# What to do with all those shavings?



## wabbitpoo (30 Sep 2008)

Can you/do you just throw them on the fire, or is that unwise for any reason. I have a large pile, from assorted woods, none of which I know the name of! Would they compost well if mixed with green garden waste?


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## Richard Findley (30 Sep 2008)

I tend to take mine down to the tip and put them with the garden waste. If you've got a composter then thats fine but I understand (and I'm not much of a gardener!  ) that you want a good mix of stuff in a compost heap/bin so all wood shavings probably isn't good.

Hope this helps

Richard


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## MikeG. (30 Sep 2008)

Shavings are ideal for collecting up wabbitpoo, of course!

Yes, they do compost well if mixed with really green stuff. Shavings really help grass clippings compost, rather than turning into brown goo. Be careful about burning shavings and dust, because sawdust burnt incorrectly can explode. Yep.......explode! (My, how we laughed all the way to the burns unit!!!) Much better to compost.

Mike


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## hpl (30 Sep 2008)

You are supposed to be able to burn sawdust on one of these www.workshopstoves.co.uk/workshop-stoves.asp I'm going to try one out for this winter and see if they work.


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## cornucopia (1 Oct 2008)

i put some of mine in the brown recycling bin, i take the rest down the tip. you can use them as a mulch- but they will take nitrogen out as they rot so once a year you need to add a feed to compensate for this. allotment's use them to dig in as a soil conditoner.
HPL i use to have one of those stoves- yes once lit correctly they will burn shavings but beware of leaving them un attended they can get dangerously hot and pop and bang with shavings on causing sparks to fly out of the vent holes.


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## hpl (1 Oct 2008)

Thanks for the tip on the stove, do you think I would be better off with a normal stove, I'm thinking I have more shavings to burn than wood so I might keep warmer with the shavings. Do the shavings burn down very quickly?


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## wabbitpoo (1 Oct 2008)

Thanks for the info. Think I'll use some in the compost and then throw the rest in the green recycle bins. Seems like there ought to be a gadget for compressing them into wood "bricks" for burning on a normal fire.


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## OPJ (1 Oct 2008)

I know walnut is one timber that shouldn't be used for composting as it has an affect on the plants surrounding it.

I also dump mine in the Green bins at the tip, they don't seem to mind at all.


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## Soulfly (1 Oct 2008)

You can compost you your shavings particularly if it is green wood and mixed with bark and leaves etc. It makes very good mulch, soil conditioner etc. 
It can also be used to burn in a stove to heat your workshop, used as bedding for farm animals and garages can use it to soak up oil if it if fine stuff. All wood can be composted even stuff like tree trunks, pallets and brashwood. Many councils have huge shredders which mince up massive dimension stuff and in a few weeks it is a fine quality compost which is sold to market gardeners, garden centres and farms.


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## shedhead (1 Oct 2008)

I use my shavings as mulch ( i can hear all gardeners groan ) it does the same thing as bark, but it's free!!!! I have a large steep banking covered in conifers, and i scatter it around the base of all the trees. It has kept the weeds down great style.

I am not sure if this is the right thing to do, it might cause fungus, ( mushrooms ) to grow. So far it has been a success and i have been doing it for 2 years now. 

Would be interested if there is anyone that can say if this is a bad thing in the long run to be doing?.


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## TEP (1 Oct 2008)

I have been using my turning waste on my allotment for 5 years now, no problems to report to my knowledge.

One thing that has been mentioned, the shavings sapping the nitrogen from the soil. This only happens when the wood is fresh, I believe it is the first part of the breakdown process?

Leaving the chippings in a heap to weather for 6 months or so apparently stops this. I weather mine before using them on the ground.


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## Scrums (1 Oct 2008)

I have horsey people that collect mine and a few rabbit and guinea pig owners who email me for some occasionally. Rest is for our chucks.

Sawdust mostly goes to the greasemonkeys a few units away for soaking up oil.

Offcuts go to home log burning stove - unfortunately my Landlord was not at all keen on a stove in the workshop.

Chris.


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## Paul.J (1 Oct 2008)

After the last post asking the same question some time ago i said i was putting mine out in the green collection bags for the council.
Since then they have not been taking them,not that i have put much out lately but they now say that it is for bulky collection only :?: One bag :?: 
So it looks like i will have to take em to the tip :?


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## Richard Findley (1 Oct 2008)

wabbitpoo":qz71em1e said:


> Thanks for the info. Think I'll use some in the compost and then throw the rest in the green recycle bins. Seems like there ought to be a gadget for compressing them into wood "bricks" for burning on a normal fire.



There is, and I've always thought it would be a great idea.... but have you seen the price!!!! :shock: :shock: :shock: 







http://www.axminster.co.uk/product....er_id=Rojek&name=&user_search=&sfile=1&jump=0

And thats for the small one!!!!

Maybe the forum members could club together....


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## dickm (1 Oct 2008)

TEP":1j230ood said:


> One thing that has been mentioned, the shavings sapping the nitrogen from the soil. This only happens when the wood is fresh, I believe it is the first part of the breakdown process?
> 
> Leaving the chippings in a heap to weather for 6 months or so apparently stops this. I weather mine before using them on the ground.



All partially correct! Wood has a high carbon-nitrogen ratio (20:1 or more), while microbial and other living biomass has a ratio about 14:1. So for the microbes to be happy, they need to take in some nitrogen, which they can take from the soil, as they digest the wood. In the first instance, then, wood waste will deplete soil nitrogen. But then the microbes themselves die, and release the nitrogen back into the soil. Technically, it's called the immobilisation-mobilisation cycle. 
Weathering the waste helps a bit, but if you want the wood waste to break down quickly, supply some soluble nitrogen, either in the form of grass clippings or, if your compost heap is out of sight, pee on it!
I wouldn't worry about fungus attack using it as mulch. Most of the fungi that live in decaying wood are non-pathogenic, and most of them just help the decay process.
Sorry about the excess detail, but this sort of thing used to be my career


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## Rob_H (1 Oct 2008)

Scrums":1qm15fwy said:


> I have horsey people that collect mine and a few rabbit and guinea pig owners who email me for some occasionally. Rest is for our chucks.
> 
> 
> Chris.



You have to be careful what shavings go the hens - fine sawdust is bad for them as they can be prone to respiratory problems.


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## tekno.mage (2 Oct 2008)

I've found dry shavings are actually useful for two things -

1. Mopping up spills of oil, paint or similar liquids. A couple of handfuls of oil-soaked shavings in a screwed-up paper bag makes a good fire lighter.

2. I'm experimenting with using them to help season some green holly I have (which is *very* prone to splitting) So far I've been reasonably successful with a small chalice which I rough turned very green, then placed in a large bucketful of dry shavings for about two weeks - changing the shavings every day. The result was oval, but no splits. I'm currently doing the same with a couple of green holly blanks - so far so good.

Any excess shavings after this (and there are plenty) currently go to the local recycling centre's huge compost bin.

tekno.mage


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