Hello, this is my first post. We have just purchsed a 2 acre block and we are currently building our "dream" house . The Developer cut down and chipped a number of gum trees - these large piles of gum tree chips are still on the my block. My question: Are gum trees chips water repellant (I think I saw it on TV once)? Can they be used for compost, mulch etc? I intend to have fruit trees, vegies, chooks etc. I want to start planting fruit trees now, even though our house will not be ready for about 5 months or so. Thanks, Paul. Central Queensland.
Commercial chippers usually leave a larger chip than home / mini-commercial shredders. I find the chips are good if put back through a shredder to make them smaller and then used in layers in a green/brown compost. I find they do tend to repell water for a while when they are green but if composted under damp conditions (don't let them dry out), you will find a better end product.
Re: Gum Tree chips I read that Eucalyptus leaf litter and root exudates are allelopathic for certain soil microbes and plant species, but I don't know if that holds true with the chipped wood. And I don't know what plants they inhibit. But just in case, you might want to compost it first, which may/should break down the alleopathic materials. Sue
Re: Gum Tree chips Hi paul, I'v been using a similar product for a while. They're pretty tough and take quite a long time to break down. They will make the soil acidic if you use them straight onto the garden. For some plants they should be fine. I happily use mine as a mulch on blueberries and strawberries with good effects. For normal garden use i compost them by firstly putting them through the chook shed as bedding and them adding them to my compost heaps in alternating layers with other things. To make them break down properly it is important that the compost heats up and that they are mixed with other things. I also put a bit of lime through these heaps to offset the acidity. Patients is needed but eventually they do break down to decent compost. hope this helps, IG
Re: Gum Tree chips Thanks for all the good advice. It sounds like it will take some time for the chips to become decent mulch. Which is ok except I have a small mountain of it! For composting on a grand scale: Should I mound it up into one pile (currently it is in 3 or 4), water it and put some plastic over it and hope for the best? It would take me a month straight to regularly fork it over. All advice is appricated. Thanks, Paul.
Re: Gum Tree chips I liked the idea mentioned about using it in a chook pen, that would certainly give it a good dose of nitrogen to help its decomposition. Leaving it in a pile on its own would take a lot longer than it would when added to lawn clippings or other greens.
Re: Gum Tree chips Paul, When composting this stuff i wouldn't turn it at all. I usually make big heaps (about 2 - 4 cubic meters) and i never turn them. If you get the nitrogen:carbon ballance right they should heat up for a while anyway. The trick with the wood chips is to mix them with enough nitrogenous stuff to heat them up. I mix mine with horse and chicken manure and then stack them with layers of hay, weeds and soil. If i were you i'd consolidate the wood chips into one pile and water it heavily then cover it as you suggested. This will help them start breaking down. Then i'd gradually use them in mixed compost piles and as chook bedding as i described. Another good use for them is in paths. If you put a thick layer (20cm+) in the paths between garden beds they should stop the weeds and eventually break down as they are exposed to weather and mixed with soil from under peoples shoes and weeds etc from the garden. Every couple of years you can scrape out the soil (and decomposed woodchips) from the paths into garden beds or composts. Grinding them up into smaller chips would help them break down faster too. Perhaps attempting to turn them into bio char would work too? Not my forte though so i'm not sure. anyone? cheers, IG