100% Organic Fertilizer - Composted Sawdust

Here's the perfect Organic Fertilizer, Composted Sawdust, it's just waste from a sawmill. Properly composted and it makes for a powerful and safe fertilizer for your garden, fruit trees and landscape around your home. This particular sawmill operated in the same location for about 70 years which produced mountains of sawdust. This stuff is black gold, looking like potting soil. Mixed in with the native soil it makes everything that grows in it thrive. Find and old sawmill near you or begin composting your own, regardless, if your growing plants this will ad to their health. Just make sure it's completely composted or it will steal the nitrogen from the soil as it decomposes.

[@skinnyWHITEgoyim]

I know where an old sawmill is that had mountains of sawdust piled everywhere. It's been shut down and vacant for over 30 years. I bet that stuff is black gold by now. The bonus is its way up in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky and some of my family still lives on the land it was on. I know it's still unused. Hadn't ever thought of using any of it until lately. When I get a day off work im gonna head up and collect some of the deeper down decomposes stuff. After 30 years plus there should be a ton of good material there.

[@sanjanapaul1224]

Did you collect it by now?

[@somewherebeyondthesea9442]

​@sanjanapaul1224 Dude probably bagged it, sold it, and made a fortune 😄

[@hreem1008]

How lucky

[@davidkuhns8389]

My wife uses all the sawdust and shavings from my woodworking as mulch around the backyard beds. After a year or two its gets incorporated. Our lot was pretty sandy when we moved in 12 years ago, but a decade of mixing grass clippings, leaves and sawdust into it has yielded a deep layer of wonderful loamy dirt - great for root vegetables.

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

Sounds good! My Dad had about 15 dump truck loads of the stuff put in his yard and then tilled it all in and started all over with grass. Looked like a golf course, even surrounded by trees. Thanks for watching and for a good comment.

[@somewherebeyondthesea9442]

For those of us who don't have a hill of decomposed sawdust nearby: If you have a compost bin with a built-in ventilation, you can layer your kitchen scraps and lawn clippings with sawdust. This speeds up its aging and results in amazing rich but airy soil that you won't find at stores.

[@MrMarkpeggy]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge of sawdust composting. Another great video. I also enjoyed looking around the old mill with you. Thank you!

[@charlotteking8123]

Glad you had the bonus footage, my neighbor does wood projects and has been trying to get me to take the sawdust. On a whim I typed "Compost sawdust" and your video came up. I was wondering what that huge gorgeous pile was of organic material and where it came from. I'm going to take the sawdust particularly because the neighbor is currently burning it, almost daily. Thank you!!!

[@RiverFlow58]

Thanks. Great explanation.

[@PGTV101]

Really nice the only thing I use in my vegetable garden for compost is grass and leaf mix with dirt ,very good for vegetables it make them produce a lot of vegetables with a really strong scent an very tasty

[@martysgarden]

I am using Sawdust compost too for my outdoor worm farm windrows. I mix local coffee grounds to it,,to break it down. Thanks for video! Marty Ware

[@svetlanikolova7673]

You can use urine or grass clippings as well.

[@aaronspain3387]

I was fully expecting you to end with "Yippie kai-yay., and y'all come back now ya hear!"

[@CraigArndt]

Fantastic video!

[@bighands69]

Love the car.

[@rrwoodworksmore9239]

I did not know that about sawdust, must be why my shrubs have stay about the same size for almost 2 years, I just a bunch of my planer shaving and packed it around my shrubs... thanks for the info!

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

Yeah, that can sometimes cause a problem. My shop has a porch on it and over time a lot of shavings and sawdust can fall off. The plants around the porch can look a little rough if I leave it for a long time. But I've heard of a fair amount of people using planer and jointer shavings as a mulch, so that is probably ok. Plants are tricky, we are trying to make them grow somewhere they might not normally grow. You could have a problem with water(lack of or poor drainage), acidity, or the wrong kind of light(too much too little) And sometimes certain plants don't grow well no matter what you do and should be replaced. Thanks for watching.

