Bill who putters wrote:
In article ,
Gary Woods wrote:

The Cook wrote:

I seem to remember that wood as it decomposes uses up the nitrogen
in the soil. Not really good for the garden. Old wives tale or
true?

True, with a caveat or two: Any material absorbes nitrogen as it
decomposes. If it doesn't contain much nitrogen of its own, the
deficit comes from its surroundings. Having said that, if the wood
chips or
whatever are on the surface, they won't steal much N from the soil
under them. And if the "brown" material is partially rotted
already, there's
less of an issue.
So, let it rot and weather as mulch before turning it in, or
partially compost first, and you'll be fine.


Gary Woods AKA K2AHC- PGP key on request, or at
home.earthlink.net/~garygarlic Zone 5/6 in upstate New York, 1420'
elevation. NY WO G

I think of rotting as burning. Everything burns up some faster than
others. Rusting is oxidation aka a slow burn.


A better way of describing it would be being eaten rather than burnt.
Burning doesn't involve nitrogen whereas the microbes that decompose wood do
use up nitrogen as well as oxygen.

Gary had it pretty well right. Nitrogen is used up to some extent but it
may not be an issue and it gets returned later. The situation has to be
fairly extreme for nitrogen draw down to severely deplete the soil. This
can be used to your advantage by using sawdust on paths, little or nothing
will grow in it for a year or two.

David