r/Homesteading • u/TreeKeeper518 • Apr 24 '20
Black locust fence post question
I've known for a long time that black locust wood is incredibly rot resistant. Last year I finally bought a place with space for a big garden. Deer hunting is not allowed here, so a tall fence was really my only practical option. Since it will be around my garden I did not want to use pressure treated lumber, so just bought untreated fir 4x4s. The guy at the store said I should paint them or apply driveway sealer to prolong the life, but again, synthetic chemicals right next to where I grow food. I set them in the ground without applying anything, so they will probably rot quicly. Do black locust fence posts require a similar treatment to prevent them from rotting below the soil line? I have the opportunity to get some this year so I wanted to check. If not I may just go for metal. Thanks for reading. *Thanks to everyone who shared their experience. Sounds like they live up to the hype. Just placed an order for 8 of them, along with 6 yards of wood chips.
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u/ommnian Apr 24 '20
No. You cut black locust, strip off the bark, and put them in the ground. They rot eventually, but take decades. There are black locusts that we are still using that my dad put in the ground at least 20-30+ yrs ago, and others on the back of our property (no longer in use, the fence itself is barely still there), that are mostly rotted away, but still in evidence that have to be at least 70-80+ yrs old.
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u/Brswiech Apr 24 '20
Just to add my story; I live on property that’s been in my wife’s family for generations. Occasionally you’d see old fences posts around the property. We asked her father about them one time and he said they had been there for at least 80 years. Granted, you could push them over easily but to be standing for 8 decades is impressive.
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u/TreeKeeper518 Apr 25 '20
Thank you, your comment helped seal the deal. Having 8 bl posts delivered this weekend.
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u/saintalbanberg Apr 24 '20
it's not really necessary with black locust, but any wood posts (as far as I know) will last longer if you lightly char the area that will be in contact with the ground up to just above the soil line.
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Apr 24 '20
There are black locust posts that have been around here in the ground for 50 odd years. Some old timers used to dip the ends in used motor oil (illegal) to make them last longer but you can just put it in the ground as is.
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u/paneubert Apr 24 '20
It sounds like black locust is your safe bet, but I wanted to mention that pressure treated wood made after about the early 90's is totally safe to use around food. The treatment does not use any of the old chemicals that were "bad". Still totally fine if you want to avoid any treatment at all near your food. But if the reason you want to avoid pressure treated is due to it being "bad", that has not been the case for many years.
Edit: 2003/2004.
"On December 31, 2003, the U.S. wood treatment industry stopped treating residential lumber with arsenic and chromium (chromated copper arsenate, or CCA)."
They use copper and quat now.
"Small amounts of copper and quat do leach into the soil, but nothing in ACQ is considered hazardous by the EPA, and no ingredient is a known or suspected carcinogen."
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u/Left-Word-8932 29d ago
That's what I thought, but you can buy arsenic treated posts - CCA (Chromated Copper Arsenate)
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u/biscaya Apr 24 '20
They will last a long time. My brother and I replaced a fence that our grandfather build 60 years prior. Most of the posts were original. The only place they had rotted was right at ground level. The part in the ground still had saw marks from where he had sharpened them.
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u/Balgur Apr 24 '20
I believe they sometimes do some sort of charing or fire treatment. If you look it up you’ll probably find something.
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u/TreeKeeper518 Apr 24 '20
Interesting, I'd never heard of that before but it makes sense. I actually have a pile of wood I've meant to burn for biochar/ ash so I figure I'll give my post ends a nice toast while that's burning.
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u/jacksheerin Apr 25 '20 edited Apr 25 '20
I'll try to find my old post for you but I did something similar for a food grade preservative using linseed oil and wood ash. Paint the oil on the posts and then let it dry. Then mix up the oil + ash like a thick grey paint and paint that on too. You can buy linseed oil at any hardware store. Flax seed oil is 100% food grade "linseed oil" without drying agents. The latter may cost a bit though!
Edit: This comment is the most recent discussion of this same issue Hope it helps!
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u/CollinZero Apr 24 '20
Really? The place we bought last year has a grove around the back of the house before the pasture. We were planning on thinning out a few which shade out part of the garden. There’s about 20, and we’d take down five or six. They naturally pop up everywhere. Lots of good straight ones too.
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u/jacksheerin Apr 24 '20 edited Jun 15 '23
This comment had redacted itself.
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u/CollinZero Apr 25 '20
Wow, I had no idea. They drop a ton of small branches which burns pretty well. We had a bunch a foot or three high in the pasture that the sheep ate, much to our surprise. The former owner told us they have a ton of flowers in the spring that are edible and favoured by bees.
Well, we’ve got a need for some posts, and might see if there’s any market for them. Thanks!
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u/MSCantrell Apr 24 '20
No treatment needed.
They say a black locust post will outlast two holes. (I love that joke.)