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I just milled a whole bunch of pine and got a large bag of pine sawdust and chips. Is that ok for gardens? I know oak shouldn't be used.
If it's ok then I will save it until the fall and work it into the garden.
John
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Not unless you have acid loving plants like Azaleas or Rhododendrons. It is very acidic.
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It's best to let sawdust compost first, but I used to do exactly as you propose w/o problems the next growing season. And I used all kinds of wood, including oak, as well as pine needles and leaves. It's heavy clay soil where I live so added acid is not a problem for me. An old woodworker I new used to put sawdust from his 2 man shop in his garden all the time to get rid of it, a lot of it. He had a mighty nice garden.
John
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Why do you say oak shouldn't be used...I hadn't heard that. (sorry about the tangent)
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i hadn't heard about oak being bad, but i have heard not to use WALNUT.
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Put it in there. Put the ash from your fireplace in there with it and you won't have an acidic soil problem.
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Wood chips and dust go in the trash or compost it. Dumping it on the ground etc will suck nitrogen out so you will have to add fertilizer.
I put mine in the trash and the chunks and shavings in he smoker and grill.
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John Mihich said:
I just milled a whole bunch of pine and got a large bag of pine sawdust and chips. Is that ok for gardens? I know oak shouldn't be used.
Oak is fine, so is pine.Both should be composted with shredded leaves and grass. layer the dust and chips with grass clippings. The grass will add some nitrogen,the sawdust and chips remove it. In 6 months or so,maybe a year the compost will be ready for the garden.You can work 2" into the soil and keep the rest for a mulch on top.Mulch will keep down weeds,retain moisture and add needed nutrients to the soil.
mike
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Soil test before putting ash on the soil! If you already have alkaline soil, this is a bad idea (but the carbon in the soil is good if your pH is appropriate).
As others said compost the dust/shavings first. Initial break down really sucks the nitrogen. You want a lower carbon concentration (20% or so) before putting the wood on beds (this goes for wood chips vs. mulch as well...).
After the wood has had a few months to break down, then it is very good for the soil.
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It doesn't really tie up Nitrogen in a way the interferes with plants unless you mix it into the soil. If you use it as mulch, you should be fine. I've used it as mulch on vegetable plants for years with no ill effects.
