Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 31

Thread: Saw Dust.......is it good for plants.......?

  1. #1
    Banned
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Chugach National Forest
    Posts
    9,795
    Blog Entries
    10

    Default Saw Dust.......is it good for plants.......?

    I have a lot (OK a mountain) of saw dust & saw shavings from the sawmill. What is a good ratio of saw dust to top soil mix.


  2. #2
    me, myself, and I Trabitha's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    North East PA
    Posts
    1,099

    Default

    Depends on what it was from. If it's just from untreated logs, it's fine...if it has chemicals in it of any kind, no so much.
    The key to immortality is not having a life worth living, but living a life worth remembering.
    - St. Augustine

    A government big enough to give you everything you want,
    is strong enough to take everything you have.
    - Thomas Jefferson

    http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kris-C...6355540?ref=nf
    www.etsy.com/shop/KrisAndChrisPlaques
    www.politicsbykrista.blogspot.com

  3. #3
    Banned
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Chugach National Forest
    Posts
    9,795
    Blog Entries
    10

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Trabitha View Post
    Depends on what it was from. If it's just from untreated logs, it's fine...if it has chemicals in it of any kind, no so much.
    Spruce logs. White spruce, beetle killed and logged.

  4. #4

    Default

    It is an excellent brown ingredient for compost, but when used in soil (without allowing it to break down first) it temporarily will rob the soil of nitrogen, which isn't a good thing.

    Mix it with some grass clippings, let it sit a year, and you'll have brown gold.

  5. #5
    Banned
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Chugach National Forest
    Posts
    9,795
    Blog Entries
    10

    Default

    Thanks, Chris. I don't have grass clipping, but I have used straw.

  6. #6
    me, myself, and I Trabitha's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    North East PA
    Posts
    1,099

    Default

    I love using straw!!! I swear by it!!
    The key to immortality is not having a life worth living, but living a life worth remembering.
    - St. Augustine

    A government big enough to give you everything you want,
    is strong enough to take everything you have.
    - Thomas Jefferson

    http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kris-C...6355540?ref=nf
    www.etsy.com/shop/KrisAndChrisPlaques
    www.politicsbykrista.blogspot.com

  7. #7
    Ed edr730's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    somewhere in n michigan
    Posts
    610

    Default

    Should be great stuff in the end. Yeah, you'll need nitrogen. Lime or ashes too because hardwoods and many pines are very acidic.

  8. #8
    Senior Member randyt's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    tip of the mitt
    Posts
    5,258

    Default

    Ditto on the nitrogen robbing. I mulched the edge of my garden with sawdust too create a border and keep the weeds down. Anywoo later that fall I let the chickens in the garden to clean it up up bit. They scratched around the edge and got some sawdust in the garden. That spring after the plants started to grow, they came up yellowish indicating a nitrogen deficiency. It surprised me to see such a little bit of saw dust cause that to happen.

  9. #9
    Administrator Rick's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Central Indiana
    Posts
    58,832

    Default

    It can be too hot on plants if its still green, too. Compost it and you'll be fine.
    Tracks Across the High Plains...Death on the Bombay Line...A Touch of Death and Mayhem...Dead Rock...The Griswald Mine Boys...All On Amazon Books.

  10. #10
    Ed edr730's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    somewhere in n michigan
    Posts
    610

    Default

    Green sawdust from "green" wood?

  11. #11
    Senior Member Winnie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Location
    Middle England
    Posts
    5,785
    Blog Entries
    1

    Default

    I'm being serious here, once you've mixed the sawdust and straw, pee on it every once in a while. It'll help break down the cellulose. And lets face, peeing outside is only one step away from a doorless outhouse!
    Recession; A period when you go without something your Grandparents never heard of.

  12. #12
    Senior Member gryffynklm's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    West Virginia
    Posts
    2,084

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by edr730 View Post
    Green sawdust from "green" wood?
    Green living trees as opposed to from dead wood.
    Karl

    The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion the the effort he puts into whatever field of endeavor he chooses. Vincent T Lombardi

    A wise man profits from the wisdom of others.

  13. #13
    Ed edr730's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    somewhere in n michigan
    Posts
    610

    Default

    Ohhhh..I thought maybe the sawdust was green south of the 45th parallel which would make them "hot" like manure. Thanks.

