On Mon, 07 Aug 2006 10:47:03 -0700, massmans wrote:

Can they be used as mulch for gardening? Are there any other
recommendations for the use of the shavings.

I'm jumping in kind of late but, as an organic gardener and turner,
I may be able to add somewhat to the discussion.

First:

On a two year cycle even PCB's and explosives can be composted. So don't
fret the juglone ... neither you nor your plants nor the neighborhood
atomic chemist will be able to find any traces of it after one year of
active composting and one year of resting.

Second:
The oft-referenced nitrogen starvation WILL occur 1) at the soil line if
used as a mulch or 2) throughout the soil if dug in. But so what? Just dig
it in at the END of the growing season (if you live where there IS an end
to the growing season as most of us in the northern hemisphere do). By
spring, everything is balanced back out again AND your soil will have
greatly improved tilth. win-win

I use mine, several inches deep, applied to my paths and ya know what? my
paths are both springy as good carpet AND sporting a lush top layer of
grass.

Third:
My wife and I are getting ready to use them for a dry-toilet in our
basement. There, the lack of nitrogen is irrelevant since the other
ingredients have it in abundance.

http://www.weblife.org/humanure/default.html