[USCC] Applying Wood Chips To Soil

[John Cossham]

Hello Ken, my take on this is that the wood chips would be better composted 
along with some nitrogenous materials (lawn clippings, manures, food waste 
etc) before addition to soil.  If you put the woodchips AND nirogenous 
materials (surely you weren't thinking of agricultural fertiliser?) in the 
soil, the nitrogenous materials may be used by plants or leach out fairly 
quickly before the wood rots down much, leaving woodchips which may rob the 
soil of further available nitrogen.

If you compost the woodchips first, this will make an excellent soil 
amendment and should be a balanced slow-release fertiliser so avoiding use 
of agricultural fertiliser, which as we know, is made from petrochemicals 
and therefore if we don't have to use it, we shouldn't!

However, the woodchips could be used for something else... I am a fan of 
woodstoves and biomass heaters and therefore I know that, in the UK at 
least, there is a growing market for wood to burn to make heat/power, 
replacing gas central heating, coal fires or oil burning appliances.  Good 
luck finding an appropriate use for this material!
John, York UK
johncossham at tiscali.co.uk
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <KPowell at kdhe.state.ks.us>
To: <compost at mailman.cloudnet.com>
Sent: Wednesday, September 10, 2008 7:55 PM
Subject: [USCC] Applying Wood Chips To Soil




Good Afternoon Compost World,

This is not exactly a composting question, but more of an organics
question.  We have a smaller county in Kansas that has a large cabinet
manufacturing facility.  They have chosen not to landfill the kiln dried
scrap wood and would like to grind it to 3/4" or less and then use it as a
soil amendment for crop land.  Their idea is that this would over time
improve the tilth because of the organics that would be left as the wood
breaks down.  The soil in the area is a silty clay.  The questions are:

Has anyone been involved in such a project and what were the results?

How much additional nitrogen is needed per ton of wood added to the soil?

How much wood waste could be added per acre per year?



Ken Powell
Environmental Scientist
Kansas Department of Health & Environment
Bureau of Waste Management
1000 SW Jackson, Suite 320
Topeka, KS  66612-1366
Phone 785-296-1121, Fax 785-296-1592
e-mail:  kpowell at kdhe.state.ks.us
Web site:  www.kdheks.gov/waste