Huge pine tree ground up what can I do with it?
My friend had his 40 foot pine tree cut down today! It was ground up with branches and needles but not real fine maybe 2 to 3 inch pieces plus tons of needles and bark! I had the guy dump it in my yard! It looks like 4 pick up loads! Huge pile! What would you do with it besides a mulch or maybe some compost?How about on stawberries? Is it to green yet? I was thinking or putting under some beds!
Last edited by Bobberman on Wed Apr 06, 2011 12:36 am, edited 1 time in total.
I don't know if there's any real validity to it, but I've always heard that laying raw wood chips on the ground would use up the nitrogen in the soil, until they decomposed.
I used to used uncomposted wood chips as a form of weed control in areas where I wasn't growing anything. It worked pretty well, and seemed to prevent the weeds from growing.
I used to used uncomposted wood chips as a form of weed control in areas where I wasn't growing anything. It worked pretty well, and seemed to prevent the weeds from growing.
Fresh pine is pretty acidic for awhile. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm preety sure if you leave it sit for about it year it will decompose a bit and be of better use.
Blueberries and a handful of other plants LOVE acidic soil though so they could be mulched with it now.
Otherwise add some of it to your compost!
Blueberries and a handful of other plants LOVE acidic soil though so they could be mulched with it now.
Otherwise add some of it to your compost!
The temp at the top of the pile where seam is coming off is 115 degrees and it is 35 degrees outside today and went down to 20 last night!! There is a light greyish fungus all over the pine under the surface!
+++ I want to see how long the pile stays hot to maybe use something like this pile for heat inside the solar geenhouse next year!
+++ Also I will cover the pile with a tarp next week and see if it still stays hot without the extra air. The sides of the pile are not hot yet only the top of the pile. Lots of green pine needles in the pile mixed with the bark and ground up stems!
+++ I want to see how long the pile stays hot to maybe use something like this pile for heat inside the solar geenhouse next year!
+++ Also I will cover the pile with a tarp next week and see if it still stays hot without the extra air. The sides of the pile are not hot yet only the top of the pile. Lots of green pine needles in the pile mixed with the bark and ground up stems!
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DoubleDogFarm
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Sounds good Frank, Free chips!
I would use it on the aisles between my raised beds. It would absorb some of the surface water and suppress the weeds. Mixing wood into the soil is much more of a problem than a nitrogen loss on the surface.
A large compost pile is needed to create heat in a greenhouse. Look for Will Allen videos on YouTube. Air is a good thing to keep the pile heated. So don't cover, but areate.
Eric
I would use it on the aisles between my raised beds. It would absorb some of the surface water and suppress the weeds. Mixing wood into the soil is much more of a problem than a nitrogen loss on the surface.
A large compost pile is needed to create heat in a greenhouse. Look for Will Allen videos on YouTube. Air is a good thing to keep the pile heated. So don't cover, but areate.
Eric
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Gary350
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- Location: TN. 50 years of gardening experience.
Saw dust and wood chips are good compost but they need a lot of nitrogen. If you put saw dust in your garden the plant will turn yellow from nitrogen shortage. Compost the wood all by itself for about 3 years. Stir the compost about every month. Wood compost is a lot of work I use to get 10 truck loads of free saw dust at the local saw mills and lumber yard mill shop that was 30 years ago when I was young and had too much energy. I have less energy now days.