Is it bad to put logs in the bottom of a raised bed?

Are logs bad for raised beds? Recently there’s been talk of how this popular method for filling tall raised beds might not be all it’s cracked up to be.

But why? Well, there is a phenomenon called nitrogen immobilization. The simple explanation of why this happens is because adding a ton of wood or wood chips into a soil mixture will result in a fungally dominant soil food web, which will pull nitrogen from the soil immediately surrounding the wood to help break the wood down, thus robbing it from your plants.

While this is TRUE, there are a few considerations:

1. Most gardeners bury logs deep enough in their beds that the root systems of plants grown above in the soil mix rarely make it to the log layer

2. The nitrogen is only pulled from the soil directly surrounding the wood

3. The scale of nitrogen immobilization relative to causing a true plant deficiency is minimal

in the end, we still highly recommend this method, as it saves 50 to 60% or more on soil cost, and is a great way to repurpose organic material.

[bobmcbob]

List:
1. High explosives
2. Nuclear waste
3. Batteries

[krzysztofwaszczak]

One thing you dont want in your garden is Landmines

[ghodalarkiAmeriki]

He only told half the story of buried logs. The other half is that within 4-6 years, those logs will have decomposed and will be releasing their nutrients AND will act as a sponge to hold water in the soil deep down, enticing the roots to grow down for a drink and a meal. That will make the plants even more robust and drought resistant.

[Y-O-Key]

I came to the broke my heart. you left me hanging sooo unceremoniously

[Trc_plays]

Legend says hes still typing it all out

[WigginsWombo]

There's actually a name for this, it's called Hugoculture. It's system of multilayered gardening that lasts years, and produces all the nutrients and minerals that a bed would need. You start by putting down cardboard to keep weeds out. then large logs that breaks down over years to keep a high amount of nutrients in the ground. Sticks and lawn clippings to fill in the holes. Composite, then dirt, wood chips, and top soil to cover it up and where you can plant new crops

[haveyougotyourtowel]

Here's my list of materials, since the description says wood is okay, but it doesn't say what not to use. You can put cardboard on the bottom, then rocks and twigs, then dry leaves or sawdust or chips or straw or dry grass or shredded newspaper, and then slow fertilizer (like composted manure or other compost) and potting/garden soil (be sure to include a water-holding option like perlite, like in potting soil), then mulch.

Avoid food scraps, green grass, green leaves, glossy paper, cardboard with any gloss or color (other than black printing), wood or sawdust that could be chemically treated, or grass from an unknown source that could have been sprayed with weedkiller. And avoid anything with seeds.

While a small amount of pine needles or coffee grounds is okay, even beneficial, these are slow acids that can eventually make the soil burn most plants if in high concentration. (Use a lot and you'll need a lot of dolomite or other mineral to counteract them, and in beds it's often easier to just dump the acidic soil and start over than hunt down dolomite and wait for it to work.)

Green items, fruit/vegetable scraps, and any fresh manure or compost should only be included if the bed is to be left to "cook" for several months, since it will get too hot and have a too high nitrogen content, thus you'll grow leaves but no fruit. Brown items are a much better option. Food scraps are also prone to bringing bugs and rodents, so they're not ideal for the garden.

If you really want to save your kitchen scraps, and don't want to boil them into soup stock, then look into vermiculture. That's where you keep worms, feed them the scraps (not citrus), and they turn it into extremely fertile soil.

Any store-bought compost or composted manure is fine. Fresh stuff is just problematic, like prone to fungi, pests, and overheating until it "cooks" properly.

Happy gardening!

[SugaDontPlay]

You lied, where's the list * *table flip* *

(STOP TELLING ME "IT'S IN THE DESCRIPTION", IT'S NOT!!!

Anyone who tells me that it's in the description is only demonstrating what is wrong with society. All these times that I've commented that "it's not in the description" combined with the description being easily accessible to everyone, yet people still comment that "it's in the description", have turned what was a lighthearted, fun initial comment from me into such a negative experience. 124 comments under this and at least half are telling me to "read the description", when I've read the description MULTIPLE times, but it's clear that those commenting haven't smh Y'all need to examine why you either have such poor comprehension skills or why you just parrot things without looking their validity...or both!)

[nickholzschuher]

I put rocks in mine it helps with not so much dirt you have to put in there and it helps with drainage and it gives your roots something to wrap around

[machupichu]

you didn’t put in the comments!!! What shouldn’t I add to the bottom!!!

[IAMSatisfied]

Putting large chunks of wood in the bottom of a raised bed is very similar to a practice known as hugelkulture (hill culture, making a hill of wood & covering with soil) which gives all kinds of beneficial microbes a place to grow as well as slowly decomposing and acting as a sponge to retain soil moisture.

[mothiurNCL]

_Information in the description_ 🪵
A couple of things you shouldn't put below the soil:
1. Most gardeners bury logs deep enough in their beds that the root systems of plants grown above in the soil mix rarely make it to the log layer

2. The nitrogen is only pulled from the soil directly surrounding the wood

3. The scale of nitrogen immobilization relative to causing a true plant deficiency is minimal in the end, we still highly recommend this method, as it saves 50 to 60% or more on soil cost, and is a great way to repurpose organic material.

[FrozEnbyWolf]

As long as it's at least 12" or 30 cm deep, you should be fine. Same goes for any other kind of material that isn't fully decomposed, like if you're burying compost directly into your garden beds. By the time the plant roots reach that far down, it won't matter if the nitrogen is tied up, and the materials will release that nitrogen back when they're nearing full decomposition. You can also easily offset any nitrogen sequestration by fertilizing with nitrogen from the top.

[creativelyengineered]

I used logs and branches in my raised beds. Turned out GREAT. The logs in particular were falling apart anyway and on their way to becoming humus. I rarely have to water, since whatever’s left of the logs works as an olla/sponge

[EyeKnowRaff]

Our municipal yard waste site has a pile of "free" compost from the yard waste. It's my plan to use that to fill some raised beds this spring.

[dnp]

Isn't that called Hugelkultur? It works and...is older than all of us👍

[fionassimbwa]

Thanks for sharing- a raised garden may be more resourceful than a normal one and easier to take care of!

[terrip]

Say again for the people in the back! I'm always told not to put leaves in my garden beds over the winter. I've been doing it for 3 years and this year my soil was the best it's ever been. Our soil is mostly sand since we live next to two converging rivers, so the added organic matter really helps.

[hevchip]

Can't find the list of things NOT to put in the bottom of the bed

[krisallen]

You actually want to compost wood chips until white MYCELIUM starts to grow on the wood chips then put that at bottom to create a symbiotic relationship by puncturing plant roots so the MYCELIUM feeds the plants the nitrogen and other nutrients while eating the sugars the plants generate feeding each other and during winter you want to plant a small bonsai type pine tree to feed mycelium during winter since pine and some other trees grow all year long keeping mycelium thriving for next planting season to feed the garden bed fruits and veggies.