Use for wood pellets

I have a 40# bag of 100% Redwood pellets that I bought to use in a small Fire Pit, but they don't flame so I won't be using them. I emailed the company and asked if they would compost or break down well-- I was told they would- it was suggested that I could even use them to top dress or mulch--any input on the subject? I'm thinking they could steal nitrogen as they break down- but don't know. Any help is welcome.Thanks- Jo in WA

[bad.kelpie]

When water is added, they puff up and turn into sawdust, so you can use them however you'd use sawdust. I've never used them in a garden, but they do work pretty awesome as cat litter.

Thanks- I will play with them!

[Father'sDaughter]

Yes, pellets are just compressed and extruded sawdust. You can wet them then let them dry and that is what you will be left with - a pile of sawdust.

We heated our house with pellets for a few years until the price for them sky rocketed and my husband finally installed a high efficiency furnace which ended up saving us money. I think we still have about six 40 lb bags of pellets in the basement... let me know what you decide to do with yours.

So can anyone tell me if the pellets will rob the soil of nitrogen as they decompose?

[dustdevil]

Technically, they would rob the soil very minutely...not enough to worry about. They should go into a compost pile first anyways. Ever wonder if the pellets would change your soil ph?

[Worth1]

Some spread on top lightly will do nothing as far as robing the soil nitrogen.
Mixing in will to some extent.
If you fertilize it wont make any difference anyway.
If you spread too much they will break down into sawdust and form a wee bit of a layer on top.
Redwood takes longer to break down than many woods.
Redwood has a natural flame retardant to it I think also, not for sure about that, it may be just the bark.
There are many methods and ways to improve soil sawdust mixed in is one of them if done correctly.
Every year (winter) I used to haul several yards (around 21 to 42) of oak hardwood sawdust, spread it on the garden and till it in with 13-13-13 and chicken poop then side dress with rabbit and dried cow poop, I didn't see any complaints from the plants trees or grape vines.

Worth

[Gardeneer]

Robing the nutrients, will occur, But how much it depend on the quantity. Once any wood ( saw dust, chips) gets saturated with the fertilizer, it can rob no more. From there on it will start releasing the nutrients as it decomposing.