Re: wood chips

[Robin Duchesneau]

Dear Cordelia,   If you have a pile of wood chips, you must first figure out what kind of tree species were chipped in the first place.  Because, they all have different concentrations of various nutrients and components  that will eventually make your final compost (...assuming its for gardening).  Including pH and all...  For example, if it contains cedar bark, then it will be full of terpenes and will slowly decompose.   Your compost pile must be aerobic or it won't fly.  Meaning it needs to be aerated.  Certainly it will need nitrogen.  The ratio should be around 25:1 Carbon:Nitrogen.  If you can't measure this accurately, then add 1 cup of brown for 25 cups of green.  It should be well mixed in windrows, or some other clever form of pile that will properly aerate and maintain a temperature slightly above 40 degrees Celsius.  The time will depend on the wood mix and the manure quality.   Perhaps a microbial compost starter might be a good idea.  I wonder about BD compost starter since they were developed for agricultural purposes and it also depends on the purpose of this final compost.  Of course, a BD spray and a proper carbon nitrogen supply would certainly help.  Earthworms might not be necessary if your mixing process is sufficient.   Good luck with your compost pile, seems like a fun project.   Robin             ----- Original Message ----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: July 12, 2002 6:43 PM Subject: wood chips ----- Original Message ----- Dear BDnow readers, We are creating huge amounts of wood chips from a forest thinning/field reclamation project. Any suggestions on best possible ways to compost this stuff?  What would a workable ratio of manure to the wood chips be? Thank you for any advice. Cordelia