redneck scores!!!!!!!!!!!

[redneckplanter]

new topic fer us composters?
i raid the curbs fall and spring here for our two leaf seasons.
we don't get the mega giant leaves like you folks up north.mostly small oak leaves down here.
sa'll good there.smiles
my new topic/question is what about the big heavy thick fibrous stuff?
i have been raiding late this year.never this late.i always knock off in april and quit.
but with the redneck orchard i been scrounging.
i have no surplus leaves to blend stuff with.
so all my raidings the last month has been big heavy stuff.
oak branches....boxwood...rose trimmings...lots of hedge trimmings.lol magnolia leaves...pine sheddings...bark....yes bagged bark......rotfl
if it was once alive??
i'm loading it in the truck.i have way to much ground to cover to be picky.
question is?do i just windrow it?sheet compost it?
the branches with green leaves and green rose trimmings are fine.
stuff that rolls close to 30-1 werks.
but i have sssssssoooooooooooooo much big heavy large limbs and large stuff that i don't wanna try to chip or shred.
composted wood has no nutrient value i believe bh and others have said.
but it does improve soil tith.......is good worm food?[when broken down] and is a good heavy carbon as i believe ggg said?tomc said it helps grow beneficial fungi necessary for good treeling growth?
do we just leave it as a heavy mulch?
to break down anerobiclly?
i don't have the green to put with it.we're talking tons of heavy fibrous carbons here.
i have done tons of leaves and hay...the nitrogen sink robbing thing =doesn't bother me.never seen it manifest.
but my oh my.....i wonder how long it will take this heaviness to break down?
planning on backfilling it all with leaves this next fall.
butt wondering at the results and if any fruit fer the labor?
grins

[bhpigeon2]

Wood by itself must be considered about the same as coal, mostly carbon but in a different form. It's main advantage in the soil is the humus which it breaks down into. That's carbon and may remain for hundreds of years in the soil. Problem is to get it from a huge living organism to tiny bits of carbon. All woods are certainly not created equal and all of the possible properties vary considerably. I have never been in favor of using municipal wood chips for anything but permanent garden paths but would welcome anything that rural road crews could supply. Too many exotics in the cities and many may have allelopathic properties which prevent germination or curtail growth and which might take years to neutralize. There's also some woods which will almost vanish in one year while others are still virtually intact after 10 years. Wood from neither end of those extremes belong in the soil without sufficient extra nitrogen required to convert them to humus.

Ordinary wood chips used as mulch should not last more than two years in a climate where the soil is normally damp throughout the warm months. If the wood chip mulch is in turn covered with an additional finer mulch to retain more moisture, then the chips may be almost consumed in a single year. Even if somewhat intact yet, they may be considered harmless if they are just bits of black material as often encountered in commercial bagged compost.

Exceptions to all things woody are Christmas trees. If fresh and ground fine enough, they may be incorporated directly into the soil with little adverse affect. There is sufficient nitrogen in the green needles and immature bark to compost itself with no outside help and it will do so in one year. There is not the amount of carbon humus which would be expected from hardwoods and their leaves but every ounce of it can be trusted to not be harmful to whatever one wishes to grow.

The above is not meant in any way as an attempt to convince anyone to turn down any source of wood chips. Rather it is to point out that it's not a one-size-fits-all thing when dealing with them. Although I am no longer associated with our local community garden complex, I saw something today which brought a big smile to my face. There was a huge pile of wood chips supplied by the city. There was a sign: "These are for use around, not in, your plots."

bhp2

[San Antonio]

we shredd all our wood trimmings and use it as mulch. It all breaks down eventually. Some leaves get used as mulch. Others in the compose. I like a little leaf mold to mix in the soil

[RozieDozie]

It will take quite a while (years) for the 'as is' to break down, Red, but it will, eventually.

How 'bout making bio char? We had so many downed trees/wood, etc., that we decided to try and it has been wonderful. We used it in combo with green manure, i.e., buried the bio char, planted winter and summer green manure and made a fertile, balanced pasture in 3 years. Sounds like a long time, but it wasn't that expensive or labor intensive and now we have a huge fertile pasture.

[redneckplanter]

thanks you guys.smiles
i'm scoring longer harder and further than ever before.
i am becoming convinced that a large and i mean large amount of organics is the answer.
much like crop rotation or seasonal planting?
i believe we must harvest our resources as they appear in their season.
leaves in fall and spring.tree limbs...branches....curbside finds of grass clippings...hay.....punkins after haloween...........
it all goes into an organic stone soup.lol
alone nothing has the capacity to totally become a meal.
but with all the ingrediants cooking together?
smiles
well then ya have a complete nutritious meal.lol

[bhpigeon2]

Do you know how long it takes to shred 85 bags of leaves with a 21" Craftsman mulching mower? Took about 2 hours 2 days ago. Had them laid out in a 210' row. Converted them to instant mulch for about 100 squash and melon plants. I prefer them to straw for mulch as they sort of wed to the soil as they break down and much more effective in preventing weed seed germination.

bhp2

[atl.veggie]

does this qualify:

[ovenbird]

I use the heavy carbon stuff for garden paths. I get it delivered by tree trimmers. Lucky me!
Yep, the stuff has little value for the garden when I get it, so I just dig good soil out of the paths and fill the trench with the wood chips. This stuff breaks down slowly over time. I also allow the hose to run into these deep chip troughs and then let the water run sideways deep into the garden beds.
In about 3 years the chips will be so broken down that they will no longer function as wood chips but soil and the paths will start growing tons of weeds. That's when I know it is time to scoop that stuff into the compost piles, layered with summer green clippings or Japanese Beetle bodies, and makes great compost in a few months. Compost does not have to contain nutrients to make it valuable in the garden. It contains humic acid that frees trace minerals from the tiny rock particles in the soil, it brings in air, holds moisture, and as you say, improves the tilth.
So, in a way, I say any plant material is fair game for the compost. Hey, that's what is on the ground in Redwoods National Forest and it grew GIANT sequoias. So there!

[bhpigeon2]

Originally Posted by ovenbird

So, in a way, I say any plant material is fair game for the compost. Hey, that's what is on the ground in Redwoods National Forest and it grew GIANT sequoias. So there!

Ah, but since those giant sequoias are just about 100% carbon, where did they get that from? Didn't come from the soil but the air. The ground is primarily an anchor for those trees.

bhp2

[atl.veggie]

Originally Posted by ovenbird

...In about 3 years the chips will be so broken down that they will no longer function as wood chips ...

can you please tell my chips to last that long?
3 month and my walkways scream for a new top layer