Garden Q&A: Age fresh wood chips before using in garden (2024)

FAQs

How long should wood chips sit before putting on the garden? ›

If you have access to composted wood chips or have allowed your fresh wood chips to compost in place for at least 3-6 months before planting a garden, you will not not need to add nitrogen for most plants.

One of the best ways to utilize wood chips is to apply them to the surface as a mulch. They will decay nicely on the surface, helping prevent erosion and keeping the soil from drying out, and will add the organic matter you seek. Earthworms and other bug activity will work this decayed matter deeper into your soil.

Very fresh wood chips can also emit volatile compounds toxic to plants. We recommend aging new wood chips for 6-12 months before using them around plants as mulch or soil amendment.

While fresh timber chips aren't suitable for mulch, they can be used for creating new growing areas, such as building raised beds (the lasagna bed method). Wood chips can provide density and are an amazing source of carbon for establishing new growing spaces like plant beds.

Wood Chips as a Soil Amendment

The process will take four or more years. You will need to add nitrogen along with the wood chips to facilitate decomposition of the wood chips without depleting the available nitrogen in the soil.

The thought is that doing this will slow combustion and create a better-flavored smoke than dry wood would. In truth, soaking your wood chips and chunks isn't necessary and here's why. Wood chips and chunks that have been soaked have to get rid of any moisture before they can produce smoke.

So, to be on the safe side, I would recommend never using black walnut as a mulch in your garden, and would be careful about tree of heaven, magnolia, and eucalyptus. A small amount mixed in with other types of chips should not be problematic.

Chipped or shredded materials from both broadleaf (oak, beech, lime etc.) and conifers (conifers e.g. pine, yew, larch etc.) sources make an excellent mulch. These materials decompose slowly making them long-lived, reducing the need for re-application.

Wood chip mulch also has the benefit of improving the soil as it decomposes in place. Again, it will not rob the soil of nitrogen if simply laid on top of the soil. Wood chips can be obtained from your local arborist and make a great natural mulch for the garden.

You can use a mixture of baking soda and water to create a paste that quickly ages or distresses the wood. This technique works best on woods with a higher concentration of tannins, the acidic chemical compound that makes certain wood species darker, like mahogany or redwood.

Should wood chips be wet or dry? ›

There aren't any real benefits for most people to soaking wood chips. In fact, you may even lose some of the wood flavor by soaking. If you are worried the wood chips will burn in your gas grill or charcoal barbecue, you're better off learning to control temperatures rather than trying to prevent burning by soaking.

No, it isn't possible to over soak wood chips, chunks, planks, or any other size that you want to throw on the grill (within reason, I wouldn't soak them for weeks because the water would get scummy).

Generally, when it comes to wood chips and vegetable and herb gardens, you want to avoid directly mulching or mixing chips into the soil or garden bed you are planting into. But, again, it could be effective, applied thickly in between your beds.

Before you can begin planting your new grass, it's important to get the soil ready. Removing all wood chips and sawdust should be your first priority. Sawdust and woodchips rob the soil of nitrogen, an essential nutrient for growing healthy grass.

In a year or two, these chunky arborist wood chips will decompose to a rich, soil-like material which will improve my native soil's tilthe and nutrient value.

If you soak chips in water for at least 30 minutes before adding them to the fire (no need to soak wood chunks), you will prolong their burn significantly and they will smolder more than flame. Just be sure to drain the wood of water first so you don't extinguish the fire.

"Let fresh mulch sit a few months to leach out any residue and let weed seeds sprout and die," he advises. Composting it before use is even better.

Aged mulch is better for new plants that are just establishing their root systems, as these plants tend to require more nutrients than established ones. Aged mulch, however, will only last half as long as newly chipped mulch.