That white you are seeing is called actinomycetes. It's a decomposition fungus
which means your pile is healthy. Ammonia smell, you should try to turn as much
as you can. Don't get it too wet.


On Sat, 10 Jan 2004 02:51:41 -0600, "cat daddy" opined:

Great, now you've got me eyeing Davey trucks........... I hadn't
considered it would be more convenient to dump the chips nearby.
On a related note, I did skip leaf trawling for one whole week, but
couldn't resist 6 bags that the city didn't pick up. I mulch mowed them and
spread them directly on the flowerbeds, since I missed spreading the
finished compost that's buried under four feet of leaves.......
The big pile is still going great. Since I cover it, the top 1 ft. layer
is damp and black, and underneath is hot, dryish, and covered in a white
fungus (like ash). I still worry if I'm getting enough water (there are
still pockets of dry leaves) and air to the center. There is a slight
ammonia smell. Turning more than the top layer is not an option, so next
time I think I'll put in vertical PVC drain pipe to see if that helps.

"J Kolenovsky" wrote in message
...
It's an experiment. I'm putting a 6 inch layer on chips down on the
bermuda to see how well the fungus that forms on the chips restrict the
growth of the bermuda. It's my understanding it will but I'm
experimenting on how thick the chip layer should be.

I've always gotten dumps of wood chips. It saves the operator from
making dump runs and increases field productivity time.

I know what you mean about the leaves. I ground up 300 sacks in November
and I still want to grind more. Between myself and my neighbor with his
lot as a victory garden, I think we have enough for now. It's still a
temptation as the leaves ALL fell in the last week or so in the Bayou
City.

J


cat daddy wrote:

Wow, how'd you get them to do that? No, no, don't tell me, please
no........ I actually drove past three bags of leaves this morning. I
*will*
wash and wax my car and not carry leaves on the trunk 'til
Spring..........
How are you using woodchips on the prairie?

"J Kolenovsky" wrote in message
...
I had Davey Tree dump a free load of wood chips by the prairie the City
is letting me establish. Had to take a hired hand and go spread it out.
It was charring on the inside night after it rained and got the green
stuff wet. Didn't want some uninformed person calling the fire dept not
knowing what's going on. (that HAS happened once before)