Wood in the bottom of a pot - after 1 year

Last year I put some wood in the bottom of some pots to see how somewhat of a ”container-hugelkultur” works.

I planted green beans and a cabbage to the pot. They grew nicely.

Today I emptied the pot to see how the wood was doing. It had not broken down much, but roots had grown all over the wood! Looks like the plants thought it was nice to have that wood there. :)

Ants had made a home to the pot. There were a few snail eggs too, but just a few.

I had the pot outside all winter, not covered.

I will put the wood back to the pot and refill it and the plan is to plant some cucumbers, peas and carrots to it.

Nice! I would call that "proof of concept." How deep is the soil layer above the wood?

I use wood as a filler in my tomato half-barrels. It's too deep for the roots to reach into. Still it provides both drainage and a subsoil that holds moisture (unlike gravel).

I have also attempted hugelbeds, but didn't have much luck. Perhaps the wood was too deep.