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

[aart]

@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.

Yes, mostly.......moisture and heat from initial decomposition can cause molds, already growing in normal and balanced populations on the bark of trees, to grow to toxic amounts.
The main one is aspergillus.

 

[blackdog043]

I've used something called echo mulch, from a landscaping place. It is basically tree trimmings. If you go along highways being built and see piles of mulch from land being cleared, that's what it was. It wasn't very expensive by the yard.

 

[Sally PB]

So if the chips are made in mid August, is mid September a safe bet for using them? Or are there visual signs to look for?

I will be adding raked up leaves sometime in November. Since most of the trees in my yard are oak, the leave drop is late. And not all at once.

But there are a lot, and they're free, so I'm not going to complain. The chickens loved scratching through the piles last year.

 

[3KillerBs]

So if the chips are made in mid August, is mid September a safe bet for using them? Or are there visual signs to look for?

I will be adding raked up leaves sometime in November. Since most of the trees in my yard are oak, the leave drop is late. And not all at once.

But there are a lot, and they're free, so I'm not going to complain. The chickens loved scratching through the piles last year.

I'm eyeballing my pine trees, waiting for the pine straw to drop.

You can use THIN layers scraped from the outside of the pile as they dry if you don't have time to wait for them to age.

 

[Sally PB]

You can use THIN layers scraped from the outside of the pile as they dry if you don't have time to wait for them to age.

Thanks. I thought that might be the case, but figured I should ask.

This will probably be quite a pile. I hope DH won't mind it sitting there, as it will be visible from the front porch. I'll tell him it will help the garden where I grow his hot peppers.

 

[aart]

So if the chips are made in mid August, is mid September a safe bet for using them? Or are there visual signs to look for?

No timeline...too many variables.
I believe that aspergillious is invisible.
Don't freak if you see other ''growths'.

You can use THIN layers scraped from the outside of the pile as they dry if you don't have time to wait for them to age.

Ditto Dat.

 

[rosemarythyme]

x3 on using thin layers, skimmed from the surface of the chip pile (basically you want to use the most aired out materials). Aim to build up the litter over time, even if it's tempting to dump a bunch in all at once. Once the litter is established and the ground stabilized you can add materials in bigger loads).

Ideally you'd probably want to age around 6 months or so, but I know how it goes with needing the chips sooner rather than later.