  14. #14
    Senior Member hunter63's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    SE/SW Wisconsin
    Posts
    26,866

    Default

    Fresh cut saw dust will kill grass on your lawn, so I guessing it isn't real good right in the garden.
    Cleaning up a downed limb, cutting with chain saw, ended up with dead spots.

    Have used as tempory pathways.

    I might mix sawdust with grass clipping, but sawdust needs to be really aged.
    Geezer Squad....Charter Member #1
    Evoking the 50 year old rule...
    First 50 years...worried about the small stuff...second 50 years....Not so much
    Member Wahoo Killer knives club....#27

  15. #15
    Wanderer EdD270's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    Arizona's Mogollon Rim
    Posts
    125

    Default

    Pine, and spruce and fir, are generally acidic, while hardwoods are alkaline. Test you soil to see what the Ph level is so you'll get an idea of what the sawdust will do.
    Probably be better to put it into a compost heap with straw, grass, leaves, etc. and let it "cook" to break down before you put it into the garden.
    Wherefore, let us be thankful that there are still thousands of cool, green nooks beside crystal springs, where the weary soul may hide for a time, away from debts, duns and deviltries, and a while commune with nature in her undress. ~ George W. “Nessmuk” Sears ~

  16. #16
    Administrator Rick's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Central Indiana
    Posts
    58,832

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by edr730
    Green sawdust from "green" wood?
    No. Fresh sawdust retains heat. It doesn't circulate air like aged sawdust can so it can be too hot for plants. Manure is considered hot if it is rich in nitrogen. Chicken, horse, sheep, goat and rabbit are examples of manure that have a lot of nitrogen that can "burn" the plant.
    Tracks Across the High Plains...Death on the Bombay Line...A Touch of Death and Mayhem...Dead Rock...The Griswald Mine Boys...All On Amazon Books.

  17. #17
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    woods of east texas
    Posts
    838

    Default

    I have a local sawmill that lets me come in and collect the overflow from the truck trailers where they load the sawdust and chips. Guess they don't think that sending the hired help out there to clean it up would pay. Anyway. I get my small trailer, which will hold about 1/2 a ton full pretty much as often as I want. Uses include bedding in the rabbit pens, (i have solid wood floors) bedding the chicken and duck houses. After the usefull period is up and it's cleaned out of whichever place it's being used it goes into a large wire bin and will be there for at least 6 months then I'll move it over to the compost heap along with grass clippings, pine needles,(I have alot of these) leaves,(I have alot of these also) wood ashes, bonemeal, lime and bloodmeal. Some of these are added in small amounts but the mix seems to work in the sandy clay soil I have around here. Looking to add alot of this mix to the garden before we plant next year. Added what we had this year but not near enough for the size of our present garden. Sure can see where we used it and where we didn't. This I guess is the long way to answer SD's question. Use alot of sawdust but make sure and age it well before you.

    Oldtrap
    Never claimed to be an expert. Just use or do what works for me.

  18. #18
    Senior Member SARKY's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Oakland, CA
    Posts
    2,636

    Default

    I was using sawmill shavings as bedding for my horses and beef critter for years. After mucking out the stalls, it would all go into the garden. Now granted, there was a lot of poop in them shavings but I would have one hell of a garden. It would get tilled into the ground every fall.
    I know what hunts you.

  19. #19
    naturalist primitive your_comforting_company's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2009
    Location
    31º4.3'N, 84º52.7'W
    Posts
    3,969
    Blog Entries
    7

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Rick View Post
    Manure is considered hot if it is rich in nitrogen. Chicken, horse, sheep, goat and rabbit are examples of manure that have a lot of nitrogen that can "burn" the plant.
    A hare has taken up in the dirt-floor part of my shed (mostly storage for shingles and lawnmower pieces) and it likes to hang out in the circle of garlic out by the pear tree. The garlic was doing wonderfully, when it started to turn yellow all of a sudden. The wife asked me what happened to them and I thought it was just too dry, or maybe I poured out some bark liquor or something too close to them. Turns out that 'neath all the vetch and geranium is a big pile of rabbit poops.
    Now I know what happened! Good info!

    I have a fair sized pile of sawdust from all the beehive components I've been making. I'll be sure to mulch it for next years garden.

  20. #20
    Senior Member ClayPick's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Nova Scotia
    Posts
    706

    Default

    The most overlooked thing is bark. There’s always a pile where they yard logs. Find one that’s about 20 years old. It will be broken down beyond compost and will be pure humus. Your garden will never thank you enough for the humic acid.

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •