It's a major deal to have a tree cut down, a big tree pruned, or a stump grinded. The most obvious change is in the appearance of the land once occupied by the tree or stump.
If you look closely, you may see wood chips. PLENTY of wood shavings, or chips.
Cutting down trees or even trimming them leaves behind a substantial amount of wood waste. Wood chips are typically made by feeding the tree trunk and any major branches through a chipper after they have been chopped down. You'll be left with a sizable mound of wood chips or shavings, likely much larger than you anticipated.
A stump grinder performs a similar function by reducing the size of the tree stump. In most cases, we simply replace the hole left by the removed stump with the resulting stump grindings, while some homeowners may prefer to use soil instead. Hence, they are now sitting on a heap of wood chips.
When you remove, prune, or grind a stump, having wood chipped on-site can save you money by eliminating the need to pay disposal costs. However, the problem of how to dispose of the wood chips remains.
In this piece, we'll go over some of the best practises for making use of wood chips for your garden.
Please be aware that we do not remove stump grindings as well as chips, but we can put you in contact with a local landscaper who will if you'd rather not use them yourself.
Mulch With Wood chips
One of the best and most obvious uses for wood chips is as an organic mulch in flower beds and around trees.
When used properly, mulch can prevent weed growth, retain soil moisture, and moderate soil temperatures. If the mulch on your flower beds is wearing thin, add more. A small layer of mulch won't do much to suppress weed growth or insulate your soil, so aim for a thickness of three inches.
Mulching using wood chips does not damage neighbouring plants, acidify the soil, attract termites & carpenter ants, attract rodents, or attract termites and ants, as is commonly believed. Did I not persuade you?
However, if your garden is on the smaller side or you have a lot of wood chips, one may have too much mulch.
What Else Can Wood Chips Be Used For?
Put your imagination to work! Wood chips can serve a variety of purposes other than being used as mulch.
- Act in a neighbourly manner. If you have extra wood chips, you might request a neighbour if they desire them, and then offer to assist them haul them over in a wheelbarrow or buckets.
- What's the status of your offspring? Wood chip mulch, devoid of sharp twigs or branches, can be used cushion the ground and avoid soil compaction surrounding play structures in a playground owned by you or a neighbour.
- Trees and shrubs in large containers benefit greatly from mulch. Mulch is beneficial when applied to any loose soil, such as potting soil.
- Water that bypasses or isn't delayed by a splashing block can be collected by spreading a layer or wood chips under your downspouts if they drain into a garden. The force of the water will be absorbed instead of eroding the soil around it.
- Wood chips, layered over newspaper or cardboard, will keep the soil in your summer vegetable garden dormant over the winter in prime condition for planting come spring. By placing newspaper or cardboard underneath, you can prevent the wood chips from leaching into the soil when you turn it over in the spring to plant your vegetables. Plus, if you place down some cardboard & wood chips over your compost before you plant your vegetables, that compost will decompose much more quickly.
- Mulching your garden's unofficial walkways with wood chips will help keep the soil from washing away or becoming compacted.
- Mulch can improve the visual appeal of a median strip, which is the area between street and the sidewalk. A wood-chip-covered median strip that is regularly maintained can tie together the many elements of your front yard landscape.
- Created a compost heap, perhaps? Composting with wood chips results in a nutrient-dense end product.
- A thick layer or wood-chip mulch can serve as a stopgap if you've got an unplanted spot in your garden and don't know what you should do with it. You can use it to delay weed development and soil drying out until you decide what you will do with the space. The mulch can remain in place even if new trees and bushes are planted there.
- Putting down a mulching sheet. Placing cardboard over a freshly mowed lawn and covering it with a thick coating of wood chips can effectively kill the grass & compost it, allowing you to use the space as a planting bed instead. The layers of cardboard and mulch can also be left alone. Once you've decided what you're going to plant, you may clear away the compost with a rake, make a hole inside the cardboard, and start digging. Maintaining your topsoil or grass helps your soil immensely and is significantly less labor-intensive than removing sod.
What Should You Do After Stump Grinding?
Trees are a favourite feature of our garden. Once in a while, one of them will topple over or need to be cut down, leaving you with only an unsightly stump in your yard. While it may be appealing to use the stump as the foundation for a desk or birdbath in the garden, this is usually not possible, and the stump must be removed instead. One efficient method is to utilise a stump grinders, a powered device designed to reduce tree stumps to mulch.
But once the stump is gone, you'll be left with just an unattractive hole, a bare area of ground that wants to be attended to, and a big mound of stump grindings.
Now comes the exciting part, when you can devote your attention to making your lawn look fantastic once more. After removing a stump, your grass may need some TLC, so we'll be discussing some of the greatest options for doing so. Rake, grass clippers or even a saw, dirt, and grass seeds are some of the things you'll need before you can get started.
Remove Any Debris From The Area.
When gardening, success depends on how well you prepare. Wood chips are not conducive to grass growth, therefore it's important to clean the area of them along with any stray branches, exposing roots, and other debris. Some of the roots may still be exposed, in which case you can use clippers or cutting tools to remove them.
Plant The Seeds
After stump grinding, plug the gaps with dirt until it is even with or slightly higher than that of the surrounding ground. After some time has passed, the soil can settle to become uniform with both the rest of garden. Then, manually distribute the grass seeds, making sure to scatter them uniformly and plant a generous amount of seeds per square inch. For maximum coverage, crisscross the area. The final step would be to cover the area with a quarter-inch of topsoil and rake more seeds into the ground.
Maintain Your Lawn
If you put in the time and effort, you deserve a lush lawn to show for it. Keep the soil damp with the sprayer set to a fine mist, but don't let it get too wet or you risk washing away your seeds. The grass is well-established when it has developed an inch or so and can be treated like the rest of both the lawn.
Make Good Use Of Your Stump Grindings.
After the stump has been removed, there will still be a sizable heap of stump grindings. Some suggestions for making use of the stump ashes are as follows:
- The stump grindings can be used to backfill the void left by the removed stump before being covered with topsoil.
- Mulch produced from stump grinding is top-notch. Take the wood chips into the flower beds and spread them out in a one-inch thickness over the soil. That way, the ground-up stuff can break down and enrich your soil. Pine tree mulch, in particular, should be used with caution because it has the potential to significantly raise soil acidity and hinder plant growth.
- Your stump grindings can also be used as compost. Decompose the stump grindings in your compost heap along with any other organic trash. It will take around three to four months, but once the stumps grindings have decomposed, your will have a wonderful pile of compost.
Stump removal and grinding is not a do-it-yourself project. It's best left to a trained expert who has access to the appropriate safety equipment and is familiar with proper procedure. Stump grinding & removal are only two of the many gardening services that Tree Service can provide for you.
There's no excuse to be left with an ugly tree stump once a tree has died or been removed. Tree service professionals will utilise cutting-edge equipment for stumps grinding to remove every trace of the tree from your yard. Wood chippings are a versatile material that may be used in a variety of ways, so homeowners may choose to save the extras. To begin using the grindings in your garden, you must first prepare them.
Frequently Asked Questions About Wood Chips
Becoming an efficient climbing arborist definitely takes time, commitment and dedication, also listening and learning from others around you. This position will vary greatly from day to day.
You don't need to have any specific qualifications to begin training as a tree surgeon, but there are official courses which can help. You will need qualifications to become a recognised arborist, however, in the form of a National Certificate in Arboriculture, or a higher-level qualification.
A hand saw is most often used for trimming trees and often goes by the name 'Silky Saw'. It has a shape that is slightly curved, which helps the tree surgeon to reach limbs and branches that are not easy to reach. Another type of hand saw is the pole saw.
More specifically, a tree surgeon is a horticultural engineer who is responsible for the maintenance and repair of trees. This often includes the climbing of trees to reach the area that needs attention.
A tree surgeon is a tree maintenance specialist engineer. He is responsible for cutting down trees, planting, replanting, splitting logs, cutting hedges, pruning branches and shrubs. This work is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. There is a high probability of accident occurrence in this work line.
Create Some Mulch
Mulch can be easily manufactured from stump chippings. Saving money by making your own mulch is a fantastic idea because it can be costly to buy enough for a landscaping project.
You can use the wood you have on hand to improve the appearance of the outside of your home and to insulate the soil and plants inside. A rake, wheelbarrow, & shovel will be required to begin.
To help you get your garden mulch ready, here are the five steps you need to take:
- Make a mound of chips with a rake.
- Put them in the wheelbarrow using the shovel, but be careful not to muck up the contents with dirt.
- Pick off the grass and discard it, keeping just the leaves and pines needles that can be recycled.
- Evenly, but not excessively, cover the ground surrounding your plants with mulch. Smaller plants do best at a depth of 3 inches, while larger ones do better at a depth of 6 inches. Wood chippings should not be placed directly vs a plant to avoid rot and pests.
- Wood chip decomposition likely resulting in nitrogen deficit if plant growth stops or foliage declines. To fix the issue, invest in high-nitrogen fertiliser and use it.
This is a great method to reuse a stump while also providing seasonal cover for your garden.
Create A Creative Footpath
Wonderful landscape designs can be made with stump chippings. This wood can be used to build a walkway with the a warm, inviting texture that will give the homeowner's property a one-of-a-kind appearance. Everyone in the household, as well as guests, will enjoy this.
Use the chips in creative ways, like between paving stones or as a border. The chips may be easily replaced when they become compacted or disintegrate, making it easy to maintain a weed-free walking area.
As a Landscaping Filler
Chips can also be used as a landscaping filler in unattractive parts of the yard. These easy enhancements can do wonders for the look of any room.
- Get rid of puddles and muddy patches by covering them up. You can make them more walkable by filling them in, landscaping them, or decorating them with plants.
- Spread in your raised garden beds, chips not only benefit the soil but also provide a neat and tidy appearance for your yard. Make the beds look even more put together by using some of the surplus chips to pave a walkway around their perimeter.
- Ground cover, when dispersed throughout playground areas, can help rejuvenate the aesthetic of a space that sees heavy use yet eventually wears down.
Wood chips can be used as both a filler and a decorative element, making their repurposing a rewarding endeavour.
Engage The Services Of A Professional Tree Service
Any work involving trees, including planting, trimming, or removal, should be handled by a competent company. To get the job done right and make the area usable again, stump grinding is just a multi-step procedure that takes consistent, patient labour.
Most individuals who hire us to come as well as provide stumps grinding services to their properties don't realise that after the process is complete, they'll be left with a lot of wood fiber chips and mulch.
A spinning saw containing metal teeth is used by the stump grinder to reduce the stump to small pieces, which then accumulate to form a large number of wood chips. It's up to you if you want the wood scraps removed and hauled away to be used as mulch and landscaping or if you want to keep them around.
Since the mulch pile is usually considerably bigger than the stump, people are often taken aback by how much is left behind. Because the wood, which was previously compacted with in stump, is now stuffed with air, the amount of stump grindings left behind is somewhat inflated.
If you engage a competent stump grinding service, they will likely ask if you want them to haul away the wood chips or if you want to keep them for use as mulch or in the garden. The cost of this service may likely be included in the total for stump removal if you decide to have it done. Keeping the mulch to use as landscaping material is likely to be the more cost-effective option.
If you've hired a professional service to do the job, they'll remove around a foot or two of the stump from the ground. They take these measures to eliminate the potential for further root development and to guarantee a level surface after the operation is complete. After the stump has been ground down, you can cover the hole with wood chips and smooth them out to restore the natural appearance of the area.
After that, you'll need to find a use for the remaining powder. Grass does not thrive in the presence of wood chippings, so you'll want to get rid of the grindings as soon as possible. Raking the mulch can get it ready to be utilized in your landscaping.
You can save money on stump grinding by using the mulch to cover other trees and landscaping features, such as walkways and gardens. Spread the chips in a circular motion around the shrub or tree's trunk and out a few inches to use as mulch.
If you don't already have a compost container, we may recommend a local facility that will accept the stump grinding debris.
If you have any additional ideas for what to do with the organic debris that remains after hiring a stumps grinding service, please feel free to email them over and we'll include them in the next post!
Conclusion
Cutting down trees leaves behind a substantial amount of wood waste. Wood chips are made by feeding the tree trunk and any major branches through a chipper. Having wood chips on-site can save you money by eliminating the need to pay disposal costs. Mulch using wood chips can prevent weed growth, retain soil moisture, and moderate soil temperatures. Wood chip mulch can be used to keep soil in your vegetable garden dormant over the winter and prepare it for planting in spring.
Mulch can improve the visual appeal of a median strip, which is the area between street and sidewalk. Composting with wood chips results in a nutrient-dense end product.
Content Summary :
- It's a major deal to have a tree cut down, a big tree pruned, or a stump grinded.
- The most obvious change is in the appearance of the land once occupied by the tree or stump.
- If you look closely, you may see wood chips.
- PLENTY of wood shavings, or chips.
- Cutting down trees or even trimming them leaves behind a substantial amount of wood waste.
- Wood chips are typically made by feeding the tree trunk and any major branches through a chipper after they have been chopped down.
- You'll be left with a sizable mound of wood chips or shavings, likely much larger than you anticipated.
- A stump grinder performs a similar function by reducing the size of the tree stump.
- In most cases, we simply replace the hole left by the removed stump with the resulting stump grindings, while some homeowners may prefer to use soil instead.
- Hence, they are now sitting on a heap of wood chips.
- When you remove, prune, or grind a stump, having wood chipped on-site can save you money by eliminating the need to pay disposal costs.
- However, the problem of how to dispose of the wood chips remains.
- In this piece, we'll go over some of the best practices for making use of wood chips for your garden.
- Please be aware that we do not remove stump grindings as well as chips, but we can put you in contact with a local landscaper who will if you'd rather not use them yourself.
- One of the best and most obvious uses for wood chips is as an organic mulch in flower beds and around trees.
- When used properly, mulch can prevent weed growth, retain soil moisture, and moderate soil temperatures.
- If the mulch on your flower beds is wearing thin, add more.
- A small layer of mulch won't do much to suppress weed growth or insulate your soil, so aim for a thickness of three inches.
- Mulching using wood chips does not damage neighbouring plants, acidify the soil, attract termites & carpenter ants, attract rodents, or attract termites and ants, as is commonly believed.
- Act in a neighbourly manner.
- If you have extra wood chips, you might request a neighbour if they desire them, and then offer to assist them haul them over in a wheelbarrow or buckets.
- What's the status of your offspring?
- Wood chip mulch, devoid of sharp twigs or branches, can be used to cushion the ground and avoid soil compaction surrounding play structures in a playground owned by you or a neighbour.
- Trees and shrubs in large containers benefit greatly from mulch.
- Mulch is beneficial when applied to any loose soil, such as potting soil.
- Water that bypasses or isn't delayed by a splashing block can be collected by spreading a layer or wood chips under your downspouts if they drain into a garden.
- The force of the water will be absorbed instead of eroding the soil around it.
- Wood chips, layered over newspaper or cardboard, will keep the soil in your summer vegetable garden dormant over the winter in prime condition for planting come spring.
- By placing newspaper or cardboard underneath, you can prevent the wood chips from leaching into the soil when you turn it over in the spring to plant your vegetables.
- Plus, if you place down some cardboard & wood chips over your compost before you plant your vegetables, that compost will decompose much more quickly.
- Mulching your garden's unofficial walkways with wood chips will help keep the soil from washing away or becoming compacted.
- Mulch can improve the visual appeal of a median strip, which is the area between street and sidewalk.
- A wood-chip-covered median strip that is regularly maintained can tie together the many elements of your front yard landscape.
- Created a compost heap, perhaps?
- Composting with wood chips results in a nutrient-dense end product.
- A thick layer or wood-chip mulch can serve as a stopgap if you've got an unplanted spot in your garden and don't know what you should do with it.
- You can use it to delay weed development and soil drying out until you decide what you will do with the space.
- The mulch can remain in place even if new trees and bushes are planted there.