Rotten Wood

[jofanning]

Hi

Does anyone know if I can dig in rotten wood? As I am slowly making my way through the plot and actually managing to dig a bed I am finding lots of very rotten wood, should I remove it or is it OK to leave.
Thanks Jo

[Digger-07]

I can't see any problem as long as the wood is well decomposed although it might attract woodlice.

I have put old wood at the base of my compost bins and dut it on the plot when the bin was turned out although not much of the structure remained.

[WiZeR]

i'd pile it up and burn it

[Snadger]

Composted bark is basically rotten wood and is an organic mulch/soil improver!.

[Nicos]

If there is a chance it has had several coats of preservative on it over the years, I'd think twice about using it as compost if you are trying to be organic.

[Alice]

Where do you think the wood came from. If its just border edges and the like which have rotted I would just dig them in.

[jofanning]

The wood breaks up as soon as you touch it basically. It must have been there for years!! Not sure where it came from, apart from the fact that the plot seemed to be a dumping ground for every other allotment user!! I am taking out the larger lumps but there is still alot of it in the soil.

[Snadger]

I take Nico's point about presevative in wood but, by the sound of it, to get rid of it would require a total soil change!
If that's not a feasible proposition, if you dig in loads of well rotted manure the soil nutrients and structure would improve and minimise the effect on the soil.

[nick the grief]

It couldn't have preservative on it otherwise it wouldn't be rotten

You could dig it it or save it all up & put it at the bottom of your bean trench as it will hold onto moisture & the beans will fix their own Nitrogen - it's the Nitrogen that will be robbed out of the soil to help break it down.