11305 The Woodchip Handbook

Content s Introduction vii 1 What Is Woodchip and Where Does It Come From?

2 Sources of Woodchip 3 Managing Woodchip 4 Woodchip for Plant Propagation 5 Woodchip as Soil Amendment 6 Mulches 7 Mushrooms in Woodchip 8 Building Carbon with Woodchip

1 19 49 77 101 129 161 173

Acknowledgements 185 Notes 187 Index 199

The Woodchip Handbook

A typical mix of woodchip from a tree surgeon includes a wide range of material, deciduous and coniferous, and different-sized chip.

Single-species willow woodchip; even-sized chip that fit well through the forage wagon.

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The Woodchip Handbook Table 3.1. Comparison of Costings for Coppicing Hedges Using a Range of Different Machinery Machinery Description

Option Trialled

Hydraulic shears

Excavator mounted Dymax 250 millimetre (10 inch) grapple tree shears with added accumulator or feller buncher functionality mounted on an 8 tonne Komatsu PC78MR-6 zero swing excavator; 1 man and 1 machine

Hydraulic shears + chainsaw finish

Excavator mounted Dymax 250 millimetre (10 inch) grapple tree shears with added accumulator or feller buncher functionality mounted on an 8 tonne Komatsu PC78MR-6 zero swing excavator; 1 man, 1 machine and 1 chainsaw

Timber grab with integral chainsaw

Excavator mounted Gierkink GMT 035 felling grapple with chainsaw cutting bar mounted on 5 tonne Kubota excavator; 1 man and 1 machine

Single circular saw – hedge 2 Wakelyns

Tractor-mounted single circular saw attachment on hedge cutting arm, with second tractor and front-mounted fork; 2 men, 2 machines and 1 chainsaw

Single circular saw – hedge 1 Wakelyns

Tractor-mounted single circular saw attachment on hedge cutting arm, with second tractor and front-mounted fork; 2 men, 2 machines and 1 chainsaw

Manual fell – hedge 1 Wakelyns

Motor manual extraction of cordwood for firewood logs: man with chainsaw to separate brash from logs & prepare logs for firewood; brash to be chipped. Tractor with front-mounted fork used to separate pile of hedgerow material

Assisted fell technique Motor manual felling supported by an 8 tonne Doosan DX80R excavator with a front-mounted 1.8 metre (6 foot) land rake and Husqvarna 390 XP chainsaw with 600 millimetre (24 inch) cutting bar; 2 men, 1 machine and 1 chainsaw Manual fell Husqvarna 560 XP chainsaw with 425 millime– hedge 21 Elm Farm tre (15 inch) cutting bar; 2 men and 1 chainsaw

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Managing Woodchip

Minutes per Metre

Metres per Hour

Metres per Day

Day Hire Cost (£)

Haulage Cost (£)

2.78

21.58

151.08

525

500

3.3

18.16

127.12

525

500

2.64

22.73

159.11

500

500

2.9

20.69

144.83

480

100

5.4

11.11

77.88

480

100

12.85

4.67

32.68

224

0

1.58

37.97

265.82

450

150

10.81

5.55

38.86

300

20

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The Woodchip Handbook

Fred Bonestroo even uses the composting piles of woodchip to grow crops in; here is some fine-looking squash growing well in one of his piles.

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