Free Mulch & Wood Chips Program

[Nyboy]

Last spring I paid $80 for a load of wood chips delievered.

 

[bobm]

@bobm would barley be a fall/winter crop?

The contractors are back, they were gone to another area for a week, they brought us 3 more loads and are parking their trucks here again. As @thistlebloom said, YAY for free wood chips!

Yes, barley is a GREAT fall/ winter crop. In Central Cal. a 1/3 each mixture of oats, wheat and barley cut, dried and baled at the early dough stage is a fantastic and profitable horse feed in the spring. Horses and other livestock LOVE it and the feed puts a nice bloom on the animals fast.

 

[seedcorn]

California is releasing a new variety of oats with better root system, wider leaves and higher protein levels.

 

[ninnymary]

Is it ever too much of a good thing? Just wondering with all those wood chips.

Mary

 

[seedcorn]

She is working with blow sand with 0 organic matter. The bacteria will tie up any nitrogen while it breaks down the wood chips. The broken down wood chips will increase organic matter. She will not Change the over all organic matter in her life time but will greatly increase soil health. So long answer is no.

 

[lcertuche]

Make sure there is lots of green material so it will compost. I would probably use grass clipping and throw some feed on it to encourage my girls (chickens) to scratch around in it. Maybe encourage my sons to pee on it. What am I saying I wouldn't have to encourage them because they pee everywhere outside. The hard part is to get them to do it away from the house!

 

[baymule]

@Nyboy we feel positively wealthy!

@ninnymary it's hard for grass to take root in sand with no humus or nutrients, hopefully the wood chips will give the grass time to take root before it blows away.

@seedcorn I know the chips will take up the nitrogen, but in the barnyard area, I really don't care, just trying to hold down the dust. If I spread chips on places I want grass to grow, I need to plant nitrogen fixing plants. It's too late for clover, but I can sow seed next fall. If I get chips spread, I may plant peas to add nitrogen and give the deer something to have a party in.

@lcertuche this comes with pine needles, leaves, twigs, chips, and it is steaming when it's dumped out of the truck! We're getting mountains of the stuff, have spread most of it and now there're back for the next 2-3 weeks before they go to another area. We're saving some of it to break down and compost for future garden mulch.

 

[Nyboy]

Bay do you harvest any of the deer on your grounds ?

 

[baymule]

Bay do you harvest any of the deer on your grounds ?

No, there are about a half dozen that wander through here. Personally, I don't believe that 8 acres are enough for hunting, bullets fly over property lines. If i wanted to, I could, but I'd be mighty particular about what direction I shot in.

 

[waretrop]

Up until last year we got all the double ground mulch we wanted for free from our town...Last year they charged us $10 per bucket load. That is about $3.33 per cubic yard.... totaling about $500. GOT THAT???

I use 150 cubic yards every year.. I have to haul it on my double snowmobile trailer and spread it myself but it is well worth it...

They always through extra in. Last year they charged me $160.. for all of it so I gave them a $50 bonus....$210. isn't too bad for 150 cubic yards....It used to cost me $1400 to have a big truck deliver it a few times in the spring...I will do the work to save all that money..

For you guys that don't know, I have 2 and half acres with lots of sprawling flower and shrub gardens running all over it...We usually are on our county garden tour.