Hugelkultur

[Cole_Robbie]

If I use mostly rotten wood, does that negate the nitrogen-fixing? I have a lot of downed trees that are so rotten, they crumble to the touch. Is that too far gone for use in hugelkultur?

[Tania]

Originally Posted by Cole_Robbie

If I use mostly rotten wood, does that negate the nitrogen-fixing? I have a lot of downed trees that are so rotten, they crumble to the touch. Is that too far gone for use in hugelkultur?

I believe that rotten wood is good in hugelkultur beds. Mixing it with some fresher logs (or branches) would be great, as decomposition process will continue longer.

[OldHondaNut]

10 years ago the electric company cleared the right of way for the power lines. They made piles, some mostly wood but some were covered with dirt quite well. I have watched them and nothing grows on them. Eventually some mesquite trees sprouted but for the most part, these mounds of dirt filled with wood were dead zones.

There can be a lot of reasons why these don't work, but it makes me think growing stuff is not as easy as burying some wood.

I hope all you guys who spend time, work, and money burying wood do better than what I have seen. It seems to me there are better till and no-till ways to grow.

[drew51]

For me it was just recycling it. From experience I can say it works very well. I will not put new beds in without using this technique, it works too well not to do. The same principle is used in lasagna gardening. It's a good use of organic matter. Especially for people who don't have room for compost piles. I add green material also, as with compost one needs a balance of carbon and nitrogen else you may have a dead zone much like the ones described in the above post.
I have seen felled trees in the forest last forever, nothing growing in them. Not sure why this happens either? No nitrogen? Fungus producing anti-biotics? Unsure? I know what I did worked super well. My yard is a jungle!
Speaking of logs I had two felled trees last summer. i saved a few logs to grow mushrooms with. The mushroom kits look cool. I use most of the wood for firewood. My cottage is a tough environment. I have tried a lot of plants and I'm just too shaded by the old growth forest for much to grow. Here is a shot of the trees. Pure compost was inside one tree that had about a 10 foot hollowed out section.






Here's the hollow part of an oak


You can still see the grain of the wood in this compost
inside the tree. I put it around my plants as mulch. The compost smelled fresh, like it should. So you can see what your logs are going to turn into under your gardens

[drew51]

I got buckets and buckets of this compost


Two years ago I had 2 other trees come down. I gave most of the firewood away, I could not use it all.

[Cole_Robbie]

Shouldn't the principles of hugelkultur, or at least using wood chip mulch, also work in container growing? I'm thinking I will try it with my container tomatoes. If I bottom-water, that should keep the wood mulch from floating out. I think it will also allow me to use composted manure from the field that has not been heat-treated to kill weed seeds. The mulch will keep the weeds from springing up in the container.

[joseph]

Out here in the desert, we use untreated wooden fence posts. They can sit in the ground for 50-70 years before rotting away. It seems to me that Hugelkultur may work better in very damp climates than in arid zones.

[drew51]

Originally Posted by joseph

Out here in the desert, we use untreated wooden fence posts. They can sit in the ground for 50-70 years before rotting away. It seems to me that Hugelkultur may work better in very damp climates than in arid zones.

Yeah that's true, but buried and watered it should rot. Lucky you, everything rots here including my plants. Fungi all over the place. It's a struggle to keep them in check. Treated wood rots here. It should last about 10 years, but you can extend it by installing posts properly, cement, gravel etc.

[JJJessee]

Originally Posted by Cole_Robbie

Shouldn't the principles of hugelkultur, or at least using wood chip mulch, also work in container growing? I'm thinking I will try it with my container tomatoes. If I bottom-water, that should keep the wood mulch from floating out. I think it will also allow me to use composted manure from the field that has not been heat-treated to kill weed seeds. The mulch will keep the weeds from springing up in the container.

That might work, but I'd want to make sure the mulch was already fairly well broken down and not a conifer type. You'd be safer to let it sit and molder several months before planting. Fresher wood chips tend to negatively skew the nitrogen and microbial life that plants need in the short run.

[JJJessee]

Originally Posted by OldHondaNut

10 years ago the electric company cleared the right of way for the power lines. They made piles, some mostly wood but some were covered with dirt quite well. I have watched them and nothing grows on them. Eventually some mesquite trees sprouted but for the most part, these mounds of dirt filled with wood were dead zones.

There can be a lot of reasons why these don't work, but it makes me think growing stuff is not as easy as burying some wood.

I hope all you guys who spend time, work, and money burying wood do better than what I have seen. It seems to me there are better till and no-till ways to grow.

Ten years does seem like a long time. Could herbicides be involved? Was the wood chipped or was it whole branches and logs? Conifers? Aridity would also slow fungal colonization.

[Cole_Robbie]

Thanks. I have several fallen trees that have been sitting so long, they break apart when touched. So that's what I had in mind, very rotten wood.