Chipping
We use a Vermeer 1250 chipper to chip all branches, small trees and sawmill tailings that come from driveway and house site clearing and from the wood gleaned from wooded areas and trails. The chipper is powered by a 4 cylinder Perkins diesel and can take up to a 12” diameter pieces of wood. The chips are either sprayed into piles under the trees or sprayed into our dump truck and then dumped on paths, gardens or around trees.
Wood chips are extremely useful to level out the soil, add organic matter, suppress weed growth, insulate the soil from the sun and give a “dressed up” look. Nitrogen must be spread on the chips because the decomposition process robs the soil, thus the trees, of nitrogen if additional nitrogen is not supplied.