Composting Wood?

Joined
Apr 29, 2013
Messages
116
Reaction score
24
Has anyone had any luck composting wood? I just finished some woodworking and have about 50 peices of 2 by 4's. I remember trying to decompose wood using a black bin meant for composting, but didn't have too much luck. I made sure it received water and had the proper portions of 'dry' and 'wet' compost.

Was I doing something wrong?
 
Joined
Feb 2, 2014
Messages
11,476
Reaction score
5,580
Location
La Porte Texas
Hardiness Zone
8b
Country
United States
Has anyone had any luck composting wood? I just finished some woodworking and have about 50 peices of 2 by 4's. I remember trying to decompose wood using a black bin meant for composting, but didn't have too much luck. I made sure it received water and had the proper portions of 'dry' and 'wet' compost.

Was I doing something wrong?
The thicker it is the longer it takes..........Search Bio-char
 
Joined
Feb 10, 2014
Messages
309
Reaction score
94
Location
Wisconsin USA
Make sure it isn't treated wood.

We had a tree cut down about 5 years ago, after the ground the stump we just left the wood chips there. Added grass and things too it, and in a year I had the best compost.

Do you have a wood chipper you can run the wood through?
 

zigs

Cactus Grower, Kent.
Moderator
Joined
Oct 10, 2012
Messages
9,624
Reaction score
11,383
Location
Kent
Hardiness Zone
9a
Country
United Kingdom
It's a fungal process rather than the bacterial decomposition you get in compost.

Meowmie has the right idea with a chipper :)

Otherwise, keep it damp and the fungus will soon find it :)
 
Joined
Apr 29, 2013
Messages
116
Reaction score
24
I don't have a wood chopper and I probably won't go out and buy one specifically for it either. I do have a machine saw that I have been using. It would be a lot of work, but I could cut it up some more. Thanks for the input guys. Should I cover it up in some plastic wrapping to make it hotter (Does the fungus require heat)? Or should I simply keep the wood out in the open?
 
Joined
Jul 25, 2013
Messages
556
Reaction score
439
Location
Puget Sound, Washington
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
7b
Country
United States
Look up Huglekultur. http://www.richsoil.com/hugelkultur/

I started one last winter to deal with some stumps left by tree removal. I couldn't believe how well all the plants have done. Harvested lots of bush beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, winter squash, and mustard greens and wheat for wheat grass for the dogs. Here are a few of the tomatoes from three plants.
image.jpg
This is how the hugel looked a few weeks back. A huge mass of green. Great water retention and amazing how the logs brought in the fungus and natural organisms necessary for healthy soil.
image.jpg


Like it so much I will make another with some oversized limbs I can't put in the wood stove.

You can make it above or below ground.
 

Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.

Ask a Question

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
26,588
Messages
256,640
Members
13,261
Latest member
geeksleather

Latest Threads

Top