Ideas for Creative / Profitable ways to use our by-products

[JD3000]

Perhaps not. Having leaves, fruit, and green wood mixed in with the old wood (having "greens" and "browns") helps feed a far more diverse array of soil microoganisms and also supplies a more complete range of plant nutrients than older ripe/heartwood mulch.

 

[rico]

We keep it simple here. We wreak mostly softwood trees, skid the logs and mill them into lumber. The lumber is used to built beautiful things. The larger mill ends are use for building projects, or turned into free BTU’s and given to the community to keep them warm in the winter. The smaller mill ends are chipped and given away as mulch for the community to use however they wish. Larger hardwood logs are also milled, and the rest also becomes free BTU’s. Most of this is free to my community because that how we roll around here. Simple but effective, with very little wasted bio mass.

 

[southsoundtree]

Perhaps not. Having leaves, fruit, and green wood mixed in with the old wood (having "greens" and "browns") helps feed a far more diverse array of soil microoganisms and also supplies a more complete range of plant nutrients than older ripe/heartwood mulch.

To clarify, as a landscape product, logs produce more uniform chips.

As a tree care mulch, I'm a big proponent of tree chips, with wood, bark, flowers, seeds, fines...

Rakings and stringy stuff are often less desirable where aesthetics and workability are considerations.

I infrequently haul mulch off-site, or far, fwiw (some no-cleanup work, occasional brush trailer to dump).
After pontificating the benefits of mulch for trees, then following up with offering to charge to blow chips in my chip truck and haul off, or leave the customers exactly the material they need and already own...
Very rarely, we spread mulch as a service.

I have customers whose rolling recycle and yard waste bins catch the bulk of pruning chips, with the rest going into a pile. The customers roll to where they need mulch, pre-filled.

 

[southsoundtree]

You can make a simple, three-piece bench with a free hand rip-cut seat.

Stepping "stones" from decay resistant log cookies.

People use log cookies for table decorations/ food service decorations (platter of food on log cookie).

 

[Windwalker]

I have a Timberking sawmill. Pays much better than firewooding everything. All my logs are sourced through my tree service. I've done a few jobs where I take the tree down and then roll in with the mill and cut lumber onsite. There are a lot of local tree guys around my area, so I wanted a service that others don't offer. There are sawmills around too, but as far as I know I'm the only one that offers tree work and sawing.

 

[treehumper]

Customers need to be educated as to the benefits of the "mulch" we produce with our chippers. It's much better than the tub grinder stuff that ends up knitting and acting as a barrier to moisture penetration.

We are finding ways to repurpose everything we produce. Sustainable practices are another aspect that you can educate customer about. Chipping onsite, logs left as any number of elements of the landscape. I've left them scatter on a slope to form terraces, collect organic materials, slope managment, trails, nurse logs, or just randomly laid them out to look like naturally fallen logs. The labor involved is all billable.