Healthy soil and sustainable growing

[Harvey Ussery <harvey@themodernhomestead.us>]

> The question was "Which would be better for the soil, biochar or
> >chippings?"  If done properly, the BioChar is much better and longer
> >lasting.  How else can we deal with the sticks and brush that even the
> >goats won't eat?  ~Don
> False choice. Wood chips don't belong in the soil anyway; unlike cellulose, 
> lignin takes too long to break down and robs nitrogen from growing plants. 
> Wood chips make great mulch, and mulch pays for itself in weed control, 
> yield, soil improvement, and irrigation costs.  ~Paul
> If you have a place to pile it up over the next few months, a third 
> option is Hugelkultur.  ~yarrow

Thanks to all for an interesting discussion. I agree with Paul--mulching 
with wood chips is something I do to the maximum extent I can--lotta 
benefits. However, I chip-mulch only when I can get big loads dumped by 
the power line clearing crews: I am *not* going to bring yet one more 
power machine onto my place to do something I hope can be done with 
natural processes (and patience) instead. That is, when it comes to my 
*own* "sticks and brush that even the goats won't eat," I'm looking for 
an alternative to chipping with a purchased machine, hauling to the 
landfill, or burning.

So I'm interested in the Hugelkultur option myself. I have assembled a 
hugelkulture bed, out of sight behind my poultry house (doesn't matter 
how long it takes to break down), using all those "sticks and branches" 
I generate here. I dump on "pony poop" from neighbor's horse operation, 
residues from crops and weeding, etc.

The twist is that I'm going to put chickens on the resulting mass from 
time to time. They help speed up the processing of less lignous 
materials along the lines of "The Lazy Gardener's Compost Heap"
http://themodernhomestead.us/article/Composter+Chickens.html
--it will be interesting to see if they help speed the breakdown of the 
heavy stuff in a hugelkultur bed, and what complications there are re 
"harvesting" the resulting compost.

I'll report on progress, but of course, could be quite awhile!

~Harvey

PS: Should add there is one application where I combine Paul's wood 
chips with Yarrow's hugelkultur: When I prune the fruit trees, I lay the 
prunings down on my permanent paths through the forest garden, then 
cover with a heavy wood chip mulch. No need to chip or burn. Great 
fungal activity.

--
Harvey in northern Virginia
www.themodernhomestead.us

A person dependent on somebody else for everything from potatoes to opinions may 
declare that he is a free man, and his government may issue a certificate granting him 
his freedom, but he will not be free. He is that variety of specialist known as a 
consumer, which means that he is the abject dependent of producers. How can he be free 
if he can do nothing for himself? What is the First Amendment to him whose mouth is 
stuck to the tit of the "affluent society"?  ~Wendell Berry