wood chips on a compost pile

The wood chips are back! Today when I went to the city dump they had wood chips, a key ingredient of growing soil. For years I have been picking up free wood chips at the dump for mulch and for composting.

However, the other day when I went there was none. I noticed a dwindling pile the last couple times I had been there, something unusual this season when city is out trimming trees and shredding the branches. I even called the city dump people to see where all the wood chips were going. They insured me they were going to the city dump. Maybe they were right and someone just took truck loads away or maybe they resumed placing them in the dump after I called to complain. Whatever, all is well that ends well.

Wood chips are my main and best source of carbon for composting. Wood chips when decomposed with mix of nitrogen waste, like coffee grounds, leave air pockets in the soil. This is important when using worms in growing.

You might have noticed that after a rain storm some words come above ground. They are not coming up for water but for air. The rain often makes the soil too compressed, leaving little room for the worms to breathe.

Other carbon waste work but have a downsize. Shredded paper is good but is condensed and slow to decompose. Cardboard is better but without a big time shredder it takes lots of time to cut up the cardboard into small pieces. Leaves are great but only available in the fall.

We all need wood chips in our mix of life, something that will give us energy but leave us room to breathe. Wood chips are back!

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