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RE: Wood Shavings! Are They A Valuable Resource For Your Homestead? What Do You Use Them For?
That's a great idea. I'm going to look into shops in my area. We're looking into buying a chipper right now.
I have been thinking about getting a chipper but other things have priority right now. It will come later I am sure. You can also talk to tree companies as they need places to dump chips from time to time.
Well, we've got a big old tree coming down in our backyard today, and we found a wood chipper with great reviews that would cost less than it would cost to have the tree hauled off somewhere. We've offered it to the people we know with fireplaces and wood stoves, but none of them want to pick it up. So we're going to chip everything under 3 inches in diameter and the larger stuff will be fire pit fodder. ☺
That is great use the chips around your garden or flower beds. I believe the ashes are even a good resource for your gardens too. Use in place of lime in your garden and in the compost pile. Not too much at a time though. Too much of a good thing is bad. Ha Ha
My grandmother called the wood ash that she put in her garden potash. Anytime there was a wood fire she would collect up the ashes. I believe she normally mixed them into her compost.
I think mine also made lye soap from them too.
I don't think my grandmother ever paid attention to the way her granny made lye soap from wood ashes but it is definitely something I'm interested in learning to do. I make our own soap but it's from store-bought lie. I know it sounds like I'm going off the deep end but anything that we can do for ourselves that we don't have to purchase in a store is kind of my goal. And lye soap from wood ashes would prevent us from having to purchase the bottled lye.