Hastening decay of downed wood?
 

In the aftermath of a 4,000 acre fire that spent the last week
scorching through the local mountains

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http:/...web_summit.kmz

I thought I'd do a bit more thinning out of primarily bay laurel on
the back hill. Now I've already cut down quite a few trees over the
years and they take their sweet time turning back to the soils and
nutrients from which they originated. I figured keeping them wet and
close together near the ground would help. Any other helpful
suggestions?

Hastening decay of downed wood?
 

"Digital Larry" wrote in message
...
In the aftermath of a 4,000 acre fire that spent the last week
scorching through the local mountains


http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http:/...web_summit.kmz

I thought I'd do a bit more thinning out of primarily bay laurel on
the back hill. Now I've already cut down quite a few trees over the
years and they take their sweet time turning back to the soils and
nutrients from which they originated. I figured keeping them wet and
close together near the ground would help. Any other helpful
suggestions?

Chip them, the more surface area the faster the microorganisms can work.

David

Hastening decay of downed wood?
 

Digital Larry wrote:
In the aftermath of a 4,000 acre fire that spent the last week
scorching through the local mountains

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http:/...web_summit.kmz

I thought I'd do a bit more thinning out of primarily bay laurel on
the back hill. Now I've already cut down quite a few trees over the
years and they take their sweet time turning back to the soils and
nutrients from which they originated. I figured keeping them wet
and
close together near the ground would help. Any other helpful
suggestions?

A chipper for a few days.

Tom J

Hastening decay of downed wood?
 

In article ,
"David Hare-Scott" wrote:

"Digital Larry" wrote in message
...
In the aftermath of a 4,000 acre fire that spent the last week
scorching through the local mountains


http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http:/...ts/google/2008
_05_27_a_web_summit.kmz

I thought I'd do a bit more thinning out of primarily bay laurel on
the back hill. Now I've already cut down quite a few trees over the
years and they take their sweet time turning back to the soils and
nutrients from which they originated. I figured keeping them wet and
close together near the ground would help. Any other helpful
suggestions?

Chip them, the more surface area the faster the microorganisms can work.

David

Get as much dirt as you can on them.
--

Billy
Bush Behind Bars
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KVTf...ef=patrick.net
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0aEo...eature=related

Hastening decay of downed wood?
 

I would cut wood in 4' lengths and give the wood soil contact.

Also brush piles are good for wildlife as well.


--
Sincerely,
John A. Keslick, Jr.
Consulting Tree Biologist
http://home.ccil.org/~treeman
and www.treedictionary.com
Beware of so-called tree experts who do not understand tree biology.
Storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions keep reminding us
that we are not the boss.
Some people will buy products they do not understand and not buy books that
will give them understanding.

"Digital Larry" wrote in message
...
In the aftermath of a 4,000 acre fire that spent the last week
scorching through the local mountains

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http:/...web_summit.kmz

I thought I'd do a bit more thinning out of primarily bay laurel on
the back hill. Now I've already cut down quite a few trees over the
years and they take their sweet time turning back to the soils and
nutrients from which they originated. I figured keeping them wet and
close together near the ground would help. Any other helpful
suggestions?

Hastening decay of downed wood?
 

On May 27, 11:28 pm, Digital Larry wrote:
In the aftermath of a 4,000 acre fire that spent the last week
scorching through the local mountains

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http:/...v/incidents/go...

I thought I'd do a bit more thinning out of primarily bay laurel on
the back hill. Now I've already cut down quite a few trees over the
years and they take their sweet time turning back to the soils and
nutrients from which they originated. I figured keeping them wet and
close together near the ground would help. Any other helpful
suggestions?

Mix with rotten wood chips to inoculate with fungus,
maybe?

Hastening decay of downed wood?
 

Father Haskell wrote in

oups.com:

On May 27, 11:28 pm, Digital Larry
wrote:
In the aftermath of a 4,000 acre fire that spent the last
week scorching through the local mountains

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http:/...fire.ca.gov/in
cidents/go...

I thought I'd do a bit more thinning out of primarily bay
laurel on the back hill. Now I've already cut down quite
a few trees over the years and they take their sweet time
turning back to the soils and nutrients from which they
originated. I figured keeping them wet and close together
near the ground would help. Any other helpful
suggestions?

Mix with rotten wood chips to inoculate with fungus,
maybe?

or better yet, order some edible fungus plugs & make yourself
a nice mushroom garden.
lee
--
Last night while sitting in my chair
I pinged a host that wasn't there
It wasn't there again today
The host resolved to NSA.

Hastening decay of downed wood?
 

On Wed, 28 May 2008 19:48:03 -0700 (PDT), Father Haskell
wrote:

On May 27, 11:28 pm, Digital Larry wrote:
In the aftermath of a 4,000 acre fire that spent the last week
scorching through the local mountains

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http:/...v/incidents/go...

