Wood chip use?

[Michael Merrill]

I'm curious about the use of wood chips from projects. My main thought is that I've been using a lot of soft and hard maple on some furniture and could I use this bor BBQ smoking?

For those of you who are familiar with the Big Green Egg, I have one of these and they are great for smoking/grilling. I often buy chips of alder, maple, hickory, etc.

Any reason can't use the small maple chips for this? Seems stupid to waste it and buy chips retail? Don't worry I have no interest in using purple heart based on the smell of cutting that! :eek:

[Don Baer]

My son has used some Mesquite that was left over from my chain sawing some logs for turninig blanks that I cut up and he is anxously awaiting me to turn then so he can get more.

[Michael Merrill]

Yeah, I figured there really is no real reason not to use this. After all I go and buy hardwood charcoal.

[Mike Hill]

Michael: I am a guy who spends a lot of time and effort smoking Ribs in the smoker for friends and family. I use 3 kinds of wood for smoking ribs. About 50 or 60% is oak or hickory and 20 or 30% pecan. When I have it, I finish off the ribs with cherry. I am running out of cherry, so I need to build something for someone to get some more wood!

Basically with these woods, other than painting the ribs with white vinegar and letting them marinate overnight, you do not need much seasoning. I sprinkle on a little of the rub from "Salt Lick" here in Austin when marinating, but NEVER have resorted to Bar B Que Sauce. Pecan gives the meat a wonderful flavor and Carmel color.
Mike

[Tom Jones III]

I've used it for smoking. LOML uses it as bark mulch, it will not hurt *most* well established plants but will keep all new plants from growing.

[Paul Lueders]

I ue my chips for mulch around the bushes and such.

[Paul Lueders]

i use chips as mulch around the bushes and such

[Paul Lueders]

First time posting at this great sight !
Paul Lueders

[Don Baer]

Hey Paul,
Welcome to the creek.

[John Kain]

Dog Chewie Toys:D

(Pine is still their favorite)

[Jeffrey Makiel]

Michael: Pecan gives the meat a wonderful flavor and Carmel color.
Mike

Mike,
I'm flyin' in this afternoon. Please pick me up at the airport.
-Jeff :)

[Larry Norton]

We sell it by the square compressed bag at Tractor Supply. Farmers use it for their horses. I had a guy I used to work with that took all of mine for his.

[Mike Hill]

Mike,
I'm flyin' in this afternoon. Please pick me up at the airport.
-Jeff :)

I'll be there, but you gotta help watch the Smoker!.
Mike

[Robert Mickley]

Don't use walnut for mulch, unless you want to kill what your mulching. Don't use it for bedding either. Walnut makes makes a poisen , called Juglone which if used for bedding can and will kill animals.

Young plants don't deal with well. Some adult palnts will tolerate it.

http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/nursery/430-021/430-021.html

[Nick Clayton]

Like Robert said, as long as it isn't walnut (or cedar) I use it as bedding for our chickens.44351

[Michael Merrill]

Well, I just cleanup my shop and after several maple projects I have a good supply of wood ships for the smoker/grill, they won't go to waste.

[Jim Becker]

I generally compost my chips/dust, except for walnut. It adds volumn to the other green and brown material and kitchen scraps that go into the pile.

[Mike Henderson]

I assume there's been a lot of discussion in earlier postings about using walnut as a compost, but this is the first I've heard of it. I read the link posted by Robert and it seems like juglone is exuded by living parts of the walnut tree, and perhaps by leaves falling on the forest floor. I didn't see anything specifically mentioning Juglone in the mature and non-living wood of the tree.

The reason I'm questioning is that I've been using walnut as a mulch and have never noticed any differences between plants mulched with walnut and plants mulched with other woods.

Can anyone point me to a source that discusses the dangers of using walnut sawdust and shavings as a mulch?

Thanks, Mike

[George Leicht]

My wife works at a Ford dealer, and they use my sawdust and shavings to soak up oil spills on the shop floor.
George

[Charlie Plesums]

I assume there's been a lot of discussion in earlier postings about using walnut as a compost, but this is the first I've heard of it. I read the link posted by Robert and it seems like juglone is exuded by living parts of the walnut tree, and perhaps by leaves falling on the forest floor. I didn't see anything specifically mentioning Juglone in the mature and non-living wood of the tree.

The reason I'm questioning is that I've been using walnut as a mulch and have never noticed any differences between plants mulched with walnut and plants mulched with other woods.

Can anyone point me to a source that discusses the dangers of using walnut sawdust and shavings as a mulch?

Thanks, Mike
My BIL checked it out when he was in medical school, and found that walnut shavings prevent germination of seeds, but don't interfere with plant growth. That finding has been confirmed by lots of use by myself and my friends (folks with rose gardens are on a waiting list for my walnut shavings - it looks good with roses, and the plants don't grow from seeds... only the weeds do). No chapter and verse to quote, but years of experience... The impact of the walnut seems to last for 4-5 years... the weeds start to come back at that point, so it is time to do it again.

I have heard that something in horse urine interacts with the walnut shavings that creates a poison absorbed by the horse hooves. I'm not about to conduct an experiment, but I have heard that "story" enough to worry about it. If you have horses, I wouldn't risk it with Walnut.

Cedar shavings are the prime ingredient in expensive dog beds... it keeps bugs away, and the dogs seem to like it. I don't do a lot with cedar, but I do save the shavings for dog owners.

[Mike Henderson]

My BIL checked it out when he was in medical school, and found that walnut shavings prevent germination of seeds, but don't interfere with plant growth. That finding has been confirmed by lots of use by myself and my friends (folks with rose gardens are on a waiting list for my walnut shavings - it looks good with roses, and the plants don't grow from seeds... only the weeds do). No chapter and verse to quote, but years of experience... The impact of the walnut seems to last for 4-5 years... the weeds start to come back at that point, so it is time to do it again.
Thanks, Charlie. I surmise from your note that walnut mulch is good as long as you're not growing anything from seed. So my naive use of walnut mulch was working in my favor without me knowing it - helping to keep down weeds!

Mike

PS - regarding cedar, do you know if that's all cedar or only aromatic cedar?

[Charlie Plesums]

Thanks, Charlie. I surmise from your note that walnut mulch is good as long as you're not growing anything from seed. So my naive use of walnut mulch was working in my favor without me knowing it - helping to keep down weeds!

Mike

PS - regarding cedar, do you know if that's all cedar or only aromatic cedar?
That was my conclusion also, which has been confirmed by experience. My BIL also used walnut under his kid's yard toys... so a Doctor wasn't concerned about impact of walnut on children's skin.

I made some modifications to a customer's sauna from white cedar...not the high aroma red stuff, but it still has the cedar smell... and used those shavings in a dog bed. An expensive bed that came apart had styrofoam pellets to extend the shavings. Since styrofoam popcorn packing material "squeaks" we didn't use that to extend the cedar, but we did use what we call "ghost farts" - the biogradable variant of styrofoam popcorn - which seemed to work fine as an extender.