DeeAnn Downing

You see that in a lot of mature conifers. Pretty tough for pasture grass to grow under conifers. Doesn't mean other things won't. That is why I was asking about what the native arizona cypress "guilds" are.

Blair Jones wrote:Yes, the ground around them is completely barren, and the previous owner says that when there was pasture maintained up to them, there were circles under them where the pasture did not grow.

Monocultures are pretty rare in nature--more common, i think in first succession growth, after disturbance. Comments anyone?

Blair Jones wrote:I just checked, and the Arizona Cypress in NOT toxic to nearby plants.

I meant in their native setting. That will give you a great deal of information. Is the ground completely barren around your windbreak?

Blair Jones wrote:I understand the tree bark has tannin in it. Where they are growing, they are stand alone for a windbreak, so that won't be an indicator here.

Blair Jones wrote:

DeeAnn Downing wrote:Hi Blair,
I can't speak directly to that, but it probably depends on what you want to grow. It may make a more comfy soil culture to plants that prefer more acidic soil than our western soils offer.

dee in utah

So, it might work for say, blueberries?

Blair

Blueberries are a possibility for acidity. What is it in the cypress logs that you think will inhibit growth of other plants? Does the bark have allelopathic properties? Actually, what grows around the trees in its native setting? I am unfamiliar with this tree but will look into it.

Hi Blair,
I can't speak directly to that, but it probably depends on what you want to grow. It may make a more comfy soil culture to plants that prefer more acidic soil than our western soils offer.

dee in utah

Blair Jones wrote:I am in the initial stages of planning my first backyard nursery/vegie farm, and want to include hugel culture. I am in Southern Cali high desert, so want to use as little water as possible. Last year, I put in a traditional vegie garden, watered everyday in the early morning hours, and everything did fine. But, after reading about Hugel culture, I would really like to test this idea out, take lots of pics of my baseline (traditional method) garden, and my Hugel culture garden.
I am cutting out a lot of dead and green branches from some Arizona Cypress, so have a lot of it that I could use to try in my first Hugel culture project. Will the tannins in this wood make it a bad wood for Hugel culture? I was told this subject has come up many times, but have not been able to find it, even after staying up reading till 3am this morning.

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks