Just got my first chip drop - happy happy happy

Don Fini wrote: I’ve pretty much given up on chip drop, thinking of investing in a chipper shredder

Good idea. I think it's generally better to use on site resources if you have them, although it may be more cost effective/ecological to rent a big shredder for the times you need it, rather than buying one for just a few days work - it depends....There several threads in the gear forum about them: here's one that may be helpful.

Nancy Reading wrote:

Don Fini wrote: I’ve pretty much given up on chip drop, thinking of investing in a chipper shredder

Good idea. I think it's generally better to use on site resources if you have them, although it may be more cost effective/ecological to rent a big shredder for the times you need it, rather than buying one for just a few days work - it depends....There several threads in the gear forum about them: here's one that may be helpful.

Yeah. I was considering this as well.

Chip Drop doesn't do Japan (yet). I can get a load of wood chips delivered, but last time I imported forest wood I got a load of ticks with it... and most of the wood chips here come from forest thinning, not urban pruning and downed trees.

I have been considering my options for a while regarding mulch. I think alternatives are cool, so I'll list mine with my personal pro/con considerations.

My mulch options
Buy a load of wood chips.
Pros: Nice rate of decomposition, attractive, uniform, probably quite eco-friendly
Cons: Cost, off-site input, ticks, labor, delivery petroleum usage
Chop and drop weeds.
Pros: Easy, quick, available with on-site materials, very permie
Cons: Limited coverage, decomposes fast, requires frequent upkeep, drops lots of seeds (this could be a pro depending on your purposes)
Produce my own wood chips
Pros: highest quality mulch, they are a byproduct of green woodworking I already do, I may be able to make them from pruned branches with a harvest chopper (table-top levered knife)
Cons: they are extremely slow to make the way I produce them now as a byproduct of green woodworking, buying a chipper would be ridiculous at my scale, I don't know anyone who owns one in the neighborhood.
Use cardboard
Pros: Quick, fair rate of decomposition, covers a large swath quickly, I have access to free supermarket cardboard within a 3 minute walk
Cons: Takes pulp out of the recycle stream, I worry about some of the inks and adhesives though I remove what I can, doesn't look very attractive
Use onsite gravel
Pros: Already onsite since a large section of my garden was laid with gravel, very good thermal properties for some plants, No serious negative impact on the environment, it doesn't biodegrade (at a human scale)
Cons: half-buried gravel in my garden has been a major hurdle in managing the plants and doing shovel work, it requires attention to not become mixed heavily with weeds, it's heavy and laborious to dig out and move, it doesn't biodegrade (at a human scale)
Use rice hulls
Pros: Free up to a point, biodegrades at a nice rate for garden beds
Cons: Limited coverage, offsite input
Use landscape cloth
Pros: I have several rolls of landscape cloth from previous gardeners, covers large swaths of ground quickly
Cons: non-biodegradable material, birds pick at it, there are leftover fibers here and there polluting my garden...

As it is I use a mix of all the above except for purchased wood chips. My preference right now is rice hulls for garden beds, chop and drop for most areas, cardboard topped with my own wood chips for garden paths. The problem is I don't have enough wood chips to cover even all of my garden paths.

My conclusion: Mulch is great for me, I'd like to improve my efficiency in using all of the above... except for the last... which I want to phase out completely.

Interesting options L. Do you have trees you can pollard for wood chip? Long term, I plan on planting willow and hazel to pollard and produce chip. I’ve seen people working on a high log bench (like a butchers block) with a machete converting branches into a decent mulch.

Edward Norton wrote:Interesting options L. Do you have trees you can pollard for wood chip? Long term, I plan on planting willow and hazel to pollard and produce chip. I’ve seen people working on a high log bench (like a butchers block) with a machete converting branches into a decent mulch.

Yep, this is pretty much how I produce my own at the moment. The rate of production is just very slow.

Those big powerful wood chippers are very effective tools, but very expensive and generally not my style.

After I give my chopper knife method a go this winter I'll report back on how viable it is for a home-scale wood chipping operation.

L Johnson wrote:

Use onsite gravel
Pros: Already onsite since a large section of my garden was laid with gravel, very good thermal properties for some plants, No serious negative impact on the environment, it doesn't biodegrade (at a human scale)
Cons: half-buried gravel in my garden has been a major hurdle in managing the plants and doing shovel work, it requires attention to not become mixed heavily with weeds, it's heavy and laborious to dig out and move, it doesn't biodegrade (at a human scale)

There were many areas of our property that had been graveled before we bought it. Many of them have been taken over by weeds. I later read that gravel is considered one of the most labor intensive covers for paths. There may be situations where it is necessary or desirable, but I'd rather have some sort of low, foot-traffic tolerant plant or mulch.

