Black locust?

Allright if black locust takes so long to rot and is considered bad for hugelkultur, what are good uses for blowdown limbs etc? I'd love to have a mass heater but our house is a manufactured home and therefore due to zoning issues we can only have a wood burner that currently is out of budget... Any thoughts thanks

Geoff Lawton suggests leaving those early Nitrogen fixing trees as a mulch. The branches do contain a small amount of N.

I do light construction with 2 inch and less green black locust poles.

I've built 2 "doors". They are a little wonky, but they work.
I've made a broom handle. Could have easily made many walking sticks.

I'm building a crossbow with them too. The wood is flexible yet stiff, perfect for a bow. Just need a trigger, arrow guide, and arrow and we can start target practice.

Planning on replacing the crappy wood of my kama with them when it gets bad.

They're easy to srip (some of them, some get frizzy when you strip them).
The bark makes excellent tying material, or crafts like basket weaving. Haven't used that yet.

Check out minute 3:00
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=du9LeeYX1o8

William

With the small blown down limbs I create a pile and then I get someone to run over them with a flail mower. If you have a lot it makes good mulch. If you have a little, chipper? If you don't have a chipper and you don't have a flail mower (like me), yikes. They are thorny so you want them out of the way. Let them rot over a 2 winters and then walk on them?

Actually the small thorny limbs are GREAT for hugelkulture. They break down very easily. You might have to be a little meticulous about positioning them so that they gain a mass, but they'll break down over a winter under soil.

William