shade screen to great soil: possible?
 

I have been trying to learn more about soilbuilding in prep for a "new look" backyard.

The new look:
A 40 foot tall, 16 ft wide, 60 foot long row of multiple leader arbor vitae that borders the back yard of our in-town lot is finally being taken down. This row runs approx NE-SW and blocks much of our backyard sun until late morning in June. In winter, much of our backyard gets no sun to speak of. With the help of an 8hp kemp shredder/chipper and pole saw this shade line is being reduced a few at a time to be replaced with a fence.

The possible ingredients:
After a lot of labor and some gas, we will end up with a huge pile of wood chips from the larger branches, a huge pile of shredded branches and greens, and a large stack of logs. The shredder also rips cardboard to, ah, shreds. Though I need a dust mask for that job. There is an appliance store in town and I could probably get as much as I want from their dumpsters and shred it. Also, I have a lot of composting worms in the basement, 150 gallons worth of bins, that I could turn loose in the piles. To feed them, I get horse manure from a stables 20-25 minutes away. I could get as much of that as I'd care to - they have a front end loader and usually the pile is pretty big as long as they didn't pay someone to haul it off recently. I have a 5 gallon bucket of homemade fish emulsion that has not been opened in quite a while and should be ready. I'm actually a little afraid to open that. Lastly, this shredder will do a number on oak and maple leaves in the yard and I could even ask neighbors for more.

The plan:
I am considering using the trunks to build raised beds. Maybe two 4’x20’ beds in a 10’x20’ area. The actual lawnsoil turned over is probably okay with the additional sun, but I really like the idea of ~12" beds. Rabbits will be an issue with in-ground stuff. A trellis on the back side (away from sun) for pole beans would be awesome. It could probably be made just from woven limbs/sticks that I don't shred. Rain gutter drainage dumps water from 1/4 of the roof into this area as well and I’m trying to figure how to incorporate it.

I plan to get some pallets soon and make a row of compost bins. I can then layer shreddings/cardboard/manure/chips/leaves in the bins and turn them regularly. Maybe set some worms free in them. We are running toward winter but I think with horse manure I could keep them hot...maybe?

I've been reading about creating shallow beds without tilling the sod by adding 4 sheets wet newspaper, then compost, then mulch, then chips on top. I hope to be able to fill these beds in the spring with compost created this winter.

Opinions wanted:
Does this plan sound feasible? Would the compost be ready for primetime this spring, or is this more properly a second year goal? Will arbor vitae compost too slowly or would the chips/shredding be better utilized another way?

No matter what, by dropping these arbor vitae we will be much better off getting more sun in the yard, more airflow, and more sun to the existing vegetable patches. However, I would also like to turn this effort into a huge gain in vegetable production as soon as possible.

Thanks all for taking the time.

I live here in Florida so soil breakdown occurs rapidly so the time frame for compost use would be about a year,particle size dependent.I have read manure stay"hot"for a while.But having been around construction,trucking I do know that pallets are treated with some very heavy chemical applications so leaching of those might contaminate some of the that compost you are manufacturing.

[url]http://www.horsebackridingworldwide.com/thuja-trees/[/url]

Here is a interesting note about arbor vitae.

Very large compost piles can overcome the cold of winter but I dont know about smaller ones.

I used to live across the road from a saw mill and you could dig into the sawdust and steam would come out in the winter.
As for the pallets you have no idea what you are getting unless you know your wood real well and as was said it may be treated.
Some of the wood they use over seas is very toxic.
As for the tree shredding I would try to find out about the Thujone it contains and see if it is going to break down or what.

Handling or breathing this stuff may be a problem.

Worth

update
 

I went ahead with this and I guess we are halfway to spring now. We finally had about an inch of snow a few days back, but today it was mid 40s again.

I made the raised beds with the logs from the arbor vitae. The larger of the two is 4ft on the inside by 30ft long. The smaller one is 4ft by 20ft long. Outside dimensions vary but figure maximum lean and reach under 30". I put them far enough apart for our biggest wheelbarrow to fit through easily. I will more or less be planting in the ground, with the boxes there to keep boots and dogs out of there. My farmer friend said not to till it, but to just kind of break it a bit with a shovel before planting, for the roots to access. My plan is to have about 4" of the composted stuff on top.

I had segregated the arbor vitae while working - the green tips were shredded for mulch, and the branches were chipped. My farmer friend took maybe 2/3 of the chips for their asparagus. That was two truck loads. I was glad to see that pile shrink! I plan to use the rest for walkways, but it is still in a large pile at present.

I made a 6 bin compost row from pallets. I am keeping 5 filled at a time and turning over into the next one. So far so good; they are working, it seems. The mix is horse manure, the green tip mulch, and shredded leaves. I also incorporated the two old compost piles I had that were just wire cylinders. They were hard to turn and never really stayed hot, so good riddance to them. About half of that was pretty well finished, so I shredded it and mixed it all in. Additionally, some shredded cardboard has gone in.

Strangely, the most trouble I have had is trying to find coffee grounds. Maybe find is not the right word. I know where they are. There are many convenience stores and a few Dunkin Donuts that have popped up in recent years. It has been ridiculously difficult, though, to get any of these places to recycle their coffee grounds. They just throw them in the garbage. Again and again the answer has been, "sorry, I would if I could but it's against corporate policy" from these middle managers. Health concerns, they claim. I have even offered to get a bucket/barrel and put it next to their dumpster. Simply put it in there instead of the dumpster. So far, no grinds. I have made around 10 stops so far.

Other than the lack of significant coffee grounds, it looks pretty good. It is wonderful to have sun in the backyard in January. Today, I opened a can of worms... and added them to the piles. That is, I split up one of my worm bins and put about 2 gallons of vermicompost/worms into each pile. They are loyal creatures, and I have faith they will either accomplish their objectives or die trying.

Remind me when I become ruler to make it against the law to dump coffee grounds in the dumpster.:evil:
Worth

As for coffee grounds, check your local StarBucks. One of the few coffee places with a corporate policy of recycling coffee grounds to the local gardening community.

Yeah I know starbucks does it, but I don't have one nearby. Maybe 15 miles/25 minutes.

[QUOTE=Worth1;525653]Remind me when I become ruler to make it against the law to dump coffee grounds in the dumpster.:evil:
Worth[/QUOTE]


+1
Worth For President!
Lets get the Tomatoville Super pac started.