One of the old guard of UK organic farmers maintains his credential for the soil association by bringing on to the farm ‘nothing but woodchip and certified organic seeds’.
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| The compost heap |
The picture of the compost heap in fact shows 3 ages of composting – the nearest are chippings from the last 6 months or so, while the middle of the heap has chips around 1 year old. The far end it the original pile that is 2+ years on the making.
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| After 2 years the insect life seems to have moved on |
The oldest compost is strangely devoid of insects. While the more recent stuff is quite lively. Indeed watching a infra-red recording of it at night it seems to be in constant motion.
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| Sieve to make a fine potting compost or use as-is for mulching |
What you see here can be sieved to make a fine-ish potting compost or used as-is in planting out as ground conditioning.
Incidentally mulching with uncomposted woodchip is likely to take valuable nitrogen away from plants it is protecting.