Habitat out loud

[SD51555]

That's what I suspected that hardwood species would have long breakdown times. I have some siberian elm on the property that might be a good choice. It is a soft wood and generally breaks down readily.

I have read that wood will suck up much of the nitrogen in the bed, how do you balance out the nitrogen for crop growth?

I didn’t really observe any of that. My asparagus bed boomed last year immediately after building and planting. I’ve also not used fresh wood. Everything I’ve ever used has been dead at least two years, and I try to get the most rotten stuff I can move.

I think the reason I don’t get it is because I’m using large chunks, and 99% of that wood isn’t exposed to the soil. If I moxed fresh sawdust into the soil, it would probably lag much worse. Even so, I try to push the legumes the first year in the bed if I can. Legumes love high carbon.


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[SD51555]

Did you find lots of earthworms when you tore apart your hoog?

Not that one. It was horribly dry. The test hoog was mounded up as high as I could get it. It was hard to keep mulch on it, and just seemed to increase surface area to lose moisture. That’s why all my subsequent ones are flat and the wood chips are deep.


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[Jlane35]

What would rotten wood do for a food plot or garden just laid on the surface?

 

[Barndog56]

My beds always have a ton of worms because they're in the compost I add to the beds. If there aren't worms in any of your Hoog ingredients then I would buy a dozen nightcrawlers and throw them in.

 

[SD51555]

My beds always have a ton of worms because they're in the compost I add to the beds. If there aren't worms in any of your Hoog ingredients then I would buy a dozen nightcrawlers and throw them in.

There are good worms in the last two, and I suspect the one before that. We picked it up with pallet forks on a skid steer. I was shocked the soil never fell out the bottom. It did have five years of undisturbed root mass to hold it together. It’s the dirt under it that also had another 16” of wood below grade. It was just bone dry. How anything grew was a miracle.

The topsoil I used on my new ones is very black and very rich, and it gets even better with the rotted sawdust. I’m really glad the soil and fill wood was soaking wet this time. Last year, my asparagus bed was built with dry soil.


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[SD51555]

What would rotten wood do for a food plot or garden just laid on the surface?

I think it would do wonders in a clover plot. I’d love to be able to spread an inch of wood chips in my clover every year.


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[Telemark]

I have some fallen birch also, I will look into reclaiming some of that.

So I should remove the bark?

I would remove the bark if possible.

 

[SD51555]

I had to go out a pound my steel posts in again. I thought I punched them thru the frost but they heaved back out. Now I got them driven deep and the fences tightened up. Gonna be the biggest damn sentinel bushes in the forest.

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