I thought I'd do a bit more thinning out of primarily bay laurel on
the back hill. Now I've already cut down quite a few trees over the
years and they take their sweet time turning back to the soils and
nutrients from which they originated. I figured keeping them wet and
close together near the ground would help. Any other helpful
suggestions?

Mix with rotten wood chips to inoculate with fungus,
maybe?


Breaking material into smaller pieces will certainly help. Termites
may find it, although I wouldn't want this within 50 feet of the
house.

Hastening decay of downed wood?
 

"Phisherman" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 28 May 2008 19:48:03 -0700 (PDT), Father Haskell
wrote:

On May 27, 11:28 pm, Digital Larry wrote:
In the aftermath of a 4,000 acre fire that spent the last week
scorching through the local mountains

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http:/...v/incidents/go...

I thought I'd do a bit more thinning out of primarily bay laurel on
the back hill. Now I've already cut down quite a few trees over the
years and they take their sweet time turning back to the soils and
nutrients from which they originated. I figured keeping them wet and
close together near the ground would help. Any other helpful
suggestions?

Mix with rotten wood chips to inoculate with fungus,
maybe?


Breaking material into smaller pieces will certainly help. Termites
may find it, although I wouldn't want this within 50 feet of the
house.

Fukuoka recommends burying logs in hole and letting them decay in the soil.
Apparently builds high soil fertility.

As I mentioned earlier, the most basic method for improving soil is to bury
coarse organic matter in deep trenches.

One may establish an orchard and plant nursery stock using essentially the
same methods as when planting forest trees. Vegetation on the hillside is
cut in lateral strips, and the large trunks, branches, and leaves of the
felled trees are arranged or buried in trenches running along hill contours,
covered with earth, and allowed to decompose naturally

rob

Hastening decay of downed wood?
 

"George.com" wrote in message
...

"Phisherman" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 28 May 2008 19:48:03 -0700 (PDT), Father Haskell
wrote:

On May 27, 11:28 pm, Digital Larry wrote:
In the aftermath of a 4,000 acre fire that spent the last week
scorching through the local mountains

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http:/...v/incidents/go...

I thought I'd do a bit more thinning out of primarily bay laurel on
the back hill. Now I've already cut down quite a few trees over the
years and they take their sweet time turning back to the soils and
nutrients from which they originated. I figured keeping them wet and
close together near the ground would help. Any other helpful
suggestions?

Mix with rotten wood chips to inoculate with fungus,
maybe?


Breaking material into smaller pieces will certainly help. Termites
may find it, although I wouldn't want this within 50 feet of the
house.

Fukuoka recommends burying logs in hole and letting them decay in the
soil. Apparently builds high soil fertility.

As I mentioned earlier, the most basic method for improving soil is to
bury coarse organic matter in deep trenches.

One may establish an orchard and plant nursery stock using essentially the
same methods as when planting forest trees. Vegetation on the hillside is
cut in lateral strips, and the large trunks, branches, and leaves of the
felled trees are arranged or buried in trenches running along hill
contours, covered with earth, and allowed to decompose naturally

rob

Because trees contain so much of a forest's nutrients, burying logs is
actually one of the most efficient ways to build soil. Masanobu Fukuoka,
a Japanese agronomist and philosopher who's considered one of the
founders of permaculture, proved this through extensive experiments in
the mid-20th century (see /The One-Straw Revolution/, Rodale Press, 1978).
http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/p...ay/027497.html

Hastening decay of downed wood?
 

Well, thanks for all the tips, seems the most practical approach is
just to lay the stuff all out on the ground and chip what I can. My
chipper can't really take anything much larger than 2" and some of
this stuff, we're talking 18 or 24 inches around. And there is a LOT
of it, I'm talking at least a dozen trees 8 inches at the base or more
and 40 or 50 feet tall. Also it is on a steep hill and just getting
the chipper down to that location might be a one-way trip, you know!
But then again what else am I gonna do with it! It's not the most
attractive garden ornament.

You don't suppose drinking a couple of beers while watching TV would
help?

Thnx!

DL

Hastening decay of downed wood?
 

On May 27, 11:28*pm, Digital Larry wrote:
In the aftermath of a 4,000 acre fire that spent the last week
scorching through the local mountains

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http:/...v/incidents/go...

I thought I'd do a bit more thinning out of primarily bay laurel on
the back hill. *Now I've already cut down quite a few trees over the
years and they take their sweet time turning back to the soils and
nutrients from which they originated. *I figured keeping them wet and
close together near the ground would help. *Any other helpful
suggestions?

get that stuff they sell for making stumps rot. it's in home depot,
lowes, etc. you drill a bunch of holes in the wood and pack in the
stuff and wet it down for a while. It eats the lignin out of the wood,
leaving only the cellulose; the wood becomes spongy and basically
turns into cardboard.