[@ljbobb1]

I put "raw" sawdust in my pathways as a mulch & into my compost bin. But with the use of herbcides, I make sure any compost will grow weeds or beans (they grow fast) before it goes in the garden. In the bin I will add grass clippings & manure to kickstart start the process

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

Sounds like a good system. Enjoyed your comment, thanks for watching.

[@Ghost_in_the_Darkness]

Cool video did not know I could use my old saw dust for that thanks for the info....

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

Yep, just make sure you compost it all the way. A lot of info on that topic out there. Thanks for watching.

[@Ghost_in_the_Darkness]

Your welcome and thank you for making the videos....

[@memberson]

I used woodchips because that's all I had it 6 inches deep throughout my garden I just laid it on top of the soil. Thank you for you video

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

***** Sounds good, it will act as mulch more than anything, holding moisture in the ground. As it decomposes you may have to ad some nitrogen into the soil to keep it balanced. Thanks for watching.

[@vinuv16]

The Homestead Craftsman How it lose the nitrogen content of the soil if we use raw sawdust??can u explain it drawbacks..

[@lilycarolyn4Christ]

cow dung & sawdust 1:1 compost it for 10 days & then give them to earthworms they like it and get the compost in less 2 weeks i get spongy vermicompost soil that holds the moisture well & get some mushrooms 4free!!

[@siamihnamte8244]

Thank you for sharing, gotta try it..

[@mischevious]

Brilliant thanks!

[@hungerhurts5580]

It works!!

[@callyscraftycorner2463]

I’m getting ready to do this. Did your plants do well with this method?

[@reneebrown5598]

Wouldn't it be perfect to add to a hot compost pile for quicker soil production in a smaller scale? As in for an easily broke down carbon source when added with leaves and green matter???

[@jamiekirk7227]

thank you for sharing this!! I am looking into buying a small homestead that used to be a sawmill, and I really didn't know if anything will grow in it. Like could I make it into a garden if i have it turned and flattened back down?

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

jamie kirk Your welcome. I find composted saw dust works best if it has a little dirt and sand mixed into it. Also, not a bad idea to ad a little lime. On a side note, a lot of sawmills will move the mill around throughout the years it operates, eventually making the entire area it sits on solid sawdust. For example, the area that I am shooting this video is pretty much just saw dust. Why am I mentioning this? Because in the case of this sawmill, you can build anything anywhere without first buldozing down to solid ground, which is in some cases 30 feet down. Your property your looking at might not be like this, but it could have limitations that are not easily overcome compared to other locations you could choose. Also, huge amounts of composting saw dust can be a liability as far as fire goes. It's just a bunch of organic material, and it can catch on fire and have a huge amount of fuel in the case of this mill. Just my thoughts, ignore them if they don't apply.

[@williamjones6053]

Good video there ..easy to understand and instructional video ..we have a sawmill close to me that only buys hardwoods ..gives sawdust away .even let his loader operator load it ..i tell the operator I want the old black stuff ..coupled with chicken litter from commercial organic chicken farm ..awesome plants every time

[@davidclark9086]

Very informative video that I had not seen before. One question is what about wood shavings from hand planes? Can they also be composted?

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

Any organic material can be composted for the most part, it's what and when you use it on that matters. If wood shavings and saw dust are not composted properly and used it will cause problems. It basically steals nitrogen from the ground and will hurt plants.

[@svetlanikolova7673]

David. make a pile , mix with urine water and grass clippings and let it decomp all summer and use it in your garden in the fall.. Dont use it in the spring. Give it time . If you want partially decomposed saw dust, get in touch with Farmers that use saw dust for chicken bedding

[@doraramirez595]

Hi there. I do woodwork as a hobby. I do my work in my small yard. When I use the planer or jointer, I let all the sawdust blow into and area where I had ficus trees. I got rid of them, I planted tomatoes, watermelon and a avocado and mango tree. Why the leafs of the tomatoes plant look very pail? And the plant is not producing a lot of tomatoes. The watermelon looks green but is not setting fruit. My mango tree is not really growing. I heard that sawdust can ruin your soils z any advice? Thank you.

