. Heat begets heat with the bacteria. They also need a little bit of moisture, but not too much.