How we could compost woodchip?
A very interesting topic as anything involving a decaying plant being recycled back into the garden sounds healthy. This is how in a pile you can speed up the composting process:
1. Having a green woodchip with leaves on from a soft wood like pine takes less time to decompose.
2. Not letting the pile dry out as microbes need water to aid in decomposition.
3. Turning the pile every few days to add oxygen into the pile and help distribute a dominant microbial population.
4. Adding I.M.O a specific collection of microbes (see chris trump on youtube @soilsteward) which may help establish the best microbial population for your pile. Putting your woodchip on an old woodchip pile or near a woods may help this.
5. Sifting the pile removing larger wood that takes longer to decompose. Large chunks of wood that take longer to decompose can cause nitrogen fixing and acidity in the compost especially logs or branches.
How do i compost woodchip?
1. I have multiple large piles of woodchip of varying ages that sit in place.
2. I then (amongst other things) make woodchip paths out of this woodchip around the garden on a liftable lining.
3. After a year or so i lift the lining and sift the woodchip using the bigger chunks of wood on the path again.
4. The sifted decomposing woodchip i put in a composting pile by the woods to use the local I.M.O population in my garden.
5. After the pile has further decomposed i use this material as a mulch/sheet compost on my garden.
Treadit Gardens 