[@AnneAndersonFoxiepaws]

We use sawdust instead of straw in the stables and it all goes into the big compost heap when we clean out the stables daily. I am not there all the time and I know for sure that my sister burns a lot of that damp hay/sawdust mix to keep the midges off my horse and the black Shetland (for some unknown reason dark coated horses are more susceptible to insect bites like midges mosquitoes etc and they rub themselves raw in the summer. ) As my sister has taken up gardening in a big way, I presume that the stuff at the bottom of the heap would have composted down to the right kind of compost for plants etc? We know that horse manure is good garden compost but I don't think that since we started using sawdust (wood chips more like) it occurred to her that she could still use it on her garden (I'm going to investigate the dungheap Lol! When I go up in March to start building my litte cabin because I want raised vegetable beds and herb gardens because I make medicinal herbal remedies. I presume it's composting ok because it produces a lot of heat. Thanks again for all the ideas!

[@D.A.Hanks14]

I'm mulling over the thought of taking grass clippings from the side of the road and asking my local lumber yard if I can take sawdust from the re-saw. What are your thoughts on mixing grass and sawdust to compost down?

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

Im sure it would be fine after it is fully composted.

[@njione]

thank u I was thinking of using sawdust in my permaculture ranch in yucca az. im just getting started but looking for the best things to do in a hot dry place. and side question are u part native ? I am Apache and ojibwe

[@PGTV101]

Saw dust works very well with vegetables

[@eddraper]

Thank you sir. :-)

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

Your welcome sir.

[@Rimukas]

Hey, do you know what is pH level of that dark (black or brown) composted saw dust?

[@danc101]

I think it's slightly acidic (tannic and humic acid)

[@svetlanikolova7673]

saw dust proves as the best organic material for compost toilets and chicken bedding

[@keshavkaushik2123]

I'm just a beginner...I mixed saw dust (fresh) in all the pots and planted the plants...now what should I do to decompose it quickly so that my plants remain healthy..

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

I think you can just add nitrogen. I believe as the saw dust decomposes, the process robs nitrogen from the soil, so adding some would counter act it.

[@HealthSupercharger]

where would be good locations to look for saw dust which is composted or at least partly composted?

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

+HealthSupercharger sawmills

[@HealthSupercharger]

ok. Does it break down as fast as whole leaves 1 to 2 years or slowly like wood chips which can take 3 to 5 years?

[@jahad222]

To my knowledge there are no Saw Mills anywhere in Texas....at least not near where I live. Can you buy this composted sawdust? Thank you.

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

I'm sure in a state the size of Texas, there are quite a few sawmills....... and yes, you can buy it at some locations. I don't understand why you would think there are no sawmills in Texas

[@jahad222]

Maybe because TEXAS IS HUGE and where I live they don't cut trees for lumber! Cutting an OAK tree around here is practally a Felony offense! Cedar/juniper, is HATED and cut down and ground up for mulch, but not for veggie gardens and Mesquites are treasured down south (where there aren't many) but often hated cut while young in the Central and West. Most ranchers hate them unless there's a bad drought "cause the cows like to eat the beans. SO, that's why I said there are no "saw mills"anywhere around me. BTW, I found the "sawdust" at Tractor Supply, bagged and flaked small. Thanks!

[@jk-xb3gj]

I wonder how old this pile is..

[@Ultimatefitness360]

Will it increase soil carbon ??

[@mischevious]

All organic matter is carbon so yes sawdust will increase soil carbon.

[@botoshelucus6056]

How long does it take to compost sawdust..

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

It depends on a lot, this stuff has been piled up like this for decades and some of it looks pretty recent, other areas are jet black.......it depends on how the air gets to it, I think. Like turning a compost pile.

[@botoshelucus6056]

Can I do it within 2-3 month.. Mixing with cowdung.

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

I guess you'll just have to get yourself some dung and give it a try.

[@mjb12141963]

people put mulch in their flower beds and don't know where it goes. I have heard co-workers complaining about all the money they spend on mulch and it just "disappears". One even thought his neighbor was taking it. LOL

[@meiaamor7137]

wow youre handsome. 😍

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

Easy girl

[@azharulislam5987]

Sir,,,,