Hello everyone, I don't think I have posted on this forum before but have watched for a long time, enjoyed very much.
My question is have any of you tilled aged wood chips into your garden soil? What was the outcome? Did you add extra nitrogen?
My main focus is Daylilies, seedling beds, and established beds.
Also my daughter in law is planing a future garden site on their property. This would be primarily for vegetables. The woodchips could compost for several years at her site.
Thank you all in advance for advice,and comments.

We've done that in the process of preparing areas for new plant material. Not as a defined process, more like they're there and we just mix them in. Never had a problem with growth issues. I think a regular fertilizing program would be sufficient to keep things happy.

We had a big stump ground up and planted a vegetable garden over the area. Seemed fine. Good actually. I agree, don't neglect the possible need to fertilize.

Heavier than average amount depending on how many wood chips, size and what species, you are tilling in.
For what it is worth:

I put leaves left over from rose covering on my potatoes, this often contains wood chips and sticks (1/4 to 1/2 inch in diameter on average.)
I bury them , unless they are 4 or more inches long, along with plant debris when I dig up the potatoes and refill the hole.
If I replant potatoes in the same area, for three years, plus or minus, I dig up stick and chunks often down deep.
I know I put them there, because I plant deep 10 inches plus or minus and I dig up sticks often when planting down over 10 inches, they go away but not as fast as if they were on the bottom of a pile on the surface .

I think some description of quantity is needed.
When I was first starting to garden here in Georgia, there was a monster pile of ancient sawdust on the property.

Property owner complained about something being wrong with the sawdust... having tried incorporating them into the soil like manure and nothing grew.

When I tried using them as mulch... they were great! When I turned them under after a season as mulch, it worked fine.

Later I tried turning bags of dropped leaves into the soil without using them as mulch first... nothing grew for a few years.

Personally, I wouldn't recommend using sawdust of any age as a soil conditioner. As mulch? Absolutely!

I've used fresh sawdust as mulch... worked fine... after a season as mulch, turned them under, no problems.

But turning under without a season spent on top of the soil as mulch? I think you would be asking for problems.

Thanks everyone, this was my preparation of daylily seedling bed.
Removed all three yr. Old daylily seedlings, take soil samples, ( ph high 7.3, p & k also high ) add elemental sulfur, added 2lbs feather meal per 100 square ft. , covered with 2 inches of arborist woodchips ( double ground), broadfork 10 inches deep, till aprox. 8" deep, level, cover with 2" of woodchips. These will not be planted till first part of May. These are raised seedling beds for daylily seedlings.
What are your thoughts on this ?

Thanks all for your input!!

I'm guessing it sounds good, and you'll just watch the seedlings for possible fertilizer needs.

As Stone said, I would not till in the wood chips, as mulch OK .

You are short on Nitrogen and Nitrogen is need to decompose the wood chips, it would be working on the chips, not the plants roots.

I think the key word in the first post is 'aged'. As has been noted, fresh chippings would need extra Nitrogen to assist in decomposition. Most soils are somewhat deficient in Nitrogen so regular applications are par for the course.

CalPolygardener said: fresh chippings would need extra Nitrogen to assist in decomposition.

Doesn't matter whether they're aged...
As I mentioned above... I had access to a pile that was decades old.

Still couldn't be used as a soil conditioner, until they'd been spread out as mulch for a period of time.

Original poster didn't tell us the method used for composting...
If these wood chips / sawdust were composted with plenty of green, (like fresh lawn clippings, fresh pulled garden plants) then, maybe they would be ok to use as intended....

But just piled up for a period of time... isn't going to compost them.

kennysh said:
Removed all three yr. Old daylily seedlings, take soil samples, ( ph high 7.3, p & k also high ) add elemental sulfur, added 2lbs feather meal per 100 square ft. , covered with 2 inches of arborist woodchips ( double ground), broadfork 10 inches deep, till aprox. 8" deep, level, cover with 2" of woodchips.

Is this Sand? Clay?

It's possible to use lots of sawdust in sand... Without too many problems.
Trying it in clay has usually given a different result.

CalPolygardener said: I think the key word in the first post is 'aged'. As has been noted, fresh chippings would need extra Nitrogen to assist in decomposition. Most soils are somewhat deficient in Nitrogen so regular applications are par for the course.

If it still looks like wood chips, it still is woods chips, being old and grey , means little.

Thanks everyone for your comments and thoughts.

"Trying it in clay has usually given a different result."
Right you are,
Sawdust + Clay = Adobe

Burying woody material - no matter its age - into the soil will rob nitrogen from said soil to aid in its decomposition. This might - depending on the amount and your soil's condition - lead to nitrogen deficiencies in the plants.

So it's usually not advised unless you're prepared to fertillize for nitrogen if needed for some years until the wood has decomposed, which might take a long time if your soil is either very heavy (little oxygen) or excessively dry...