Piles of Rotting Wood

So here's the situation. I'm hoping someone has an idea of what I can do about this. Bought a house February 2005. Around the house is a bit of woods. The previous owner, cleared a lot of trees here and there over the years, but left the logs sitting on the floor of the woods in piles. The wood is half rotted and very moist. I don't think it would ignite to burn it. I don't want to bring it into the house now for firewood as it is full of bugs and critters. But that's besides the point as its too wet to burn. There are about 4 or 5 five HUGE piles of this rotting wood and it's not a pretty site. Other than renting adumpster and lugging it all in there, is there any way for me to get rid of these piles of wood? Can I speed up the decomposition some how? I've heard you can put fertilizer on it to speed it up, but I'm thinking I would need massive amounts and that seems a bit wasteful to me. Any advice? And yeah, I KNOW I can leave it there. Any suggestions how to get rid of it? I think the normal debris from the woods looks sort of pretty with the leaves an what not, but this just looks like a dumping ground.

Thanks in advance.

I have the same problem here soooo, I've been throwing soil over it and making mounds then planting any old random stuff on it, annuals, groundcover type things, etc.

Chippers are not too expensive to rent and I bet you can find one that will grind up rounds.

Can it be chopped and fed into a chipper? When I moved into my new house, the builders had to clear a number of trees for the sand mound for our septic system. They left a mound of chips about four feet high and about 10 feet in diameter. I rented a bobcat and spread it around the woods and over the last 3-4 years it seems to have broken down nicely.

oops-too late

Watch the Movie "fargo" you will know what to do.

Ha ha ha Soferdig.

We have a small chipper that we use for 3" and smaller branches and the fall leaves. I love that thing, but it won't work on big logs. We'd have to rent a big chipper, have it delivered, yadda, yadda, yadda...$$$. I think chipping them will be more work and money than I'm willing to do. These are some wet, wet, mushy logs and there's lots of them. I mean...lots. Talked to the husband and he's on board with renting a dumpster. They can complete their decomposition at the dump yard. Thanks for the replies.

Jenhill

I can certainly appreciate you wanting them OUT OF THERE. It would be interesting to see what will grow on the resulting blank spots of decomposed stuff. I found a website for an outfit near me www.toadshade.com that specializes in native plants for the area...I think CT qualifies for being in the same general area. Maybe some native shade-loving seeds or plants tossed in the leftover litter would really take off...
just a thought....HM

I would use them through out my garden in wood piles, scattered logs, and any other creative use you can come to because they are the mecca for toads, lizards, frogs, beetles, snakes ( yes snakes), and any other garden friend you could possibly want. Also they could be used for temporary raised beds to grow annuals, vegetables, or any bushes, perenials you may want to divide, transplant or use elsewhere when the logs become soil or close to it.
this is my home to my Stadium of pine cones that I collect for the squirrells to winter over in and eat. they love to sit at the top and talk to me all winter and sing praises to such a wonderful friend.

Sofer,
I would love it if my logs look like yours. Mine are very rotted. And there are many piles...not just one.

these are just my firewood and they are already ashes. I collect rotting, rotted, dead, driftwood, and all types and have them through the garden. Being a republican I prefer to garden with no chemicals. Oh I do use them if things get out of hand = the republican in me. All those critters in a rotted wood pile are my friends. these are a few and I have to show them in the winter cause in the summer they are buried in plant material. You can't see them.

Soferdig

Your round garden sites are very arty and pretty with the rocks and all...the stumps, rocks and trees are very painterly. HM

I haven't started "middle" gardens yet...I am full up with the perimeter of the house and yard (which is fenced so I don't have a deer problem). When I do, I will refer back to your photo. HM

A thought occured to me . .
How do you think they would do growing edible mushrooms? (the piles of logs) If you can get spores.

Look what I scored today. I was driving on a mountain road for 2 miles in the snow and this beauty was upslope from the road and I backed under it and it just slid in. Wow. It mus weigh 500 # soaked and rotted.

soferdig, I do like the photo of your scrap??? in first photo above. I just looks so good with your large rocks, etc. You certainly have an artists eye.

Donna

Herbmoxie,

I appreciate the link. Alas, anything planted in that spot would be deer chow. We have a lot of deer around here and they seem to like my woods especially. As soon as anything peeks it's head of out the ground, a deer mouth is on it. They are big hungry animals.

I had an unfortunant pine beetle problem,that wiped out my trees,leaving dead logs.I cut them so I could move them around,made pathes,by aranging the ugly dead wood to look like a terrace,on the up hill side,and threw the small stuff over the logs.A year later I started planting native azelia,and rhodes,and 8yrs. later it looks beter than it did before.All I wanted to do was make a path to walk in,and turned it into a garden.

jenhillphoto,
Put enough gasoline on anything and it WILL BURN, lol. Seriously though, why cant you burn it in place?? The ashes would be good for your garden.

Would it be possible to either put it in one place or hire a land clearing contractor to pile it in one spot, and burn it. Personally, I use about one gallon of gas mixed with about four gallons of diesel fuel, or you can use straight diesel. I get the quick ignition of the gas, without the WHOOOSHHHH, and the diesel will soak in and keep it burning.

My father told me that in WW2, they dug holes in the ground, would fill them with diesel, let it soak in, refill it, soak that in, then light it. The fumes from the diesel would leak out and ignight, but not explosivly so like with gas. Or let your local fire volunteer department use it for a practice wildfire burn.

I think the wood he is talking about is really wet, wet, wet. Maybe closer to decay than realized, but not dirt stage yet. But it certainly isn't going to burn. I know that stage. It is so hard to do anything with. I would think some household ammonia, alfalfa meal, nitrogen sulfate like farmers use for fertilizer, etc. would greatly increase the speed at which these logs decay into some lovely planting material. But it won't happen in a couple weeks for sure. Probably another year or so. I have heard that buttermilk does a great job of rotting out stumps in a season. Maybe if you could pour some buttermilk into the cracks, etc. of the logs it would work on them. I hate to see such material go to landfills but I can certainly understand you wanting them gone. We have some old posts that won't burn, etc. around here that I would love to be rid of. But I don't think it is going to happen soon. I need a lot more muscle than I have to even move the things and no one else around this place seems to have time, energy or motivation to get it done. Maybe I can use the chainsaw to cut them into smaller pieces and move them somewhere out of side anyway. From what you have said about yours they are way too wet to use any kind of saw on.

Exactly leaflady. Exactly. Too wet to do anything with. Too wet to cut, too wet to burn. Just in between wood and dirt.

I think renwings,docsab, and soferdig were right. If it's half wood/ half mush, a big chipper would have no problem grinding it into stuff you can use, or at least flatten. I bet a couple guys with a commercial chipper for a day or two is a lot cheaper than a dumpster. It is around here, anyway

I have a question re: this thread....we have an open field where pine trees were cut down many years ago. The resulting stumps have decayed into almost powder which I am putting into a lasagne compost. My question is: where the stumps have left a big hole of rotted material can I put soil in there mixed into the rotted wood & plant rhubarb? Deb

Woody scrub is often left in the woods to decompose - they are great spots for fungus that feeds the trees and insects that feed the birds.

Do you think it might be possible to change your pespective from "unsightly rotting wood" to a "brushpile for wildlife habitat" or "forest carbon regeneration units"?

My only other suggestion would be to pee on them to make them decay faster.