Shopsmith Forums

Spring is short here in my neighborhood. After not having a garden for a couple of years I've had to wrestle my veggie beds back from the forest. Off work at 4:00, in the garden by 5:15, don’t stop till dark around 9:00. Repeat till done. Our soil didn't get dry enough to work till last week, last couple of years last frost was in June, and my soil is full of rocks so it all has to be screened to be useful. It’s only a 40’ x 40’ garden but I think I like my woodworking hobby a whole lot more than my wife’s gardening.

Paul, (if you aren't already) mix some of your sawdust into the garden soil, or, even better, mix it into a compost pile, to be used later.

steve

I thought you said it was the wifes garden???? I disagree with skou, wood may add some moisture holding properties, but to break down uses a ton of nitrogen to feed the micro organisms that do the breaking down. That is why it is important to add nitrogen to a much/compost bed. Doesnt do much for rock break down either, the wood chips I mean. Sounds like a short growing season too.

I used saw dust and shavings mixed with horse manure for years and made the best garden soil I ever had. I started with white sugar sand. It's best to compost it first but in small amounts it will not hurt provided we are talking about common things like pine. Walnut is bad you can kill tomato plats with walnut.

The nitrogen is required buy the bacteria that break down the materials. It doesn't go away. When the wood decays it becomes available again.

I'm currently six 4'x4'x4' compost piles using yard waste (leaves mostly) and coffee grounds. I would love to have lots wood shavings or saw dust to add to my compost. I have a source for coffee grounds that provides me with close to 5 gallons of coffee grounds a day I would need 20 gallons of saw dust to mix with it. Coffee grounds = nitrogen.

Good info. Thanks!
I wasn't aware that nitrogen was "reuseable".
Walnut saw dust is great to keep unwanted plant growth away. I spread it on our cinder drive to keep the weeds down.
To add to the lore store, iron filings from the brake shop will really green up tree foliage and grasses.

rlkeeney wrote:I used saw dust and shavings mixed with horse manure for years and made the best garden soil I ever had. I started with white sugar sand. It's best to compost it first but in small amounts it will not hurt provided we are talking about common things like pine. Walnut is bad you can kill tomato plats with walnut.

The nitrogen is required buy the bacteria that break down the materials. It doesn't go away. When the wood decays it becomes available again.

I'm currently six 4'x4'x4' compost piles using yard waste (leaves mostly) and coffee grounds. I would love to have lots wood shavings or saw dust to add to my compost. I have a source for coffee grounds that provides me with close to 5 gallons of coffee grounds a day I would need 20 gallons of saw dust to mix with it. Coffee grounds = nitrogen.

I am not well informed on this subject but I have read some warnings about certain wood types not being introduced into gardens (as compost) because of their toxicity. Included in that list was MDF saw dust. I remember that because at the time I was using a lot of MDF and the dust collector bag was always full of it.

I spread all of my saw dust and shaving around the back yard but that is not a garden; it is desert landscape. The dirt is hard as rocks, caliche rocks.

Gene Howe wrote:Good info. Thanks! I wasn't aware that nitrogen was "reusable".

I'm not sure exactly how this works but I know from experience that if you make compost with high nitrogen ingredients you get high nitrogen compost. If you put high nitrogen compost around your tomatoes you might get huge plants and no tomatoes.

rlkeeney wrote:I'm not sure exactly how this works but I know from experience that if you make compost with high nitrogen ingredients you get high nitrogen compost. If you put high nitrogen compost around your tomatoes you might get huge plants and no tomatoes.

Been there, done that.

Manures are full of nitrogen, hence your source in the mulch/composite pile.
Allot of woods are toxic to other plants, that is a survival method of nature, oak, walnut to name a few, when alive give off toxins to kill off any other vegetation that would try and grow under neath them. Also make there dust not so good to breath.
Nitrogen=plant/leave growth, potassium=fruit/vegtable growth, or is it the phosphorus? then one of those 2 is for root growth. That is why on a fertilizer bag there are 3#s, exp. 10-10-5, first one is % of nitrogen, 2nd is phosphorous, 3rd potassium.

Dusty, any remade wood product is full of adhesives/binders, some of those products are almost up to 30%. MDF, particle board, OSB ect, it is the large amount of adhesives that is usually the toxic mix in that chip/dust, nasty to breath also when machining!!!! I ALWAYS wear a dust mask when machining that stuff. Thats why they dull blades and bits so easily also.