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| I remember a thread some time back, about getting wood/bark chips from a road crew.
One of my brothers call the compost wacko in the family(ME:-)) to say a co-work needed a place to dump wood/bark chips. I said "anything like that ,you can dump it behind the pine in the field." So hopefully I will have a few dump truck loads. How do I break this stuff down, from mulch to compost. I should have plenty for the four, one half acre gardens & the two home Orchards & some for composting. I do not care if this is a 24 month compost pile. I have the room & want to try to find a way to shorten the time. So what do you think fellow wackos ( you others too.). I will get photos too. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by jonhughes So.Oregon (jonehughes@hotmail.com) on Tue, Mar 29, 11 at 22:51
| Hi jolj , That is fantastic, especially since you have the room to let it compost.... Awesome man ;-) What you have there is most likely RAMIAL Chips Follow these links for some killer thoughts on the subject, that is some good stuff brother ;-)
http://www.google.com/search?q=ramial&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.m ozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a |
Here is a link that might be useful: Ramial wood chips for Soil amendments
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| Thank you, Brother Johughes!! You have the gift of knowing & I thank you for sharing it with the rest of us. Thanks for the photos of "Paradise Gardens". Closes thing to Eden most of us will come here on this earth. |
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| Congrats! I think if it's fresh it'll break down faster than you realize all by itself. I had about ten yards dropped off in summer 09, freshly chipped by the crew clearing power lines along my rural road. I piled it about 18" deep under a fenceline, which I hoped would eliminate the need to mow under the fence for awhile. By that winter the stripe of mulch was less than half that height, I was surprised how quickly it broke down. I mulched our entire property for free that year, loved it! The pile that was left cooked itself down as well, maybe 1/3 the size within a year. I loved it as mulch, but if I wanted to break the pile down faster... I'd have turned it after 2 months, urine would be a convenient nitrogen source to keep it going a couple months after that. |
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- Posted by dottyinduncan z8b coastal BC (My Page) on Tue, Mar 29, 11 at 23:48
| I did much the same thing a few years ago and added more chips to it the following year. I've been making paths through our clay soil, mulching around the raspberries and using them as a layer in a lasagna garden. The pile is nearly all gone now and I'm going to phone some arborists and beg for more. I love the stuff. |
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- Posted by borderbarb San Diego county (My Page) on Wed, Mar 30, 11 at 14:30
| My experience with tree trimmings has been wonderful. Seems like moisture is the main factor in how quickly the material 'melts' into compost. My side yard gets no artificial water and the mulch there has stayed uncomposted for several years [keeps weeds from growing] Trimmings put in pathways seemed to compost quickly. Re: taking roadside trimmings .... IF ... IF ... you are highly sensitive to poison oak/ivy/sumac, you may want to watch out for being affected by uncomposted materials. |
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| Thanks everyone. anubis pa z5, I will try the 60 day turn, but the only urine it will get is when I am turning it. I live 16 or so mile away & should not transport the stuff in my car. dottyinduncan, I understand they need some where to dump it & you are helping them out. borderbarb, I am one of those people. But the poison plants & fire ants are just the price one pays to play in the dirt/sand. You know there is a "wash" that will remove the slap, if you go home & shower with it. My brand is called POISON IVY WASH. And there are 4 kinds of Sumac & ONLY one kind that is poison, which has WHITE berries. The red berry sumac is good to feed wild birds & you can eat the seeds your self. |
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| I love the last picture where the piles are steaming. We bought a heavy duty chipper last year and are making our own chips. I am putting them in all of the flower beds and in the paths of the veggie garden. I am hoping to weed a lot less and improve the soil. It is nice to have an easy way to finally get rid of all of the brush and tree trimmings. None of my trees are poisonous, but some have big thorns. |
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