Term for the type of wood chips in outdoor run...

[Panhandler80]

I'm a little over a year in and have started to face a little bit of a mud issue. Soil drains pretty well and the grade is perfect, but still pretty muddy. Nothing has been put down yet, but I'd like to. It will also keep the dust down a little bit... the dust that likes to wind up on my patio and ends up being tracked inside the house.

Anyway, my understanding is that you want pretty good sized wood chucks.. like small branches, random sizes, etc and that this needs to be dried and not green prior to going in the run. The run is about 500 square feet, so I'm going to need quite a bit.

I seem to remember a forum member referring to this type of material using a term that was unfamiliar to me. He got all of his from a local tree cutting company.

Lil help?

 

[aart]

'Ramial chipped wood' might the term you are thinking of,
but not sure the tree trimmers use it.
If chippings are fresh and have lots of green leaves included it's best to let the pile sit for a few weeks, then scrape the outer layers of pile and add thin layers of that to the run.
Can help to also add thin layers of very dry plan matter, like straw or dried grass clippings.

 

[3KillerBs]

I just describe them as "coarse" wood chips.

 

[Panhandler80]

'Ramial chipped wood' might the term you are thinking of,
but not sure the tree trimmers use it.
If chippings are fresh and have lots of green leaves included it's best to let the pile sit for a few weeks, then scrape the outer layers of pile and add thin layers of that to the run.
Can help to also add thin layers of very dry plan matter, like straw or dried grass clippings.

Yep, that's it. Thanks. I found a local place that sells chips in bulk, but I don't think they are going to be a viable option. It's really more mulch like than little pieces of wood. More importnatly it's either cypress, or a product that is a mixture of hardwoods that's been stained one of three colors. Guessing I should steer clear of all these. They say that the stained ones are safe for plants and animals, but I'm not sure how comfortable I am with that, plus, I suspect that stain slows the wood from breaking down, which is what I want to occur... both for the bugs that are attracted and soil regeneration in coop.

EDIT: I know this has been discussed over and over again... but pine chips also not good, right?

 

[Chold05]

They call them single processed wood chips near us. The "playground mulch" is twice as expensive and run through the chipper 2x, instead of just once.
We had some confusion when we called around for them. lol

 

[3KillerBs]

Yep, that's it. Thanks. I found a local place that sells chips in bulk, but I don't think they are going to be a viable option. It's really more mulch like than little pieces of wood. More importnatly it's either cypress, or a product that is a mixture of hardwoods that's been stained one of three colors. Guessing I should steer clear of all these. They say that the stained ones are safe for plants and animals, but I'm not sure how comfortable I am with that, plus, I suspect that stain slows the wood from breaking down, which is what I want to occur... both for the bugs that are attracted and soil regeneration in coop.

EDIT: I know this has been discussed over and over again... but pine chips also not good, right?

Pine is fine.

People who talk about pine being a problem are usually trying to sell you something else.

 

[aart]

I found a local place that sells chips in bulk, but I don't think they are going to be a viable option. It's really more mulch like than little pieces of wood. More importnatly it's either cypress, or a product that is a mixture of hardwoods that's been stained one of three colors.

Sounds like landscaping mulch, and yeah they are smaller and I wouldn't want the dyed stuff.

I believe the only place to get ramial chippings is from a tree trimmer. You'll need to have a place to dump a large quantity. They are usually happy to do it so they don't have to pay to dispose of them elsewhere, but it can be hard to find someone who will make it happen.

I know this has been discussed over and over again... but pine chips also not good, right?

Pine is fine, it'll just break down faster than hardwood.

 

[perkolator]

Your setup looks big enough to accept a full truckload of arborist mulch. I'd just call around and see if anyone can deliver one to you for free. In my area other sources of arborist mulch are from the city (usually a shovel yourself deal), or from the dump's green waste program (pay a small fee for them to load your truck). ChipDrop has been unreliable for me, much better results actively calling or just go get it myself.

 

[Sally PB]

If chippings are fresh and have lots of green leaves included it's best to let the pile sit for a few weeks, then scrape the outer layers of pile and add thin layers of that to the run.

@aart, what is the reason for letting it age?

I'm going to have some oak trees taken down, and I will have a LOT of chips from this. It'll probably be in the next month, probably, so lots of green leaves in the pile.

 

[3KillerBs]

@aart, what is the reason for letting it age?

I'm going to have some oak trees taken down, and I will have a LOT of chips from this. It'll probably be in the next month, probably, so lots of green leaves in the pile.

The moisture, especially from the leaves, can cause a specific sort of mold. Once it ages it both dries and is overtaken by different organisms that promote composting.