Be careful with using wood shavings as mulch around the garden. As wood decomposes it leaches the available nitrogen (nitrogen in the form that plants can use) out of the soil and it can take a while even after the shavings are fully composted for it to return to normal. If you do use it as mulch just make sure to keep an eye on your nitrogen levels. I personally use some of my shavings and turn them into fire starters. All you do is take an egg crate, fill the spots with crumbled shavings(or smooshed depending on how dry they are), cut pieces of thin hemp rope and stick it upright in the center of each spot, and then pour the melted remains of old candles over it until its a rather solid mass. When they harden you cut each individual egg holder appart. They work great!
"The key to a long life is when you start to die, don't"
Yes, it needs to be composted first before using in the garden.
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The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
depends on the Fu, ask Daryl and his other brother Daryl.
Ive seen stuff wrecked from red oak in the past but fine with pine.
I tried to find a clip of the brothers talking about PH however tons of many other of their revelations. Wise men that they are.
Don’t blueberries need acid soil ? I’ve heard saw dust is more acid than leaves.
Some plants do indeed need more acidic soil, Mel. The concern with raw sawdust pulling nitrates out of the soll excessively may still be an issue. According to what I've read, nitrates in the soil don't contribute to acidity and may even take things the other way. (https://www.cropnutrition.com/resour...d-soil-acidity)
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The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
Yes. However if you wanted to do things completely organically you can add greens like lawn clippings which are rich in nitrogen. The problem is when you just spread things that take a while to decompose instead of mixing nitrogen rich (greens) and nitrogen lacking (browns) which allows for more rapid decomposition.
"The key to a long life is when you start to die, don't"
This is what I do. I don't create too much (maybe a couple 55 gallon drums annually) so I throw it on the compost pile with the grass clippings and ashes from the grill. If I'm not getting the rot rate I need I'll scatter a couple handfuls of high nitrogen fertilizer pellets on the heap. In a few months it's a big pile of black soil. If I have a bonfire scheduled I'll sometimes throw it on the heap.
Sharp solves all manner of problems.
I agree with the others about this. In fact, if you compost your kitchen scraps, they're nitrogen rich. And you need a higher volume of carbon (like 2-4x) to nitrogen for good compost activity. My compost pile is usually a little wet. With the sawdust or chips (no thicker than plane shavings) I can really add a ton to the pile without tipping things in the other direction.
But then again, I'm not making chips at the velocity of most. I probably get a bag or two during the summer.
We spread them along the bottom of the fences surrounding our backyard to suppress the weeds and bermuda grass. Keeps trimming to a minimum.