Mulching power?

topic posted Tue, October 31, 2006 - 12:00 PM by  offlineSoooz: biker...
My back yard is about 20 x 50 feet, a little more than half is flower-bed-type space, the rest is paved patio. I plan on picking up a bit more of the concrete that the previous owner put down, she wasn't much for gardening, I managed a very pretty crop of flowers this year.

I compost in one corner-kitchen waste mostly. Last year, a buddy pruned my tree, and I composted most of the leaves and smallest branches, but I still have a fair amount of dead wood left that I absolutely cannot burn. One neighbor wants to take one of her trees down, another wants to prune hers severely and I want the debris for more compost. I also usually get a live tree that I would compost after christmas.

All the professional tree service co's have equipment that is too large to get into our yards-behind attached houses with no driveway.
I've looked around for a chipper-type device, and since I know very little about them, didn't see anything that seemed to meet my needs. I want to grind the branches down to sawdust, then plow it into the soil.
I'm willing to make the investment, can anyone suggest a machine that can handle this? Almost like an industrial-strength food processor. What sort of power do they need?
Much obliged, power chicks,
posted by:
Soooz: biker/priestess
New York City
  • Re: Mulching power?

    Wed, November 1, 2006 - 8:26 AM
    do you have something like a tool-lending library in your area? Most chippers I have seen/used do not make sawdust, but make chips which decompose differently and are more decorative than amendment...sorry to not help more with your quesiton but...

    fyi about fresh sawdust amendment in the garden (sorry about the mishmash of good info here)
    Sawdust is organic, an obvious by product of lumber processing. However, for the necessary breakdown process to occur, the sawdust requires nitrogen. Gardeners know that fresh or new sawdust can cause a shortage in available plant nutrients by using nitrogen from the ground, pulling it away from plants.

    Sawdust is often readily available, but is the least desirable source of organic matter. Sawdust ties up nitrogen as it decomposes in the soil, causing plants to suffer or even die from nitrogen deficiency. The nitrogen deficiency from sawdust decomposition often lasts 2-4 years, requiring additional applications of nitrogen to supply plant needs. Mix slow-release forms of nitrogen, such as manure or composted biosolids, with sawdust because they will supply nitrogen for many months as the sawdust decomposes. Sawdust and biosolids or manure should be mixed in a roughly 2-3:1 (sawdust:nitrogen source) ratio. Additional nitrogen fertilizer is often needed in the second and even third year after sawdust addition to maintain plant growth. Watch plants for nitrogen deficiency (pale green leaves and slow growth) and add nitrogen in doses of 1 pound per 1000 square feet of garden as needed. Nitrogen deficiency is usually most apparent during the summer when sawdust decomposition is fastest and plant demand for nitrogen is greatest.

    If you do wish to spread raw or undecomposed sawdust, add some extra nitrogen to help the break-down process, and be sure to wet the sawdust thoroughly. For every cubic yard of raw sawdust, add nitrogen. If you use organic fertilizers, you can add kelp meal or cottonseed meal to the sawdust, at about 20 pounds per 1 cubic yard. If you use processed nitrogen fertilizer, add it carefully and be certain not to place the sawdust where the nitrogen will leach into any body of water.

    The amounts of processed fertilizer are: 1 cubic yard sawdust, plus 14 pounds of 21-0-0 (ammonium sulfate) or 9 pounds of 33-0-0. (ammonium nitrate.) The sawdust plus nitrogen can be tilled into garden soil for next spring's vegetable garden or into any place where the garden is empty and fallow. It will break down over winter into a useful soil amendment.

    Adding grass clippings in quantity to a pile of fresh sawdust will also provide you with good springtime mulch after the materials break down. Or you can leave the sawdust plus nitrogen fertilizer in a pile to compost. (Wet it and cover the pile with a tarp during winter to prevent leaching of the nitrogen.)
    • Re: Mulching power?

      Wed, November 1, 2006 - 9:35 AM
      There's at least as much dried green material as dead wood to grind up. The soil is very clay-like, so tilling the ground-up stuff into it won't over-dilute the nutrients in the soil. I used Miracle Grow a couple of times this year, and my flowers thrived.
      I know you're a more experienced gardener than I am, Chili, can you at least give me a brand name for machinery I could start googling?
      • Re: Mulching power?

        Wed, November 1, 2006 - 9:50 AM
        I'm sorry Soooz I don't do that big of tree work self > and I always salvage for firewood as opposed to on-site chipping. BUT I do know more than a few arborists so i'll ask for you and see what I can come up with.

        Hey sorry about the long-winded post earlier > but you still need to add nitrogen > especially because everything is raw in the compost you are making > and clay has not much N anyways so anything the green/sawdust depletes it, further lessening the N in the soil > just add some Miracle Grow when you add the sawdust and green stuff to the soil.

        gotta go to work now > I'll see if I can get you some info in a day or so.
        • Re: Mulching power?

          Wed, November 1, 2006 - 10:02 AM
          I have a soil test kit, haven't used it yet but it will show me nitrogen levels. I kinda just gardened by instinct this year, and planted whatever my neighborhood plant sale had left.
          My compost heap is not a regulation set-up, but I've had excellent results by tilling a small section, digging it out, tossing in a gallon or so of kitchen scraps (no meat product, just fruit & veggie peels, coffee grounds) and raking the soil back over it. I water, let the worms do their job, and a couple of weeks later, it's all decomposed. Lazy and efficient--gotta love it.
          I look forward to the machinery advice, thanks!
          • Re: Mulching power?

            Thu, November 2, 2006 - 9:59 AM
            ok after much laughter from the arborists, here is what I got: a chipper should ideally be able to suck down a 20' long 6" diameter branch with ease - and run you around $5000 for a used one...and will not make sawdust, just chips. now mind you you still wouldn't be able to get it in your back yard (thru your house?). so they asked what are you thinking if you can't get one in from a rental co, how culd you buy one and get it in? they suggested getting a good stihl (O20) chainsaw, buck up all the usable wood for yours or someone else's firewood, pile up smaller debris and cut it up with the chainsaw (they do this in my pickup bed with the chainsaw to cut down the debris to fit more in).
            One arborist mentioned that one of his clients has a smaller home-use kind of chipper, but that it only takes 1/2" diameter branches and it takes for_ever to chip stuff...but he said his client loves the thing - he's doesn't know what brand it is though. With the small yard size and small size tree chip projects you have, everyone I spoke with suggested that it might be easier to rent something for a few days instead of buying.
            good luck > hope this helps in some random way!
            • Re: Mulching power?

              Thu, November 2, 2006 - 10:52 AM
              Ok, there seems to be a really big chasm between my needs and industrial strength power tools.
              Maybe we could look at this in another way.... like an oversize sausage grinder or food processor?
              • Re: Mulching power?

                Thu, November 2, 2006 - 3:29 PM
                Or a garbage disposal/trash compactor? I never had one, don't they grind too?
                • OHM
                  OHM
                  offline 6

                  Re: Mulching power?

                  Sat, November 4, 2006 - 2:59 PM
                  maybe you should consider renting a chipper. SOMETIMES i RENT A PIECE OF EQUIPMENT AND SHARE W/A NEIGHBOR. AT LEAST IT WOULD BE CHEAPER AND YOU'D HAVE A BETTER IDEA ABOUT WHAT YOU NEED. i THINK YOU MAY BE WAYYYYYYY AHEAD OF YOUR SELF ON THIS.

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