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Livestock & Landscape Material
Wood Chips, Mulch, Saw Dust and Railroad Ties
Uses for Railroad Ties
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Massive Retaining Walls: Their weight makes them ideal for holding back large volumes of soil on sloped properties or creating tiered parking lots for businesses.
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Driveway and Parking Edging: Used as heavy-duty curbing to define gravel driveways, preventing spread and protecting landscaping from vehicle tires.
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Rustic Garden Stairs: Stacked and pinned with rebar, they create wide, stable outdoor staircases for steep trails or backyard transitions.
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Raised Planter Beds: Frequently used for non-edible decorative plantings, providing a sturdy frame that won't shift during seasonal ground heaves.
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Loading Docks and Equipment Pads: Businesses use them as durable "bumpers" or base supports for heavy machinery and shipping containers to keep them off the damp ground.
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Fence Corner Anchors: Buried deep in the earth, they serve as immovable anchor posts for high-tension wire fencing or large farm gates.
A Note on Safety: Because most railroad ties are treated with creosote, they should not be used indoors, in poorly ventilated spaces, or for raised beds intended for growing food, as the chemicals can leach into the soil.
Colored Mulch
Northland wood-colored mulches are available in Red, Dark Brown and Natural. Mulch is popular for its ability to provide a polished, manicured look to any landscape. Unlike natural wood chips that gray over time, these are treated with pet- and plant-safe dyes to maintain their vibrant hue for a full season or longer.
Uses for Mulch
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Moisture Retention: It acts like a blanket, slowing down evaporation so you don’t have to water your plants as often.
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Weed Suppression: By blocking sunlight from reaching the soil surface, it prevents weed seeds from germinating.
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Temperature Regulation: It keeps the soil cooler in the blistering summer and provides a layer of insulation against frost in the winter.
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Soil Health: As wood mulch eventually breaks down, it adds organic matter back into the soil, improving its structure over time.
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Erosion Control: It helps hold soil in place during heavy rain, preventing your garden beds from washing away.
Wood Chips & Shavings
Northland Wood produces natural wood chips (sometimes called "whitewood" or "raw chips"). Natural wood chips are about soil health, utility, and a rustic "forest floor" look.
Uses for Wood Chips & Shavings
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Natural Garden Pathways: Because they are chunkier than mulch, wood chips don't wash away easily in the rain. They create a stable, permeable walking surface that keeps your boots out of the mud.
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Back-to-Eden Gardening: If you have a vegetable patch or fruit trees, wood chips are the "gold standard." They mimic the floor of a forest, slowly decomposing to create incredibly rich, fungal-dominant soil that plants love.
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Chicken Coops & Animal Runs: Natural wood chips (specifically untreated ones like Northland’s) make excellent bedding. They are highly absorbent, reduce odors, and give chickens something to scratch through.
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Erosion Control on Slopes: Their weight and irregular shapes help them "lock" together better than fine mulch, making them a great temporary fix for stabilizing a hill or a washed-out area of your yard.
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Compost "Browns": If your compost pile is too wet or smelly (too much nitrogen/green waste), wood chips provide much-needed carbon and create air pockets that help the pile breathe and decompose faster.
Sawdust
Sawdust is highly absorbent and high in carbon, which makes it useful for everything from cleaning messes to growing food.
Uses for Sawdust
1. Soil Amendment for Acid-Loving Plants
If you have blueberries, azaleas, or rhododendrons, a small amount of sawdust mixed into the soil can help maintain the acidity they crave.
2. The Ultimate Spill Absorber
Keep a bucket of dry sawdust in your garage or basement. If you spill oil, paint, or even water, sawdust acts like a natural sponge.
3. Mushroom Cultivation
If you’ve ever wanted to grow your own Shiitake or Oyster mushrooms, sawdust is the "secret sauce."
4. Traction on Ice
In the winter, sawdust is a great alternative to salt. It doesn't melt the ice, but it provides excellent "grit" for your boots or tires. Unlike salt, it won’t damage your lawn or paws when the snow melts away.
5. Animal Bedding (with Caution)
For heavy-duty animal stalls (like horses or cows), sawdust is excellent for soaking up moisture.
Warning: Avoid using sawdust for small pets with sensitive respiratory systems (like guinea pigs or hamsters).
6. Homemade Fire Starters
Mix sawdust with melted candle wax in an old egg carton. Once it cools, you have "pucks" that burn long and hot—perfect for getting a stubborn campfire or fireplace going.
Erosion Control
A silt sock (also known as a filter sock) is a heavy-duty mesh tube filled with organic material—usually wood chips, compost, or a blend of both. It is one of the most effective and "low-hassle" tools in erosion control.
Uses for a Silt Sock
The magic of the silt sock is in its three-dimensional filtration.
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Slowing the Flow: As runoff water hits the sock, the weight and density of the filler material force the water to slow down. This causes heavy sediment to drop out of the water and settle behind the sock.
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Filtration: The silt sock allows water to pass through it. The wood chips or compost inside trap fine particles, silt, and even some pollutants (like oils or heavy metals) while letting cleaner water seep out the other side.
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Ground Contact: Because they are heavy and flexible, they mold to the shape of the ground. This prevents "undercutting" (when water carves a hole underneath a barrier), which is the #1 reason silt fences fail.
