how to keep brush down under my piles?

[toonces]

i started my stacks off to the side of my mowed yard area in the winter and now one of the rows of pallets is overgrowing with brush. these pallets are largely empty right now, so it won't be a big deal to move them but i don't want to move them, then stack my wood just to have the brush and vines grow through the stack. i can see that being a real PITA down the line. i'm assuming the fact that the wood stacks will cut off a lot of the sunlight will keep the brush down, but i was thinking, just to make sure, i would lay down come kind of tarp or landscaping cloth to suffocate anything that wants to grow there. i'd prefer to not use weed killer or do any weedwacking. anyone ever do this and have recommendations? thanks!

 

[firebroad]

If you have the resources, crushed stone or gravel would be my first choice.

 

[toonces]

sounds expensive but that would be nice and tidy. i was also thinking stone tiles that someone may have leftover from landscaping projects or even all those woodchips laying in piles around here. i just read that use of landscape fabric can be not-so-good in the long run.

 

[RORY12553]

sounds expensive but that would be nice and tidy. i was also thinking stone tiles that someone may have leftover from landscaping projects or even all those woodchips laying in piles around here. i just read that use of landscape fabric can be not-so-good in the long run.

I read somewhere that sawdust and woodchips will keep the weeds etc from growing...guess the acid or something like that doesn't allow them to grow

 

[firebroad]

How about old roofing shingles ?

 

[skyline]

If you use plastic, you'll not only keep the brush down but provide a barrier from the moisture coming up from the ground which slows your drying process, at least for the wood on the bottom. If your plastic extends past your pallets, just make sure your plastic slopes away so it doesn't bring rain water under your wood. It's easy to think if the water goes away on the surface, it's not there anymore. If you have grass or brush, clearly it is still available. Think of the ground as a sponge always releasing moisture.

Here is a quick and dirty calculation I did:

With a cord of wood stacked 12'L x 4' T x 16" x 2 rows occupying 4' depth that = 48 ft^2
Given 10-20 gal/day/1000 ft^2 evaporates from the ground, that equals ~.5-1 gallon of water / day in 48 ft^2 area. This comes from studies of water released into crawl spaces under roofed houses with gutters etc. I'm sure it would be at least this much under pallets of wood in the open, but would vary geographically for sure.

Given 2000-3000 lb difference between wet and dry wood / cord and 8.33 lbs/gallon, there is about ~240-360 gallons of water lost per cord of wood.

The bottom line is that as much moisture or more is given up from the ground under your cord of wood than is lost by the wood in a typical drying season, so tarp under your pallets, wood sheds etc, IMO.

Incidentally, DOE studies have shown that adequately putting a good vapor barrier down in a crawl space and SHUTTING off vents, significantly reduces moisture content in houses in high humidity zones, opposite of what most building codes require and the general idea that all venting is good.

http://www.advancedenergy.org/buildings/knowledge_library/crawl_spaces/pdfs/Moisture Results.wmv

 

[JoeyD]

I spray with round-up maybe 3 or 4 times a summer and it keeps all the growth under control.

 

[Jack Straw]

I put pieces of used plywood under my piles extending out far enough so I can mow whatever is growing around them. I figure the plywood will eventually rot and I'll just put more down.

 

[Gark]

If you know of some discarded carpeting, strips two layers thick will supress growth. Don't know about any environmental impact this could have and of course carpet won't stop the ground moisture. But it would be free.

 

[woodsmaster]

I weed eat around mine so far. I will probably spray some round up in the near future. I think multch would be a good solution If you want to spend the money on it and it would be almost maintence free.

 

[Backwoods Savage]

I have never did anything special under the wood piles and see no reason I should. If there is grass, it will stop growing. Never had any brush grow under the wood but if so, I'd simply whack it off and continue to stack there.

Where i am stacking this year the grass and weeds usually grow a couple feet high. I won't worry a bit about it either. Just stack the wood and the grass stops growing.

 

[amateur cutter]

I have never did anything special under the wood piles and see no reason I should. If there is grass, it will stop growing. Never had any brush grow under the wood but if so, I'd simply whack it off and continue to stack there.

Where i am stacking this year the grass and weeds usually grow a couple feet high. I won't worry a bit about it either. Just stack the wood and the grass stops growing.

Yep, my piles are out of the way, so I don't worry about it. The ones I mow around, I just weed whack around quick. A C

 

[DexterDay]

I know you said no chemicals. But I use Killz-All (made by Hi Yield/Brown bottle/Looks like Peroxide bottle).

I spray a couple times a year in needes areas and around ALL the landscaping, house, garage, barn, shed, wood area, and propane tank.

My wood area, I killed the grass and laid down river rock. The weeds are still only coming up at a slow rate (enough to pull). We dont lay down much fabric. Its a PITA and if the vegetation is killed properly before application of mulch/gravel, it wont be much of a problem down the road.

Killz-All is a btter product than Round-Up (IMO) has a better active ingredient and needs less per gallon (2oz per gallon) than any of the Round-up concentrates. I apply twice a yr.

 

[thewoodlands]

i started my stacks off to the side of my mowed yard area in the winter and now one of the rows of pallets is overgrowing with brush. these pallets are largely empty right now, so it won't be a big deal to move them but i don't want to move them, then stack my wood just to have the brush and vines grow through the stack. i can see that being a real PITA down the line. i'm assuming the fact that the wood stacks will cut off a lot of the sunlight will keep the brush down, but i was thinking, just to make sure, i would lay down come kind of tarp or landscaping cloth to suffocate anything that wants to grow there. i'd prefer to not use weed killer or do any weedwacking. anyone ever do this and have recommendations? thanks!

If you have some pine needles or have a friend that has pines grab some,they will work.

zap

 

[chuckie5fingers]

sounds expensive but that would be nice and tidy. i was also thinking stone tiles that someone may have leftover from landscaping projects or even all those woodchips laying in piles around here. i just read that use of landscape fabric can be not-so-good in the long run.

we just did crushed stone for our splitting area and a place to put teh camper. I paid under 200 for 22 tons, thats a lot of gravel
chuck

 

[chuckie5fingers]

wood chips only last about 2 years at the best and dont really stop weeds too well IMHO.
chuck

 

[weatherguy]

I did what Dexter did and laid down a few inches of stone, never get weeds and never gets muddy.

 

[bogydave]

I use old carpet, black plastic, landscape cloth, anything to smother the weeds & grass .
The landscape cloth lets water thru but no plants can grow up thru it.
I like to be able to mow fairly close on the yard side & not have mud during rain or the Spring thaw on the other.
Wind blew the carpet up, now weighted down with a few rocks. Landscape clot under the pallets:
Great surface to off load on & work on too.

 

[My Oslo heats my home]

If you have the resources, crushed stone or gravel would be my first choice.

I did exactly that, crushed stone. Since I have a dedicated area where the splits go I made preparations years ago and put in some stone. As far as cost, I was lucky enough to find some CL ads for stone that was free, just had to go get it.

 

[captjack]

Pramatol - get it at your local farm store - spray it and forget it nothing will grow for a while