Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Sawdust
I'm told that putting green woodchips onto soil has the effect of drawing
out nutrients from the soil as they rot down. Does anybody know if they same happens if sawdust from seasoned wood is added to soil. Has anybody tried this to build up moisture retention in dry areas? -- Euan |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
Sawdust
"emuir" wrote in message ... I'm told that putting green woodchips onto soil has the effect of drawing out nutrients from the soil as they rot down. Does anybody know if they same happens if sawdust from seasoned wood is added to soil. Has anybody tried this to build up moisture retention in dry areas? Nitrogen. As it rots, so the more seasoned it is probably the quicker it would draw nutrients. -- Tumbleweed Remove my socks before replying (but no email reply necessary to newsgroups) |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Sawdust
"emuir" wrote in message ...
I'm told that putting green woodchips onto soil has the effect of drawing out nutrients from the soil as they rot down. Does anybody know if they same happens if sawdust from seasoned wood is added to soil. Has anybody tried this to build up moisture retention in dry areas? Sawdust has a carbon to nitrogen ratio of about 400-1 and it will tie up nitrogen if mixed into the soil. It makes a good mulch for blueberries when laid on the soil surface. It makes a soft place to land when mixed with sand under playsets/swingsets. It ties up enough nitrogen to make a pile of grass clippings rot without stinking. |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
Sawdust
In article , Tumbleweed fromnews@myso
ckstumbleweed.freeserve.co.uk writes Nitrogen. As it rots, so the more seasoned it is probably the quicker it would draw nutrients. It is true to say that sawdust, wood-chippings etc. use up nitrogen as they bio-degrade. That amount is self-supplied energy used to create heat in the material as it breaks down. I sometimes wonder though whether any nitrogen is actually drawn from the soil, or is locked up by the process. Much the same argument was used by farmers who preferred to burn straw from their cereal harvests rather than turn it in. IIRC there was some research into the effects and no leaching of nitrogen from the soil was able to be detected. These days straw is more likely to be baled for a variety of uses, but some of it is turned back into the soil with good effect. -- Alan & Joan Gould - North Lincs. |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
Sawdust
In article ,
Beecrofter wrote: "emuir" wrote in message ... I'm told that putting green woodchips onto soil has the effect of drawing out nutrients from the soil as they rot down. Does anybody know if they same happens if sawdust from seasoned wood is added to soil. Has anybody tried this to build up moisture retention in dry areas? Sawdust has a carbon to nitrogen ratio of about 400-1 and it will tie up nitrogen if mixed into the soil. It makes a good mulch for blueberries when laid on the soil surface. It makes a soft place to land when mixed with sand under playsets/swingsets. It ties up enough nitrogen to make a pile of grass clippings rot without stinking. Er, no. I don't know where all the pseudo-science about "greens", "browns", "carbon", "nitrogen" and all that came from, but it really doesn't describe what is going on. Your description of how to use it is fine - it is the explanation that isn't. Grass is not a high-nitrogen material, and the reason that grass clippings make a slimy, smelly mess is because they compact into a wet, ANAEROBIC lump. Longer, more mature grass does not do that on a small scale. Sawdust is less compressible, less decomposable and prevents the smell by maintaining aeration. SOME nitrogen is used by the fungi (not usually bacteria) in breaking down wood, as in sawdust, hedge clippings and so on, but it is all returned as the fungi themselves are broken down by bacteria. This is one cause of the deep green patch just inside the yellowish strip in a fairy ring. The only common high nitrogen materials in compost come from kitchen waste, dead animals and when you throw out a pack of MATURE dried peas, beans etc. Almost everything else is fairly low. And nothing less than putting large lumps of meat or dead animals on the heap is likely to change the decomposition to being one dominated by the protein-reducing organisms - the odd pound or couple of dead rats is neither here nor there. Regards, Nick Maclaren, University of Cambridge Computing Service, New Museums Site, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QH, England. Email: Tel.: +44 1223 334761 Fax: +44 1223 334679 |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
Sawdust
The only common high nitrogen materials in compost come from kitchen waste, dead animals and when you throw out a pack of MATURE dried peas, beans etc. Almost everything else is fairly low. And nothing less than putting large lumps of meat or dead animals on the heap is likely to change the decomposition to being one dominated by the protein-reducing organisms - you lost me he What are the protein-reducing organisms? Otherwise, very interesting! Peter --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.434 / Virus Database: 243 - Release Date: 25/12/2002 |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
Sawdust
emuir wrote:
I'm told that putting green woodchips onto soil has the effect of drawing out nutrients from the soil as they rot down. Does anybody know if they same happens if sawdust from seasoned wood is added to soil. Has anybody tried this to build up moisture retention in dry areas? -- Euan Why not COMPOST it and then add it to the soil with a little lime? Kevin |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
Sawdust
Thank you so much for all of your responses.
