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  • From: Niels Corfield <mudguard@gmail.com>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] what makes black locust last so long?
  • Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2008 19:33:25 +0100

My money's on chemicals. It'll have to be a high resin content reckon.
I recently came 3rd in a head-to-head of the best firewoods and that was behind a couple of oaks that like grow 5-times slower!
So that may well point to density also.
I don't think it's allelopathic, that's not listed anywhere. It's not an aromatic wood also, like cedar. But basically it's not treated, so I think it'll be great as a border. After all you wouldn't think twice about putting untreated oak in that position, so why black locust.
I think walnut which is known for it's allelopathy is still fine for pole wood etc. Though way too high value for that application but safe for plants as a timber.
Why not direct your question directly to Geoff Lawton, or PRI forum, or in the UK: Phil Corbett (Cool Temperate) or Martin Crawford (ART).
You could ask Elaine Ingham also.
My feeling though is it's safe to use in that application. Especially as treated timber/reclaimed rail sleepers are commonly used for raised beds, which /do/ leach their toxins into the soil. This one's gotta be better.
Just wish I had a nice stand of it nearby for a similar application.
BTW, love that tree.

Cheers,
Niels

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paul wheaton wrote:
I have asked this question about 20 times in all sorts of different
places. Any time anybody seems like they might possibly know ...

So I ask it again here.

In case nobody knows, I hope that somebody might carry this question
with them and maybe some day spot an answer.

So we know that black locust wood lasts a long time. Old time farmers
would call it "stone wood" claiming that it would last longer than
stones when used as fence posts.

Why? Does it have some anti-fungal property? Anti-microbial? I've
heard some people say something about it could be because it is just
so dense - but that doesn't seem right either. Other dense woods seem
to decompose fairly rapidly.

Would it be less than wise to use black locust as a garden border
because of some alelopathic effect as it decomposes? Or would it
somehow make an excellent garden border because it will last 30 years,
and what little of it that does rot will pass on the n-fixing it did
when it was alive.

I've been trying to get an answer to this question for three years ...
maybe I'm asking it wrong, or researching it wrong ... or something
...

Help!
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