Re: Question about composting
- To: perennials@mallorn.com
- Subject: Re: Question about composting
- From: N* S*
- Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1999 20:46:34 -0800
>>Does anyone know the best way to compost the shredded material from pine
>>tree stumps? Would black plastic bags with holes work as with dead dry
>>leaves? Or should it just be left in a pile? I'd like to use it for soil
>>amendment in my perennial beds a few months..or years down the road. Is
>>this a good idea?
>
>We have found pine tree stump grindings to be extremely slow to decompose
>as they usually contian a large amount of resins, more so in the stump.
>Would not recommend using them until they are well decomposed as an
>adamant to garden soil. If you really want to compost them mix in
>gradually with your other compost materials. We doubt if using plastic
>bags would help much.
>
>Actually we only use this type of material to cover are pathways.
I think that the amount of resin would depend upon the variety of pine --
some seem to have more and some less. If you want to use the bark for soil
amendment, I'd DEFINITELY compost it first. To speed up the decoposition,
you'll need to add a nitrogen source. You know how they always recommend
layering the compost materials -- Carbon, nitrogen, carbon, nitrogen and
then watering it well. Here in the Southwest where we dont get much rain,
we have to water our compost piles (and cover them with plastic or other
water conserving materials). In rainier parts of the country, you might
need to cover them so they don't get too wet and start to smell. Also, the
smaller your bark is shredded, the sooner it will break down.
I'd say its definitely worth a try to compost it. Maybe layer it all
together and leave it sit in a pile for a while if you don't want to go to
the effort of turning it for quicker compost.
What I don't recommend is applying straight shredded bark as a mulch layer....
Nan
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Nan Sterman
San Diego County California
Sunset zone 24, USDA hardiness zone 10b or 11
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