And wrote:

Use landscape cloth
Pros: I have several rolls of landscape cloth from previous gardeners, covers large swaths of ground quickly
Cons: non-biodegradable material, birds pick at it, there are leftover fibers here and there polluting my garden...

Technically, it's supposed to have a full foot of mulch over top it, in which case, I'd use the mulch and skip the landscape cloth. If you've got a wet spot that keeps sinking, there might be a place for it. I'm also willing to use it vertically to stop dirt from falling out cracks in the wood of my raised beds. In that situation, it's pretty much fully protected from sun, but I had one experimental bed where the rats chewed it up.

And wrote:

Those big powerful wood chippers are very effective tools, but very expensive and generally not my style.

It's my unjustifiable luxury - actually, it is somewhat justifiable because we're in a fire risk area and have a lot of trees that drop branches. We also have both gardens and animal shelters that benefit from the mulch. Hubby had already bought a tractor, so getting a chipper/shredder to go with was not unreasonable, but to get one worth having was very expensive.

If distance isn't an issue, finding someone with a small scale sawmill is another option - I've gotten a *lot* of sawdust and shavings this year from a neighbor's mill. I'm hoping to use the sawdust to make a lot of biochar this winter, but I've also put a lot down on paths.  If you have extra dry chips or shavings, making some small batch biochar to sequester some carbon and help out your garden beds may be worth the effort.

L. Johnson wrote:

Edward Norton wrote:Interesting options L. Do you have trees you can pollard for wood chip? Long term, I plan on planting willow and hazel to pollard and produce chip. I’ve seen people working on a high log bench (like a butchers block) with a machete converting branches into a decent mulch.

Yep, this is pretty much how I produce my own at the moment. The rate of production is just very slow.

Those big powerful wood chippers are very effective tools, but very expensive and generally not my style.

After I give my chopper knife method a go this winter I'll report back on how viable it is for a home-scale wood chipping operation.

I tried it out today. I set up a single saw horse with my chopper clamped to it. I put two containers underneath to catch the chips, and I brought a pile of pruned branches to work on. It works exceedingly well for branches up to about 1 cm, and well enough on branches between 1-2 cm. It requires more force for the larger branches and gets tiring after repeated chopping.

I can grab about 15 small branches in a bunch and process them all simultaneously. This is definitely a good manual method for processing smaller pruned branches into wood chips.

Pics:

My set-up


A few branches at a time. This thing can handle about 5-8x this number at one go.


Chips mixed with leaves applied to my garden paths. No reason to separate leaves for this since they will all ultimately become compost.


And a video:

I got a request for more details on the chopper.

It is called an oshikiriki. There are multiple types. Mine is very old, it was in the storage full of old tools when I moved in. I didn't know what it was for ages. Mine has a flat base and a levered bar over a stationary blade. The bar has a slot for the blade to fit into, so it acts like scissors or secateurs pushing whatever material against the blade until it is severed. I have seen some where the blade is levered. There is a carving tool that has a similar action in Europe, I think it's called a cobbler's knife.

Here is a link to the Japanese search results for the item.
https://www.ecosia.org/images?q=%E6%8A%BC%E5%88%87%E5%99%A8

I'll try to take some more detailed pictures of mine when I get a chance.

Yes!!

We do the same thing, minus the dolly though, because we have to take the mulch up stairs -- No other access to the yard!  Garbage cans all the way!

Jay Angler wrote:For those of you who get chips, I'll offer a little tip:
I use the Rubbermaid garbage cans to move them. I put the can on it's side to start and use a garden fork to push chips from the edge of the pile into the can, tipping it up periodically to get more room at the opening.  

I get around everywhere by bicycle, and can always find the chipper trucks easily.  When you're on a bike, you can hear them from a long way away!  Then I follow the sound, meet the guys, make friends and get the business cards.  Now I've got tons of buddies who are happy to bring chips.

My uncle, who lives in a more rural area, does the same thing, but in a truck.  He's been on his property for about 20 years now, and I think is on a first-name basis with every tree crew in his county.  They know they can always drop chips at his property - he keeps a spot open for them!

John Duffy wrote:Has anyone tried contacting your local utility companies to see when they'll be trimming power lines/cable TV lines/phone lines in your area and, what companies do the work for them? I think in my neck of the woods, it's about every 4 years. So, knowing that ahead of time, you might be able to snag some chips.

I'm part of an REMC co-op and they will deliver them to me for free. I used to get a lot from them but then the guy in charge retired. They never replaced him so it's random that I can get any from them now. Lucky I have a neighbor with a tree service, if I bug him he'll dump a couple loads for free.