How to Quickly Decompose Chipped Bark Wood From Old Trees

Speeding up decomposition can save space if you have no room to compost.

Removing dead bark from the ground around trees can prevent grass from drying and improve the overall aesthetics of your lawn. After running bark through a chipper, use it as a mulch covering or add it directly to soil as fertilizer. Artificially assisting the decomposition process is not necessary, but will speed the conversion into stabilized organic matter, the dark dense material that makes up 40 to 50 percent of healthful soil.

Things You'll Need

• Chipper
• Shovel
• 2 bins
• Rake
• Organic material

Instructions

1. Run the wood through the chipper again to achieve a fine texture.

2. Shovel wood chips into an empty trash barrel or compost bin. Fill the container no more than halfway.

3. Moisten the surface of the wood with water. Stir the wood with a rake to distribute the moisture evenly.

4. Fill the bin to the top with organic material such as grass clippings, fruit, vegetables, weeds and fresh garbage.

5. Dump the bin into the second bin to incorporate.

6. Cover with a lid to help retain heat.

7. Stir daily moving material from the center of the bin to the walls of the bucket.

8. Add water to keep the pile moist but not soaking wet. If soaked, the material will emit a foul odor and decomposition will be slowed.

9. Use compost after 14 to 21 days when heat is no longer emitted from the pile.

Tips & Warnings

• Wood is a "brown" composting material because it is dry, stiff and decomposes slowly. Green composting material, such as leaves and coffee grounds, decompose fast. Mixing the two together ensures there is both carbon and nitrogen in the resulting compost.

• Do not add grease, fat, oil, black walnuts, pet waste, human fecal matter, coal, dairy products or meat.

References

• University of Minnesota; Organic Matter Management: Soil Scientist; 2002
• University of California Cooperative Extension; The Rapid Composting Method; Robert D. Raabe
• University of Florida; Soil Organic Matter ...; W. T. Crow, et al.; February 2010
• Environmental Protection Agency; Create Your Own Compost Pile; April 2010