If you work with wood, you will generate wood chips at some point! Wood chips are a valuable material that can be used in many gardens, parks and public spaces. Below are some of the best ways to incorporate them into your garden and around your house.
- Woodchip mulch
Wood chips can be used as a mulch in your garden or in your growing areas. They help the soil retain moisture and keep it cooler during the hottest parts of the day. In addition, they suppress the growth of weeds, making it easier for you to maintain your garden beds over time.
- Composting material
Wood chips can also be added to your compost as a carbon or “brown” layer. They will break down and enrich the dirt, making it that much more nutritious for the plants you spread it on
- Building up raised beds
Wood chips can be great for building up raised beds using the lasagna bed process. As a bulky, carbon rich material, that is often readily available in fairly large quantities, it could be an ideal choice for new, low cost growing areas. It can therefore be a good choice of material to begin filling your raised beds.
- Wood chip walkways
You can make fantastic walkaways from a deep layer of wood chips. They even out the ground and provide weed suppression in the garden and lawn areas.
- Fuel
Like other wood products, wood chips can make great fuel, and they are especially useful for fire starter and small, controlled fires. They are also ideal for biomass reactors, which can be used to power engines in addition to providing heat.
- Erosion control
While wood chips are a temporary fix, they can effectively address an area of the yard where erosion is occurring while you develop a long-term plan. The chips can be used to create a barrier to prevent soil loss, especially during heavy rains
- Spread wood chip In your chicken run
If you have a permanent chicken run, wood chip makes an excellent material to spread out on the ground. Note, however, that you should only use hardwood wood chips for this purpose, and not bark chip, pine, or other inferior products.
- Wood chips as livestock bedding
Research has also suggested that wood chip can be used as an economical alternative to straw bedding for cattle and certain other livestock. If the price of straw is high in your area this could be a viable alternative. Wood chip produces little to no dust and allows livestock to stay clean.
- Creating a path
The same qualities that make wood chips great as mulch make them great for laying down atop a path. They help prevent weeds from growing over it and are better than breadcrumbs at letting people know where they are supposed to walk
- Fire starters
Pressed into paraffin, wood chips help make a great fire starter that you can use in emergencies or when camping. They might take a little longer to catch than sawdust, but they also burn longer.
Looking for an efficient way of disposing wood and branch material? Select the model among the innovative and robust hippers that suits your task. For more information and to purchase call us on 011 440 2072 or email on -: sales@mfangano.co.za
