question regarding pine shavings - A friend said it was bad for gardens due to turpentine

[vweers]

Is this true? Since I have found that pine shavings work the best in our coop as they chickens won't keeps the straw under the roosts instead they move it around so much that I just have bare wood floors beneath them. Just curious if I need to figure something else out. I just have been buying the pine shavings at a local store.

 

[Folly's place]

I've hauled a lot of horse and chicken bedding to my garden, the neighbor's garden, and my pastures. No problem! Mary

 

[cassie]

I used pine shavings on my garden for years with no problems whatever.

 

[donrae]

I can't imagine the shavings have turpentine on them? that's kind of bizarre IMO. My shavings I buy are just pine shavings, nothing else. And like the above, I've been using them on my garden for years and years with no issues.

 

[aart]

Most pine shavings bought in compressed bales at the farm stores are kiln dried, so no sap.
Sap is gathered and distilled to make turpentine....much like maple sap is gathered and boiled down to make syrup.

Wood shavings can be 'bad' for gardens because they use up nitrogen as they decompose, robbing it from the growing plants.

 

[Hokum Coco]

Most pine shavings bought in compressed bales at the farm stores are kiln dried, so no sap.
Sap is gathered and distilled to make turpentine....much like maple sap is gathered and boiled down to make syrup.

Wood shavings can be 'bad' for gardens because they use up nitrogen as they decompose, robbing it from the growing plants.

What you say aart makes sense.

In my coop I use pine shavings with no ill effects on my garden.
Then again chicken poop being the strongest manure known to mankind Probably compensates for any nitrogen robbed out of the soil by the shavings. At least it does in my coop and garden.

 

[shmeggs]

I had trouble with straw also, I just started using pine shavings also