I'm not going to add the sawdust directly to my soil. I don't have a standard compost heap but I will soak some of the sawdust and add it to my worm farm. If that is successful I'll keep the remainder for bedding material for future wormerys beside soft fruit bushes. I'm starting a new garden on a new plot, I think the developers left with the top soil, so I'm in a hurry to get things started. "it's me" wrote in message ... emuir wrote: I'm told that putting green woodchips onto soil has the effect of drawing out nutrients from the soil as they rot down. Does anybody know if they same happens if sawdust from seasoned wood is added to soil. Has anybody tried this to build up moisture retention in dry areas? -- Euan Why not COMPOST it and then add it to the soil with a little lime? Kevin |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
Sawdust
it's me wrote in message ...
emuir wrote: I'm told that putting green woodchips onto soil has the effect of drawing out nutrients from the soil as they rot down. Does anybody know if they same happens if sawdust from seasoned wood is added to soil. Has anybody tried this to build up moisture retention in dry areas? I know that I'd never think twice about adding sawdust to my compost heap. It's just a case of getting a balance - easy enough if you have a lawn, or a weedy flowerbed, or even a large pond ... if not, maybe think about growing a composting plant (comfrey or a traditional 'green manure' such as mustard) to put with it. Why not COMPOST it and then add it to the soil with a little lime? Kevin I thought you were not supposed to add lime and fertiliser the same season/year because of a reaction between the two. Maybe that only applies to manure. |
#11
|
|||
|
|||
Sawdust
Er, no. I don't know where all the pseudo-science about "greens", "browns", "carbon", "nitrogen" and all that came from, but it really doesn't describe what is going on. Your description of how to use it is fine - it is the explanation that isn't. Grass is not a high-nitrogen material, and the reason that grass clippings make a slimy, smelly mess is because they compact into a wet, ANAEROBIC lump. Longer, more mature grass does not do that on a small scale. Sawdust is less compressible, less decomposable and prevents the smell by maintaining aeration. Bullshit Fresh grass clippings here run a carbon to nitrogen ratio of from about 9:1 up to 20:1 probably because most folks with lawns just pile on fertilizers without ever doing a soil test. An efficient fast and hot compost is blended to have a carbon to nitrogen ratio of 30:1 Sawdust and clippings will still compost hot at twice this (60:1) because they are finely divided and have much surface area. This ain't rocket science, I defy anyone to pile damp organic materials outdoors and have it not rot. What differs is how hot you want the pile to get and how fast. |
#12
|
|||
|
|||
Sawdust
it's me wrote in message ...
emuir wrote: I'm told that putting green woodchips onto soil has the effect of drawing out nutrients from the soil as they rot down. Does anybody know if they same happens if sawdust from seasoned wood is added to soil. Has anybody tried this to build up moisture retention in dry areas? -- Euan Why not COMPOST it and then add it to the soil with a little lime? Kevin Why would you add lime ? Do you need to correct the pH? |
#13
|
|||
|
|||
Sawdust
|
#14
|
|||
|
|||
Sawdust
"tiger x" wrote in message om... (Beecrofter) wrote in message . com... Er, no. I don't know where all the pseudo-science about "greens", "browns", "carbon", "nitrogen" and all that came from, but it really doesn't describe what is going on. Your description of how to use it is fine - it is the explanation that isn't. Grass is not a high-nitrogen material, and the reason that grass clippings make a slimy, smelly mess is because they compact into a wet, ANAEROBIC lump. Longer, more mature grass does not do that on a small scale. Sawdust is less compressible, less decomposable and prevents the smell by maintaining aeration. Bullshit Fresh grass clippings here run a carbon to nitrogen ratio of from about 9:1 up to 20:1 probably because most folks with lawns just pile on fertilizers without ever doing a soil test. An efficient fast and hot compost is blended to have a carbon to nitrogen ratio of 30:1 Sawdust and clippings will still compost hot at twice this (60:1) because they are finely divided and have much surface area. This ain't rocket science, I defy anyone to pile damp organic materials outdoors and have it not rot. What differs is how hot you want the pile to get and how fast. OK, explain it to a novice (me). I'm talking sawdust, grass clippings, and non-animal scraps in a compost pile. You're talking carbon to nitrogen ratios. Am I to assume that everything going into the pile is carbon and I need something (?) containing nitrogen to add to it? This is a problem I have had for years now - I can't get the compost pile to produce enough heat for fast breakdown. (It does stay moist). Out of frustration I even tried adding ammonium nitrate with very little change. How do you measure carbon/nitrogen going into a compost pile to get a ratio? -Tiger I usually have the same problem. This fall I bought two 5 lb. bags of rabbit food for $5US, soaked overnight and incorporated them into the pile. It's 10' x 6' x 4' and it's steaming hot. The rabbit food is supposedly mostly alfalfa and seems to be working great. Another thing I did was to put a plastic kids' pool inverted over the top to capture and return moisture. It's like a steam bath under there. I don't worry about ratios of ingredients because it's seasonally impossible. |
#15
|
|||
|
|||
Sawdust
In article , emuir
writes Thank you so much for all of your responses. I'm not going to add the sawdust directly to my soil. I don't have a standard compost heap but I will soak some of the sawdust and add it to my worm farm. Be careful, then. A lot of timber these days is treated for fungus and wood worm. I hope that the sawdust doesn't have a detrimental effect on your worms -- Jane Ransom in Lancaster. I won't respond to private emails that are on topic for urg but if you need to email me for any other reason, put jandg dot demon dot co dot uk where you see deadspam.com |
Reply |
|
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Forum | |||
Old Sawdust - not about sawdust that's for sure | Gardening | |||
Efficacy of sawdust, was, Old Sawdust | Gardening | |||
Sawdust as mulch | Gardening | |||
Fresh sawdust as soil amendment??? | United Kingdom | |||
Fresh sawdust as soil amendment??? | Gardening |